the graduate...

today was audrey's pre-k graduation at mitchell's place.......wow, so cute!! they have 4 classes at MP, the ladybugs, the butterflies, the songbirds & the flamingos....the ladybugs & butterflies sang a song together.....sibling love :)
then the other classes sang songs.....while the graduates were getting themselves all fixed up they showed an adorable slide show.....after that the march began.....dressed in their blue, in commenced the 2009 Graduating Class of Mitchell's Place....

audrey was the last one to get her diploma & she literally ran to mrs. sandy.....eat.her.up!!

audrey & her teacher mrs. nicole.......she is a great teacher...absolutely wonderful.....we were and are so blessed to know her & have her in our children's lives!

mrs. sandy.....another absolutely amazing, phenomenal woman....she is the educational director of the center and just a wonderful person....we are so lucky to have her!!

proud of our graduate!

....you all have heard me rave about mitchell's place before, so this is nothing new.....we are blessed, thankful & truly grateful to be part of such an amazing center.....they say they need us, the "typical" kids, but we have needed them too....the many, many things that audrey has learned, grown from this year are priceless!! and we were not sad today.....because we again have the privilege of being part of this family for several more years as grant is now an official member of the ladybug class!!

get ready mrs. claire........here comes the grant-man!!

ladies & gentlemen....

...i feel quite confident to say that round three goes to the parents!

....i am still a bit amazed at this whole process....pleasantly surprised.....because i am a parent i will use this opportunity to be a wee bit of a pessimist ~ does this mean potty training is going to tee-totally suck (for lack of a better word) !??!?!

one day at a time, one day at a time....

the time has come...

...to say good-bye to all pacis, pap-paps, pacifers.....let's pause for a moment of silence...

grant officially started mitchell's place today......and well, there's a no paci rule.....as parents we needed this.....someone to push us, to make us ~ i mean grant ~ give up the pap-pap....this should be interesting....

we told grant......"paci is all gone"....yea, he didn't believe us....as a matter of a fact he took himself into his room, found a paci, returned to the bedroom & commenced to watching some tv.....

round one - grant

think, think, think......there is no holiday figure to give it to ~ santa got audrey's, no new baby in the family to give it to, nothing.....first thought - the chipmunks!! i know you have heard me talk about those pesky critters before.....so, "dear grant," we said, "the chipmunks ate it off!!!" ....about that time brett went outside and cut the tip off....

he looked at his paci.....studied it intently.....stuck his finger in the hole.....tried to suck it....tried to bite it......then in one swift motion threw it to the ground.....not once but about 3 times....he would walk up to it, look at it, pick it up & throw it again....

round two - parental units

"my paci broke! my . paci . broke! MY PACI BROKE!!!" .....yes dear angel, your paci is broke....for good.

well as i type this the night is still young......brett has him cuddled up with his blankie ~ which i will NEVER take from him, that will have to be his choice!! ~ sitting in the recliner trying to settle into slumberland....about every 2-3 minutes i hear, "my paci broke, dares a hole in it."....he is just clutching it in his hand...for.the.love...this could be a long night.....hopefully not...

round three - undecided......we shall see tomorrow

i am realizing that this is as difficult for me as him, well almost.....realistically, grant is probably my last baby....i mean we have one of each, two beautiful & healthy children and are quite content.....though the thought does cross my mind from time to time :) so this is just one more thing to "give up"....he is growing up sooo fast, before my very eyes.....and as a mother, well, i'm just a bit sad.....ahhh, this too will pass....tomorrow he will be running me ragged & kicking my butt....i will have to re-read this post often :)

they can't stay sweet babies forever........can they???

cheer camp...

yes, close your mouth & hush.....i said cheer camp.....there i ate my words :)

well, not exactly...the cheerleaders at brett's school were hosting a little hour & a half camp today....brett took audrey to help support his girls....brett & i have nothing personally against cheering but if audrey would rather, say ummm ~ play softball, basketball, tennis, golf, etc. we would encourage it much, much more! so, we let audrey get it out of her system a little today & learn a few cheers and dances.....brett said she enjoyed it, of course she did ~ ugh! we will see how this all pans out over the years.....

yes, i am a mother...yes, i can eat.my.words with the best of them :)

sweet...

we had a great couple's shower last night....sara & tommy are going to be wonderful parents....love them!!

they are soooo dang cute!!!

sara needed to put her feet up! she is doing so great.....just a few more weeks babe!!

horton, i mean tommy, hears a who!

showering...

we are in georgia this weekend showering this awesome couple....

....sweet baby grey will be here in august & we just can't wait to meet him!! he is going to be welcomed by two amazing parents :)

when do we leave again??

that is honestly how i feel again this year....ready to go back to the beach as soon as we leave! i told brett today that i would love to go down there and stay till i'm ready to come home...i wonder how long that would take??

we had a wonderful time as always...we thoroughly enjoyed destin, the beach, family & spending time together....the food was amazing....yum-o! (you knew i would have to comment on the eating!!) the water was probably the most clear & beautiful i have seen it in years.....it made it very nice to swim & catch hermit crabs....

as usual we managed to cram a lot into our week.....going out to eat, morning coffee on the balcony, the beach, eating, beaching, painting, cooking, putt-putt, pool time, golfing, date night dinner, shopping, hula hooping, more eating, beaching, pool time, checking out the gators, collecting hermit crabs & shells, walking the beach, oh yeah ~ eating :), dinner & dancing, more putt-putt & rides, loving life & having a blast!!

here are a few great pics.....i had to do a slideshow for the rest....sorry, it has like 65 pics!! it was hard to narrow it down from 535!

at the beach....

....having a blast!!

more pics when we get home....here's a sneak peek :)

the water is so blue, so clear & so gorgeous this year!

gymnastics camp....

audrey had a great time at gymnastics camp this week....gymnastics, arts/crafts, waterplay, snacks ~ what more could a girl want?!?!

i think we are going to enroll her there for lessons in the fall....you know because with football, bible study, two kids starting new schools, & me working we might get a little bored...lol :)