carter says

if you know us personally, then you know my husband can quote almost any movie. in fact, it happens quite frequently around here. there are several quotes that you may hear on a daily to weekly basis because they have become part of our vocabulary, so to speak. 

now, because of this, it should come as no surprise, that my daughter is doing the same thing-only, with books! we do read a lot and we do tend to read our favorites over and over. if carter or miller is found in the corner with a good book, you can usually hear them "reading" as well. so a few weeks ago, miller is upset that he didn't get what he wanted. i don't even remember what it was now, but snack, or paper, or something. and carter says, "you get what you get and you don't get upset." i giggled to myself at her motherly response and then paused and thought i have heard that somewhere else. it took me a few minutes and then i realized, she was quoting pinkalicious! so, this same quote has been used over and over to the point that josh and i have even started using it and they seem to respond well because they know the story line. so a few days ago, i am trying clothes on carter to see how much she has out grown since last fall and she looks at the pants i am trying to help her into as she watches diego and says, " too big. too brown. too plain." i just started laughing again because now she is quoting another favorite, fancy nancy. if you don't know either of these books and you have a girly little girl at home, you need to go here and check them out!! as you can tell, they are some of our favorites!

more fun in june

another first for the summer was carter spending the night at meme & papaw's. this meant that miller received undivided attention. one of the kids favorite games to play with daddy is hide-n-seek. this night, miller thought it was so funny that daddy "hid" under his bed that he had to climb under too. it's a bad picture, but it tells a cute story.

this is fancy carter. carter's favorite book series right now is fancy nancy. my mom bought her these sunglasses because she thought they were over-the-top like nancy. after attending the fancy nancy book party at davis kidd, carter came home and dressed like nancy in rockstar pjs, sleeping beauty dress up shoes, her sunglasses and new bracelet. i love these pictures because they are so very carter! 

i don't think of us as a creative family, but i definitely don't think we are athletic either. josh may argue that he is athletic, but he also plays the guitar, takes pictures and cooks. what i have noticed is that our children love to be creative, they love to draw, paint, create, etc. many of you know carter's first penned song, where are you, belle? so it should come as no surprise that we like to create outside as well. here we are enjoying a nice afternoon painting.

what we did in june

this summer we took off from preschool for the first time since we started there when carter turned one. mom and dad have moved back to the big city so they wanted to spend more time with the kids. carter had an interesting year so we thought she needed a break before the next school year. this summer has been a time for firsts. you may laugh that my children have not experienced some of these things, but do to their close proximity in age and the fact that we had no family in town before, there are just some things they have never done.

miller enjoys a sno cone at the zoo-no firsts here, just an indulgent grandmother!

their first movie, that's right, first movie was the bee movie at the malco kids summer film fest. miller would go for the popcorn alone, but carter is glued to the screen from beginning to end.

a little coloring in the afternoon light-love the face!

and, carter's first trip to build-a-bear was this summer for a birthday party. miller still has not been, but we are thinking it might be a great idea when we are ready to relocate his pacifier. his papaw is not so sure and thinks if we put precious "bobby" in one of those bears, we would wake up to a room full of stuffing and miller reunited with his beloved friend. it is a relationship few understand!

church picnic 06.22

every year, our church has a picnic at w.c.johnson park and then all the kids run around the sprinkler park to cool off until they are so cranky that we finally give up on socializing and take them home for their much needed and delayed naps.

our kids don't get wet at the park, they just like to stand BY the water-seriously!

miller is so skeptical of the park this year. he always wants me right by his side.

carter loves miller's little sand pail from his teachers at the end of the year. 

carter with caroline and reese apparently share a deep discussion about their water toys.

miller after finishing his hot pink treat from ice cream man joey. thanks joey, the kids always love your free treats even if they stained miller's skin & bathing suit for the rest of the day!

