They grow up so fast. . .

Yesterday was the last day of Carter's first year of pre-school at the Heiskell School! It seems like just the other day, we were all getting up (barely awake, as Tilly was just a few weeks old) to see Carter off on his big day! Carter was in the Builder's Class this year, and his teacher was Miss Page. He learned so many Biblical truths, fun songs, good manners, awesome crafts, and made so many new friends. What a special year this has been for our little fella!
Carter on the first day of school! He wore his purple name tag everywhere for the first couple of weeks: to church, to the grocery store, to bed, to the potty, everywhere! It is now safely placed in his baby book!

Carter on the last day of school! He wanted to take his picture in front of the bushes! Because we leave quite early, the moon was still out and he was captivated!

In the car on the way to school! Don't worry, we were at a stoplight! He was so excited!
Carter having fun on the playground at the end of the year picnic! I was thankful to be able to share in this special time with him thanks to some of my sweet friends at work. Daddy was under the house putting in new pipes, so we will forgive him for missing!!

Now, this little cutie is Carter's very special friend, Ashley! We have been hearing about Ashley all year! You can clearly see how much he adores her! Miss Lisa, the other two year old teacher, told me on Thursday he was holding her hand and singing, "My Valentine!" He has also professed his love to her! Yikes! He is going to be quite the charmer! Ashely's mom and I agreed on the playground yesterday to an arranged marriage for our children! What a sweet family! Carter, we are so proud of you and so thankful for the blessing of you! We look forward to watching you grow for many more years! We love you very much!

Happy Mother's Day 2009

What a special day it was for me! Carter made me a precious lady bug picture frame with his sweet face as the center; it is proudly displayed on my refrigerator. Summer and Tilly (with the help of Miss Jeannie) painted a flower pot for me with their fingerprints! Both gifts are so very special! On Sunday morning at church we had muffins with Mommy and then we dedicated Tilly to the Lord. Carter and Summer stood with David and me as we dedicated baby Tilly promising to raise her in a God-centered home with our eyes fixed on Jesus. Summer and Tilly were pretty in their pink dresses from "T." My mom and her husband were there along with my sister and her whole family! After church we went to lunch and then came home for nice LONG naps! This is my third Mother's Day and each year I am more and more thankful for my mother, my mother-in-law, and my grandmother! Thank you for the wonderful examples you are to me. I am also thankful for my precious children: Carter, Summer and Tilly. They are such a joy to parent! Here are a few pictures from this sweet day!

Our little family on Mother's Day 2009.

Mommy with Miss Tilly on her baby dedication day.Mommy with Summer after church.

Noelle, T, and Mommy

Mommy with her best girls!

Tilly's dedication; so special for Daddy to be the one to lead the service!

Zoo Atlanta

Saturday was our second annual trip to Zoo Atlanta in honor of Mother's Day! As long as the children are two and under (which ours are for a few more weeks anyway) it is free! The lady kind of looked at us funny when we told her all the children were two and under! They really are! The weather was perfect; we got there at the perfect time and the children had so much fun! Carter and Summer were amazed by all the animals and Tilly just smiled the whole day! The gorillas were chasing and wrestling each other. The baby panda was awake. It was such a special day for our little family! Check out this slide show from our fun day!

Carter 3rd Birthday Party Celebration

Today, David and I went to Carter's class with cookies, juice, and Curious George paraphernalia in hand!  Curious George has been a long time favorite of our little fella!  It was so much fun to celebrate Carter's 3rd birthday with the boys and girls in his class.  Carter's actual birthday is not until the 27th, but next week is the last week for his school year!  I can't believe how fast this year has gone!  I remember his first day of school like it was yesterday.  He has had a wonderful first year at the Heiskell School.  We are so thankful for his teacher, Miss Page!  Here are some sweet pictures of the birthday boy and his friends!  He was so excited to celebrate his special day with Mommy, Daddy and his friends!  

