Bryce's First Baseball Game

I can't let Bryce's first baseball game go without a little blog post.  We finally got to go to one of Brock's baseball games last Friday night.  I love watching him play ball and if I stop to really think about it and see how big he is now I will lose it like the sappy aunt I am.  I also know that before long that will be my little man out there (maybe).  Thank goodness for a nice day because we really had fun watching the game and I think Bryce was a little good luck charm.  Brock's team won by one run and Brock was the one who scored that run!  He had a good game aside from that too.  He had good hits and did awesome.  I think Bryce enjoyed watching those big boys and he really liked trying on Brock's big boy hat!  And if it looks like Cohen is in pjs in the picture below its because she is!  Nothing like being all ready for bed...no really she had pajama day at school and did not want to change.  No battle worth fighting there!

ballgames mean ring pops!

I love my first game!

A Little About Me & 5K fun

As many of you know, I love to blog!  Not only that, but I love to read other blogs as well.  It is so much fun to keep up with friends through their blogs and to read other blogs, whether it be about photography, DIY projects, Mommy blogs and so on.  I could literally read them all day I think.  Its also a great way to get product ideas and reviews.  It also has me thinking how I might want to do more with this blog one day...we shall see.  One of my best college friends, Carrie Beth, has a blog with her friend Jen called The Magnolia Mamas.  Definitely check them out.  I enjoy and relate to them both so well!  They had posted 10 questions for their reader as a fun way to get to know more about them.  How fun to play along with right?!  Here goes...

1.  What is your favorite season?  

Definitely summer!  I am all about warm weather.  I hate the cold and could definitely see Hubby and I retiring to the beach one day, at least during the winter!

2.  Would you rather wear jeans or a dress? 

I love both but probably a dress.  I love dresses, again especially in the summer!  So comfy!  I am a true girl and I love to dress up too!

3.  If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? 

I am all about traveling and have been very blessed to have traveled to several great places.  Right now my dream trip is to Europe to Italy and Switzerland.  Hopefully we are going to get this one in the books soon...maybe next year!! Woo hoo!

4.  Why did you start your blog? 

I started my blog as almost a scrapbook of our daily lives.  It was a great way for our out of town friends and family to keep up with us and our kids.  It has really been so much fun to do too.  I print my blog at the end of each year and it is so much fun to have our year in a book!  (and it keeps my pictures printed "somewhere")

5.  If you could go back to anytime in your life, when would you choose and why? 

I really love my life now with our kids but if I had to go back it would definitely be when I first graduated college and lived in Charlotte.  I LOVED that time in my life and all the great people I worked with.  NASCAR was an awesome industry to be working in and I cherish the friends I made and all the FUN memories.  I still keep in touch with those friends and think of them all the time.  Its also where I met my WAIF friends!  Love those girls.

6.  What's your favorite TV show?

I rarely have time to sit and watch TV so thank goodness for a DVR!  How did we ever watch anything before those!  I love Dateline though and Hubby and I love The Voice.  I mean what's not to love with Adam Levine on the show, right?

7.  What 3 beauty products could you not live without? 

My cream to powder foundation, lip gloss, and now my Rodan & Fields eye cream.  

8.  What are you looking forward to most this summer? 

Soooo many things!  The BEACH!  I love having no schedule and having all the kids home with me.  We try to take several fun day trips and hang out with our friends and I love that so much!  I also love spending afternoons at the pool.  It is really my favorite time of the year!

9.  What's your favorite store? 

J Crew!  I have a big weakness in this store.  And Target!  Who doesn't love Target though. 

10. Who inspires you most?

My Mama and my aunt Suzy.  My mom is probably one of the strongest women in the world.  She has been through so much and is currently fighting breast cancer.  I wish so bad I could remove any burden from her but she has the faith like no other and is just an inspiration.  Not to mention she is my best friend and the best MAMA and Bebe!  

Suzy is my "2nd Mama" as I have always called her.  She is just amazing at all she does for other people.  And I can't even begin to tell you what all she does for our family.  I think she has my kids every day or every other day for some length of time.  I wouldn't be able to attend and do what I do if it wasn't for her.  She is also going to help anybody she can.  I don't know what I would do without her and that goes beyond my kids.  She is a friend to me and I love having her to do things with.  

I had so much fun playing along!! And hopefully haven't bored anyone too much!  Definitely leave a comment if you read along!
And what's a blog post without a picture right??  A  couple of weeks ago me and my close friends had an 80s 5K.  One of my New Year's resolutions was to have a 5k each month.  Well Feb/March busted it up!  Already right?!  Well we never found a good one that fit with our schedules but April we had back to back 5ks.  Friday night was the 80s Run for Allen's Methodist Relay for Life.  I was pretty excited to have a run to do finally and even more excited that I finished 2nd!  I wanted to tackle Rebekah and Nikki  at the end since they helped mapped out the most "hilly" course I have ever been on but I was too tired.  Lol. I do love them!  The next morning our church had a mud run benefitting an upcoming Alaska mission trip.  I didn't snap a single picture, (gasp), but it was a very fun run!  It was an obstacle course/mud run.  What was amazing about both races is that Cohen did them with me!  She ran the 1 mile fun run at the 80s run then turned right around and did the 5K!  She did have to walk but I was still impressed.  Then on Saturday she did the muck run with us and did every single obstacle on her own!  I'm proud of my girl and I think I'll have a running buddy one day soon!

