A Look into our Life

Lost Teeth

2012-02-18T19:21:00.002-05:00

Henry has lost both of his top front teeth. We are enjoying his new smile, knowing that it is only a matter of time before the big teeth grow in and change his little boy smile forever.

Star Wars Room

2012-02-18T19:08:00.000-05:00

After years of cars and trucks and trains, the boys were ready for a new look in their bedroom. We repainted their walls (Pigeon Gray from Benjamin Moore), and decorated with a Star Wars theme.

Here's a before picture (from a couple of years ago, but more or less the same as a few months ago!)

We got this idea here.

We repainted their coat hooks and hung their Star Wars masks for decoration.

We bought the decals and blinds from ebay.

I sewed the bedding from sheets I bought on Overstock.com.

I didn't take a picture of the new rug, which is a gray shag runner between their beds. We also have a framed Star Wars movie poster hanging over Oliver's desk, but that corner was kind of messy, so I didn't want to take a picture. It's not that exciting, though.

Christmas 2011

2012-02-18T18:23:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas almost two months ago! For whatever reason, I have put off making this entry. I get a little overwhelmed with the number of pictures from the holidays and then, next thing you know, it is February 18th!

So, this might not be the best blog post ever, but at least it will be done. :)

Before Christmas, at home

Riding the El in Chicago

The other children in the car were kind enough to share the front window with Henry and Oliver.

Playing at Grandma and Grandpa Jennings' House with Cousins

Christmas Eve Excitement

He came!

Oliver and Justin

Owen and Henry

Oliver and Melissa

Oliver enjoying one of Grandma's trees

Zoo Lights at the Lincoln Park Zoo

Getting Ready to Sleep Over with Owen, Lauren, and Justin

Enjoying Christmas Gifts

Snap Circuits

Oliver, Henry, and Emmett with Great Grandma Nancy

Lucy and Dave

Henry, Oliver, and Emmett

And Grandpa Jim!

Oliver's Christmas Show

2011-12-18T20:05:00.000-05:00

On Friday, Oliver performed in his daycare center's Christmas program. Oliver was in the chorus, which sang six Christmas songs! I was pretty impressed with how well the children learned their lines and the words to the song, considering that the performers were all three and four years old.

Here is the video of the performance. I didn't have the best angle--Oliver is the third child from the left. He has the letter "R" of "Christmas" on his sweatshirt.

Here is Oliver just after the performance:

The performance was followed by a Christmas party, and Santa came!

Which reminds me that I got so carried away with Oliver's handsome-ness the other day, I neglected to post the pictures that I took when the boys saw Santa at Bass Pro Shop. So, here they are:

Finally, here are two videos of Oliver practicing his singing at home:

King of Handsome

2011-12-12T22:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, the boys took a bath and got all dressed up to go visit Santa. Oliver looked in the mirror and said, "I am the King of Handsome!"

Here he is with his slightly more modest (but equally handsome) brother.

Thanks for the new outfits, Grandma and Grandpa Jennings!

Holiday Strings Concert

2011-12-12T22:48:00.000-05:00

Henry performed in his first strings concert on Thursday, December 8th. He has been taking violin at school since the beginning of the school year. He was very excited about the performance, and did a great job!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T22:13:00.000-05:00

We had a great Thanksgiving! Matt cooked the turkeys (one fried and one smoked) and a brisket, while my mom and I (emphasis on my mom) made the side dishes. There were a total of 19 people--12 adults, six children, and one little baby.


Most of the pictures of the food were accidentally taken without flash, but this gives you the idea.

This was cute- Henry dancing with Kendall!

Oliver's 4th Birthday

2011-11-26T20:58:00.000-05:00

On November 14th, Oliver turned four! Since he had already had a little party, his actual birthday was pretty low key. It was a Monday, and he started the day with breakfast and presents.

Oliver brought cookies to daycare to share with his class and then had his favorite dinner of mashed potatoes, chicken nuggets, and peas. He was a little under-enthusiastic about making a birthday video, but I insisted. :)

In addition to his celebrations at home, Oliver also got to see some of his grandparents for his birthday! On the 13th, we drove to Savannah to see Grandma and Grandpa Jennings, who were in town for the weekend. We had breakfast with them and then took a walk by the river. Before heading back home, we were able to see Grandpa Jennings at the art fair where he was displaying and selling his photographs.

Finally, as if that weren't enough birthday excitement, we went to Atlanta for a night in a hotel on the 19th. We picked Grandma Becca up at the airport in the late morning, then went to Ikea for lunch. It so happened that there was free face painting at Ikea, so we took advantage of that and then let the kids play in the play area while we shopped. After that, we checked into the Westin, where we stayed on the 64th floor! The view of the city was amazing. We had dinner across the street at the Hard Rock Cafe before settling in for the night. In the morning, we went to the Majestic Diner for breakfast before going back home to Macon.

Fun with an Air Vent

We even got to see a fireworks show from our window!

Astronomer

2011-11-06T19:27:00.000-05:00

Henry has been learning about careers at school. For homework, he was asked to choose a career and write a paragraph about it. Her is what he wrote:

Henry Jennings

11-4-11

I want to be an astronomer. Astronomers study the stars, planets, and asteroids, too. They help people learn about the universe. They help people know if an asteroid is going to hit earth. They use a special camera to see what is in space. Astronomers provide a service to the community. I will have to go to a lot of school to become an astronomer.

Henry needed very little help in writing this, which impressed me. He has learned a lot about how to use Word at school and had no problem typing his paragraph.

Oliver's Party

2011-11-06T19:21:00.000-05:00

We asked Oliver if he would like to have a party for his fourth birthday or if he would like to spend the night in a hotel in Atlanta. He picked the hotel, but still seemed a little sad about the idea of not having a party. This month was our turn to host the babysitter's club, so we decided to have a little celebration for Oliver's birthday with the kids who were coming over anyway. It was a fun, low-key party.

