A new addition to the family

Now that Ryder and Harper are more independent and able to help out around the house, Andrew and I decided it was time to add a new member to the household. A four-legged friend, that is!! Both kids have been obsessed with dogs lately, and they even take turns crawling around the house, pretending to be puppies. This spring, after doing lots of research, Andrew and I agreed on the perfect breed for us--a smart, sweet, family-friendly, NON-SHEDDING labradoodle. :) After being dog free for just over two years, it has been fun getting the house ready to have a puppy again. The kids have been part of the entire process: from viewing all of the photos and videos from the breeder to choosing a dog bed, collar, and toys for the little guy. We chose a male because Andrew really wanted to name the dog Garcia; for those of you who may not know, Andrew is a huge Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead fan. The kids and I agreed that the name would fit our little fuzzy-haired puppy. He was born on July 19th and we were able to bring him home yesterday when he turned 8 weeks old. Andrew drove to Tampa to pick him up while the kids and I were at school and work, so Garcia met all of us one by one over the course of the day. He even paid a visit to Grann, who wasn't sure she wanted him to leave! It was love at first sight for all of us!! Not only does he look like an adorable stuffed animal, but he is sweet and cuddly too. He's sleeping (and dreaming, based on the twitching legs!) right next to me on the couch as I type. He would much rather sleep on our laps than in his crate, but we're determined to crate train him. Last night this meant Andrew sleeping on the floor next to the crate so Garcia wouldn't cry all night. I'm curious to see how tonight goes--it might be my turn on the floor!

Garcia (far left) and his brothers and sisters before heading to their new homes!

Harper was introducing Garcia to all of his new toys. :)

waiting in the car line to pick up Ryder from school

He's a great passenger!

instant buddies!

Garcia fell asleep, and Harper was thrilled that he was snuggled up next to her.

When Ryder got into the car, he was surprised how small Garcia is. 

Mom! He's even softer than my stuffed Cody puppy!

snoozing

another day in the car line

Yep...he's spoiled already! And he matches the couch so well that it's hard to find him!

such a sweet little face!

Andrew's shoes must not smell too bad!

Ryder starts Kindergarten!!

For the first time in several years, I was anxious about the first day of school. And this time it had nothing to do with me setting up a classroom or preparing lesson plans--I was nervous for my baby boy to head off to elementary school! Ryder has been so excited about starting Kindergarten, but I still felt anxious for him. How will drop-off and pickup go? Will he like his teacher? Will he make friends quickly? Will he speak up for himself if he needs something? And how will lunch go in the BIG cafeteria? Yikes! These thoughts would pop into my head at night when I was trying to fall asleep, and I had to tell myself that everything will be fine and he will adjust quickly to his new normal.

Last night as we talked about what our morning routine would be and what time we would need to leave the house, Ryder announced that he wanted Daddy to take him to school on the first day. Andrew and I looked at each other and agreed that the four of us could go together for drop-off. Then Ryder said, "No, just us boys in the jeep." Oh. I guess I wasn't invited. In my head I had already been picturing where I would park so I could walk him to his classroom and give him a big hug, so I was a little disappointed. But I was also happy that Ryder felt so excited and confident that he didn't need me to be there. So we stuck with Ryder's plan! The boys left the house together at 8am, and Harper and I left shortly after to go meet some other mommy friends for "our first-borns just started kindergarten and we need moral support" brunch. :) Of course I called Andrew once I knew school had started at 8:30, and he told me he walked Ryder to his classroom, they gave each other high-fives, and from the classroom window Andrew watched Ryder hang up his bag and go to his assigned table. Simple as that!

proud kindergartener!

Harper decided she wanted to be in the pictures too...

...but didn't necessarily want to smile!

Harper and I picked Ryder up at 3:15, and he was still smiling! I told him I wanted to hear all about his day and asked if he had a good time. He responded with, "I loved it! I can't wait to go back to Kindergarten tomorrow." Throughout the evening he filled us all in on details of his day: what he ate for lunch (because he insisted on buying lunch and using his newly memorized pin number in the cafeteria), the exercises he did in P.E., classmates who didn't raise their hands when they had a question, and that one of the classroom rules is 'be respectful'. I am thrilled that he had such a good time and proud of him for being so brave as he begins this new adventure!

showing off his hat he made at school today

And the homework begins!

