The Leonard Family

Celebrating LOVE!

2012-02-15T21:13:00.000-05:00

Jack came home yesterday from school (with a ridiculous amount of treats and cards in his Valentine decorated box from his party) telling us that Valentine's Day is about celebrating love! It is also apparently about lots of Valentine cards and treats! I recently read a very funny blog about "over" doing holidays. I am guilty of this (not quite as over the top as some... but we do enjoy traditions!) Valentine's took a lot of preparations this year. Both school parties required Valentine's for all classmates, a small gift, a decorated box and treats for the actual party. Jack addressed all of his Valentine's for his friends and signed his name on each one! I am so proud of him and LOVED that he did this! However, I am not sure he "enjoyed" this little tradition as much as I did. Well.... to be honest I dont think either of us enjoyed it. It took three different sessions and lots of bargaining to get him to do it all. There were LOTS of them and it was a lot of work! He was very proud of himself when he was done and loved showing Daddy all the hard work he did! We also have a tradition of having a "festive" breakfast for dinner on Valentine's day. Jack has been talking about his pink milk and grits since January! I could not disappoint! So.....after a long day at work, I ran in the door, finished getting one dinner ready and running it over to a friend that just had a baby, then I was rushing to finish our "perfect" and "festive" meal! Lucy was screaming at her high chair (She is INTENSE about eating!) and I was promising that it would just be "one more minute!!!" We finally sat down and it was worth it! We all ate every bit of our dinner and even had seconds! It was so yummy! We took the kids up to get ready for bed and were ready to settle into a nice little night just the two of us. A bottle of wine and searching for a fun movie! Doesnt it sound nice?! Steven poured the wine and ran to take a quick shower. Did he find his wife smiling and patiently waiting for him to start a movie and drink our wine? NOPE! He found me half asleep and already apologizing for not being able to stay awake. I was asleep before 9pm and passed off my glass of wine to Steven (If you know me...I dont usually leave wine in a glass!) Romantic, huh? Real?? Yes!

It takes a lot of work to raise two kids, maintain a healthy marriage, exercise, cook dinner, go to work and get it "ALL" done in between. It takes a LOT of work to fit in a few extra things too...decorations, traditions, sewing, photos, etc. And there are times that it all seems a little much. Does it really matter if it's not all perfect and not always all done? It doesnt....as long as the most important thing remains the four of us and our time together..... WITH THAT SAID...... Jack ran into school this morning and started yelling at Lucy's teacher, "You know what?! You know what we had for dinner last night??!! PINK MILK AND PINK GRITS AND HEART SHAPED PANCAKES!!!!! THAT IS SO GREAT!!!"
And so..... it was all worth it! And I guess it is time to start the Easter decorations!

There is a LOT of love in this house and we had a good time celebrating it! The real, the great and the ugly!

Here are a few pictures of our fun times!

Sweet Lucy! Mommy made my Valentine's dress! (you know...the extras!)

Lucy opening a Valentine card!

Jack opening a Valentine card

Mommy and Jack making Valentine's cookies!

Excited about his fun dinner!

Valentine's Breakfast for Dinner!

Typical Lucy face

What? Do I have something on my face?

Sweet babies!!

Brotherly love?!

Mimi and her babies before church!

Love those babies!

A Day at the Zoo!

2012-02-04T10:55:00.000-05:00

We are trying to take advantage of the fabulous February weather! We went to the zoo yesterday with Mimi and some good friends! Jack is always so excited to be at the zoo! He was yelling, "We're at the zoo!!!" as we pulled into the parking lot and told us that "all the animals are my favorite!" It was lots of fun and we packed a lunch too! Lucy really enjoyed seeing everything and had lots of fun at the playground! Thankful for fun days like this!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

2012-02-02T10:51:00.000-05:00

I had a really special birthday (it was great turning 25 again! Hahahah!) Steven and Jack brought me a balloon and a really special birthday card yesterday morning! I had a great day at work and even got a balloon there too! Poppa and Nunno came down last night (after battling some bad Atlanta traffic!) to bring dinner and eat cake with us! It was a really nice night! My sweet babies gave me lots of big hugs (yes, I mean Steven too!) and made me feel really special!

My sweet card from Jack and Lucy

Mommy loves cookie cake!

My little man (patiently waiting for cake!)

Can I just have one taste?!

Sweet picture of Miss Lucy after church last week! Mommy wore that dress and sweater too!

And here are a few pics of our Valentine's Day decor that Mommy and Jack made! Jack has a big Happy Valentine's Day banner in his room! And we have a table runner, placemats and heart cups (not made by me! Hahaha!)! We like decorating around here!

January Happenings

2012-01-25T21:11:00.000-05:00

This month has really flown by! We have had a fun time and spent lots of time playing! As time goes by...our Disney countdown keeps moving too!!!! We are getting closer! Jack has loved pulling his rings off each day to countdown until the big trip!
Steven and I had a weekend all to ourselves when Jack and Lucy spent the weekend with Poppa and Nunno! I made a trip to Savannah to help go through Granny's house with Ann and Sally (More on that to come in a future post..Granny is making a move). Lucy continues to keep us laughing most of the time! She is definitely personality PLUS! The looks she gives us are too much. Jack is learning so much at school and doing so great with his homework and recognizing his sight words. Lucy loved her new outfit from Nannie! She looked too cute and loved having a bow in her hair to match! Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks!

Jack doing so great cutting out hearts for our decorations

Jack cut out these hearts and decorated them with our names! I strung them up and hung them as decorations! He was so proud! (Isn't that great cutting! I am so impressed!)

Miss Lucy showing off her Nannie outfit

Lucy has STAYED in her chair (this was the rocking chair from Granny's house) She LOVES it and spends so much time getting in and out of it. She pitched a fit when Jack sat in it for just a minute!

One of the many looks we get throughout the day

Jack enjoyed his big fort on one of the many rainy days lately. We put together puzzles and played Candyland in the fort!

We are going to.......

2012-01-09T21:49:00.000-05:00

DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!

Jack got up today from his rest time to find that someone had delivered a BIG Mickey Balloon, a personalized card and invitation from Mickey Mouse AND a fun countdown until the big trip!!! We were so excited to tell Jack all about his fun trip coming up! He was really excited and kept saying that it was "REALLY REALLY FAR AWAY!" We assured him that we would have no trouble driving there... which he then responded, "We can watch FIVE movies on the way because it's REALLY far!"
He is really excited about seeing all his favorite characters, riding a carousel, seeing fireworks, seeing REAL pirates that shoot a cannon (he thinks Jake will be there...but not sure we can promise that one!)
He tore off one of his "rings" today and gets to do it everyday until we go! We are so excited!!!!!!

Jack's card from Mickey!

Mickey can't wait to meet Jack!

Mickey left a big balloon and a big countdown!

Jack gets to pull off a ring for each day!

And Just for Fun...because she is so cute!!!!

Back to the routine..and a few things not to forget!

2012-01-08T16:05:00.000-05:00

It has been nice getting back into routine (and eating and drinking a little less!) Everyone did great with their first week back at school/work! We followed it up with a very laid back weekend at home just the four of us! Friday night was spent at our little pizza place, Saturday night was a date night out for Mommy and Daddy (Thank you fabulous friends for watching the kids!) and today was spent at church and lunch ...followed by some naps! It doesnt get much better!

There are a few things that I really dont want to forget!

*Lucy still demands a bow every morning (actually throughout the day!) She points to her bows and pats her head as soon as you walk in the door. If her bow comes out, she brings it to us to put it back in! I am absolutely loving this because I think she looks precious in her bows! She also loves to put her shoes on! (This is funny because Jack can just now put his shoes on by himself. He has never had any interest in shoes!)
*The other day Jack was putting a puzzle together after naps. Lucy came downstairs about 20 minutes later from her nap and wanted to play with the puzzle pieces. We told Jack that he had to share or move the puzzle up to the table because Lucy wanted to play with him too. He said, "Can't we just put her back to bed?!" (she had been up about 2 minutes!)
*When we dropped the kids off last night so we could go out to eat, we were standing around talking and Jack said, "Go out on your date NOW! You need to leave!" Obviously he has no separation anxiety! He was ready for us to go!
*Friday night at dinner, our pizza fell off the table (Could have been a combination of being on the edge of the table, being a little slanted, and both of us cutting up pizza for the kids shaking the table) Anyway, Jack kept talking about it and how crazy it was our pizza fell. We told him it was fine that he had his dinner so he could just eat that. He asked another question and then stopped and said, "You know...I am just going to worry about me!" (I wonder where he has heard that before!)

They keep us smiling!

Thank you for a great year!

2012-01-01T21:05:00.002-05:00

It has been a really great year for us! Lots going on, some changes, and lots of happy times! When 2011 started, we had a tiny little baby girl and a two year old little boy....and NOW we have a BIG girl walking all over the house (and running the house) and a sweet boy who amazes us each day with how grown up he has become!

Just a quick look back at the year....

BIG SNOW and ICE!

Sweet 1 month old baby!

Mommy and baby girl in January

Easter is coming!

Jack is THREE!

Lucy's Christening and her fabulous Godparents

Daddy and Jack at Mimi and Papa's!

Mimi and Lucy during the summer!

Jack in the summer!

Award winners for the 4th of July parade!

Starting to crawl!!!

4th of July! Outfits made by Mommy and Nunno!

Tybee Beach trip! Lucy's 1st beach trip!

What a figure!

Leonard Party at Salt Meadows! ALL the grandchildren together!

Granny at the beach with us!

Happy 80th birthday Granny!

2011 Beach trip

1st soccer game!

Daddy starts a new job and went to California for THREE weeks!

SOOOO happy he is home!

Brotherly love?

Fun with friends!

GO Jack!

1st Trophy for sports!

Pumpkin carving (and painting!)

Burt's Farm! Another great year!

Fall fun!

Poppa and Nunno with us at Burt's!

Halloween!

Yo Ho Ho!!!

Family pictures!

So sweet! Getting bigger!

The WHOLE family!

Thanksgiving!

Jack helping carve the turkey!

Frying TWO turkeys this year!

Leonard Family Christmas tree (1st time cutting down our own!)

Is this one big enough?!

Happy Birthday princess!

I LOVE cake! (I love to eat anything actually!)

Gingerbread House with Grandbubba!

Lucy loving her bows!

Santa came again!

Jack's Christmas Program at School

Dinner Club (Getting BIGGER!)

Fun with Cousins!

Buffington Great Grandchildren

Merry Christmas!

It was magical!

2011-12-25T22:42:00.001-05:00

We have had a really special Christmas this year! It has been a busy holiday season filled with parties, fun, family and more! However, the last couple of days have been slow and easy with just the four of us! It has been really special to spend lots of time with our fabulous foursome! Jack and Lucy have made everything so very special this year. We have had time to sit and appreciate the time together. We have made fun memories and have enjoyed it all! Jack has been so into everything this year and excited about every little thing that has happened. Lucy has followed in his excitement (whether she knows why or not!)

We did it ALL MOMMY!!! It's Christmas!

Christmas Eve was spent cooking, baking and playing! We headed to church for the 4:00pm Children's Pagent. Jack got a bag when we walked in with donkey ears in it! The children created a live nativity and it was really neat! When it was time for the "animals" to go up..Jack was the first one up there! I think he was very excited about seeing Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus! He was such a big boy!

Our donkey! (Trying to get Jack to smile for the camera these days is tough!)

Both kids hung in there for the hour long service....well, almost. We took communion and Miss Lucy apparently thought it was snack time. Well, she didnt get a snack! When they handed me the wafer, she was NOT pleased to get passed by. She never really recovered. We snuck out a few minutes early! I am sure we will laugh in years to come..but can't believe we almost made it to the end and our very agresssive..I mean excited eater couldnt handle being passed by during communion! It was a special service and glad we got to participate! We came home and headed to the neighbor's house for snacks and some play time before bedtime! Jack loved playing with his buddies and Lucy loved trying to keep up with the boys!
Jack was so excited last night and kept telling us that we had to "Hurry and get to sleep FAST so Santa could come!!!" It was fun putting out the cookies and milk for Santa and reading Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Daddy and I had our nice dinner after the kiddos went to sleep! Filet, sauteed brussel sprouts, onion rice and a NICE Napa bottle of wine! It was so nice!

