Stone Mountain

 This past weekend we took our first visit of the season to Stone Mountain. Wow, have things changed from when I was a child! All I remember was a big mountain with a skylift, a historical museum, a nightly laser show, and a campground. Now, it's almost like a miniature theme park. We ended up getting a year long pass since there is so much to do. We started off with a trip to the indoor playground but it was a little too loud for Ethan so we didn't spend too much time in there. We walked past the water geysers(...thankfully, since we did not bring swimsuits) and the skyhike and headed for the train ride. It was a 5 mile ride around the base of the mountain and we knew Ethan would have a blast.

 Waiting for the train to start with his "cheese" face.

 Caden with Mommy...this was not a day that Mommy was prepared for pictures but Caden is adorable!

 

After the train ride, we walked past the miniature golf course, strolled through the museum, stopped for a snack, then strolled across the lawn on our way to the skylift to ride the gondola to the top of the mountain. Ben and I have walked to the top before and when the boys get older, I would love to do that again as a family.

Ethan and Daddy at the top of the mountain

What a day! And there is still more to do that we did not even attempt this time. Can't wait!

School's Out for Summer

I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful year for Ethan than this past one at Shadowbrook. We are excited that summer is here, but sad that we will not see Ms. Connie and Ms. Traci every week. The last few weeks of school were super busy and we loved every minute of it.

 Here is his performance at the Mother's Day Luncheon. I love how excited he is! You can just hear the little girl standing next to him, looking at him, and saying "calm down!"

 The end of year lunch

  Playing "tennis" with balloons at the end of year party

 Bouncing the balloons on the parachute

Then tossing the balloon through the hoop with Ms. Traci. Can you believe that the whole time everyone was playing, I did not hear one balloon pop!

 The infamous Ms. Connie! I love her Thank You card to our family for the end of the year. She thanked us for allowing Ethan to be part of their class and said he gave them more smiles every day than they've ever had and that his "wild at heart" personality was adorable. As a former teacher myself, I'm not sure those would have been my words :-) but I am so extremely thankful that they felt that way about him. I have to believe it because every time I spoke to either Connie or Traci, they were always grinning and had something to share with me that they thought was cute.

The infamous Ms. Traci! By this time, Ethan was growling like a lion because evidently that was a joke from earlier in the day during circle time. He was also tired of having his picture taken so he refused to look at the camera for Mommy. Traci was always quick with hugs for Ethan and I loved it when she came to get him from the car in the mornings. In her words, "He is always cracking us up." And another one of their lines was, "I don't think he has a mean bone in his body."  Of this one, I am truly grateful they felt this way...because if they came home with us, their opinion may change :-)

Caden Cuteness

LOVE this boy! He is so adorable and curious about everything! He's having a blast in the backyard now that the weather is perfect!

Wedding Weekend

We traveled to Alabama a few weekends ago to celebrate the marriage of a family friend. Ethan was asked to carry the 3rd generation family bible down the aisle to the pastor. And while he did an absolute fabulous job, Mommy stressed about the possibility of him dropping the bible to the end. There were SOOO many great picture opportunities over the weekend but I was so busy trying to make sure that Caden and Ethan were not creating chaos that I did not get to take out my camera. I only have a few random shots to show for the whole weekend :-(

 On our way, Ethan's first time to wear headphones. In the past, we've always played his movies through the car speakers. He thought he was such a big boy!

 I'm so disappointed! I was so caught up in getting him to smile for the photographers and walk down the aisle that I didn't get A SINGLE PICTURE of him in his suit holding the bible! This was at the reception after we had already changed him. It was SO hot that as soon as pictures were over, we put him in something cooler. Anyway, here he is checking out the dance floor trying to decide when to show his moves.

Such a sweet picture! 

Daddy and Caden relaxing in the hotel after all the festivities had died down.

First Braves Game

 We definitely had a busy weekend! Friday night was the Spring Fling, Saturday was Caden's birthday party, and Sunday was church and the boys very first Atlanta Braves game. I think Daddy was more excited than they were! Ben has been dreaming of taking the boys to a Braves game for years and since it was one of their rare mid-day games and it's not excruciatingly hot yet, it was a perfect day to go.

 So we finally get there, get seated, and the Braves score! Woo Hoo! The crowd goes wild, the music plays...and Ethan screams. The inconsolable, "I'm terrified" scream..and it didn't get any better. So, I don't have any great pictures of our 1st trip to the ball field because Daddy sat in our seats holding Caden who laughed and giggled the whole time while I put Ethan in Caden's stroller and we walked from one end of the stadium to the other...multiple times.