Since wasn't a "real" party, I didn't frost the sides of the cake. ;)

4-years old! (well, almost!)

Cooper and Kendall

Tiffany

Jason

R.J. and Katelyn

Athena

Elijah

Costumes make everything more fun!

As do funny glasses!

Dinner Time - pizza, broccoli, fruit, and chips

3.5 Minutes of Quiet (Movie Time)

Make a wish!

Oliver got wonderful presents from his friends. He loves them all!

What fun! and his birthday is still a week away!

Halloween!

2011-11-06T18:50:00.001-05:00

This year, Henry was Obi Wan Kenobi for Halloween and Oliver was a ghost.

Henry testing out his new Jedi costume. (The one he wore last year was getting small, so I made him a new one.)


Henry and Oliver tried out their costumes at a festival on Sunday night.

For Halloween trick-or-treating, we went to the Bieks' house.

Darth Daniel and Obi-Wan

The whole crowd

Cooper and Oliver

Then we headed back to our neighborhood for a little more trick-or-treating.

It was a happy Halloween!

The Rock Ranch

2011-10-23T13:43:00.000-04:00

We went to the Rock Ranch yesterday with Kia and Ajani. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time!

Pumpkin Cannon

Jumping Pillow

Cute Boys

2011-10-23T13:32:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to share a few cute things. :)

Henry and Oliver made a haunted house in their bedroom. These are the signs Henry posted on the door:

I do not know if you will trip, OK. Please do not bring gum.

Pretending to be scientists--According to Henry, Oliver was a Hawaiian Arctic Scientist.

Oliver learning to ride without training wheels

Camping in Florida

2011-10-23T12:55:00.001-04:00

Last weekend we took a little trip to the Gulf coast of Florida for a short camping trip. The weather was perfect and the beach was beautiful. We wished that we could have stayed much longer! We went to St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, where our campsite was just across the dunes from a beautiful beach.

Nature Trail on the Bay Side of the Peninsula

Catching Crabs and Fish in a Tide Pool

Fiddler Crabs

Oliver's Hermit Crabs (He found over 50!)

Lunch at Cone Heads

At the Beach

The water was a little chilly, but not too bad. We even swam out to that sand bar you can see in the picture below.

Back Home, Sorting Shells

Beginning Violin

2011-09-26T21:16:00.000-04:00

Henry is learning to play the violin at school. Matt goes with him to his Suzuki violin lessons three mornings a week. He has learned his first song--Hot, Cross Buns!

Apples and Amicalola

2011-09-26T21:03:00.001-04:00

We took our second annual trip to the mountains on Saturday. We decided to try a couple of different destinations than last year. We went to an orchard called R&A Orchards near Ellijay. It was a lovely day and we picked plenty of apples. Then we went to Amicalola Falls State Park. This was, apparently, not a very original plan, as the park was absolutely packed. We ate a picnic lunch and then hiked to the base of the falls. It was beautiful! On our way home, we drove to Athens, where we played at a fun park and then went for a quick dinner at The Grill.

Getting ready to hit the road.

We took a little wagon tour at the orchard.

Oliver the Glowing Boy!

On the way to the falls

Athens, GA

Hot and tired!

September Pictures

2011-09-26T20:26:00.000-04:00

Camping out in the living room

A little day trip to Juliette, GA

Eating fried green tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

A visit to the Ocmulgee Indian Mounds during the festival

Just hanging out in the backyard

Some recent pictures--including a new smile that is missing one tooth!

2011-08-21T20:12:00.000-04:00

On August 11th, Henry finally lost his first tooth! He was very, very excited. He left his tooth for the tooth fairy and she exchanged it for a dollar coin.

Here is the new smile:

Here are some more pictures from the Braves vs. Cubs game we went to in Atlanta on the 14th. The Cubs won!

Just before school started, Beth, Dave, Charlie, and Sadie came to visit! It was so nice to see them. Here are a few pictures of the kids at the Indian Mounds.

Back to School!

2011-08-21T19:53:00.001-04:00

We have been back to school for almost two weeks now, but I am just getting around to posting our first day of school photos!

Here is Oliver on his first day back at daycare on August 1st:

And here is Henry, ready to start first grade on August 9th:

Here is a short walk down memory lane:

August 2008

August 2009

August 2010

August 2011

The boys are both enjoying the school year so far. Oliver has moved to a new classroom at his daycare and his preschool year will start soon. Henry is liking his new teacher and will be starting to take Suzuki violin lessons at school this week.

I am working at a different school and am teaching kindergarten for the first time. I am enjoying it so far, though with 28 students, I sleep well at night!

Beach Vacation

2011-07-20T16:01:00.000-04:00

Last week, we went on a very fun vacation to Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. Matt's parents rented a beautiful house right on the beach for all of us to get together and enjoy a week together.

Warning! Many pictures to follow!

Our first morning at the beach house

Justin and Henry getting ready to swim

Owen

Lauren and Oliver

The house had a pool, too!

Henry and Lauren

A seashell!

Justin preparing to fly a kite

An early morning shell hunt for Ollie and Justin

Getting ready for an ocean swim

Taking a break for a snack

All of the cousins and a giant lobster

(at Ella's in Calabash, NC)

At the Museum of Coastal Carolina

The children got to hold sea stars in the "touch tank."

Kite Flying

Oliver and Grandpa Jennings

Andrew and Justin

Going to the house from the beach

Oliver on the balcony outside our bedroom

Looking down from our balcony

The pool from above

Here's a video of the view from the balcony outside our room and of the adults making a whirlpool for the kids in the pool. Fun stuff!

