Miller's 7th

Turning 7 years old is quite an accomplished age. SEVEN feels old in every way. This year we scaled back the bash quite a bit and invited our 7 friends from the neighborhood for our first drop off party adventure. Miller invited the boys out for pizza to the Roswell Mellow Mushroom. We love their extended patio area that overlooks a large field perfect for corn hole and football games. On Saturday evenings, Extreme Gaming sets up a 10 screen video game cart with a teenage assistant on the patio with various games perfect for young boys. So with that plan, we had ourselves a pretty easy party.

So easy, that Miller didn't even divulge a party theme choice. The planner in me did choose party decor in aqua, orange, and turquoise. Throw in a few mustache straw cut outs, and cupcake toppers and it was a true gentleman's party. My favorite memory was Miller's casual comment, "Oh, I guess we've got a mustache party going on!"

Gosh, I love this seven year old boy of mine. He's not into the details of decor or party themes at 7 like his sister who squeals at centerpieces. Just invite his pals, bring some balloons and gifts and go ahead and call it a party, already!

There was lots of goofing off with the staches~ The boys were entertained with the gaming cart before pizza was served. I ordered way too much pizza thinking that they would devour each slice. Boys at parties are too busy playing to eat.

They chased, threw the football and got involved in a competitive game of cornhole. The weather was a balmy 75 degrees with the sun shining. We couldn't have chosen a better evening the whole week long weather wise. I lured the gentlemen back to the patio with the promise of cupcakes.

I bagged up the treats so they'd travel well in the car. They did add a little flair to the tables once we arrived. Like the boys even care about cutesy flair:)

We sang the birthday chorus and Miller had laser focus on his birthday wish. 7 candles looked good on his cupcake. Each candle flickered in honor of one year in our birthday dude's life!

A gaming birthday with pizza did the trick to make our birthday boy feel extra special! I loved stealing this natural smile as if he was pleased with the party;) We exchange these expressions. I've become a pretty good mind reader about what's going on in his 7 year old brain.

We hammed it up for a few family memories in all of our orange, aqua and green. 

Grandmama and Poppy helped us with crowd control. Since we're in the era of the drop off, we needed a few extra eyes and hands to make sure our guests were taken care of. 

We loaded up the car with a van full of boys to return back home. A few were picked up for baseball games, so we had room for everyone. On the journey back a few neighbors wanted the party to continue with a silly string game in the backyard. Since we were making good time, I thought why not?

These boys got silly alright. Believe it or not, perfect gentlemen can be out of control silly. Before long, our backyard was littered with every neon shade of exploding string. The birthday fun continued until all the cans were empty. 

Miller threw his hands up in surrender. His hide out was discovered. I set up present opening time on the back deck as the boys were covered with gooey string from head to toe.

This was the first birthday Miller's opened gifts in front of his friends. He could only wait so long to dive into the present unwrapping. At 7, I finally trust him to show grace even if it's not his most favorite present. Although, these buds picked out gifts he was SO thrilled about. We loved watching him read each card and say his thank yous. He had a few Lego Movie sets to keep him busy for awhile.

Happy 7th Birthday Miller! It's a privilege and also a huge responsibility as parents watching you grow up. We pray that you grow in favor with God and man during this seventh year of life. It was a joy celebrating you with your friends. We love you!

Cardinals Baseball

Miller begged us to sign him up for baseball this spring. His last try at T-ball when he was 4 was comical to say the least. There was a lot more of chasing butterflies in the outfield and stomping on mud mounds in the field than serious playing. We've noticed such a difference in his focus and hitting abilities at 6 years old. What a difference a couple of years makes! Miller's on an 8U coach pitch league. Most of the boys are in 2nd-3rd grade with only 3 first grade boys on the team. I wish they had a 6U coach pitch team, but he's really learning from the older boys. 

Here's our # 3 up to bat. I'm loving my view through the chain link fence this season. Every time he came up to bat on game number 1, Miller got a hit and managed to run the bases to home. Whew! Sometimes the butterflies in my stomach really get me anxious for #3.

He loved playing catcher in front of the ref. I must say that's the cutest little baseball tush in town. The weight of all that body equipment keeps him grounded in one place. 

We managed a 14-6 win against the Dodgers! After all of our losses during soccer season, it feels so good to get a victory. We had forgotten how it feels to bask in the glory of a win. These boys were good sports and managed the end of the inning high five hand slap run through.

We're looking forward to an exciting season. Our coaches are the best instructionally that we've experienced in the Upward league. The only downside to our spring are the 1 1/2 long practices every Friday evening.  Although, Miller looks forward to his Friday night practices! With Saturday games, our weekend are now consumed with baseball through May. 