The morning was magical for us! Jack was so excited when he got up... he kept asking if we thought Santa ate the cookies and he told us that he heard Santa on the roof last night but he stayed in bed and went back to sleep! He was so happy to go get Lucy up (poor baby was so asleep when Jack ran into her room telling her to get up!) The kids had fun playing with the new toys from Santa and we sat back and enoyed our coffee and Monkey Bread! Poppa came down and got to try out all the new fun things with the kids! We had a really nice laid back lunch and then all took a long nap! We have all been in pjs all day (THAT IS THE BEST!!!!) What a great day! We ate some leftovers and played some more tonight! It has been a magical Christmas for us!

Wake up Christmas Angel (Jack's actual words!) Santa came!!!

Look at all the fun stuff!

Look over here Lucy!

Babies loving the kitchen!

Monkey Bread!

Christmas babies!

I am SOOO excited! (LOVE the 3 year old smile...sigh.)

Gummy bears in the morning..Why not?! Santa brought them!

Happy girl with Poppa!

Poppa and Jack playing in the Batman Cave!

Strolling Batman around!

Slinky was a hit!

Lucy trying to get IN the oven!!

Now.....................it's time for it to go! We may get it all up over a month early...but it's usually gone on the 26th! We even watched a very NON-Christmas movie tonight! (Our little tradition!) It's been great...now it's time to CLEAN UP!!!!!

Merry Christmas!
Check out the photos!

It's so fun to celebrate with family!

2011-12-18T22:41:00.001-05:00

It's hard to believe that it's JUST one week until Christmas! We try so hard to fit so much in to the holiday season! It's bittersweet to see some of our favorite things come and go! We get so excited about each tradition and event coming up...then it quickly comes and goes! That is how this weekend was for us! It's become a tradition to celebrate Christmas at Poppa and Nunno's the weekend before Christmas. We went up early Friday morning (Daddy worked while we played) to spend the weekend! It was great to start our fun times early. Steven and I went out on a really nice date Friday night (it was pretty unplanned which made it even more fun!) It was so much fun to have dinner and talk! Saturday we got up and everyone came over to celebrate! All five grandchildren were together and were so excited to see all the Christmas decorations and tear into their presents! Jack has been so excited about opening all of his presents! He has even slowed down a little and gets very excited about each thing and usually tries to get someone to "Look! Look!" (He even did that today with a sweater! He asked three different people to LOOK WHAT I GOT!!!"
Lucy, on the other hand, doesnt really care about opening presents (Jack does this for her!) but she LOVES the bows!!! She picks up any bow and tries to put it on her head. It is really funny! If it falls out then she will bring it to you to re-stick it to her head or she will try to get it back up there! Once they are stuck... then she leaves them there!

LOTS of love between cousins!

Lucy and her bows!

LOOK Daddy! I got a new game!

Aunt Anneke and sweet Anna

Lucy checking out her presents!

Jack got lots of dress up clothes and they loved trying them on!

Dancing in circles to "Jingle Bells"

Too much fun!

Today we got up and had a big breakfast and then slowly got ready to head to Cousin Jennifer's to celebrate Christmas with the WHOLE Buffington family! There were six great grandchildren there and they are FULL of energy! It's always fun to see them together! Jack and Lily immediately started playing and never stopped. They marched around singing and telling everyone they were trying to figure out who is naughty and who is nice! They said they were elves and they were working for Santa. They told most everyone if they were naughty or nice! (It seemed that most people were on the naughty list! Jack reasoned that because there were two lists then people had to be on both lists!) It was so fun to listen to their reasoning and imagination! It was a really happy day to see everyone together! We are blessed to have our family!

Lucy and her bows.....again!

Great grandchildren!

Granny her the kids!

Nunno and Poppa with the little lady!

Look Lucy! (Sweet brother stopped to show her toys!)

Jack opening his LONG present from Granny!

All the kids had fun with their LENGTHY unwrapping! (Great job Maegan!)

Jack concentrating on his unwrapping!

The Leonards!

We finished up our gift exchange and had a great lunch! We played some more and then everyone took a little rest! When we got up, Jack and Lucy headed downstairs to play with their new toys and the adults had yummy snacks and drinks! It was a quiet night and so nice to relax!

Now....just one week away from Christmas day and we are happy to be together and thankful for all of the blessings in our life!

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Walking in a Winter Wonderland....

2011-12-11T20:21:00.000-05:00

....well, not exactly. However, it seems to be one of Jack's favorite Christmas songs right now and he walks around singing it! If it comes on he says, "Mommy! It's our song!" TOO cute!

We had another fun holiday weekend! Thursday night was Jack's holiday program at school! It was fun (and very short..I guess 3 year olds can't stay focused to sing Christmas songs for too long) and Jack did a great job! He sang every song and looked cute in his scarf and gloves! Nunno and Poppa came down too and it meant so much to Jack! He asked over and over if they were there! He was thrilled to see them in the crowd! His class sang "Rudolph", "We Wish you a Merry Christmas", "Jingle Bells", and "10 Little Snowmen"! We had a quiet Friday night and watched Frosty after Lucy went to sleep! Jack loved having a special Christmas movie to watch after bathtime! Daddy and I addressed Christmas cards and baked cookies after they were both asleep! We delivered some of the cookies to our neighbors on Saturday afternoon! Jack went up to each door and handed them out and said "Merry Christmas!" He thought it was an "adventure"!

Steven and I went to the Turner Holiday party on Saturday night! It was a lot of fun and so great to see so many people that have been out of town on projects.

We got up today and finished a few things for our Dinner Club! The Reilly's and the Coopers came over for a fun lunch! The kids had so much fun playing together and each one got a new ornament to take home! Everyone also got some cookies to take home too! It's been our tradition to exchange ornaments and cookies (now just the kids exchange ornaments!)

They are getting BIG! William (2.5), Morgan (5), Lucy (1), Jack (3.5), Caroline (3), Lauren (6 wks.)

Look at my Choo Choo Train ornament!

Playing under the table!

Happy to be with his buddies!

Lucy on the rocking horse!

Before I forget... I never mentioned Lucy's 1 year appointment! It went really great! She weighed 20lbs 10oz (50%) and looked "perfect" as Dr. G described her! I think she was happy to have Jack there with her (he got his stitches out at the same time). She is ahead on most of her milestones and doing really well! We have struggled with Lucy taking a sippy cup. She has been pretty stubborn and just loves her bottle. We got through her birthday and then decided that we had to just go cold turkey. It may seem kind of harsh but she would just cry until we gave her the bottle. She would walk into the kitchen where her bottles were and point and scream for it! So...... Friday we did no bottles and she bascially didnt drink anything all day. Saturday was better and today she did really good! She hasn't asked for the bottle and we even had one empty sippy cup today! So....we might be past that hurdle! Way to go Miss Lucy!

Jack and Lucy with Dr. G (Lucy - not so thrilled!)

Who ARE you Dr. G?!

It should be another fun holiday week! Bring on the Christmas cheer!

Ho Ho Ho! We are in the FULL swing of things!

2011-12-05T23:18:00.001-05:00

What a MERRY MERRY weekend! It was set up to be a BIG weekend and it was awesome! We started with Lucy's birthday party on Saturday. We LOVED having family there and were thrilled to have ALL the grandparents! That was so special for sweet Lucy! After we cleaned up from the party, we started working on our yummy dinner to celebrate Christmas with Grandbubba and Aunt Neese! We had turkey (straight off the Big Green Egg), macaroni and cheese, broccoli casserole and sweet potatoes! It was really great! While dinner was cooking...Grandbubba, Aunt Neese and Jack worked on a gingerbread house. It's the 3rd year we have done one with Grandbubba! Jack really looks forward to it and sat there and really decorated the house! We opened presents and had such a fun night! We are so grateful for Aunt Neese and Bubba coming up to celebrate with us each December!

Big sister helping out putting lights up!

3rd Annual Leonard Gingerbread House

Am I supposed to eat the decorations?

What a beauty!

Hey Elmo! Can we be friends?

I have a present!

Seriously...is that a figure or what?

I am the present!

Loving my baby sister!

Sweet girl!

Grandbubba and his babies!

Sunday morning we got up and got all dressed up to go have breakfast with Santa! It's our fourth year going to the Nance's to see Santa! He comes to visit us each year and listen to each child's wishes! It is such a great time! Jack was VERY excited to see Santa come in the door. As all the children were sitting wide eyed watching him walk in...and Jack yells (loudly), "Santa Santa! Look at my shirt! I have a shirt on with you on it! Look! Look!" He was so proud of the shirt Nunno made for him! He and Lucy looked so cute in their matching outfits! Jack was not shy at all and kept raising his hand to be the next to go sit in his lap! He told him that he wanted a kitchen, puzzles, books and games. (He actually said, Ummmm.....Ummmmm. several times trying to come up with something else!) He told Santa that Lucy wanted a baby doll! I thought Lucy would scream when we sat her in his lap, but she did great! I think Jack being up there helped!

Here I come!

LOOK LOOK! Santa, see my shirt?!

There he is!!!!

Santa, I would like some new puzzles!

Merry Christmas!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Leonard Family with Santa 2011

We headed home for naps (very short time) and then got ready for Mimi and Papa Tilley to come see us! We got some good time visiting with them and had a nice dinner! Then we headed to some neighbor's house (actually outside in a cul de sac) to celebrate all the fun Christmas lights! We are very fortunate to have some neighbors that go ALL OUT with Christmas lights! It is awesome and Jack likes to go each night to see them! It is very impressive and gives us lots of entertainment! Everyone hung out and drank hot chocolate and checked out the lights! We got home and go to celebrate Christmas and open gifts again!

Who me?! What did I do?!

Look at this Lucy!

Thank you Mimi!

We are very lucky to have such great family! It has been a FUN season so far and it's only December 5! We are packing it in and love it.....now it's time to get some rest!

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Lucy's 1st Birthday Party

2011-12-04T20:54:00.004-05:00

It was a BEAUTIFUL day to celebrate Lucy's birthday with family and friends! Lucy looked beautiful in her Christmas dress and was happy the whole party! Jack was a great big brother and was excited all week looking forward to her party!
We were very blessed to have ALL of Lucy's grandparents here to help celebrate! Aunt Mimi and Great Granny made it too! They were a huge help getting ready for the party! We had such great help with the party from our family!
All of the kids played outside and got to do a Christmas handprint project! I made pillows for each family and they got to do a reindeer and a Santa! Aunt Mimi helped all the kids get their hands done! Everyone played big and ate big! We had chili and cornbread muffins for the adults! The kids had grilled cheese, chips and fruit! AND....everyone got to enjoy homemade hot chocolate with marshmallows and reindeer cookies!

Great Granny!

Sweet Caitlin getting her handprint!

William doing handprints!

Anna and Jack enjoying reindeer cookies!

Mimi and the birthday girl!

Daddy and Lucy!

Lucy's cake!

Birthday girl eating her lunch!

Is this WHOLE thing for me?!

I LOVE CAKE!

No... I dont think I will share any with the boys!

Well, maybe a little for Poppa!

This is SOOO fun!

Mmmmmmmmmm!

What a good day!

All ready for my bath! I am a mess!

This is what was left!

Lucy had a white birthday cake with red and white polka dots! Her smash cake was white with red and green polka dots! It was yummy and Lucy LOVED having her own cake! She ate LOTS of it! She had pink all over her! It was so fun watching her enjoy it! She is quite a little eater!

It was such a happy day to celebrate our sweet baby girl! Thanks to everyone who made it so special!

Check out our pictures from Lucy's birthday and from her party! (There are lots of them!)
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Happy Birthday Sweet Lucy!

2011-11-28T21:59:00.000-05:00

It's been a mix of emotions anticipating Lucy's 1st birthday! It's hard to believe that she is ONE YEAR OLD! What happened to the past year?! It just went by so quickly...each year seems to go quicker!
It has been a really amazing year watching sweet Lucy grow up! There have been lots of firsts and lots of love!
One year ago, Steven and I were watching the GT-UGA game and decorating the Christmas tree. About half way through the game, I bent down to pick up another ornament and felt a big pop. I stood up and barely made it to the bathroom before reenacting a scene from a movie! My water broke...and it broke big! We were well on our way to meeting baby Lucy! It was such an exciting night! It's crazy to think that there was at time when we didn't know Lucy! She has brought so much joy to our lives!

