Dance, Dance, Dance!

I'm not sure who is more excited about Ella Catherine starting dance lessons. You see when I was just about her age I started taking dance and continued to dance until I graduated from High School. I would never have made it on "so you think you can dance", but I loved it. I have such fond memories of dance class with my besties. So when she started asking about taking dance lessons in the spring I was all about signing her up. :)

Of course before we could start, we needed a little shopping trip.

Ballet shoes first

Trying to tie her tap shoes

The plastic straps are going to be key! Ribbons are pretty but not practical with a class of 4 year olds.

Taking them for a spin

Accessories are key! Gotta have the ballet bag.

One happy little shopper

Getting ready for her first class. She wanted some lip gloss

Me and my girl heading out for her first class.

Besties! Her sweet friend Taylor is in the same class which makes class twice as fun.

King of the Castle

When we were parting ways in Chattanooga, Carter knew something was up when "E" got in the car with Nana and Pop. He started balling and saying "my sister, my sister". He was so upset! He followed my parents car with his eyes and was crying, pointing and screaming NO my sister! It broke my heart. Luckily it was short lived. It lastest about 10 minutes. Then we got him calmed down and on to other things. At this point I was a little nervous at how the week would go. He seemed so lost without her, but it was also when I realized exactly how good this week would be for him. He needed to learn a little independence from "E".

Matt had driven down to Chatty and so I offered to drive back to Nashville. Carter has always been our quieter child so we thought Matt would get in a good nap on the way back. Well....not so much. Turns out he isn't quiet at all. His big sister just suppressed him a bit. He didn't stop talking the entire 2 hour ride home (or the whole week for that matter). Needless to say, Matt didn't get in a nap. :)

The rest of the week, he was king of the castle! He enjoyed having mommy and daddy all to himself. He would wake Matt up at 5:15 wanting to play golf. So, they would hit balls until I came home from the gym. It was precious and he has a good little swing. Then it was off to school. I decided to take Friday off work to have some one on one time with him. We went to the zoo, met daddy for lunch and after naptime "E" was home!!!

Hitting balls

Lefty or righty? Not sure yet.

Big girl week with Nana and Pop

When my mom called and asked if we thought Ella Catherine might want to come to Georgia for a week by herself, my first reaction was "I'm not so sure". You see anytime we talk about going somewhere her first question is are you and daddy going too. I guess she has become wise to us dropping her off with the grandparents for a weekend and Matt and I heading off to an event. :) So, I was a little skeptical when I asked her but as anticipated she asked the question "Are you and daddy going too." To which I responded, no it will just be you. You will be having a Big girl week with Nana and Pop. Her response "Carter?" again my response was no pumpkin it will just be you. Daddy and I will drive you to meet Nana and Pop and then you will get in their car and go to their house. Then at the end of the week they will drive you back to our house and spend the weekend with us to celebrate Mommy's birthday. She didn't hesitate with an answer, she said she wanted to go. Mom and I spoke several times about the plans and it was all set with the understanding that if at any point she became distraught and wanted to come home that Matt or I would meet them to get her and take her home. Luckily this was NOT needed.
On Sunday after 8 am church we set out for Chattanooga, TN. We met my mom and dad at Champy's for lunch. The owner, Seth, is the brother of one of our best friends. If you are ever in Chattanooga,TN, I would highly recommend stopping in for a meal. It is DELICIOUS! It was a beautiful day and so we sat outside on the covered porch with the fans creating a fabulous breeze. The atmosphere was as good as the food, the kids loved being able to move around. As promised after lunch, we transfered all her gear to Nana and Pop's car and they headed off to Georgia. How did Carter do? (well stay tuned for the next blog).
Why I ever thought she might get upset/homesick and want to come home I will never know. My parents had the weekend planned so well and her aunts, uncle, cousin and great grandmother, in addition to Nana and Pop showered her with so much individual attention that she ate it up! That isn't saying that she didn't miss us beacuse she did and we spoke every night so she could tell us about her day and we could tell her how much we loved her, but she had a fabulous time.
Pop took her out to the cabin and they drove the tractor, visited the neighbors horses and cows and took the golf cart on a spin through the hunting trails. They met Aunt Lori for breakfast and then went out to Idyll Acres Rescue Ranch. Ella Catherine enjoyed spending some time with Aunt Lori. They were able to pet horses, minature horses, donkeys, minature donkeys and goats. Aunt Lori did a wonderful job of encouraging her to feed the animals and pet the animals. Her favorite was a donkey named Candy, that had her hooves painted pink. She went with Nana, Pop, Becky and "Cousette" Cori to eat at the S&S cafeteria. This was my FAVORITE place to eat when I was a little girl. I remember very fondly going with my garndparents, Becky and Granddaddy. It was always so fun to walk down that line and pick out what I wanted to eat. (They always let me pick whatever I wanted. :)) Ella Catherine enjoyed it as well. Cori even took her back through the line to be able to pick out a dessert. When she saw all the desserts she said "that is a lot of sugar" gotta love the child of a dietitian! And what did she pick? Orange jello! :) The week also entailed some painting lessons from Nana and lots and lots of arts and crafts time...they made a BEAUTIFUL necklace for me for my birthday, they made T-shirts another fun bday gift, and lots and lots of coloring. She enjoyed playing cards with Becky and paper dolls with Cori. All in all a very successful trip. When Friday came, she was excited to get in the car and come see us. She and Carter hugged and kissed for about 30 minutes after she got home, then it was back to normal. :)





