Back To Routine

We are officially back into a routine after my minor surgery last week. My mom and Daddy held down the fort while I recovered in bed. As a full time mommy, I have laughed that the only way that you can get a full day's worth of laziness in bed is to have surgery! :)

Our friends and family were so sweet with all the calls, messages, and texts checking up on me. We even had one friend send enough food to feed the entire neighborhood. Thank you so much, Amy!!

Luckily Maggie's trip to the local pumpkin patch with her Pre-K class was on Monday prior to my surgery. We walked from the church with her friends to pick out a pumpkin and explore the patch. It was a fun morning for everyone!

I personally think I picked the cutest pumpkins in the patch to bring home.

Jacob returned home after several days at Gram and Grump's house. He has a new little trick although he does not realize he is doing it yet. He let go and stood independently for a second or two! One step closer to walking!

Maggie had "Picture Day" this week at school. We practiced her smile, but since she gets shy in front of new people, we never know what kind of pictures will come home! Haha

Tuttle is celebrating Red Ribbon Week at his school this week. Monday was about making good food choices, so I organized a healthy snack for his class to make- fruit pizzas! I always have so much respect for Tuttle's teachers after I spend any time in the classroom. I could not handle a full day with all those 1st graders without needing a nap halfway through! :) I think the cooking project was a success, and Tuttle enjoyed having me visit.

I am finally getting caught up on laundry and the house back in order. Daddy and I thought we were coming down with a bug yesterday after a rough night with Jacob, so everyone went to bed before 8pm last night. Luckily we woke up feeling much better. Little Boy has his first cold, but he has managed to stay in pretty good spirits and nap more frequently.

We are looking forward to some Halloween fun this weekend! 

A Little South Georgia Fun

Gram, the kids, and I returned from a trip to South Georgia this past weekend. Tuttle has been interested in visiting the Okefenokee Swamp for a while now, so Gram and I decided to turn it into a visit to her hometown of Willacoochee, too! Maggie could hardly contain her excitement to spend two nights in a hotel!

After an easy ride down, we grabbed dinner and headed immediately for the hotel pool. It was close to Jacob's bedtime, so Gram stayed with the big kids while they splashed around in the water.

We hit the ground running on Saturday morning and drove into Willacoochee. Our first stop was the cemetery to put flowers on my Papa's grave. This was the kids' first experience in a cemetery, but they did not seem unnerved and asked some really sweet questions.

The next logical stop was Corbitt Hardware, my grandfather's store. He sold it to some family friends after he stopped working, but they are more like family and kept the original name.

I had not visited in twenty years, but it still smelled the same and brought back so many fun memories from my visits to Willacoochee. Even the old glass bottle Coke machine worked, so Tuttle enjoyed a cold treat!

I just LOVED this big container of nails when I was a little girl. Maggie liked checking it out, too. :)

We drove the kids by the old elementary school, the library, and the church. Mom ran into some friends at the church, and the kids explored the building for a few minutes.

Gram and I made a quick stop at Sambo's Jumbos for a Coke (and a corndog for me!) before loading up the car for the drive to the swamp. Although Gram's little South Georgia hometown has changed a lot since I was a little girl, I feel so lucky that my kids were able to experience a little taste of such a special place to our family.

The Okefenokee Swamp lived up to its expectations. As soon as we arrived, we could see alligators everywhere. I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that there was no barrier between visitors and the animals!

We started the adventure with a boat ride through the swamp. Luckily there was enough space for Jacob to crawl around without falling overboard. We saw big and small alligators, turtles, snakes, and birds. At one point, we exited the boat to climb an observation tower.

We cruised around one area with all the big alligators, including the alpha male of the swamp. He was GIGANTIC. 

Our next stop was a train ride which unfortunately resulted in Maggie getting sick. She had not been herself during the day or eaten much, so it did not surprise me. It cut our visit a little short, but a huge storm started up, so it was actually good timing. The kids picked out some souvenirs, and we left the swamp.