Little Miss Tilly Showin' Off

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about our big surprise to find Tilly standing up in her bed! Well, that was apparently not some fluke thing! She has been pulling up on everything! We are shocked! Miss Tilly is not even 9 months old yet! We are so proud of our sweet little girl! We love you baby Tilly!

All in the Same Week

So, life at our house is pretty interesting because our children are so close in age and this season of life is so much fun and ever-changing! There is something new every day! I want to be able to look back at these moments when they are too cool to hug me or sit on my lap or hold my hand; I cherish these moments now! This has been a week of new things for us! It all began last Saturday when little Miss Tilly decided to start pulling up! Then, on Monday it was so hot that we decided to let Carter wear shorts to school. Well, he wiped out on the playground and skinned both of his knees! On Tuesday, Summer went to the big girl potty for the first time! We were shocked! She has gone several more times this week! Wahoo! Thursday, Carter and I got home early, so I let him ride his tricycle on the driveway until David got home with the girls. Well, he flipped over and busted his lip! There was blood everywhere! Thankfully, no permanent damage done, but it sure did scare me! Friday, was Olympic Day at our school and every year David comes to spend the day with me and have a picnic on the lawn. This year Carter, David and I enjoyed a picnic and popsicles on the lawn at school! What a fun day! Finally, like brother, like sister, like Tilly! All of my children have cut their teeth in the exact same order. They all get their bottom teeth first, but then the fun begins. Instead of getting their top middle teeth, they all cut what we call their fang teeth! I am sure there is a proper dentistry term, but we like fangs! Tilly has quickly followed suit! Both of her fang teeth are coming in on the top! Here are a few pictures of our party of five rockin' it out this week!
Sweet Summer; so proud of her for using the big girl potty this week! This was the only clear picture I could get of her this week; she does not stop moving!
Little Miss Tilly showing off her bottom teeth!
Carter with his first busted lip! He was so very brave! He got his hair cut today, so be sure to read the post before this one to see the before and after pictures!
Like brother, like sister, like Tilly! Carter and Summer both wore these same pajamas; seems like it was just yesterday!
Carter showing off his skinned knees and busted lip all the while singing on his bottle brush microphone in the bath tub!

Carter's Latest Hair Cut & Some Funny Stuff

Once again I lost the battle of the curls! It has quickly gotten very hot here, so it was time to cut Carter's locks! David took him today to get his hair cut. I couldn't resist taking a before and after shot of this handsome fella!

Today, David took Carter to get his hair cut and to buy him some new tennis shoes. The last pair we bought him were a size 8. Today when he was measured, he was a size 11! Is that normal for an almost 3 year old?! Carter continues to say and do things that knock our socks off! Some are quite funny while others simply melt our hearts. I would love to share a few, so that I am sure not to forget these hilarious and sweet moments. 1. Yo Yo Yo Baby is now the name of the yogurt we buy for Tilly. 2. Mommy, you need to go to Old MacDonald to get some diet coke today! 3. Teeth is the name he called my mom forever, now he understands her name is "T." 4. Retold by his teacher from school: Ashley, I have a secret to tell you! What, Carter! Guess, what Ashley? I love you! (What! He is already professing his love!) 5. Today, I got to spend some time with Mary Katherine and Wendy in honor of Wendy's baby Hudson who will be born in July. We went to get our toes painted and when I came home, Carter told me, "Mommy, I like your fingernails on your toes!" 6. Finally, he told us that God is 3 persons. God the Father; God the Son; and God the Holy Spirit! Wow!

