Happy First Birthday, Isabelle!

We celebrated Isabelle's first birthday on Saturday, the 12th. Bill and I made comments to each other unbelieving one year had lapsed since Isabelle came into our lives. Where has the time gone? She is such a joy to us and adds so much to our family of five. Isabelle gets all our attention, especially with Ellie & Amelia. Happy Birthday!

Isabelle loves this rocking chair; mine when I was little.

She loved her cake!

Labor Day Weekend

We were off Labor Day Weekend with the girls out of school. We stayed home for three days and enjoyed the time together. It was perfect weather, so we set out on our first family bike ride. With helmets securely fastened and training wheels back on, we peddled towards Jason & Becky's house. After lots of encouragement, we made it! Luckily Jason & Becky were home.

11 Months

Welcome back as I sit down at the kitchen bar to catch you up on our latest. I couldn't resist posting this picture of Isabelle. I snapped it when she was "rambling" about something; not realizing I had the camera focused on her. She is 11 months and changing everyday. Ellie and Amelia love being "big sister" to her.

We had our first Parent-Teacher conference with each of Ellie & Amelia's teachers. They are doing extremely well for their first 3 weeks of school. Ellie has adjusted to First Grade and finds the challenges in her school work rewarding. Amelia keeps her teacher, "Miss" Leslie in stitches (so she says). Amelia is learning the boundaries that come with being in class and is writing her name proudly. Each morning I drop them off from the car and watch them march off to class. What big girls.

The pace at which Bill and I keep is demanding. Up early and to bed late, exhausted. I find very little time to squeeze in anything else. We are planning for Isabelle's first birthday just around the corner. Not real sure how 11 months snuck up on me. I do try and capture the special moments with the girls and make them count.

Starting Jr. Kindergarten

Amelia's "Phase-In" day for Jr. Kindergarten started Wednesday. She and PawPaw spend Monday & Tuesday together while Ellie was in school. After quizzing Ellie how each day went, Amelia was eager to share wild stories of what her and PawPaw did. Here are a few pictures of their adventures.

At the Wolfchase Mall

Amelia's teacher, "Miss Leslie" was Ellie's Jr. Kindergarten teacher. We loved her class two years ago, so we were relieved to learn Amelia would start kindergarten with her. Amelia, excited to carry her very own backpack, skipped down the Kindergarten hallway to her class. Since Wednesday was a "Phase-In" day, only a third of the class was present. This made for an easy transition. Amelia when quizzed later that evening, claimed she had "no tickets, no timeouts, and no bones pulled". She was quite proud of her first day.

Starting 1st Grade

After searching the house over for my SD card & coming up empty (it must be at work), I've decided to sit down and post our first week of school. That's right, no pictures for now. Check back later. Monday started early as the girls and I got up to begin Ellie's first day of 1st grade. I still hesitate when saying 1st grade. We had already visited Ellie's class and met her teacher, Ms. Ford last week at Harding's "Meet the Teacher". I could tell Ellie was nervously excited to get the day underway. She sat quietly in the back seat of the truck as the two of us headed to school. Me just chattering away in attempts to settle her uneasiness. I walked her to class in the Elementary Building where there was a hustle of parents, teachers, and students. The Elementary Building (new to us) houses 1st through 6th grade. This was a big step for Ellie. There was Ms. Ford ready to greet us with a smile and 22 other students. Ellie managed to make it through her day. The second day was even better. Each day Ellie comes home with something new to share.

More Summer Days

We enjoyed a swim day at our friend's house, Keith & Susan Griffin.

Our visit to the Pink Palace Museum

Fourth of July

We recently had Bill's sister & niece, Shirley and Micayla, visit us for part of the summer. We always enjoy them staying with us. We packed our gear and headed to Bartlett's Annual Fireworks to celebrate the 4th of July. PawPaw, Mimi, Aunt Janet, and Amy joined us. What a night!

Micayla, Ellie, and Amelia

Amy and the girls watching fireworks

Summer Days!

The girls started Summer Camp at Harding Academy. This provides a fun 'relaxed' learning environment. As a result, our mornings have also been 'relaxed'. I always say summer is meant to be causal and enjoyed. We have had a few splashes in our "kiddie" pool. Isabelle loves the water! The temperatures here have been extremely hot. Makes we wonder what August weather will be like.

Isabelle is 9 1/2 months & crawling. She pulls up on most anything in efforts to get a better view. She is definitely a "Mama's girl".

Isabelle and Aunt Janet

Look at that face!

Jacob at 11 months

Happy 4th Birthday, Amelia

Amelia turned 4! By special request, she had a Princess Party. Pink & Purple! We celebrated last Saturday with family. We have been talking about this and reciting our birthday date, June 30th. When queued she would eagerly look at you and say, "I'm turning four!"

We bought her a "scooter". Amelia enjoys outdoor play so much, this was a great present for her. In spite of the heat, she immediately had to go out and make her first ride, of course. I'll have to get some pictures of her on the scooter; helmet and all.

Tuesday evening, we went to Aunt Janet's house for a dinner celebration honoring our mother's birthday. She and Amelia share the same date just 60 years difference. Happy Birthday, Mimi!

Trip to Chattanooga

Bill & I took time off work, packed our bags, left all three girls with family, and headed to Chattanooga to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. This was a big adventure since it would be just the two of us! Bill had preplanned our 4 day get-away. We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Chattanooga, a beautiful city. This also happened to be the weekend of "RiverBend" a large music festival. Tonight we will go see fireworks! http://www.riverbendfestival.com/

Bill rented a 18ft Magnum ski-boat. We spent all day Friday out on Lake Chickamauga, and went up 72 miles on the Tennessee River! This was so much fun, in spite of getting sunburned. Today we went to the IMAX theater, along with the Tennessee Aquarium (which is a must see attraction). We kept telling each other the girls would love all the fish and sea life in the aquarium.

The girls would like this picture of me with "Happy Feet".

The weather has been perfect for all our outdoor activities. Here we are at Toni's Pasta restaurant. We have walked all over the downtown area and eaten at some of the finest.

Girl's Slumber Party

Aunt Janet, now settled in at Yorkhill, invited the girls over for a slumber party. Ellie & Amelia were looking forward to this all week. Can one bed fit that many girls?

Happy Graduation

Amelia officially graduated from the Early Childhood program at Harding Academy. She will be starting Jr. Kindergarten in the Fall. Each class presented a musical program for the parents in the school gymnasium. The students then paraded across the stage in cap & gown and were handed a miniature diploma. As I gazed from the crowd, I tried hard not to imagine Amelia in a few years. I don't want this to happen too fast. I said very little as I soaked up the moment. Mimi and I then made our way to Amelia's classroom. She spotted me among the sea of parents and ran to embrace me. "I did it, Mama".