Big First for Kaden

Kaden learns to tie his shoes! Friday September 24th. Thanks to his "step-teacher" Ms.Sanford. I was so proud!

And the Birthday Celebration Begins

After Kendall's pedicure all of us girls headed to meet Keith, Kaden, my Dad, Ethan, and Keith's Mom who drove in from out of town for the weekend. It was the start of a 4 day celebration for Kendall's 2nd birthday. It has become tradition for us to eat dinner at Cheesecake Factory during our children's birthday so we all met up for the kickoff dinner. Kendall had fallen on the wooden steps in our garage earlier that week and so her swollen nose and black eye seemed to be getting worse by the day and some of the pictures were starting to show it :( But we all had a good time and Kendall enjoyed being serenaded and of course the yummy treats!

Kendall's First Pedicure

I decided once Kendall turned two it was time for her to get her first pedicure. I was a little skeptical that it would work out...but she did great! Her cousin Kylee came along, which I think helped as she wants to do everything her big girl cousins do as well as my Mom and Kendall's Godmother, Shay. Kendall sat completely upright and pointed out her little legs just perfect. She started to get a little wet sitting that close to the bowl so we decided to depants her :) and let her get a pedi in her diaper!!! Waiting to dry was a little bit more of a challenge...especially as I was trying to get a pedicure. But it turned out very cute...little tiny pink toes w/ a yellow flower on each of her big toes...completely fitting as her favorite color is yellow :)

A Day on the Lake

When I was in high school every Wednesday during the summer my Dad would rent two boats and my family w/ friends in tow would spend the day on the lake. It's some of my favorite memories...jumping from the cliffs, eating soggy sandwiches, tubing and soaking in the sun.
For my Dad's birthday last month, Keith, the kids & I decided to spend the afternoon revisiting one of my Dad's favorite hobbies. So we rented a boat, jetski, tube & packed a big lunch and set out on the lake w/ my parents and niece & nephew. We all had a great time! It was Kaden & Kendall's first time tubing and Kendall's first time on a jet ski...she did not go over 5mph as I threatened Keith's life if she were to fall off :) The best part of the day was to get away from the craziness that is our everyday lives of running a business...I don't think my Dad & Keith talked about work for more than 5 minutes, which is a huge victory in and of itself.

Kaden starts Kindergarden

I cried this morning sending my baby boy off to his first day of Kindergarden....shocker I know! But seriously when did he get so big. I told him I had happy tears b/c it seemed like yesterday I was bringing him home from the hospital and now here I am sending him to his first 'real' day of school. Kaden of course looked at me like I was crazy but gave me a kiss and told me "its going to be ok Mommy...I'm a big boy now!"
As I sat in the outrageously long carpool line to pick him up this afternoon I literally bit off all my fingernails waiting to see him and hear how his first day went. He came running down the ramp and high-fived Keith as he approached the car! He told us he made a 100 new friends, which coming from any other kid may be a little far fetched, but knowing Kaden there may have been some ounce of truth to it. He only remembered two names...Sam & Gabe. Kaden then proceeded to tell us that his teacher was funny and that he fell off a rock climbing wall...but with no scratches to bruises to prove it I think this may have been made up???
I asked him if everyone spoke English to which he replied "no one!" So I panicked again and then I asked him what English was and he was not sure...so we obviously need to work on that! I rephrased my question and asked him if everyone speaks like him and he said "oh yes"

We spent the July 4th weekend w/ great friends and family. It was the perfect weekend! Lots of cookouts, lots of sun and lots of festivities w/ laughing! We enjoyed a fireworks show at the club on the 3rd, which Kendall was terrified of so she sat in the car w/ Keith :( The actual 4th was spent w/ a relaxing day at my parents pool w/ my sisters and the kiddos. My parents put out a great spread of food for all of us to enjoy and even some slip n slides to entertain the kiddos. It turned out to be one of those perfect days that gets etched in your memory forever.

Baseball Season

Kaden has started to try out another sport this summer! Baseball season has started and it has turned out to be one of Kaden's favorites for sure so I'm sure we will be spending a lot of time at the ball field in the future. He actually pays attention when he's on the field, which is huge! He's not kicking dirt or hitting his teamate next to him as most of his teamates are doing. He also slides into home base every time he runs the bases. He thinks the dirtier his pants are the better he has played!

Like Mommy, Like Daughter

Before you judge...let me say I did not buy these matching outfits! My sister Lindsey and my Dad picked them up on one of their West Coast trips last year. I decided to wear them to a family dinner a couple of weeks ago in honor of my other sister Jenna's birthday and my niece, Kylee. How cute is this...she is going to hate when I show off this picture at her 16th birthday :)

Where will Kaden go to Kindergarden???