Our last required stop was Ray's Millpond Cafe in Ray City, Georgia. The food is almost worth the drive down to South Georgia alone. Jacob is officially at the age where a restaurant is almost impossible, but Gram and I were both able to stuff ourselves with fried catfish, cheese grits, hushpuppies, and banana pudding. 

Tuttle, Maggie, and Jacob's first visit to South Georgia was full of memories. A big THANK YOU to Gram for planning to trip and helping with my crazy circus while we were there. We had a blast!

Jacob Turns Nine Months!

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

Jacob eats three meals a day with a morning, afternoon, and evening bottle. He loves yogurt and cereal for breakfast. His favorite lunch is a peanut butter sandwich and fruit. For dinner, Little Boy eats what we are eating for the most part. If it is a difficult meal for him to eat, I offer baby food mixed with rice cereal. He has also mastered eating directly from a squeezie. I still hold it, but it makes a meal out much easier!

His sleeping schedule has remained the same. He takes one LONG nap in the morning (2 hours) in his crib while Maggie and Tuttle are at school. Most afternoons he takes a quick nap in the car on way to our activities. He is ready for bed between 6:30-7:30. He independently drinks an 8 ounce bottle in his bed and falls asleep. I sneak in later to grab the empty bottle. :)

Jacob is B-U-S-Y! Tuttle and Maggie were never interested in just getting into things to make a mess. This boy's mission is to dump out the contents of baskets, drawers, trash cans, Bella's food bowl. Just ANYTHING! He also does not like to be contained in any way- his carseat, the exersaucer, his highchair, the pack-n-play. It is a good thing Little Boy is so happy and adorable because he keeps me on my toes!!

He has moved from army crawling to a regular crawling position. He pulls to stand up on anything he can grab. He has started taking a few steps to cruise around furniture, but he does not go far before dropping into a crawl. Jacob reaches his arms up to be picked up which is just the sweetest. I would hold that boy all day!

Jacob wears 12m clothing with a little room to grow and 12m pajamas. He still wears a Size 4 diaper. 

I cannot believe we are already 3/4 of the way to ONE YEAR! Little Boy completes our family of five!

Fall Break Ends

We filled our last day of Fall Break with one last tradition. Today we visited the Atlanta Botanical Gardens for the "Scarecrows in the Garden" exhibit. The kids always love exploring the gardens and picking out their favorite scarecrows. We decided that next year we want to submit our own scarecrow! As an added bonus, Tuttle and Maggie each had a friend today since Graham and Annie met us there with their mom.

Another perk of the visit was playing in the final phase of the new children's garden. It had been under construction on our recent visits, so we loved seeing it! The bird's nest treehouse and the slide took up most of our time there.

Of course, I had to snap some pictures of my babies with the fall decorations! 

We are back to our normal routine tomorrow. Tuttle is excited to show off his first lost tooth gap! Daddy pulled it out on Friday, and the Tooth Fairy left $5 in its place. (I hear that is the going rate now, but it goes back to $1 after the first tooth!)

Disney On Ice

Maggie's special day finally arrived! Grandmommy and Grandaddy had given the birthday girl tickets to Disney on Ice in July, and we had been counting down the days! Maggie requested that Tuttle attend the performance, so Jacob went for his first solo sleepover in Madison.

Maggie requested Newks for dinner to start the fun evening. Even though Daddy tried to convince her otherwise, she insisted on pizza and croutons. I love Newks, so I was happy to go! At dinner we decided to take Marta to Phillips Arena.

Once we arrived, we walked down to the ice to take in the atmosphere. We were not exactly sure where our tickets were located. We were in Row BB which I assumed would be after A-Z. Much to our surprise, the front row was AA, and the second row was BB! We were practically sitting on the ice! 

Maggie and Tuttle split some ice cream while Daddy and I had a drink before the start of the show. 

As soon as it was time, we headed to our seats for the big performance! The entire family was impressed with the ice skating and dancing. Maggie and Tuttle were on the edges of their seats. The excitement about Disney may have us heading back to Orlando again next summer!

