Critter's Big Day...

I am so not ready to write this post!

Today is Critter's first day of school! It seems like yesterday we brought Pumpkin to her first day of preschool. I was carrying Critter back then since he was not even walking. Now, he is marching off with the rest of the kids to start this new adventure. I am so not ready for it, but he is. We were walking home from bringing Pumpkin to school. I told him he could watch a little bit of tv before leaving. He said " No mom, it is time for me to go to school now". He was more than ready....not so much for me though!

Can you tell how happy he is! It didn't affect him when I said I would not be staying. He was telling me all about what he wanted to do in class.
I had Pumpkin take a picture of him and I before bringing her to school. She is getting quite good with my camera :)

At his school before going to the playground.

Daddy left work for a few minutes to drive down to see him. He got there just as they were lining up to go up to their classroom. He surprised Critter and he was super happy!

Walking in line to go to class! I am so excited to hear about his first day. I am so not ready for both of my kids to be in school. The really grow up to fast...

I got home from coffee with a friend (thanks B) and found this note from Pumpkin. Even though they don't always show it, they love each other so much. I know this note will be erased soon, but it is so sweet.

These guys are growing up way to quick. I want to remember some of the sweet moments that will fade too quickly:

~ I love when Pumpkin wakes up early and wants me to come cuddle with her until she is ready to wake up

~ I love when I go to Critter's room to sing him his goodnight song he lifts his arms up and i have to rest my head on his chest. If I try to lift my head, he pushes it down until I finish singing

~ I love that my girl gives me the biggest hugs when I have to leave to work or run errands

~ I love that the kids will sit in the front window when either Hubby or I have to leave. They sit and wave at us as we drive by

~ I love finding notes from Pumpkin in the most random places.

~ I love figuring out Pumpkin's phonetic spelling of things

~ I love how Critter has memorized his favorite books and wants to read to me now

~ I love when my kids are sick or hurt they still want their momma!

I know it is a part of growing up...but this momma is not ready for it. My kids are though. All I can do is go along for the ride!

Fun Family Time...

We are now in the season of cherishing every moment of family time we can! My two businesses are starting to really pick up, Hubby has been working a lot and did I mention we are remodeling our bathroom! It has been a good year and a half since we had a house full of chaos and dust...so why not do it again! So, needless to say when the 4 of us can get out of the house and have fun it is great!

Our Alma Mater had their football inter-squad scrimmage this past weekend. It was free and on a Saturday morning...couldn't pass that up! The kids have been asking to go to a game, so we figured we would do this. My mom and I took the kids last year since Hubby was working. It is a great time. It was not too hot since it started at 8am. Plus, since it was not packed the kids could move around and not get too antsy.

I was really involved in campus when I was there, so I have different memories than Hubby. I love to take a picture of the kids in front of the Victory Bell. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this season this bell will be ringing a lot! :)
Anytime we see the mascot, we have to get a picture! Plus it was fun to see his new uniform for the year. You can't tell by this picture, but Critter loves this guy!

I realize I do not have nearly enough pictures of me and my kids. I am always behind the camera. I am really trying to get better about getting pictures with them instead of always just pictures of them.

I can not believe how grown up this girl is getting. She seems to grow a little every day. I miss the baby she was, but am truly excited to see who she grows into. The days have been tough with her lately, but she is my amazing daughter. Her fiery, independent, strong-willed personality will do great things for her in this life. She was enthralled with the cheerleaders during the game. She is really loving her gymnastics class right now and realizes she might be able to do these cool tricks one day.

He was loving the game! It was so cute. He kept asking questions about what the guys were doing. He was a little confused since it was a inter-squad game and run a little different. But, football season should be fun this year!

It was a great family morning. It was a great reminder of why Hubby and I are both working like crazy right now!

What happens...

...when we are in a giggling mood and I get my camera! The other night we were just being goofy. Hubby and Pumpkin were reading together and I needed to get Critter out of the room. He was just being goofy...so I got my camera! I am so glad I did. These two just make me laugh :)

I told him to put his cheek to mine so I could get a picture....he took me seriously too. I tried to take the picture before his cheek was on mine and he corrected me!


He was pretending to be green lantern and fall on the bed. Not really sure why, but it cracked me up. He was making the funniest faces. Plus, he was wearing Pumpkin's.green.heart ring...so therefore he was green.lantern!

Getting ready to fall on me to protect me!

Pumpkin got done reading and was wondering what was going on....Critter and I were cracking up and she had to get in on the action!

There really is nothing sweeter in this world to me than these two laughing and smiling! Life may not always do what I think it is going to do....but I know I am doing my job well if I can see images like I captured this day. The summer really went by too quickly and Critter will be starting school in three weeks...It is hard to realize your kids are growing up much faster than you want them to!

Why Daddy is fun...

It is good that Hubby and I balance each other out. We all know that both of us are just a little ;) Type A. But, we both know how to have fun with the kids in different ways. Sunday morning he was doing yard work fairly early in the day (it is hot!). The kids asked to go outside with him. The next thing I know I look out the window and see fun sprinkler time in their clothes! :)

This is why Daddy is fun...

The two of them had so much fun! It was really cute and honestly something I would probably not have done with them...at least without bathing suits. But, that is the joy of Daddy!

We have a lot of stress going on right now in our lives. Moments like this help me remember what the big picture is all about! If these two sweet faces can be smiling, then all is right in our world!

Summer Simplicity

Even though our summer has been over for almost 2 weeks, I still have stuff to catch up on in this space! The end of summer dragged on a little bit. It was really hot and I ran out of energy for big elaborate entertainment. But...sometimes it is the simple things that make us the most happy....it was a good reminder :)

I love that Pumpkin likes to sit and "read" the comics. It is so cute....especially when it is next to Daddy on a Sunday morning...

She got to go to a birthday party with a face painter. She painted a beautiful butterfly and bracelet. Pumpkin LOVED them...unfortunately they had to be washed off that night. But, pictures last longer than face paint!

During the craziness of the hot afternoons...we rediscovered a love for coloring. We had some really nice, peace-filled afternoons filled with coloring. These were some of my favorite days of the summer!

Man, the days just go by too quickly to catch up completely! I think if we all go to bed with smiles on our faces, then we had a successful day. We are still getting into a rhythm with school back in session. Critter starts the last Tuesday of this month for 2 day a week preschool. So, once we get in a rhythm with Pumpkin we will have to figure it out with Critter! Days are good...but hot that is for sure! :)