End of Kindergarten Festivities

Sophie's dressed up for cowgirl day.

Sophie & Emerson (our neighbor) after their program

our family minus Nana who came to the kindergarten celebration

Dylan, Olivia, Samantha, Sophie & Kenly with Mrs. Rogers

During the last full week of school, the kids had different dress-up themes for each day where they could dress up if they wanted to such as pirate day, cowboy/cowgirl day, flip flop and bubbles day, and luau day. On that Friday, they had their kindergarten celebration where the kids performed several songs that they had learned in music class. Uncle Phil, Paw-paw and Nana were all able to come in addition to our immediate family. Sophie has had an amazing kindergarten year! We are so thankful that she had such an awesome kindergarten teacher in Mrs. Rogers! This will be her one and only year at Trinity because next year Sophie will be going to a new school. Sophie had told us that she was going to visit Mrs. Rogers every day next year though she would be in a different grade. Mrs. Rogers decided just recently however to join her daughter at their neighborhood school instead of going to the new school. Hope everyone has a great summer!

Huntsville Space and Rocket Center

one of Sophie and Abbie's favorite things-a kiddie ride (they rode this a bunch of times)


Abbie is conducting some space experiments on a space station

The girls were laying down like real astronauts in an Apollo space capsule model.



Sophie playing in one of the kiddie areas

Last Saturday, we decided to head down to Huntsville to visit the Space and Rocket Center.  We have a membership at the Adventure Science Center in Nashville so we could do most of the exhibits for free in Huntsville.  Sophie had a unit about space at school so we thought the girls might enjoy at least parts of it.  It was a beautiful day!  When we arrived at the Space & Rocket Center we discovered that it was pretty busy because they were having these Moonbuggy races.  Many colleges had brought teams to compete in racing these self-made moonbuggies. It was kind of interesting to watch them.  We decided that overall, our girls were a little young for a lot of what they had to offer at the Space and Rocket Center but they did enjoy the kiddie areas a lot.  Their favorite area had a kiddie ride that went up and down bouncing as it went, almost like the adult version of the ride.  The girls rode it repeatedly! 

Sophie enjoyed learning a little more about launches to the moon, etc.  There was a lady there who let our girls try on the special boots that astronauts wear when they are walking on the moon.  They were pretty heavy!

Sophie's Career Path

I have a funny story to share from a couple of days ago.  Sophie lost another tooth on Monday (her second in 4 days).  The first time, the tooth fairy generously left her $5.  Well, on Monday morning she lost another tooth at school.  Monday night the tooth fairy forgot to make an appearance so she had to swing by for a last minute visit on Tuesday morning while Sophie was downstairs.   By the way, Sophie came in our room about 6:15 A.M. on Tuesday morning (earlier than usual) to tell us that her tooth was still there and that the tooth fairy and had not come. 

So, anyway, after the tooth fairy had come Sophie announced, "Mommy, when I grow up I've decided that I want to be the tooth fairy."  I said, "oh, so you don't want to be a baby doctor anymore?"  She's like no, I want to be the tooth fairy.  I told Matt later that she might need to be a doctor by day so that she could afford to be the tooth fairy by night because she has to give out a lot of money!  =)  Yesterday she came home and said, "I think that there's more than one tooth fairy."  (Friday there were 3 kids in her class who lost teeth and there were 2 on Friday.)  I told Sophie that she was probably right.

I'll try to post a picture of Sophie soon.  She was so excited to bring home a huge Hershey's candy bar today because she had learned all of her sight word lists (probably about 20 total).  We've been working on them for months!

Sophie and Abbie take on "The Fast Food Song"

Sophie learned "The Fast Food Song" at school about a month ago, and she's been singing it at home.  Abbie really likes to try and sing the song too.  Sometimes, Abbie will sing "Burger Hut" instead of "Pizza Hut," but she sings the song with a lot of enthusiasm.  The original song by the Fast Food Rockers is below so you compare it to Abbie and Sophie's cover version.

Costume Party

Emerson & Sophie being silly (I told Emerson to say "argh!" and Sophie to say, "yee haw!" before I took the picture.) I should have tried for a more normal pose too. =)

                                                 



Linnea & Sophie

Sophie & Abbie on the trailer bed after the hayride.

                                          

Here's the girls with one of our pumpkins.  Their daddy carved another one. Fun traditions! 

Last weekend, Sophie was busy with parties after her soccer game in the morning.  First, she was able to attend her friend, Carley's gymnastics party.  Then, she came home and changed into her Jessie outfit for Emerson's costume party.  This year, Emerson opted for a Halloween party instead of celebrating on her birthday which was in September.    Their family invited all of us but Abbie ended up taking a good nap that day so she only came for the last part of the party.  The kids had fun playing games, snacking, doing crafts, and going on a hayride around our section of the neighborhood.  All of the kids enjoyed the party and the hayride was a big hit!               

