Happy 4th Birthday to Preston!!

 

My beautiful kiddos!

This year we decided to have Preston's 4th birthday party at the zoo.  It is a place that he loves to visit, and they do everything for you (you just have to show up)!  It ended up being a beautiful day, and it actually wasn't too unpleasant for an outside party (especially since it was at 1:00 in the afternoon).  All of Preston's little buddies came, and they enjoyed cake and ice cream and learned about a couple of animals.

Making a wish...

"I'm not scared"

The first animal was a milk snake, which freaked me out, but not the kids.  They all pet the snake and even tried to guess why it is called a milk snake (hint, it is not because they drink milk).  They actually live on farms, and since the farmers originally thought they drank the milk, that is how they got their names.  In reality, they are carnivores and eat small rodents that live around the farm.

The second animal was a guinea pig.  Since many of the kids have seen one of these at a pet store, it wasn't a huge hit.  Oh well, they at least saw and learned a little about two animals.



Sweet cousins!

All of the kids waiting for the train

Following the animal interaction, all of the kids (and some of the adults) rode the carousel, and then took a train ride around the zoo. Though Pres would have loved to walk around the zoo and explore more, we left after the train ride so we could watch Alabama's second game with some friends (which ended up in another win). Of course, Preston couldn't leave for our friend's house without opening his birthday gifts first. He received some awesome gifts, but the winner was the spiderman costume with the big ninnies (AKA: muscles)! 



Me with my favorite boy!


The birthday boy with Lucy & Christian



Throwing spiderwebs after his party!

Since Preston's birthday party was a week before his actual birthday, he was confused that he wasn't actually four years old.  So when his REAL birthday came, he was so excited!  He woke up and came into our room and asked me "is today my birthday?"  He woke up happy, and had a few presents to open from us (all spiderman oriented since he is obsessed!!).  Then we asked Pres where he wanted to go to lunch to celebrate (he chose Mexican), but had to wear his batman costume to the restaurant! Later that afternoon he had his second soccer game. Mimi and Papa came out to show their support, and we were all so excited to watch him get his FIRST goal right at the end of the game!  He was so shocked, and excited!  It was the cutest thing, he came running off the field to me and said "Mom, I just got a goal....I've never done that before!"  He was ecstatic, as were we!

Afterward, we all headed back to our house for a birthday dinner to celebrate!  Louis, Michelle, John Michael and Maria came over, and we all played, talked and ate.  It was a great day!  As you can see from the photos....this kid LOVES costumes, and he racked up for his birthday!  He got 5 new costumes, and has had multiple costume changes over the past couple of days!

Trying out his superman costume...check out those muscles!

My little avenger with Mimi & Papa

Happy 4th Birthday Preston!!!
 



First Day of Preschool for My Guy!

It is hard to believe that my little boy (who is almost 4 yrs old), entered preschool this year.  He is following in his sister's footsteps with attending the same school and having Ms Ginny as his teacher. 

1st day of school

Pres being greeted by his friend, Banks

Though he didn't get to continue his mother's day out experience with all of his buddies, he was able to have two of his friends in his 3K class (Anna and Banks), and he doesn't seem upset that he'll be with new kids.  So, let's hope this year is a memorable and fun one!

Pres w/ Ms Ginny

Labor Day at the Lake!

Since we've been bad and haven't been to Steve's family lake house all summer, we decided we had to go! After picking up Bennett from school on Friday afternoon, we headed up!  We got up and the kids put on their swimsuits.  Though Steve and I didn't feel like swimming, they played in the yard in their suits until dinner.

Isn't the frog cute?

After dinner, the kids were dying to catch frogs.  So we grabbed our flashlights and went out back to find some.  Bennett is always our brave one with the frogs, and she is scampering all over the place grabbing them.  After catching several (and letting them go), we called it a night.




Saturday afternoon Louis and Michelle and the kids came up.  The weather was overcast most of the day, so in between the rain, the kids went swimming.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating very much, so the kids took short naps until their cousins arrived.  Once they arrived, the fun began.  It was pretty windy in the afternoon, so they went for "hike" along the bank rather than more swimming.

Pres holding one of the frogs B caught

 

After a delicious dinner, we all got pumped up for the first Alabama game of the season against Michigan.  Thankfully it was an easy win for Alabama!  Roll Tide!!

The biggest catch of the day!

Though there was no rain on Sunday, it was overcast most of the day.  That didn't stop us from having fun outside though.  The kids took turns riding on the waverunner, swimming in the lake, walking along the the bank, and fishing with their Daddy!  In between all of the fun, they went inside for a typical Mimi snack (vanilla wafers, cheez-its and water in "grown-up glasses").

Snack time!

Bennett holding her first fish



Pres & Goo (after a 20 min ride, Pres fell asleep on the waverunner)

What fun fishing with Daddy!

They Say the Darnest Things....

Since this IS my baby book for each of my kids, I want to write down a few things the kids have been saying that just crack us up, so we won't forget them.

Pres (July 2012): He was sitting at the bar, pulling on his ear.  I asked him what was the matter and if his ear hurt.  He said "No, my ear is just turned off."  Our guess is that his ear just needed to pop or something because it didn't bother him after that.

