Citizen of the Month

Caroline was Citizen of the Month at her school in March. Each month, students have the opportunity to display the fruits of the Spirit. Caroline was chosen by her teacher to represent Faithfulness. She was honored with a special breakfast where Shawn, John Michael and I were able to attend. Sweet girl. :-)

Time for T-Ball

John Michael played in his first t-ball game this morning. As usual, it was a fight to get him dressed - he always likes to have a lazy morning on the couch, drinking his chocolate milk, while rubbing his "blankie" and watching cartoons. So, this morning was no exception. He really didn't care that he had a t-ball game. But once he got to the field, he ended up getting into the groove a bit.

Shawn helped coach the team, and all of those three and four year old kids were precious out there on the field. John Michael reminded me of the Darth Vader/Darth Helmet character in the movie, "Space Balls," because his head with the helmet on it was HUGE! When he was running around those bases with that big noggin, I couldn't help but laugh. Too cute.

JM batted left handed and hit the ball off the tee twice. He also fielded a ground ball and threw it towards first base. By the middle of the game, he was losing focus, as would be expected, and as the other team was batting, he seemed to be in his own little world. At one point, he walked over to the fence and asked me when we were going to his cousin Molly's birthday party, because he was ready to go. All the while, the other team was batting and running bases.

It was fun to watch, and I'm so glad this is something that JM and Shawn can share together. Later that night, when Shawn was rocking JM and putting him to bed, JM asked Shawn:

"Daddy, does it make you happy that I play baseball?"

"Well...yes," Shawn replied. "Do you like playing baseball, John Michael?"

"No."

Well, he's only three...we'll get through this season, then see what happens. He sure does look sweet in that uniform. :-)

Diving and Dribbling

Posing with some Sunkist friends at the blocks before a swim event...Caroline is the one on the far right, missing the tooth.

Wow! These last couple of months have been a whirlwind! I've been learning what it's like to have a child in many activities, as well as to be a coach in one of them. And I've been loving every minute of it!

Sunkist 8 and Under Relay Team

Caroline has continued on the swim team, and she has steadily improved throughout the season. She just competed in the 8 and Under Developmental State Swim Meet, and all of her hard work paid off - she won first place in the 25 yard and 50 yard backstroke in the 7 year old age division, making her the fastest 7-year old backstroker currently in the state of MS! Can I get a WHOOP WHOOP!?! She had a time of 49.72 seconds in the 50 backstroke, which cut 3 seconds off her fastest time yet. We're obviously very proud of her! She also did her first FLIP turn in the 50 free style! All sorts of first's for the little one...

She just finished the 50 yard backstroke in first place at the State Meet!

We're also playing basketball this year, and I'm coaching Caroline's team of first and second grade girls. I asked Shawn the other day if he thought I looked like I was being too hard on them during the game, and he said I just looked "really intense." Haha! Most of the other coaches just stand there during the game and don't say much...well, I coach them, for heavens sake! I almost made them run suicides at practice this week because they weren't paying attention and kept goofing off. (Okay, that might have been a little much, but I expect each one to give 100% and nothing less.) They are a great group of girls and very talented...I have one player that scored 26 points during one game! Caroline has developed a real love for the sport and will even be outside after dark shooting baskets...reminds me of someone else I know. :) She has come a long way since her first game as well, with her highest score being 6 points. It's amazing to me how fast she learns and adapts to sports. I love it!!

Team Lady Lightening

Caroline and "Coach Mommy"

I can't close out this post without mentioning the little man! John Michael is signed up to play t-ball this spring, so I'm looking forward to seeing what he looks like in that sweet uniform. Shawn is excited about playing ball with him too, so I'll be sure to get some pictures up here as soon as I take them. Right now, JM is happy playing Transformers and Spiderman, running back and forth in the living room. He's perfectly content entertaining himself and has quite an imagination.

Helping Daddy fix the washer.

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?!

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!

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!

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!