Happenings at School

Sophie playing in the wheat trough at the pumpkin farm

a relay at Field Day where the kids has to put on ski clothes

the dreaded sack race-it looks like Sophie was being coached by one of the boys in her class. That was cracking me up! The boys got really into some of the team events. They were cheering their teammates on! =)

the girls are ready to go!

Last week, the kindergarten classes had Field Day. They needed some extra chaperones. My mom volunteered to keep Abbie for me so that I could help out. Each of the 10 classes at her school was responsible for two different little stations or games. A lot of them were relay race type events and a lot of them were fall related. The kids had fun overall with only a few minor injuries. It turned out to be a lovely day though it started out cold. I was one of the chaperones who went around with Sophie's class. Sophie told me that she did not enjoy the sack race. Ah-a girl after my own heart! I used to hate relay-race type events, especially as I got older because they were never my forte. I also had a lot of knee problems in my teens so I was always afraid my knee would go out during the relay race.

All Aboard

                                                        Abbie's waiting in line for the train

                                                          Abbie & Sophie riding the train

here's one of the trains that they used

This past weekend, we were able to go to Train Day for the first time.  It's an annual event that a couple from Crieve Hall hosts.  My mom has told me about it for the last few years but we've never been able to go.  There was a great turnout, plenty of food, and the girls rode the trains several times.  Both of the girls had a lot of fun and they were able to see some friends too!  One of the trains operated on steam and they used gas for the other train.  My mom had an old engineer's cap so she let Abbie borrow it.  =)  The next morning, Abbie woke up with stomach problems again so we had to keep her home on Sunday.  Now, she seems to be doing just fine again. 

Home Projects





our home before the new roof goes on





Abbie's big girl bed (she has a siderail but I took it off for the picture.).







Another area of Abbie's room




It's fun to help Daddy wash Mama's car!

For about a week, Abbie had a pretty bad stomach bug. She is feeling much better now. We had to keep her home for several days. This week, we got a new roof put on our house. It wasn't that old but there was a hail storm in May that damaged some of the roofs on our street pretty bad. Thankfully, insurance is covering most of it. Also, about a month ago, we painted the upper half of Abbie's room (pink, of course!) and redecorated her room. She moved to a big girl bed. She does fairly well now with staying in her bed but it was hard at first. I finally remembered to take some pictures to post.

Sophie still loves school! She's learning a lot of new sight words. When they learn a new list of words, her teacher gives them a piece of candy. Very effective I might add.

Capture the Moment

It's been a while since I've posted.  Last week I had a terrible cold but I'm feeling better this week.  I LOVE the cooler fall weather!!  I have a lot of random thoughts to share it seems but I'll try to make sense.  I still miss Sophie being around but I'm really glad that she likes school.  I feel like I get the "leftovers" of Sophie meaning she gives her best at school and then, by the time she gets home from school, she's pretty worn-out.  Maybe this is why I dreaded her really starting school because I knew that once she started, she'd be gone so much of the time.  Don't get me wrong though, I'm really happy for her.  Sometimes it's the little things that make Sophie so excited to telll about her day like being praised for being good, getting in the treasure box, etc.  On Friday afternoon, I was just thinking, "I wish that I could capture this moment and make time stand still for a little while."  Sophie had her first loose tooth and she was so excited about it that she wanted to call several family members.  She was skipping around the house, wearing her school shirt with her hair pulled back in a pony tail.  It's one of those moments that I hope I can look back and remember.  She just recently started skipping. 

Abbie, on the other hand, is talking so much clearer.  The other day, I decided to walk with the girls over the hill to a neighborhood playground.  We were almost there. Sophie had taken her scooter but Abbie was walking with me.  Abbie said, "I 2 now.  Abbie need princess scooter too."  It didn't come out that clear but I realized what she was saying and it was so cute.  =)  By the way, another thing that I may forget one day is that Abbie asks everyday, "Why Sophie go to kindergarten?"  I have to explain that she's 5, etc, etc.  I tell Abbie that she'll get to go one day too!  Abbie asks a lot of "why" questions now.  She also likes to do everything by herself!

Sophie was trying on some shoes a few days ago that a friend of mine passed along.  I said, "did you try on the red shoes?  I wanted you to try them on."  She says, "yeah, but I took them off."  I told her that I had wanted to see them on her.  Then, in her serious voice she said, "My feet just know it's not time to wear them so they want to take them off."  I thought this was very creative of her and I just laughed.  I said, "you mean your feet know that they are church shoes or that the shoes are a little too big?"  Kids are so funny sometimes. 

Recent Zoo Trips

Abbie goes beyond the call of duty-she's got a brush on each hand.

                                                      the flamingoes are here!

