All About Me Tea Party

Last Friday, Lawson had an All about me Tea Party at her school.  It was a nice presentation and they also got to learn about other children from other countries.  Lawson’s group learned about children from Bosnia.  Well, as luck would have it 2 of the 5 members of her team went home sick so Lawson was left to present the child from Bosnia then tell about herself.  Well, if you have been reading this blog long enough or know Lawson you know what to expect, right?

The child who was doing this in the AM…

Was doing this in the classroom. So shy and I could tell if she could she would of crawled in the closest hole.

When it was time to present she clammed up.  She twirled her shirt so tightly and spoke so soft no one could hear her.  The teacher was SUPER sweet coaching her along.  She made it through it…. (sorry my pictures are blurry I was trying to video as well)

She did it and I could tell there was  a HIGE sigh of relief from her. 

The other students were whispering as well as the parents “she is so shy” or “I can’t hear her” or  “she never speaks up.” Lord, it was this moment that I just wanted to run up and protect her and shield her from any of her discomforts, but I could not.  I can’t protect her from everything and she needs moments like these to grow.  I just prayed for her. I truly felt everything she was feeling at this moment and it broke my heart.

I guess it is safe to say everyone knows about Lawson “she is shy.”

After the presentation it was time for snacks.  She was back to her normal self afterwards and was thrilled to leave school early.  I am so glad I could be there and support her. 

Lawson, know this I will always ALWAYS be your biggest fan.  I love you and I am so proud of you.

Peek-a-boo

I see you!!

Hand-me-downs

I love hand-me-down clothes.  Especially ones where you have a picture of the original owner wearing them. McKenna also wore this outfit but I could not find a picture of her wearing it (L- if you have one send it to me).
Last Sunday, Cailyn wore one of Lawson’s outfits and it just brought back a flood of memories.  Oh, my sweet Lawson was so beautiful and big.  Wow.
Here is Lawson (5 months wearing a size 9mo) in this precious Ralph Lauren Outfit.

Here is Cailyn at 7 months wearing the same outfit.

Melt my heart!! I have to two most precious daughters.

Also, I should note looking at these pictures I no longer think L & C look alike.

Washing the Car

The other weekend when Collins washed the car he had LOTS of helpers. 

Lawson waiting her turn.

Do you see who is supervising?? 

She is trying to get her daddy’s attention to tell him he missed a spot!  She watched everything they did!!

Ken’s Corn Maze

This weekend the weather was beautiful (on Sunday) and it was perfect for an outdoor adventure.  We met up with the Spesshardt Family to take the kids to Ken’s Corn Maze.  We went there when Wesley was Cailyn’s age, funny how Collins always gets the chance to “wear the baby.”  Here are pictures back from 2008.

A true man is a man who is not ashamed to wear a baby! 

We tried to get a picture of the kids with the cool bus before we went to the maze. Can you tell how that went??  Can you tell who’s kid DOES NOT LISTEN?? Yep, the one in the orange jacket…who’s kid is that anyway???

The kids getting a practice maze experience in…  at this point we heard it took up to 1.5hrs to 2 hrs with as the course was 6 acres or 2.5 miles!  Yikes!!

We took on the challenge and here was one of our fearless leaders.  Cailyn was giving instructions.  haha!

The first rest stop.  No one was complaining!! The kids were such troopers!

We completed the coarse in 1 hour and 20 minutes. We did miss two stations but seriously who cares we made it out!! It was funny if we thought we were a little lost/confused the kids would tell us (Wave your flag we need help!!)
I have to give props to Cailyn.  I woke her up from her nap, did not feed her, and put her in a Bjiorn for 2 hours and she never complained once.   All so her big sister and big brother could go run themselves to exhaustion.  Wow, what an excellent little girl!

Here are all the semi-big kids… So cute!

Here are the rest of the big kids!

The Fitts’ Family concurred Ken’s Corn Maze in 2011!!

A little bit of this and that

Here are my kiddos!  Cailyn is changing so much these days (becoming a my little Chunky Monkey!) It makes me wonder who she looks like these days.   She might of started out looking like Wesley but these days I see a lot more of Lawson in her.  Who knows? Lets just say she looks like Cailyn!!

Then it was Lawson’s turn to take a pictures.  I think she is a better photographer then me.  It might be her calling!!

Kid Update!

Wesley’s first week of preschool has been wonderful.  Get this…the teacher told me “Wesley is the best behaved child in her class, hands down!”  HOLY COW!! So all the attitude and tantrums and not listening he leaves at home.  What a blessing..I think.  I should preference this- in his class there are 5 boys and 2 girls.  Poor teacher!

