A dozen years

Today is Carson's 12th birthday. One more year before she is a TEENAGER! We celebrated early since her birthday is on Monday so Gram and Grandpa made us dinner and Gram baked Carson her favorite cake. She got her "Bag of Cash" from Great Gram and Gram and Grandpa gave her a necklace from their recent trip to Alaska. The festivities will continue next week when we visit Mimi & Bepa in NC.

And so it begins...soccer that is!

Carson and Reese had their first games on their new soccer teams on Saturday. They both played very well and had fun despite the heat. Carson's team won both of their games and Carson scored in both. Reese's team won one and lost one and Reese had 4 goals. Off to a good start. Hadley and Brett won't have their first games for a couple of weeks- thank goodness!

How many fingers can you fit in your mouth?

Murphy can stick all 4 of his fingers in his mouth at one time! He will even try to get them all in there when he is sucking on his pacifier, too!

Crazy Paisley

sitting "PRETTY"- she'll do anything for food

soaking up the sun

in "her" bouncy seat

laying between the sofa cushions

She loves to burrow under the covers and sleep!

Murphy's new activities

Tummy-Time- hates it!

Exersaucer

baby seat

Now that Murphy can support himself a bit he has gotten to experiment with some new baby gear instead of just being stuck in the bouncy seat. He has also just started rolling over from back to front but he gets stuck and cries because he hates to be on his stomach for too long!

Crooked-headed baby

Apparently, I have a crooked-headed baby.  I took Murphy to his 4 month well visit and he is growing like a weed (16 lbs, 27") but he has a crooked head. Notice in the photo how his head is cocked to the left a little bit- well the dr. says he needs some PT to loosen up the tendons in his neck. No biggie- should be a quick fix. I think he just has a big old noggin that's too heavy for him still!

Murphy @ 4 months

Murphy is now 4 mos. old. He is a sweet baby and happy most of the time. He LOVES to eat and be held but he does NOT like to sleep! I thought he was making progress in that department but he has regressed in the last week. He is really holding his head up well but has developed the nasty habit of spitting up after every bottle. He also drools like no other child I have had so we have to change his outfit several times because his shirt gets soaked! He loves to stick out his tongue and he is very ticklish. He is quite the chub and the girls have nicknamed him MOO-MOO- I guess because he is chubby and drinks so much milk.

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!"

After a long, hot summer it is back to school time! I don't want to sound too giddy but it was time. I think we had all had enough of seeing each other all day, every day for the last 10 weeks. Griffin is off to 10th grade, Carson to 7th, Reese to 5th, Hadley to 3rd and Brett has entered to world of KINDERGARTEN! His first day was fine- no tears from him or me! He rode the bus for the first time and reported that school was fun but way to LOOOONG! Get used to it little man because this is your life for the next 13+ years!

Molly's visit

Molly came down to "help" Colin move into his dorm. While she was here she stopped by for a visit. It was soooo good to see her and all the kids loved having her here. Of course, they wouldn't leave her alone so it might be another year before she comes again!

Colin's 18th Birthday

Colin celebrated his birthday with us again this year. The BIG 1-8! We had a yummy cookie cake that was gone by the next morning. After the celebration it was off to college for Colin. He is now a proud member of GAMECOCK NATION!

Carwash Cooldown

We will do just about anything to get wet and get some relief from the heat. My car was filthy so the kids volunteered to give it a bath. I am not sure what got cleaner- the car or the kids?

Hadley's 8th birthday date

For Hadley's 8th birthday we had a "Date with Mom". We went to see a movie (something we never get to do). Hadley loves popcorn so she was in 7th heaven when we got the BIG   bucket! The movie was cute- "Ramona & Beazus" and the theater was nice and cool. After the movie we went to the mall and got Hadley's ears pierced- again! She got them pierced last birthday but they got really infected so we decided to wait and try again this year. Here's hoping it works out this time! We had lunch and Hadley rode the merry-go-round. It was nice to spend some one-on-one time with Hadley. She is a sweet girl and she certainly loves to TALK!

8 is GREAT!!!

Carson made the cake for Hadley

Today is Hadley's 8th birthday! She is growing up too fast! She is such a sweetie and full of life. She definitely keeps us on our toes. She marches to the beat of her own drum and keeps life interesting. She is always ready for fun and always adds a bit of drama to any occasion. She makes us laugh everyday and pull our hair out at times but we wouldn't have her any other way. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!

Snuggle Time

Whenever Murphy falls asleep he likes to have his blankey snuggled right up against his cheek. At this point he doesn't have a blanket preference-anything soft will do. Of course, sometimes he manages to pull the blanket over his head while he sleeps and he wakes up screaming because he can't see anything.

Rain, Rain, PLEASE Stay!

The only relief we get from this unbearable heat are the afternoon storms that roll through. It wasn't thundering so I let the kids run in the rain. It only lasted for about 10 minutes and it didn't cool down much but at least they were wet which helped them stay a little cooler!

Where are You Whit?

I went in my bedroom to change the baby's diaper and I thought Whit was just going upstairs to play with his trains. When I finished with the diaper I called out to check on Whit:

"Whit, where are you?"

no response,

again I call out"Whit, where are you?"

I hear running water.

I go upstairs.

I open the bathroom door.

This is what I found!

Whit managed to get undressed, turn on the shower and hop in in less than 2 minutes!

This kid is giving me a run for my money!

I just hope we both make it to his third birthday.

Three has got to get easier or else!

Murphy

Just a little baby love!

He actually slept for 7 1/2 straight hours last night!

Here's hoping that continues!

Then and Now

THEN:

Kalyn @ my wedding

NOW:

Kalyn as a beautiful bride

Kalyn & Patrick