new haircuts 06.19

in may, when we took the kids to get haircuts (well, carter got a trim), carter announced that she wanted hair "short like sophia's". um, sophia has an inverted bob that while absolutely adorable even made the youngest of three's mommy gasp in the end. "how short do you want it? are you sure? you won't be able to wear it in a ponytail or twist it between your fingers when you are tired." she was sure, but what about me? we worked so hard to get enough hair for a bow. i still remember the day a friend figured out she had enough hair for ponytails. if we cut it short, it would look the same everyday, right? we decided to wait until after her ballet recital even though she wouldn't let me put it in a bun. but still . . . 

it is just so hard to trust someone bearing sharp scissors and a degree that took them less than a year to earn. how many times has my hair ever been cut to the specifications i asked for. and recently, we have had disaster after disaster with her little brother's haircuts! so i decided if we do this, we have to go all out. i decided to use the girl who cuts my hair (maribeth at ala mode). she has a little girl, maybe she will understand what we are asking. plus, i think she does a great job with my hair. so, off we went.  it was just us, my parents kept miller. i got my hair washed and cut first so she could watch. the only uncomfortable part was trying to get her high enough in the chair to have her hair washed. then it was her turn. she loved it-every single second- the attention of maribeth, the attention of the other women in the salon. she received compliment after compliment about how good she was and about how cute she was and about how adorable her dress was and about how precious her hair turned out. whew! what a relief! and it is, absolutely precious (and, so easy to maintain)! she loves it! i love it! and, it is almost time to go back!

look how cute!

carter & mommy

miller, growing out the most recent disaster, the dumb & dumber cut, as we call it!

sprinkler park 06.13

i am so sorry it has been so long since my last post. last weekend, josh had two weddings, i had a shower, and the kids had two birthday parties. and, as if that wasn't crazy enough, one of josh's weddings was in st.louis! so, i will try to post a lot in the next couple of days to try to get us up to date. 

so, over a month ago, our combined small group for the summer decided to meet at the collierville sprinkler park one night. the weather was perfect! and the kids had a blast while the adults hung out and talked. josh must have been in a mood because he took almost 400 photos. crazy! here are a few. 

carter:

ella, love how she looks afraid:
seth, so content watching:
evelyn, completely soaked:
and, austin:
there were more, but somehow josh didn't get pictures of everyone. you can see shea in the background of austin's picture. below are some others from that night.

i love this picture. and to think, i used to despise these shoes.

this broke miller's heart. not only did he get sprayed in the face, but his goldfish got wet!
a big kid accidently ran into carter and knocked her down. apparently the turf was a little painful because she then did this for several minutes. josh and i laughed and laughed.
aww, how sweet! taylor is the newest member of our small group and a long awaited addition for carter as she is a girl! carter has been praying for a baby sister for quite some time now and spending time with taylor was like heaven on earth. they laid like this for at least half an hour except every time taylor spit up, carter literally jumped up and away and cried, "ms.emily! ms.emily!" so taylor's mommy could clean up and then it was back to visiting. melt your heart!
it was a blast and we were there until they turned off the sprinklers, something i didn't know happened! 

a sign for papaw

carter learned to write her name last fall. just like every kid, it became more legible over time. and now, it is pretty perfect if i do say so myself. a few months ago, she became obsessed with writing--everything. the hardest part for me is that she doesn't want me to actually write the letters to show her, but point them out or describe them (a circle with a stick). luckily, i have some knowledge in this area as a four year old preschool teacher. and many people who have seen her in action say, "oh, well i don't work with my child like you do." well, i don't either because as a preschool teacher, i know how important it is to wait until the child shows interest and for the information to be age appropriate.

now, if you are not a preschool teacher, you are now asking, "what is that?" that is a sign that carter made on may 31st for her papaw. when she saw this picture the other day when i emailed it to myself (from josh's computer) she said, "eww, that's messy!" ha! too funny that she is critical of her own handwriting, and she is right,  she definitely has improved in the last month. 