Well, I finally have an answer. Over the last few months Keith and I have been struggling with one of our son's biggest decisions so far...where to send him to school in the Fall to start Kindergarden. The school district we are located in was not an option for us, the best school in the county was simply too far, and both the private schools in town just didn't seem to have what we were looking for in terms of both academics and sports for the money. With all that said I think we were looking for excuses at all of these schools, b/c we simply wanted him to go to Cartersville Primary School. Its by far the best option but the problem was/is we don't live in the City. So in April we signed Kaden up for an out of district spot and then it was time to sit and wait. We could hear as late as the first week of school and with no back up plan I was stressed...a self pronounced planner this was not sitting well w/ me!
We got the phone call!!!! They have a spot for him at Cartersville!!! Keith came running up the stairs, phone in hand as I was giving the kids a bath. WE are going to celebrate by going out to dinner tonight :)

With all that said here are the pics from Kaden's pre-K graduation at First Pres, a school we adored but they are just a preschool...however, Kendall will be attending the two day two year old program in the Fall so we will be back.

Kaden made some great friends during his time at First Pres and many of them will be joining him next year at Cartersville including his best buddies for which he is soooo excited about...now here's hoping they get in the same class!

Needless to say I cried at his graduation. My little man is not so little anymore!

Kendall Dancing

Sent from my iPhone


So I realize this is not the most appropriate song for my children to listen to. However, after seeing Kendall dance to this song on the radio Keith had one of his employees go buy it at the store for one of our road trips. After we played it we realized it was the unedited version. So now we just lower the volume during the inappropriate parts!
With that said how funny is she!!!! She loves this song..."play boom boom"!...she says every time we get in a vehicle.

As we transition into baseball season from soccer season, I realize I forgot to post about Kaden's last soccer game and trophy presentation last month. Kaden and my nephew Ethan played on the same 6 and under team and really took it up a notch this year w/ their competitive nature. We had a great time watching them play every Tuesday and Thursday this Spring and look forward to the next season. The picture of Kendall & my niece Kylee tells the story of how they spent their time on the sidelines...listening to music and playing w/ the cell phones. Kendall adores her "KY-KY" so pretty much just does whatever she does :) Kendall's soccer sister outfit was the best way to cheer on her big brother!

Kaden's First Limo Ride

For Keith's birthday my parents bought tickets to the David Copperfield magic show at the Fox in Atlanta. We decided to make it a big night out w/ a fancy dinner and limo. Kaden was the only kid to come along w/ the grown ups, which was my parents, Ken & Lindsey and Keith & I. Needless to say, Kaden thought he was the coolest kid in the world...he kept saying he was like a "famous" person! After the show we headed off to the BlueRidge Grill in Buckhead for dinner. It was a perfect evening! Thanks, Lala & Pops :)

Kendall's Two Favorite Things!

Dogs & Babies!!!
My child has literally become obsessed by these things. If she sees a baby enter a restaurant she spends the rest of her time there waving, saying "Hi" and begging to go hold the baby (aka smother). And the same goes for dogs...if she hears one bark outside she immediately stops everything else and starts looking and repeating "dog-dog, dog-dog" She can't get enough. And then there is her baby cousin Journi, omg she goes to whole other level of obsessive compulsive when baby Journi is around...needs to hold her and tell her its ok and if she can't hold her she gets her baby doll and repeats everything Jenna, my sister, does w/ Journi.
The child is so deprived right!...she needs a new baby brother or sister (not happening now) so maybe its time to give in to my children's constant begging and get them a dog!

Curious George Play

In an effort to catch up on all the events of the past few months I wanted to backtrack and add some of my favorite pictures that I simply haven't had time to post. I turn my blog into books after so many posts so that my children will have a hard copy when they get older...who knows if they will appreciate it or not, but it is my goal to keep some sort of diary for them to look back upon.
So w/ that said I can't believe I forgot to post about our one night trip to Atlanta during spring break. We had too much going on with our businesses that week to go out of town so we decided to bring the kids on a mini getaway at the St. Regis in Atlanta. We spent the afternoon at the pool. Got all dressed up and went to a lovely dinner (in which Kaden broke a wine glass and spilt water everywhere and Kendall did a lot more crying than eating). Then we brought the kids to the Fox to enjoy the Curious George Live Performance, which they both did great at, even though I thought it was one of the worst plays I had ever been too. Then it was back to the hotel for dessert...yummy! The next day we went to the zoo and did some shopping. It was a great 24 hours :)