Lucy is quite the independent little girl! She LOVES going to bed (She does not prefer to be rocked or cuddled). She loves holding her blanket (it doesn't have to be a certain one) and sucking her right thumb when going to sleep. She only sucks her thumb in bed with her blanket (I hope that won't be a really hard habit to break!) She is easily entertained by playing by herself. She rarely fusses and smiles all the time! She has been such a happy baby! She was sleeping 8 hours at night at 4 weeks and was sleeping 12 hours at night by 7-8 weeks. She is still taking two naps per day. I am not sure she is ready to drop one yet. She really enjoys them and still sleeps almost 2 hours at each one. Lucy LOVES her bottle. I think this is going to be a challenge for us. She is capable of drinking from a sippy cup but does NOT like them. She will push it away or throw it on the ground. Hmmmm...this one might take some tough love! I think this is the stubborn side of our little angel coming out! Lucy started crawling at 7 months and took steps at 10 months. She was walking at 11 months. She now walks most of the time. She loves any toys..and seems to really love Jack's toys! She loves his tool bench and the big T-Rex! (It growls and it's eyes light up.... shouldn't she be scared?!) Maybe Santa will bring a few more girl toys! There is one pretty significant thing about Lucy...she really loves to eat ...not just enjoys it....she LOVES it! She goes crazy whenever she thinks it might be time to eat! It is entertaining, but sometimes it's tough because she is VERY impatient while waiting on her meal! She eats all table foods and has been off baby food for a few months. She is also more dramatic than Jack! While she doesn't fuss very often, if she does get upset...she is a drama queen! She will throw her head down on the ground like the world is ending! She can also turn on the tears! BIG crocodile tears! It may only last 30 seconds...but she is dramatic!
Lucy loves Jack so much! He can make her giggle until she can't breathe! She wants to do whatever he is doing and smiles at him all the time. It has been so much fun seeing them together. Lucy is a sweet little girl that makes us smile EVERY day. We love her so much! It's amazing how you can love another child just as much! She is so special and unique in so many ways! We can't wait to see what she has in store for us next!

Happy Birthday baby girl!

Lucy's Birth Day 11-28-10

Lucy at 1 week

Lucy at 2 weeks

Lucy at 3 weeks

Lucy at 4 months

Lucy at 7 months

Lucy at 8 months - What a figure!

Lucy at 10 months

Lucy at 11 months

Happy girl!

Lucy's 1st Birthday! Good morning baby girl!

Candle in my pancakes! Jack helped me blow it out!

Look! Aunt Ansley sent me a baby doll!

Daddy is home!!!!

Is this for me?!

I LOVE CUPCAKES!

This is so great!

That is enough with the camera!

Mmmmmmm! That icing is good stuff!

A first.... five times!

2011-11-27T23:12:00.000-05:00

Our sweet precious little man is sporting his first set of stitches! I still can't believe it! Some of the time I think, "well he's a boy and it's no big deal!"....then the other part of me says, "My perfect little man and that perfect little face has now been cut open!!!!!"

I wanted to document the event..it's a big first for us! Thursday night we were playing after bath time in the kitchen at Poppa and Nunno's. After bath, we started with a quick game of Go Fish! and then Lucy and Jack went to play with the magnets. I was sitting right on the floor near them as they played. He was just playing around and about to get up and dance to "Run Run Rudolph!" He fell and must have hit just the right way. I think because he was so tired that he might not have caught himself. I grabbed him and was looking at his face and didnt see anything. I asked him where it hurt and he pointed to his chin.... Ohhhhhhhh. It was split open in a perfect line. I was waiting for the blood to start flowing. It was so hard to see his little chin cut like that. We went back and forth on whether to take him to the ER.. one of the problems was that he was so tired that once he relaxed and laid back while we kept pressure on it he was falling asleep. Poor little guy was so tired. So there he was completely asleep as we wake him up and put him in the car. He was such a champ. He said once when we were getting in the car that he didnt want to leave. (Break my heart....) but once we got to the ER, he was great! He told the nurses that he hit his chin on the floor...he did whatever they said! He seemed so grown up as he walked through behind the nurse to his exam room.
They came in to put in the stitches and I braced myself for one of the more horrible moments in my life. I was picturing him screaming and being held down......but Jack laid right back with a nurse at his head and Daddy sitting next to him and didnt make a sound! In fact...they were going to put 2-3 stitches in and ended up putting FIVE just because he was laying there so calmly!!! They said they didnt have 30 year olds that did that well! I teared up watching my brave little man lay there!
After they were done, he said he didnt want to keep the stitches in...but he has done so great with them! He doesnt really mess with them and he goes back and forth on whether he wants to show them off.
I know it's not the biggest deal in the world for your child to get hurt and go to the ER, but it was really tough to see that little man hurt. We are so very proud of him! He continues to amaze us everyday!

So.... a first for us! FIVE STITCHES IN THE CHIN!!!!

Happy Turkey Day!

2011-11-26T00:02:00.003-05:00

We talk all year about how much we love Thanksgiving at Poppa and Nunno's! We talk about getting up to watch the parade, eating a YUMMY lunch with all of the family that Nunno makes, taking naps, and getting up to eat leftovers and watch Christmas Vacation that night. We are never disappointed! It was another really great year! (We did have a SMALL issue Thursday night that resulted in an ER visit and Jack's first stitches...I will dedicate an entire post to the little man and his stitches..so stay tuned! This is dedicated to our Thanksgiving!)

We headed up to Gainesville on Tuesday night after work. We got up there fairly late and the kids were both sound asleep in the car! It was nice to be up there and beat the traffic! The kids and I headed to Aunt Ruby's house to hang out for the morning. It was so great! We drank coffee and talked while the kids played. We left there and met Daddy, Poppa and Nunno for lunch at a great burger place! We did a little shopping while the kids napped and then had pizza with Aunt Jennifer, Uncle John, and Caitlin that night!

Thursday morning was soooo great! We got up and watched the parade in the basement on the "BIG" TV (as Jack says) while the "boys" fried the turkey! THREE turkeys actually! Two for us and one for a great family friend! I literally teared up watching Jack and Lucy watch the parade together (I know that is a little corny..but to see the excitement and fun between them was so great!) They both danced to the music and Jack jumped up and screamed for us to look at each and every thing he saw! He said his favorites were Spiderman, the marching bands, Charlie Brown, and Santa! Steven and I love it too and had a great time drinking coffee and watching it with the kids!

Sweet Thanksgiving Princess!

Lucy actually sitting in the oven!

Both kids stopping to check out what is going on in the parade

Watching the parade.... VERY comfortably!

Watching the parade together

Jack and Poppa checking the turkey!

The boys frying the turkey!

Happy Mommy and Daddy

Jack helped Poppa carve the turkey breast!

Family on Thanksgiving (Not great at getting everyone looking!)

Nunno made such a yummy lunch! We had lots of family there to enjoy it and Jack said the blessing for everyone! Lucy LOVED the lunch. She actually loves any time she gets to eat. It has gotten a little crazy how excited she gets about eating and how much she can eat! I think this may be her favorite holiday! Everything focused around eating! I have got to get it on video more often! You would think we never feed her!

First Thanksgiving

Daddy and his babies!

Matching Turkey shirts from Nunno!

ON THE MOVE!

Granny and her kids!

VERY lucky to have such a great Poppa and Nunno!

The afternoon was spent lounging around and talking with the family! We eventually decided to heat up some leftovers and enjoy it all over again! (However, before we got to enjoy our leftovers..... about TWO minutes before Jack was going to bed..he fell in the kitchen and busted his chin. It was split right open and we took him to the ER to get stitches. We were back in less than 1.5 hours. Jack was amazing... again, more to come on that!) It was a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving!

Fun bathtime!

Matching PJs!!! (Minutes before the fall!)

Happy girl (Notice tired Jack in the back...probably didnt help with the fall!)

The adults finishing Jack's "GO-Fish!" game!

We got up this morning and packed up and headed out to Highlands, NC. Steven, Jack, Lucy and I went to get the LEONARD FAMILY CHRISTMAS TREE!!!! It's our first time heading to the mountains to cut down our own tree! (Home Depot has been our Christmas tree provide for the past eight years!) We had a good time and it was so pretty up there! It was Jack's first trip to the mountains and he was fascinated seeing the BIG mountains and how high we were! He kept saying, "That is the BIGGEST mountain...I couldnt climb all the way to the top of that!" We rode out into the farm on an old truck and then walked around awhile looking for our tree! Jack would point out that "this one is too small, this one is too big, this one is JUST perfect!!!" Lucy enjoyed playing with the leaves on the ground! Hahaha! We found just the right one and Daddy cut it down! (all by himself!) We put it on the top of the MINIVAN and headed home! It was a fun new family tradition! We will spend tomorrow decorating the tree and hanging out just the four of us! It should be a really nice weekend! (anything that helps me forget that Miss Lucy's bday is just a few days away!) WOW - get ready for several blog posts.

Daddy and Sweet Luce!

On the truck headed out to the farm!

We've got our stick! Let's go!!!

How about this one?!

Hiking up the hill to find the perfect tree!

I think this is our size!

Fun at the farm!

Happy girl! Let the boys do the work!

Here come the boys...and the saw!

Daddy cutting down his first Christmas tree!

Here I come!

Strong Daddy!

Enjoying a cookie together after getting our tree!

....and it was hard work!

Happy Thanksgiving! We are thankful for our family and friends! Each day is a blessing to us!

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Time away...and a red bell pepper!

2011-11-15T11:57:00.000-05:00

Steven and I got away (by away I mean withOUT the kiddos!) with some good friends this weekend! We were SO fortunate to be able to use a good friend's family cabin. (OH, thank you thank you thank you! It was amazing!) We celebrated Steven's birthday and had some quiet time just chatting and not being on a schedule. It is such a treat to spend time just being together and not being worried about keeping up with what time everyone naps and eats and plays. I think we get caught up in our life and the routine and keeping everyone moving and happy.... the simple time just enjoying eachother is priceless.
We spent two hours drinking coffee and hangng out, eating a nice lunch out (slowly) and just walking around shops and talking. We stayed up late (at LEAST 10:00pm) talking and drinking wine. It was such a great weekend! I cherish the time that Steven and I get to spend together without the kids. It's nice to focus on eachother and remember how this all got started! :)
The kids stayed with Nunno and Poppa and had a GREAT time (as always)! They went to the park, had breakfast for dinner, and played LOTS! We got back Sunday around lunch and had some pictures done of the four of us before heading home. I can't wait to see how they turned out!

Time away is so important to Steven and I. It is great to have the time just the two of us and to miss the kids! Sometimes we get tired and frustrated with the routine and constant energy it takes to raise two kids. I always seem to think, "You know...before we had kids we could do whatever we wanted. We had time and more money! (hahahah!) I could buy a red bell pepper any time I wanted!" (In case you are wondering.. I love red bell peppers and they are usually pretty pricey!) However, I wouldnt trade all the time and money in the world for our little life! I think getting away sometimes makes you appreciate all you have. As we sat at the dinner table last night (just the four of us) eating and talking.... I felt so incredibly happy and blessed.....and then we all danced and sang along to ACDC's "Thunderstruck" after the plates were moved away! (I know this sounds incredibly strange...but it was a blast! Jack loves the beginning of that song - it happens to be the first one on our Ipod based on alphabetical order so it seems to come on when we just hit "play") Jack and Daddy played their air guitar and Lucy danced along and pounded her high chair with her hands. I literally laughed until there were tears in my eyes. I even grabbed the video camera to try to capture our little moment!

So... I will sacrifice my red bell peppers for my fantastic little foursome!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:35:00.000-04:00

It was a fun Halloween this year! Our little Kitty cat and Pirate had a great time! We started the morning with ghost pancakes and orange milk! We stayed in pjs most of the day and played! Both kids took great naps (thank goodness!) and were able to hang in there through trick or treating! Jack is actually still hanging in there...he loves to hand out candy and is holding out hope that there are more kids coming! He keeps saying, "We NEED more kids!!!!" (I think they have all gone to sleep and we are hoping he will burn off some of his sugar high!
We went to a neighborhood party with TONS of kids and then headed out for trick or treating! Jack had a blast! He ran around with a huge group of kids and SPRINTED from house to house! He was so excited about the candy! Lucy did great and watched the kids run around! What a fun night!

