Sweet goodies to celebrate another fun year at school!

After three years in front of the camera, MR is a seasoned veteran. She loves coming up with new poses and props for her pictures. Pink and purple remain her favorite colors. One of the biggest differences I’ve noticed about MR in the last few months is how much she is enjoying her role as “big sister”. Pretty sure she would tote her little brother from room to room if we would allow. I am so thankful for my sweet girl! She is my constant; my buddy; my hugger; and my reminder to grab my purse, cell phone, and lipstick before leaving the house.

While Huttie is not as amused with his mamas appliqueing hobby, he does his best to comply. Especially if m&m’s and marshmallows are present.

Regardless of what others think, I’m convinced that Hutson is all Harrell. He even holds his tongue like the Harrell boys. He is also 100% boy!!! Into everything; runs nonstop; and tackles just about any and everything in his way. He is one busy little boy. Much like his sister at 2, he is starting to outgrow his afternoon naps. He continues to live in the world of dinosaur roars; choo choos; airplanes; Cars the movie; and Barney. He’s tall (80% for his height) and skinny (20% for his weight). Per doctors orders, we’re doing our best to put some meat on his bones, which means we can credit Huttie for our 2 day a week addiction to Chick-fil-A.

MR came up a rule around here a few weeks ago….mandatory afternoon fun….the playset and sandbox continue to be the best investment we have made for our home. These two sure have put some miles on the ole swingset this spring!

Note: A HUGE thanks to each of my Petey Pie’s customers for allowing me to grow the business! It is such a blessing and a honor to create fun, functional, and classic clothing for your little ones! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

And then Huttie Cat came into the picture. No one prepared me for the world of little boys. The constant runny nose; the squeal of excitement at a nearby tractor. The joy of airplanes; choo choos; footballs; lawn mowers; doggies; dinosaurs; and monster growls. The never ending “uh-ohs”, the countless falls, and the ever present skinned knee. No one prepared me that he would be able to out run me at a year, or that I would allow him to break the “no drink in the living room” rule. No one prepared me for his sweet kisses and his ability to throw a tantrum at the most inopportune time. And thank goodness they didn’t, because nothing could prepare me for how much I would love being a mama to a very loud and messy little boy!

Notes for the baby book: At four years old, MR is forty pounds of personality and creativity. She has recently started doing simple math like adding and subtracting. She knows all of her letters (both uppercase and lowercase) and all of her sounds. She loves school; loves to sing and make up songs; enjoys crafts; and is still obsessed with her “Mickey friends”. She’d drop it all though to be in the kitchen. At the mere mention of cooking or baking, she runs to her playroom to retrieve her stool and apron so that she can help. She is, as her Grance says, an “exceptional child”.

At 17m old, Huttie is a mess! He continues to be fascinated by airplanes, tractors, and trains. He can repeat most words and is beginning to put words together. He recently started saying “Hey Sadie”, “my baby”, and “more mama”. He calls MR “sissy” and prefers his daddy (or Sadie) over anyone else. He loves to dance and constantly requests that we turn on the “teeeeeebeeee” (tv) and the “mooosic” (music).

Let’s go all the way back to the end of December. Yep, that’s how far behind I am…The kids adore their Papa Joe, so when we found out that he would be in the area working, we jumped at the opportunity to see him. While the Mall of Georgia wouldn’t be an exciting meeting place for many, it proved to be an amusement park for the kids. Seemed like every time I turned around, Papa Joe was having to dig deeper into his pockets…

We rode the carousel,

took a spin around the mall on the train,

and cheered on MR as she got over her fear of the bungee trampoline.

And just when we thought that our time together had come to an end, we discovered a whole section of the mall with kiddie quarter rides. The kids were in heaven. And poor Papa Joe was broke.

New Years Day was spent with our neighbors. The mimosa’s were great. And the food was even better.

A few days later, we had more great food at our sweet friend Emily and Brian’s house. Emily cooked up an amazing pot of jambalaya in a huge cast iron dutch oven. While the grown ups ate, the kids played. And while I ate, I wondered if my semi-homemade lasagna and bag salad would ever stack up to the delicious meals that we had eaten lately. I quickly came to the conclusion that it would not. And convinced myself that ordering pizza was not necessarily a “no no” when hosting kid-friendly get-togethers.

Fast forward to Jan 7th. On this day,we celebrated the upcoming arrival of Garrett’s sisters baby with lots of food, grilled sausage, and a keg (all requested by the baby’s daddy)! And while I initially laughed at this request and joked that this sounded more like a fraterniy party than a baby shower, I must say that the combination of beer, sausage, and baby gifts was a huge success. Three of us hosted the event and the day couldn’t have been more perfect! The difference between boys and girls (take note Hannah and Brantley)…while sweet MR played quietly with her leap pad throughout the shower, Huttie Cat tried his best to pretend he was a college freshman at the keg. This will be the first child for Hannah and Brantley and our first in-town cousin! With less than two weeks until baby Brant’s arrival, we are on total countdown mode!!!

If Brantley has anything to do with it, Baby Brant will play golf. If he doesn’t play, at least he will have a Petey Pie’s golf shirt to show his support of the game!

The day after the baby shower, we headed to Cumming, Georgia to celebrate Jacob’s birthday. This years theme was every boys dream, a mobile gaming theater full of large screen tv’s and video games. Huttie didn’t think twice about getting in the midst of the big boys. He especially enjoyed his time with the birthday boy and sat beside him while he opened each gift.

After cake and gifts, we exchanged Christmas presents. As usual, sweet Aunt Lynn spoiled MR and Huttie with all kinds of fun stuff! MR’s favorite, a pink princess phone that really works!

Few things cause me more anxiety than falling behind on the blog. This statement will probably result in an eye roll from my faithful blog reading family, who remind me all to often that I don’t blog near enough. Truth is, life is pretty good if my biggest stress is not finding the time to record our daily (and in this case weekly) activities.

Things have been busy. Between the holiday rush at Petey Pie’s, five birthday parties and a baby shower, a trip to Athens to cheer on the dawgs, a week without G, school activities, and a trip down south for our annual Thanksgiving gathering, we have been on the go. And because we are about to be on the go again, I’ve got some serious catching up to do! Here’s a look back at the last three weeks…

A few weeks ago, we celebrated three birthday parties and a baby shower in one day. That same day, Juju Bea ran her first half marathon in Savannah!

Ali’s 5th princess tea party

John David’s first backyard BBQ birthday

Emery and Brayden’s Drive In Theater celebration

The weekend after our birthday party extravaganza was spent in Athens cheering on the Dawgs to a BIG victory against the Auburn Tigers!!!

We headed back home early Sunday morning so that we could get ready for MR’s final cheerleading practice. MR was thrilled that Aunt B, Danny, and Gran C were there to see her get her first trophy.

G flew out on Monday for the week. Lucky for me, Gran C stuck around for the day to attend MR’s Thanksgiving feast at school.

G returned home late Friday night. Six hours later, we were on the go again ….more to come on our annual Thanksgiving gathering at Trinity Oaks Farm tomorrow!