Friday, December 17, 2010

All I Want for Christmas...



We spent Thanksgiving in Destin this year with Dad and Betsy, and the Village was filled with all sorts of fun holiday activities for the kids. Santa Claus stopped by one night, and we let the kids visit with him and tell them what they wanted to see under our tree this year.



Caroline's list was quite long this year and included a chemistry set, geodes, a clock, a doll, a stuffed animal, a perfume making kit, a mega-bubble blowing set, etc., etc. She wrote all of her gift requests on a list and gave it to Santa as she sat on his lap.

John Michael's list was very succinct. The only item he'd requested up to this point was "Batman Wegos," meaning Batman legos, which truly meant the Imaginext Batman Cave. However, when the time came to actually tell Santa what he wanted, John Michael was obviously re-thinking his game plan...he said: "Wait, wait, wait. Actually, I want Batman Wegos and Toy Story 3! And that's all."

Sounds easy enough to me.

If you know my children well, you'd know that they don't like each other very much, and they usually argue more than they get along. Well, Santa Claus really brought them together, because the rest of the night, Caroline and John Michael were so happy and loving. As you can see in the photo below, they actually touched each other and smiled! We enjoy these rare moments when we get them!
Don't they look sweet?!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Birmingham Swim Meet

We took our first Sunkist road trip, and we had a blast! Caroline swam her best events yet, and we had a lot of fun spending time with the team and getting to know everyone better. We visited the Birmingham Zoo after the first morning of events, then ate dinner with the team that night.


Waiting for one of the relays

Ready to dive off the block

This was Caroline's first time to swim in the all 8 and under category, so we really weren't expecting her to do as well as she did when swimming in the age 6 and under. But she ended up winning three of her heats - 25 backstroke, 25 freestyle, and 50 backstroke. She also cut her time in all individual events, the most in 50 back and 50 free, by nearly seven seconds in each! It's so much fun to see how she is developing and improving along the way, and to watch her hard work pay off.

Painted nails - BLUE and ORANGE!

Go Sunkist!



Monday, November 8, 2010

She's Turning 7!



The Divas



We celebrated Caroline's 7th birthday at The Pampered Princess with seven of her best little friends. She had a "Hollywood Diva Party," and all of the girls had their fingernails painted, their makeup done, and their hair styled. Then, they all had a chance to walk the red carpet with their best "diva" strut and pose. It was all very cute, and everyone had a great time...well, John Michael and Shawn felt a little left out, since they were the only guys in the whole building, but they survived!
The birthday girl


My nieces, Molly and Grace

JM wanted to walk the red carpet too, so we let him do it after the girls were finished...poor guy felt so left out!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Trick or Treat 2010

John Michael, Caroline, Grace, and Molly

We had Iron Man, a werewolf, a zombie cheerleader, and a witch on our trick-or-treat crew this year. No one could recognize Caroline beneath all of the werewolf fur, and she was even able to scare away many of the ghosts and goblins that came to spook our path! BOO!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

He is Three!



Even though JM is getting to be a big boy, he comforts me when he says:

"I'm your baby boy, Mommy."

"Yes, you are," I reply.

"Yes, I am."

Happy birthday, Baby Boy.


Worn Slap Out!


After spending the weekend at their MawMaw and PawPaw's house in Richton, Caroline and John Michael gave into their exhaustion on the ride back home.

Sunkist vs. Makos


Caroline swam in her second meet a few weeks ago. This meet was much bigger than the first, and she did great! She'd improved so much since the first meet...her times in backstroke and freestyle improved, and she started diving off the block. There were some very fast swimmers competing against her this time around, and she held her own, bringing home six ribbons!

We're taking it on the road for our next swim meet. We'll head to Birmingham and stay in a "holetel," as Caroline calls it. :-) She is very excited, and this will be her first time to compete in the 8 and under age division, seeing as she's turning seven years old in a couple of weeks! (This means that we'll be focusing a lot more on swimming faster than her previous times than on swimming faster than the person in the next lane!)




Friday, October 15, 2010

Need More Cowbell!

MSU vs. Alcorn State

Our Superhero


This day, he was Spiderman. He's also chosen an Ironman and a Superman costume, so we think he's having a superhero identity crisis. We really don't care who he chooses dress up like, or that he wears a costume to a public place on occasion. We are just relieved he's not choosing to wear his sister's dresses and cheerleading outfits. It's taken us way too long to give him some boy dress-up options!

Friday, September 24, 2010

First Swim Meet



Caroline has proven herself to be quite the swimmer! She competed in her first swim meet a couple of weeks ago, and ended up capturing the title of Top Swimmer (High Score) in her age division.


Waiting for her first race

We had no idea what to expect going into the first meet. Caroline had been practicing with Sunkist since June, and we knew she could swim, but did she know how to handle herself during an actual race? Shawn and I read everything we could on the Sunkist website, and we tried to prepare her...

"Be sure to swim your hardest all the way to the wall - don't slack up before you get to the end - hit the wall with BOTH hands!"

"Put your toes all the way to the end of the block, and don't jump in until you hear the horn blow! When you hear the horn blow, GO!!"

"This isn't practice. You actually want to beat the person in the lane next to you. Move your arms fast! Kick your legs fast!"



We tried to explain to her what a "DQ" (disqualification) was, even though we weren't entirely sure of what all constituted a DQ, ourselves. (And yes, she did get "DQ-ed" in the breaststroke due to improper kicking. The other swimmers were disqualified as well.)