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A few more Fall traditions...and the LAST soccer game (Sort of!)

2011-10-30T21:14:00.000-04:00

We managed to pack a lot in to the last weekend in October! It was a CHILLY weekend too!

Saturday morning at the soccer field was COLD! The wind was brutal! The soccer players didn't seem to mind it so much running around, but we were pretty cold on the side lines! Poor little Lucy's hands were like ice! The team played great and everyone had a good time. We had an "End of the Season" party after the game (however, we found out that they added a game or two so we might actually have another "last" game!) Jack was very excited about the soccer party AND the trophy! We made a big deal about him getting his first trophy! We are so proud of Jack this year during soccer! He has had so much fun and kept a smile on his face through every practice and game! He has really enjoyed it! He does really well in practice and great at all of his drills... but he is NOT the most aggressive player during games! He is not going to go in the pack and go after the ball! However, he thinks he's the best player ever and runs off the field with a huge grin each time! It's been so much fun for us!

GO Chiefs!

Big kick!

He is behind the goal...Hmmmm..but looks determined!

Get us started!

Getting some good advice from Coach!

Congratulations Chiefs!

Jack getting his first trophy!

SO proud!

Jack Leonard!!!

We headed to another party that afternoon! Jack and Lucy got to wear their costumes and looked super cute! There was another pirate at the birthday party and Jack got VERY into being pirates! They ran off and would yell, "Back to Pirate Island" and "Yo Ho!" It was pretty funny! We came home and worked on our pumpkins! Jack wanted to paint his and asked us about 100 times, "Mommy! Daddy! Look! Isn't it beautiful?!"

All ready to help with the pumpkins!

Ewwwwww! Jack wasn't wild about cleaning out the pumpkins!

SUCH a big boy!

Brotherly love?

Helping Daddy!

Cute babies!

Happy boys!

Jack really painting the pumpkin!

Moved it inside because it got too COLD!

We had a good family Sunday! We went to church and then headed to get Lucy her first pair of shoes! She was cute and let them measure her little size 3 foot! Then we went to Northside to see sweet baby Lauren for the first time! She is so very tiny and we are so happy for the Coopers! She is just perfect! We can't wait to start making memories with her!

Lucy getting her first pair of big girl shoes at Stride Rite!

I wear a size 3!

Jack with the new big sister!!

I love you Caroline!

After nap time, we went on an adventure walk around the neighborhood to find pretty fall leaves (We strung them up and hung them in Jack's room for decoration!) He was very into it found lots of great ones! We squeezed in some time to make rice krispy treat pumpkins and ghosts! Jack was a big helper...and really enjoyed tasting our treats! We also made our first pot of kale soup (don't judge until you try it! It is fantastic! Sausage, kale, potatoes, tomatoes, chick peas... very yummy!) and it was tasty!

Helping with the rice krispy treats!

I like helping out...and tasting as we go!

OH! I think I just ate one of the pumpkin eyes!

Finding the best leaves!

Spooky! We stopped at a neighbor's that had LOTS of decorations!

All my leaves are in my bag!

What about this one?!

IT was a GREAT fall weekend... Tomorrow is Halloween (I might take a few pictures!) and then we start cruising into November! November is birthday month in this family! Caitlin, Jake, Lucy, Jennifer, Steven....and more!

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Weddings, babies, and a busted lip!

2011-10-24T13:55:00.002-04:00

We headed to Savannah on Friday afternoon (in case you aren't keeping up...that is 8 trips in 8 months for mommy between family and work visits!) It was the 6th trip of the year for the family! Whew! We have put some miles on that road this year! It was worth the drive to be there for such a special family wedding! Steven's cousin, Walker, got married Saturday afternoon!

It was a true "Savannah" weekend from top to bottom! We got to the rehearsal dinner on Friday night around 7pm. The kids took a late nap in the car and did so great getting there late and staying up to visit! We had so much fun! Uncle Steve and Laura hosted the rehearsal dinner at their house! Everything looked great! Lights strung in the trees, low country boil, beautiful bluff view and lots of family! We were so glad that we made it in time!
Saturday we got up and met Grandbubba for lunch at Tubby's. It was such a nice lunch! When we finished eating, Jack got up to walk around the patio and play. He was jumping around and his feet slipped and he landed right on his mouth! I jumped up and ran to him and saw the blood. My first thought was "NOT HIS TEETH!!!!!" Luckily, his teeth looked just fine. I did get my first lesson in face/head injuries. THEY BLEED LOTS! It took awhile to get it to stop bleeding, but Jack was such a brave boy! He let us keep presure on it and put ice on it to keep the swelling down! We were so proud of him! A little traumatic for us, but he is now boasting about his very BIG boy boo-boo! He tells anyone who will listen all about his "busted lip"!
Later that afternoon, Steven and I got dressed and headed downtown for the wedding! We were very excited about our date night! Aunt Mimi and Granny were so great to keep the kids for us! We really enjoyed it! The setting was completely like a fairy tale! Beautiful gardens and old Savannah home on one of the squares. The food, family and music were great! We enjoyed ourselves (probably a little too much when the kids woke up at 6:45...yikes, now I remember why we dont go out that often!) and even headed to the Olde Pink House for a glass of wine after we left the wedding. It was such a fun night for us!

Sunday (I know... you probably think we got up and headed home..but we weren't quite done!) we got up and headed to Aunt Sarah and Uncle Brian's house for Sarah's baby shower!!!! Lisa, Carrie and I hosted a baby shower for Baby Thorpe!! It was so fun to see everyone and get together to celebrate the new baby! Sarah looked so cute and got lots of fun things! We hung out for a little while after the shower to let the kids play and to time our trip home a little better! We wanted to leave close to bedtime so the kids would sleep! It ended up being so great because we got some good time with them! Being together makes us miss them even more! Jack LOVED playing with John and Maddy so much! It was fun to see them play!

It was a fantastic weekend and we are home safe and sound! We are trying to have a quiet day and recover. We are all pretty tired! We are so thankful for such wonderful family. It was nice to sit back this weekend at see so much of the family together so happy! It's inspiring to see everyone! We also were very thankful for sweet Jack and Lucy! They were so well behaved and happy the whole weekend! They go with the flow, enjoy seeing everyone, sleep anywhere we go, behave in the car, and bring such joy to our lives! We do not take for granted how great they are!

Sarah looked so cute!

Maddy was a really big help! She is going to be a great big sister!

Happy girl standing! She has take a few half steps! She is ready to go!

John (11), Maddy (8), Lucy (10 months), Jack (3.5), Jadon (3.5)

Happy girl!

Lisa, Maddy, Sarah, Carrie, and Katie

Group shot! (Wish Dorin and Drake were there!)

Sweet babies

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And a few random pictures..they are so sweet when they are sleeping!

Fun project for Halloween!

North Georgia Fall Weekend

2011-10-16T22:35:00.001-04:00

October is always FULL of fun Fall activities...and we are not disappointing this year either! Jack and Lucy headed up to Gainesville on Thursday night with Poppa to start the weekend! (I had been in Washington DC most of the week for training and stayed an extra night to see Ansley! It was so awesome! Everytime I see her it makes me realize how much I miss her! I had the best time playing with sweet Hagan and Tom!) Steven and I got up there Friday early evening. Poppa, Daddy, Jack and I headed to the GHS football game! We were excited for Jack to cheer on the Red Elephants for the first time! We had fun and cheered on the team! Jack was fascinated with the football players, the band ...and the cheerleaders (Oh..I am not ready for that!)

GOOOOOO Big Red!

Enjoying a hotdog at a Friday night football game

Jack watching the game with Poppa!

Jack and Caroline cheering on the Red Elephants!

Saturday we got up and headed to Jae-Mor Farms for some fun and lunch! Jack went down a big slide, hopped on some ponies, had a hotdog, shared a funnel cake and checked out the pumpkins!

Riding high with Poppa!

Loved the big slide!

Look at my teeth!

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching the Georgia Tech football game and playing in the backyard. The boys even played some of their own football! Too cute! Lucy was there to clap for them!

I love the magnets just like my brother!

Hanging out in the yard watching the boys play football! Jack stopped in the middle of the game and said, "I will go get Lucy some toys!" (He ran into to get her some things to play with! Such a sweet big brother!)

Hey everyone! I love to wave! Mommy made my Georgia Tech dress!

Tackle Poppa!

Getting away from Daddy! Go Jack!

Oh no!!! Jack going down!

So cute! OF COURSE neither are looking!

We headed out early this morning for Burt's Farm! It is our 4th year going with Poppa and Nunno and we look forward to it all year! We got there early enough to beat the BIG crowds and spent lots of time checking out all the different pumpkins! Lucy LOVED cruising around the big pumpkins! We loved the hayride as always..again, I think Lucy enjoyed it more than anyone! She stood up and hung on and smiled the whole time! We had a yummy picnic (THANKS to Nunno!) of homemade chicken fingers, pimento cheese sandwiches, deviled eggs, chips, fruit, sugar cookies and treats! We sat right next to the creek again and Jack wanted to check it out and throw some rocks in the water! The weather was awesome and it was so much fun as always! We decided to try something new after we left Burt's. We headed up the road to Ellijay to Hillcrest Farms. It is a big apple farm with LOTS of activities! We saw our first pig race, Jack milked a cow name Buttercup, went down another big slide, we had another funnel cake and watched some local cloggers (yes, very entertaining!). We all headed back to Gville to get cleaned up and packed to come back home. We got home and the kiddos were in bed early! It was a big weekend!

Jack ran right to a HUGE pumpkin and tried to pick it up!

Again...super cute (but NOT LOOKING!) I will get the picture one day! Mommy and Nunno made our outfits!

Jack is the sweetest big brother!

Tapping the pumpkins together!

Lucy LOVED playing with the pumpkins!

Sweet girl on her first trip to Burt's!

The girls!

Daddy and his sweet girl! Lucy was much more cooperative with the pictures!

Another year on the big tractor!

Poppa and Nunno with the babies on the hayride!

Jack and Lucy listening to the talking pumpkins!

Lucy LOVED standing up and looking out during the hayride!

Silly boys!

See the sign "Jack be Little" squash! He thought that was neat!

Pumpkins and kids in the wheelbarrow! Jack picked out each of the pumpkins! One for each of us!

Family Photo! EVERYONE is looking!!!

Jack playing in the creek after the picnic!

Jack milking his first cow "Buttercup"!

We just love this weekend each year. It's become such a special and FUN tradition! We are very grateful to share it with Poppa and Nunno! Lucy's first year was so much fun! We can't wait to go again next year! Only 52 more weeks to go!

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This weather is great!

2011-10-08T16:29:00.000-04:00

We are continuing to LOVE the October weather. October is definitely our favorite month with all the fun Fall festivals and the weather! Jack had another soccer game this morning and we were so blessed to have family there to cheer him on! He really has a good time and runs off the field with the biggest smile! We are really enjoying participating in Smyrna Soccer this year! We headed to the park after the game and then to a yummy lunch!

HERE HE COMES.........................

GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Way to go JACK!!!!! (He might have had a little help getting that goal, but we were proud no matter what!!!)

Proud Poppa and Nunno with their little soccer player! Jack was SOOOO happy they were there!

Poppa and Jack having a snack after the game!

EVERYONE enjoying the after game snack! (Look at Jack sharing with his little sister!)

Hey everyone! Lucy waving with Poppa!

Our sweet baby girl!

The kids going for a ride together at the park!

Here are a few more pictures of some Fall Fun!

Jack posing with the Cooper's Halloween decorations!

Annual trip to the Greek Festival!

Jack loved the rides again this year at the Greek Festival!

Dancing to the music!

Fun BUBBLE bath time with Aunt Neese in town!

Happy girl in her jumper (She DOES NOT like to be contained..she lasted about 2 minutes before she insisted on getting out! Thought I would catch one smile!)

Jack loves Lucy so much!

Happy kids having a backyard picnic! We have been doing that lots lately!

Jack loves playing hide n seek! He found Daddy under the slide!

BIG SMILES!

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We are SOOOOOO happy ....

