Goodbye, Pop-Pop

March 27, 2008 Tonight, Jack's grandfather, Pop, died at the age of 91. It's both a sad and happy night in our family. We are sad for the loss of such a sweet fighter, but yet joyful that tonight, he was reunited with Jesus and with his true love. Pop was such a wonderful man and has overcome amazing feats for anyone, yet alone someone of his age. Kinsey looked up to him and treasured her almost weekly visits to see him. We are sad that Max will never truly get to know his great-grandfather. You will be missed, Pop!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

I can't believe I'm old enough to now be the "parent" part of this meeting, but yes, we had our first conference today for Kinsey. Don't worry, all parents got one, not just us! :) I was a little worried, however, when the teacher's first words were "Ah, Kinsey, the little spitfire", but then I was relieved when she started tearing up and told me she was going to cry just talking about her and that she brought so much life to the classroom. Some of the highlights of the conference were that Kinsey accurately identifies all her shapes, animals, letters, etc. She did great counting to 12 (she gets stumped at 13--but rather than being wrong, she stated "OK, I'm tired now"). They asked her to identify her ankle and she pointed to her wrist, but said "wrist" (a little defiant, huh). But my favorites were the fill-in-the blank. Brothers are boys, sisters are ... Girls. Mommy is a girl, Daddy is a ... Boy. Daytime is light, nighttime is ... Sleepy time! And last but not least, Turtles are slow, rabbits are ... FUNNY BUNNIES!!! :) Oh yeah, and by the way our phone number is 245 and her birthday is three! If only all the conferences in her future could be so funny!

He is Risen...

"And then He went and got something to eat." This was Kinsey account of what happened this glorious morning. Needless to say, lunch was on this child's mind at the time of this conversation. After church today, we went to Nan and Granddaddy's house to have an Easter feast with them. The kids were cooperative enough to let me get a few shots of them together. Happy Easter everyone!

Twas the Day Before Easter...

...and all through the Vineyards...We just got back from a very busy day at Nanny and Papadad's house. Their neighborhood had big plans for their Easter celebrations. It started at the horse barn with a "meet and greet" the barnyard animals including baby chicks, bunnies, goats, and ponies, followed by an Easter egg hunt and pony rides. Kinsey got to ride Scout the paint for a second time. Then it was off to the firehouse for lunch, rides around the neighborhood in the trucks and even a "jaws of life" demonstration out back. Kinsey favorite part was honking the air horn during the ENTIRE truck ride. I don't think Max is going to be a firefighter when he grows up, though. He screamed his head off the whole ride. He may have a future in lug nut changing!

A Stroll Down Memory Lane...

As I'm going back and making a baby book for Kinsey to match the one of Max that I just finished, I noticed my children slightly resemble each other. Hmm? Who knew?

School Days

I just love this school picture of Kinsey--I just think it's so unique and not what you'd expect from a preschool photographer. And I like how he captured her devilish/angelic little grin! :)


www.stylizedportraiture.com

Check out this guy's website--looks pretty cool.

Then and Now

Kinsey 4 months old


Kinsey almost 4 YEARS old

Down on the Farm

This afternoon, our cousin Amanda invited us to come visit her farm and meet her newest additions to her goat family. Kinsey got the very special treat of getting to bottle-feed baby Teela. She also got to feed the hens, collect eggs (which Amanda let us keep for tomorrow's breakfast) and play with Lady when all the "chores" were done. Max loved chasing the goats (hey, Max loved eating dirt) but got really angry when he found out the bottle was not for him.

Add to Max's list of "Things I Did While Daddy was at Work Today". Should I tell him, or just let him brush his hair in the morning first???

Vincent Van KINSEY!!!

Here is the my first official portrait, as seen through the eyes of Kinsey this weekend in North Carolina. The attention to detail here is striking. In particular, the plump, red lips and perfectly trimmed browline...



In other news, Max got in a fight with an end table at Granny's house and came out on the losing end of the deal. He was not up for photos upon return to Georgia. Kinsey enjoyed her first game of bowling and proudly beat her daddy in 6 out of 10 frames (they tied one of the others).

My kids now have passports! They came in the mail over the weekend. I find this hard to believe. Max will be SIX and still using his one-year-old picture for National Security purposes!

Happy St. PATRICK'S Day!!!

