A VERY Special Day for Carson

Today Carson had his very first soccer practice! He is finally old enough to play in the city's soccer league (they have a 3 and 4 year old division). Car has waited for this day since he made his first appearance on a soccer field at only 1 week of age! He has tagged along to countless sporting events and practices for Cade, and he has longed to play with the big kids. Today it was his turn. We all loaded into the van armed with the camera, snacks, water bottles, and chairs after Sam came home from work. The neighbors cheered him on as we drove off to start a new and exciting chapter in his life.

Carson is on a co-ed team. His team will be called "The Bruisers"...they get their name from the color of their jersey....purple, like a bruise (a deep manly purple the coach said ; ) ). The coach is a lady, and she seems very sweet and patient. She is a P.E. teacher at an Arlington school, so she has experience with working with kiddos...yea!

Carson geared up for practice in hand me downs from Cade. Cade wore the same shoes, shin guards, socks, shorts, and t-shirt that Carson wore this evening nearly 6 years ago when he played soccer for the very first time! Sam and I had to agree that all of it looked brand-new! I am so glad that I kept the soccer attire!

Look at those sweet little "soccer player legs"!

Waiting in line for his turn to dribble.

Dribbling

The whole family came to watch our brand new soccer player. While at the practice I met a lady who has a family very similar to ours...her oldest child is on Carson's soccer team (she is 3), she has identical twin girls that are 18 months old, and she has a 2 month old son! At least someone will be able to relate to our wild bunch while we are at games and practices! ; )

The girls had fun tossing the football with Cade while Carson practiced

Playing toss...Emmy is catching the football like her mommy does...uh-oh!

I love this picture of Emma Claire in the grass!

Cade lost at tooth while snacking on "Fruit By The Foot" at the soccer practice!

Ella Cate playing football.

Happy Birthday to My Blog!!

Just a quick post to wish my blog a happy 1st birthday! It was on this day one year ago that I entered the blogging world. Chelsi finally convinced me after several months of blog stalking that I would enjoy having a blog of my own! I have LOVED every minute of becoming an avid blogger! If I had the time and a really exciting life I would blog every day. I love to write, and I love pictures, thankfully with blogging those two go hand in hand! I love reading other peoples blogs...people I know and people I don't know! To me, it is just like reading a magazine!
A blog book from this past year is on my Christmas wish list! I can't wait for the kids to be able to look back on a brief glimpse of a year in their lives! Here's to many more years of blogging!!

Here are some pictures of my family from a year ago (both taken on or around 9-10-07)...

I think that the girls hair has grown a foot this past year!!

Sam and I with Cade, at that time starting 3rd grade! My, how time flies!

I have a confession...

I am very ashamed to post the news that I am about to post. I am doing it for documentation reasons only...and to get it off my chest.

OK here goes...I gave the girls their passys back this evening out of pure desperation. For the past month and a half (since we took the passy away) we have been dealing with nightly bedtime battles. They usually don't get to bed until after 10:00, even though we are putting them in bed by 8:30. With school starting last week, I figured that they would be so exhausted from their day that they would fall right to sleep, but that didn't happen even though we are well into week # 2 of school. After over a month of this we are all exhausted, and tonight was the straw that broke the camel's back. They are sick with the same cold that I am sick with, and we all needed rest.

Sam works out on Tuesday nights, so the bedtime routine was left to me. After multiple fits and many meltdowns due to pure exhaustion my will power was gone, and I gave in. I went to the closet where the Passy Fairy had hidden all of the passys, grabbed 2 passys, and headed to the girls room. I went into a long drawn out speech about how the Passy Fairy was letting them borrow a passy since they weren't feeling good, and they had to give it back in the morning...blah..blah..blah. I will say that they were overjoyed to see their long lost friend. They sucked happily away, and the sweet sounds of silence filled the room.

Tonight, Ella Cate didn't open or slam the door even once, I heard no screams, giggles, or toys being taken off the shelves. They were actually asleep by 8:10, which has not happened since July!!

I am not going to beat myself up too badly over this. If passys make our nights less stressful then to me it is well worth giving it back to them. However, say a little prayer for me because Sam is still not home from the gym, so I haven't broken the news to him! ; )

Noah is 8!!!

On Sunday, Noah had his birthday party at "Pump It Up" to celebrate his 8th birthday. I can hardly believe that he is 8 years old.

He was born on my first day to student teach back in 2000, and I remember every detail of that day...I guess because it was a really special one!

The kids really enjoyed his party! It even inspired me to plan a joint party for Cade and Carson at "Pump It Up" in October!

Noah is really into Lego's, and since his mommy couldn't find any place that made a Lego cake, she made one herself! Isn't she talented?!

The line up of children watching the "Pump It Up" safety video.

Nathan and one of the girlies flying down a slide.

Carson went 90 MPH the entire time we were in the bounce house room!

Grandad and Ellie (left) Emmy (right)

Mommy and Miss Emma Claire

Bouncy fun!

Sam and I with his dad a.k.a. Grandad

The girls in the party chair

Saturday Night on the Town!!

On Saturday evening Sam and I enjoyed an evening on the town with our bunch! Our fun consisted of a 5:00 dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse (a family favorite), and a trip to Pet Land (a local pet store). We were home by 7:30! You know that you are a Mommy or Daddy if this is what your Saturday night consists of! : )
I was supposed to get to go an a date with Sam on Friday, but Nana wasn't feeling well. Without a backup babysitter we changed our plans, and we ended up having alot of fun!
In the picture above the kiddos are standing in front of Spaghetti Warehouse. Like I said, this restaurant is one of our family favorites. I am embarrassed to say that we usually eat there once a week. All of the kids love eating there, but this is Carson's FAVORITE place to go! I am pretty sure that it is because I was addicted to Spaghetti Warehouse when I was pregnant with him! We went there the day that we found out that I was pregnant, and the day that we found out that he was a boy, and probably twice a week throughout the 40 + weeks that I was pregnant with him!