Bennett (July 2012): She was getting ready for church and after getting dressed and putting her headband on, she walked over to the mirror and said "Now that's what I'm talking about" with a very cocky tone.  Steve just busted out laughing.

Pres (August 2012): He has started this new thing when we look at him with our disciplinary eyes, "what?  what are you looking at?"

Pres (August 2012): I tried on a new lipstick, one that is a dark red.  I was just wearing it around the house, but when Preston saw me he looked at me and then said "I don't like your lips mom."  You have to love the honesty of that kid!

Bennett's 1st Day of Kindergarten!

Mrs. Greer & Bennett at orientation

 It is hard to believe that my little girl is old enough to go to "big school," but she is.  In fact, she started kindergarten today!  She has Mrs. Greer as her teacher, who she met last week, and I think it will be a good year.  Initially, Bennett was sad because she was separated from all of her little girlfriends (9 in total, and 2 are in each of the other 4 classes).  However, I think it will be a good opportunity for her to make new friends, so I am not upset.



Bennett before school

Mrs. Greer loves dogs, and calls her students the "kennel club."  Guess who she has a lot in common with her already??  Each day, Bennett starts with 6 bones in her dog bowl.  If she can make it all day without any warnings, she gets a stamp in her book.  However, if she makes a bad choice, then she starts getting bones taken away from her.  She didn't lose any bones on her first day (yeah!).

Walking through the tunnel to school

When we walked her to school, we took a few photos and then walked her to her room.  We got a little lost (don't ask me why because the school really isn't that difficult to get around), but made it in without any tears.  Bennett was a little hesitant to enter the room, but she didn't look back once she was in, and we weren't allowed in.

On our way home, I cried a little.  It is just so hard to believe that my baby, my first born, is off to school!  However, once I got back in my routine I was fine.  The weird thing though was at 12:30, I started getting antsy, thinking I needed to go get her soon.  Since I have been on the 9-1 schedule for the past 4 years, it will take a little getting used to these longer days.

In fact, shortly thereafter, I started thinking about Bennett and how her day was going.  Hoping she was having fun and meeting new friends....


Pres wishing her well





Me holding back the tears

Finally 2:30 pm rolled around, so Pres and I started to get ready to leave.  We left our house at 2:45, didn't get Bennett and Caroline into the car until 3:20, and didn't get home until almost 3:30.  Needless to say, carpool line SUCKED!  I am definitely walking from now on, unless it is over 100 degrees because I think it will be faster!  But it is not about me....Bennett had a wonderful first day of school!

All smiles after school!

Bennett & Caroline (1/2 of the "Mayfair Girls" Carpool)

She and Caroline were all smiles as they loaded into the car, and chatted the whole way home about their day!  When we got home, I started asking Bennett more specific questions about her day, and here is how it went:

Me: Did you have a good day?
B: Yes
Me: Did you eat all of your lunch? (she ate the school lunch today)
B: I ate all of my chicken and some of my mashed potatoes, but not all because they weren't as good as Mimi's
Me: What did you learn today?
B: A lot of rules!
Me: Who did you play with the most?
B: Miley
Me: Who did you sit next to at lunch?
B: Miley
Me: What was your favorite part of the day?
B: All of it

I hope Bennett's enthusiasm doesn't wane, and the rest of the year goes as well as today did for her!  She is a precious little girl who we love more than words.

Roughing It at Ruffner

We are still on a mission of crossing as many things off of our summer fun list as possible, so today we tackled two!  Since the weather is a bit cooler than normal, I recruited Mary Michael and her kids to join us for a hike up Ruffner Mountain.  It was a cloudy day, so we thought it would be a pretty pleasant experience.

The kids all started off excited and running up the path.  Initially we thought we would keep it close and short, but the kids were all doing well, so we kept on going.  As we finally reached the peak (1.3 miles up), the kids were tired and a couple had cried.  We should have turned around earlier, but we were so close, so we kept going up.  We used the "summit" as an opportunity to rest, rehydrate, snack and take a few photos, and then we turned back around.

Pres with his big bug find

The kids taking a break

After another .25 miles, Mary Michael and I were starting to get a little tired because she was carrying Lynlee (who refused to walk in the dirt), and I was taking turns carrying each of my kids.  Bennett did better about walking herself, but Preston kept tripping on roots and rocks, and insisted on being held.  It was frustrating, but I know I pushed them too far, so I only had myself to blame.



Landon navigating

We did the quarry trail

Fortunately the walk back to the nature center was primarily downhill, so it was much easier for everyone.  In fact, when we got real close, all of the kids really picked up their pace.  When we got to the bottom, we used the restroom, washed our hands and headed on our next adventure....a picnic at The Vulcan!


At the "summit" with the kids (1.3 miles up)

Pres crying after one of his many falls

Though the wind was starting to pick up, and rain was imminent, we dined with the view of downtown Birmingham on one side, and The Vulcan on the other.  After lunch, the kids played on the grassy knoll.  They rolled down the hill, ran back up, then raced back down!  It is amazing how they have so much energy!

We finally came home early afternoon, showered and then the kids took a long nap.  I guess all of the complaints about their legs hurting were valid because they were out hard!  I had to wake each of them up after several hours.

Rolling down the hill

Running down the hill

All and all though, it was a fun morning and the kids loved "going for a hike in the woods."  I definitely see more hiking in our future.