We Survived The Last Week of School!

Everyone is thrilled that school is officially out for the summer especially after the exhausting last week of school! Everyday was filled with ceremonies, parties, and goodbyes!

Monday started early with Honors Day for Tuttle. He had worked so hard all year to receive the Flying Eagle Award for all A's. This is not an easy feat when two of your main classes are taught 100% in German, including projects and tests. He also received the Perfect Attendance Award for this semester and the Six Flags Reading Award for reading six hours. While I was beaming with pride for these awards, the biggest surprise came when Tuttle was awarded the Citizenship Award for his class. Typically one boy and one girl are recognized for this honor. We could not be more blessed to have Tuttle in our lives.

Tuttle has loved his teachers this year. Ms. Stokley, his homeroom teacher, holds an extra special place in his heart. He is always writing letters to bring to her at school. He is going to miss her so much next year. 

Tuesday was filled with an ice cream party for Tuttle and a pretend birthday party for Maggie. Jacob was such a trooper to attend both events and skip his morning nap.

Since Maggie and Lily's birthdays are in July, their teachers suggested celebrating the last week of school. Maggie would not want to share this special day with anyone else but her bestie!

Maggie is so near turning five years old that she decided that she needs to cross her legs like a grown up in the car! :)

Wednesday was Maggie's last day of preschool, so everyone celebrated with a graduation ceremony and a party in the classroom. Maggie won the award for "Sassy Diva." I do not think they could have picked a more fitting title. She may start out shy, but her true personality quickly comes out and is unforgettable!

Maggie has grown so much this year at OPP. She is 100% ready for kindergarten. Her teachers, Ms. Orla and Ms. Lisa, have been some of my favorites!

I am going to completely ignore the fact that Maggie and Lily will not be together anymore. 

After dropping Tuttle off for his last day of school on Thursday, we started Maggie's summer the right way with doughnuts for breakfast!

We eagerly picked up Tuttle at the end of the day and joined friends at the Frosty Caboose for ice cream! Jacob enjoyed his first ice cream cone!

Tuttle is bound for second grade now, but first let's enjoy a summer packed with FUN!

Brookhaven Bolt and Ballet

Our entire family participated in the Brookhaven Bolt this past weekend to benefit our elementary school. Tuttle decided to run with his buddies while Jay and I pushed Jacob and Maggie at the back of the race. I love that the run winds around our neighborhood. It gives Jay and I the opportunity to check out all the new houses!

This annual 5K was a great way to start our Saturday. Next year Maggie will be running, too!

Saturday afternoon we celebrated Maggie at her spring ballet recital. Her class performed on the stage at the Cobb Energy Center, and Maggie had an entire row there to cheer her on! Grandmommy, Grandaddy, Gram, Grumps, Aunt Peach, Holland, Mommy, Daddy, Tuttle, and Jacob all came to admire our tiny dancer. 

We were so proud of Maggie to get on stage in front of such a huge audience. Although we are taking a break from ballet to focus more on gymnastics, Maggie really enjoyed her two years at Atlanta Ballet with her sweet teacher, Ms. Alera. 

Everyone ended the day with ice cream. Great job, Maggie Moo!

Now we are officially in the home stretch for summer: ONE WEEK!

Mystery Reader and Mother's Day Weekend

Tuttle had been waiting all year to surprise Maggie at school as the Mystery Reader. The big day finally arrived about a week ago.

Maggie was clearly very proud to sit next to her big brother as he read two Dr. Seuss books to her sweet friends. Despite their constant bickering, the bond between Tuttle and Maggie is so special.

As soon as we arrived home from preschool, Daddy was waiting to take all three babies to visit Grandmommy and Grandaddy. I had requested some time alone for Mother's Day, and I knew Grandmommy would love spending time with Jay and the grandchildren. Win/win!

After a THREE HOUR nap, I met up with some neighborhood girlfriends to try out a new Chamblee restaurant: Hopstix. The food was amazing, and it had been way too long since I had caught up with my friends that we talked for hours and were almost the last table to leave!

I had only requested 24 hours by myself, but Jay ended up staying in Madison for another night. My second day alone was spent being absolutely lazy. I ordered Uber Eats and watched Netflix all day. It was Mommy Heaven!