2011-10-01T16:10:00.000-04:00

....that Daddy is home!!!!!!!!

It was a happy reunion at the aiport yesterday!!! Daddy has been in California for training for THREE WEEKS! Whew! We missed him very much!

We are so proud of Daddy! He did great at his training for his new job AND was 1st place in his role plays! What a great job! Daddy got home and we jumped right into a busy weekend! Soccer game Friday night, birthday party Saturday morning and we are about to head out to the Greek Festival! Our annual fun with the Cooper! It really kicks off the Fall season! We have a chilly night to get it started!!

Snack time after the game!

Will they ever BOTH look?

That's one cute kitty cat! (Thank you Aunt Mimi!!)

Kitty cat on the move!

Happy girl with her Daddy!

Lucy Bear and her men!

Jack loving the push up cake pops!

The "Big" kids (Can not believe they are so big!)

More September fun...

2011-09-25T11:08:00.000-04:00

It's just been fun!!!

Lucy about to go up the stairs...probably stopped to look at me when I said, "No no!" However, I am sure she didnt stop.

GOOOOOOO Jackets!

Well, it was worth a try...they both looked cute before the soccer game!

Kick that ball!

Obviously very serious about the game...

We're ready!

This is serious soccer playing...

Jack loves the parent tunnel after the game! (And the snacks!)

Grandbubba and Aunt Mamie were there to cheer Jack on!

BEST buddies!

Lucy clapping for Jack at the soccer game! She gets really excited!

Telling the truth...

2011-09-17T14:04:00.000-04:00

We had a fun morning with soccer picture day (I say it was fun...it was actually complete chaos and took a long time..but the weather was so nice and it was fun just being outside) and then we picked up breakfast to take to the park (I think going to a playground is Jack's favorite thing in the world!) It was such great weather! We got home and as always... we take our shoes off and wash our hands first thing. Jack took off his shoes and ran to the bathroom to tee-tee and wash his hands. He ran out of the bathroom with a big smile on his face (Pure excitement about getting to watch a show that was ready for him) and I asked if he had washed his hands... He said, "No, I didnt..." So I said, "Well, let's go back and get them all clean!" Jack turned around to head back to wash his hands. He stopped and looked back at me with a big smile and said, "Mommy, I was telling the truth!"
We have been talking to Jack about telling the truth and what that means. We want him to know how important it is! I grabbed him and told him I was proud of him! I love that little man! He has such a sweet heart! (He also got a huge hug because after he took his shoes off and put them in the basket, he took his dirty socks off and then took them over to the stairs to go up to be cleaned!) That is MY child! :)

Jack's other favorite phrase these days is....."Hey guys, I've got a plan/idea!" It usually is some kind of treat for him (for instance "Let's drink some milk and watch a show!" or "How about 3 more bites of vegetables and THEN I get a treat!" or "How about we go play outside?!") He likes to come up with his own plans that benefit him and present them as such a brilliant idea!

HAPPINESS IS.....

...a push up at Poppa and Nunno's

...my blanket and thumb!

....being silly with Poppa!

...reading a book with Poppa!

....BIG SMILES!

...being a star soccer player!

...meeting new friends at soccer!

Fun times in Fabulous weather!

2011-09-10T21:07:00.000-04:00

We have really had a fun first week of September! Lots of good family time together! It started on Sunday when Nunno and Poppa took the kids for the night! We met around lunch on Sunday when we met to drop off the kiddos! Steven and I headed (ALONE) to a fun lunch. We had a beer and sat on the patio.... we took our time ordering and an even longer time eating! It was so great! We headed home....and took a four hour nap. I think we were a little tired! It was fabulous! We got up and watched a movie and just spent time together! The next morning we drank coffee, watched another movie and just laid on the couch! Oh, it was so great!!! We made a promise to do NOTHING productive during our day off! We loved our time just the two of us...of course we were happy to see the little ones though! They had SUCH a great time with Nunno and Poppa!

This week we had another soccer practice and then on Friday night was Jack's first soccer game! The Chiefs did pretty good! Jack had fun and that is the most important thing! He loved running around with his buddies! He followed the ball most of the time, but was easily distracted by the cheering and yelling from other fields! The playground next to the fields also captured his attention too! We were so proud of him and cheered as loud as we could for the little man! He would just look over and smile at us! :) Oh it is just too fun! Jack even scored a goal (kind of)! There were lots of the little ones near the goal and he just happend to be the one to get his foot on the ball! We didnt care and were just as excited! Lucy was a champ and sat in the stroller as happy as she could be watching all the action!

Our little soccer player!

Sweet man!

GO GO GO!

Jack loved the parent tunnel after the game!

Action shot! Jack and Andrew!

The four of us had a great Friday together getting up early and heading to the zoo and then out for pizza! It was just the perfect weather and we all had so much fun! Jack really loves the zoo and it is so easy to go over for a couple of hours and walk around. The animals are always doing something different and he always loved the carousel and train! It was one of those perfect days!

Jack giving Willie B a hug!

Happy girl along for the ride!

WOW! That sun bear is RIGHT there!

Happy littles ones out for pizza after the zoo!

We got out all of the fall decorations today (we LOVE Fall!) Jack was so excited when he got up from naptime to see the fun stuff! He told Lucy all about it! Lucy has been so fun lately and LOVES to wave! She waves and smiles at everyone. Jack is having so much fun with her and it's so neat to see them interact! Jack's favorite game is still to play chase. He loves for someone to chase him...not as excited about being the chaser!

Aunt Julie and sweet Lucy

BIG slide at the Marietta Square Arts Festival

Jack and Daddy at the Marietta Square fountain

Mommy and her little man

Sweet baby girl in Mommy's dress

Caroline, Jack, and "THE" Luce

Today we got up and headed over to Caroline's 3rd birthday party! As always, the Cooper's did a great job with the party and we had a blast! Jack got to ride a hose (SEVERAL times). He kept wanting to go again! He smiled so big! There were also lots of bunnies to play with and feed. However, Jack was not too interested in them! He had more fun chasing the bubbles with Morgan, William, and Caroline. We just sait there watching them in disbelief that our kids are so big! Crazy! It was so much fun and the weather again was just amazing! We are getting ready to get the kids up and head to the backyard for a Leonard night playing and grilling out! Sounds like heaven to me (well, and with a cold Octoberfest!)

Mommy and Lucy at Caroline's party

Mr. COOL on the way to Caroline's Party (I think it's the van that makes it so cool!)

Jack LOVED the horse ride

Our cowboy

Jack anticipating Daddy coming to chase him

Happy girl

Saturday night picnic in the backyard

Check out that figure!

Brother and sister!

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SOCCER MOM!!!!

2011-09-01T21:48:00.000-04:00

Well....more like Soccer mom AND dad! :) We are so proud of the little man! He had his very first soccer practice last night! The first sports practice of his life! What a fun time! He is just such a BIG boy! He has his first game next Saturday!

Look at that form!

Buddies!

Jack and Ryan practicing kicking in the goal

Stretch high over your head!

Such concentration!

Jack's team is the Chiefs! Gooooooo Chiefs! He knows a few of the boys on his team and had fun running around with them! The coach told us that there would probably be lots of crying but that we would have lots of fun too! Jack made it through practice with a smile on his face the whole time, so we would say it was a success! They did some stretching, some drills (dribbling around the cones with the ball), tried to kick the ball to get the coach (I think this was Jack's favorite), practiced kicking into the goal, and ended with a scrimmage! Now that was entertaining! That is a bunch of little ones chasing after the ball. It was so cute! Jack actually got the ball and kicked it into the goal (it MIGHT have been the wrong goal..but who cares!) We cheered him on! He asked later, "why were you cheering?!" We told him all night what a great job he did and that we were so proud! We can't believe he is so big! What a little man!!!!

Here are a few more pictures from the past week! Poppa came down to celebrate a birthday lunch with us last weekend (he braved it in the sick house! Hahahaha!) Lucy is doing great this week and is 100% back to herself! It was so good to hear her giggle and squeal! Our happy little girl was so pitiful last week! It's been a good week and we are looking forward to the weekend together!

Happy big girl with her bottle!

Look at all of those freckles!!!

BLUE eyes!

Jack dumping buckets of water on his head

Helping Poppa blow out his candles!

"Ok, you can have one bite Poppa!"

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A SICK house... just about!

2011-08-27T20:07:00.000-04:00

Well, it hasn't been the best week here at the Leonard's but overall we are doing alright! It all started last weekend ...we had such a great weekend with a baby shower for Aunt Julie here at the house and Mimi was in town visiting and spending time with the kids! It was lots of fun.... then the stomach virus attacked the house!!! Mimi, Steven, and then Mommy were all victims. It was miserable. LUCKILY, the kids seemed to be fine. We think Lucy might have had a touch of it but nothing too bad.
Then....Lucy started acting a little funny on Wednesday. She wasn't wanting to take her bottles at school (if you have ever seen Lucy take a bottle you would know that this is HIGHLY unusual! She usually freaks out and attacks it when she sees it) She was happy and active and doing fine otherwise. We called to ask and the doctor and they said they thought it was teething and her mouth was bothering her but since she was so happy they weren't concerned. Then on Thursday, we took her in to see the doctor because she had a low fever. Dr G checked her out and said she looked great but was fighting a little virus, otherwise physically fine. THEN... on Friday it all went downhill for poor sweet Lucy! After a VERY LONG night, we took her back to the dr. this morning (looking completely pitiful) and the small virus turned into double pink eye and an ear infection. The virus turned into a head cold which caused the drainage into her ears and eyes! POOR girl! She is doing better tonight and we are hoping she will get some good rest. It has been really tough seeing that bright eyed little girl look so sad. She is a trooper and we are proud of her! Her first cold...well, it's been a rough one!

Jack is just hanging in there at 90mph! Hopefully if we make it through this weekend with him, then he will have been the lucky family member during our SICK WEEK!

Besides the sick cloud that has been hovering over our house the past week, things are going great! Lucy has continued to do well at school, Steven's job is going great and he is really enjoying the training and all of his "tests", Jack is loving his new class at school and they have said he is doing awesome! He comes home everyday to tell us what a "great job" he did on his school work that day! He is so fun right now!

Now...if the temps could just stop dropping we would be in good shape. Fall is near... Oktoberfest is already in the stores!

Tybee Island 2011

2011-08-13T20:34:00.000-04:00

Whew! What a week! We had a great time at Tybee with the family. It all started Friday afternoon when we picked up Steven from his last day at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It felt a little ceremonious picking him up and taking him away! It was sad to say goodbye to such great friends. Steven spent eight years there making lots of memories! We were happy to be heading to the beach for a week!
We spent all day Saturday at Salt Meadows with the Leonards (on Tybee..so we were already on our way!) It was really special to see all the family together. ALL of the grandkids (Steven's generation) was there and all of the great-grandchildren except for John Michael. The party was actually for John Michael so that was a bit ironic! (He was drafted by the New York Mets and had to report to training! We are all very proud and did lots to celebrate him even though he wasn't there!) Jack loved playing and really loved spending time with his cousins! He was the only boy (I think he really enjoyed that!!!) It was a great time with AMAZING food! Fresh crabs right out of the creek, low country boil, clams from the creek, Uncle Mike from Augusta made his famous pimento cheese and crab stew, Aunt Karen made her shrimp salad, and Bubba made some tasty wings! (As you can imagine..there was a LOT of food!) Lots of fun memories!

Aunt Neese and Jack

All the great grandkids (less John Michael)

ALL the grandchildren

Jack really struggling with all the girls

The Leonard men

Sweet Lucy asleep in the hammock

Jack and his blue crab (starting young!)

By the time we got to the beach house that night we were all worn out and ready for bed! The kids went down and we got some good time on the porch having a drink and catching up with Sally, John, and Granny! We spent the week playing on the beach in the morning, getting snow cones in the afternoon, taking turns making dinner at night, jumping waves, playing animal rummy (fun card game that Jack was really good at playing), making sand castles and drip castles, playing Cranium at night, watching Lucy get stronger and faster playing around the house, walking on the beach, collecting shells, walking all the way to the end of the pier, feeding the birds on the beach, eating a HUGE platter at the Crab Shack, climbing all 178 steps at the Tybee Lighthouse, and shopping at the little beach shops! Steven and I even got one night out for dinner! We went to AJ's on the back river and really enjoyed ourselves! There was one small little detail of the night... there was a HUGE storm that we watched roll in! The wind and rain were crazy and the tornado sirens went off on Tybee! Not quite the setting we had in mind... but the beer was cold and we were alone! We were happy! Luckily the kids were safe too with Aunt Mimi, John and Granny! They practiced storm drills in the bathroom!