                                                       Abbie's 1st day of school

This past week, Abbie started back to Mother's Day Out.  Yay!  Both of my kids are back in school.  While I'm still adjusting to having Sophie gone every day and really wish that she was around more, I was excited to have a day or two that's scheduled where someone else is watching my kids.  After having them home with me all summer, it will be nice to have a break!  Anyway, Abbie did fine at school but she hasn't taken a nap so far.  I'm happy that Abbie is in Ms Katy's class and several of her friends from church are in there.  While Abbie was in school, Matt & I both worked on getting her room painted so that we could transition her into a big girl bed over the weekend.  Pictures of her room to come soon...  Abbie has done really well with that transition.  Her first night in the big girl bed she was grinning from ear to ear because she was so excited about her big girl bed.

On another note, the weather has been a little cooler outside and we've been able to go to the zoo a couple of times.  I didn't take very many pictures but the first time it was just me and Abbie.  We had a great time but poor Sophie missed out (and Daddy).  This past weekend, we planned it so that we could all go and we were able to see the new flamingo exhibit.  The zoo got pretty busy since it was so pretty for Labor Day weekend but we still had a nice time!

A few more favorites...

I had the girls pictures made a couple of weeks ago and we also took some family pictures. I really wanted a good picture of the girls together and it had been a long time since we had had individual pictures of them made. We did it just before kindergarten started going in full swing. Abbie was more photogenic that day than I think she's ever been for a photographer. I thought we got some great pictures of everyone! 

Recent Portraits

both girls were smiling here!

This picture is just so Abbie!

Busch Gardens

Here we are at Busch Gardens in the Sesame Street area of the park. Sophie had been recently when she was able to spend a few days with Matt's parents by herself but she was excited to show the rest of us everything, especially in the Sesame Street area. It's a relatively small area of the park with just a handful of rides but the girls enjoyed each of them. Sophie was able to meet all of the Sesame Street characters but Abbie wanted nothing to do with them. They also put on a live show that we could watch. It was cool for us parents too because we grew up watching Sesame Street. =)

Sophie with Bert & Ernie

Sophie & Abbie

Sophie, Mama & Abbie riding the Elmo ride

Aunt Leia, Daddy & Sophie riding the roller coaster in Sesame Street land. It was actually a pretty decent sized roller coaster. I was a little surprised because I thought it would be a real "kiddie" roller coaster but it had a decent sized hill, some big curves & it was pretty fast. Sophie loved it though!

Hanging Out

the three redheads-Kate, Sophie, & Abbie

smiley Sophie

Sophie & Abbie are having a picnic with their babies.

Many days, we find things to do outside of our home with other people. Sometimes however, the girls have a blast just hanging out at home and using their creativity to do all sorts of things. A couple of weeks ago, Abbie had a little virus so we were somewhat "forced" to stay around the house and play until she felt better. One day, we enjoyed going to play at the Clifford's house with Kate and Harrison. Sophie & Kate had a great time doing crafts together while Harrison mostly hung out with his mom and baby Merritt. Abbie just enjoyed hanging out with everybody.

Sophie's Graduation

Sophie & Emma, one of her buddies

Grady, Nolen, Aunt Martha, Sophie & Abbie (all 4 of these kids will be in Aunt Martha's wedding in a few short weeks! Grady and Sophie have been in the same class for the past 2 years.

Paula & Sophie

Paw-paw, Abbie, Aunt Martha, Sophie & Paula

Sophie had her preschool graduation on Thursday night. That evening it was pouring down rain when we headed to the graduation but we made it there in one piece. At Sophie's graduation, they played a video that included pictures taken throughout the school year. Miss Jody, the director, shared a couple of sweet little poems at the beginning and then each age group sang a song or two. Then, one by one, the kids walked across the front, got a hug from their teacher and a preschool certificate. This year, Sophie got to wear a cap and everything! (no gown though) Thankfully, I didn't cry though I'm sad about sending her off to kindergarten in the fall. Also, Sophie has had Miss Sandra for the past 2 years. We will miss her next year! As each child's name was called, they also told what each child wanted to be when he or she grows up. Sophie wants to be a "baby doctor". =) It was a late night for our family. After the graduation ceremony, we visited with people and had snacks. We were proud of our Sophie!

Sophie's 5!

Sophie riding the carousel

Sophie's Barbie cake

Emerson and Sophie eating cake

Sophie is so excited to be eating pizza and celebrating with her friends!

Sophie turned 5 on Saturday, May 1st. For some reason, this birthday seems really hard for her mommy to swallow because it means that she'll be starting kindergarten in a few months. We decided to celebrate Sophie's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's this year with some of her friends. We had it on a Thursday night which was great because it wasn't crowded and we did before all of the storms came over the weekend! The kids ate pizza, played games, and ate cake. Abbie was pretty scared of Chuck E. Cheese, even the electronic one.