2nd place finish!  

Ready to run...in her 80s gear at that

Our first attempt at getting a picture of Cohen & Brody together

The kids ready for the 1 mile Fun Run

Finishing strong!

Cohen & Brody both did the 5k after the fun run.  They hung in there pretty good!

Bryce-6 Months!

EEK!  6 months has flown by with little man!  I love him so much...OMG he is the best!  This little boy is the happiest and best baby.  Its so hard to think how much he has grown and how fast it goes by.  You can tell a few things automatically about Bryce at 6 months by some of these pictures.

He is a happy boy who is always smiling!

He has found his feet and loves to put them in his mouth

He is loved loved loved by his 2 big sisters!

This month Bryce has also started eating more "foods". He loves rice cereal but only the flavored apple/banana rice cereal.  He is getting better and better with a spoon.  HE also LOVES all the fruits we have tried and squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots.  Now to add in the green stuff!

At his 6 month appointment, he stats were:

• Weight 14 lbs 5 oz (he actually has made it on the weight chart now!  5%)
• Height 26 1/4 inches (25-50%)

More about Bryce at 6 months:

• Right now Bryce loves to be held!  He's spoiled what can I say.  He will play on his mat or sit in his swing while I do things but he does like for someone to be in the room paying him some attention.  
• Rolls from both his back to his stomach and stomach to back
• Is starting to be able to sit up.  He's still not good at it and falls right on his face when I sit him up.  He is slowly sitting up straighter and straighter though.  I mean you have to be put down in order to sit up, right??!  
• Loves to watch his sisters, especially Kate.  She is here with him more during the day and provides him with a lot of entertainment!
• Is a morning baby!  He just talks and talks in the morning.  
• Eats about every 3 hours and does sleep through the night.  Naps are pretty short during the day though.  Some days we get a long one in but being on the go a lot doesn't help for a long nap.  There's hope for that in the summer but I won't hold my breath on that either!
• He is a mama's boy right now and really smiles and gets excited when he sees me.  I LOVE that.  He smiles for Kelly too, don't get me wrong but he definitely knows his Mama!

We continue to fall more and more in love with him every day!  He is so easy going and just goes with the flow.  We run and he enjoys the stroller.  This week and went for a run and we even ran in town and then to the elementary school and had lunch with Cohen.  All before picking Kate up at school.  He goes to the library with me when I take Kate and I just know he's going to love books and stories just like his sisters!  He is good at church and gets lots of love, especially from Miss Elizabeth!  He is just good wherever we go!  I really hope this trend continues!  Just have a bottle and his blanket and paci and we should be good!  

Its been a couple of months now but we have finished Bryce's nursery.  Slow I know, but I was pretty indecisive.  This is what we have now and I do like it.   I keep adding little details as I find something that stands out for me.  I need curtains but these things will all come slowly I'm sure.

Here are some pictures we took around Easter.  And Bryce isn't quite 6 months in them but he was close.  I had forgot to post these and definitely wanted to have them on the blog especially when I make my book each year!

one sister wanted in on the action

Now the other sister came in on it too

I decided if they wanted in they at least should somewhat match...spur of the moment Easter pics!

Picking up Kate after a fun run with mama!  