Sweet Luce! What a figure!

Playing in the pool on the beach

BIG waves

I love this!

Jack and Aunt Mimi building sand castles

Granny with her boys and little Lucy

Granny's girls

Feeding the birds (trying to get him to throw the food OUT so they dont take it out of his hand!)

BIRDS!

Mommy and Daddy with their sweet man

Silly Mommy

Silly Jack

Snow cones turn your tongue colors!!!

Sweet little man

Look at this cool pirate!

Lucy must have needed watering!

Flying a kite for the first time! Loving it!

The Leonard boys flying a kite!

Granny and Jack waiting on the CRAB cake!

Sarah made a crab cake for Granny's birthday! (We celebrated early - she will be 80 in October!)

Whoa that is really tall!

Heading up all those stairs! A little sweaty!

Mimi and her babies!

Neese and Jack

Family picture (We took a ton before we realized the humidity fogged the inner lens - SOOOO disappointing!)

Sweet Jack

Giving Daddy kisses

Getting love from Mommy

Sharing the platter at the Crab Shack

Eating a crawfish!

Brother and sister!

Gigi and her great grandbabies

The Leonards on Tybee

Lucy had a pretty memorable trip. She got TWO teeth down there! One on Sunday and one on Monday! Those are her very first teeth! She looks cute with them and loves to give big gummy grins now to show them off! She started cruising and moving between different pieces of furniture and is even trying to stand up in the middle of the room. Of course, she got a few new bumps and bruises along the way too! She ate two handfuls of sand and played on the beach for the first time! She is so much fun right now and SOOOO Busy! She definitely keeps us going all the time!
Jack continued his love for the beach. He talked about going to the beach for two weeks before we left. He asked everyday if it was time to go! He LOVED jumping in the waves and digging in the sand. He also LOVED eating crab (nothing makes me happier than to see him enjoy seafood like we do!) He is becoming such a big boy and is so great with Lucy! He had so much fun playing no matter what we did!

We are home for the weekend and Daddy starts his new job on Monday! We are so proud of him and excited for him!

And for the most exciting part....the van did great on her first beach trip! Oh how we love our van! Hahaahah!

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Changes Changes Changes!

2011-08-04T21:12:00.000-04:00

Wow! It's been a few weeks since our last post! I don't know why....we have just been sitting around taking it easy... Hahahaha! I dont think that is possible anymore! As usual, we have been pretty busy! Well, more like LUCY has been very busy!!!
I think our life has DEFINITELY changed since Lucy has become mobile. She is crawling everywhere (VERY QUICKLY) and pulling up on everything! She started crawling a few days before the 4th of July and went from slowly getting around to flying around the room! It has been an adjustment for us! It is lots more work to watch both of them now! She just loves it and nothing makes her happier than exploring and investigating everything she can see! She is getting into Jack's toys a lot more too. He is handling it pretty well, and still a big help with keeping away things that are "too small" for Lucy! It gets more fun to see them interact! So that would be one of the first changes in our life right now! Another change for Lucy is that she started school! She is now going to Woodchase with Jack and we are so proud of her! She has done really great! She cried for about two minutes the first day Steven dropped her off and has done great everyday since then! Her teachers are very impressed with her. They say she is very social and very happy! They also said she is VERY BUSY! (That actually made me feel better because I thought I was overexaggerating her busy nature!) The director told us that she has not even seen her upset! We are just so proud of her!

So, for some of the other big changes.... Tomorrow is Steven's last day at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It's been a very bittersweet decision for him to leave his team there after eight years. He has developed some very special friendships and accomplished so much professionally! We are so proud of him! An opportunity came along that he could not turn down and we are very excited about the new adventure! He will start working with Applied Medical on August 15 in medical sales (Surgical devices). It has been a very stressful few months while this process and these decisions have been hanging around. The timing has been tough too since the race is only a month away. Steven didnt want to leave so close to the race, but again..we couldnt pass up the opportunity for him. We are also very happy that "Uncle Scott" works there too. He's been very supportive and seems to love his job which is very reassuring for us! We are so incredibly proud of Daddy and know he will do so great at his new job! Way to go Daddy!!!
So..... with that change, we no longer have the Avalanche for the family! Well, what do you do with a Honda Accord, two kids and LOTS of gear................ YOU GO BUY A MINIVAN!!!!!!! Yes, the Leonards are now official minivan owners! AND WE LOVE IT! Ohmigosh! It's the best thing ever! We get excited whenever we get to go anywhere and drive it! Jack loves it and especially loves his "magic" door that closes with a button! OH it's' just fantastic (No, I never thought I would be this excited about a van!)
PLEASE check out the link for The Swagger Wagon... Hilarious! We got a Toyota Sienna! www.toyotaswaggerwagon.com

Things are going really great and we feel blessed everday for our little family! We dont ever lose track of how fortunate we are! Fun times ahead!!!!! Maybe not so many changes though! Hahahah!

Lucy before her first day of school at Woodchase!

Jack making Lucy laugh!

Jack being such a good (and tolerant) big brother!

Jack "helping" Lucy

Jack really "helping" Lucy

Granny with her granddaughters (We were happy someone wanted a picture with us and not JUST the great grandkids! Hahaha!)

The Leonards at Camp Meeting

Poppa and his silly babies!

A park night with the Coopers

Jack and Caroline being silly

A picnic at the "Howell Mill Food Trucks" on Tuesday night!

Lucy swinging at Camp Meeting (8 months old)

Jack swinging at Camp Meeting (15 months old)

Check out some pictures from recent events! Lucy attended her first Camp Meeting (Jack's 4th Camp Meeting!!!) Jack and Anna stayed the night with Poppa and Nunno together and had a great time! I promise that we will take lots of pictures in the next couple of weeks! We have to get a family pictures with "THE VAN" and of Lucy standing up!!!! There are a few albums..so dont miss any!
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Fun times in Savannah!

2011-07-13T21:46:00.000-04:00

We had a really great LONG trip to Savannah this past weekend! We combined a work trip for me with some fun family time! We spent lots of time in the lake and at the pool. It was really great to spend time with family!

Jack really loves the water. He went off the diving board and everyone was watching and cheering for him! He went up on the diving board and to the end...then back off ..then back up... he was quite entertaining! He did finally jump and then wanted to do it again! The next day he loved watching the "big" kids do flips and they were letting him tell them what to do next! Jack would yell, "Cannonball!!!!"

I think I can do this!

Here I come!!!

Bathing Beauty!

Another Bathing Beauty!

Aunt Mimi and Lucy at the Yacht Club pool

Jack got to go to the Pirate's House! We had not been there in YEARS, and really thought he would love it since he is so into pirate's right now! It really hasn't changed since when we were kids. He got to push the button to make the big pirate talk, he got to meet a real pirate, check out the tunnel down below where there are "scary skelatons", and he got the FUN ice cream dessert with a sparkler in it! I remember LOVING that! Grandbubba wouldnt let Jack leave without a special treat! He got a pirate kit with a hook, eye patch, compass, and gold coins. He has not taken that hook off. He takes it everywhere. He had it on the ENTIRE drive back from Savannah! It was such a fun time!

Jack at the Pirate's House

This Pirate is talking!

Whoa! That is a fun treat!

A pirate like Izzy (from Jack and the Neverland Pirates)

Look at my telescope!

And the pirate theme continued into dinner!

Arghhhh! I have an eye patch!

Jack loved seeing all his family! He loved having Cousin Sarah read him "The White Seal" again. Lucy LOVED her time with Cousin Emily! Aunt Mimi took such good care of the kids and cooked some amazing meals for us! Nannie got some good cuddle time on the couch with both little ones. Granny got good time with the kids and got to hang out in her bathing suit with Lucy! We got to see Grandbubba 3 days (lunch at the Pirate's House, dinner at Tubby's, and a low country boil at Sally's!) We saw Denise at dinner! Jack put on a show at Tubby's for everyone outside listening to live music. He was dancing and other people were taking pictures of him because he was so cute! Jack really loved the animals and Aunt Mimi's too! Tonight we asked Jack who is in Savannah and he said..."Granny, Aunt Mimi, Lucy Dog, Gabe, Sugarfoot, and Trouble"!

Hey there!

And the hook is still with us!

Big Sister and Little Brother!

Jack dancing to live music at Tubby's!

Grandbubba and his baby girl

Mommy and Lucy

I love Aunt Neese!

Check out our matching Tubby's shirts

I LOVE LUCY DOG

Fun Uncle John!

Daddy and Jack on their kayak ride around the lake

There are those bathing beauties again!

I LOVE peas!

I had so much fun with Emily

Snuggles on the couch

Grandbubba reading books

What a fun trip! We have had some fun memories this summer! We are recovering from our traveling this week and enjoying time with Chris here! Jack loves having Chris stay with us! He is in town for a training. They are great playmates!

By the way...Jack is STILL singing, "God Bless the USA" several times per day! It is too funny!

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Oh Say Can You See??!!!

2011-07-04T11:26:00.000-04:00

It has been SUCH a fun 4th of July weekend! We have been home in Atlanta celebrating with lots of friends! Jack has really loved it all! I think the funniest thing that he loves most about holiday is Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA"! Now, who doesn't love that song? How do you not sing along or tear up everytime it's played? BUT, after the 15th time in a row of hearing it last night... It didnt have quite the same effect! Jack asked, "Can we hear that again?!"

Saturday was spent participating in the 2nd Annual neighborhood parade (Jack won a prize again for best decorated!!!), then lunch at the pool, naps, and then a party in the neighborhood that evening!

On Sunday, we headed over to the Coopers early in the morning to spend the day. It was SUCH a great time. It was nice to have the whole day to spend together without having a big schedule or a limited amount of time! The kids had such a great time in the pool. Jack loved going under water to have a tea party with Caroline! They would cheers under water! He also was trying to swim off the steps to me with his face under water. He is getting better and every time we are at the pool he wants to do more! He even jumped off the diving board! What a brave little man! All the kids took a big nap while we sat around talking about trips we had been on together and fun memories! Once everyone was up, we had ribs, burgers, hotdogs, watermelon and a special "Dirt" treat for dessert! Julie did a great job with the dirt and worms! :) It was lots of fun!

Brotherly love!

We headed back home around 8:00pm to attend the BIG neighborhoood party and fireworks. This is the first year that we planned to stay for the fireworks. Jack just couldnt stay awake the last couple of years to watch them. We put Lucy down at the neighbor's house so that she could go to sleep while we set up outside for the show. (I say a show...because it is an ALL OUT show. They truly have HUGE fireworks and really put a lot into it! I was OVERLY impressed) We weren't sure how Jack would react to the fireworks. We were really close to them and they were VERY loud. The first couple that went off DID scare him! He screamed, "That scares my ears!!!" We didnt think we would make it through the rest of them. BUT, Daddy covered his ears and he LOVED it. Whenever the guys headed back to light more, he insisted Daddy's hands go back over his ears to get ready! He did love them and clapped after each set. When they were over...he asked several times, "Why are they over?!"

First reaction to the fireworks

Clapping with Daddy

Having fun...but prepared to cover his ears just in case another goes off!

It really has been a fun weekend and lots of fun memories with the kids. Watching Lucy really crawl all over the place, seeing Jack get more and more comfortable with the water and do some "swimming", and seeing Jack watch his first fireworks show! Lots of fun memories...and of course lots of pictures!!!!
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Trouble....

2011-07-02T22:02:00.000-04:00

Well, I think we are in for it now... Lucy is officially crawling (not always very pretty), sitting up, waving....and pulling up in her crib. Help us all... I think it's about to get interesting..well, more interesting than it already is!

On a quick note...our 4th of July weekend has already been ridiculously fun! 4th of July Parade in the neighborhood (SO proud to say that Jack has won a prize for best decorated 2 years in a row!!!!!), pool time, and a neighborhood party this evening! Whew! It's been fun! Off to the Coopers in the morning to spend the day and then back for fireworks tomorrow night in the neighborhood! SO much fun!!!! More to come later..