A girl's outing

Over winter break, Eliza Kate and I enjoyed a girl's only mommy & me morning with friends at Farmhouse in the City. It was our first time at this cute art studio. This was Eliza Kate's first pottery painting experience too.  Since EK loves crafting, I knew she'd jump at the chance to paint. She carefully selected a cupcake to decorate in the prettiest of pastels. Glitter was dumped on the frosting and a pom pom cherry was added for extra beautification.

Here she is painting with Maggie. Maggie was very detailed in her painting of the red-headed model of Ariel-- true to her colors. It was fun to see each child's choice of pottery.

Eliza Kate has declared PINK as her favorite color this year!

There was so much to do at this fun house. Eliza Kate enjoyed having a furry lap guest to hold. There was a chicken coop and we observed a live egg drop as we were in the garden.

At every turn, there were animals to pet. Here she is with Sophia enjoying the bunnies. She really lingered in the playroom with princess dress up clothes for a bit. It was just good to get out as girls:)

A picnic lunch outside on a sunny February day was enjoyed by all. With that, we packed up our fragile masterpiece and headed home to show brother our artistry. 

It's special days like these that make me thankful for the gift of time to invest in my girly. It truly is a blessing to enjoy these preschool years with her.

Hoping to come back soon! Goodbye to the Farmhouse for now.

A Little First-ie update

First grade continues to be a rich & fun learning experience for Miller. His class had a Teddy Roosevelt celebration after completing their biography study. Mrs. K set up a teddy bear spa during recess with hair dryers and combs for the kids to enjoy pampering their stuffed friends.

I joined my special firstie on Dr. Suess's Read Across America Day. Several moms had fun leading his Techie class through various themed centers.  Miller chose a Green Eggs and Ham Math double digit addition center for me to lead. Of course, he never lets me just waltz out of the school without staying for lunch. He loves inviting a friend to dine with us at the guest table. He invited classmate and neighbor Lucas with us on this occasion.

 The Accelerated Reader program continues to motivate Miller to keep up with his nightly reading log. Mrs. K awards a Mystery Prize to her students for acquiring the most points during each 9 weeks. He's racked up 62 points so far this year and has taken 129 AR quizzes. He's shining on a mid- third grade level and we couldn't be prouder. I say this tempered with our need to continue to push Miller with his basic Math facts. We all have areas to celebrate and standards yet to master. But, the reading teacher in me feels so blessed to have a boy that always has his nose in a book. We devised our plan and figured out that if Miller reads one Magic Tree House chapter book each weekend, he racks up 1 whole point instead of just half a point. He's loving the world of Jack and Annie as a firs tie. We're also working our way through the Berenstain Bears series. I love the traditional values in their books that teach character lessons. My biggest struggle is navigating Miller away from The Diary of Wimpy Kid books. This book fad seems to have really taken off with some of the boys in his class. The character is a middle school boy with issues in his life much too mature for a first grader (in my opinion). While, the books are on Miller's reading level, the material is too advanced. So, that's our little firstie dilemma these days.

I finally worked in a Friday Mystery Reader spot to visit Miller's class. I usually score the AR helper mom on Tuesday mornings while Eliza Kate is in preschool.  Fortunately, Poppy picked up Eliza Kate from gymnastics so I could surprise Miller with a visit. I picked I Wanna New Room to coordinate with their opinion writings. The book is an entertaining read perfect for discussing persuasive language. Miller's choice was the fictional book If I Built a Car... since he's still obsessed with vehicles.  Miller loved the special privilege of securing the bean bag chair next to the rocker for the best seat in the house.We capped off the visit with a lunch date in the cafeteria. 

The Techies also squeezed in a half week of celebrating Mrs. K during Teacher Appreciation Week before the snow ruined the luncheon plans. On Monday, I had the kids write a short but sweet thank you message on the back of each flower.  They are truly BLOOMING this year because of her awesome instruction! We can't believe our first grade year is now in the final 9 weeks.

The Circus Came to Town

Cabin fever set in by the end of our second snow break. There is only so much hot cocoa sipping, snowball throwing, game playing, reading and screen time that you can do at your house before an unsettling feeling of boredom creeps in. Both kids missed their Valentine's Day centers and exchanges. Landon and I cooked up a plan to enjoy Valentine's Day out of the house at the circus. We pulled off a circus surprise as our family gift. I set up the table for the big reveal and it got the littles all excited about a night on the town.

They looked for clues on the table and put all the pieces to the puzzle together. But, I did have to explain what "admit one" on my printed, play tickets meant.  

I sure do heart these two!

This year's theme is "Built to Amaze".  The kids were at great ages to enjoy their inaugural visit to the circus. All of the action, animals, clowns, and colors drew them in. Miller was chatting Landon's ear off the whole time commenting on each act. That boy has a lot of words to share. 

