Meet Coco!

Well we finally have added a puppy to our family. Our children could not be more thrilled. I know some of you that know me are thinking how...but it just happened. I was talking to my mom about 6 weeks ago and mentioned to her that at some point in the future we would get a dog for our kids. She was surprised and mentioned that her good friend Patty just had a litter of schnoodles (schnauzer/poodle mix) So I talked to Graham and we decided to go for it. Grandmommy told the kids about the puppy when we were vacationing in Florida together in early August. She said that she would keep the dog until Graham flew out to Texas at the end of August. Graham went out for a guys trip with my family this past weekend and had a great time deep sea fishing. (He caught some big ones too!) But I digressed, as far as my children were concerned his mission was to return with their new puppy Coco. (Chase came up with the name himself.) Graham got home yesterday evening with the puppy. Needless to say, it was difficult to get the boys to go to school today. I told them both we would meet them at their bus stops after school with Coco. (This helped some.) So we are enjoying having this little guy around. He is so sweet and precious as you can see. Lucky for me, my mom did a great job "potty training" him for the weeks she had him. (We are working on continuing her efforts.) Unlucky for my mom, she completely fell in love with Coco. She actually thought about getting the kids a different dog, but felt like they were already bonded to Coco through pictures and videos. It was a loving sacrifice on her part (Believe Me!) and we are so happy to have him. Thanks Mom!!! And a special thanks to Kristin for being willing to keep Coco at her house all the days mom had to work. Sorry about your carpet, but you really are an awesome Aunt!! To let you know how excited the kids are, yesterday morning Brinton came up to Chase and said, "Chase we are getting our puppy today. This day is going to change the rest of our lives!" So with that, our lives have been forever changed.:)

Our family is Growing!

It's about time for me to make the announcement that we are expecting! (Many of you know, but I need to make it official.) We are super excited to welcome another baby at the end of January. We should find out pink or blue in the next few weeks so stay tuned for the news. This has actually been a harder pregnancy for me than usual. I don't normally get sick, and the first trimester was filled with nausea this time. Our children (who found out at 6 weeks, but managed to keep the secret for almost 2 months) are thrilled. Brinton loves the idea of having another baby in our home. He coined our favorite phrase early on in the pregnancy when he said, "It's all for the cause Mom." He walked into the family room one day to give me some crackers and asked if I was feeling sick from the baby. When I told him I was, he thought about it for a moment and said, "Well Mom, it is all for the cause. I mean let's face it: you feel sick for a little while, but we end up getting a baby out of it. That seems like a pretty good deal to me." He has reminded me a few times since that this is all for the cause. I fortunately told Graham before we even got pregnant that I planned on being a Diva this pregnancy. I usually don't complain, or ask him to get me food I am craving, but this time things have changed. I mean, I am getting older, and it is kind of fun to have him make me grilled cheese sandwiches late at night. Thanks for being a good sport Honey!! Afterall, it is all for the cause!

Back to School!

Well it is that time again. The end of a wonderful summer, and the time to go back to school. Today was the day. I must say, I have been looking forward to it over the past week, but once it got here my excitement wore off. Brinton started 1st grade at Franklin West, and my little Chase is now in kindergarten there as well. It is always very emotional for me to leave my kids the first day of school...probably because when they actually start kindergarten it feels like the end of the "Mom & Me Era."
Anyway, the boys were relatively excited to begin school. Chase admitted when we got to his classroom that he was feeling a bit nervous. I am sure I compounded that by crying, but what is a mom supposed to do?! We got cute pics of them (as you can see) and then McKenna and I were on our own. (I am looking forward to having special alone time with just her.)
Chase is in half-day kindergarten so we picked him up from the bus stop before lunch time. I must say the 1st day of school excitement had worn off by then. I asked him about his day, and his reply was, "It was boring Mom. We didn't even have recess." When we got home and were eating lunch I tried to pry more. He said, "Mom we didn't do computers, we didn't do PE, we didn't do recess, we sang a little, but I didn't get to play instruments. It was boring. I already said that." So that was Chase's 1st day of public school in a nutshell. Later this afternoon, he did admit he had PE, but didn't recognize it as PE. He just was balancing a bean bag on his head and finger.
Brinton enjoyed his first day back. He seemed to enjoy his teacher and had fun seeing old friends. He did ask if I cried when I left them. I admitted I had and he smiled. I think he really enjoys knowing he is missed! I love you boys and am super proud of the wonderful guys you are becoming!!