The view from our bedroom

After leaving the beach house, we went to see our friends Matt and Courtney who happened to be nearby in Myrtle Beach on vacation. On our way out of town we stopped for some quick go-kart fun!

Fourth of July 2011

2011-07-06T23:59:00.000-04:00

This year for the Fourth, we took our first family trip to Six Flags over Georgia. We all had a fun time, despite a little rain. After a full day at Six Flags and an impending storm with ride closures, we decided to leave and finish the evening at Turner Field for a Braves game and fireworks.

Waiting in line for Oliver's first roller coaster...


The Wile E. Coyote Cannon Blaster!


Henry went on this roller coaster three times.

Splash Waterfalls

Water in Their Eyes


This was after splashing in puddles while all of the rides were shut down.

Truckin'

Hanging Out with Pepe and Speedy

Being Ninjas

Watching the Fireworks

Happy Independence Day!

Summer Fun - Picture Post

2011-07-06T23:31:00.002-04:00

Here are some pictures from our summer break thus far:

Boys Playing in the Backyard at our MSC Graduation Party

Swimming Lessons


Oliver planted this sunflower in a cup at daycare. Then he helped us transplant it into the garden, where it actually grew!


Story Time at the Public Library with Froggy

Fun in a Box

Painting Butterflies for Baby Madeleine

A Little Hike


Hitchiti Experimental Forest

A Fun Day at Ruthie's Lake House

Revisiting the Site of Last Summer's Chin Injury


Gary Took Each Child on a Jet Ski Ride

Evanston Trip - June 2011

2011-07-05T13:41:00.000-04:00

It has taken me a while to get my act together to post these pictures! Henry, Oliver, and I had a very fun and relaxing trip to Evanston in June. We stayed for about ten days and were able to do a lot and see many family members while we were there.

Preparing for the Trip

We drove all day on June 10th and arrived in the evening. Our first weekend was cool and rainy, but we still had fun going to the park and playing with my mom and Laif and the boys next door. We also went over to Matt's parents house for an early Father's Day celebration.

On Monday, we went to Navy Pier. Henry had been asking to go on the big Ferris wheel (which I'd never been on, either). The boys had a great time with Grandma Becca and Melissa looking at the sights of the city and the boats in Lake Michigan.

Tuesday was another exciting day, with a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo.

On Wednesday, Matt's parents took us to the Field Museum. We went through the Underground exhibit, looked at the dinosaur bones, and took a quick spin through the ancient Egypt section. It was very nice.

On Thursday and Friday, we took a break from tourist activities and hung out closer to "home" at Grandma Becca's house. We also went over to Andrew and Allyson's house for dinner where Henry and Oliver got to play with their cousins.

Justin and Oliver

On Saturday, the boys and I met up with my dad's side of the family (minus Lucy, who couldn't make it) at a park in Des Plaines for a picnic. The weather was nice and the park was nearly empty. It was a great chance to catch up!

On Sunday, our trip was drawing to a close. We got to see Melissa one last time and we relaxed with Grandma Becca and Laif.

We left early Monday morning to head back to Macon. We took an impromptu stop at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. The tour was fun, but lasted longer than I had anticipated, so we didn't get back home until nearly midnight!

Kindergarten Graduate!

2011-05-28T15:03:00.003-04:00

Henry is officially a first grader now! He had a successful kindergarten year which ended with an adorable performance. Below are videos of the three musical numbers performed by the kindergarten classes at Vineville Academy.

This first song is cute--too bad that I wasn't the only parent that wanted a good shot of their kid!

Before you watch this last video, I would like you to know that Henry has clearly inherited his clapping rhythm from me, so watch what you say! ;)

With kindergarten over, we are looking forward to a fun summer before the start of first grade. I will also be changing grade levels for the next school year. I will be moving from first to kindergarten and moving to a different school. Henry is full of advice for me!

End of the Season

2011-05-28T14:44:00.003-04:00

Henry and Oliver have finished their spring T-ball and Wee-Ball seasons. They both had a fun time playing, but I think we all welcome having our evenings back and being on our own schedule again! Here are some pictures from their end of season parties:

Oliver and the White Sox

Henry and the Mets

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T11:43:00.002-04:00

A free slideshow design by Smilebox

Spring Break - Picture Post

2011-04-23T14:50:00.009-04:00

The boys and I have been on spring break this week, and my mom came for a visit, so I thought I would post some pictures of the fun we've had.

The River Walk

Grandma took Henry to visit Uncle Donald and Lena in South Carolina. Oliver had a little bug, so he and I stayed home.

Dauset Trails

Henry's Party

2011-04-23T13:58:00.006-04:00

Henry had a Star Wars birthday party last Saturday. We had planned to have the party in our backyard, but a huge fallen tree on our patio prevented that. We made a last minute switch to North Macon Park.

The morning of the party started before 6:00am with the sounds of the tornado siren. Though it did not storm badly at our house, there was tornado damage in other parts of Macon. The rain was over by mid-morning, though, and the park was not damaged, so we continued as planned with a 3:00 party.

Here are some party pictures:

Pool Noodle Lightsabers

Oliver was an early casualty.

Publix made the cake this year.

Death Star Pinata

Elijah let Oliver borrow his Luke Skywalker costume.

Here are some additional pictures from the party:

Henry is Six!

2011-04-22T13:24:00.006-04:00

Henry turned six on April 13th. He had his party on the 16th, which I will post about in a moment.

This year has flown by. All of the sudden, kindergarten is almost over. Henry plays T-ball twice a week, is reading easily on his own, loves to create and play and sing and talk. He tries to tell knock knock jokes (with little success), makes up elaborate Star Wars games with his brother, climbs trees, rides his new scooter, and generally leads a happy and fun life. He is very grown up in some ways, but still our little boy in others. He is adamant that he should not need to go into the women's restroom with me anymore, but he also still sleeps with his baby doll, Garrict, after lovingly bundling him up in the same blanket in which we brought Henry home from the hospital.

