Kinder- What?!

Bella started Kindergarten today! and the even bigger news? I didn't cry! I was worried all week and then the day came and she was so happy and so excited and jumped on the bus so fast, I didn't have time to! She was a champ. We set our alarms for 5:45 and got her up about ten til. The first thing she said was, "Is this the day I get to ride the bus with Lindsey?!" Lindsey is a first grader that lives two doors down. She moved in about halfway through the summer and Bella has been crazy about her ever since. Anyway, Lindsey has been going to school all week so she knew the "ropes." Bella was excited to ride the bus with her and she assures me she was excited about kindergarten too. Ha! Anyway, we put on the clothes she had picked out three days ago (she is like her mommy!) and sat down for breakfast. She only wanted half of what she usually eats and was ready almost twenty minutes early. She had her backpack on and was worried sick she would miss the bus. I kept reassuring her that we were very early! Despite our efforts, Ava woke up and joined in on the fun. Thankfully Porter did not. The cutest thing was the way she looked at Ava and said, "I'm going to Kindergarten today Ava!" Randy was able to see her off this morning but will typically leave before she does.

The best part was she came home just as happy. Porter, Ava and I were waiting outside for her when the bus came and she walked off like she was 17. I mean, she actually looked older when she came home today.



Ava also got to go to school today. We went for a "meet-the-teacher" this morning and she played like she had been there her whole life. We are blessed to have many of the same friends in her class from last year. Ava and I also snuck over to Chick-fil-A for lunch and had a quick visit with my sister and Sloan, but don't tell Bella! (in all fairness, we also picked up a little first day surprise for her to open later)

My Birf-Day!

Usually, I like to keep the posts to kid stuff but this year I was elated to have a night out with my husband and our neighbors. Mindy and Ryan have become our close friends and we always have our three kids around when trying to talk and eat meals so going out with them for my birthday (also Mindys! we have the same birthday!) was a no-brainer! First we went to Outback and then we headed to the Cheesecake Factory for dessert and most importantly, uninterrupted conversation! Thanks to my mom and Grandma for holding the fort down at home!

Visitors

Well, Randy's childhood friend, Scott, and his fiance, Holly, came through Charlotte and we were able to have breakfast and hang out with them for a few hours! It was quick but good. It had been more than a few years!



My sister and her baby, Sloan, also came by a couple times these last few weeks for a visit and it was so fun! I love having babies so close in age.

Summer's Last Hurrah

We took a somewhat last minute beach trip with Randy's parents this year to Myrtle Beach. It was great to squeeze a few more days at the beach in before the craziness of school and work started. After the zoo, the football game and Porter's dedication, we had Bella's new school orientation and scavenger hunt then we headed to the coast...

It has been so long since I have been to Myrtle Beach- lots of changes but also lots of memories. The kids loved it and we were able to take them to Broadway to ride rides one night plus the hotel had a lazy river and a kid-sized pool that they thoroughly enjoyed.

It was shark week and there are two funny things about that: One, my friend passed along a bathing suit her son grew out of and it was the perfect size for Porter. It had sharks on it and was so cute. Second, I saw a shark. (I guess it isn't funny). Here's the story... A girl came to tell her two younger sisters to get out of the water and just the way she did it seemed odd so I asked her what was going on. She told me that several large schools of fish had been swimming by and that apparently when that happens, a shark typically follows. I didn't want to scare the girls so I just told Randy to get out of the water and said that something "bigger" may be coming. Sure enough, a few minutes later we had almost forgotten about it and as we were playing around in the sand, a guy points it out and there it was. Everybody was already out of the water except two younger dudes playing football. People started waving them in frantically and they backed out slowly, kind of laughing it off. So nothing bad happened but that was the first time I have ever seen a shark outside of an aquarium! and I wasn't too excited about getting back in. I guess the good news is nature has its own way of giving warning!



We also ran into our friends! We didn't know until the day before we left, but they were down there, just a few blocks away, at the same time!

Three Months

How late can I get? I took this picture on time (August 9th) but have taken my time uploading it because of the camera fiasco. Anyway, there is not too much to report for Porter's 3 month update- he didn't have a check up so there were no stats. As for his 4 month post, I will definitely have some things to talk about. He continued to sleep well and smile a lot! He continues to grow and speaking of, grew out of his 3 month clothes almost as soon as he started wearing them! The onesie he is wearing below is a 6 to 12 month so that is why it is actually big on him. The biggest thing we noticed was how he started playing with toys! Basically, he bats at his toys in the carseat or bouncer/chair. At first we weren't sure if he was doing it on purpose but then it got obvious that he was doing it intentionally.

ridin' dirty...

not really. that song just popped into my head. well, just like her sister... one day she couldn't and the next day she could. ride her trike that is. ava is riding her tricycle these days and she is too cute.

This past week...

It has been a wonderful week at our house with Porter's first trip to the zoo, his first football game and his dedication ceremony at church. I was so excited to share the pictures and then we found that the memory card was deleted. I have to remind myself that it is not. that. big. of. a. deal. but like I said, I have to remind myself because I am severely disappointed.
Now, I am soo very happy to announce that I found the pictures! They weren't deleted after all! Someone just changed the settings on our camera so they are all still there!!! I will update with pictures soon.

Anyway, last Wednesday we took a family trip to the zoo with our leftover passes and the best part was having Ava be at an age where she was truly intrigued. I wish I had the picture to show of her with her mouth dropped open as she watched the giraffes eat out of other children's hands! In the past, we have caught the large turtles in the act of procreating if you know what I mean and this time they were at it again... but so were the lions! Yes, the huge lions that we never see move. The male was following the female around and then it got awkward. We also saw a squirrel running around (and getting awfully close to us) with no tail. He was busy picking up leftover food on the ground. It was an interesting trip!



Randy came across free Panthers tickets for the preseason game against the Buffalo Bills (his team!) so we took the family on Friday night to that. It was rough, unfortunately. We had to walk a way to the stadium after parking of course but with three kids and no strollers it was quite a feat. We had our backpack diaper bag stuffed full. I had been determined to pack any and everything to help make the night a success. As we got to the gate, however, we learned that bags are not allowed. We were forced to put all of our stuff in small, clear, plastic bags and carry them all. All nine of them. Randy hid our actual diaper bag in a nearby tree. By the time we got to our seats, we were all sweating and Porter was screaming and wouldn't nurse. Things started to settle down but then the Panthers would score, the crowd would go wild and so did Porter. Poor thing. Bella was complaining and was asking over and over again when it would be over. I had to laugh. We ended up leaving at half time and then took the long walk back to the van. The kids did even worse during that walk back- Ava just sat right down on the sidewalk and boycotted anymore walking. It was an adventure that is for sure!


{house divided! ha!}

Sunday we had Porter's dedication at our old campus in Ballantyne. We have since started a Waxhaw campus but it was going to be quite some time before they would be having a baby dedication so we decided to go ahead with it at Ballantyne. It went well. Randy and I renewed our vows again. After the ceremony, we had our families over for lunch. I did a salad bar and tomato pie. Delish! Luckily I have a few pictures from that from what other people took.



Now we are spending our last few days of summer at Myrtle Beach! That post coming soon...