Giving Back

Tuttle has been DYING to host a lemonade stand all summer, so I promised him we could set one up at his kindergarten playdate at the park this week. We agreed that it would be nice to donate the money to a charity since his piggy bank is stuffed, and Tuttle immediately selected Feed My Lambs. 

During Mission Camp we volunteered at Feed My Lambs which a free school for underprivileged children with a big focus on Christian education. We spent one morning teaching Bible stories and serving the children lunch with our church group. I am thrilled that the experience had such an impact on Tuttle.

We picked up supplies for the lemonade stand on Thursday morning, and Tuttle set to work designing his sign.

When we arrived at the park, the skies were ready to pour, so we set up under the roof of the rec building. Luckily the shower only lasted a few minutes, and then the customers started arriving. :)

Tuttle collected $23.80 (with $10 of that from Ms. Kristen- we agreed that free refills were available for Jack and Lily!). Tuttle and Maggie both loved serving lemonade to their friends!

Yesterday we delivered the money to Feed My Lambs. Tuttle was proud to tell the director about his lemonade stand and was so excited when she told him that the money would be used for the school's next field trip! I explained to Tuttle in the car that these children do not get to visit all the fun places that we go on a regular basis. I think it was extra special that he knew the children would have a fun time because of his hard work.

I just love my sweet and generous boy.

Happy 4th Birthday, Maggie!

We had a blast celebrating our little Moo's 4th birthday this weekend! I let her choose the location for her party, and she has been committed to Chuck E. Cheese for months now. (I think her decision was based mainly on the fact that Tuttle loves Chuck E. Cheese!)

Despite it being summer with so many people out of town, Maggie had nine of her closest friends attend the celebration. It was several friends' first time at Chuck E. Cheese, and I think everyone had a blast! (Hopefully no parents hate me for introducing this location to their children! Haha!)

Chuck E. Cheese is not solely for children!

Jacob loved the lights and action, but finally passed out in Gram's arms for a nap. We were shocked that he could sleep through the noise!

The party would not have been complete without Maggie's bestie, Lily!

Pizza, cupcakes, and a performance by Chuck E. Cheese made the afternoon a complete success! Maggie did get a little shy during the singing, but that is pretty typical when the spotlight is on her in a large setting. :)

Thank you to Grandmommy, Grandaddy, Aunt Peach, Uncle Drew, Holland, Gram, and Grumps for coming to celebrate our FOUR year old! Maggie cannot wait to attend Disney on Ice (compliments of Grandmommy and Grandaddy) and visit the zoo with our new membership (compliments of Gram and Grumps). She is one lucky girl!

Happy 4th Birthday to our sassy, macaroni and cheese loving, gymnastics cartwheeling, big brother obsessed, nail painting, puzzle assembling girl! We love you and cannot wait to laugh through another year with you!

Family Time

Our little family returned to Ponce City Market this past Saturday. We decided to switch it up a little bit this time and park at Piedmont Park. The Beltline allowed us to walk straight there, and Tuttle and Maggie loved riding their scooters.

We immediately found a spot for dinner and enjoyed people watching.

Jacob always has a big brother or big sister ready to help!

After a quick stop at the candy shop and browsing a few stores, rain was threatening our adventure, so we walked back to the car.

We cannot wait to visit Ponce City Market again soon! The entire family cannot get enough of the hustle and bustle there!

We continued some special family time with a trip to the pool with Aunt Peach and Holland today. Since Maggie's swim lessons last week were such a success, she felt much more confident in the water and spent most of the morning swimming short distances to me in the shallow part of the pool. Tuttle's swimming ability has improved drastically, and he was jumping off the diving board and swimming independently all over the pool. Jacob could not get enough of kicking his little legs in the water. I was surprisingly pleased with how easy handling all three babies at the pool proved to be!

Holland is such a water baby and loved going underwater while Aunt Peach held her! She has changed into such a big girl after starting off as a tiny premie baby!