Here is Henry on his birthday morning:

Here is Henry's birthday interview, which is a tradition that we started last year:

While I am posting videos about Henry, here is an awfully cute one. Henry has been learning a dance at school--his school focuses on the arts and they have dance class instead of PE. Here he is showing off his moves at home:

Cherry Blossom Time!

2011-03-23T22:08:00.005-04:00

The Cherry Blossom Festival is this week. On Saturday, we went to the Tunes and Balloons event and watched the hot air balloons glow. On Sunday, we went to the parade and then to the park for rides and festival food. We hope to head back this weekend for pink pancakes and some more fun with the rides.

The boys were very excited to have pink shirts this year (Thank you Grandma Becca!) and were proud to wear them to the parade.

T-Ball and Wee Ball

2011-03-23T21:59:00.005-04:00

Henry and Oliver are both playing ball this spring. Henry plays for the Mets in T-Ball and Oliver is on the Wee Ball White Sox. (Wee Ball is T-ball modified for three and four-year-olds.) Their game schedules are keeping us very busy--they each have two games a week--but they are having fun. Here are some pictures:

Henry's Team

Oliver's Team (Matt is the head coach)

St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-23T21:56:00.002-04:00

Just a picture of the boys in their green. :)

A Touch of Spring

2011-02-27T19:54:00.003-05:00

We have had such beautiful weather this weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-13T19:45:00.006-05:00

We finally got around to making Valentines today. So, needless to say, don't expect a card from the boys in your mailbox tomorrow! Here is what they would have looked like if we had made them in time (these are for Henry's and Oliver's teachers).

Here are the boys getting ready to enjoy some Valentine's Day cupcakes. (Of course, I couldn't get a cute smile out of both children in the same picture!)

We decided to extend our Valentine's Day celebration over the weekend. Yesterday morning I made pink, heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast. They were really cute, but I didn't take a picture. Tonight we had this cake for dessert:

Here is a video of a little performance Henry and Oliver did for you (well, mostly Henry--Oliver clearly did not have his heart in it).

I decided to try another video of just Oliver to see if I could capture his actual cuteness. He did a little interpretive dance number. I'll keep trying to get the "real" Oliver on video. ;)

While I am waiting for this video to upload, I am going to type out a few cute things Oliver has said recently--before I forget.

Henry was looking at a picture of himself that was taken while I was pregnant with Oliver. Ollie said, "Was I there?" I answered, "No, you were still in my belly." Oliver said, with some concern, "But you didn't eat me, right Mama? Because I don't want you to eat me."

The other day I was asking Oliver about daycare and he said that they went to chapel that day. I asked him what they did in chapel and he said that they listened to a song. I asked what it was about and Oliver answered, "It was about baby Jesus and [thoughtful pause] dinosaurs that eat people!"

Last week we went to a Valentine's day party after school. Oliver (who doesn't pronounce the letter "r" very well) told me that he tried to tell his teacher that he was going to a pawty after school, but she kept asking him if he needed to go potty.

We're still here!

2011-02-06T18:30:00.006-05:00

I just realized how long it has been since I posted, so I decided it was time for an update. My January 2011 pictures folder on my computer is not very full--I guess we haven't done too much that was photo-worthy in a while! Here's what I have:

The boys have started taking Taekwondo. They seem to be enjoying it most of the time, though Oliver sometimes gets a little overwhelmed by the fast pace and loud volume of the class. We are not sure how long we will continue, as T-ball will also be starting soon, and we don't want to be scheduled too many nights a week!

We haven't taken any photos or videos in class yet, but I've been meaning to...

We hosted the Babysitters Club in January. Everyone had a great time. It is so much easier now that the children are so used to it and are all a little older.

Dr. Kaitlyn was our on-site medic for the evening.

We went to Daniel's house for a play date last weekend. The boys had fun doing some carpentry together.

Here's a tower we built this morning with the blocks Grandpa Jim and Grandma Kathy gave to Oliver for Christmas:

Ruthie and Peggy were back in town for the day, so we all met up at Burger King for lunch.

(Too bad I forgot about the camera until several people had left!)

We are all doing fine here. Henry is doing well at school and has become such a great reader. He is very into Star Wars lately and he and Oliver play with their action figures every day. They have been getting along really well (knock on wood) and love to just be at home playing. Oliver is very into puzzles. He will work on puzzles for a long time without getting frustrated and prefers to do them on his own. His teacher told me that he often chooses to do puzzles during playtime at daycare, as well.

We have had a cold winter this year (for Georgia, at least) and are really looking forward to warmer temperatures so we can get outside. Last week it rained and rained (which I guess is better than the feet of snow that so many parts of the country got!), so we have not been outside much at all.

Snow Day

2011-01-10T13:07:00.004-05:00

It snowed overnight here in Macon, so the schools are closed for the day. It is hovering at around 32 degrees, with a "wintry mix" falling from the sky, so the little snow that is on the ground is wet and slushy. We went for a walk around the block, but I didn't take any pictures. Henry wrote about the snow in his journal, so I thought I'd share that instead of pictures.

(You can click on this image to make it larger)

Spartanburg

2011-01-10T12:57:00.003-05:00

Over winter break, Matt took the boys to Spartanburg for a day. Here are some pictures from their trip to Great Grandmama Jennings' house and to the Cowpens National Battlefield.

Christmas! (Finally!)

2011-01-08T19:24:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful trip up to Evanston for Christmas.

