School's Out For Summer

Yesterday afternoon we officially started our summer break. The 2015-16 school year ended for students and the excitement of a little extra sleep, relaxed schedules, playing in the pool and long summer nights has us giddy.

Sweet boy got to drive his Pa's Camaro for the first time last weekend. He thought he was the cat's meow.

I found these pictures on Marcus's phone and they just melt my heart. That's one proud daddy and one little girl that reminded me of a porcelain doll with her recital makeup on. She LOVES makeup so she was all kinds of happy about her makeover.

I wasn't crazy about the idea of putting makeup on my three year old but it's all part of the theatrics so I put on my big girl panties and did it. She enjoyed every minute of it. I had to wake her up from a nap to get ready for her recital and the promise of putting on makeup made her hop right up.

I love how Jack is still attached to me while I apply. He always wants in the middle of the action, especially if it involves his mama.

Ta da! Our beautiful ballerina. She was proud as punch of herself.

Sunday we attended the gender reveal party for our friends James and Ashley. I wasn't sure for the longest time but finally decided I thought it was a boy and I was right! They had a huge gathering which is just a testament to how much this baby boy is loved already. Our friend Juleah came down and it was great to see her. Baby Boy Runion will be here in November and we can't wait!

Jackster checking out Ash's tassels. I think everybody there held him at least one time. He knows how to work the crowds.

I took a video of him walking all over the place with a balloon tied to his collar which we joked was to keep up with him and a buoy if he fell in the pool ha!

Sunday I celebrated six years of marriage to my person. He completes me in every way. We never take pictures together so a selfie (his favorite ha!) on the porch to commemorate the day will have to do. Thank you for giving me your last name and whole heart. I love you the most and happy anniversary, honey.

It's summertime! We have had constant rain lately but we're dressing like it's sunny and 75 anyway. And you know it's been a good morning when she will let you take her picture that early :)

If a week of sleeping in a big girl bed wasn't enough, she also decided she wanted to walk to her preschool's door (aka Grandmomma's house) by herself in the mornings. She told me "I can do it by myself" and then she said "Get back in the car!" HA! She didn't even want to share the sidewalk with her old mama. I tucked my tail and watched from the car window (Daddy had taken Jack). She's three going on thirteen.

School's out for summer! AKK ends their academic program and transitions to a summer schedule on the last day for public schools. She learned so much this year and I give them all the credit. She can identify every letter and sounds and can even recognize common words. She loves to be read to and likes to pretend to read. She actually told me tonight that she's ready for kindergarten. Thank goodness that is still two years away.

Lots of change from August to May. We fall more in love with her everyday. Watching her grow is a privilege. I am so so blessed to be her mom.

I hope everyone has a relaxing and safe Memorial Day Weekend! I'm so thankful for servicemen like my grandfather that made this day worth celebrating. Freedom isn't free and I'm forever grateful for that right they fought and died for.

Playschool Graduation

Last week was a doozy for us. Georgia transitioned to a big girl bed, had her first dance recital AND "graduated" from playschool. I felt like we jammed six months worth of milestones in six days instead. There was a lot of happiness and pride accompanied with acceptance that she is growing up. Growth is beautiful and humbling as a mom. I relish it and loathe it all at the same time.

Georgia went to three of the four playschool sessions and her graduation was on Thursday. She did amazing in her first two playschool classes and would walk into a room full of strangers and start playing without hesitation. The third session she became scared for some reason. That carried over to the beginning of the ceremony and she really wanted to cling to Mommy but reluctantly went with her class and teachers.

I was really thinking that she would not walk across the stage to receive her diploma but she surprised us and did amazing! She just needed a little backstage reassurance from Mommy and she was good to go. I love my baby girl.

She was in the youngest class that was mostly three year olds. Her favorite things about playschool were playing with playdough, eating lunch, rolling like a pig (?) and her big high school friend, Gracie.

Her friend Hudson received his diploma right before her and when she came back to her seat he pulled the seat out for her like a true gentleman. So sweet!

2016 playschool graduate

Even though Georgia is socialized on a weekly basis through preschool, I'm glad she had this opportunity to adapt to a new environment and meet new kiddos her age. She was forced out of her comfort zone and sometimes we have to get uncomfortable to grow and develop. I am so proud of how she overcame her fear. She amazes me everyday and makes me the proudest mommy on the planet.

First Dance Recital

Georgia Grace started taking ballet in January and on Saturday she had her very first dance recital. She LOVES to dance but I wasn't sure how being on a stage with bright lights and 300 people watching would go. She was also in four dances which gave me anxiety since she's just three and this is her first dance experience. There were lots of insecurities as a mom but I trusted her instructor and the process. After several years of dance myself I just knew it would all come together just in the nick of time.

The recital was called "The Four Seasons" and had 6-7 songs for every season. It was a true theatrical production. Georgia danced to Zippity-Doo-Dah, Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Teddy Bear's Picnic by Henry Hall and Let It Go by Disney.

My tiny ballerina who put on an amazing show for her first recital! She worked the crowd with lots of sweet grins and she did her best to be in the center of the stage as much as she could ;) I couldn't believe her stage/audience awareness and how she truly turned it on for the show. There were some practices that I wondered which Georgia we would get-wild, defiant, distracted, disinterested ha! Thankfully we got Georgia the dancing queen.

