Busy Times!

Things went a little crazy on us around here, and I had forgotten to blog.  I am back for now.  Averi went into the hospital the night of December 2nd with croup.  It hit her hard and fast, and she had the whole emergency room staff freaking out.  Thankfully she responded to the medicine quickly.  It wasn't anything 2 days in the hospital didn't cure.  The doctor said it is not common to have a recurrence of croup, but if it does happen it is never as bad as the first time.  Thank God for that!

Now to play catch up since August:

Evie had her first day of Pre-K in the middle of September.  It started 2 weeks later than normal because they just built a new children's wing that is great.  Evie loves every minute of it.  She has the same teacher as John Reagan had.  Poor Mrs. Steffanie has found out real quick that Miss Evie is not like John Reagan.  She has even commented several times on how Evie likes to talk.  Evie is also one of those who hears every word you say; however, it is questionable on whether she will actually do what is you say.  So you can imagine how that goes in the classroom.

 We celebrated Greg's and Averi's birthday in September as well.  Averi turned 2!  I still can't believe Little Miss Petite is 2.  She is a fireball to say the least.  And fearless.  She will attempt anything.  It is only by the grace of God we have not made several trips to the Emergency Room.  That and the fact that we pray over her all the time because she is just like her daddy, who by Averi's age had already experienced multiple broken bones.

We did our annual pumpkin carving in October with Greg's parents, Pawcaw and Nana.  Last year Pawcaw missed out because of work, but he made up for it this year.  John Reagan had Daddy's help with his pumpkin.

Evie had Nana's help.

Averi could have cared less about what was going on.  She spent all her time chasing Max with the dump truck.  Max loved it, of course.  Anytime he can get attention from the kiddos, he is in heaven.

Mommy spent my time taking pictures galore.

The finished products...

We also did a family campfire in October.  This is a favorite activity of the all 3 kids.  Anytime the weather gets slightly cool, they start asking and hagging until we get around to it.

How John Reagan likes to eat his campfire supper!

Averi just used the bread as a plate.  She picked everything out of it.

This is the season of the year we make and keep our family traditions, from pumpkin carving to campfires to gingerbread house making.  That will come next blog if baby doesn't come first.

August

I wish I had lots to say about the month of August, but truth be told, I don't remember much about it.  That is not good. 

The big event for the month was John Reagan starting 1st Grade.

 I look at these pictures and think, "Wow!  He has really grown."  But these pictures don't do justice to him right now.  He has grown so much since.  He looks like a 1st grader now and acts like one.  My buddy is growing up.  Sniff, sniff!  You know with John Reagan, there always has to be a silly picture.  Like his daddy he just can't help himself.

I'm a little worried Evie is the same way!

I thought you would be able to see the girls a little better in this picture.  This is mostly what August consisted of...playing outside as much as possible before school started.

I am having a hard time fathoming that this was 3 months ago.  All three of the kids have grown considerably since then.

John Reagan is doing well in school and loves it.  We have not had any problems with getting him into class this year.  Thank God!  His favorite part of it...he gets 3 recesses.  This is a very big deal to him.  He is so funny!

Evie and Averi have enjoyed their time together...just the 2 of them.  They have played extremely well together and honestly needed this time to bond. 

The biggest deal has been that we have all turned into morning people.  Greg's mom said not too long ago that she never thought she would see the day we were morning people.  It is true!  It is scary!

Evie turns 4!

Our Evie girl turned 4 this July!  It doesn't seem possible that she is already this big.  She was anxiously anticipating this day and wanted everything Hello Kitty!

Like her daddy, she doesn't mind being silly.  She loves to laugh and loves life in general.

She had a blast and got lots of Hello Kitty clothes and toys.  She likes being the center of attention when it is birthday celebration time.  She has grown so quickly!

Catch and Release

It's the beginning of last summer...

We had a turtle show up at our doorstep.  John Reagan and Evie wanted to keep the turtle and put it in the kiddie swimming pool.  So they fixed the turtle up.  The only problem was this was not an aquatic turtle.  When Daddy noticed the turtle swelling, he positioned a log "just so" for the turtle to escape.  Evie was devastated!  She went on and on and on and on (get my drift?) about this turtle telling everyone who would listen. 

Then came birthday time...

Uncle Anthony decided it would be a good idea for him and Aunt Paula to give Evie a turtle for her birthday, tank and all.  How sweet of them!

 A year later...

Mommy is tired of taking care of this turtle.  Do you know how nasty turtles like their tanks?  Too nasty for Mommy!  I moved the tank outside.  At this point, we had been working for months on convincing the kiddos to release the turtle into the lake.  We had been telling them how he needs to go "find a family."  Finally just before Evie's 4th birthday they decide the turtle would be better off in the wild.