Salt Water Taffy

This past weekend, I went to one of my most favorite places, Savannah, on a Women's retreat with the ladies from our church. It was like being at home for me, walking all over the historic district, eating at all my favorite restaurants, and watching the boats come into River Street. My superstar husband kept all 3 children for the entire weekend without any reinforcements; he did a great job too! I was so proud of him! Seems I missed a lot at home while I was away! Apparently, Tilly decided to start pulling up and grew some teeth while I was gone! David went to get her from her nap on Saturday and she was standing up in her crib! Needless to say, the crib had to be lowered immediately! I just got used to the idea of her crawling all over the place and now this! She is trying so hard to keep up with big brother and big sister! Speaking of Miss Tilly, yesterday was her 8th month birthday. It was a crazy day, so I did not get a picture of her until today! She sure is growing up fast! I was so thankful to see my sweet family when I got home! One of their treats from Savannah was some salt water taffy. David and I love the stuff! Carter and Summer are now big fans too! Thank you, David, for being such a great husband and the best daddy these children could ever imagine! I don't know many Mommies who could go away for the weekend and leave their 3 under 3 with the man of the house! You rock!

Miss Tilly 8 months 1 day old!

Carter with a mouth full of salt water taffy!

Mommy and sweet Summer!

She is the prettiest little thing!

My Jesus is alive! Alive forevermore!

This is a song Carter has been learning in school this Easter season. It warms my heart to hear him sing of our risen Lord! We had a very special Easter weekend! David and the girls picked up Carter and me after school on Thursday and we headed to South Georgia (God's country we call it) to visit Mama! Traffic was atrocious; the children screamed much of the way; David and I joined in a few times, but we finally made it safe and sound! Time with Mama was special to say the least! She prepared a yummy breakfast for us each morning and lunch too! The children enjoyed sitting in her lap and entertaining her; I enjoyed sitting in the chair beside her and talking like we do each time I go home; David enjoyed driving the dirt roads and fishing! He was brave enough one morning and took Carter and Summer fishing on the farm. Carter managed to get completely tangled in his fishing line; Summer threw the tackle box and herself in the water! Saturday after lunch we headed back home. Sunday we spent Easter morning as a family at our church. We had a wonderful worship service and David preached of the risen Jesus! I told David after lunch that I have grown up in church all my life; celebrated Easter all my life; known of the risen Lord all my life, but never have I anticipated the Easter season with the excitement I felt this year! Jesus is alive! There is so much hope in that little sentence! Here are some of my favorite pictures from our Easter holiday.

Daddy and Miss Tilly as he has affectionately named her!
Sweet Tilly - Such a happy girl!
Mommy and her 3 babies! Love them!
Handsome Carter!
Daddy and Sweet Summer! She looked so beautiful in her new dress from Papa and Gigi!

What a Weekend!

This has been one of the craziest weekends we have had in a long time and Sunday (our busiest day by far) is not even here yet! It all began on Friday night with my class's great performance, "Go to the Ant." Each year at the Heiskell School every grade level puts on a performance. This year was a little different because our music teacher was in Mali the entire time! Check out her blog on my blog list! We survived and it ended up being a really great performance. The children were awesome and had such a great time. We were all so proud of them! Here are a couple of pictures from the big week!

2nd and 3rd grade teachers with Mr. & Mrs. Heiskell, the founders of the school.

2nd and 3rd grade students with Mrs. Carol DeMar, the writer of the play

Today, our church had the first annual Easter egg hunt! It was so much fun! A little funny story, I woke up in the middle of the night remembering that we had not gotten Easter baskets for the children! I woke David up too, so he could worry with me about how we were going to find baskets at the last minute! When you see the pictures below, you might get a chuckle out of their baskets! In all the busyness of the week, we just forgot! They had a great time though! Summer and Carter raced all over gathering as many eggs as their little hands could muster! These two were terrified of the Easter bunny, so little Tilly is the only one who got her picture made with the bunny! How funny! After the egg hunt, Carter and I left to go to a birthday party for one of his special friends at school. I had such a fun time visiting with some of the other mommies! We went to the Purple Hippo Art Studio and he painted a picture on a canvas, it was awesome! We already have it proudly displayed in his room! Then, he and I met "T" at the mall to spend a few moments with her! Then, we had a fellowship with our Sunday School class! What a fun day! What an exhausting day! Why am I still up blogging?!

YES!