I came home with about 350 pictures (from my and my mom's cameras). It is always hard for me to decide which pictures to post, hence the delay in this post! So, I have decided to do a slide show with my favorites.

Shaggy, Smelly, (and Sad) Sheep

2010-12-05T21:16:00.004-05:00

Oliver's daycare is in a church and they (the church and the daycare) had a Christmas program on Saturday. The show was called "Shepherds, Sheep, and a Savior." It was a story of the birth of Jesus from the point of view of the shepherds. Oliver and his classmates played the sheep. The song about the sheep is called, "Shaggy, Smelly, Sheep." (The gist of the play is that the lowly shepherds get no respect because all the do is take care of stinky sheep. All that changes when the angels come down to tell them that the savior will be born.)

Anyway, after a long morning of practicing, Oliver was really not in the mood to be a sheep on a stage, but he did it. You can see that he wasn't thrilled. When the song ended, the sheep were supposed to stand on the risers to do cute hand motions for the rest of the songs, but Oliver really just wanted to be with mommy. So, I got to him as fast as I could (his cry was recognizable, even though I couldn't see him through the crowd of video-recording parents and grandparents) and he watched the rest of the show with us.

Here was Oliver at home before the show--still cheerful--showing me one of the hand motions he was supposed to do.

On the stage

After I rescued him--he said that his sheep ears hurt his head and that he just wanted to be with Mommy. Poor guy!

Here's the video of the song. It is not very easy to see who is who. Oliver is on the left--about the fifth sheep over once they settle into their line. If you get bored watching him, look over to the right at about 1:23 for a little girl providing some comic relief. :)

In between the practice and the show, Santa came to visit. The boys enjoyed sitting on his lap and telling him of their Christmas wishes.

Oliver said he wants paper and scissors.

Henry would like "work stuff" to use at his new desk.

Thanksgiving Week

2010-12-02T20:57:00.006-05:00

I am realizing that we are entering into a very busy time of year, so I thought I'd better catch up here before I fall really far behind in the next month or so!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving week. Henry and I had the whole week off of school and my mom came and spent it with us. We fixed Thanksgiving dinner for some friends in the area and it was really fun.

Here are the pictures from the week (there are quite a few):

Grandma Becca arrived! Laif stayed home this time, so the boys talked to him on the phone.

Oliver has learned to climb the tree. Uh oh. Sometime after this picture was taken, both boys fell out of the tree within a few minutes of each other. Luckily, nothing was broken, but we are having a temporary moratorium on tree climbing.

Oliver reading to Grandma

A Trip to Ocmulgee--the weather was beautiful!

Henry and Oliver's new friend A.J. came with us (along with his mom, Kia, my friend from work).

Oliver and A.J. deep in conversation. A little while later, Oliver leaned over a took a lick of A.J.'s sucker. :P

Preparing Thanksgiving dinner--chopping pecans (don't worry, the knife is not sharp!)

Testing the fried turkey

and here's the smoked one

Waiting for the guests to arrive

The kids table

The grown-up table

Let's eat!

Oliver is Three!

2010-11-14T20:13:00.007-05:00

Oliver turned three today! We celebrated his birthday yesterday with a monster party at our house. We had a really nice time with some very good friends. Oliver was too excited to nap before his party, but he still managed to make it through without any major meltdowns, so I consider the party a success.

Getting ready for the party

The Cake

Oliver with some of his guests

Make a wish!

Some of our guests stuck around for some post-party pizza.

Here are some additional party pictures:

Here is a video of Oliver that I took today:

He is such a sweet and silly boy. It is amazing that he is three already. I am sometimes taken aback with how old he has gotten. While his speech is not always clear, he is very full of things to say. He makes up stories (often about monsters), sings silly songs, and talks about his days at daycare. He loves to be like Henry, but he also has his own mind and sometimes chooses to do the opposite of what Henry wants. Most of the time, though, they play well together and I am so happy that they have each other.

It seems like just yesterday that we were taking this tiny baby home from the hospital.

And then he was one and getting into everything...

Then two and still getting into everything!

It is going to be an adjustment for me to remember that he is THREE now. That seems so old. I think he'll still be my baby for a while, though.

And just for fun, here is a silly video that I took a few weeks ago:

The Rock Ranch

2010-11-07T19:19:00.009-05:00

Matt is out of town for the weekend, so I took the boys to The Rock Ranch for the day on Saturday. It was a chilly day (high around 50), but we had a fun time and stayed for about seven hours.

Here are some pictures from the day:

Henry had excitedly been talking for weeks about the new "Tiny Town" exhibit that was under construction during our last visit. He was not disappointed. It is a whole child-sized town. Here he is entering the church:

and on the balcony of the boarding house:

The corn house was Oliver's favorite attraction. Neither boy wanted to get out when their turn was over.

Pony Rides

The Cow Train

Climbing Rocks

And Rock Walls

They even let Oliver give it a try!

There was a monster truck show. We waited for about twenty-five minutes, squirming around on the crowded bleachers.

But, Oliver felt that the monster truck was too noisy (it was) so we moved on a few minutes after it started.

We went through the corn maze. They gave us a flag to hold up if we got lost or frustrated.

This simple tree swing was a big hit.

The boys were definitely ready for bed that night!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T13:40:00.004-04:00

Halloween came a day early for us, as Macon moved trick-or-treating to Saturday evening. Yesterday, we carved our Jack-o'-lanterns and then went over to Daniel's house to celebrate with friends. We trick-or-treated a little in their neighborhood and got home in time to go to the few houses in our neighborhood that were participating in trick-or-treating. We also got to pass out candy to neighborhood children, which was fun.

The boys were both Jedi knights for Halloween. I made their costumes following the instructions here.

