Girls Go With Girls, Boys Go With Boys

Anytime Maggie and I do something just the girls, she always proclaims, "Girls go with girls. Boys go with boys." This weekend we stuck to Maggie's rule. 

Tuttle started off the weekend with a soccer clinic presented by the Atlanta Silverbacks, our professional soccer team. He was a little nervous about participating, but he quickly changed his mood when he scored a goal during one of the drills!

We also learned that another boy at the clinic was on Tuttle's soccer team this season, so he had a buddy to run around the fields.

The clinic concluded with the kids getting autographs from the players. Although Tuttle did not really know the significance of an autograph, he still wanted to stand in line to meet the players.

After a lazy afternoon at home we officially started following Maggie's gender rule. Tuttle and Daddy left for a camping birthday party while Maggie and I got ready for a girls' dinner with Holland and Aunt Peach.

Jay's collection of camping gear came in handy. 

I was impressed that the boys made it all night at the party. Tuttle had a blast hiking, watching a movie outside, smashing a pinata, making s'mores, and sleeping in a tent with Daddy.

Maggie and I drove to Roswell to walk from Aunt Peach's house to the downtown area for dinner. We ate at the CUTEST place: Greenwood's on Green Street. We ate outside and stuffed ourselves with delicious southern food. The fried green tomatos and creamed corn were my favorites!

We ended the evening with ice cream at the Sugar Shack, I might have also ordered a creme blulee to go! I get a pass because I am pregnant! :)

Sunday morning Maggie and I only saw Tuttle and Daddy for a few minutes before we left for church. Their boys' weekend continued with cheering on the Atlanta Braves with one of Jay's co-workers from Home Depot.

Jay sent me this shot on the way to go the game. I think camping caught up to Tuttle because he rarely falls asleep in the car!

While the Atlanta Braves lost (pretty badly), I know it was a winning weekend for the boys! Jay and I both loving having some quality time with just one baby. The fun continues next weekend with a baby shower for the girls and cheering on the Georgia Bulldawgs for the boys! Girls go with girls, and boys go with boys. :)

Kindergarten Update

We are halfway through Tuttle's third week in kindergarten, and he is loving every minute! It is getting a little easier to wake up at 6:30am for both of us. 

Jay and I are slowly getting more information out of Tuttle about his day. He is also starting to speak a few German words at home, including the days of the week. His favorite parts of the days seem to be reading time in Ms. Fleming's class- she reads a chapter from a Magic Treehouse book daily and he likes to write in his journal. The students have been introduced to beginning sight words, such as "I" and "can," and it is obvious how excited Tuttle is going to be once he really starts to read.

Tuttle still tells me that it is hard to understand Frau Miltner, but I think he feels more comfortable in her classroom knowing everyone is a little clueless, too! :) 

He is particularly proud of the fact that he has not received any crayons in his behavior folder. He comes home with a sticker everyday. I am not surprised that his behavior is not an issue. Maggie is lucky we do not use crayons at home- she would get several an hour for her three-nager sassiness! 

Tuttle has continued to take his lunch each day. He wants to try the lunchroom food, so I told him he can pick one day a week starting next week to eat school lunch. I am just afraid he will not be happy with his choices, so we are going to review the menu each week and make a selection together. I am sure tacos and pizza will be at the top of his list!

Our family is slowly adding more of the extracurricular activities to our routine. Next week we will add the last of Tuttle's sports: soccer with Daddy as his coach! We are definitely busy with karate, piano, gymnastics, ballet, and soon soccer, but the kids seem to love the hustle and bustle. We will reevaluate as the year goes on. :)

Wedding Celebration

We started off our Saturday with karate for Tuttle and some extra attention for Smelly. The snuggling and medical attention only lasted so long before our dog was hiding from Maggie in the bathroom. :)

We dropped the kids off at Gram and Grumps for the night around noon and headed to Chattanooga to celebrate the wedding of two of Jay's friends. It had been since childhood that I had visited Chattanooga, so I was eager to have a little getaway with Jay. We were shocked so quickly we arrived at the hotel and absolutely loved the atmosphere of the city.

We grabbed lunch at a local restaurant before getting ready for the wedding. Jay and I both practically licked our plates clean. I ordered grilled salmon, whipped potatoes with gravy, and macaroni and cheese, or as Jay calls my choice meals: a white plate. I may or may not have a craving for carbs most of the time!

I think we cleaned up pretty well for the wedding. It was fun to get all fancy, and luckily a sweet friend let me borrow a great maternity dress. I always love when Jay puts on a tux- so handsome!

Lindsey and Brian's wedding was absolutely beautiful. The ceremony took place in a university chapel built in 1883, and the reception was in a country club that overlooked the mountains. The view was spectacular. We had a great evening dancing, chatting with Jay's coworkers from Home Depot, and eating yummy food. It is always nice to get away and recharge. Sleeping in the next morning was a bonus, too!

We discussed returning to Chattanooga soon with Tuttle and Maggie very soon. I know it would be a perfect family getaway, and you cannot beat the proximity to Atlanta!

Tiny Dancer

Maggie started ballet today at Atlanta Ballet. We bought her leotard, tights, skirt, and shoes a few days ago, and she had been playing ballerina ever since. We read ballerina books, watched Angelina Ballerina videos, and practiced our moves with YouTube clips. She was ready for the real deal!

