Slowin' Down..

Let me clarify that slowin' down for us is not really that slow:)

We've been getting back in the routine....staying home at night, getting to bed eariler (reason for lack of blog posts....they only happen late at night.), really just getting used to being up moving early every morning.

Since my last post, we celebrated Pop's birthday with dinner at "the place that makes the big fire" or as the adults call it, Sumo, followed by ice cream at Treat Yourself....come on Yogurt Mountain-Hoover...we're eagerly awaiting your opening! Happy Birthday Pop! Hope you are enjoying the BIG skeleton...and robot claws! (The boys picked out presents this year- so if your day is coming be warned!)

We're playing outside quite a bit now...since it's finally under 90 degrees! I think we'd had like 50 days straight of 90 degrees or more- so we've been avoiding anything outside! The boys are finally getting into baseball (thank you Lord- Brad was about to have a breakdown). We get out the bats and gloves and Daddy plays all time pitcher. One night we even had the neighbors' kids over and played a "game" in our driveway, complete with a sidewalk chalk drawn field. Good times for sure!

Carson up to bat



Parker "playing" centerfield



Wyatt (our triplet) in the bleachers



We've had a couple weeks of catching up with friends...including The Thompson's, Zach, Ellen and little Henry, who just moved back to Alabama after a 2 year stint in Orlando. We've missed them and are so glad to have them closer!

The boys are really enjoying having our friend Wyatt over to play. This past weekend he stayed for lunch and naptime too! It's cute to see them all together....and makes me think that maybe we could have handled triplets......naaaaaaaaahhh!!!

Here are some cute pictures of the boys all carrying a pizza across the street to Wyatt's house....they were saying, "Pizza delivery!, Pizza delivery!" Wyatt then got his piece of pizza and brought it back to our house to eat with the boys-they have a great time together and are so blessed to be building friendships already!





The boys are enjoying school and say they are having fun and still like being butterflies. It has been such a smooth transition- which is such a sign of how they are growing up! We are finally getting over the exhaustion of back to school days so hopefully I'll get better about blogging again!

Carson's story of the week:
He continues to "mock" me when I try to discipline him. Ever since the "butterball" incident (see previous blog post if you missed out on that story) he will repeat EVERYTHING I say, right after I say it. Me- "Carson, stop it." C- "Stop it!" Me- "Dont' back talk me" C- "Don't back talk me!".....oh, buddy, will he make it to 4??

Parker's story of the week:
Wyatt, our little neighbor from across the street comes over to visit. He has on only a pair of Lightning McQueen underwear. Parker immediately pulls his pants down, outside on the sidewalk, and shows his underwear to Wyatt. He turned like he was going to "moon" the neighbor's house, pulled his pants down and said, "Look, I got Mater!" One of my proudest moments yet....it keeps getting better:)

School, Work....back to Reality

Wheeewwww....

Just days after a clear bill of health from Dr. Brasfield (the pulmonologist), we got back to our "normal", coughing, waking up during the night, snoring and breathing treatments:( Poor guys...I guess the trip to the doctor's office gave us some good ol' germs that we'd been missing! They just started feeling better in the last few days....at least it was a short stint this time.

Last weekend of summer brought us a fun little trip to Alabama Adventure with the boys. We went last summer with the Aranda clan, and that's the last time we went, so the boys were immediately looking for Jake and Ashlyn. Once they realized it was just us, they settled in and actually had a great time! They really enjoyed it this time...slides, lazy river, kiddie area and the rides at the main park, slushies, funnel cake..WOW. They stayed all day...10:30- til 5! Carson took a short nap under the umbrella, but Parker just kept going strong. We are considering season passes for next year--I never thought I'd be saying that!

Fun on the slides





Time for a snack



Swimming



Was that fun, or not?


Someone was sleepy



Monday the boys officially became "Butterflies". I just kept thinking about the first week of school last year....and the crying and holding on to my leg, being pried away from me each morning...so we began talking about our new teachers and new classroom a week or so prior. You know me and my belief in social stories! They both said they didn't want to be Butterflies, so I had a good bit of anxiety about them changing classes. Well, we walked in with them saying they didn't want to go to the new class. They saw one of their friends, Matthew, in the hallway and they all 3 walked in without a hitch! They looked at me and said, "Bye Mama!" Matthew's mom and I got out of there as quickly as we could...we didn't want them to change their minds!

First Day of Butterflies (3K)- WOW...they look happy:)



They have had a great week and come home with stickers all over their shirts (and legs, right Parker?) everyday! When they make all green choices during the classroom activities, they earn a token to put in the treasure chest, which then spits out stickers! They come home saying they like school and their new teachers, so I am relieved!

I'm back to work and Brad's in town, so we've been adjusting to all of that this week too. It's chaos for sure, but it's semi-organized and we're glad to have the opportunity to live it TOGETHER:)

We had a fun time at a Birthday Party for their little friend Emma yesterday. It was at Parties on the Move...an indoor place with blow-up moonwalks, slides, etc. They loved it and had the best time! As they were eating pizza and then cake, they looked back to me and said, "Mommy this is so much fun!" "Yea, mama, we like it here!" If only little kid birthdays were everyday, right?!?