The whole crew at Daniel's house (Halle, Kiera, Cooper, Tiffany, Oliver, Daniel, Katelyn, Jason, and Henry -- RJ didn't make it into this picture)

Collecting treats with another young Jedi:

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T13:24:00.001-04:00

A free greeting by Smilebox

Camping Trip

2010-10-17T16:45:00.008-04:00

We went for a short camping trip to the Okefenokee swamp in south Georgia. We left Saturday morning and drove to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. There we went on a guided boat tour through a canal that leads to the Okefenokee swamp. We saw many alligators, as well as beautiful cypress trees decorated with Spanish moss. Next we went on a hike along a boardwalk through the park which ended at a tall watch tower with a great view of the swamp. We camped for the night at Stephen C. Foster State Park and headed back to Macon in the morning.

Waiting for the Boat

Watching for Alligators

Found one!

Heading out in the boat

Another one!

The view from the boat

Oliver excitedly pointed out alligators for about 30 minutes and then fell fast asleep for the rest of the ride.

Setting off on our .75 mile hike to the watch tower

The View from the Top

Setting up Camp

Cooking Dinner

A Happy Camper

Time for Dessert!

Oliver enjoyed making this guy hop.

Bed time!

On our way out in the morning, we saw 10-15 deer eating breakfast. We warned them to stay in the state park since deer hunting season started yesterday.

You have to try this!

2010-10-03T10:45:00.005-04:00

Not long ago, a friend of mine introduced me to a cool blog called "Filth Wizardry." I was particularly interested in a post about making iron on decals from plastic bags. Yesterday, at Brasstown Bald, a park ranger gave each of the boys a plastic Smoky Bear bag full of little souvenirs. When I saw the bags, I immediately thought of that post and wanted to give her method a try. It worked perfectly!

The Bag

The Shirts

The pictures aren't great, but the picture from the bag fused onto the shirts just like an iron on decal would. The shirts still are soft and flexible. Check out the post I linked to above for an explanation of how to do this and for many more cool ideas.

A Day in the Mountains

2010-10-03T10:03:00.007-04:00

Yesterday we took a fun day trip to the mountains in north Georgia. First we went apple picking at an orchard in Ellijay, GA, called Hillcrest Orchards. We picked plenty of apples. The boys also got to milk a cow, bounce on a giant jumping pillow, and ride some big tricycles around a track. The orchard was fun, but extremely crowded, so after eating lunch, we left to explore some other area attractions.

Here are the boys in the morning, ready to hit the road.
(Henry is required to tuck his shirt in at school and has decided that he should do so at other times as well--so that he will look more handsome.)

Our next stop was Brasstown Bald, which is the highest point in Georgia.

Here in the parking lot at the bottom of the trail, we could see the visitor center at the top of the mountain.

At the bottom of the trail

Getting started

Taking a break

We made it!

After walking back down the mountain, we went on to another destination in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Anna Ruby Falls. After another 1/2 mile uphill hike we were rewarded with spectacular, huge waterfalls.

Henry made his hike easier by finding a walking stick. Oliver managed to find an even easier way to make it up the mountain.

After leaving the waterfall, we went on to dinner in Dahlonega, GA, and then made the drive back home, where we transferred the tired out boys into their waiting beds.

T-Ball

2010-09-18T20:44:00.006-04:00

Henry started playing T-Ball this month. He had two practices and will now have games twice a week for a total of six weeks. He has had two games so far and seems to be enjoying it. Here are some pictures:

The First Practice

Oliver and Elijah are doing a little of their own practicing.

The First Game

Oliver and Katelyn are cheering for the Navy team.

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-10T19:29:00.005-04:00

Another trip to Ocmulgee with Daddy

On Saturday, we spent some time on Lake Tobesofkee with a colleague of Matt's.

Oliver dining with Cooper

On Sunday, we went to Ruthie's lake house for more water fun.

Here is Henry revisiting the site of his chin injury.

The boys enjoyed spending the day with Ruthie. She will be moving to Atlanta in a couple of weeks, so we won't get to see her and her family nearly as much. :(

What a nice weekend. If only they were all four days long!

Ocmulgee

2010-08-31T19:16:00.005-04:00

We went to the Ocmulgee National Monument on Sunday. We climbed to the top of the Great Temple Mound and then took a hike across the swamp and through the woods. It was nice to spend some time together after being apart at work and school for most of the week.

Henry and Oliver in front of the Visitor Center

Walking toward the Earth Lodge

At the top of the Great Temple Mound

Looking for fish (we only saw bugs)

I imagine that we scared most of the wildlife away, but we did spot this box turtle (he was clearly not happy to see us!)...

and Henry found this toad!

Here we were almost back to the visitor center after more than a mile of walking:

Another First Day

2010-08-08T08:54:00.004-04:00

Henry started kindergarten on Tuesday. He did great. It was also my first day of school, so Matt drove Henry to kindergarten. I was sad to miss it, but I did get to meet Henry's teacher the day before at a Meet and Greet. Henry is enjoying school so far. He has one friend from pre-school in his class and seems to be making friends with the other children as well.

Getting ready to line up in the morning of his first day at Vineville Academy of the Arts.

Here are some past first days:

This one is not about the first day, but I thought it was cute. :)

First Day

2010-07-26T17:51:00.004-04:00

Today was Oliver's first day of "school" (also known as daycare). He got a haircut a few days ago and is looking so old!

The next couple of weeks are going to be full of changes for our family. I start work this week and the first day of school for Henry and for me will be next week (August 3rd). Oliver did a nice job today. He is not 100% sold on the concept of daycare, but I think that, once he gets used to it, he will love having friends to play with all day.

Ohio

2010-07-23T13:51:00.006-04:00

Last weekend we went on a trip to visit Barbara and her family in Ohio.