Lawson is doing great in school.  We are having some issues on what she is hearing on the bus. Ugh!  The good news is she asks me about what she is hearing, the bad news is she is hearing it and her mind is a steal trap.  What to do, what to do? I do not want to give up on the bus but I have some issue with her being exposed prematurely to stuff she does not need to know.  grrrrr!

Cailyn (7.5mo old) is just sweet Cailyn.  She is doing great and she seems to REALLY enjoy her mommy-me time.  Sweet girl!

Wesley’s First Day of Preschool

Today was my main man’s first day of preschool.  He was SO EXCITED!! He woke up extra early (yeah!) after waking up in the middle of the night complaining about foot cramps.  It reminded me of when my brothers were growing their bones would just hurt them they were growing so fast.  I thought it was ironic Wesley had something similar the day before he starts the 3yrs old class room.  Just proving he is growing up! 

Here is his official picture.  He is so handsome!!

Everyone was super excited for Wesley.  Gotta love the sibling love.

Wesley (3yrs old) Lawson (6 years old) Wow, I have tall kids.  Where did they get that from???

Wesley truly is the most loving child.  I have to document that yes he did at one time give his momma kisses!!

Wesley was super excited and when he got there he saw his buddy Harriss and they were all smiles and hugs!!

Here is Wesley with his teacher, Ms. Jacqui.  There were no tears or tantrums.  It was a GREAT drop off and I can not wait to hear about his first day!!

Wesley, we love you!!!

Melinda’s Trip to Raleigh

My very dear friend, Melinda, made to Raleigh this weekend and we got to meet her sweet son, Haden.  It was so wonderful to see Melinda.  The last time I saw her she was very pregnant with Haden. Now he is walking & talking. Time passes by so fast!

 

He is ADORABLE!  Haden let me hold him!!! Sweet boy!

We met at a local park and had a picnic together. 

Then it was picture time.  Between the 4 girls we have 9 kids + 1 on the way (Charity).  This group of kids are so sweet and they all love playing with each other!!

Here are a few of my besties from college.  I just love these ladies!  We always have so much fun together.   

(sorry H, this is about the time Brant dropped your camera so you were not looking at my camera, haha!)

The girls and I got back together that evening and had a wonderful dessert from Hayes Barton, YUM!! It was great to catch up. Thanks, Melinda for coming up here and seeing us.

Meredith Girl Training Starts NOW!

Meredith girls wear ribbons and pearls!! We have the ribbon part down now. 

This was a VERY exciting day for us (me) when Lawson asked to 1) wear her hair in a pony tail 2) she asked for a ribbon in her hair.  Don’t you know I ran to my ribbon drawer looking for a ribbon that matched.  (Lawson stopped wearing bows about 2 years ago)  She looked so cute.  I was so proud!!

Okay, so she might not be training to go to Meredith but a mom can hope, right??

Not a Fan

We have tried lots of new foods (ones I NEVER fed the older kids) like tofu, avocado, and cottage cheese and Cailyn loves it all.  This weekend I thought I would try some of the fruit the Super Baby Food recommends like Mango.  Let’s just say…NOT A FAN!!

She gave a try and continue to try it but it didn’t fair well.. 

We will try mangos again at a later date…

Nana and Dad quick visit down south

My mom and dad made a quick visit to see us and the kiddos.  My parents are so good about making sure they do not go too long between visits.  Even if it means they are here for less then 36 hours.  We make the most of our visit while they are here.  You know like a trip to Costco (love that store)!  It was a double bonus that now that Cailyn is on a pretty good schedule so Collins and I were able to have our first date since Cailyn was born.  Yippee!!  We went to a local restaurant and watched college football- yep, we are the romantic type!! 

Here are a few pictures I got.

Dah and Cailyn

Cailyn was ready for a nap.

Cailyn loves her Nana and Dah!!

Thank you Nana and Dah for everything!! It was great seeing you!!

One last trip to the beach this summer

The kids absolutely LOVE the beach. I should rephrase that…we never actually go to the beach and touch sand.  They love going to the condo where there is water!!  We decided the week Lawson had early release to take them to see Grammy and Pops at the water.  The kids do AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE in really less then 48 hours.

Pool Time                   

Cailyn taking it all in too…

Fishing off the dock…see the pelican watching over the water?

Lawson’s fish.  The girl has the touch.

Then there was also a speed boat competition going on at the beach. 

Racing in circles.

This gives you an idea of how BIG these things are (they are LOUD too)

Then there was time to relax for those who work extra hard and don’t spend as much time with the kids as they would like!!!

Not pictured is crabbing with Pops first thing in the morning and letting Mommy and Daddy sleep in!

This was a week before Irene hit.  I wonder what the beach looks like now?