Here we are in front of Pet Land in Lincoln Square. This is the only "old fashioned" pet store that I know about. The animals are well taken care of, it is clean, and the staff is very knowledgeable, and friendly. The kids think it is a real treat to visit Pet Land!

Emma Claire and Ella Cate admiring a sweet Boxer puppy.

Cade was very fond of the 11 week old Boxer puppy too, so Sam asked if we could play with him in their viewing area. He was ADORABLE, and for a split second I thought that maybe a dog like this would work with our family. I QUICKLY changed my mind as the dog was trying to eat my flip flops, and chew on my freshly painted toe nails!

Cade was so proud to be holding this puppy. I wish that we had a big enough yard and the time for a dog this big. I know Caden would love to have this puppy as a playmate!

Carson liked this puppy that looks like Colt's dog Chloe.

Emmy thought these puppies were funny because they were playing with their water bowl.

Carson and a whole flock of parakeets! ; )

This is kind of sad, but Sam and I got a kick out of this lizard that was trying to scale the wall but was going nowhere! You can see how fast his little legs are moving! He was the only creature that seemed to be annoyed with being in a cage!

Posing on the turtle in front of the pet store...Cade is too big for things like this! : (

The First Day of Preschool...Without a Hitch!

Today was the little ones' first day of preschool, and they all did great...praise God! Everyone woke up happy, they all ate their breakfast, and the girls shed no tears while I was fixing their hair (never happens). We were out in the front yard to take pictures by 7:35 this morning, and we arrived at their school at 7:50...perfect timing! Now if every morning can go this smooth I will be a happy mama!! ; )

Carson was raring to go this morning! He ran everywhere as he was breaking in his new running shoes that he has been waiting weeks to wear!

Ella Cate and Emma Claire LOVED breaking in their new running shoes too! They wore their Polo dresses to match their big bro's Polo shirt. ; )

Ella Cate (left) Emma Claire (right)...they really looked and acted like big girls this morning!

Posing with Cade before we headed up the road to their school

Walking to their classrooms to put their backpacks and nap mats away

The girls cubby and sweet backpacks...I'm sad that there is a shadow on this picture!

Emma Claire posing in the kitchen center in her classroom

Carson next to his cubby

Since the preschool hours are from 9:00-2:00 the little ones go to extended care before and after school. This morning they got to play in the church gym area. Carson walked in and immediately started his sprints across the gym.

Emma Claire started to get a little nervous and cling to Sam's leg when we walked in. To distract her, Ms. Joan, the PE teacher let her help bring out equipment. Emmy then immediately went into "helper" mode and forgot about clinging to Daddy!

Cade and I after we dropped the little ones off. I have to admit I felt a little sad. I'm really not sure why, because I know they have an awesome time at their precious little school.

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This afternoon I picked them up, and they posed in front of the church's sign.

We then came home and they watched a little bit of "The Cat in The Hat" with Mike Myers. They were so tired! The girls wanted to be right next to each other on the couch! After watching a little of the movie they started playing this little "game" that they have been playing for a couple of days. Emmy calls Ellie "baby Ella", and Emmy acts like her mommy while Ellie crawls around and does a little "baby talk" to Emma. It is so funny to watch them do this, and it keeps them entertained for quite awhile!

Carson was tired too! However he wasn't too tired to change into his Batman gear when we got home. After watching The Cat in The Hat he was dead set on making cupcakes like the cat does in the movie. Of course I had no ingredients in the house to make cupcakes, so we are planning to do it tomorrow after he comes home from school!

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Congrats little ones...you did great on your first day!! Mommy is proud! xoxoxo

Labor Day Trip to Texarkana

Saturday morning we headed to Texarkana for a quick trip. The little ones had not seen our family in Texarkana since Christmas, so this trip was long overdue! My mom and Caleb met us there.

When we arrived at MoJo's and Wister's house Grancie and Uncle Caleb were already in the pool, so the little ones wanted to hop right in! Carson LOVES playing with his Uncle Caleb!

I always forget to pack something, and this time I forgot to pack the girls swimsuit and swim diapers, so they swam in the nude. Their Mommy did this all of the time when she was their age in that exact same pool. I was told to compare pictures by more than one family member! ; )

Anytime that Grancie is swimming the little ones know they are in for a fun time! Here Grancie is getting ready to slide with Ella Cate! They did this 1,000 times!!

Mo with her grand kids (minus a few) and all of her great grand kids

The girls had a picnic on Mo's floor. She made them chicken and dumplings and vegetable stew in paper cups...gotta love MoJo! ; )



Later that evening in pursuit of a somewhat healthy meal, Sam and I headed to good ole' Central Mall in Texarkana to eat at Chik-fil-A. After eating we shopped around a bit, and the little ones had to get a cookie...of course! Cade stayed back at Mo's house to play with his cousin Emily.

Ellie happily playing with the prize machine at the mall.

Sunday morning MoJo prepared the kiddos (along with Emily) a yummy breakfast

Before we left MoJo took Carson for a ride on the 4-wheeler. They went back to Uncle Jame's property to see his pig pens. This is just what MoJo took me to do so many times as a young girl! I have so many happy memories with her and Wiss at their house!

After their ride we headed back home. We had a great time visiting!! The kids LOVE being in Texarkana!