Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Girl!!

On Friday, August 28th, our baby girl turned 6 years old!! Could someone please tell me why time flies by when you are having fun? It feels like just yesterday we were in the hospital awaiting her arrival! Craig and I were thrilled when we found out that our second child would be a little girl and that Drew would have a baby sister! We couldn't wait to finally meet her!! We had faced some "complications", but I won't go into those in this post - I still need to post her "birth story" on here. When she was born, she was absolutely perfectly BEAUTIFUL in every way. In the last six years she has brought so much joy to our lives. She can make us laugh, smile, think "awwww", and all of those other sweet (and sometimes sassy), girly things that little girls do. She is our little princess and we love her with our whole hearts!!

We have had a busy weekend, celebrating her birthday!! Her party will be in a couple of weeks, so look for pictures of that coming soon (or as soon as I get to them - you realize I still have a lot of catching up to do)!! She wanted to go eat at Mr. Gatti's on Friday night, so since it's tradition for the birthday person to choose where we eat, that's where we went. Mimi, Poppi, Aunt Jennie, and Uncle Jon Jon met us there. We were going to go watch our hometown high school team play Friday night too, but the game was postponed due to rain. We went to Drew's baseball practice Saturday morning, had lunch, and then went to the mall. We came home to rest for a little while and then we got ready to go watch those Bulldogs (the game was scheduled for Saturday at 6 due to the rain on Friday). When we arrived there was standing room only on the Bulldog side of the field! We decided that we would go have dinner and then we went to see Craig's brother, Chris, his wife Julie, and our sweet nephew Haston. Uncle Ovid was also there, and we had a lot of fun spending time with all of them!! This morning, the boys went out in the woods (something about a tree stand, but I don't get into all of that so...) and Mikayla slept in. I've been getting a little cleaning done, and Mikayla and I are about to hit the pool!! Mikayla says this is her "birthday weekend" - every morning as she wakes up, she asks "am I still the birthday girl?". Well, it sure has been a busy one!! Busy, busy weekend, but very fun!!

Happy Birthday, Mikayla!! We love you Bigger Than the World!!! You will always be our "little princess", no matter how old you get!! We love you!!

Another Dance Competition!

Mikayla's second dance competition of the year was held at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium on April 18th. She danced her clogging routine with Brooke and then she danced her tap routine with Alana. I loved their clogging costumes this year - she and Brooke posed in them before they went on stage. She and Brooke are good friends (they also went to the same daycare) and I hope they always will be!

Mikayla and Brooke onstage as they open their clogging routine!

Mikayla and Brooke end their routine! We didn't get to stay for awards because Craig and I had to get to Greenville for "Larry the Cable Guy", but Brooke and Mikayla's routine won 1st place!! We are so proud of our girls!!
Mikayla and Alana begin their tap routine. I also liked these costumes this year!!

A better picture of Mikayla and Alana on stage! I had to take a picture of them on the screens because I couldn't use my flash. Alana and Mikayla also won 1st place with their tap routine. Mikayla was thrilled to receive her "prizes" when she went back to dance class on Monday, the 20th! Way to go Mikayla and Alana - we are so proud of you!!

Our "hind-catcher"

Drew's position this past year in baseball was catcher! I've found some of my favorite pictures of our little catcher from the season and wanted to post them here. This was the first year that Drew played in a league that needed a catcher on the team (instead of coaches in that position), so it was of course the first year that Drew played this position. He loved it, so much so in fact, that he said he would like to play catcher in fall ball. That's right, Drew has decided that he will be playing fall baseball this year instead of soccer. We will be playing for a different association in fall ball though, since BSYAA does not offer fall baseball. He will not be hitting off the pitching machine, but instead the coaches will be pitching to them overhand. I can't wait to see how Drew does!! I think for his first year playing catcher he did an amazing job - even catching a foul tip for an out!! He's our baseball king for sure!!

Drew throws the ball back to the pitcher.

Craig helps get Drew's catcher's gear on. I was glad not to have that job!!

He looks grown here to me...

I loved watching him put that hand behind his back. Who knows what position he will play as he continues with baseball. I loved watching him play first base last year, but watching him play catcher was a lot of fun this year too!!

3rd Nine Weeks' Award's Day!

After we got back to school from Spring Break, our school hosted our Awards Day for the third nine weeks of school. Another special day for our students, and especially for Drew and Mikayla!! I was thrilled to be able to enjoy Awards Day with both of our angels again. First, I went to Drew's Awards Day while my students were in related arts that morning.Drew walks back to his seat after receiving his first award!

Drew shared his poem, Sharks, with everyone that was in attendance. Craig and I are very proud of Drew's writing this year. This same poem has been published in two anthologies this year!! Drew goes up to get another award!

