Summer Reading

Carson took the summer reading challenge from our local library to read for 20 minutes everyday this summer. We got to put a sticker on his reading chart each night that we read, and this week, after storytime, we got to show his completed reading chart to the librarian. The librarian gave Carson a reading certificate, and he got to pick out a book to take home. He chose "How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?" Such a fun book to read! Way to go buddy!

First Week of Preschool

If you can't tell already...we are really excited about Carson's new school and all of the things he is getting to do! His first week of preschool was a huge success! Carson attends on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and this week was all about making new friends, first day of school, and school buses! His first craft he made on Tuesday was a friends collage. "Friends are a gift from God". He helped Ms. Betsy cut and glue. He told us all about making a "snake" with the glue. On Thursday, his class read "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus". Carson cracks us up when he randomly will yell this phrase whenever he feels like it! He also made his own school bus for the craft on Thursday and it is hanging outside of his classroom door. We are so thankful for such a great week and how fast Carson adjusted to his new school. He absolutely loves it, and I was SO pleased to hear his teacher say on both days what a sweet, well behaved little boy Carson is. She even said she thinks we may have a little engineer on our hands (taking after his Uncle Jacob!) because Carson loves to take things apart and figure out how to put them together. Carson is already excited for class on Tuesday and has asked to wear his backpack several times this weekend!

Car buddies

These two little guys give us quite the chuckle. Lately they have been so funny in the car. Alot of times they start off a car ride with a snack. After snacking for a little bit, they will swap snack cups! Carson is usually the initiator, but Tanner goes right along with it. They have a tendency to even swap sippy cups too. They share toys back and forth, and sometimes just hold hands. We love how close these two are!

Toe head

Tanner's hair is finally coming in! In just the past couple of weeks, his hair has really started to grow, and it is coming in white just like Carson's did. Such a handsome little guy!

Science Center

The boys and I have been thoroughly enjoying our Orlando Science Center passes. The summer months were a bit chaotic with all of the summer camps taking field trips there, so this week was the first week we've been back for a month or so. Carson absolutely loves the "dinosaur bones" level. This time, there was an older gentleman walking around and explaining all of the different dinosaurs. Carson listened so well, and repeated the names of all of the dinosaurs. Then the boys dug for fossils! Carson is all boy! He never hesitates for one second when it's time to visit the reptile room. He goes right up to the glass and peeks right in!
Tanner loves to climb so we had a great time climbing up and down the treehouse. In KidsTown they have different activities set up for the kids at certain times of the day. We happened to be there during the musical instruments session. Carson practiced his marching band techniques... While Tanner beat the heck out of this instrument with the mallot! :) We can't visit the science center without visiting the train room. Tanner was the conductor today! Carson and I found a new game to play and after showing him a few times how to play it, he was hooked! We are so excited that the new exhibit coming in September is a bug exhibit!! I love learning with my kids!

Carson's First Day of Preschool!

Carson's first day of preschool is finally here! Daddy made Carson his favorite breakfast, pancakes and bananas. After breakfast, we brushed teeth, got dressed, and put on shoes... Our handsome almost 3 year old with his dino backpack and lunchbox! Mommy and her little angel... Daddy lead us in holding Carson and Hannah's hand. It made it so much easier having been to the school a few times before this big day. Carson ran right into his classroom and found his cubby where we put away his lunchbox and backpack. His teacher Ms. Betsy was eagerly waiting to play. Hannah gives TT a kiss while waiting in the hallway... After we put away Carson's things, we walked to the playground where his class starts their day. He was ready to go in like a big boy! Carson ran to the sandbox and started to play. We told him we loved him and he waved us on. Of course that was hard on Mommy, but Carson did awesome! We are so proud of our big boy and can't wait to see and be apart of all the fun adventures of preschool!

Meet the Teacher

Attending parent open house before meet your teacher helped so much because we knew what to expect and were able to tell Carson what his classroom and teacher were like beforehand. Carson was a bit unsure when we first walked into his classroom and would have rather have gone with Hannah into hers, but he quickly realized that his new class had a train set! Perfect! Ms. Betsy knew Carson loved trains and she jumped right in to play with him. Immediately he started to talk to his new teacher, and was amazed that she knew the names of the trains like he did. His favorite, he told her, is Spencer. It wasn't long before Carson had the entire train table all set up with tracks, tunnels, and all of his favorite train cars. His new school has some of the Thomas the train cars that we don't have at home like Salty and Spencer and Bill and Ben. He was ecstatic! Nana was on Tanner duty while I helped Carson get used to his new classroom. I could hear Tanner next door in Hannah's classroom having a blast. Nana brought him over to see Carson and he jumped right in playing. Nana showed Carson other fun toys in his classroom like this big red fire truck! Ms. Betsy was so welcoming and even had a snack on the table for the kids. We had fun playing for awhile, then went to visit Hannah's new classroom too. We are so excited for this new adventure and are so proud of our big boy for being so brave!

Preschool Parent Open House

Sending Carson to preschool was something Matt and I have been praying about off and on for about a year. Being a preschool teacher myself, before becoming a Mommy, was very beneficial when it came time to make this decision. In January, I visited a couple of different christian preschools in the area. We were dealing with very torn feelings on whether or not the time was right. I visited the preschool that we chose one morning without the boys and was absolutely taken back by how much God lead me to this awesome place. We decided then that it wasn't the right time for Carson to go, but would pray about it for the next school year in August. Different things kept coming up about this christian school that really confirmed this was the place for us, and in May, we registered Carson for the upcoming school year. Carson was so excited to get a call from his new teacher, Ms. Betsy, a couple of weeks before open house. They set up a parents only open house the night before meet your teacher to inform us of everything we would need to know to make this school year wonderful. When Matt and I first walked into Carson's new classroom, we immediately noticed his own little cubby! It's the little things that meant the most as a Mommy, Carson's name already printed on the birthday board! We couldn't help but laugh when we saw the giant train poster and train table! Carson LOVES trains so he would be thrilled to hear his new classroom has trains. Matt and I enjoyed meeting Carson's new teacher and getting to know the other parents of the children in Carson's class. We are hopeful it will be a great year for all of us!

Hannah turns 2!

We can't believe our Hannah Grace turned TWO! Hannah is such a loveable little girl. She has quite the sense of humor and makes us laugh all the time! The boys and I are so blessed to be able to spend time with her everyday. Hannah LOVES Minnie Mouse, so for her 2nd birthday, we all went to Chef Mickey's breakfast buffet to celebrate! Hannah was a bit unsure of the characters at first, but talked about them when they weren't around. The food on the buffet was absolutely delicious, complete with Mickey Mouse waffles! The characters were very entertaining, and they rotated around all of the tables so there was a different character around at all times. Carson was a bit unsure too, but did enjoy seeing them. Tanner on the other hand wasn't scared a bit! He greeted each one with a big smile! Jamie had the most adorable Minnie outfit made for Hannah. She looked so cute!! After Chef Mickey's, we went back to Jamie and Will's to have Minnie cupcakes and sing to our birthday girl. On the day of Hannah's actual birthday, the kids had meet the teacher at school. My mom took off work and came with Jamie and I to First Watch for Hannah's birthday breakfast. Yum...chocolate chip pancakes for the birthday girl! Carson made Hannah her own special birthday cupcakes. He did such a great job making them!


Happy 2nd Birthday Hannah Grace! We love you!!