Miss Premier Performance

This past Saturday we were back in Athens for a baton competition.  It had been a month since Cohen's last competition and she was excited to have one.  This competition had a new title to go for and it combined solo, strut, and 2 baton.  After talking with Mrs. Amy a few weeks ago, we decided that she would teach Cohen a 2 baton routine for this competition.  Cohen has been playing around with 2 batons for a while and she was up for a challenge!  This competition didn't start their individual events until 1:00 so we didn't have to get up super early.  I was very glad because Cohen got up complaining about her throat hurting and crying to go back to bed.  I was so glad we could do that!  I prayed that this was just her allergies and I think it was.  When she got back up much later she was feeling a little better and said she wanted to twirl so we got ready and headed to Athens.  The competition was at Prince Ave. Elementary.  This competition was pretty eventful.  I had forgot Cohen's earrings...no biggie and Kelly was coming later and brought them.  First up was modeling.  Cohen was competing for 2 titles, one consisting of solo, strut, and 2 baton, and the other was solo, strut and modeling.  Modeling is my least favorite and we do only the title modeling these days.  When I got Cohen ready she always asked me to leave her costume unzipped just a little since it is getting tighter on her.  She has had this particular one for 2 years now but we are getting these last few competitions out of it!  Since her set was about #30 I left it unzipped.  When it was finally her turn to model we went to her lane and up she went smiling as big as she could.  (We have pushed that smile since she has received comments on not losing her smile.)  Well she made her first turn and what did I see?!?  Mama had forgot to zip that costume all the way!  Oh lawd!   Cohen has long hair but it was pretty noticeable at least to me and a few of the other moms sitting with me.  I sure didn't tell Cohen when she finished since she was focused on that smile.  Don't you love how God will throw little things into your life for a little laugh.  I do and since there was nothing we could do about it but hope for a minor point deduction, we moved on to twirling!   Cohen did her strut routine 3 times, twice for the titles and once for the open event.  She was 3rd place in that.  She also competed in marching and was 1st in that.  Always a strong point for her!   We then got her ready for solo.  She actually did her solo 4 times....twice for the titles and 2 open solos.  She was 2nd in both of the open events.  One had 8 girls in it so I was proud of her.  During solo is also when our day went downhill for a bit.  Cohen started complaining of a major stomach cramp that had her laying down and in tears to go home.  I didn't know what to do.  Kelly was on his way back for a second time and I told her to hold tight until he got there. One of those title solos came up during this and she performed it!  We were all cheering for her because she smiled so big and had been crying right before she went out there.  When Kelly got there he had brought food and we had her eat and that seemed to do the trick.  I think part of this was nerves even though she said she wasn't nervous.  She was excited about her 2 baton routine but I know she was a little nervous too.  The first time is always a little scary.  Mrs. Amy told her to leave out her trick she was most nervous about and for her open performance she did.  For the title performance she went for it and even though she dropped one of the batons in it I was very proud of her for going for it.  It is a tough trick and I know she is going to get it the more she does it.  Go big or go home, right?!   It turned out to work out good for her because my sweet girl ended up winning BOTH of those titles!!  I was so proud of her!  Not only for winning but she pushed through feeling bad and unzipped costumes!  haha!  To top it all off, the beginner title she won gave out crowns.  Cohen has been wanting a crown for SO long and had put her eye on them early in the day.  I had told her big smiles help win crowns and so her face when she got that crown was priceless.  That big twirling smile she had that day got even bigger!  On the way home she fell asleep with the crown on no doubt.  I had one sleepy baby and I was one sleepy mama!  It was all worth it though.  So proud of all the ATRM girls for their rock star performances! 

1st in marching & 3rd in strut!  A good start to the day

Cohen & Mya playing while we wait for awards to start

Beginner Miss Premier!  And a crown for that!

It was a very good day for Coco!

ATRM Girls!

Sleepy girl crashed on the ride home

Georgia Young Authors Winner

Recently, Cohen received a big honor by winning the Georgia Young Author's contest for our district.  A winner is chosen at each school in the county for each grade and then the school winners are narrowed down to one winner for the district.  Cohen was the first grade winner!  We were so proud when she was the first grade winner at Lavonia Elementary and then so excited to find out she won for the county as well.  Her essay was titled "Disney World".  I never got to read the writing but she told me that she wrote about visiting Disney World.  I think if our Disney trips inspire such good essays then we will just have to keep going back!  Sounds good to me anyway.  And to add to the fun, Cohen's cousin Taylor was the winner for the kindergarten.  Taylor's dad, Blake, is my first cousin so I think we can also just call this smart genes!  Lol!  In all honesty, Cohen and Taylor both do have something in common that I do think played a big part in them winning, they are both students of Mrs. Kellum!  Courtney taught Cohen last year and teaches Taylor this year and I just think she really does such a good job with her students.  I'm so proud of both of them!  The winners were honored at last week's Board of Education meeting.  They were announced by grade and then shook hands with all the board members and Ruth O'Dell the superintendent.  I know there was a room full of proud parents!

 

Kate's First Soccer Game

Last Tuesday was Kate's first soccer game.  She (and we) have been so excited for this!  Kate loves to play sports outside so we decided that we would try soccer this spring.  We were actually super excited that 3 year olds could play through the rec department.  Kelly is her coach and she has really enjoyed the practices, or most of them at least.  I have seen a couple of melt downs but usually she was so tired and we knew that was part of the problem.  We were so curious to see how she would like it and she had a blast!  She was so much fun to watch out there.  She had 3 goals during the game and after every one she would turn to us and smile so proud.  She would run over to the sidelines and Cohen was there to hug her each time.  It was so sweet.  She really got into the game and had her little "game face" on while she was out there playing.  I was very impressed!  I have a video on my Facebook page for anyone interested in watching that.  It is too cute!  I hope she likes all her other games as much as that one!

Addison came to watch Kate!

Getting a hug from Cohen after one of her goals