We drove up there with our friend Holly and her children, Athena and Elijah. The children did really well in the car for the 14+ hour drive each way. Henry and Oliver had a great reunion with their good friends Aiden and Ava and all six children had fun playing together. Barbara and Chuck were such wonderful hosts and made us all feel at home. It was so nice to see Barbara again and now that the kids are all getting a little older, Holly, Barbara, and I actually had time to talk and catch up while they played independently!

We drove up there (to Painesville, which is near Cleveland) on Saturday, the 17th, stayed Sunday and Monday, and returned on Tuesday.

On Sunday, Barbara took us to the beach at Lake Erie. It was a perfect day.

Henry and Athena

The six of them enjoying the water and sand

Oliver

Later on, the children played dress-up--they were being secret spies (as I am sure you can tell)

The following day we took a trip to the mall play area and the Disney store (while it was raining) and then went to a wonderful playground by the lake.

Ava

Barbara was the hero of the day when she produced ice cream sandwiches for desert.

Thank you, Barbara, for a wonderful vacation! We miss you.

Henry Swimming

2010-07-13T21:15:00.004-04:00

Henry has really taken off with swimming this summer. We went to the pool at Matt's college the other day. In order to be allowed to swim in the deep end, Henry had to pass a test which was to swim the length of the pool unassisted. The first time he tried, he was swimming right next to the wall. When he got about halfway across, he grabbed onto the wall without thinking. A while later, he tried again. This time he swam on his back most of the way to avoid getting tired and was able to pass the test.

Here is a video of Henry jumping off the diving board and swimming away:

Fourth of July

2010-07-07T22:26:00.006-04:00

We had a fun and relaxed 4th of July this year. The weather was absolutely beautiful! We went to Central City Park for a cookout with our friends Matt, Penni, Cooper, and Kendall. Then we all went to the Pinetoppers game which was followed by fireworks.

Here are Henry and Ollie with Cooper at the park:

And here's little miss Kendall:

At the ballpark:

The man who threw the first pitch gave his ball to Oliver.

The boys with Petey the Pinetopper:

Henry pretending to watch the game:

The fireworks were beautiful, but all of my pictures looked something like this:

Happy Independence Day!

Clyde

2010-07-07T22:13:00.003-04:00

Clyde loves to lie with Henry when Oliver is not around to scare him off.

He only recently began to give Oliver some chances to pet him. Oliver is a happy boy when Clyde sits on his lap.

Lake Day--Take 2

2010-07-07T22:01:00.005-04:00

Peggy and Ruthie were kind enough to let us come back for another day at their lake house since Henry's injury got in the way of our last visit. Henry had his stitches removed on Thursday morning and we went straight to the lake house after his appointment. Henry was very careful when going down the slide, and we had a great time.

Henry and Ruthie on the boat

I didn't take many pictures and didn't get any of Oliver looking at the camera!

On the way home, Henry was hungry so I stopped and got him a hamburger. I guess he was more tired than he was hungry, though...

Charlie and Sadie!

2010-06-28T21:23:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, we went to Augusta to see our good friends Beth, Dave, and Charlie, and to meet little Sadie for the first time. It was really great to see them. Charlie is so cute and funny and smart. Sadie is absolutely adorable and seems to have a perfect disposition. We were lucky that they were willing to give up some of their family time to hang out with us (they were visiting Beth's parents) and we wish that they lived closer!

Henry, Sadie, Charlie, Oliver

Oliver really loved playing with Charlie.

Here are the boys singing and dancing:

And here is a slightly calmer video:

First Trip to the ER

2010-06-28T20:55:00.006-04:00

This is not one of the firsts that I was eagerly awaiting!

Last Thursday, we went for a fun day at Ruthie's lake house. Ruthie's parents had set up a cool slide on their dock and that was the first thing that Henry and Oliver wanted to do. Henry was being a great big brother and was helping Oliver swim over to the ladder after he slid into the lake. On their third or fourth slide, Henry forgot to wait for Oliver to get out of the way (and I wasn't quick enough to remind him) and he crashed right into Oliver at the bottom of the slide. Henry hit his chin on Oliver's head and split it open. Though it didn't bleed too much, it was the kind of cut that just looked like it needed to be closed up in order to heal properly.

Peggy suggested I drive him into town and ask the pharmacist at Walgreens if she thought we could close it up with butterfly bandages, so I did. The pharmacist looked at the cut and said that it definitely needed stitches, so off to the hospital we went. Though Henry was clearly anxious and scared about getting stitches (and disappointed to leave the lake house), he handled the procedure very well with only a few tears. A couple of hours and four stitches later, we rejoined Peggy, Ruthie, and Oliver at the lake house for some calm, non-wet play. Henry seems to be healing fine and will get his stitches out on Thursday.

Just before the accident:

Peggy cheered Henry up with a jet ski ride around the lake before we went inside.

Oliver loved the jet ski!

Pinetoppers

2010-06-28T20:02:00.005-04:00

Macon has a new baseball team--the Pinetoppers. We went to their opening game on Saturday the 19th. It was a hot evening, but we had fun.

Here are the boys with the team mascot, Petey the Pinetopper:

While Matt was waiting in a very long line for snow cones and I was walking around the stadium with the boys, one of the co-owners of the team came rushing up to us and asked if Henry wouldn't mind racing the team mascot in between innings. He said he chose Henry because he was the right age and because Henry had a Cubs shirt on and the co-owner was from Chicago.

I didn't have time to get the good video camera out, so this video is not so great, but here you can watch Henry race Petey around the bases. Henry was instructed to push Petey over while he was tying his shoes. I was standing next to a group of boys who were 10 or 12 years old. You can hear them cheering (and calling Henry a cheater!).

After the game, there was a great fireworks show and then everyone was invited to run the bases.