On this day, 8 years ago (wow, has it been that long?) my sweet husband asked me to marry him! March madness always makes me think of him and remember the sweet day when he asked me to be his wife. During March of 2001, we filled out our brackets for the college basketball tournament and agreed that the one who lost would have to do something to surprise the other! Lucky for me, I won! David surprised me by asking me to be his bride! (I wonder what would have happened had I lost!) Since that time, we have filled out our brackets together every year! It looks like I might beat him this year! I wonder if he will surprise me again, though nothing could top the surprise proposal! The thing about David is that he is full of surprises! You never know what he is going to do or say! I love this husband of mine because he has the biggest heart and he is always doing sweet things for the children and me! I am so thankful that he asked me to be his wife! I would say, "Yes" to him all over again!

Eagles and Easter Eggs

For spring break this year, we took our party of five to Arkansas to visit Papa, Gigi, Cari, and Aunt Karen! We got to do lots of fun things including dying Easter eggs and going to Chuck E. Cheese! Probably the most exciting event for our family was going to watch Daddy's high school, Arkansas Baptist, play in the 3A state championship game. It was Carter's first basketball game. What a great way to start his love of the game! The Eagles won! This was really special because when Daddy played basketball in high school, he helped to lead his team to the first state championship for the Arkansas Baptist. In fact, he still holds several records in the state of Arkansas! We are so proud of him and the Eagles for winning the big game! We had fun cheering for the Eagles and wearing our red!

Summer's Big Girl Bed Debut

Well, tonight was a big night at our house! Summer made the move to the big girl bed! She has done great this first night - well, she did not climb out yet! For those of you who know anything about Summer, this is huge! She is our fearless one and quite the climber! Summer was really excited to get into her new bed tonight. She kept saying "big bed" over and over! In fact, as I type this she is sound asleep!

This picture was taken about a month ago.
This picture was taken tonight once she was in her big girl bed! She is even wearing the same pajamas! As you can see by her face, she was so very excited! Thank you, T, for bringing such a big smile to our little girl's face! She loves her new bed! Below are some sweet pictures of Summer playing with Carter and Tilly. She is such a great sister to these two and plays so well with both of them! We are blessed by sweet Summer!

Carter and Summer riding the horsey!
Summer sitting in Tilly's bumbo chair and sharing her blocks!

My Funny Fella

Carter is at such a fun age right now. He says so many funny things and I don't want to forget these cute things he says, so I thought I would come up with an ongoing list. My friend, April, who also blogs does this for her son and she calls them "Jacobisms" after her son's name, Jacob! Carterisms just doesn't sound as great, but if any of you have another idea I would love to hear it! Thanks for the great idea, April! Many of you won't find these as endearing as David and I do. I will keep that in mind. I will also keep in mind that you can't hear his cute little voice when he says these things, but those of you who know him, try to picture it!
1. Fick-Chil-A - He has called Chick-Fil-A this for as long as I can remember.
2. The brown is coming and wow, that's a big one, Mommy! I won't give any feedback on this one! Let's just say potty-training has been fun!
3. Mommy, you pretty and Daddy's handsome!
4. Mommy, let your pretty hair down!
5. I have blue eyes like Tilly! And Summer has brown eyes like Daddy!
6. Mommy, this is Ashley! Ashley is the special friend at school he talks about all the time that Mommy is not ready to talk about yet!
7. Don't cover my heart. He says this when I am zipping up his jacket and he doesn't want it zipped too high.
8. Handzitizer - his word for hand sanitizer.
9. Brush teeth - his word for toothpaste. I need some more brush teeth!
10. Indi-isible - his word for indivisible when saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
11. Dear God, thank you for this beautiful day! Wow.
12. Miss Giginia - how he says Miss Virginia the pre-school director at our school.
13. I hurt my body. He says this when he falls or hurts himself!
14. Sa Banana - Carter's word for Savannah. I was there last week with my third graders! David got a kick out him saying Mommy is in Sa Banana!
This is all I can think of for now. I am sure David will help me remember the ones I have forgotten.

This is how I found him in the bed tonight when I went in to check on him - with his jacket on!

I love this sweet smile!