All of this being said, when it came down to it, Caroline swam her heart out and performed beyond our expectations! She won two of her heats - the 50 yard freestyle and 100 yard freestyle relay. She had awesome times in all of her strokes, i.e. swimming the 25 yard backstroke in 29.52 seconds, and the 25 yard freestyle in 25.63 seconds! (25 yard = one lap; 50 yard = two laps)

When she swam in the 100 yard medley relay, they put all of the age groups in the pool at one time. Caroline swam the first leg, which was backstroke. Shawn and I were amazed when we saw her swimming as fast as the 10-11 year old girls and boys!

We had so much fun watching our baby girl! While it sure was fun playing sports when we were kids, it's a totally different feeling to see our child practice something, enjoy it, and succeed at it. We are so proud of her! The next meet is in a couple of weeks...

Tired, after winning first place in the 50 yard freestyle




Thursday, August 26, 2010

SHARK!!

I'm sure my son will kill me one day for sharing this story, but I can't resist, especially after the long months it has taken him to do #2 in the potty. As he did "his business" today, he described his excrement with enthusiasm as it exited his body: "Mommy, it's a snake! It's a snake!"

He dethroned and surveyed his work. I must say, it was very impressive - sorry for the graphic description, but it even came out of the water just a bit.

"Mommy! It's not a snake! It's a SHARK! It's a SHARK!"

I have no idea what goes through that boy's mind sometimes, or how he comes up with the things he does, but that was my entertainment for the day.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Summer Came and Went...



Well, I must say, I've been a terrible blogger. So much has transpired since my last entry, so I'll just hit the highlights...

  • We've spent all summer potty training John Michael. As of the last couple of days - literally - he is finally trained. I haven't changed a dirty diaper in two or three days now. WOOHOO!!

  • We had a whirlwind summer. We made a couple of fun trips to my dad and Betsy's new house in San Destin, and Caroline spent a week going to basketball camp at East Central Community College.


  • Turns out, Caroline is quite the little athlete. Not only did she prove herself to be a quick study at basketball, but she picked up tennis quickly, and also joined the Sunkist swim team, where she is naturally strong and fast. She seems to have grown about two feet in height, and she is pure muscle!! The girl doesn't even realize the potential she has, and Shawn and I are chomping at the bit for her to be just half as competitive as we are! I know, I know...she is only six.
  • John Michael is talking and growing - no longer is he a baby. Although I've made him promise me to always be my baby boy. He truly is a joy, and I'll have to post more later about all the hilarious things he is saying and doing right now.
  • Caroline decided to give herself a haircut while she was staying with my in-laws over the summer. She wanted bangs and took matters into her own hands. Surprisingly, she did a pretty good job. She cut fairly straight across, but she started too far back, so she ventured too far into the "mullet" category. I was heartbroken because her hair was all one length! But she was so proud of herself, and we've made it work.
  • Caroline started first grade a couple of weeks ago, and she loves it. She acts like a miniature adult, and we are constantly having to remind her that she is NOT. One funny thing that happened this week, was a boy in her class told her that she was "hot," and that he wanted to marry her. She was completely nonchalant about it - "I mean, I don't even really like him, Mom. But I guess I'm his girlfriend," she said. "Caroline, what does HOT even mean? Were you sweating or something?" I asked. "UH!! No, Mom, it means I'm PRETTY." Come on...since when should a six-year-old know that?? We've only just begun.....


Saturday, April 17, 2010

My Birthday


I had the pleasure of having a girl's night after a tennis match to celebrate my 33rd birthday. What could be better than some Mexican food after kicking some tail on the tennis court?! It was a great way to spend some time with some great friends!

Easter 2010

We really enjoyed spending our Easter with each other at home, going to church at Pinelake, and letting the kids hunt their Eggs and explore their baskets. It was a nice quiet Easter Sunday, celebrating our risen Savior.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

First Egg Hunt





John Michael has really gotten the hang of hunting Easter eggs this year. His first hunt was with my Bible study class, and the weather was beautiful! I had to pry him away from the playground when it was time to start hunting the eggs, but once he got the hang of it, he caught on quick! At one point, he walked up to an opened, empty egg. He picked it up, shook it, inspected its empty contents, and threw it back down on the ground. This kid knew what he was doing!

Gathering the eggs, making sure the contents were worthy for collecting.


A boy and his basket full of eggs.


Friday, March 26, 2010

My Favorite Words to Hear


"I wu-jew, Mama."
Translation: "I love you, Mama."

John Michael now says these words unprompted and without solicitation. He doesn't even have to hear me say it first. Isn't this what every Mama waits months and months for their baby to finally verbalize? Yes, he totally has me wrapped around his little finger.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Let It Snow!


I've been delinquent in my blogging...not that I think many people really read this anyway...but several weeks ago, we enjoyed snow that Mississippi rarely sees. It's sad that this former Montana girl doesn't even own rain boots, so I had Walmart bags tied around my tennis shoes while I watched Shawn and the kids play in the snow. Much fun was had by all.





Saturday, January 9, 2010

My Little Cheerleader



Caroline cheered for the first time today at an Upward basketball game. She's been so excited about "cheering for the boys," even though there were some girls on the team too. It broke my heart just a little that she didn't want to play basketball, but she promised me that she would try it next year!






After I watched her cheer today and saw how much she enjoyed it, I might just have to accept the fact that I really do have a little cheerleader on my hands and leave the basketball playing to John Michael...