Thank you, Aunt Peach, for inviting us to swim! We are hoping to splash around in the pool again next week! :)

Tennis, Swim, and Shots

I signed Maggie and Tuttle up for tennis camp this past week. It was their first time playing tennis, and they could not wait to hit the courts! I loved that they could both attend the same camp and be in the same group. The camp only had about 10 kids and three instructors. Imagine my surprise when my college best friend's little boy arrived at the same camp! We do not talk nearly as much as I wish we did, so I had no idea that her son would be there! Tuttle and Maggie both loved playing with Jett all week!

On top of running around in the heat during tennis camp for three hours each morning, Maggie also completed a week of swim lessons. Gram took her to the pool in Smyrna each afternoon while the boys and I hung out at home. The original plan had been to attend swim lessons in June before our beach trip, but the swim instructor (the same one that taught me 30 years ago!) had a medical emergency and could not available. Her wonderful niece taught Maggie this week, and as Maggie said, "Ms. Alicia is the prettiest and nicest teacher ever." 

The entire family watched Maggie's final lesson, and she impressed us so much! She was floating on her back, jumping from the diving board, and independently swimming short distances. Maggie is well on her way to becoming a real mermaid! :)

Tuttle snapped this photo to show real life at our house. It cracks me up that I am complete chores with a little boy in tow. I know I will miss these days very soon once Jacob is too busy to snuggle with his mommy. :(

Jacob's six month wellness visit was on Friday. Although he had to get several shots, he was eager to show off his new crawling skills as he zoomed across the table and tried to eat the papers along the way.

The doctor was not surprised that we have an early crawler and that Jacob skipped baby food and prefers table food. Third babies have to keep up with their sibings!

Here are Little Boy's 6 Month Stats:

Height: 27 inches (63%)

Weight: 16 pounds, 6.4 ounces (26%)

Head: 43.5 centimeters (53%)

We are soaking up as much summer as possible before school starts in THREE WEEKS! Where has the summer gone?

A Boy And His Dog

Smelly joined our family about nine years ago before any children. Her life has changed over and over (and over) with the addition of Tuttle, Maggie, and Jacob. She definitely does not get the attention that she once did, but Jacob is starting to show a real interest in our furry family member. :)

Yesterday Jacob crawled over to Smelly repeatedly to grab her front leg. Smelly licked our little boy directly in the face more times than I want to admit, but he loved it and smiled every time!

Now if Jacob could get big enough to walk the dog....

Jacob Turns Six Months!

Jacob Corbitt Thorne has been a part of our family for SIX months now! Half a year!!

Our little boy is still eating about 6 ounces every 2.5 to 3 hours. I tried to introduce baby food to him several times over the past month, but he was not interested at all to the point of crying. One day I decided to attempt some soft table food, and he took to it right away! He is still not replacing a meal with real food, but he has liked bananas, green beans, broccoli, tomato, and apple. He also enjoys the baby puff cereal and teething wafers. 

Jacob takes two good naps during the day for about 1.5-3 hours, usually averaging two hours each time. He sleeps so well in his bed, but if we are on the go, he will wake up once we arrive at whatever activity we are driving to. He goes to bed around 7pm and will wake once to eat during the night. He has been sleeping 8-10 hours before he wakes up! Once he sucks down a quick bottle, he returns to his crib and sleeps until around 7:30am. I finally feel completely rested each day. :)

The biggest development has been CRAWLING. Yes, you read that correctly. About a week ago, Jacob learned to army crawl across the room. He is still slow and will only move if he is truly motivated to reach a toy, but he is officially mobile. This is extremely ironic because I have said for years that my favorite stage of a baby is when they can sit up independently, but they cannot move. Jacob decided to make life more interesting because he can not sit up yet, but he can crawl. Baby #3 is here to keep me on my toes!! 

Little Boys has learned to love the stroller and is happiest when he has free reign to explore the playroom with Maggie and Tuttle nearby. 