I grew up attending The Greatest Show on Earth. Since the circus always rolled around near my birthday in GA, we often attended the show. I still remember flipping through the glossy pages of the program anticipating each act. The circus has come a long way since the 80's.

Call me a party pooper, but I'm not a fan of junk. So, our kids know not to ask for large stuffed animals at family excursions like these. We usually announce our plan for spending money before we go. This go around, we told the kids that we'd make a trip to the concession stand. How cute are these $24.00 snow cones? All laughing aside, this made their night. They are still asking for their special cups, and I had to find a special place to store such darling obnoxiousness:)

I thought we'd be smart and get our treats 10 minutes before intermission. And, can you believe that we missed the performer flying out of the cannon?  Poor Miller, he kept wondering when the big cannon reveal was going to take place. We just assumed that it wasn't part of the show, until a neighbor asked Miller, "What did you think about the canon toss?" Miller looked puzzled--parent.fail. Oh well, the Steel Vortex spinning wheels with jumping performers is still being raved about in his book. It was a Happy Valentine's Day for all of us with a sleeping beauty who crashed on the drive home.

Snowpocalypse

You can imagine our surprise when the second wave of snow hit us the week of Valentine's Day.  We woke up to the most picturesque views in our backyard.  Every single tree branch was dusted with snow.

This was my picturesque morning view while sipping coffee.  Winter wonderland right here in our backyard.  Everything was frozen over with icicles hanging off the eaves. God gave us a beautiful scene to drink in.

 Since snow happens so rarely in the south, we did take advantage of playing until our hearts were content. 

Caroline led the little girls by sled down the big hill. I love how Claire calls out to Eliza Kate in her most southern belle of accents "LiiiizaKate". It really is precious to watch her friendships develop at three years old.

Our kids insist that we sit up front on the sled. It makes for a hilarious photo op as they looked crushed riding caboose.

Eliza Kate found the twins in the cul de sac to play with and admire their snowgirl. She thought it was Olaf from Frozen. These days you never know when she'll belt out the "Let it Go" song complete with twirls and spinning.

We took frequent warm up breaks to heat up her tootsies. Rain boots aren't very insulated. Southern girls aren't use to these harsh winters, ya know.

I love this winter view up the street .  Neighbors were starting to congregate for a sledding adventure. It was truly a beautiful winter wonderland. Of course Miller was right in the middle of the action. He seriously thrives with any gathering of fun. If you look closely in a "Where's Waldo" sort of way, you can spy Landon belly sledding with Miller chasing him. Even the dads got into the adventure. Of course they did!

Riley walked our way and the boys partnered up for some sledding action before it all melted away. The snow didn't stay on the ground that long this go around before it turned into wet slush.

Most of the first grade boys found there way down on this snow day. 

Here, the boys were pretending to save the day on a 4 wheeler. 

I can safely say that we are officially ready to pack up winter at our house. The kids missed so much school this nine weeks and all the mommas surely need a mental health day of quiet to recharge.  We had a blast and now bring on the sun.

This seriously will be known at the year of the looong winter for mommas!

Wedding festivities

January and February was jam packed with all kids of wedding festivities getting the bride to be getting her all set for the big day. My long time high school friend, Jessica met her man and picked the perfect 55 degree February day wedged between both ice storms to get hitched.  We celebrated with a girl's weekend in January overnight at the W in Midtown. It was therapeutic  to get away with just the girls. Of course, it wasn't exactly a bacherlorette weekend as we were tucked into bed before midnight. It's amazing what age does to you on a Friday night. We always say that we need more time for just the girls, but somehow kids, husbands, and LIFE get in the way. It's a busy season for us in this stage of life...for sure.

Jessica's lingerie shower, bridesmaid's luncheon, rehearsal dinner and wedding weekend were all planned for the same week. Add a spray tan and a hair appointment in the mix along with my other mommy responsibilities and I was just a little stressed. Landon's parents were so sweet to come into town to run the show for us.  Its been a long time since I've had so many meals and events without children. We lingered extra long in a celebratory sort of way.

And, we couldn't be happier for the man that God brought into Jessica's life to step up and be an awesome step dad to their kids. He's a God send & has been prayed into her life.

Fox Hall was the rustic wedding venue just past Douglasville. And, the weather cooperated for all of us that day. It was a truly beautiful wedding with the friends I'll cherish for always. 

There's something extra special about the gift of girlfriends that span the seasons of your life. You have so many inside stories and laughs. A rich history of sharing in one another's joys and sorrows.  There's been proms, high school memories, weddings, hospital visits with first babies and so much more that has been enjoyed together. 

 I loved dancing with my man too. Of course, all the girls broke it down as the night wore on. If we weren't roasting S'mores by the outside fireplace, we were spotted in some sort of line dance or Congo line:) Still celebrating the bride and groom. Congrats to the new Brennan family! We couldn't be happier for their new adventure.