Off we go as quickly as possible...

 Turtle took off like a bolt of lightening!

 We had to take what turtle food was left and dump it for turtle.  They wanted to make sure he was well taken care of.  Here they are taking turns dumping the food.

Since Averi somehow missed all the picture taking, I figured I would add one in for good measure.

As you can see she could have cared less about the festivities of the day!

We are happy to report there has been no sadness about turtle's release and very little talk about turtle.  For anyone who knows Evie, you know this is a BIG deal!  She still talks about the cat who ran away almost 2 years ago, and we STILL have to pray for the cat's return.

Baseball Fun

John Reagan played his third year of t-ball in the spring.  His birthday falls exactly 1 month after the cut off day for moving up.  They are pretty lenient in this area, but we chose to let him stay in t-ball and move up at the appropriate age.  We figured it couldn't hurt.  He had his best year as a result and as usual loved every minute of it.

I have no idea what that look is about.  Apparently we caught him in action.

I don't know if you know this, but t-ball takes a great deal of thought and concentration.  T-Ball ended in June.  Since August we have heard the question, "When does baseball start?" on a regular basis.  The boy loves it!  Daddy loves that John Reagan loves it.

Evie was still too young for t-ball this year...not that it mattered.  She informed us she did not want to play.  Oh my!  Even if she would have, we would have said no.  One practice would be all that it lasted.  We will see how she responds this next go round, but I am pretty sure the answer will be a firm "NO!"

Kindergarten Graduation

How is it that I have a child old enough to have Kindergarten Graduation this past school year?  I don't know.  Greg and I were talking last night about when we first brought John Reagan home and how it doesn't seem like he should be this big.

For graduation, each child had to do some sort of announcement. John Reagan did the "Welcome."  Then everyone had their own separate speaking part.  The whole class also had to recite 26 memory verses they learned throughout the year...one for each letter of the alphabet.  They all did great!

The big guy was ready to get started.  He was so excited!

 Of course they sang several songs as well.

 Evie girl always takes a nap at the wrong time, and she is not a morning person.  So you can imagine how she is when she wakes up.  This is what is taking place here.  She could have cared less about brother's graduation.

 Averi is always a good sport.  I am pretty sure by the look on her face she is getting her way here.  She had fun!

Looking at these pictures makes me realize how much John Reagan has grown over the summer.  Wow!  And to think in May we will be doing Pre-K graduation with Evie.

Life is definitely happening around here.  QUICKLY!!



John Reagan's 6th Birthday!

I can't believe our baby boy turned 6 this year.  Where has the time gone?  We had his party at The Zone in Ruston, which is an indoor sports complex.  It was burning up, even by the middle of May.  Note to self...good idea in the winter, bad idea as early as May.  But the kids did not seem to care.  They had a blast! 

Mario Kart was what the birthday boy requested.  I always swore I would NEVER make birthday cakes.  I HATE it!  God did not fashion me to be a baker/decorator.  The things you do for your kids.  I have officially made half of John Reagan's cakes over the years.

 We really didn't need the pizza.  Everyone filled up on juice and water staying hydrated.  We had at least a whole pizza left even after the adults dove in.  Another note to self...hot location, food not necessary.

 Evie had fun on the bouncies, but boy was she mad when we made her come eat a bite.

 And Averi, well she is happy the majority of the time.

All in all, John Reagan had a great birthday!  We usually do his party early so it will be close to the end of school.  As a result, he practically gets to celebrate the whole month of May.  What kid wouldn't love that?

On a completely different note, I absolutely dislike this new blogger format.  Arggg!  It makes me want to scream.  It is not my friend!  At least the final product looks right because it certainly doesn't in the "creating" process.

Ready for Summer!

I have had the pictures for this post downloaded for a week now.  Somewhere along the lines I got distracted and am just now making it back.  I would say that so far my summer blogging has not been great.  We are playing a "little" catch-up...but only a little.  We will stick to the highlights of the year.

We took the kiddos to the state park down the road, Jimmie Davis State Park.  Greg took John Reagan and Evie fishing while Averi ran around. 

Then we took them to the beach.  John Reagan and Evie loved it!  Averi, not so much.  Averi cannot stand ANYTHING to be on the bottom of her feet.  I have more pictures of her sitting on the floor picking dirt off her feet than anything else.  She did not like the sand messing up her nice, clean feet.

This was back in April, and we have heard the question ever since, "When are we going to the beach?" 

And they mean the "real" beach with white sand and the ocean, not the lake.

We have lots of "sea" shells to commemorate this day.

As you can see by John Reagan's picture, he has lost his first tooth.  I think this took place back in February or March (one of the two).  Since we have been back from our TN vacation, he has lost his second tooth.