James's 1st Birthday Beach Party

Birthday boy with cake on his face

James eating his cake

Brothers kissing on baby James

Waiting patiently for cake

Excited to blow out the candle

Perfect cake for a beach party

James and his Mimi

James on the beach

All 3 brothers

James and Mommy

I'm one lucky lady

Brothers on the boardwalk

Connor took this picture of us

Me and my boys

James and Connor

James enjoying the beach

Cute little Connor-bug

Starby the Starfish

The hermit crab Will caught

Connor at Pirate's Island Golf

James loving his pirate flag

James lining up his putt

The boys and their clubs

Weston's hole in one

James and Daddy

Connor's hole in one

Another hole in one for Weston

James and his silly daddy

James and Mommy at LuLu's

Popsicles after dinner

Playing at LuLu's

James's sweet little happy face

Connor loving on his little brother

James eating at the table

Daddy playing in the ocean with 2 of his boys

Connor and Daddy playing in the water

James napping on the beach

Connor playing in the suds

Daddy helping Weston jump waves

Teamwork

Boys and their buckets

Beautiful day at the beach

Weston flexing for the picture

Sweet little Connor man

James getting used to the sand

James in the room he shared with his brothers

     We celebrated James's birthday a week early in September, while we were at Orange Beach.  This was James's first trip to Orange Beach.  It took him a few minutes to get used to the sand, but then he had a great time.  He also played putt putt golf for the first time.
     We were lucky to find some really neat things on the beach.  We found lots of whole sand dollars.  Will caught two starfish in the boys' buckets.  Weston named his Starby, and Connor named his Hat.  Will also caught a hermit crab.  A nice lady brought us a soft-shell crab that she found.  We threw all of our "friends" back into the ocean, so they could live.
     On James's birthday dinner night, we grilled burgers and then enjoyed his birthday cake.  All three boys shared a room for the week, and somehow everyone managed to sleep well.  It was a great beach trip celebrating our baby boy turning one year old. 

First Day of School

Connor & James ready for Pre-K and Playschool

Weston excited about his first day of home-school

 

The Tuesday after Labor Day, Connor and James started school.  Connor is in Pre-K and James is in one year old playschool.  Both are having a great year so far.  We are really proud of Connor for practicing writing his letters and numbers, and for sitting to put together puzzles!  We hope this enthusiasm for learning continues all the way through school.  Connor's favorite thing about Pre-K so far is having a job each week.  Last week, he was the "caboose", so he got to turn off the lights when his class left the room. 

Weston started home-school the first week of August.  He just completed his first nine weeks term of Pre-First grade.  He is doing really well with his reading and math, and both are first grade curriculum.  He has a great attitude about school, and he works hard to get his work done each day.  It has been a really special bonding time for the two of us.  Weston's favorite part of school is the read-aloud time.  We cozy up together in a chair in the sunroom, and Weston always grabs my arm to place it around his neck.  I am so incredibly thankful that the Lord called me to home-school this year.  It has been such a blessing!

Connor's 4th Birthday Party

Connor, Grayson, & Marley playing in our backyard

The yummy cake

Weston wearing Connor's present from Miss Chloe

Connor and friends waiting for cake

Connor holding up 4 fingers with Marley

Daddy bringing in the cake

Connor with a cute grin on his face

Making a wish...

and blowing out the candles

Everyone quietly eating cake

Tatum and Lilly

Grandy and James with his chocolate cake face

Race Car Driver costume from Nana & Granddaddy

Pretending to drive a race car & making engine noises

Mommy holding the birthday boy in a headstand

On the Friday night of Labor Day weekend, we had Connor's 4th birthday party at our house.  We invited several of his classmates and their families.  I think there were 14 kids present, along with their parents.  It was a baseball-themed party, so we served hot dogs, chips, and a chocolate baseball cake.  We gave Cracker Jacks and Big League Chew bubblegum to our guests as party favors.  Connor practically opened each gift as his friends walked in the door.  He was trying to be sneaky, as he took his friends to the playroom, where they opened the gifts and played.  They also made their way into the dress-up closet.  Connor dressed up as Spider-Man, and Marley wore the Elmo costume the whole night!  The kids just ran around and had a great time together.  It was a lot of fun for the birthday boy.  He really had a blast! 

To the Redbirds Game for Connor's Birthday

Connor holding up his foam finger

Daddy and James

Playing around during the game

Weston posing in his Redbirds hat

Connor-bug and Mommy

Love my boys

Connor with Grandy, Weston, and Mimi

Grandy and Mimi

Singing Happy Birthday and eating cupcakes in the suite

The birthday boy

James having fun with Grandy

Mimi and Connor

In late August, Connor had a pre-birthday celebration in Memphis at the Redbirds Game.  He has been collecting baseball cards and requesting Take Me Out to the Ballgame for his bedtime song for a while now.  Since he is a big baseball fan, it was the perfect place to take him.  We got the boys Redbirds attire and foam fingers so they could root for the home team.  We ate ballpark food and watched the game.  Then, we sang Happy Birthday and ate cupcakes.  There were some other older boys sharing the suite with us that night, and Connor wanted to make sure they got to enjoy a cupcake, too!  That's just one of the many things I love about our Connor-bug!