Fashionista

Just like I made a deal with Chris- he has to wear so many collared shirts a week- I made a deal with Addison. On Wednesdays, she can pick out her outfit. I thought for sure she'd want to go the jean route since she's such a tomboy, but today she put this whole ensemble together and I was quite impressed. She even thought to do knee socks, a headband, and glasses. Don't worry- they're Nona's glasses and the lenses are gone... and thank goodness she ditched them before going into class... but she did walk proudly into school with them on- HA! She's a character!

Thanks Mage...

Oh, my sweet nephew Mage is so smart- Just brilliant. And Chris looks up to him soooo much. Sooooo much that he looked brilliant himself doing his "me" book... It was out on his desk at back to school night and brought me to tears- because I know how much he loves his cousin...

You can tell he was thinking of Mage... Smarty pants.:)

And yesterday, I had to go in the back yard and practice rolling the ball to Chris so he can kick it. He LOVES playing kickball at recess... I remember loving the same thing. Addie would also try to kick it- and it was a huge ball and wouldn't go that far. Chris would catch it, fumble it, and let her make it to first base- then he'd look at me, wink, and say, "Good Job Addie, You made it!" in the sweetest voice. He's such a good big brother.:)

Girl's Weekend

Mommy got a chance to get away to Gulf Shores, Alabama for girl's weekend. Let's just say it was more wild than usual since we went with Ashley's younger sister and her friends... I was down in the dumps that summer was over, but this weekend reset my mood and now I'm glad to be home and have finally settled in a school routine...

O.k.. I can't lie- These are Shannon Bagby's feet. Yes, I forgot my camera this weekend as well.

But then again, that's probably a good thing... Who wants to see pictures of middle-aged women pretending their 21 again! Ha! Shannon, Ashley, Jen, and I had a blast... Maryanne and Wanda even put on a performance... Let's just say it was definitely original.:) We made some great friends... but it was so great to come home to my family- and sometimes weekends like that make you crave your normal old day in and day out life.:)


Special thanks to Gram for making the trip up from SML to hang out with Brendan and the kids for a LONG weekend. They didn't miss me at all and I know they were in good hands being spoiled.:)

Other than that, not much is new. We've had birthday parties galore for friends, we've enjoyed playing ball at Nona's house, and the family softball team is in full swing. Speaking of swing, I need to work on mine... I have yet to hit the ball out of the infield. And I'm happy to report that Chris is now liking school a little more. The first week he was having a hard time- did not like being gone from Mommy and Addie (melt my heart). First grade is a big step- He now has math homework, reading homework, and even spelling tests every week. It's soooo not Kindergarten! Brendan and I were both worried about his reading because he would get so frustrated with us over the summer- but in three weeks he has gone from barely making out words to being able to sit down and read books all by himself!!! Glory, Glory, Halelugjah! It's so exciting for all of us!

Now, if we could just have deleted the fact that Addie had the stomach bug this weekend and that our new wake-up time is 6:46- Chris is on the bus by 7:28... things would be wonderful! One can only wish, right?

First Day of School...

O.k... so I can't lie. The fact that she's not dressed in plaid probably totally gives it away. Let's just say this is the first day of school picture taken in the thrid week.:) I do have a first day of school picture but only on my phone- and yes, she was decked out in plaid. I don't want Judy and Jackie all over me!


Addie started preschool at Leesburg United Methodist Church- and it's my fourth year in a row taking a kid there- so let's just say we know the drill. Addie is so happy to go- It's funny- as attached to me as she is, when she gets to school, she almost forgets about me and just jets- She's totally comfortable and loves it.:) Of course, she's a little flirt and already has two boyfriends... Gavin- who she calls Gabin and Logan- "the boy Logan mommy" because there is a girl and a boy Logan. She always likes to clear that up.:)

Worker Girl

She's my ittle worker girl... Or at least that's what Addie wanted to be called when she spent all afternoon helping Daddy put together our new grill. Addie literally spent two hours helping Brendan put together the new grill- and he was so patient with her- letting her find every AA, BB, CC... or whatever screw or part was needed. I can't tell you how proud she was that she helped... and I just LOVED watching the two of them bond together. Moments like these are so sweet.:)


P.S... The grill is bright orange. And yes, we got maroon furniture. Go Tech! Don't hate.:) We are proud to be a little Hokie.:)

Go Bulldogs!!!

We were a football family before... but we are even more of one now! The whole family is enjoying Chris's football season. Chris is playing great, and his games are at a field adjacent to a park... so Little Miss Cheerleader has fun playing- It's a win-win.:)

It's been a long time...

Been a long time, been a long time... and I forget the rest of the lyrics... But you know it's been a long time since you've blogged when you've seen some of your best friends from the state of Texas on two separate occaisions since you've blogged! I promise to be better about blogging. Whenever I don't take pictures, I don't tend to blog... Case in point- this sweet picture of my Hailey girl is the only picture I have from a great weekend:

Jen, Adam, and the kids visited for a long weekend from Texas.:( And there were plenty of opportunities for pictures. Let's see- We hung out, the kids loved playing together, we went to a park (until a thunderstorm came), we met Lisa and her family for dinner at the old school Emilio's (YUMMY), we had a cookout at Sara and Billy's with all 500 kids- and they amazed me at how well they were, we cheered for the Hokies- woo hoo, Addie tried to charm Ayden with the hopes that he'll marry her. Oh, and the best was when the kids were playing upstairs and being good. They came down to let us know that they were going to make a mess. We ignored them and continued just hanging out as adults. Thirty minutes later, we walked upstairs to EVERY.SINGLE.TOY dumped onto the floor in the toyroom. Every lego, every block, every puzzle piece, every game, every Barbie... ya get the gist. It was definitely a Kodak moment and I don't know what I was thinking not snapping a picture. It looked like an episode of Hoarders. But thinking back, it might have been worth the thirty minutes of adult time... and the kids got a laugh out of it!

So... the camera is going places with me... Just call me Mama Papparazzi.:)