Jacob still wears 6m and some 9m clothing and wears a Size 3 diaper. He has become much chunkier, and I am eager to find out his stats this Friday at the pediatrician. 

Jacob's smile still lights up the room, and Tuttle and Maggie love to hear him laugh. He is the easiest and happiest baby. I cannot believe he is already half a year old. Someone needed to warn me that the third baby grows up MUCH faster. Several of my girlfriends told me that I better push him now whenever he starts to crawl to keep him little. Haha He is growing into such a little person, and I cannot wait to see his impact on our family!

Celebrating Eight Years!

Jay and I celebrated our upcoming wedding anniversary this weekend. Grandmommy and Grandaddy took ALL THREE babies from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon- 48 hours! While most of the weekend was spent being as lazy as possible, we did get dressed up Saturday night for  a special evening at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

We enjoyed dinner at the newly renovated garden restaurant, Lintons, and then strolled the grounds to take in the Chihuly exhibit. It was absolutely amazing, especially all lit up at night. We really got a chance to catch up on life without three little ones needing us. :)

Tomorrow is our official EIGHT year anniversary, and I love Jay more today than I did the day I married him. He is constantly supportive of my dreams and works so hard to provide for our family. I am extremely lucky that we met on that GA/FL bus (Go Dawgs!) and that our love continued to grow as well as our family. In eight years, we have moved four times, added three beautiful babies (as well as a three legged dog and an obese cat), and changed careers to allow my dream job of being a SAHM a reality. I love you very much, Jay! Happy Anniversary, and I look forward to many more!

Fourth Of July Fun!

We celebrated another July 4th weekend full of fun and tradition! Our patriotic attire started Sunday at church, and we loved singing some American hymns.

The real celebration started Monday morning with Daddy's 12th consecutive Peachtree Road Race! The kids and I stood in our normal spot to cheer on the runners and waited for Daddy to run by us.

It was a HOT morning for such an aggreesive run, and we are so proud of Daddy for beating his time by last year with almost no training. It has become an annual tradition to meet up with friends at Taco Mac after the race for lunch. The Poole Family and Green Family both came, and we even met the newest addition, Leyton Poole. :)

After a completely lazy afternoon, we allowed the kids to stay up EXTRA late to watch the fireworks at Lenox Square Mall. Jay stayed home with Jacob, and the kids and I rode Marta to our spot for the action. 

Maggie insisted on dressing as Rapunzel for the fireworks complete with frying pan in case Flynn Rider showed up. :)

We loved the fireworks, and everyone slept late this morning. Perfect summer day!

Mini Family Reunion

After a super busy week filled with VBS and my Mary & Grace Atlanta trunk show, I finally have a second to sit down and write about our fantastic time last weekend with the Thorne side of the family! 

We were invited to visit Diana and Mid's lake house and spent the day boating, swimming, and eating yummy food!

I think it was Tuttle  and Maggie's first time on a boat where they could tube and swim. Tuttle was eager to ride the tube immediately, and Maggie quickly warmed up to the idea, as well. Even Mommy successfully rode the tube without falling off with Katie!

We do not get to visit with the Thorne family as much as we would like! I thoroughly love talking to each member of the family! Hopefully we can make this more of a regular event because everyone lives fairly close.

Aunt Peach and Uncle Drew officially announced that they are expecting another little girl in December! We cannot wait to snuggle a new baby!

Since we did not have a baby life jacket, Jacob stayed back at the house and was held by almost everyone. Jacob loves to snuggle, so it is easy to find someone to love on him. :)

Jay and I spent the ride home discussing how we could invest in our own lake house! We had the best time with our family and soaking up all the fun on the lake. 

Thank you so much to Mid and Diana for hosting this mini family reunion! Don't be surprised if you arrive at your lake house to some unexpected visitors soon! :) We may not be able to resist sneaking back for more fun!