I was ready to see my family on Sunday. I just love these little babies so much! 

This will go down as my best Mother's Day to date. Sleep allows a mommy to really recharge! :)

Field Day Fun

After getting rescheduled due to rain, Field Day 2017 was a complete success this past Thursday. I let Maggie play hooky from school, so she could cheer on Tuttle all day. It always surprises me that field day makes me tear up, but I just cannot believe another school year is practically over. Tuttle and his friends had a blast, and Maggie, Jacob, and I loved watching the action.

Only 9 days left until summer!

Soccer, Science, and Shenanigans

We wrapped up our spring soccer season with a double header on Saturday morning. Our boys all played impressively, and we finished with two wins! This season has really been a game changer for Tuttle and his buddies. The game seemed to click, and everyone was eager to pass, stay in position, and actually play as a team instead of just chasing the ball in a huddle all over the field. A HUGE reason for our successful season was Coach Karen. She is such a firecracker and demanded a lot out of the team. Her personality and vocal approach to coaching kept me in stitches on the sidelines!

Coach Karen has volunteered to host a Friday afternoon soccer clinic through the summer. Even though the team cannot all stay together next season (several of the boys age out), I am looking forward to Tuttle improving his game with the best team ever!

The rest of our Saturday was spent working on Tuttle's German science project. First grade has been no joke this year, but Tuttle has continued to rise to the occasion and make high grades in all his classes. This final project was a big commitment, and Tuttle worked three hours straight to complete his poster. He was required to pick an animal and research interesting facts about it with German articles. 

He assembled a Lego animal habitat last week for the creative portion of the project. I knew if he worked with Legos that my Type A personality would not try to take over. He is a Lego Master! :)

I thought it would take a lot of redirection to keep Tuttle on task for so long, but he was so proud of his poster that he stayed focused the entire time. I cannot believe a seven year old boy produced such an amazing project. He will present to his class this week in German.

Finally I wanted to document some of Jacob's shenanigans this week. This third child seems to want to continue to top his latest mischief with another crazy decision only days later. Nothing surprise me anymore.

1. I was hanging laundry in Tuttle and Maggie's room one afternoon. Jacob might have been out of my sight for 10 minutes while I assumed he was making a mess in the playroom. I returned to the kitchen to find him INSIDE THE OVEN. He had pulled the door down and was completely parallel to the floor with his body laying across the door and his head in the oven. If he had not been wearing my favorite spring outfit, I would have taken a picture!

2. Recently Maggie has been forgetting to flush the toilet. A few days after the oven incident, I was unloading the dishes when Jacob walked into the kitchen and dropped a handful of Maggie's poop right at my feet. 

3. Finally Maggie and Jacob were taking a bath while I was cleaning up after dinner. Maggie started to yell that Jacob was standing up. Without looking, I told her that he was fine to stand in the tub. I have learned to fight my battles with him. She insisted that I come look at him standing, and I entered the bathroom to find my 15 month old baby like this:

I stopped giving parenting advice after I had Jacob. I now understand the parents that have wild and unruly children. :)

Mud and Cake

Our Saturday started out a little messy with the Chamblee 5k Mud Run. Daddy and Tuttle were not afraid to get down and dirty for a race!

Maggie, Jacob, and I cheered on the runners with Mary Marshall and Annie since Graham and his daddy were also participating. We positioned ourselves beside one of the mud pits to snap some action pictures! This also gave Jay a chance to smear mud all over me when he exited the pit!

Jay said Tuttle ran the entire time! Next year Maggie wants to get muddy with the boys!

We all quickly showered when we arrived home and spent some time relaxing before leaving for Holland's 2nd birthday party.

Aunt Peach and Uncle Drew hosted the bash at their local playground. Everyone enjoyed beautiful weather, a cookout, and cake!

I have known what Holland's birthday gift would be for almost a year- a pair of "Ah Boots" just like Maggie's! She immediately wanted to wear them. I think they were a hit! :)

I cannot believe it has been two years since this tiny 3 pound, 11 ounce baby entered the world. She may have been peanut, but her huge personality has stolen our hearts! We love you, Holland!

Tuttle, Maggie, and Jacob absolutely adore their cousin, and we cannot wait to celebrate many more birthdays and adventures!