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Tuttle's 5th Birthday Party

We celebrated Tuttle's 5th birthday on Saturday at The Gym at Peachtree Presbyterian Church. 

We attended a party there last year, and it was so much fun! Tuttle's party was a "Fun and Games" theme, and the coaches did an excellent job keeping about 15 preschoolers very entertained and busy.

The party started on one side of the gym with Red Light, Green Light, a hula hoop chase, and a parachute shake with balls. The games continued with a team challenge to pick up all the balls tossed from the parachute and put them individually into buckets. I have never seen those kids runs so fast!

The coaches ended the entertainment with an obstacle course set up on the other side of the gym. Maggie joined in at that point, so she could show off her gymnastics tricks. :)

Tuttle's friends were a combination of school friends, neighborhood buddies, and our friend's kids. It was a great group!

We wrapped up the party with cake and ice cream in the party room. It was Star Wars themed, of course. 

Jay and I made light sabers out of pool noodles and duct tape for Tuttle's party favor. I think they were a hit from babies to adults!

I know Tuttle had a blast with all his friends and family. He is one blessed little boy, and we are so lucky to be able to see him grow up.

Happy 5th Birthday, Tuttle! We love you so very much!!

Welcome Baby Holland!

We just wrapped up a VERY EXCITING weekend! We celebrated Tuttle's 5th birthday with our friends and family, but the biggest event of the weekend was the surprise arrival of Holland!

Around 1am on Saturday morning Jay received a phone call that Allison was at the hospital due to reduced fetal movement. She had that mother's intuition that something was wrong, and we are so relieved that she decided to get Holland examined when she did. The heart rate was dangerously high, so the doctors ordered an emergency c-section immediately.

I rushed to the hospital to be there for Drew and Allison since Grandmommy and Grandaddy were driving from Madison, and Jay was not feeling well. Drew was not allowed in the room during the delivery, but I was able to get text updates to pass onto the family. 

Thankfully Holland was born healthy and able to breathe on her own at 34 weeks. She was 3 pounds, 12 ounces and ABSOLUTELY beautiful.

We went as a family today to officially meet our sweet niece. She is in the NICU, so we visited with Aunt Peach and Uncle Drew for about an hour before we could go down to see her during "cuddle time" at 3pm. :)

She is such a tiny ball of perfection. I loved every minutes of those baby snuggles.

Jay is a very proud uncle. 

Congrats, Allison and Drew. Welcome to the family, Holland!

Tuttle and Maggie could not visit Holland in the NICU, but they are looking forward to holding their cousin as soon as she goes home. Tuttle was very interested in Holland's feeding tube in her nose that he saw in our pictures. He asked if they cut up her food really small to fit in the tube. We decided macaroni and cheese is probably her favorite. :)

I will post tomorrow about Tuttle's party. I just could not wait to introduce our perfect niece!

Tuttle Turns FIVE!

Tuttle celebrated his birthday on Tuesday. I cannot believe he is already FIVE years old. This birthday is so hard for me because this next year is going to be full of so many big boy changes. :( Although I am a little sad that he is growing up way too fast, Tuttle was thrilled to turn five. We started the day off with breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts. 

Tuttle was the line leader at school, so he brought cupcakes and his new Star Wars book to share with his friends. Our afternoon was filled with a quick playground visit, swim lessons, and soccer practice. Daddy met us at the house for Tuttle's birthday dinner. He requested his favorite: tacos! He also opened two more presents from us. Our Star Wars obsessed boy could not get on is Darth Vader costume fast enough to battle with his new light saber!

Once we have Tuttle's five year checkup in a couple weeks, I will update with his stats and specific details that make Tuttle so special. We are extremely lucky to be Tuttle's parents, and I soak up everyday with him. Happy 5th Birthday, Tuttle!

Tuttle and Maggie have both enjoyed some fun activities at preschool this week.

On Tuesday Maggie had her Trike-a-Thon with her Pound Puppy friends. The preschool participates in this fundraiser every year to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Because Maggie is not independent on her bike yet, she brought her doll stroller. She loved racing around the track with her babies, Little Tuttle and Little Maggie. :)

Unfortunately I had to miss Tuttle's Trike-a-Thon due to Maggie's gymnastics practice, but I know he loved riding his bike with his friends. I was able to chaperone Tuttle's field trip to the Chattahoochee Nature Center today. It was the perfect weather to check out some Georgia wildlife and walk on the trail around the river.

Jay has been out of town the last few days for a business trip to San Francisco. We are ready for him to come home to celebrate Tuttle's birthday at his party on Saturday! 

Snapshots Of Our Week

Like most weeks we crammed a lot into the last five days. 