Summer's last hurrah

We decided to end our summer with a bang and visit Legoland one more time before school started. Ryder and Harper both love it, which makes it a fun and easy getaway! We stayed overnight again at the hotel, so we had Thursday afternoon and Friday morning to enjoy the park. There were no lines for any of the rides, so the heat was all we had to contend with. And it really wasn't too bad for mid August! Pops and Grann met us for dinner Thursday night and stayed in a nearby hotel so they could go to the park with us on Friday. Ryder and Harper were eager to show them the best rides and new things they've tried since we all went together last summer. We rode several roller coasters, and Harper did all of them that her height would allow her to do--a couple of them twice! It was a fun way to wrap up summer and get ready for our new back to school routines!

We signed Ryder up for a class led by one of Legoland's "master builders." The participants each built a small school bus that they got to bring home. Andrew and his dad sat in the room with Ryder and said he could have taught the class! :)

Ryder was demonstrating to Pops how the floor whoopee cushion works!

Grann was such a good sport! She went on every ride the kids asked her to go on, roller coasters and all!

Ryder and I even went on a safari! ;)

cooling off on a water ride

Harper was a much better driver this time around!

I don't remember what we were talking about, but this looks like a serious boat-driving lesson!

Andrew splurged on a Lego kit for himself--a Volkswagen vanagon. He worked on it a couple hours by himself on Friday night, and then Ryder took over the build on Saturday. Andrew and I took turns supervising just to make sure Ryder didn't skip any steps, but it was amazing to watch our 5 year old build something that is recommended for ages 16 and up. With over 1300 pieces, this one will not get taken apart! It's now part of our home decor. :)

Lucky Thirteen

Last week Andrew and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary--how is that possible?? I remember this moment so clearly:

And here we are now; a few moves, two children, and several jobs later! I think we still look pretty good! :)

Over the weekend Pops and Grann offered to keep Ryder and Harper for a sleepover, so Andrew and I decided to get out of the house too and stay overnight at a beach cottage not far from home. We went out for dinner and then parked ourselves on the beach until dark--we talked, laughed, and sometimes just sat in complete silence, which never happens. Ha! It was wonderful! The majority of our Saturday was child-free as well, and there were times when Andrew would get fidgety or start pacing because it was too quiet. Boy, what did we do with our time before having children??

Meanwhile, Ryder and Harper had a great 24 hours with Pops and Grann.

Pizza and play time at the beach, pancakes for breakfast, a game of bowling (Harper won!), and just the excitement of a sleepover wore these kiddos out! They hadn't been back home for more than 20 minutes when this happened:

Was he planning on playing Legos? Or did his floor just look that comfortable?

Harper sort of just tipped over while playing.

This happened at 5 o'clock, so we tried waking them up around 6 to see if they were hungry and let them play a little while before bed. The effort was futile with Ryder--he said all he wanted to do was sleep, and proceeded to tuck himself into bed for the night! Harper woke up for a little while, had a bite to eat, and then went to bed easily. Andrew and I thought for sure that one of them would be wide awake and ready to play at 3am, but we ALL slept in until 7am the next morning. It was a wonderful weekend--the perfect balance of couple time and family time. :)

A day in Madison

We spent Monday in the Madison area with my sister and her family. After a short visit at their house, we headed to the children's museum where the three older cousins had fun playing and exploring while Madelynn and the grown-ups enjoyed the sights. :)

The boys enjoyed Parker's train table.

Madelynn bounced happily...

...while Harper "cooked" in the play kitchen.

Harper said, "Mommy! Take my picture with the penguin!"

Ryder and Parker in the hamster wheel.

Even Andrew gave it a whirl! (Ha! I love puns.) He decided that he would not want to be a hamster. :)

Ryder, Harper, and Parker loved this climbing contraption. They probably could have stayed in there the whole time if we had let them.

Yeehaw!

The rooftop of the museum had an awesome garden exhibit. There were plants, flowers, birds, and even real chickens! This lookout called the crow's nest gave the kiddos a view of the city. 

There were some very unique metal sculptures...

...and even a view of the capitol building!

Hi, little chickens!

Even David attempted the rock wall--ha!

Andrew and I couldn't get over the temperature--a dry 79 degrees! It felt like a fall or early winter day to us!

Ryder loved digging for earthworms in the dirt.

Parker and I went into the art room where he painted and washed a wall of plexiglass.

His favorite part was the squeegee.

These pictures were actually from dinner the night before. Ryder and Harper love baby Madelynn!!