Our Week

We just wrapped up our President's Day Weekend Break and seemed to pack in a lot of fun despite just hanging around town. Ever since Jacob started walking, we have been spending a lot of time outside. Walking has opened up a whole new world, including playing at the park!

We met up with friends twice over the long weekend to play at the park, and Jacob was right in the mix with all the big kids!

Our Friday evening was occupied with the start of a family puzzle. We are not done yet, but each family member enjoys spending a few minutes each day putting together some pieces.

Saturday after a morning birthday party we returned after several years to the Dekalb Farmers Market for supplies to make our own sushi. Daddy made a feast for a king. It was absolutely delicious and also had five star presentation.

Both Tuttle and Maggie had exciting weeks at school. Tuttle's class devoured a king cake for Mardi Gras, and Tuttle was the lucky recipient of the baby. It is supposed to bring him good luck!

Maggie grew up right before our eyes on Wednesday and turned into a 100 year old lady to celebrate her 100th day of school. She was adorned with jewelry from her great-grandmother who will actually be 100 in just a few more years!

The big event of the week was on Thursday afternoon when Tuttle tested for his green belt. He completed a private lesson with Mr. Armando this past weekend to prepare, and he impressed the evaluation team and his family with his sharp moves. We are so proud of his commitment to karate.

The weather today is absolutely INCREDIBLE. 80 degrees in February! We have spent the entire afternoon outside (including writing this blog), and we are hoping these temperatures last!

And just because there is nothing better than a baby boy in a diaper set and red Keds, I will leave this right here....

Happy Weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I look forward to Valentine's Day every year. Jay and I do not really celebrate it at all, but I love all the sweet traditions with my babies!

Of course, half the fun is the themed clothing for Maggie and Jacob. Maggie was obsessed that she matched her doll one day!

Monday evening was spent preparing the valentines. Tuttle's choice this year was absolutely hilarious with his "I Pick You" cards complete with nose pencil sharpeners and festive pencils.

Maggie and I attempted a Pinterest project with success: white chocolate valentine popcorn! We paired it with a sweet card that read "You Make My Heart Pop!"

Tuttle, Maggie, and Jacob woke up to little valentine presents at their chairs on Tuesday morning. Tuttle had been saving up for a new Lego kit, but Mommy and Daddy surprised him early. Maggie's big girl purse was HUGE hit, and Jacob received some new balls to add to his collection.

Tuttle designed a special valentine box to hold all the cards and treasures. He worked hard to decorate a container to resemble a Mario and Luigi video game with a green tunnel sticking out the top. Not only did Tuttle get to pass out his valentines to his friends at school, but Grandparents' Luncheon was also scheduled for Tuesday. Both Grandmommy and Grandaddy and Gram and Grumps ate lunch with our boy. He had a full table!

Jacob and I went to Maggie's preschool valentine party.

 The kids had decorated their boxes the previous day, so after a yummy lunch, they were ready to show off their projects and pass out their cards.

Our final Valentine's Day activity was delivering the handmade cards from the dance at Tuttle's school to the local children's hospital.

Happy Valentine's Day! We have so much to love!

Dancing

For the past few weeks I have been organizing the elementary school dance. We decided to host an in-school dance this year, so everyone could attend, and we divided the school into three separate dances, so the little kids would not be trampled by the big kids. :)

It was a lot of hard work, but luckily there is a large village of parents that are all eager to volunteer to send in supplies, help decorate, or chaperone the dances. We took over the gym and covered it with hearts created by each student in the school with reasons that they love themselves. It was really touching to read the responses. I planned four different areas for the dances: a treat table, a photo booth with silly valentine props, the dance floor, and several tables filled with art supplies to make cards for the patients at the local children's hospital. 

Since there were three dances, we spread them out of two days. I enjoyed each age group, but my favorite was seeing my boy with his friends at the last dance on Friday. He told me he practiced dancing with his favorite girl, Vivi, on the playground before the dance.

Our dancing fun did not end on Friday. Gram treated the big kids and me to the Atlanta Ballet's Family Performance of Snow White on Saturday afternoon. Gram likes to plan one big activity each month for the kids, and everyone looks forward to our new adventure every time. We started the fun with pizza at Mellow Mushroom while Daddy and Jacob had a playdate at Aunt Peach's house. 

The Snow White show was very sweet and the perfect length of time at only one hour. Both Tuttle and Maggie were captivated the entire performance. 

Gram suggested that we fit in a trip to the ice cream shop afterwards, and no one argued with that!

 While we were enjoying our ice cream outside, a group of 8-10 little girls started checking out Tuttle, and it was very obvious they thought he was cute! At one point, the bravest of the girls ventured over to our table and asked if Tuttle would kiss her friend! Tuttle acted embarrassed that the girls were showing him so much attention, but it was obvious he secretly like it. I know this is only a taste of the teenage years to come! 

I am happy we fit in so much fun because later that night I started to feel sick and by Sunday morning, Daddy, Maggie, and I all had a stomach bug. Tuttle was dealing with a cold, as well. Thank goodness that Jacob seemed to miss the sickness! We are all feeling much better now. I think everyone just realizes there in no time to be sick! :)

Music, Parties, and Walking

Tuttle had been begging to visit a music store for a while now, so Saturday we headed to Guitar Center to explore. Santa brought Tuttle a guitar for Christmas (his number one request!), and he has been dabbling with lessons on his iPad. We are considering starting weekend guitar lessons for him. Tuttle has such a natural ability to play music. It will be a fun father/son outing each week. :)

On Super Bowl Sunday, Maggie returned to her second annual Princess Tea at Atlanta Ballet. She could not wait to eat the yummy treats, make crafts, and watching the big ballerinas perform. Maggie's shyness was not a problem with this fun event! She walked right in and did not look back!

Today Maggie attended a special breakfast at her preschool with Grumps. Daddy had an important meeting at work that he could not miss, so Grumps happily stepped in to help! Maggie loved riding to school with Grumps and was looking forward to singing a love song that the class had been practicing.

Jacob is officially a walker now! Hooray! Every time I attempt a photo of him, he is off! He seems so much more content at home now when I need to get something done. I guess there is a whole new vantage point to check out! It absolutely melted by heart a few days ago when Jacob and I woke Maggie up for school, and she hopped out of bed to hold his hand and walk down the hallway for breakfast. :)

I am hard at work to prepare for the elementary school Valentine's dances this week. The kids are thrilled to stay after school today to decorate the gym for the big event! Pictures to come...

Mary & Grace Trunk Show

I have been off my blogging game because I was hosting the Mary & Grace Atlanta Spring Show this past week. Luckily Gram and Jay helped with the kids, so I could invite customers over to our house to shop the clothes in person! Maggie and Jacob modeled the clothes a few months ago.

The clothes are onto their next destination, so my life can return to normal. (I am taking orders all season, though!) 

After a chilly Monday....

We have been experiencing incredible 70 degree weather the last few days. I completely neglected housework today for extra time at the preschool playground and watching Tuttle and Maggie ride their scooters and climb trees.

I know the weather is a tease before another cold snap, but we are not complaining! :)