A funny story for each boy from the week:

Carson was playing with the train track and broke it apart. I told him to stop and he said, "No! I won't stop!" It was loud and snappy toward his mama. I snapped my fingers and said in my loud snappy voice, "Hey! You don't talk to your mama like that!" He immediately made a mad face and said, "Hey! You don't talk to your butterball like that!" I'd been calling the boys Butterball and TatorTot quite a bit lately....and asking, "Are you my little TatorTot? "Are you my Butterball?" Needless to say, I cracked up laughing at him....and now he's saying it everytime I tell him not to talk mean to me!

Parker was hiding under the rug and some grass gets on the floor. The next thing I know, he's in the laundry room getting the swivel sweeper. He says, "Mama, I spilled some grass on the floor, but I'm gonna clean it up with this broom, ok?" Umm, yea...anytime you want to clean up a mess, please, be my guest!

Some more fun pictures from summer

Got Milk?



Carson is a Rockstar



Swimming at Letson Farms

Back to School

Last Friday afternoon was graduation at Mitchell's Place. The boys' teacher had asked that they come back for the entertainment portion of the graduation. Their class came in and sang, "Hip, Hop Alphabet". They looked super cute...and you could tell that they hadn't been in school all month...but at least they didn't cry the whole time like they did at the Christmas program!

This is pretty much what they looked like the whole time:( Please notice the dollar sign "bling" they wore. So cute.





After graduation, the 3 of us (Daddy in GA) headed to the mall to make a return. We ended up buying some clothes, riding the carosel, eating dinner at the food court, and having some dessert at the pretzel store. It was quite a night, but they were great. When we arrived home, what do we hear? Mama, is that the....ICE CREAM TRUCK?!?!?!? Can we get some?? Huh, Huh?? Summer is almost over, right?? Why not? And so we experienced our first trip to ice cream truck. They both got a sour bomb pop...they chose by color--they were green, orange and purple....our favorite colors.

If I don't eat it fast it might melt in this 100 degree weather!



Savoring every last drop!



The weekend was totally uneventful and low-key....just the way we like it. Not that we show that very often, but we do like a little down time now and then!

Brad was out of town all week and didn't return home until late Friday night. He got up with the boys Saturday morning, after a bit of tapping shoulders and 2 boys crawling all over him:) When I got up I escaped for much of the day....started with a mani/pedi and finished with some back to school shopping! I was so very proud of myself for saving $360 that day! Don't ask how much I had to spend to save $360....you'll ruin the fun (like Brad ALWAYS does....boooo!) I got the boys some clothes and pjs, me some shoes, Brad, well.....oops, I didn't get him anything.

That night we met up with BeBe/Pop, LeLe/Guncle/KJ, and Aaron's parents to eat at Sumo, one of those japanese restaurants that, quote from the boys, "Make a big fire!" It was per request of the boys....they LOVE that place. The chef was great with them...both boys tried to catch food thrown from his spatula, and after lots of food thrown across the table- I'm happy to report that Leah and I were the only winning battery of the night...me throwing and Leah catching....go us! Parker kept asking for more fire....should we be worried?

Sunday we hung out with the guys from the Foundry and then headed to BeBe and Pop's house to eat and swim, along with Aaron's parents who were in town from Ohio. Parker and Carson were both "jumping in", well, Parker jumps, Carson kinda falls:) They kept saying, "Hey everybody, watch this!" and "Mrs. Paula, watch this!" They are getting more comfortable in the pool all the time...such a wonderful change from last year! It was a bittersweet Sunday....my last of the summer:(

Monday was our last day of summer celebration...the boys got to run the show. They played, inside and out, we went to Publix for a cookie (and some groceries), ate lunch at "chips and salsa"- I offered McDonalds and Chick-fil-A....they wanted chips and salsa....home for a nap...then swimming at BeBe and Pop's house. They were great all day:)

We had a visit to the pulmonologist this week, who was surprised and proud to get a "no major breathing events" report for the last few months! They are only on medicine once a day and haven't needed ANY breathing treatments for nearly 2 months..they have FINALLY been well for a good stretch! Knock, knock.....
She decided to increase their daily steroid medication for the fall just to get their little lungs a boost for back to school germs, snot, slobber, you know.....we may look at weaning them off some of the medication if they do well!

Today was my first day back to work and the boys enjoyed a fun day with Ms. Angie here at home. She'll be staying with them again tomorrow, as they don't start school until Monday. We're so lucky to have Angie-the boys absolutely adore her and look forward to her coming. I couldn't get out the door fast enough for them! We'll have a big transition come Monday when the boys move-up and become "Butterflies" at school. We've talked about it quite a bit and I keep telling them, it's the same friends, just new teachers....please start praying for a smooth transition, I know we are!!

Some end of summer pictures of my sweet boys....


Sorry, can't help it....at ANY moment I look up and see this.....



And then turn and see this.....


Ok....now those sweet ones I was talking about....