Then I got to go to Mikayla's Awards Day right before mine started that afternoon. Again, I worked with Mrs. Batson to plan for my Awards Day to begin 30 minutes after hers so that I could see Mikayla. This also worked well because we shared a set of twins this past year.

Mikayla was thrilled when she saw me walk in the room!! That smile says it all!

Mrs. Batson was getting ready to announce the class' best musician. What she was telling everyone leading up to the award let me know it would be Mikayla before she even announced it. You can tell by this face that Mikayla knew it too!

Mikayla looks at her awards once she returned to her seat!

Her class showed us a finger play that they had been practicing so they could show the parents. Mikayla loves to dance/act so this is right up her alley!

Craig and I are extremely proud of our children and they accomplished in school last year!! We hope they will continue to do this well in school!!

Happy Easter!

I know saying Happy Easter sounds funny since we are already into August, but that's how far I'm behind with my posting. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever get caught up since I still have not posted pictures from our trip to the beach, our trip to Gatlinburg, and now (after this weekend) I have pictures from Chimney Rock and Lake Lure. I also have tons of fishing pictures to add since that is something we have been doing a lot of lately. Since school is about to start, it will be hard for me to post regularly, but I'm still determined to get everything in.

So, Happy Easter it is! Easter Sunday was a lot of fun this year! Craig and I helped Drew and Mikayla dye their Easter eggs the night before and they left their basket for the Easter bunny. We woke up Sunday morning to them "ooohhhhing and ahhhing" at what the bunny had brought and then we all got dressed for church. After church, we went over to my mom and dads house and then headed across the street to my Grandma's house. The picture above was taken at my mom and dads house with the baskets that Drew and Mikayla got over there. I have a couple of family Easter photos as well that my sister took for me, but our faces were shadowed so this one is better. Also, please excuse Mikayla's hair - she decided that she no longer wanted to wear her bow after church. Sometimes you just gotta pick your battles!! We had a great Easter dinner with family and then the kids got to have an Easter egg hunt - always a favorite with them!!

Mikayla rushes off to find some eggs! Go girl, go!!

Drew thinks he spots one...

Mikayla and Drew count their eggs and open them to find their goodies. Some of the eggs are filled with all sorts of candy, and others are empty.

Later that day, Mimi and Poppi came over to our house to hide more eggs for Drew and Mikayla. These eggs had been filled with money!! Most eggs had change in them, but a few lucky ones had dollar bills!!Mikayla's bag is filling up quickly!!Drew uncovers one that had been hidden in the dirt!!

Poppi helps Drew and Mikayla count their eggs and their money!! They were shocked to realize that both Drew and Mikayla had found the exact same amount of money!! I breathed a sigh of relief...you know with kids, everything has to be "equal"!

We had a wonderful Easter spent together as a family and enjoyed getting to spend time with our extended family too!

Happy Birthday Craig!

Craig turned 37 (I know, he is an old man but don't judge me by that - lol, just kidding honey!!) on Friday, April 17th! He had been looking at this watch at the mall but wouldn't buy it for himself, so the kids and I surprised him with it for his birthday. I also had heard that "Larry the Cable Guy" was going to be at the Bilo Center on the 18th, and even though we had never seen him, I thought it would be something Craig would enjoy. Craig has such a wild sense of humor (he makes me laugh all the time), and he enjoys comedy so I thought, "why not?" I got the tickets and arranged for my mom and dad to keep Drew and Mikayla so we could enjoy a date night.

Drew had a baseball game on the 18th at 12:30 and Mikayla was dancing in a dance competition at 3:30 so I knew it would be a busy day. I didn't know, however, that the dance competition would last until 6 - the show started in Greenville at 7. At one point, we were even afraid we would miss the show. Mikayla was tired, though, and ready to leave at 5:30 (she had already danced, we were just waiting for awards), so she told Miss Andrea to get her awards and we left. Mom and dad took Drew and Miki with them and Craig and I headed to the Bilo Center. I am so glad that I got these tickets for us. I hope (think) that Craig enjoyed it too! It was a great show - the guy that opened for him was WONDERFUL but I can't remember his name (sad, I know). A lot of the stories/jokes that they both told were about family so we could easily relate!! Afterward, we went to eat dinner at Joe's Crab Shack - yummy!! We had such a nice night together, just the two of us.

Sorry I'm so late, Craig, but I hope you had a wonderful birthday! We love you so much, and I thank my Lord every day for you!!

Happy Birthday Drew!!

I am not caught up with posting (I am still posting things from April, in fact), but I could not let this day pass without wishing our little guy (also known as "little Craig") a Happy Birthday.

