Grandaddy Retires

Yesterday Tuttle and Maggie got to play hookie from school to celebrate Grandaddy's retirement at Gresco Utility Supply. Among an impressive collection of jobs throughout his career, Grandaddy spent the last 20+ years at Gresco and his accomplishments there were astounding! :) Our whole family was so proud to hear about his specific impact on Gresco.

Grandaddy is very loved by so many people. The room was filled with past students, colleagues, friends, and family. 

Gresco decorated the room in a Universtiy of Georgia "Between the Hedges" theme, and the catering was delicious! I even insisted on taking a few business cards home with me because it is extremely rare to actually rave about a catered meal for such a large crowd.

All the grandchildren enjoyed being part of Grandaddy's celebration. 

We attempted a photo with the entire family, but it proved to be a challenge. I actually love the this shot because it captures our large and full of personality crew so accurately! :)

Congratulations, Grandaddy, on a lifetime of success! We are looking forward to filling your retirement with fun memories (and lots of babysitting!). 

Happy Birthday, Holland!

We had a FANTASTIC time celebrating Holland's 1st birthday this weekend!

Aunt Peach and Uncle Drew hosted her party in their backyard which is made for entertaining! The weather could not have been better for a spring event!

There was yummy food to snack on, and the kids ran all over the yard playing hide-and-seek and chasing balls.

After opening presents, it was time for the main event: the cake! Holland was not very interested in getting her hands messy. :)

The birthday girl was the center of attention with all her cousins.

We took the opportunity to get a family photo. Aunt Peach always captures the best shots of our crew.

It is so exciting how much our family has grown over the years. Grandmommy and Grandaddy have their hands full with all these grandchildren!

We could not have asked for a more perfect spring day to celebrate Holland. I cannot believe an entire year has flown by since meeting our TINY niece born six weeks early. 

We love you so much, Holland! Happy 1st Birthday!

We Have A Six Year Old!

Yesterday Tuttle officially turned SIX years old! 

The entire family took Tuttle to school and celebrated with doughnuts with his class. Tuttle proudly stood on the table while his friends sang "Happy Birthday" to him completely in German. Tuttle was LOVING every minute and was a total ham with his dance moves. :) We made sure to pack his favorite lunch: Publix sub, apple squeezie, and mini Oreos for the birthday boy to enjoy at school, too.

We could not be more proud of the big boy that Tuttle has become. He is smart, considerate of his friends, still willing to snuggle with his mommy, and eager to achieve his goals. This year he has learned to read, earned his orange belt in karate (and is well on his way to his gold belt!), and gotten obsessed with all things Pokemon. He is still our rule follower that helps keep me sane with three kids and loves being the center of attention. We cannot wait to see how he continues to grow and impress us. Happy Birthday to the baby that made us parents!

P.S. His birthday week wrapped up with his surprise for Maggie as Mystery Reader in her class today. He has been counting down for this special day and surprisingly did a great job keeping it a secret. I videoed Tuttle reading to the Kangaroo Class as I cracked up the entire time. It was Tuttle's dream come true to have a classroom of kids that were enthralled with his every word, and he took the opportunity to act as teacher when he quizzed the kids on his books!

We cannot wait to celebrate Holland's birthday this weekend!

Tuttle's 6th Birthday Party

We celebrated Tuttle's upcoming 6th birthday this weekend at Imperatori Karate Studio with the boys from his kindergarten class. Tuttle is still taking about what a fantastic time he had with his buddies!

The boys took an hour long karate class with two instructors, including one of Tuttle's regular instructors, Mr. Fortunado. It was a combination of learning some specific karate kicks and punches as well as some of Tuttle's favorite games. 

My camera is full of blurry action shots! I think the party kept these energetic boys occupied! :)

Grandmommy, Grandaddy, Gram, Grumps, and the other parents watched all the activity from the viewing area.

The grand finale was definitely when Mr. Armando (Tuttle's FAVORITE instructor) surprised him with the opportunity to break a board in from of all his friends. Tuttle had a chance to try this at karate camp, but he was not able to do it, so Mr. Armando was prepared with two boards for Tuttle to attempt to break. Much to everyone's surprise and amazement, Tuttle broke the board on his first try! The look on Tuttle's face was absolutely PRICELESS. He was shocked and so proud of himself. I am very glad that Grumps and Grandaddy videoed it!

We finished the party with Pokemon cupcakes and a little snack in the party room. The Pokemon craze has taken over Tuttle's life, so I made sure to decorate with as much Pokemon as possible. I even made Pokeman ball cookies for favors. Tuttle approved of my Pinterest attempt with these cookies!

Daddy and I kept telling Tuttle that he could have a party, but we were going to make him repeat "5" again. I am just not ready for how fast he is growing up although we could not be more proud of the big boy that Tuttle has become. 

The party continued at the house with family and a few close friends. We let Tuttle open his presents and enjoyed Tuttle's favorite meal: Publix sub sandwiches, fruits, and chips (Cheetos were Tuttle's special treat!). We also sang "Happy Birthday" once more with an Oreo ice cream cake.

Jacob was such a trooper all day. It helped to have two grandmothers that were ready to hold a sweet baby all afternoon!

