Bradley turns 3!!!

opening up a cool remote control car from papa and gege
Rachel's sassy pose...don't know where she learned this one!

the cool shark that Bradley got

work that remote control, buddy!

still workin' it

(and looking like my daddy)

the MOST delicious dinosaur birthday cake ever!!!

from Sam's

the gang watching Bradley open presents

time to go splash around in our HUGE pool!!

(but we loved it!!)

I'm so happy with a dinosaur, a shark and a kiddie pool!

Thomas thought he needed a float in the kiddie pool! :)

just woke up...about to open my presents

(I think I look my handsome daddy did when he was a young boy!!!)

Birthday morning opening family presents

trying out the defective tent...it wouldn't stand up

Birthday afternoon...after a nap and with a new tent

Rach trying out the tunnel

Bradley in the new tent

It's hard to believe that our sweet Bradley is already 3 years old!!!! He has certainly become quite the charming and funny big boy! We had two celebrations...one with grandparents and cousins and one with just us. He got all kinds of great toys that he loves!! We bought him a tent that we ended up taking back because it was messed up. The one we replaced it with has a tunnel and the kids LOVE it! I think Bradley's favorite present was a cloth covered, battery operated triceratops that moves it's head and makes dinosaur noises. He still hasn't stopped carrying this one around! We ended up with a dinosaur cake (AGAIN) this year, but it was Bradley's party, so we didn't care. We were confused about what kind of cake he wanted about a week before the party because he was going back and forth between dinosaurs and pirates. But, we weren't even sure he knew exactly what pirates were, so we were afraid to go with that theme. Thankfully, Bradley was very excited when he saw his dinosaur cake...so excited that when he and Rachel went with Nick to pick it up, he was obsessed with it and wanted to open it, eat it, look at it, touch it, etc... It was very hard for him to wait till the party to eat any. As a result of his "patience" we did presents and cake first, then dinner. :) Hey, how often are you 3 and think things should go in this order?! :) His party was small this year...just family, which I think Bradley preferred. He loved getting to spend time with his cousins and grandparents and he wasn't overwhelmed by a huge crowd. We love our precious big boy so much and are so blessed to have him as our special middle child!

Happy 3rd Birthday sweet Bradley!!

Fernbank Museum

two cuties in front of some gigantic dinos!

Nick and the kids under a 123 foot long dino.

Sweet Trent enjoyed the museum and his rattle...

Rachel said his camo overalls made him look like he

"was going to go shoot a deer"

just your everyday lion!

Nick and Bradley make giant bubbles

2 of my precious kids at an exhibit that we couldn't figure out

Nick, Rach & Brad walking into a cave

their hands were in the footprint of a dinosaur!!

Nick and I took the kids to Fernbank a couple of weeks ago and it was a blast!!!! We knew Bradley would love it with all the dinosaurs, but both kids were equally as excited. They just walked around in awe of everything they saw. There were so many exhibits, like dinosaurs, but there were also early American artifacts, a shells exhibit, a star-cyclorama thing with the constellations, an Okefenokee exhibit and 2 small children's interactive areas where the kids could play and experiment with things. There was a really cool interactive/experiment area for older kids and adults where we got to try all sorts of illusions and mind games. We had such a GREAT time exploring the whole museum and the kids were sad when we had to leave. Even Trent had fun...using a stroller for the first time ever...and he didn't complain or fuss the entire day!! We can't wait to go back OR try another neat museum!

SO many changes...

Okay, so the pictures I'm posting are from Rachel's 1st day of Kindergarten at Monroe Elementary. Nick and I had discussed many options before Kindergarten began and we thought we should at least give public school a "go". Well, Rachel LOVED it...the teacher, the class, the lunch, her bookbag and lunchbox, her new friends...etc... The problem is, Nick and I weren't so sure. The make-up of the school was much more diverse than we had thought...(I'm not even sure that there was another white girl in Rachel's class) plus the school system is less than status quo AND it was a 15 mile drive one way...so that would be about 60 miles every day since we would not even consider letting her ride the schoolbus. Anyway, we have decided to homeschool our precious girl. I was so apprehensive at first when we discussed this option, thinking that there was NO way I would be able to teach Rachel anything with Bradley and Trent at home. But, then I figured, I could do as good a job as the school she was going to be attending and it would just take some adjusting our schedule to make it work. So, we have become a homeschooling family...for the time being anyway. We will re-evaluate when we sell our house and see if homeschooling is working for us or not. I'm actually excited that I get to teach my daughter, who is so precious to me and who I've always loved spending every minute with. I'm not denying that it won't be challenging, but I know it will be worth it. We'll have some trial and error as we see how we can plan our day and how the boys handle it! I feel so lucky that I get to keep Rachel at home...I always thought she would have a "normal" Kindergarten experience away from home. Anyway, I'm sure I'll have LOTS to blog about homeschooling and the many joys that it brings.