What a fun Daddy to dress up like MonkeyWrench! Jack was OVER the top excited about the "HUGE Monkey"! He loved him even before he knew it was his Daddy!

Prize winning!!! Jack and Andrew!

"THE" Summer Day!

2011-06-26T13:53:00.001-04:00

It was just one of those fabulous days.... following a not so fabulous day on Friday. I think I was just tired! Thank goodness we started the weekend off so well! We got up Saturday morning and decided to go to the Marietta Square Farmer's Market. I dont know why we haven't spent more time there..it was just so great! It was a quick drive there and both the kids seemed to enjoy it! There were tons of stands set up selling vegetables, fruits, bread, meat, soap, plants..just about anything! We got some tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, bread, potatoes (fun fingerlings, blue potatoes and new potatoes) and peaches!

Jack doing one of his silly voices!

Jack was fishing for leaves in the fountain!

We played in the square for a little while too before heading back for a birthday party at the pool! Lots of friends and fun! Jack wanted to jump in with no floaties to Daddy and had the best time.

We came home and took naps and then headed back to the pool for another birthday party (this one was more for adults and had live music!) It was really fun! TONS of kids down there too! Jack spent a ton of time jumping off the side. He wanted to do it all by himself with no one there to catch him (I was close enough to get to him if he needed me) So he did it once and thought it was so fun that he did it about 50 more times. He would jump off and yell, "Hey everybody! Boys and Girls! Watch out...Heeeeeeeere I COME!" Then he would swim to the side and get out and go again! His poor little toes are rubbed raw from making that cycle! It was so fun! Lucy really enjoyed her pool time too!
We got the kids to sleep (neither of them made a peep when we put them down! I think they were WORN out) and then we grilled out. It was a FANTASTIC summer dinner! Thanks to Southern Living this month (I think they called it a "4th of July Feast") We had chicken kabobs (chicken, mushrooms, squash and onions with a smoky barbeque rub), homemade white bbq sauce and a hot bacon and green bean potato salad! It was delicious! Followed that up with some butter pecan frozen yogurt with fresh peaches and blueberries! YUMMY!

Daddy had to go to work this morning, so Jack and I played on the slip n slide with the neighbors while Lucy took her morning nap. We filled up the bird feeders and watered all the plants! We had a yummy lunch and are about to go down for naps! Back to the pool this afternoon!

It has been so fun!! I even finished a few of my "patriotic summer" projects! A new wreath and pillow covers! We will hope for more fun weekends just like this!

And here are just a few more pictures from the last week!

This is becoming a habit... deciding to run through the hose in our undies!

Playing water guns with a neighbor

Mr. Cool!

Anna and Jack having so much fun dancing with ribbons!

Why? Why? Why?

2011-06-24T14:57:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, a friend asked me if Jack had started asking "Why?" all the time. I said, "No, not really anything out of the ordinary." It seems kids go through this stage of asking why all the time. I remember some other friends that had kids that did this. I thought that wouldnt really bother me...they are learning all the time, right?! We weren't there yet...
Well....................... now we are...and it does. Let me say that maybe it's just today. It's just one of those days where my patience isn't EXACTLY where it should be. I think I am a little tired from the week and from Daddy working lots at night this week. Maybe other days it won't seem like "Why?" is always hanging around. Jack has probably said "Why?" a hundred times today. "Why is the pig happy in the book? Why can't Mommy reach the books I put behind the headboard of my bed? Why should I stop banging the door with a bat? Why does the ghost have a teddy bear? Why are we going to run errands? WHY? WHY? WHY? And most responses do not satisfy. It generates another "Why?" Anyway, Jack wasn't being the best listener this morning and finally after about 10 chances... he got in trouble. (I think this had something to do with my patience level today) He was sent to time out after being popped on the leg (I think that makes us feel better than saying "Spank") He, as usual, got very upset when he got in trouble (this is a good thing in my opinion since at least it is effective). Then I start the "Why?" with him...Why are you in trouble? Why weren't you listening? (We are big on him understanding why he is in trouble and why we need to say sorry) Well, then I start the "Why?" in my head... Why did Jack get in trouble? Why do I feel guilty about it? Why didnt I take him outside to play this morning? Is his energy confined here inside while sister is napping? Was it my fault he was not listening? Wow.... and then the loop begins? Why am I not being patient?
Whew...it wears me out writing it.
We pulled it together and ended up successfully running some errands this afternoon (with both kids holding it together while I looked for patriotic decorations for new pillow covers and a wreath) I can only imagine how exciting that was for them. Jack did enjoy it and did a great job just walking with me through the stores. We did touch several things and we did end up at each register with a few items that I had to whisper to the cashier that we were not going to purchase today. Jack had picked them up and said "But I love this, I want to keep it!" and it came along the journey with us... Hopefully he wont remember. HOWEVER, he did talk all about the yellow flower he got for Daddy and couldnt wait to give it to him (Uh-oh that was an item that we "did not purchase" today) So...we did get a yellow flower at our next destination. Now...will he remember it again?

It's just one of the days I want to remember.... remember all the good and the bad. I am thankful for today..I am thankful for the two beautiful ~~exhausting~~ children we have! I try to enjoy every minute with them...and right now... I am thankful they are both asleep!

Fun Father's Day Weekend

2011-06-20T11:11:00.000-04:00

The Leonards REALLY enjoyed being home this weekend! It was great! We started the weekend with a fun low country boil with great friends! There were TEN ....yes 10 kids there! All of them sat at the table to eat their dinner, and I am pretty sure every one of them got dessert! Now here is the big part of this story.......... by 8:30, ALL 10 kids were asleep! I am still amazed by that! Multiple kids in each room and all asleep! Jack went to sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor! It was so fun to hang out with friends and just sit around and talk!
Saturday, we hung around the house and then went to Aunt Jennifer's for cake and ice cream that afternoon! We were celebrating Father's Day, Nunno's Birthday AND Nunno's Retirement! She has two weeks to go! Isn't that awesome??!! It was especially fun to see Jack and Anna play together! They had a really fun time .... in a big box!
Yesterday, we spent Father's Day doing exactly what Daddy wanted to do (or more like eating what Daddy wanted!) We had french toast, bacon and watermelon for breakfast. Lunch was BLT's, pasta salad and chips....and for dinner (after the kids were asleep) we grilled filets, asparagus and baked potatoes! It was a fun day of eating! We finished the night with a good bottle of wine from Napa!
Besides eating... we went to church (Jack got to sing in the front with his Spirit Week friends) and we went to the pool for the afternoon! It was a fun day!
Jack really enjoyed Spirit Week last week. It was the first year he was old enough to attend! I got to volunteer on Friday in the Crafts Room (wow...I have not been that worn out in awhile!) He had fun and sings all the Spirit Week songs all the time! We were really happy he was able to go. It kind of created a logistical nightmare for us since it was from 9-12. Dropping off and picking him up was tough, but it worked out with some help from Poppa and neighbors! I think we will plan a little better if he goes next year!
A few Jack stories:
*Jack was singing (or chanting) his Spirit Week songs VERY loudly in the tub this week..."GROW IN FACE! CHANGE THE WORDS!!!" (Grow in Faith! Change the World!) We did help him get the words right!
*Jack went to get a "tissue" to wipe a boo boo off and trailed the toilet paper all the way to the living room...it didnt exactly tear off. He said, "I'm sorry...it's too much many!"
*Jack put Steven and I down for a nap Saturday morning. He read us two books (it's too cute to listen to him read his books. He will do it by memory and not miss any words!) covered us with a blanket and kissed us good night. Then he asked if we wanted a "little sip of water", and went to fill up a construction cone with pretend water. He closed the door and said we would go to the zoo after naps.
*During lunch with Poppa on Thursday at IHOP....Jack organized all the jelly jars by flavor in a tiered holder. He told Poppa they weren't in order. Then he stopped a waitress walking by their table to ask her "Do you have a bathroom?" because he needed to wash his hands.

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Happy baby girl in her highchair!

A little timid in the front of the church!

Jack at Spirit Week!

Nunno and all FIVE babies!

Lucy and Jake (cousins 2 weeks apart)

Jack and Anna looking at the deer in Jenn and John's backyard!

FUN IN A BOX!

Daddy and his babies! Nunno made their fun shirts!

Good times at the River!

2011-06-12T22:43:00.000-04:00

Last week was so great having Aunt Mimi and Great Granny here! They were a HUGE help watching Lucy for us since her nanny was on vacation! She was a sweet girl and behaved so well for them! They really had a great time together! They got to pick Jack up from school every day too and helped with laundry and dinner each night! That was just so awesome and it meant a lot to have them here with us! The kids really loved it!
We had another great weekend at Mimi and Papa's on Sapelo River! It is such an amazing setting and we always have such a great time....and great food! It's hard to describe how beautiful the view is on the river. It is something that Steven and I grew up loving and is such a treat to have a place like that to visit with family! We hope Jack and Lucy love it like we do!
We got in town LATE Thursday night (Well, actually early Friday morning..around 1:30am). The kids did great! They slept in the car and got right in bed when we got there. It was nice to wake up there Friday morning! We went crabbing (we caught about 6 blue crabs and 4 stone crabs), played in the river, sat on the porch, and hung out on the dock! The day ended with my ALL time favorite meal! Frank made homemade fried shrimp (shrimp he caught), hushpuppies, Judy's red rice, and homemade cole slaw (he uses dill pickles in it!) It is an amazing meal and I ate until I couldnt eat anymore! Saturday was more of the same except with lots of family to celebrate Mimi's birthday! Everyone played in the river and enjoyed time together! We grilled out hamburgers and hotdogs and had birthday cake! Last night we sat on the bluff with a glass of wine in the amazing breeze after the kids went to sleep! It was heavenly!
We came back to a very HOT Atlanta tonight. No river breeze here! Jack starts Spirit Week tomorrow (Vacation Bible School). I hope he will really enjoy it! It should be a fun week!

A few things:
Lucy is rocking on her hands and knees all the time! She is ready to go! It is so funny to watch! Jack gets beside her and does it too! He laughs and then shows her how to crawl. She still absolutely LOVES Jack. She goes crazy when he gets near her or talks to her. She is just so excited when he plays with her! Lucy seems to be doing so much better with other people the last couple of weeks! That makes us so happy!
Jack is really making us laugh these days. It is so funny the things he comes up with...the other day on the way home from school he said, "Hey Mommy! Guess what?!" So many little phrases he comes up with! Today he said, "Hey! I've got an idea! How about Daddy goes in the hammock and I get in the hammock, and you take a picture of us together?!" (I thought that was a fabulous idea!) He loves to negotiate with us on everything! In the car today on the way home he was trying to talk us into "one more movie" on the way home! He is such a sweetheart!

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AND A LITTLE COMPARISON.....

2011 River Baby

2010 River Baby

LOTS of birthdays!

2011-06-06T10:30:00.000-04:00

We spent most of the weeknd in Gainesville celebrating birthdays....BIG birthdays! Hossie celebrated 83 years and Granny celebrated her 80th! It was lots of fun and lots of family time! We also worked in some good down time at Poppa and Nunno's!

Saturday morning we got up and grilled out some burgers at the house and then headed to Gville for Hossie's party! Jack loved playing with Anna and Lucy got some good time with family too! We spent the evening in the backyard playing with Jack and Lucy loved swinging! Sunday we spent some more fun time in the backyard. Jack and Poppa ran through the spinklers and got soaked! After some good naps, we headed to Jennifer's (my first cousin) house with all of the Buffington family! It was a big pool party and the kids LOVED the water! Jack stayed in the whole time! He let Daddy throw him way up in the air across the pool. He would go all the way under and pop back up smiling! He has worn his floaties the past few times we have been to the pool and just goes all around the pool by himself. We are working on taking them off some and he is able to support himself on the noodle! Hopefully after some more practice we can spend some time working on swimming without them! WE had lots of birthday cake this weekend and lots of fun time with family!

On some other news.. Lucy is rocking on her knees now when she is playing. I am not sure how long before she is actually "crawling"...but she is definitely mobile on the ground! Watch out world! Jack is really working on how to spell words now and loves to guess the first letter of most words. He sounds it out and usually gets it right. He is even trying to write his name. He can do a "J A C" but hasn't quite gotten the K yet! They are really growing up!