We took a quick lineup picture of the kids at our house from youngest (6 weeks) to oldest (almost 6). We missed our other friends and their kids, but most were cheering on the Dawgs at the G-Day game!

This shot captures our sassy girl. She keeps us on our toes!

It was the perfect day to celebrate our biggest boy! Happy Birthday, Tuttle! 

Now let's slow down this next year. The time is just flying by!

Down On The Farm

I was able to chaperone Tuttle's kindergarten field trip this past Friday, and we had the best time! We visited Southern Belle Farm in McDonough and learned all about various jobs on the farm.

After eating lunch as soon as they arrived, the class loaded up on a hayride to travel to various stations around the farm. Our first stop was picking strawberries!

Each child was able to find their own ripe strawberries and fill a pint size box with fruit to take home. We even sneaked a few strawberries to eat right off the plants. They were absolutely delicious!

Next we headed to watch a milking demonstration on a cow. The farm was named about the cow we met in the barn. Since Tuttle practically lives on milk, it was interesting to learn how it gets to our refrigerator. :)

Our next stop was to visit the farm animals, including a goat with the longest beard (Tuttle's favorite!). We also saw horses, chickens, and a baby lamb. Those animals are so patient to endure loud kindergartners all day! 

After a presentation on honeybees with a real bee keeper's suit, the kids finished our field trip with a stop at the jumping pillow. This was a HUGE hit with all the kids and allowed them to get out any energy before loading the buses for the long trek back to school.

I enjoyed every second of the field trip to Southern Belle Farm. Tuttle is part of such a sweet class, and I loved seeing him interact with his buddies. This special day will definitely be a memory neither Tuttle nor I will soon forget. :)

Jacob Turns Three Months!

Jacob Corbitt Thorne has been a part of our family for three months now.

Jacob still eats about 4 ounces each feeding, sometimes a little less depending on how distracted he may be. He takes about 3-4 short naps in the carseat, crib, or swing. He still goes to bed at 7pm and now only wakes twice a night to eat- the first time around 11 and the second time between 3am-4am. He will return to sleep until 7am or 7:30am. We moved him to his crib several weeks ago, and I think he sleeps better in his own room with the sound machine and darkness. Although he is not a super sleeper like his big brother was as an infant, he is very manageable during the night.

Jacob's favorite activites include looking around on his playmat, riding in the Ergo, and most recently sitting in his Bumbo. I even made dinner tonight while he happily sat on the counter and Tuttle did his homework. This is HUGE because dinnertime used to be a fussy time, and I was like a crazy woman prepping the food, trying to hold an unhappy baby, and playing referee between Tuttle and Maggie. :)

Little Boy just starting wearing 3/6m and some 6m clothing and still wears a Size 1 diaper. He is now really enjoying his daily baths. We cannot really skip a day because his grip is so tight that his little fingers and toes ALWAYS have lint between them. 

I know I will be able to report a new skill next month because he was SO close to rolling over today. I was videotaping his struggle as he tried very hard to get from his back to his stomach. I was sure that I was going to capture this milestone on my iPhone, but we will have to keep trying. :)

Daddy has been able to spend more one-on-one time with Jacob this past month, and I swear that Jacob prefers Jay over me. Maybe, just maybe, one of our children will opt to sit beside Stinky Daddy in a restaurant booth instead of cramming beside me.

We cannot wait to continue to watch Jacob's personality come to life! His smile already lights up the room and steals the hearts of everyone he meets. Happy Three Month, Little Boy!

Spring Break Begins!

Today was the first day of spring break for Tuttle and Maggie, and we spent most of the day at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens with some sweet friends.

The weather was absolutely perfect, so we walked around for hours soaking up the sun. Like usual I took every opportunity to snap a photo.

This is how all three really feel about photos...

But a little bribing (This time is was a King of Pops popsicle) always produces some adorable snapshots. :)

The opportunity to hold Jacob usually inspires both Tuttle and Maggie to smile for the camera!

Jacob's favorite spot all day was riding in the Ergo. He is definitely a cuddle bug. He tolerates being on the go, but I can already see that he really prefers to relax at home. Our baby was all smiles once we were back at the house with a few minutes of down time.

We are looking forward to more fun this week including a few nights at Gram's house starting tomorrow. Tuttle even gets some one-on-one time with Grandmommy and Grandaddy toward the end of the week. While our family is not at the beach or jet setting around the country, I think Spring Break 2016 is going to be filled with lasting memories!

Small Victories

I will not say that going from two babies to three babies has been easy. Jacob is the sweetest newborn, but he does require a lot of attention and absolutely hates the car (which is VERY difficult since his two older siblings have an activity every afternoon). I try to celebrate the small victories and soak up this stage of life.....

Like the moment that Tuttle realized that he can really read and spent all day pulling books off his shelf. 

Or enjoying some sunshine and Jacob's first time swinging at the park

And visiting Daddy at work which included Daddy and Uncle CJ chair racing Maggie and Tuttle around the office

To wearing REAL CLOTHES, putting on makeup, and drying my hair multiple times this week. Yes, it is the little victories. :)

I am so lucky to be the mommy to Jacob, Maggie, and Tuttle. Even more lucky to be the wife to a man that supports my dream of being a SAHM, despite the difficult days.