Preschool Graduation!

(In the video, Carver is on the back row next to his teacher)

A proud little boy-
and a proud Mama too!

Dylan, Lawson & Carver

His wonderful teachers: Miss Cameron & Miss Encarnacion

He really adores them...

This morning's graduation ceremony was so special. Although Carver has one more year at the the preschool (with a summer birthday we're giving him an extra year before starting Kindergarten) all but one of his friends will head off to kindergarten in the fall. Most of these children have been together since they were 2 and seeing them all together for the last time was just too much for me! The ceremony was perfect; several songs, awards (Carver received the 'Best Hugger' award!) and then a party afterward. It couldn't have been a sweeter time. I left there so full of emotion, though. It's amazing to look at all these little faces and know that they will experience so much in the years to come. Our time with 'preschoolers' is short and there is so much that I long to cram into his little head and heart. I am thankful that our Father loves him even more than I do and I feel deeply grateful to have this special little boy as my own.

Happy Birthday, Blan!

This morning we celebrated Blan's fourth birthday at the Transportation Museum. Two of my dear college friends also came with their little ones. It was such a treat to have a morning with our children playing together. After digging into cupcakes we took a ride on the birthday caboose. Springer loved the breeze, Carver loved riding up high and we all enjoyed the change of scenery. The final hit was taking a spin on the turntable.

A day that would do Thomas (the train) proud!

Blue Hat, Green Hat & Roasted Duck

While I was in another room this morning, I noticed that Springer was too quiet.
Typically that means she's either pulling all of her brother's shirts off their hangers,

unrolling the toilet paper, or writing on something she shouldn't

(all of which she did today, by the way).
But, alas! No foul committed; she was just enjoying a little reading time.

First at her book basket in the family room and then going through my recipe books. She seemed most interested in a recipe for roasted duck with orange and vermouth.
Quite the little gourmet!

Cherub Choir

Ice Cream Social

Tonight Carver, G and I headed over to his school for the 4 & 5 year old's ice cream social. Their 'Cherub Choir' sang several sweet songs and then we all enjoyed ice cream with all the toppings. One of the evening's highlights was playing in the "big tree"-a great Magnolia with perfectly placed branches that make for great climbing. I am continually reminded of how he's growing up; it really seems like no time at all that he was starting in the two year old class. I am looking forward to having him to myself this summer; these are days to treasure.

Career Aspirations

I'm not sure how many Pastor/Rock Star jobs are out there,
but Carver's not going to stop until he finds it!

Family FUN day

Yesterday was the annual Family Fun Day at Carver's school and that it was! He and his friends are the oldest at the school and boy did they rule the roost. I barely saw him all morning; he ran from one thing to the other and only checked in when I happened to find him. Even at lunch he preferred to sit on the curb and eat with Dylan rather than eating on our picnic blanket.

He's really growing up!


Our little tigers: Wyatt, Carver and Dylan

The obstacle course was his favorite activity

This slide was attached to a moon bounce; the stairs were also made of plastic but were rather steep. I tried to divert Springer's attention and keep her bouncing, but once she spotted the stairs up she went. As you can see the slide is TALL, but she was completely unfazed. She probably went up and down about 5 times before deciding that she didn't want to come down again. She didn't appear to be scared, but she planted herself (slightly out of the way) at the top and REFUSED to budge. We pleaded, offered popcorn, cheered....all to no avail. Several times she moved as if she was heading down and then grinned and scooted back into her spot. Finally it was lunch time and I headed up (the slide!) to retrieve her. You should see the series of pictures from that little escapade....anyway, I made it up and she thought it was hilarious to have me up there with her.
And as you can see we both enjoyed our ride back down!

Mother's Day Weekend: Soccer Game

Ok, I am terribly behind on new pictures; we've just been hopping! Mother's Day weekend was wonderful; my dad came for a visit and we all enjoyed our time with him. Carver's soccer team received an invitation to participate in a half time show for the professional soccer team here. So after Daddy got into town we all loaded up and headed to the stadium. Carver's highlight was shooting a goal on the big field; the rest of us thoroughly enjoyed our friend Jeremy's kettle corn. Phenomenal! If you'll notice in the picture below, Springer is quite contentedly eating hers from her croc! I've never seen her sit still for that long!

Poor Pops was required (by Carver, of course) to sit between the two car seats whenever we left the house. Never mind that we had a whole empty seat behind him-it just could not be any other way! Pops sweetly agreed.

A morning of art & music

On Wednesday morning Carver's school had their annual art gallery opening.
G and I joined him for a stroll through the halls to admire all of the art work and then joined his class upstairs
for music class with the parents. The children sang their hearts out and gave an often hillarious performance of all their favorites.
It was a sweet way to spend a morning together.

Our proud artist

His art class studied Alberto Giacometti, a sculptor known for his elongated limbs.
This is Carver's Giacometti-like impression of a giraffe surrounded by rocks.

Gettin' down to the music!

The children chose which songs they'd sing for the parents and they were all fast paced
and full of motion! It was a real treat to watch them sing and dance! Their music teacher is a champ!

Last Week

Before the week's gone completely I'm updating a couple of cute shots from last week....


Carver and Dylan on the way to Wyatt's baseball birthday party

Carver and Springer had such fun hiding out under our bed.
Springer cracked up laughing each time we found them!

Springer took advantage of this unseasonably warm weather to catch some rays.
She is already darker than I'll be at summer's end!

An (Old) New Friend

Yesterday my dear college friend, Jennifer, came down with her little boy for a play date. We have long remarked on how similar Blan and Carver looked (when Carver first saw Blan's picture he called him 'my twin') and how much fun they'd have together. We were right! They hit it off from the get go and enjoyed playing, wrestling (Carver's idea of course) and jumping around like crazy boys. It was such a treat for me to have time with Jennifer-who has known me since I was 18- and have our boys enjoy one another so much as well. We're looking forward to much more time together now that we're living closer together. Thanks for coming down!

Happy First Birthday, Sara James!

The birthday girl is ecstatic about turning one!

Carver adores his little cousin...

Springer and Pops enjoy a quiet moment during the celebration