Making my BEAUTIFUL multicolored Rigatoni necklace

Petting the minatures horses with Aunt Lori

Feeding the minature horses with Aunt Lori

More feeding, but this time she just observed.

Enjoying the Rescue Ranch with POP, Aunt Lori and Nana (the one taking the pictures)

Checking out the Regular sized horses

Petting the horses

Candy with her pink painted hooves.

Riding the Tractor with Pop

Driving the tractor (LOVE this picture!)

Brushing "Cousette" Cori's Hair. Beauty Parlor anyone?

Playing paper dolls and building blocks

Painting. She has told me on multiple occasions that she wants to be a painter when she grows up.

Taking some pointers from Nana

Card shark in the making.

This is my favorite picture of all! Love seeing her play cards with Becky like I did when I was her age. Such a sweet memory captured on film.

Cleveland, Mississippi and a weekend with the Grandparents

Our 6 men! From left to right, Brad, Roger, Terry, Kevin, Matt and Dave

Women behind the men! from left to right, me, Whitney, Sara Ella, Mary Beth, Julie and Kim

Matt and I headed to Cleveland, Mississippi this weekend. He played in an annual 6 man golf tournament while I had some fun with the girls hanging out poolside and doing a little shopping. The guys played great the first day but unfortunately despite playing good the second day didn't take home any prize money. The weather for the tournament is always brutal. July in the Delta is not for sissys.

What used to be a guys weekend (when the men were single) has turned into a couples weekend (now that most of the guys are married). I am sure they miss the old days of it being just guys but I for one am happy for the couples weekend. It gives me the opportunity to spend some time with some awesome ladies and just relax. I can't begin to tell you how much fun we had but what I can say is that we are already looking forward to next year!

For those of you worried about the munchkins, fear not! They had a blast the first part of the weekend with Grandpa, Grams, uncle Michael, Uncle Christopher and Aunt Katie at the lake. Then Aunt Katie drove them to Memphis to spend the remainder of the weekend with Mimi. They had a ball swimming in Mimi's neighbor's pool and having arts and crafts time.

Moving up...Carter's a Honey Bear

Today was Carter's first full day in the Toddler 2 Classroom. He did GREAT and LOVED every minute. It is very surreal for me that he is now in the Classroom that Ella Catherine was in when we started the Vanderbilt Daycare in 2009. Doesn't seem like he should be old enough to be in this classroom but he is and was ready to move up with the bigger kids.

We are excited for the year ahead and all it entails (potty training and all!).

Saint Simons Island 2011

My family grew up taking beach vacations at St. Simons Island, Georgia. I am so happy to be able to share my love for the Island with my own family. It is so special to watch them enjoy it as much as I do. We didn't plan anything, just tried to enjoy the Island life. We spent our mornings at the beach, we went crabbing off the pier, rode bikes, took walks on the beach and spent our evenings at the pool.

Matt and I were even able to make a trip to Savannah one night to have dinner with some great friends, the Cowans. It was so nice to spend the evening with them in their lovely home and catch up.

Our trip wasn't completely uneventful. Matt ended up in the urgent care center after an unfortunate crabbing accident for a tetanus shot and antibiotics. He decided to try a different spot and instead of crabbing off the pier he tried to crab under the causeway off the rocks. The rocks were not so kind to him when he lost his balance, he ended up with several very deep cuts.

Ella Catherine jumping off the side at the pool

Carter jumping off the side at the pool

Family beach pictureElla Catherine by the waterCarter hanging out on the pier crabbing and Ella Catherine anxiously waiting to be able to pull up the crab netThere is that sly grin...and yes, he is getting curls.

Watching the hermit crab make its way back into the ocean off the pier

Daddy and daughter crabbing

Matt showing the kids how to bait the nets

Carter pointing to the shrimp boats

Matt after his urgent care visit. From now on we will stick to the pier for crabbing. :)

Matt helping Ella Catherine build a sandcastle

Carter and I playing in the waves

Getting more wet sand for her sandcastle

More fun in the sandCarter playing in the sand and surf

Another Family picture

Ella Catherine climbing the old oak tree

Carter and Ella Catherine on the rocks

Ella Catherine and daddy looking for seashell