Class started as soon as we arrived, and unfortunately no photos can be taken in the studio. :( Maggie walked right in and never looked back. She did recognize her best friend, Lily in the room. Kristen and I spent the next 45 minutes chatting and wondering how the girls were enjoying ballet. 

Both Lily and Maggie walked out of class with big grins. Maggie and I headed to lunch, and she told me all about pointing her toes, using the barre, holding hands with her friends, and jumping. I am not surprised that she loved every minute because she could not be more girly. 

Maggie cannot wait to go back to class next week. We love our tiny dancer!

It's A Boy!

We are all shocked, and Jay is going to save A LOT OF MONEY. We are thrilled to announce that a baby boy will join our family in 2016! Jacob Corbitt Thorne is due January 25. We cannot wait to have sweet baby boy snuggles again.

We returned to Stork Vision, a private ultrasound clinic, to find out about a month earlier than my OBGYN would tell us the gender. We used the same private clinic to find out Maggie's gender three years ago. All four of us were POSITIVE that it was going to be a girl, so it took us all by surprise when the ultrasound tech announced it was a boy! Maggie even cried after the news because she wanted a sister. After I explained that she would not have to share her dresses, she was relieved to be having a little brother. :)

We celebrated the news with dinner at Zoe's Kitchen, complete with huge cookies. Jacob will be the perfect addition to our family!

First Day of Kindergarten

We survived dropping Tuttle off for his first day of kindergarten this morning. :) Luckily our sleepy boy was not too reluctant to be out of bed before the sun, but I will reevaluate in a few weeks.

Daddy was able to go into work a little later, so we walked to school as a family. I will usually do carpool in the morning, but I wanted to be able to walk him into his classroom.

I cannot believe I held it together all morning. I got choked up a few times, but I was fully expecting to ugly cry. 

Tuttle's homeroom teacher is his German teacher, so it was interesting to get directions completely in another language. He had to put his bookbag in his cubby and his lunchbox in the hallway. Next he settled into his seat to work on puzzles.

I cannot believe we are already at the elementary school phase, but I know Tuttle will absolutely love school and continue to grow and learn so much. I cannot wait to hear all about his day when I pick up him this afternoon.

Happy First Day of School, Sweet Boy! We love you!

Big Milestones

I cannot believe summer is really coming to an end, and I am writing about Tuttle's open house for kindergarten. While the summer months flew by, the last five years went even quicker! We met Tuttle's teachers on Wednesday morning, and both Tuttle and I are equally as excited!

Tuttle has two teachers and classrooms for kindergarten because he is part of the German Immersion Program at his school. His homeroom teacher is Frau Miltner, and she introduced us to the German language immediately. I was not sure how fast the students would dive into being fully exposed to German, but Frau Mitner only spoke German to Tuttle and me the entire time (with the exception of a few questions I had about the routine.) She is very good at motioning to help explain herself, so I think Tuttle will catch on quickly. He thought she sounded pretty silly. :)

There was also another important member of the classroom to meet in Frau Miltner's room: the class bunny!

Next we went next door to meet his other teacher, Ms. Fleming. She will teach reading/writing/language arts as well as social studies in English. She was the typical bubbly and warm Kindergarten teacher, and I know Tuttle will absolutely love her. She was extremely organized which I know I will love!

After signing up for PTA and buying a few spirit tshirts, we ended the school tour with snow cones. I think Tuttle feels less nervous about starting Kindergarten now. Maybe I will shed a few less tears knowing how comfortable I am with Frau Miltner and Ms. Fleming. 

Another exciting milestone this week was Tuttle receiving his first stripe on his karate belt. After every ten classes, the student receives a stripe which edges him/her closer to the next colored belt. Tuttle has been LOVING karate and begs to go everyday. We have been averaging three times a week. Daddy was able to leave work a little early to meet us at practice and watch Tuttle get his red stripe. 

We celebrated with tacos at Taco Mac and a movie night. I am so proud of the big boy that Tuttle is becoming, but he will always be my little baby, as well. :)

Atlanta Botanical Gardens Adventure

I surprised the family on Saturday night with tickets to the "Bruce Munro: Light in the Garden" exhibit at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. The Christmas lights had been such a huge hit in December, so I wanted to venture back for another event.

We arrived around 7:30pm, so we had enough time to walk around the gardens with some sunlight. It was Jay's first time to actually see the grounds with blooming flowers and green landscaping, and he was very impressed. The kids and I were able to check out a new area of the Botanical Gardens that was recently opened.

Once the sun set, the lights came on, and it was spectacular. One section had bulbs as far as you eyes could see that randomly changed colors. It was such a relaxing evening strolling around the gardens with perfect weather and my sweet family.

The kids were completely exhausted when we left. Tuttle told us that he was going to take a little nap in the car, and both kids were sacked out before we exited the parking lot. :)

Our Week

The kids and I had a perfect combination of laziness, karate/piano/gymnastics, and playing this week. It was incredibly HOT, but we managed to go on a few adventures, including exploring Oglethorpe University and riding bikes at Brookrun Park.

 Although I absolutely love being home all summer with Tuttle and Maggie, I think it will be good for the entire family to start a more regular schedule in a week. I may not feel the same way when we are up and dressed by 7am, and I am crying as Tuttle walks into Kindergarten. :(

We are enjoying the first weekend in a while without any real commitments. I may have a little surprise up my sleeve for tonight, though. :)