Andrew's first day of MDO

My big boy is going to Mother's Day Out on Wednesdays this year. Hopefully this is going to give me a few hours totally dedicated to monogramming or anything else that I need to do without the kids around.
He had a great first day! We're trying to break him of using his paci, and he spent the whole time there without it! He still wants it for naptime and bedtime, but maybe we can get him to stop using it during the day.

First day of 4K!!!

Well, it's official...my little girl is growing up! She started 4K this morning at the same school she went to last year. She was SO excited! 6 of the kids in her class were in her 3K class last year, so she did know a few friends.
This morning it was raining, so we had to take the mandatory "first day of school" picture from the inside of the front door.
At the end of the day, her teacher told me "this little girl loves life!" I'm choosing to interpret that as she's happy and active (not she's wild and hyper).

For a little flashback...this is Genna last year on the first day of school. Notice that the bag (which is the same bag) is almost touching the ground in this picture! Now scroll back up and see where it is now! She has grown SO much in the last year (not to mention how much longer her hair is!).

On another note, as I was showing Genna the pictures on my camera, I looked up and this little guy was standing by the door just like his big sister saying "EESE" ("cheese"). So, I took his picture, too, of course. His time is coming next week!

Now, he's coming to check out his picture!

More outside fun

This has been our summer of outdoor renovations. We had work done on the yard and we also replaced our back deck. We have had fun lately grilling out, playing and eating outside (when it's not too hot).
Genna dancing in her tutu...

Andrew prefers the diaper look...

We also have a brand new grill! Brian is loving it!

Andrew is serious about his meals. You have to keep the food coming and figure out what exactly he wants when he points in the general direction of the table.

Enjoying watermelon...

Fun in the Sun

We have finally been able to enjoy our newly renovated yard! Now, we have grass that we can run and play in! These pictures were taken one very hot Sunday afternoon. It amazes me that Andrew actually likes to get sprayed in the face with water. Genna absolutely hated it when she was his age, although she tolerates it now.

They could do this all day. Fill up a bucket, pour it in another bucket...over and over.

Gymnastics

Genna has started gymnastics and is loving it! These are pictures from the first day. She was so excited but didn't really know what to expect. What she likes most is her "gymnastics clothes"

Soccer Camp

We have spent the afternoons of this week at soccer camp. Genna has loved it! I don't know how much soccer knowledge she gained, but she did have a lot of fun. It helped that one of her friends from her class last year was in her group.

Today, they each took a turn playing goalie.

"Now, what am I supposed to be doing again?"

And what did Andrew do?
We played ball...

He always tried to NOT throw the ball to me in hopes of getting out of the stroller to go get it.

and he squealed a lot, especially when the ball went a long way through the gym.

She got a certificate for being in the class, which she is very proud of.

This is a video of one of the drills they did today. They had to dribble the ball through the little cones, then kick it in the goal. When they finish, everybody yells "GOAL!!!." Part of the class was encouraging them to cheer for each other as a team. They all loved when everybody clapped and yelled for them.

4th of July (a little late)

We started off the weekend with a baseball game. My parents (Memama and Grandaddy) and my sister Andrea and her family came to visit with us!

Grandaddy, Mary Frances and Andrea

Charlie and Andrea

The next morning, Memama, Andrea and I took the kids to watch the neighborhood parade.

then to the after-parade festivities where we ate popsicles, listened to music,

and toured a firetruck.

While we were gone, the men worked on tearing down the deck on the back of our house. I didn't get a "before" picture. This is a "during" picture and I'm still waiting for the "after".
Right now, it still looks basically like this.

We made them take a break for a little birthday party for Andrea with yummy strawberry cake.

Then, we ended the afternoon with playing in the sprinkler and slip-n-slide.

Obviously, I didn't think Andrew would play in the water or I would have put on his swimsuit. Oh, well, his clothes work just as well.

These girls are such sweet friends (and cousins)!

I don't have any pictures of the actual 4th of July. We did go to watch some very good fireworks on Sunday night with some friends from our Sunday School class, but I forgot my camera! It was a fun time, though, and you can see pictures from that night at our friend Reese's blog.