My Birthday Weekend

I celebrated turning the BIG 3-0 this past weekend with my sweet family. Friday evening Gram came over to babysit Tuttle and Maggie while Jay and I went to a nice dinner. She arrived with new books and supplies to make tacos, so Tuttle and Maggie were in Heaven.

 

 

Jay and I ate a huge and yummy dinner at Rays on the River. I absolutely love seafood, so it was the perfect place to celebrate my birthday. Unfortunately the calamari appetizer and clam chowder completely filled me up, so I could not even attempt to eat my scallops and lobster risotto when it arrived. I was miserably stuffed,  but it was nice to eat round two for lunch the next day. We sat at the best table right by the windows overlooking the river and thoroughly enjoyed talking for two hours, a luxury we rarely have at dinner with the babies. (We did not take ONE picture! I needed proof that I do wear clothing other than yoga pants and sometimes straighten my hair!)

 

Saturday morning we cheered on Tuttle at his soccer game. The rain wanted to ruin the fun, but luckily it held off, and Tuttle scored a goal! We completed the morning with breakfast at J. Christopher's.

 

 

Sunday we slept in, and I finally returned to church after a must too long summer break. Tuttle and Maggie met their new teachers and explored their new classrooms.

 

 

Maggie now has Mr. Tim as her teacher. Tuttle ABSOLUTELY loved Mr. Tim when he was in the two year old class. I cannot believe Maggie is now the same age Tuttle was when she was born! Tuttle moved up to the Pre-K classroom and gets to enjoy Children's Moments in the big church service before returning to his classroom. I waved at him when he was at the alter, but he didn't see me. He looked so sweet listening to the children's sermon with his friends.

 

 

Happy Fall, Y'all! :)



Master Builder

WARNING: This post is totally devoted to bragging on my child. :)

 

To say Tuttle loves Legos is a HUGE understatement. He is obsessed with building, and literally spends hours each day creating new buildings, cars, and other amazing creations. He always requests Lego kits and does like for Daddy or me to put them together according to the step-by-step instructions, but it does not take him long to disassemble them and create something a zillion times better.

 

We recently cleared the top of his dresser to keep his favorite pieces safe because his pile of "special ones" was quickly taking over his floor. He is very proud of what we call his "museum."

 

I asked him to pick five of his favorite pieces for Mommy to photograph.

Star Wars Ship

Police Truck (complete with jail)

Army Robot

 

Building (located at the North Pole)

 

 

Helicopter (look closely for the pilot)

 

Last weekend before we went to the Georgia game, Tuttle built a Georgia Bulldawgs stadium. It blew my mind with all the details.

 

Fans Watching the Game

 

The small brown piece is the football.

Tuttle's football "mayor"- He talks about the Georgia Bulldawgs.

 

The grand finale came yesterday when he recreated a picture from his new Lego book, Catch That Crook!

 

Front

Back

 

 I CANNOT believe that he is only four years old! I know everyone thinks their child is amazing, but Tuttle takes the cake. :)

 

Maybe we have an award winning architect in our midst.



Free Entertainment

Who needs a comedy show when you live with Tuttle and Maggie?

 

 

 

Laughter in the best medicine. :)



Go Dawgs!

This weekend we traveled to Athens to cheer on the Dawgs and to celebrate Grandmommy's birthday. Tuttle and Maggie were so excited to go to a real football game that I heard Maggie cheering for the Dawgs on the baby monitor a few nights ago. :)

 

We arrived at the stadium early to visit the bookstore, check out the Dawg Walk, and to have time to explore the stadium for a few minutes before taking our seats. I had never been to the stadium that early, even as a student, so it was fun to see all the action that happens before kickoff.

 

I wish Tuttle could stay this little and innocent forever. I just adore this boy! 



 

Tuttle had been asking for a Georgia jersey and hat for weeks, so we made stopping by the bookstore a priority. He immediately changed clothes in the middle of the store to show off his new team gear. He was one happy fan!

 

Maggie was a little overwhelmed with all the people and noise, so she hung tight to my hip until we sat down. She was interested in the action, but she needed to feel safe in my arms.