It is so hard for me to believe that he is eight years old already!! It seems like just yesterday we were in the hospital and they were placing our infant in my arms. There is not a feeling like that in the world!! Craig and I were hooked the moment we looked into his bright blue eyes!! Our hearts swelled with love for our child.

This morning we woke up to signs that his daddy hung up for him before he left for work. One says "Happy Birthday Drew!", another says "Happy Birthday Little Craig!", and still another says "Happy Birthday Bubba!". Drew got the biggest smile on his face when he saw those signs, and I couldn't help but think of how wonderful my husband is! He is one of the most thoughtful people I know!!

Tradition in our family is that the birthday person gets to choose what/where they eat for supper. Last year, Drew chose Kanpai. This year he says Chuck E. Cheese. This could change several times today, so there is really no telling where we will end up!! I will have pictures from the dinner, I'm sure! Look for those soon...

Happy Birthday Drew! We love you - no matter how old you get, you will always be our "little man"!

A Trip to the Zoo!

On Saturday, April 11th, our family visited the Riverbank Zoo in Columbia. I had been wanting to take the kids to this zoo for several years, and I am so glad that we did! The weather was perfect, and we had a nice relaxing day as a family! After leaving the zoo, we were able to go visit and have dinner with Craig's brother, Jason, and his family. It was so nice to spend time with them as well!! Mikayla, Drew, and Craig are looking for the lions. We had to take a ride on the carousel of course!

Mikayla and Craig pet a cow.
Look at the cute koala!! These and the giraffes were my favorite!

Drew and Craig feed the lorikeets! Mikayla was afraid of them, and I wasn't too sure of them myself. I knew they wouldn't attack me, but it is a wild feeling to have these birds swooping all around you and flying directly at you (sometimes your face). Aunt Jennie had taken Mikayla out of the exhibit at this point.

Drew loved it - even when they landed on his head, it didn't phase him.

They didn't bother Craig either - he had two on him a couple of times.These monkeys were so fun to watch! They were so loud, though, you couldn't watch very long.

Mikayla, Drew, and Craig liked the tigers.

Drew and Mikayla had a front row seat to watch the penguin feeding.

Awww - they loved feeding the giraffes. We didn't get to see the baby giraffe - maybe next time.

Craig and I took a picture while we waited on the 3D movie to start. He is so silly...

My sweet family!! They are a silly bunch, but I sure love them!!

Mikayla Lost a Tooth!!

I picked Mikayla and Drew up from Extra Edition on Tuesday, April 7th, and knew right away Mikayla had something to tell me. She came walking over to where I was standing with a huge smile on her face. A smile big enough showing a hole in her mouth where a tooth once had been. Then, she proudly held up a bag holding her tooth. She was very excited, and I don't know who was more excited for her, Craig, Drew, or myself! It had been wiggling for awhile, but she wouldn't let anyone pull it. She said it just fell out at Extra Edition. She couldn't wait to put her tooth under her pillow that night for the Tooth Fairy to visit - well, after she asked us what seemed like a thousand questions about her. Would she hurt her, what did she look like, etc. She is our cautious child for sure. She was thrilled when she woke up the next morning and found five dollars under her pillow!! Since April, she has lost another tooth on the bottom and received another five dollars from the Tooth Fairy and now has her third "wiggly tooth". We think she looks so cute. What do you think?

Baseball 2009

Okay, so if you have been following my blog, you know that I like to post one entry for every baseball game our boy plays in. I'm pretty sure that won't be possible for this season if I ever hope to get caught up with my posts, but I will try to include a few separate posts from this season.

The Jamboree for this year was held on Saturday, March 27th. Our nephew Haston played baseball for the first time this year, and since both Drew and Haston played a game in the jamboree, Nana came to watch her boys play. We got up early that morning to go watch Haston play. It was freezing out, and Haston and his little teammates were so cold they really weren't focused on the game. They were so much fun to watch though, and we even went to watch Haston again. He's a good little ball player too!! Look how little he looks! It was hard for Craig and I to remember what it was like being on the baseball field with Drew when he was that little.

Drew's game was later in the afternoon so we went and enjoyed "brunch" with Nana and then headed back to the baseball fields. Drew's team was scheduled to play his friend, Bryson's, team. It was a great game with them beating us by one point. We all had so much fun, though, cheering them on!!

Drew gets his first hit of the season - his first time at bat. He was so proud of himself and you know we were a proud mommy, daddy, Nana, and Poppi!!