Cowboys and Indians

Today was awesome! I had an extra special treat after work today. I got to go with my friend Katie to her father's farm and ride horses. I rode Ollie, whom I loved, but was even more impressed watching Katie and her son on cutting horses. What a talent they have!

The best part of the day however, was at supper with my family. I was talking to Jack about an Indian woman that I had met while standing in line last week for Kinsey's preschool who ran tests on Jack's chickens at UGA. Kinsey's face paled and she looked at me in horror and said, "Mommy, an indian??? Did she try to KILL you?"

Oh, out of the mouths of babes!!! :)

Who rules the roost?

It's quite obvious that it is NOT us parents! It's official, the children have now taken over the entire house. Here's a look at Max's birthday present from Nanny and Papadad. Thanks guys--we love it!!!

Flurries, Fish, and Family

Today was the last day with Nanny and Papadad. Since we didn't get much time to enjoy Max's birthday yesterday, we decided to celebrate as a family today with a trip to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. The day started out exciting when, after completing Kinsey's registration for pre-K, snow flurries moved into Watkinsville. They were fairly heavy (for Georgia) for about 30 minutes and then they vanished just as fast. But it was a beautiful sight while it lasted. After a yummy lunch at Moe's, we got to the aquarium for a long afternoon visit. Kinsey's favorite were the "pink head fish with yellow tails" (?), Max loved the sea lions and penguins (actually he liked any exhibit he could stand and yell through the glass--he HATED the 4D movie though). As for the rest of us, we all thought the whale sharks were the highlight. I personally loved the tiny Asian otters, too, although I didn't get a good picture of them. When we got home, we had one more cake and singing and now we are all ready to crash for the night.

Ridiculousness

This is my new favorite word. It describes the events of today just perfectly. Today was Max's actual first birthday. We are just going to pretend that it's tomorrow. The day started early. I took the day off to accomplish what I am getting ready to share. Mom and I took both kids to the Post Office today to get their Passports for our trip to the Turks and Caicos this summer. I had taken what I thought to be some pretty good steps to be prepared for this. I also had to renew my own and finally change my name. So I had filled out the applications online and purchsed a copy of my marriage license beforehand, Jack went and picked up copies of the kids' birth certificates and we met up on the other side of Athens. Both parents have to be present to get a child's Passport. So, all went fairly uneventful until we realized the keys had gotten locked in my car by mistake. Fortunately, Jack and I were in seperate cars, so he was able to run home and get the spare set for us. An hour later, after having an emergency potty trip in the secured area of the post office and counting post office boxes in the lobby area, we were headed home for the next part of the day. The madness continues. Saturday morning (TOMORROW) at 8 AM is registration for one of the only pre-k programs in our county. At one o'clock, we drove by, just being curious and cautious and there was someone in line already. Yes, I am talking about 19 hours early!!! It is just after 9 PM and we are already home before registration's even started. We got Kinsey's spot! At 6 o'clock, the deputy on guard at the school allowed us on the property. Mass chaos! Within 10 minutes, 75 of the 87 slots were already filled. Within 2 hours, all the slots were full--12 HOURS before registration even began! Due to the inclement weather, the director of the school opted NOT to make us camp out all night until 8 AM (even though all the slots had already been filled and we had already signed our names on "the list"). There is sooo much more to this crazy story, but I am so tired from this day, I believe the important thing is that we accomplished our goal and will enroll Kinsey in the morning. Thank goodness for the rain!!!

A Good Day for Flying

March 2, 2008 Sunday was such a beautiful day, we decided to pack up a picnic lunch while my mom and dad were in town and go watch my dad fly his new model airplane. We thought about the football field behind my school, and it worked out really well. Kinsey really helped her Papadad fly his plane and afterwards, we took her next door to the elementary school to play on the playground a while. Spring is in the air!!!

Birthday Video

Here is the video I was referring to about Max "digging into" his cake at his party. The clip is long, but right at the halfway point is where he does his stuff. He's too funny!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

March came in like a lion...

...with our little lamb's first birthday party!!!


March 1, 2008 Today we celebrated Max's first birthday. Although he will not officially be one until Friday, we had his party today. Some of Max's friends and family celebrated with him including his aunt and cousin Thomas from SC and both grandparents. Jack and my dad went over the top again this year with the birthday cake tradition. Max's "smash" cake was a half version of the lamb cake and he brought a whole new meaning to the term. I was so proud because he had about one of the funniest methods of attack with his cake that I have ever seen.