We started the week off on the right foot by going to church. :)

I hosted a Honey Bee Tees trunk show at my house for three days. I have so much fun hosting trunk shows for children's clothing. It definitely allows me to fund a portion of my shopping addiction!

Tuttle and Maggie were glad to return to school this week after last week off due to Spring Break. Since it was predicted to rain everyday this week, school was necessary to keep the kids sane. The preschool's annual Trike-a-Thon for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital was postponed due to weather, but Tuttle and Maggie had a blast at art class, Playball, chapel, Spanish class, and music class.

The lottery for Tuttle's Kindergarten German Immersion Program was held today. The way the program works is that two Kindergarten classes take turns during the day with lessons that are taught 100% in German. Language Arts/Reading and Social Studies are taught in English, and Math and Science are taught in German. I know Tuttle will thrive in such a challenging environment because he is already so focused in the classroom and can memorize anything. 

He is currently #1 on the wait list, but I already know two students that obtained spots and are not attending next year. Therefore it seems Tuttle is guaranteed a spot! I will be more excited when I see it in writing, but we are thrilled for this opportunity! Auf wiedersehen! (Goodbye!)

Spring Break

Spring break is wrapping up, and it flew by! We had dinner with Grandmommy and Grandaddy on Easter Sunday, and Tuttle and Maggie went home with them for the night. Gigi was out of town, so I was COMPLETELY lazy on Monday until I drove to Madison late that night. 

We drove back Tuesday morning and spent the rest of the day getting organized around the house. We were able to get outside for Tuttle's soccer practice at Brookrun Park.

Wednesday we visited my grandma at her retirement village. I hate that I rarely get over there to visit her, but we had a great time catching up, meeting her friends, and having lunch in the dining room. She is 94 years old, and I am so happy that she is a part of Tuttle and Maggie's lives.

Thursday I was determined to spend most of the day outside, so we met Kristen, Jack,and Lily at Little Nancy Creek Park. 

This park can get pretty hot because there is little to no shade, so we were prepared to let the kids play in the creek after our pizza picnic. 

We treated the kids to frozen yogurt after the park. I think warm weather is here to stay (fingers crossed!), so it was the perfect way to welcome the season change!

Although we thought the rain was going to hold off on Friday until the afternoon, our outside plans were quickly cancelled when the dark clouds rolled in at 9:30am. Since I had FIVE (yes, five) kids to watch, we opted for an indoor play location and visited Superior Play Systems in Norcross. The building was practically empty, and the kids jumped, ran, and climbed for 2.5 hours! Tuttle and Maggie were very happy to be back with Gigi after her family vacation.

Tuttle and Maggie had another slumber party at Aunt Peach and Uncle Drew's new house Friday night. They made cookies, ate pizza, and watched movies. Jay and I met up with the kids today to help Allison and Drew get settled into their house. Jay completely overhauled their yard, and I cleaned and organized every room inside. It was a very successful day! :)

I am gearing up for a trunk show at my house next week. For once the clothes are aimed at Tuttle. The company is called Honey Bee Tees, and Tuttle loves all the tshirt options! It will be hard to narrow down his favorites. 

Spring Break 2015 was a hit! :)

Easter Weekend

We started off our Easter weekend with a visit to the Botanical Gardens on Friday. Spring has officially sprung! The flowers were absolutely gorgeous!

Tuttle and Maggie enjoyed a quick picnic, looking at all the beautiful plants, and exploring the Children's Garden. There is a Peter Rabbit section, and Tuttle and Maggie had a blast pretending they were the characters from one of their favorite books!

I cannot wait to visit more this spring and summer. We are trying to get Grandmommy to come up very soon to see the gardens. :)

It rained Friday night, so Tuttle's soccer game was cancelled for Saturday. Daddy worked very hard in the yard while I cleaned the house. Tuttle and Maggie played happily in their room playing with Legos for over two hours. I think they needed some down time.

We left for Athens around 3:30 to attend Brooke and Jesse's wedding at Granny's house. They thought of every detail. I felt like I was living in a Pinterest dream!

I love that we are continuing to make such special memories at Granny's house. :)

Jay and I are still talking about how yummy the food was. There is nothing better than a simple southern meal served at a wedding complete with BBQ, macaroni and cheese, and fried okra. 

Congratulations to the Shook Family!

Tuttle and Maggie fell fast asleep on the drive back to Atlanta. The Easter Bunny made his appearance after they were tucked into bed.

We went to church this morning to officially celebrate Easter. I might have bribed Maggie with candy to wear her bonnet. 

This really how Maggie felt about these pictures. :)

We listened to beautiful Easter music and heard a very inspiring message from Bill Britt. He never disappoints. Jay and I love how down to Earth his sermons always are.

And as Bill said, "Jesus is on the loose!" I hope that Tuttle and Maggie will always feel his presence in their lives! Happy Easter!