At the Zoo with Grandpa

Grandpa (my dad) came into town over Labor Day Weekend for a quick visit.

We spent a lot of time talking and catching up, so not many pictures were taken over the weekend. However, we did make an excursion to the Montgomery Zoo while he was in town. Here were a few of my captures from our outing.

We stopped at the "bird house" first.

" Ooh, Momma! He's letting me hold him!"

We walked around and looked at the animals!

We even played in the zoo's park with Grandpa for a bit.

The littles pretended to be bears in a cave.

 

And, the littles took one final picture with Grandpa before we headed home for dinner.

It's been a couple of years since we've visited with Grandpa, so this time was precious to us. We love and miss him so much. We have a trip planned to visit him over the Thanksgiving holidays, so it won't be so long between visits this time. We can't wait!

Chloe's a First Grader!

Last Thursday, August 13th, was a big day for Chloe. It was her first day of First Grade!

I truly believe that this girl will change the world one day. She has so much ambition and drive for such a little person. She is confident in her abilities and that makes people trust her. I love the she has such a pure love for Jesus and wants the world to know of Him and His love for us. Maybe she will be a missionary one day, and maybe she won't, but I hope and pray that she never loses her pure love for Him! She makes me proud every day and constantly amazes me.

Here's a link to Chloe's first/last day Kindergarten pictures for comparison. (Try to keep the tears at bay while looking at these.)

We met Chloe's new teacher, Mrs. P, at Open House on the Monday before school started.

I can already tell that we're going to have a great year! Chloe wasn't so sure about summer ending and the start of the new school year. However, since Open House, she's been re-energized  and excited about her first grade year.

After Open House, we let the kids play in the school's garden for a bit.

Chloe received these bubbles in her back-to-school goodie bag from Mrs. P.

 

On the morning of her first day of school, we celebrated with a special back-to-school breakfast. The last couple of years, we've had a back-to-school lunch to celebrate, but it seemed more sensible to have a breakfast this year. It wasn't anything fancy, a few decorations and a breakfast casserole (that I prepped the night before) to start our day off right! I had Chloe's backpack monogrammed and bought a new school outfit for her doll, Marin.

Chloe wore her matching jumper on the second day of school.

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I was allowed to walk with Chloe to her classroom and snagged this picture just before she rushed me off. "Quickly, Momma."

It always seems like I get a little more emotional around the start of a new school year...another year closer to my babies leaving the nest:(  My ultimate goal as a parent is to make sure that my littles are prepared for the world, but it still makes me long for the days when I was their world. 

Have a great first grade year. Always let your light shine, my smart, confident, caring, sweet, and beautiful girl!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

I hope that everyone has a safe and fun 4th as we celebrate our great nation's independence! God bless America!!!

Blueberry Pickin'

Earlier this month, when we didn't have anything in particular to do on a Saturday, we decided to pick blueberries. I had seen a few pictures on social media of friends at blueberry farms and thought that it would be a fun summer activity to do with my littles. 

I also had ulterior motives. (Insert sinister laugh.) It was the perfect backdrop to take outdoor pictures. I already knew which dress that I wanted Chloe to wear. I would have dressed Evan in a plain white tee and blue jeans, but he didn't have a white tee, so we went with the next best thing, a navy tee.

Here were a few of my captures from our photo shoot the farm.

I intended to wake up early, so we could pick blueberries first thing in the morning. However, we didn't get out until after lunch, so it was hot. Despite the heat, the littles enjoyed themselves. They especially liked snacking on fresh blueberries all weekend. Yum!

Chloe's Last Day of Kindergarten

Here we are, less than a week away from the start of a new school year and I have yet to share Chloe's first day/last day pictures! I've been a total blogging slacker. I hope to have a few more summer posts up soon as well. (I'll be back-dating this post, so that it doesn't seem out of place if I ever get around to printing blog books in the future.)

Chloe's last day of Kindergarten was May 22, 2015.

Where does the time go?! Chloe lost her bangs during the school year and shot up a few more inches. She's longer and leaner, but that's mostly due to her love of all things outdoors. She has the bug bites, scrapes, and bruises to prove that! Her face is also more mature to me. She's turning into lovely little lady. (I would say a few more words, but I need to save some for her first day of 1st grade post:))

Since I'm in the blogging mood this evening, I thought that I'd also share her Kindergarten Honors Program.

" I see you!" I love the smile that Chloe flashed when she saw the fam and Nana in the balcony.

Chloe received her Kindergarten diploma from her teacher. She was announced by her teacher, Mrs. Wannamaker, but presented her award by the Principal.

She was also went on stage a second time when she was presented with a Principal's Award for making all G's (or A's). She was one of three kids in her class to receive it. To say that this momma's heart was bursting with pride would be an understatement. I'm so proud of my girl for her successful completion of kindergarten and first grade curriculum in one year! Since she attends an academic magnet school, she will be completing second grade curriculum during her first grade school year.

The finale was "First Grade, First Grade," set to the the tune of "New York, New York," being sung by all of the Kindergarten classes.

It was such a proud and sad moment realizing that my baby girl is growing up. She has a good head on her shoulders and goes into this world with such confidence; I know that she'll do just fine. I can't believe that I'll have a first grader in less than a week! Eek!