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Charlotte

Our August

Because I am so behind, I’m just going to hit the high points of most of August. These months with three have been a whirlwind but I don’t want to forget what was going on.

James continued to come in to his personality and it sure is a big one! He hammed it up while I was trying to get a picture for his birthday invitation.

And this one continues to figure out who she is and I’m amazed with every facet of her being. She is gorgeous inside and out!

We had a family movie afternoon watching Finding Nemo and now the kids are all about Nemo.

Hadley went to big church of the first time. I held her during the service and she (and my arms!) fell asleep.

The big kids enjoyed trying out their new umbrellas on a sunny day. Their raincoats and umbrellas came in handy last week when it was raining cats and dogs and we had to get to school! James called it his “Wooo Wooo” jacket because it has fire engine’s on it and that’s the sound he says they make.

Jason took the bigs to the driving range and they loved it. They were very proud that some of their balls even made it past the flat area that you hit off of!

Memma gave James a Peter Pan costume and he was mesmerized with himself as Peter Pan. He’s going to be the cutest little boy on Halloween!

There was lots of accessorizing going on at our house! I love that Charlotte has her own sense of style and it doesn’t bother her if it’s a little wild. I’m happy to let her pick her own, unique outfits and play around with different styles as long as she wants to. I know all too soon she’ll want the “cool” outfits like everyone else and I want her to always feel confident in her own choices and style.

With the start of school means lots of time spent in carpool line which means lots of fun conversations with this little man. I learn a lot waiting for Sissy to get in the car. Mostly that he most likes to play with Claire at school and that he is SILLY!

Charlotte is still drawing all the time. The picture on top is her self portrait from the first week of school. And bottom is a coloring page of Elsa that she recreated on a blank piece of paper. She is so creative!

James continued his love affair with his sunglasses including wearing them almost constantly. Even while he was eating peanut butter out of a spoon. At least it’s protein y’all.

Charlotte spent some time in August raising money for our regional NICU. She joined some friends for Swim for Melissa and was so proud to help the tiny babies and enjoyed swimming some laps and getting a new t-shirt for her efforts. Thank you so much to all those who helped support her by donating money. It’s a wonderful cause that changes the lives of so many in our area and it was a great experience teaching Charlotte about giving to others and generosity.

We also celebrated Mary and Joel’s wedding in August. It was a beautiful wedding and we are so happy for them. James especially had fun at the reception as he went around asking a few different bridesmaids to dance!

Charlotte, Family, Mommy Advice, Personal, Shopping, TalesOfAPeanut

Friday Peanuts

Well, I’ve been MIA for the past few weeks. Sorry about that! The getting back into school routine has thrown me for a loop and I’m just now getting somewhat settled into a new schedule. For now, a list of some things going on will have to suffice. Hopefully new posts will be forthcoming next week!

– I’m the Blogger of the Month for September over on the Alabama Women Bloggers site. The topic of the month is “Back in My Day” and my first post went live on Monday with some reflection on what I learned about parenting from my parents. Check out my post and let me know what you learned from your parents and are putting into practice with your family! I’ll be posting there every Monday in September so be sure to check back next week to see what I’m talking about!

– I love Courtney DeFeo. She has a heart for Mom’s and for helping us parent the best that we can. She has a new book coming out this fall (In this House We Will Giggle) and I’m on pins and needles waiting to read it. I know that it’s going to be awesome! We have a mutual friend, Lindsey, who her girls calls Izzy, and Courtney has started featuring Lindsey the first Wednesday of every month. Lindsey is one of my favorite people and has so much to teach Mom’s from all of her time spent babysitting and nannying. I LOVED her idea about a donation basket from this month’s post and am going to implement it in my house ASAP!

– Courtney is also featuring a Q&A from Tara Concelman from Home First Behavior once a month. Another great parenting resource! Make sure to read the comments for even more nuggets of wisdom!

– There are apparently 940 Saturday’s in your child’s life from when they are born until they turn 18. This journal is a way to keep track of what you do with each of those for your child’s life. I LOVE this idea and think that once a week record keeping is more manageable than every day like some suggest. A lot of ours in the fall would show us in Tuscaloosa but that’s fun to record as well! This would make a great baby shower or Christmas gift!

– I’m already getting nowhere with the “how was your day” question after school. I’m going to start trying some of these questions and see if they get me further!

– Look at these cuties featured over on the Baby Be Blessed blog with their namesake dolls!

– I’m advertising over at Everything Etsy for the next few months! Check out their Directory for other great Etsy shops!

That’s it for this Friday! Enjoy your weekend!

