Kicking and screaming we kissed Summer break goodbye and said hello to school!! Yesterday was the littles first day and they had a great day. LOTS of fun pics, but those firsts have to be documented, right?!
Grace, 8 1/2
{first day of 3rd grade}
favorite color: pink
favorite character: Elsa from Frozen
favorite game: The Shopkins Game
favorite food: steak, noodles, and broccoli
I love to: dance and draw
I hope her whole year is this smiley and dreamy!!
Hudson, 6
{first day of 1st grade}
favorite color: gold
favorite character: Zane from Ninjago
favorite game: swimming
favorite food: corn dogs
I love to: play with my family
Meanwhile...he is SO his father's son!!
"How many pictures do we have to take??"
he he he
There's that sweet jack-o-lantern smile I love so much!!
DEFINITELY a joy filled spirit!
{and same answers three years in a row!}
Perfect fit for him!! He notices every little detail! Everything must make sense and fit together just so. Love him to pieces!!
Official backpack pics!
Lunches packed with some yummies...stir fry chicken bites, shells with butter and parmesan cheese, apple slices, blackberries, and a chocolate pudding pouch!
They both loved their new magnets from planetbox and I love that we can use the same box and just buy a new carrying case + magnets every year!
And we're off!
The do-we-have-to-take-a-picture-at-school look.
Why, yes we do! Mama wanted a pic of the two of you together and Grace in her cute new glasses!!
Ready to go into Mrs. W's Wonder Kids homeroom!
I have a feeling our days of walking her in are coming to an end... *tear*
Hello, Mrs. W!
Something about dropping off your *baby* that gets me every time!!
With his sweet teacher, Ms. H!
Bye mama! Such cute Honeybees!!
But the best part about going back to school is catching up with all your friends!! Hudson was super excited that Lilly is now at his school!!
They both had a great first day - that's always an answered prayer!!
When I picked up Hudson he ran to me and gave me the biggest hug! He said, "I had a super fun day!! Ms. H has the most amazing treasure box!" {he got a LEGO out of the treasure box!?!!!! he was OVER THE MOON!!} Later his buddy Jayden's mom told me that Hudson said Ms. H was sooo pretty + nice - he he!
Grace said she had a great day but that they didn't get to go out to recess because it was too hot. (the good 'ole South for you!) That her desk (in like a little desk group of several desks together) is the farthest one back from the whiteboard but "I can see perfectly with my new glasses and I like it back there." (the stuff they notice!) And that she is sitting with two boys next to her that she tried to keep on task all day (ha!)
Frozen yogurt at our fave spot to wrap up a successful first day!
We ran into some school friends and you would have thought they hadn't seen each other in YEARS!! Such crazy girlies!!
{and yes, they were WILD after school. extra apologies to other froyo patrons that were there!}
All in all a great start to a new school year. My biggest prayers are for safety, for learning mixed with copious amounts of nurturing, and for the littles to shine with God's light from within in every circumstance they are faced with.
Daddy and I love you more than words can say!
Go get them!
XOXO,
Mama
P.S.
Second day of school fashion. Her style is really changing and she looks so grown up!!
I had dinner with my mom two days ago and she said "you haven't posted anything on the blog in a loooong time" and maybe that was just the push I needed to get back to this little space.
We've been busy doing what families with littles do best...living and shuffling activities and pouring love into those little blessings every chance we get...and yes, crashing every night. It's exhausting y'all but so, so, so, SO worth it!
So here's our last month in random pictures...
I can't get enough of these scents. I'm obsessed in the best possible way.
But I haven't hogged them all {the thought did cross my mind}!!! We've been sprinkling a little bit of cheer here and there and everywhere. Starting with our teachers, who we love more than words can say.
Gallery wall in progress! I still need to get a couple of frames for those prints and add one of our family beach pics to the white frame, but it's coming along!
This sweet girl was soooo excited for her debut as Director of the Readers' Theatre that she insisted on wearing something "fancy" that day...she looks so pretty...and so GROWN UP. *tear*
A special after school treat becase a little someone was on PURPLE!!! Purple is super outstanding, exemplary behavior! First thing he said was "that was kind of awkward." hahahaha Followed by "at first I thought it was a mistake but nope, it was me! Mama, did you know that purple is sooooo much harder to get than green???" For this bursting-with-energy little fella this is a BIG accomplishment! We're so proud of you, Hudson! Knew you could do it!!
And that same week he became a member of the .Red Plate Club. for knowing all of the kindergarten sight words. Way to go, Hudson!!
This sweet little pumpkin was so excited to get cast as a Snowflake in The Nutcracker!! Yay, Grace!!!
Between the Nutcracker and Grinched rehearsals, regular ballet/tap/jazz and tumbling classes, art lessons, and Hudson's soccer, I feel like a taxi most days!! We couldn't do it without our tribe, that's for sure. Thank you Mimi & Noonie for helping us so much!!
Art Saturdays are EAAAARRRRLY but just seeing how happy she is makes it all worthwhile. Plus I love spending the extra time just the two of us. I love going on "dates" one-on-one with the littles. There's something to be said about having undivided attention.
Her most recent masterpiece...
{that ice cream looks so good right about now!! I'm in the middle of a 14 day sugar detox - send prayers!}
While she was at her art lesson, I had a quiet {that never happens!} breakfast by myself at Cracker Barrel near where she takes lessons. 1. It was soooo good! 2. It doesn't take very much to bless someone. I love the message my sweet waitress L left on the back of the receipt. It was pouring down raining that morning and yet L had the brightest smile on her face. She sure made me smile and I hope she had a great day too.
Later that day we snuggled up on the couch and I introduced Grace to Annie for the first time!!!! One of my faves and she LOVED it!!! Tomorrow...tomorrow...
Hudson had his very own cheering squad at his most recent game! Mimi + Pop and Aunt Marilyn were coming to watch him but his other two games got rained out - boo!
{he didn't complain about how LOUD we were - ha! {see here} if you need to know more about that!!}
We had a crazy hail storm one morning on the way to school and I was trapped in the Starbucks drive-thru. Couldn't go anywhere!! It was SO LOUD and all I kept thinking was "my poor car!!" but I did manage to take this one picture which turned out pretty cool - I guess because of how dark it was outside and how close the phone was to the car window. Every one of those balls was hail. CRaZy!!
In the middle of our crazy September-October, I had a chance to meet John Walsh {America's Most Wanted} while raising some serious $$$ for abused children - winning! He was inspirational - a true hero to missing + exploited children and crime victims everywhere.
I love happy mail and this most recent package did not disappoint...thank you Angel & Amy for sharing your creativity!! Check out their cute halloween buntings in their re-opened etsy shop!!
This year I've been wanting to spread cheer when least expected. Enter happy mail. Everyone loves to get something other than bills, right?? Hopefully it brought an unexpected smile to their day. That's what it's all about.
Boots! Matching mama + me boots. Doesn't get much better than that! We wore them for some fun Christmas pictures...yep, in October!
Noonie was the emcee for a local multicultural event and we rushed there from art lessons to see her - we missed a lot of the program, but at least we caught the very end and were able to see the exhibits. I love for the littles to learn about other cultures.
Every so often, I catch them doing something nice like this and it makes me think that maybe, just maybe, some of the important things we try so hard to teach them are actually sinking in, because in the day-to-day of raising littles it is so easy to get discouraged!!
So that's a wrap-up on our recent weeks. I love that it's finally starting to feel a little like Fall in the South...
Happy Fall, Y'all!
Spread a little love everywhere you go...you never know when someone might need it the most.