 

 

Tuttle spotted a Star Wars Georgia fan and insisted on a picture. :)

 

 

Grandaddy has continued to keep our fantastic season tickets for the family, and I absolutely love our seats! We are so lucky to be able to cheer on the team at every home game. I especially like that they are located in the shade!

 

 

Aunt Peach and Drew met us at the game. By the end of the weekend, Maggie was telling everyone that Drew was her best friend.

 

 

After watching the Georgia Bulldawgs slaughter the Troy Trojans 66-0, we returned to Granny's house for a yummy dinner. Jay grilled steaks, and Grandmommy made baked potatoes, macaroni and cheese, salad, and mushrooms. After dinner, we enjoyed cupcakes from Aunt Peach and opening presents for Grandmommy. Tuttle drew a portrait of Grandmommy, Maggie, and himself, and I framed it. He was so proud of his artwork.

 

Unfortunately Tuttle and Maggie both felt sick last night, so we have been incredibly lazy today to recover from a great weekend with family. Happy Birthday, Grandmommy!!

My Babies

We are flying through another week at the Thorne household with preschool, piano lessons, soccer practice, gymnastics, and playground with friends. I think we have found a great balance of Maggie time on M/W/F mornings, Mommy time on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, Tuttle time during quiet time, and time with all three kiddos in the afternoon.

 

We dealt with some germs and sleepless nights last week after Maggie caught a stomach bug. I am not surprised that she got a little sick starting school. She was actually perfectly normal during the day, but nights were not pretty. I am so glad she is feeling better. :)

 

Maggie and Tuttle were spoiled Saturday night at a sleepover at Aunt Peach's house with Grandmommy and Grandaddy. They are still talking about going back as soon as possible!

 

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the past week.



 

We are starting to feel a little "fall" in the air, and we are not complaining! :)

We Remember.

It is absolutely crazy that thirteen years have passed since 9/11. I have realized how different it is to remember that horrific day with children. This year I tried to touch on the history of such an important day in history to Tuttle. I wanted to be honest about the day with him without being too scary, so I simply explained that when Mommy was younger, a lot of Americans were hurt on this day. We are wearing red, white, and blue today to remember those people.

He asked if some of those people were soldiers, and I told him that they were. He asked if the police arrested the "bad guys" that hurt all the people, and I told him that they did catch the "bad guys." (Tuttle is currently obsessed with police officers and putting people in jail. He dresses up in police costume everyday, but he arrests all his people because they ran away or they stole an apple pie- a problem in one of his Lego books. I love his innocence at this stage.) Because Tuttle was so curious about the event in history, I was happy that I introduced it to him.

We are so blessed to live in the United States and have so many devoted Americans fight for our freedom.

Smile For The Camera!

My head is still spinning from our busy and fun weekend, but I am slowly starting to get my house back in order and get ready for our week ahead. This weekend I helped organize a friend flying into Atlanta to shoot nine family photo session at Piedmont Park, including our family. I met Christy through Facebook, and I have always LOVED her photography. We figured out a way for her to travel from Orlando to Atlanta for the weekend, and I found eight other sweet families to book Christy for their family photos, as well. I picked up Christy last Friday night and assisted her in meeting up with the other families at the park since she was not familiar with the area. Luckily the rain held out all weekend because there was a high percent chance that the weather would ruin all the photos.

 

Jay was such a wonderful help this weekend with the kids. Tuttle had his first soccer game on Saturday morning, and Jay took the kids by himself to cheer on Team France. Tuttle scored two goals and loved running around with his buddies. I cannot wait to watch him in action next weekend!

 

 

Sunday morning Jay started the day out the best way at Waffle House in pajamas. Maggie and Tuttle devoured a chocolate chip waffle and bacon. Yum!

 

 

Since I had gotten the hang of organizing the families for their photo sessions, I brought Maggie and Tuttle to the last sessions on Sunday night. I had missed my babies, and watching Tuttle and Maggie run around the playground and feed the ducks was the perfect way to end our busy weekend.

 

 

Christy sent us a "Sneak Peek" of our family photos, and I could not be more in LOVE. These are my favorites!

 

 

I cannot wait to see the rest of Christy's beautiful photography. I am already planning how I want to display them all over the house! Check out Christy Groover Photography. I know I will be flying her back to Atlanta very soon for my pictures! :)