Evanston Trip: Part Two

2010-06-23T21:08:00.006-04:00

Here are some pictures from the rest of our trip to Evanston:

We went to several different parks while in Evanston.

Grandma Becca took a whole week off of work to hang out with us. Oliver calls her "Gammy."

Towards the end of our visit we got together with my dad and Kathy, Lucy, Todd, Jeanine, and little Emmett.

And here are some more:

We had such a great time. When we pulled into our driveway after our 14 and half hour drive home, Oliver burst into tears. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "I want to go back to Gammy's house!"

Evanston Trip: Part One

2010-06-21T22:13:00.007-04:00

I am finally getting around to adding an entry about our trip back home earlier this month.

Henry, Oliver, and I headed to Evanston to visit family and to be part of a little family reunion. Matt was unable to go with us because of work, so I braved the drive without him. We drove straight through from Macon to Evanston on June 3rd, leaving at 3:30 in the morning. The drive took 17 hours, but the boys did great!

The first weekend of our trip included a wonderful opportunity to see several family members I hadn't seen in years (and some of whom had never met Henry or Oliver). My mom planned a weekend reunion including her step-mother, Sybil, who lives in Manhattan. Sybil's daughter, Erika, came from L.A. with her son, Aaron, and her friend, Steve. My mom's half-brother, Don, who lives in Boston, also came, as did my cousin, Allie, all the way from Oregon. All of us gathered with the local family (Liam, Melissa, Zach...) and had a great time!

Here are some pictures from the reunion weekend:

Here's the whole crowd (minus Laif, who took the picture.)

We celebrated Sybil's 77th birthday on Saturday, June 5th.

A trip to Gilson Park between rainstorms

Sybil reading to Henry and Oliver

Here are some more:

I will be back with pictures from the rest of our trip soon!

Ducks

2010-05-29T09:59:00.001-04:00

I took the boys to Lake Tobesofkee yesterday. We sat down to enjoy our picnic lunch and two brazen ducks immediately joined us. One came right over and ate the piece of bread I had just cut for myself! We were able to shoo them away for long enough to eat our lunch, and then the boys fed them (and their friends who joined them) our leftover bread (and strawberries and cookie crumbs).

And here is where the feeding turned into chasing...

Silly Boys

2010-05-25T15:37:00.001-04:00

Here Henry and Oliver were playing a game of Henry's invention. It involved pretending to dive off of stools and running around with safety goggles on. I don't know why Oliver decided to take his clothes off.

Funny things they say:
Oliver
When asked to do something (such as clean up)--"I ARE cleaning up!"

He has been adding "OK?" to the ends of many requests and statements lately--"Not right now. Maybe later, OK?"

"What in the world?"

"Aw, man!"

Whenever he gets hurt (physically or otherwise) he says with teary eyes, "Milk make me feel better."

Oliver has his own names for certain objects
hammer = knocker
baseball bat = hitter
broom = sweeper
(note that he cannot pronounce the r or s sounds, so these sound more like, "knock-o", "hitt-o", and, "teep-o.")

Henry
Henry says cute things, too, but his are usually longer, which means that I usually forget them before I have a chance to write them down.

The other day, while riding in the car, Henry was talking about snakes. He said, "I don't think snakes have a body--just a really long tail and a head." Then he paused and thought and said, "Well, I guess they have a neck, too."

On our way to Tybee Island, Henry said, "When I'm a grown-up, I'm gonna get a billion money and I'm never gonna eat at home. I'm gonna eat at Checker's every night!"

I just found in my purse something that I wrote down that Henry said on our way to New Mexico in March. We were listening to music and he said, "I want to hear the 'brother in the backseat' song. It's even rockin'er than this song!" (He was referring to "Blitzkrieg Bop")

More Beach Fun

2010-05-25T15:01:00.002-04:00

On Sunday afternoon, we took an impromptu trip to Tybee Island for a mini-vacation. We stayed for just one night in a hotel right on the beach. Though we were only gone for about 24 hours, we had a great time.

This time there were no jellyfish, so we were able to enjoy the water. Both boys had a lot of fun trying to jump the waves (which were pretty big).

Eating dinner out on our balcony. We had a lovely view of the parking lot. A beach view would have cost $30 more.

And ice cream for dessert.

As we were walking back from the ice cream shop we saw lightning in the distance. We decided to walk over to the boardwalk to watch it for a while.

In the morning we took a walk on the beach to look for shells.

That's our hotel in the background.

Before heading back to Macon, we ate breakfast at The Breakfast Club, which was across the parking lot from the hotel. They had a notice in the menu that parties with children who made an unreasonable mess would be charged and extra $10. As we prepared to make sure that ours would not be those children, Oliver bit a hole in the side of his full Styrofoam cup. They were very understanding and did not charge us for the mess.
:)

Butterflies!

2010-05-22T21:06:00.000-04:00

All three of the caterpillars that made it to the chrysalis form have emerged as butterflies.

Here is the first to emerge:

It seemed eager to get out of the enclosure, so we released it as soon as it was moving around.

Preparing to release #1

We decided to release the butterfly near some flowers, thinking that it might want a nice place to land. Instead it took off at lightning speed and was higher than the tree tops in seconds. No "thanks for keeping me safe from predators from the time I was a tiny baby" or "I'll be sure to come back to visit..." I couldn't even take the picture fast enough to capture the departure.

The second butterfly to emerge seemed a little less eager to leave.

Here is the last chrysalis just before the butterfly emerged. The chrysalis became thin and you can see the markings on the butterfly right through it.

And here is the last butterfly just after it emerged from its chrysalis.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-08T22:44:00.000-04:00

Henry and Oliver hope that their grandmothers have a wonderful Mother's Day!