it gets better

So not only was Mason's first week of school great, we found out on Friday that he is this week's "Star Student"!! What does this super special title entail, you ask? Well, his picture and a poster about him are posted in the hall near his classroom. He also got to bring in some of his toys to share with his class. And most importantly, he is line leader for the week!

They also talked about his name today--how to spell it, how it is different from the other names, and each student drew a picture of him and his teacher put the drawings all together for him in a book. It was soooo cute!!

Big news for Reese, too!! He was also chosen as "Star Student" for his class for the month of August!! I don't think there are quite as many plans/celebrations for the title in his class, though he'll have a poster with his picture on the wall of his classroom.

How proud is this momma??!?!

On another note...if you have a little one learning letter sounds, you must check out Leap Frog Letter Factory!! I got this for Reese (after reading about it on Nikki's blog) at Target and he wants to watch it all the time. I was pleasantly surprised an educational video got such high marks from him!! He sings the little songs ("A says ah, A says ah, all the letters make a sound...{you get the idea}) which are pretty catchy. Even Mason (who knows the letter & sounds) likes to watch. I wish I had known about this years ago!

pure sunshine

success!!

So we've completed one week of kindergarten and the verdict is in: Mason LOVES it!! He really took a liking to his teacher during open house the week before and couldn't wait to start. He seemed completely comfortable in the classroom from the minute he walked in on the first day.

The second day he even told me I didn't have to walk him into his room and that he would be okay walking from the drop off lane to his class alone. AHhhhh!!! Mom was not quite ready for that, but I'm glad he is feeling so independent! He just looks so little (he is pretty little) carrying that big backpack walking into that huge brick building. *sigh* My baby is growing up.

Reese, however, is not adjusting to Kindergarten. He was NOT comfortable with Mason walking to his class by himself, and practically cried the whole ride to school. The following day, he was beside himself because he didn't get to say goodbye to Mason (only because he chose not to). And the following day, the four "good-byes", two hugs, one wave and a kiss were most certainly not enough to satisfy his good-bye needs. He "just wants his brudder."

it's about time...

I changed the name of my blog. Any suggestions? I've gotta get my girl in there somehow!

momentous

It's a big weekend at our house...a big Monday, more accurately. Tomorrow Mason starts Kindergarten and Lana will be six months old!! Time is flying by!!

Lana is growing like an adorable little weed! She now has two teeth...
Today we started baby food (sweet potatoes) and she loved them!

(We did things a little differently this time around. First, we waited until she was about 6 months to start (instead of 4) and two, I skipped the rice cereal. My babies haven't really liked it anyway, and I don't think (from what I've read) it really makes a difference if you start with that or fruits/veggies. So far, so good!)

She is also sitting up by herself for short periods of time...

whoa!! (don't worry, Daddy was right there


she is such a happy, smiley girl :)

I'll leave you with a picture of Lana and Granny, from Granny's visit last weekend...

I will try to post again tomorrow with our first-day-of-Kindergarten news! yay!

take 37

here we go again....
I'm so behind on blogging now. the short version:
we had a beautiful baby girl, Lana Paige
(pronounced like Lawn-uh...like Lana Turner)
she was born on February 3rd at 1:39 pm
she was HUGE (comparitively) at 8lbs, 8oz
we all adored her instantly :)

Fast forward to today, July 3rd, and Lana is now 5 months old
she is still beautiful
she is still pretty huge
we all still adore her :)
I love having a little girl!!

And she adores us...here is a video of her laughing at Mason:

Joe is here with us this summer, so Josh and I are experiencing life with 4 children. (thus no blog posts.) It's wild, but all of the kids are really so well behaved I can't complain too much. Except for the legos. The legos are everywhere. Including somewhere in Reese's digestive system.

We took the gang to the GA Aquarium this week and everyone loved checking out the aquatic life. Here's a pretty nice pic of the fam with the beluga whales:

Lana looking up at the fish in the glass tunnel:

Silly boys

awwwww

And Josh insisted I mention his major life-changing (really) news...he had a vasectomy!
Yay, Josh! Way to go!!! You rock! And our clan has hit its max at 6. I think this is a good thing.

And the migration to the "South" from SoFL continues, as Uncle Mike, Crystal and Amber have joined us! So, Granny and G.G., you are next!!! We miss you!

oh boy! It's a girl!!

it's been so long since I've posted...this blog stuff may not be for me :)

Anywho...for those who are not in the know, but still follow the blog (I doubt there is anyone out there), we are pregnant! Very far along at this point, too, I am due February 13th. AND they say it is a girl!!! We are thrilled. Josh just finished painting the nursery pink and I'll start decorating next week. It's so fun to be able to buy girly things!!!

The boys are excited, especially Mason, who loves to lay his face against my belly and feel the baby move. Even Reese is pretty interested in having a new baby in the house and thinks her room is pretty. They both like to get close and talk to her, just like Daddy. Joe was slightly disappointed that the baby wasn't a boy, I guess three brothers wasn't enough for him!

We all had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas, spending time with family and friends and eating A TON!

Here are some recent pictures of the boys and the 3D ultrasound picture of our little girl: