there are no words

cheese

Dance, dance, dance!

This past weekend was an exciting time for Pop and Grammy. They have been taking dance lessons for a while now and this weekend they danced in their first competition. Marshall, Anna, and I went to support them and had a great time cheering them on and (according to Anna) seeing "all the pretty dresses!" We arrived at the Hyatt around 8:00 am (yes, I said AM) and got to talk to Pop and Grammy for a few minutes before they started their first dance. The morning session consisted of more traditional/smooth dances (waltz, tango, etc) and the afternoon was for the Latin dances (I hope that's right, all the lingo is new to me). It was fun to watch and we found out later that Pop and Grammy won everything in their class - wow!!! They really did a great job and we're so proud of them!

Giving hugs, kisses, and well wishes!

After the morning session was over, we took a walk downtown, had a pinkalicious snack, played in a toy store, strolled through a farmer's market, enjoyed lunch, and then came back to see the rest of the dancing.

In between dances, Pop and Grammy came to sit with us and Anna got lots of special attention.

School

This boy started kindergarten today.

We decided to keep him at the same school he's attended for the past four years. We love everyone there and feel that this was the best place for Jack to attend kindergarten. I think that's really what helped us all have such a great day. It's a familiar place, with familiar faces, and we couldn't be happier. He came home telling me about lots of rules (good, that means he was listening!) and loved that he got to eat lunch at school. As we were talking in the car ride home, he was telling me about everything and then said, "I had fun, but I didn't learn how to read today!" Other than that one minor disappointment, he had a wonderful first day of kindergarten.

He had homework before school even started and had to make a poster about himself (including friends, family, and things he likes). He picked out/drew the pictures, cut them out, glued them on exactly where he wanted them, and did a great job!

Here's our crew on the first day of school - 2001. For the record, Sam did not take his lunch today (only on Wednesdays), but since Jack had his lunchbox Sam had to have his, too!

Kindergarten!!

3K - three days a week
CDO (Child's Day Out) - 2 days a week

Seven Months

Our little Lucy Lu is seven months old today. Wow! She is still a great baby. She's had a few days of fever and fussiness with these teeth coming in, but overall she's really happy and pretty laid back. She now has 2 teeth all the way through, one in the process and 3 more so very close. She nurses four times a day (about every 4 hours) and eats about 4 oz of baby food at each meal. She loves fruit (any kind) the best. Sleep hasn't changed but I forgot to mention how she goes to sleep in previous posts. Once she's been up for about 2 - 2 1/2 hours, I can put her right in the crib. She grabs her blanket with one hand and covers her face with it while shoving the other thumb in her mouth as fast as she can and she's usually asleep in seconds. Lucy continues to be our happy girl. She loves her Daddy, her siblings, and especially her dog, Hank (not sure why, but she is always excited to see him)! Oh, and she's a great sitter now and has moved out of her infant car seat into something roomier. She's growing up so fast!

I just love this face!

Look at those long legs!

Touch An Animal

Today we went to the Savannah River Ecology Lab where they sponsored "Touch An Animal" day. The kids got to check out lots of different bugs, reptiles, and other animals. The rule was to only touch the animals using two fingers. As you can see if you look closely, Jack was a firm follower of that rule! None of them wanted to touch the rattle snake, which was pretty creepy with that crazy tail rattling in our faces, so I don't blame them. They also were somewhat afraid of the duck, which makes no sense to me, but they seemed to have fun with everything else.

Looking at bugs and spiders.

This is as close as Anna got to the rattlesnake.

That's a tortoise in the bucket and the girl who's not a child of mine is holding a turtle.

This is a very teeny, tiny alligator.

Scarlet King Snake

There was a hawk, but they were only allowed to look at him. Jack did get to hold one of these feet, which I think it pretty gross seeing as it's not attached to an animal!

Today

She Sits

Just over the past couple of days Lucy has really improved her sitting skills. She had a great time sitting up and playing with her Leapfrog table today. I can actually walk away and feel confident that she will still be sitting up when I get back.

In other news, she has SIX teeth trying to come in all at once. She ran a low grade fever for a couple days and has been a bit fussier than usual, but she seemed to be in a much better mood today. The top middle tooth on the left has broken through, as well as the one right below it on the bottom (never have I had a child with this crazy tooth pattern before). She has the other bottom middle tooth starting to break through, as well as three more on the top. I guess if she gets them all in at once it will be a blessing once it's all over.

Here's my happy sitter.

8 Years

That was then...

This is now...

These past eight years have truly been more than I could have ever imagined.
I love you, Marshall!