Charlotte, Family, Friends, Hadley

Birth Week Friends

I’ve talked about Natalie and how I couldn’t have gotten through this summer without her. If you think I’m kidding know that I most definitely am not. Having baby girls five days apart allowed us to hold conversations via text at all hours of the night and discuss all the ups and downs that new motherhood of child number three holds. She has encouraged me and supported me and let me vent constantly over the last three months and I am eternally grateful for her and so thankful for her friendship.

Two weeks ago we finally were able to get everyone together and meet each other’s new babies in person. We had so much fun spending a few way to brief hours together and are already looking forward to the next time that we can see each other again. But, until then, we always have texting!

Charlotte, Family, Hadley

The rest of our summer

This summer has really been mostly spent at the house since Hadley’s schedule has been so up in the air and we haven’t wanted to expose her to much. Plus, I’m basically terrified at taking all three kids out by myself if I’m honest. But we’ve had fun here and I wanted to share a few other pictures from the last month of our summer.

No one can ever say that this girl doesn’t have spunk. She has started posing when she takes a picture and uses various dance poses when she does it. Like this one. Bless her, I don’t even know what else to say.

My kids love eating out. Huh, can’t be because I’m not a very good cook, right? Anyway, one night after dinner we came back to Memma and Papa’s to get some peach pie and ice cream and I snapped this of Mom and Hadley. Aren’t they both so beautiful?

Once we moved Hadley upstairs we have all spent a lot more time in her room. The big kids run back and forth to the playroom but by the time she’s done eating they’re usually in her room and want to hold her. I love how sweet they are together.

Looks like Hadley’s excited to be in a picture with her beautiful name painting from Mrs. Kim! (PS She’s got a Christmas limited edition painting and kits for kids to make coming out soon on her blog. Follow her on Facebook or Twitter so that you’ll be the first to know when they’re for sale!) (PPS She doesn’t know I’m saying this, just a friendly public service announcement so you can enjoy her awesome art like we do!)

Another post-feeding picture of my three cuties. It seems kind of unbelievable that I have three kids but if I had to pick any three kids, I’d want these three!

This girl. She’s so grown up you guys. With some gladiator-esque sandals and a grown up dress for church she’s looking more 10 than 5. She makes me so happy!

Charlotte, Family

Back to School!

Well, Charlotte’s in kindergarten right now, James walked right into his class without looking back, and I’ve made it through the morning without crying. So I’d say that we’re all about successes today!

Charlotte

The Day Before Kindergarten

Charlotte,

Today is your last day before you walk through the school doors and embark on a new journey as a school age kid. It is truly unfathomable to me that you are already old enough to be starting kindergarten. I remember just yesterday dropping you off in Mrs. Bonnie and Mrs. Julie’s class for your first Mother’s Morning Out. You screamed and cried and reached for me and as I turned around and left my heart was torn in two because I knew that it would be so good for you and for me but all I wanted in that second was to run back and scoop you into my arms and never let you out of my sight.

Tomorrow you will walk through those same doors that I took you for your first day of Mother’s Morning Out. I doubt that you will hold my hand as you walk through those doors to start your “real” education. You have mentioned that you’re a little nervous about starting school so you might be a little unsure as I leave but I know that there will be no tears. You have grown so much from that tiny 15 month old and I know that just like you eventually embraced MMO, you are going to excel and soar in kindergarten.

You are such a smart girl Charlotte and one of my prayers for your education is that you fall in love with learning like I did. You can be ANYTHING that you want to be, but it’s going to require working hard and learning a lot before you can do it. It’s ok not to have any idea what you want to be when you grow up (you recently said art teacher and that was the first profession you have ever mentioned when we ask you) since what you want to be now will almost surely not be what you end up being when you grow up. And no matter what you choose, your Daddy and I will do our best to support you.

You have such a tender heart Charlotte and I pray desperately that you surround yourself with people who will help your heart stay intact. No matter what happens or what anyone says to you, know that we believe in you and will always be here for you.

I’m not sure how I will react once I leave you at school tomorrow. I will probably be sad as it means that our days together will now be limited to summers and holiday’s. And while I will, hopefully, always be your biggest influence, I will not be the one who influences the majority of your time in the coming years. But I will also be so incredibly excited for you. This year and the years to come are going to be wonderful for you. You will learn so much about yourself and the world around you and you will also learn so much intellectually. I am waiting with baited breath to watch you grow and learn as the days and weeks and years go by.

You are my kind, loving, generous, smart, beautiful, creative, thoughtful, ambitious, joyous, rambunctious, precocious, silly, charming girl and I love you forever and ever. Every minute of every second of every day.

Have fun baby. Try your best and work hard. Make friends. Be discerning. Laugh a lot. Express yourself. Be proud in who you are and what you think and feel.

And know that no matter what, your Daddy and I, and especially God, will always be here for you cheering you on and praying for you.

We love you,

Mommy

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