Yes, Tuttle has a different shirt on. Our tshirt loving boy chose a new shirt for his souvenir, and Maggie picked an Ariel doll.

A huge THANK YOU to Grandmommy and Grandaddy for the perfect special day for Maggie. This will be a memory we will never forget!

5th Annual Apple Picking Adventure

We had the best time at our 5th Annual Apple Picking Trip to B.J. Reece Orchards in Ellijay, Georgia. 

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For the first time in five years, Kristen and I had to drive separately. With six kids between the two of us now, there was not enough room in either vehicle to ride together!

We started off at the petting zoo. The orchard has every animal to offer, and the kids ran around visiting each animal. Maggie loved the pigs while Tuttle preferred the turkeys. Jacob liked any animal that would let him grab on!

Next we headed into the orchard to fill our bags with apples right off the trees. 

Most of the apple we picked did not actually make it into the bags since the kids ate their way through the rows of trees.

Maggie was so proud that she matched her bestie for the day. Even Baby Alice joined in for a coordinating trio!

Tuttle tried to use the apples to his advantage. He had an extra loose tooth. (More on that later!)

Everyone ventured to the orchard store for a treat before heading back to Atlanta. We left with apple cider, apple bread, apple pies, and two bags busting with apples. 

We cannot wait to go back next year! Thank you to Kristen and Val for coming!

Maggie Start Piano!

Today was a very special day for Maggie. She attended her first piano lesson with Ms. Donna before her preschool started.

Maggie was a little nervous to start because she thought it would be complicated songs like Tuttle is playing now. I explained she would start with a beginner book, and it would not be hard. Today they worked on the correct posture to play piano, counted out some simple beats, and discussed the difference in the "black keys" and the "white keys."

I know Maggie will thrive on the piano. She loves feeling big like Tuttle, so hopefully practicing will not be a struggle!

Move over Mozart. There is a new piano star in town!

Fun-Filled Weekend

We just packed A TON into this past weekend, but we made so many sweet memories. 

The weekend started off with a huge surprise for the kids! We had been BOO-ed! Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is promoting a fundraiser to surprise a friend with Halloween goodies and a sign for their yard. You never know who sent the treats to you, but now we will pass on the Halloween love to someone else!

On Friday my mom and I celebrated my birthday that was on Monday. My mom's birthday was in August, so we combined events for one fun evening! We ate sushi and received HOUR LONG foot massages at a local favorite! I had never tried Treat Your Feet before, but everyone I know raves about it. We cannot wait to go back! And for only $30, you cannot beat the price!!

On Saturday while Daddy cheered on the Georgia Bulldawgs with a few friends in Athens, the kids and I stayed BUSY! We began with Tuttle's soccer game (another win!) and fit in a karate class, so Tuttle could practice his sparing. Our fall schedule only allows Tuttle to take karate technique classes, so I loved watching him in action with all his new skills.

We picked up a birthday gift for Maggie's friend and stopped by the pet store next door for a few minutes. I have fond memories of visiting my local pet store as a child and petting all the animals. This pet store had it all- dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, ferrets, hamsters, fish, and bunnies. Everything was accessible for the kids to hold. Tuttle even made a special friend!

After a quick change at home we drove to a birthday party for Maggie's former classmate, Anna. It was a ballerina party, so Maggie was in Heaven! Everything was so sweet and pink! I may copy the party for Maggie in July. :)

We missed Daddy, but we know he had a great time at the nail biting game. Sadly Georgia lost, but the field was full of action!

Sunday we ventured to the Candler Park Fall Festival. The weather was absolutely perfect, so we ended up staying much longer than we originally thought we would. Between a food truck lunch, jumpy houses for the kids, strolling the art booths, and goofing off at the playground, there was something for everyone! We LOVE living in Atlanta.

Warning: I took my good camera to the festival which resulted in A LOT of photos! Enjoy!

Now we are ready to take on another week! 

Luckily Fall Break starts Thursday! More time to pack in some fall traditions!