 

She loved getting to wear makeup. She would wear makeup everyday if I let her. This was our first true ballerina bun and after some practice we got the hang of it and it did not move the entire night.

The lighting was low because of the stage lights so I took some black and white pictures that I love. Don't let this picture fool you though, she sat down just long enough for a picture and then she was back up running around like the energizer bunny. She was totally in her element.
 

Here are a few pictures of the behind the scenes recital fun:

An ipad and food helped us survive dress rehearsal night.

We were in a gymnasium so a lot of this was going on :) This is our sweet friend Graceyn.

We had professional pictures made for every costume. This one was probably my favorite costume. I can't wait to see what the photographer captured.
 

Our Frozen group picture attempts were hysterical. This was our first attempt. It was two hours past our friend Analin's bedtime and she was rioting!

Her sweet mama tried though and stayed positive. I think we may submit these to The Ellen Show :)

And then show night our friend Hannah wasn't feeling the Frozen pic so her mama improvised. We make the best out of every situation. I love my fellow dance moms!

Lined up and ready for the opening act, Zippity-Doo-Dah. The baby class was the first group on stage and Georgia led the line, that was a proud moment for her.

After the show we snapped a picture of all the girls that go to AKK preschool together. You can tell how much they love each other. Sweet sweet friendships! 

Ms. Moira and Georgia, she was also my dance teacher two decades ago. I appreciate her teaching and instilling a love for dance in Georgia. She's still got it!

Daddy was so proud of his tiny dancer. I mainly stood in the back to help with costume changes but I spotted Daddy a few times during the show and he was grinning from ear to ear.

Jack was the best little boy during the recital. They said he made it to the last song and then started saying "bye bye" HA! He even spotted his sister and kept his eyes glued on her.

Baby butterflies practicing their opening number

I love this sweet picture that Holly took, they were grinning and happy the entire time.

The hide-and-seek part of Teddy Bear's Picnic

Thank you to all her family and friends that came to support her in her first recital. She had 27 people that came to watch her and four bouquets of flowers! The bigger the crowd the better she performs :) She is one very loved little girl.

Big Girl Bed

It might say May on the calendar but a cold front has come through and we are all about to freeze to death. Our warm March and April months spoiled us! I will be elated to have my sunny and 75 degree days back.

Jack boy is a teething bear these days. I know they hurt him and it just makes him cranky and emotional. I took Georgia Grace to dance and he stayed at Grandmomma's. He loves being outside but settled for a window view with Granddad. I'm hoping our window of teething is about to close!

We enjoyed some time outside playing before the temperatures dropped. Georgia has never been very comfortable on motorized vehicles. She built up the courage to drive it all the way down our driveway but requested her Daddy's hand while she did it :)

We do a lot of sidewalk chalk on the porch. It's a constant battle keeping the chalk out of Jack's mouth.

Happy to be outside and playing

I'm suppose to put makeup on this sweet face for her recital this weekend and it's killing me softly. I will be a terrible mom of teenagers. Please don't grow up too fast sister.

I don't take enough profile pictures of her. She has a perfect one according to her mama.

Saturday we attended our cousin Payton's graduation from Western Kentucky University. She received her Bachelor's degree in three years and graduated Summa Cum Laude. We are so proud of her!

I told her there are very few people I would wrangle two babies for 2 1/2 hours for but she is one of them :) She loves my babies so much and watches them for me every chance she gets. We were happy to celebrate the accomplishment with her!

He was skeptical but gave the graduation a thumbs up anyway :)

Nailed the family photo! At least we are all five in the picture :)

Jack recently decided he despises his high chair so I gave Georgia's booster seat a try and he was so much happier. Now they can both watch me cook and eat while I cook so they are not hungry for the meal. Happens every time.

This week has been a HUGE week for Georgia Grace. Sweet girl has been sleeping in her crib since she moved from a bassinet by the side of our bed at 12 weeks old. She has always been an excellent sleeper and has never tried to climb out of her crib or give us any reason to "change what's not broken". About a month ago (when we got back from Disney) she started talking about big girl beds. We knew then our crib days were coming to a close.

Her last night in her crib. This is where she rested for the first 3 1/2 years of her little life. She loved her crib. She felt safe and protected. Mommy and Daddy felt reassured that she was comfortable and secure. I have been sentimental about this as I have been every milestone we have hit. But it was time and I'm thankful we were able to ride the crib train as long as we did.

Here she was at 15 months old taking a 3 1/2 hour nap in her crib. I miss these days but wouldn't  trade preschool Georgia for anything.

And then this happened. It's probably my best piece of video footage I've captured of her. A little background on the bed-it was my mom's bedroom suite (there's also a dresser and mirror) from the 1960's that was passed down to me, then my sister and now Georgia Grace. We moved it to our house last weekend and Marcus came home yesterday afternoon and got everything set up so we could surprise her with it.

She was off the charts excited about her new big girl bed! We are one night in and she slept all night no problems. I pray the transition continues to be seamless for her. This milestone has made my heart swell. The nostalgia of it all is something special. 

I mean she was just the happiest. Sugar, honey, marshmallows, rainbows, ponies and puppies kind of happy. This night will be etched in my mind forever.

I tried to get a normal sleepy picture of her before I turned the light out but she couldn't stop smiling :) I like this one best.