back to the sign, it says:

PaPaw

uhn, uhn, uhn

you have to

leave

the seat down

now, the story:

carter is a typical 3 year old who waits until the last minute sometimes to go to the bathroom. my parents just moved into their house in april and the bathroom is very dark when the light is off. also, my dad leaves the seat up after he goes to the bathroom. so, occasionally when carter runs to the bathroom, you will hear this yell followed by "meme!" or "mommy!" desperate for someone to come to her rescue. so, when she went to spend the night with them that night, carter came in with a piece of paper and crayons and asked me to help make a sign. i asked what she wanted it to say and she said,"uhn, uhn, uhn you have to leave the seat down." i suggested a few other phrases that included the word please but she was adamant about it saying "uhn, uhn, uhn" and not please! too funny!

memphis italian festival 05.30

josh and i were introduced to the italian festival when we first moved into east memphis. then, almost 3 years ago, we bought our current home and were introduced into the insanity of the italian festival. every year from the last thursday in may to the last saturday in may, we cannot back out of our driveway, drive down our street, or even be in the area without expressing frustration. frustration that people have descended upon our neighborhood like it is a bar on a downtown street. see, we live just a few blocks from the park, so people use our street to park and walk as it is closer than parking across the street at the major shopping center. but, it is eye opening because people are inconsiderate of the fact that it is still a neighborhood. people walk down mt.moriah/mendenhall like it is a sidewalk. we are only allowed to go down some streets one direction. people are outside our house at all hours of the night. you get the picture. but, we still love the actual festival. so, this year, we decided to go on friday as a play date. so, everyone met here and we walked in the heat to the festival.

yumm-o!

emma got her nails painted

miller had to play game after game so he could win the "big" prize. finally, i just went up and asked what duck to pick to get to pick a prize out of that box so we could move on. fyi: he still has the toy and does play with it.

carter made a necklace and had her face painted. and yes, she looks miserable. that day she was determined to pick her own outfit and chose something that was not conducive to the ridiculous heat that day.

avery & miller watching the kidsteam carts. i felt so bad that miller couldn't ride them, but they had to be hand peddled and it cost $4 per a few times around the small track. but, aren't they cute?

sweet miller still longingly looking at the kidsteam carts

miller & carter watching a little live music. these two heard this music and followed it and were determined to watch-they are so their daddy's children.

carter going down the slide at marquette park.

miller going down & avery watching.

a "little"snow cone to cool off. we had just sat down with our $4 snow cane that towered high over that crazy shaped container when it toppled over and feel on the ground. miller began screaming at the top of his lungs (the heat and fact that it was nap time pushed him over the edge). i just couldn't go wait in line for tickets, wait in line at the stand with the man who cursed the entire time he talked to us, and then come back to miller who would have still been screaming. luckily, our friends shared with us and all was well!

side note: the reason why i don't have a picture of everyone going down the slide is quit possibly one of the scariest things i have ever been a part of. while at the playground, jennifer noticed a little girl wearing just ducky. i actually knew the little girl from preschool. she was in the inclusion class my first two years teaching at hope. we began talking to her mother and were all watching the children when we did not see her come back around the play gym. her mother walked around the play gym and then left quickly in a panic leaving their stroller and belongings behind. jennifer was on top of the play gym with the kids so she began to look around and i headed toward the next available open walkway. for anyone who has been to this festival, you know how crowded it is. i did not see her and expected to see that they had returned for their stuff when i turned the corner, but they had not. jennifer and i were both so worried and upset because we had been talking to her. after a few more minutes, i went looking for them, really worried that she had not found her. it was then that i saw her, carrying her daughter and putting her shoes on her. the little girl had run all the way around the track to luigi land, removed her shoes and begun jumping in the moon bounce-no adult, no ticket, nothing. how scary! scary that in seconds near one of the busiest intersections, she had gotten so far so fast! we were so relieved that she was found and she was safe.