Mimi and Granny are headed up today to help out with Lucy this week while her nanny is on vacation! We can't wait to have them here to visit! It should be a fun week!

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Sweet Lucy (holding her dress sucking the thumb)

Brother and Sister (watching a show!)

Jack and Anna (right before they jumped off the step to Poppa!)

Jack and Poppa running through the sprinkler!

Backyard fun!

Mommy and Lucy in the pool!

The Leonards playing in the pool!

Poppa with his Lucy

Jack and Lily on the BIG SEA TURTLE!

Lucy loving to splash!

Jack and Lily having so much fun together!

Jack and Lily helping blow out the candles!

Granny and her kids looking at the neat pictures from Maegan!

A Family Created by Love!

6 Months!

2011-06-02T21:30:00.000-04:00

Lucy Bear is 6 months old! She got a great report from Dr. G today!!! He was thrilled with her and also thinks she is pretty cute! She is 15lbs. 2oz (50%) and 26" long (75%). Those are the same % that Jack has always been! The funny part was that they weighed her and when they got to the room they said she weighed 17lbs 9oz!!!! I couldn't believe it! There is no way she gained that much weight! Luckily, we re-weighed her! I almost fell out the chair! Dr. G said her physical exam is perfect and that she is even ahead of some of her milestones. She can roll and scoot across the room and babbles lots of sounds! He is always impressed with their sleeping (We are too!) A few things about Lucy at 6 months...
Sleeping: She sleeps 12 hours at night (7:30p-7:30a) and takes 2 naps (9:30 and 2:00 - usually 2 hours each)
Eating: She is taking 5 bottles a day (around 6 oz. per bottle) and eats 2 meals a day (Rice cereal in the morning and rice cereal with a veggie at dinner) She sits in her Bumbo right on the table with us each night at dinner! Jack tells her she is doing a good job and she laughs at him! She loves her food and ATTACKS the spoon. It can be a bit messy! I am just about done with nursing. It's a little hard for me but makes it easier that Lucy and I kind of decided together. I just wasn't making very much so my body told me it was time to cut back. It would have been harder if I was making milk and then decided to stop but my body kind of did it for me. It would have been hard to go back to work pumping when I wasn't getting very much and my days can be busy and not always reliable to have a certain time to go. I am ok with it and know that I did my best and gave her all I could for 6 months! She has been a healthy and happy little girl!
Playing: She loves her Exersaucer but really loves just being on the floor. She almost won't lay on her back. She prefers to play on her tummy and move around the room. She loves getting her toys and putting them straight in her mouth! No one can make her laugh as much as Jack. He was pretending to fall off the couch tonight and she just giggled. He also likes to tickle her! She flaps and slams her arms down really hard when she gets excited!
Lucy seems to be getting a little better with the separation anxiety. She had a really great week with her nanny. That makes us so happy! She has been happy and playful and taken her naps! The first morning was a little off but the rest of the week has been good. That makes me relax so much more! Hoping with time she will be just like her brother and smile and wave when we leave! :)
The only other thing about Lucy these days is that she DROOLS ALL THE TIME! Oh, I dont know if I just dont remember Jack drooling this much or she is just excessive! What a mess! I almost feel like I should keep a bib on her all day long! She smiles and blows bubbles and drool all over you!

It's been a really fun 6 months and I can't imagine how much more fun it will be the next 6 months!

Here are a few comparison pictures! Do you know who is who?!

I guess it's that time...

2011-05-30T22:17:00.001-04:00

Well, 6 months went by way too quickly. I go back to work tomorrow! We had a very busy..but very FUN time during my maternity leave. I am very thankful to have had the time with Lucy! She is my sweet little girl and I am going to miss seeing her all day every day! It's very bittersweet for me, but I know that we will both do very well! I am proud of our little girl and I know she will be so strong! Wish us luck this week!

Sweet little girl!

How cute are those buns?!

Happy girl!

It was an interesting weekend! Filled with good and bad times... Steven left for Charlotte on Thursday. We always miss him when he is away! When I picked Jack up on Thursday afternoon his teacher mentioned that he was not 100% himself that day. After bath I noticed he felt warm and then he was up several times that night. Friday he was pretty pitiful. He would perk up after he had some Motrin and then spike a fever again. After being up again Friday night, we headed to the doctor on Saturday (luckily the office is open on Sat. mornings!) He didnt have any other symptoms besides a fever, so we waited 24 hours before going in.. Well, he had strep throat! That's Jack's first time having it and he had never complained about his throat and was eating so I had no idea! The good news is that it was easy to treat and after about 24 hours of taking his antibiotic he was doing much better! I brought my sick little man home from the doctor and set him up in our bed upstairs to watch a movie and stay quiet (also mainly to keep him away from Lucy) He was so pitiful. It broke my heart to see him not feeling good. Now, on a side note... Steven and I feel pretty strongly about Jack never sleeping in our bed (just a personal opinion and not a habit we ever want to have, but every family is different) and now I feel even stronger about it. Since Jack got to watch a movie in our bed while he was sick..he has asked the past two days to please get in our bed because it's so "comfy and soft"! Wow, I can't imagine if we had ever let him sleep there..even once! He also LOVED getting to watch that much TV! We were trying to keep him quiet and he did get to watch lots of it! We were back to reality today with the TV, but he has asked 100 times about watching another movie! So anyway... I am even more aware of how quickly a habit can be formed! Anyway .... We were VERY fortunate that Nannie was here for the weekend to help out! She was a big help and spent lots of good time with Lucy while I was taking care of the little man! Thanks so much Nannie! We even got to sneak away Saturday night for a MUCH anticipated James Taylor concert at Chastain. There aren't many things more "Atlanta" than a summer concert at Chastain! It was an amazing show and we had the best time! I was very sad that Steven missed it, but very happy to have such a fun date!

We met up with the Coopers and the concert!

This was a toast to Steven for not being there with us!

The weekend ended really great! Jack was back to himself and we went to the park to feed the ducks, we played in the backyard, grilled out hamburgers and hotdogs, and even made it to the pool this afternoon! Lucy LOVED her first trip to the pool! She splashed herself the whole time! It was a VERY nice Monday just the four of us!

Nannie and Lucy at the park

Jack feeding the ducks

Lucy playing in the yard while Daddy grilled out

Brother and Sister!

First watermelon of the season!

...and how do you rinse off all that watermelon?! Take your clothes off and run in the sprinkler!

Swimming at the pool!

Lucy splashing!

Daddy and his babies!

Blue eyes!

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A little adult time...

2011-05-23T21:06:00.001-04:00

Steven and I had our first night away from both kids since Lucy was born! It was really wonderful! We headed up to Highlands, NC for the night with Julie and Scott. We always have so much fun and this time was no exception! It was very hard for us (more for me) to leave Lucy for the first time over night. I have only been away from her for a few hours at a time and it was hard to leave for the night. She did really great with Poppa and Nunno which makes us so happy. Poppa called before we got to Highlands to tell us how she was smiling so big! That made our day and made us relax even more! It's always nice to hear that they are having a good time! And they ALWAYS are going to have a good time with Poppa and Nunno.
We did a lot of eating and shopping! Julie definitely helps me "pull the trigger" as she says with shopping. I am not a big shopper (I am sure most of you are laughing .. I KNOW I KNOW..I need to get better! I am great at buying Steven and the kids things..not so much for myself!) I found a CUTE dress for $15 and CUTE shoes for $18! Now even I couldn't pass that up! I even ended up going back to get that same dress in a different color! Two for $30! It was really nice to have no schedule and just walk around and talk! I think the boys did more walking around eating and drinking! There was no shortage of "free samples"! Everyone had fun! Thank you to Poppa and Nunno for that! It was so great for us!

(YES! That's my $15 dress!)

We got up and headed back to Gville Sunday morning to go to the Murphy Reunion (Dad's side of the family). It was nice to see all the family and Jack loved going to the "Big Rock" to play in the water with his cousins! By the time we got back to Atlanta it was around 4:30 and we were all wiped out. We literally couldnt wake up Jack to eat dinner. Poor little guy!

This is my last week of maternity leave... lots of mixed feelings about it, but no matter what it wont be as hard in a few weeks. Once we get back into that routine, I know it will be easier. The anticipation of leaving Lucy is hard.. I know it will get better! I have been so blessed to have such great time with the kids! We have packed LOTS into my time off and will continue to pack in lots on Mondays and Fridays! Today was our last Music Class. Both kids have really enjoyed it! I think it's our 5th session and everyone has been so fun!
Jack starts his new class this week and is excited about being "A Big Kid" in Miss Lauren's class! We will miss Miss Brittany and Miss Zanna! They have been so great!

Jack and Lucy with Miss Kim at Music Class

Lucy covered in drool and rice cereal (she LOVES it!)

Sweet big brother stopped to check on his baby sister

Jack playing Musical Chairs at his "End of Year" party at school (with the ladies!)

Mommy with her babies at Jack's school party

Jack and best bud Andrew with Miss Brittany and Miss Zanna (Andrew is our neighbor! They are best friends!)

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We got SLOBBERED!

2011-05-16T19:40:00.000-04:00

What a FUN day! If you haven't been to the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain..you should add it to your list! It was TRULY WILD!

Sunday, we got up and successfully made it to the 8am church service (after a late night out at BON JOVI and having to pack the family up for the whole day before leaving the house... I wasn't sure we would actually make it! BUT we did!) We really enjoyed the early service and both kids did great in the nursery playing. (So proud of Lucy... I didnt think it would go so well...we have been keeping her with us during the service..which means we dont get much out of the service) We then headed down the road to spend the day with the Coopers..and the animals! Caroline and Jack really had fun, but I think Daddy and Uncle Scott had the most fun! They were in the front of our luxury van. The windows in the front were the perfect size for a HUGE cow/bull/buffalo to fit it's head through! Literally, their heads were in their laps! They were COVERED in drool, slobber, dirt, food, etc! I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes... the pictures will not do it justice! Of course, the fact that we had our 5.5 month old with us on our adventure was pretty ~~scary~~ funny too! Luckily, Lucy was a very good girl and was entertained by our screams and laughter! We fed cows, buffalo, deer, pigs, horses, donkeys, llamas, zebra...and who knows what else! They all come right up to the van (open windows with just a small bar to protect our precious toddler's fingers! Luckily, they had a healthy fear of some of the larger animals. Jack would just say, "NO thank you cow..this is for the deer!")
There was also a part that we could walk and see animals. Most were caged and pretty scary! Lions, tigers, giraffes, bears, hienas (VERY scary looking), baboons, alligators..all kinds of things!

The Adventure team!

Our Safari guides..Jack and Caroline!

I wish this had sound effects (Jack imitating a sheep!)

Feeding the animals!

This giraffe was very nice.. but it also tried to eat Jack's shirt!

Mommy and Jack (notice the cow in the front window with Scott!)

Feeding a llama....seconds before it sneezed RIGHT in his face! Luckily, he thought it was funny!

Backseat fun!

Lucy enjoying all the excitement (from the safety of the center of the van!)

Hello Daddy! Mr. Buffalo got a little close!

The Leonards with the safari van

Our Brave Backseat Toddlers!

It was very exciting! I definitely think it will be something we will try again some day!
Lucy ended the adventure with a VERY dirty diaper (All the way up her back to her neck)...so we were now all literally covered in mess! When we got home...EVERYONE had a bath or shower immediately! Both kids were tired (and both parents), so we got in comfy clothes and watched Peter Pan. Lucy was asleep at 6:15 and Jack was in bed at 7:30! Whew...that much fun is tiring!

On another note...I go back to work in two weeks...it is very bittersweet for me. I am really hurting about leaving Lucy. I have loved my time with her and fall more in love with her everyday. BUT...I am also excited about getting back into work and having some time to be me and do something that I enjoy. I also feel like there were so many things that I didnt get done during my maternity leave. I feel very blessed to have gotten the time home with Lucy and to have some time just us. Our sweet little man is just loving school and about to start a new class! He is excited about it and continues to do so well! I hope that I will remember that Monday and Friday are my time to be with my children and not to catch up on all the other "stuff" there is to do.

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