Drew played catcher this year - something I was definitely not sure about at first. His coach asked Craig if he thought Drew would be interested at the first practice. I thought right then, "he needs to be over here asking the mama". Craig and my daddy assured me that Drew would be fine - he did have a lot of equipment to wear. Drew tried it and loved it! He had no choice but to be attentive because he was involved in every pitch thrown. He did a fantastic job playing catcher this year, and we can't wait to see if this is something he will continue with. Drew has also recently announced that he would like to play fall ball this year. The last two falls, he has played soccer. Baseball is his favorite sport by far, so Craig and I have left this decision up to him. We just told him there was no way we could do both at the same time. Time will tell. Emily, Breanna, Robert, and Mikayla had fun playing together while the game was going on. Robert's brother, Hunter, was on Drew's team this year (he also happened to be in my kindergarten class the year before). We were playing Breanna's brother's team. Notice the softball uniforms Breanna and Emily are wearing. We asked Mikayla if she wanted to play softball this year, but she said she didn't. After watching Bre and Emily play, and seeing their moms coach, Mikayla said she wants to play next year for sure. I can't wait to see her on the ball field!!

First Dance Competition of the Year!

On Saturday, March 6th, Mikayla had her first dance competition of the year at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium! She, Jadyn, and Lana had fun showing off their ballet dance for this year. Daddy, Poppi, Drew, and Mommy were all there to cheer our girl on!!

Mikayla smiles as Miss Nicole fixes her hair! She loves Miss Nicole!

Next, she watches Miss Andrea put glitter on Jadyn and patiently awaits her turn. She loves Miss Andrea too!!

Our sweet ballerina all ready to go on stage!

Look how pretty!

Jadyn, Mikayla, and Lana show off their awards. First place in their category and 2nd place overall for their age group! Way to go girls!!

Snow Days 2 & 3, 2009

Mikayla poses with her daddy (she was also wearing one of his pullovers)!

Drew gets ready to throw a snowball at his daddy!

Craig watches Drew and Mikayla play in the backyard. I like this picture because you can really see how much snow we got!!

I know it sounds weird to be discussing snow days when it has been so hot here lately - tomorrow it is supposed to reach 98 degrees. But, I'm that far behind in my posting. I thought about just starting here and moving forward - it's not like there wouldn't be enough to post about that way, but then thought differently. This blog is for our family and friends but also ultimately for Drew and Mikayla. This blog, along with baby and family scrapbooks will allow our children to look back at their childhood one day. That being said, I didn't want to leave anything out!!(Well with the exception of times I forgot my camera - like hanging out and eating dinner at Traci's and Mike's at the end of January, and hanging out and eating dinner at Nanda's and Jim's on Valentine's Day - I sure wish I had pictures!!)

OK, so back to the "snow days". On Sunday night, March 1st, Craig, Drew, Mikayla, and I went to the church for Drew's Upward Basketball banquet. It was different this year from in years past. Instead of being held in the sanctuary, it was held in the gym and Gina and Paul had arranged for some college cheerleaders and basketball players to be there. The weather forecasters had been calling for snow to start that evening, so Craig had been keeping a close eye on the weather from the door. Right in the middle of the college basketball players' shootout, my friend Nanda got a text from WSPA saying that Spartanburg District 2 schools (that's us) would be closed on Monday. After hearing that, Craig decided that he better check outside again - he knew from the previous times that he had checked that it had already started sleeting and snowing. He comes back to where I'm sitting and says "we probably need to go, the parking lot is covered". In the meantime, Nanda had gotten a text from her husband, who was home with a sick Breanna, telling her she probably needed to head out too. Since it was just Nanda and Bryson, Craig and I decided to follow her home first to make sure she didn't have any trouble. By the time we made it home, the grass was completely covered!! The kids and I were super excited about not having to go to school the next day, and Craig was wondering if he would work. It worked out that he didn't have to go to work on Monday, either, because the warehouse had lost power. We spent the day playing in the snow and relaxing as a family. Craig even brought Molly in after playing in the snow the first time and gave her a bath!! He is such a sweetie!

After warming up and resting awhile, Poppi, Aunt Jennie, Uncle Jonathan, and BJ came over. Drew and Mikayla always call their Poppi to come over when we have snow so they can build a snowman. Since they had all been sledding, daddy had gathered some "clean" snow and made three snowballs already. He transported them to our house and helped Drew and Mikayla stack the snowballs to make a snowman. We had so much fun playing in the snow with our family, and Drew, Mikayla, and I enjoyed two "snow days". I LOVE snow days!!

Uncle Jonathan helps Drew add a snowball to one of the snow people!

Mikayla and Drew work together to make sure that the first snowball is snugly packed. BJ helps build snow people too! Drew and Mikayla also had a ball sledding. One snowman just would not do. We had to have the snow family!! Poppi adds the snowballs to the snow people. Drew is heading off to begin making another snowball.

Uncle Jonathan and Daddy take a break as Poppi helps Drew and Mikayla with their sleds.