 The wary look that stayed on Ethan's face the whole afternoon

 Ethan quickly got bored with baseball, so we ended up watching the bulldozer(which he has been completely fascinated with for more than a year) do road construction on the interstate behind the stadium.

And that's our 1st Braves game.

Caden's Birthday Party

Party Day! His 1st birthday theme was cars, not the movie just regular ole' cars. He loves making the Vroom, Vroom sound every time he picks up and pushes a car around so it was a no-brainer. I wish I had taken more pictures of the decorations and party table, but with the craziness of the day that didn't happen until it was over. Although the food was set up inside, we planned for everything to take place outside.

 

We started the party with car shaped PB&J's and a few kid-friendly sides for lunch. Again, I wish I had taken a picture, but all thanks goes to Mimi because Mommy was running way behind getting everything set up!

 

Then we had a pre-cupcake dessert and made stoplights with graham crackers, frosting, and red, yellow, and green M&Ms.

After that, we went on a car hunt in the backyard. Ready, Set, Go!

A hunting we will go...

Then, we took our cars from the Car Hunt and made "Go" cars out of them to see who could push theirs to the finish line with a party blower.

Here's the birthday boy enjoying some "down" time. He's wearing his Vroom, Vroom, I'm 1 shirt that has a car and his name on it! Love it!!!

Finally, we moved back to the front yard to draw a city of buildings, cars, signs, clouds, and trees inside of the roads that had already been drawn for them.

The best Mimi in the whole wide world with our next door neighbor, Mrs. Brenda

Then it was finally time for smash cake and cupcakes. Love these! The smash cake is the same image that was on Caden's shirt and I ordered the cupcake toppers from a shop on Etsy. Can you tell we had a red and blue car theme?

 

After singing, the birthday boy went straight for the wheel on the car and had black hubcap ALL over his face! He loved every minute of it and he was having such a good time that you could hear him talking while he was digging in. This is him saying "Hee-Hee."

 

Then, everyone ate their cupcakes and big brother couldn't wait to get his hands on his! Lucy was more than happy to help with any crumbs. You can't tell but Ethan is wearing a car shirt, too :-)

 

After the party and naps, we changed into our 1 shirt (Thanks Haley! We still have the one you made for Reid and Ethan) and opened presents. Big brother happily assisted when Caden got side-tracked.

Happy Birthday, big boy! We hope you enjoyed your special day. We love you!

1st Birthday-Family Style

My baby is no longer a baby. He is now considered a toddler :-( This little guy is now 1 year old. Where did the time go??? I promise that it was just yesterday that he was sitting in his little swing in front of the window in his newborn swaddle. This precious boy is one of God's greatest blessings and I cannot imagine our life without his sweet smiles, laughter, and easy-going disposition. 

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE you Caden Lane!

Since his birthday fell in the middle of the week, we celebrated '"family style." Daddy and Ethan went on a scavenger hunt while Caden took his afternoon nap and came home with party hats, a huge balloon, and cupcakes. So we loaded up, picked up some dinner, and had a picnic dinner in the park! The weather was amazing and it was so enjoyable to be outside on our blanket eating our dinner. After dinner, we sang Happy Birthday to Caden and let him dig in. And, of course, both boys loved their cupcakes.

 Before we left...

 Checking out the hat

Yummy cupcake

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CADEN!

Spring Fling

 Friday night we headed to Shadowbrook for Ethan's school's Spring Fling. We almost thought we weren't going to make it! As soon as we got in the car and headed that way, the bottom fell out and it started pouring down. So much for our 30% chance of rain :-) Luckily, we were able to wait it out and still had a great time. By far, the highlight of the night for him was the pony ride! He LOVED every minute of it!

Ethan and Daddy have been practicing their baseball skills in the backyard, so this was right up his alley! While Ethan got to participate in several other games and "win" some prizes, the boys also let Mommy and Daddy spend a few minutes at the silent auction where we scored tickets to see The Producers! We can't wait for that date night!

Randomness

While Mommy is way behind in posting, here are a few random pictures that were just too cute not to post.

 

This little guy is always smiling! The sunshine of my day :-)

 This weekend, Ethan will be in his second wedding. He looks so handsome trying on his suit!

Ethan totally crashed on the floor in front of his door at nap time. Love this pic!