So long, Summer!

As the temperatures outside are dropping (albeit ever so slightly), we are saying "so long" to summer. My dad's side of the family was scheduled to get together for a Labor Day picnic but it got rained out. We rescheduled for the next weekend and although not everyone was still able to come, we had a great time hanging out and enjoying what now seems to be like the last weekend of sunshine and pool time!

Katie isn't a water baby and preferred to run around the pool and hang out in the shade.

 

Katie and Lucas (he's 4, she's 2 1/2) had fun hanging out and talking together.  It was easy to forget they were "babies" as they told each stories and sipped their Juicy Juices together in the sun.  

 

My dad and his siblings. They haven't all been together in many years and it was a really special time together so we made sure to snap lots of pictures!

 

The cousin cousins.  Or second cousins or something like that.  All of these girls' parents are first cousins, so I need genealogy.com to tell me what that makes them to each other.  From left to right, there's Amilia 'Mimi', Katie(youngest), Sofia (oldest), Gracyn, Morgan, and Sierra.  These girls were hamming it up for the camera and could've had their pictures taken all day long! 

 

The boys, not so much.  They could've cared less about capturing family memories.  They made no effort to say "cheese" or "snufflepants" or anything.  But somehow, we managed to get a decent picture!  Back row, Jacob (oldest), Benjamin.  Front row, Lucas (youngest), Brycen, and Logan.

 

The first cousins!  We are the kids of the elders 3 pictures up...We're missing 5 of our first cousins, all of which are boys...Again, we haven't all been together in probably 10 years.  From left to right, Stacy, Michael, Cathy, Amanda, Michelle, me, David.  Not able to join us were Gabriel, Josh, Cary, Tim, and Scott.

 

The kids loved the pool and we had a hard time making sure they ate since their eyes were on the prize of the water!  We tired to get them all to hold still for a picture and this is about as successful as we could hope for!  The variations of bunny ears in this picture cracks me up!  Especially Lucas!

We had a great time celebrating FAMILY!  Many thanks to Aunt Betsy and Uncle Phil for opening their home to all of us for the day!  Special recognition to all the spouses/in-laws who aren't in any of these pictures...I'm sure you'd rather not have photo evidence of being linked to our family, but we love you just the same!  Thanks for being a part of the Wilhelm family!

Another Hash Mark

Last Thursday, I turned 31. 31 arrived with much less pomp and circumstance than 30, but it arrived nonetheless. If you know me well, you know that I love birthdays. I love other people's birthdays just as much as my own. Last year, when many of my friends turned 30, I loved being a part of the celebration! My dad turns 60 next year and I'm already thinking about fun things to do for that. But in the meantime, I got to celebrate my 31st birthday with some of my favorite people.

 

The Sunday before my birthday, Doug arranged for us to go to dinner with 2 other couples without all of our kids. We went to Miyabi's which is one of those Japanese restaurants where they cook in front of you. I am typically a champ at those types of places and clean my plate! But this place is different. I challenge anyone to finish their meal. 

The whole week of my birthday, I used my e-club coupons for free meals at places like Jason's Deli, McAlister's, and Moe's. My actual birthday was filled with pop ins at work from coworkers, a few gifts here and there, lunch with a fave friend, tons of facebook posts, and open house at Katie's school. 

On Saturday, we got together with some of Doug's family and my parents to celebrate again! We had fun watching the Gamecocks beat Georgia and eating subs and birthday cake! But this was not just any birthday cake. My dad took Katie for the morning on Saturday and helped her make a cake for me. She used a real mixer (with his help), licked the batter bowl, and helped with the icing and decorating. We're still not sure how it cracked down the middle, but I'm sure it had nothing to do with her. It was the best cake ever made by two super special people!

 

Thirty-one looks and feels a little different than I expected. I didn't expect wrinkles and cellulite this early, but when you sleep in your makeup and eat like I do, there's a recipe for disaster. Parts of my plan for my life aren't exactly in place as I would like. But there's so much selfishness in that statement, it's pitiful. However, I am constantly reminded of the blessings that I do have. I have a wonderful husband, my dream job, an incredible daughter, supportive friends and family, and a heavenly father who gave all of it to me despite me not deserving any of it. My hope for the future is rooted in the Lord. He has blessed me beyond measure for 31 years. This year, I want to grow in gratitude to Him for all that he has done. I can't wait to see what He has in store!

 

Paparazzi!

We've recently had a celebrity sighting around our house. Woody Cowboy (of Woody's Round Up and Toy Story fame) was spotted coming down the stairs last Saturday. Maybe it was because he didn't have his signature hat or his boots, but he clearly didn't want to be seen by our cameras. He nearly lost his footing which would've made for an even better story on E! News.

 

Rumor has it, he was partying all afternoon and into the evening with a certain Space Ranger but our sources can't confirm it.

Playdate

We got to have a rare playdate with some of my college friends on Saturday. The Callaways were in town from Dalton and headed over to The Children's Garden to let the kids run around and let the adults catch up!

There's a little house there that has different "stick your head in" spots. (What is the technical name for those things?) Don't they make a cute little flower and ladybug?

 

Next up was the 3 Little Bear garden area where Jackson and Katie took up stumps together!

 

Then Jackson headed to the lake. Katie knows there are alligators in that lake and raced behind him yelling "I'll keep you safe from alligators Jackson! Hold my hand!" Sadly, she never caught him. But somehow he still managed to stay safe!

 

Lastly, we hit up the stage at the Children's Garden. Katie on a stage = one proud mama! Granted she stood in a corner, wouldn't face us, and sang very quietly, but it's a start! Here Katie was singing Twinkle Twinkle and Jackson was singing a song about how God made him unique. It was quite the spectacle!

 

We had a great time spending time with friends that live too far away! We miss you guys and thanks for visiting with us!

Bookworm

We've gotten into a routine with our book reading. We always read before bed and then we frequently read before naps and at other times in the day to pass the time. At bedtime, I always say (in my head) we're going to read just 3 books, but it usually turns into 4 or 5.

Here's a typical lineup..
The Lady with the Alligator Purse - It's quick and has lots of repitition and I try to change up the little boy's name every time just to see if she's listening.

The Dr. Seuss trio - Again, these are quick books and Katie has most of The Foot Book memorized and helps us read it.

Madeline - This is actually one of my books from my childhood! There's some of my own scribbling inside the cover. It's kind of weird to hear Katie point out certain things in the book, like the Eiffel Tower and say "appendix", but she likes it.

The Kissing Hand - we read this over and over as we prepared to go back to preschool. Chester Raccoon is going to school and his mommy kisses his hand and tells him to hold it to his cheek to feel her love while he's at school. The other morning when I was headed to work, I told Katie I would miss her! She reached out her palm to me and said, "you can kiss my hand, mommy." Melted my heart.

Pete the Cat, I Love My White Shoes - we just got this book after a friend recommended it. It's funny and has a bunch of You Tube videos of kids singing the song from the book. Pete is walking in his white shoes and keeps stepping in things that turn his shoes different colors but Pete doesn't seem to care. But Katie does! She always asks, "Why he not walk on sidewalk like he mommy says." It cracks me up because there is no mommy in the story and Pete is so laid back and goes with the flow and Katie just wants him to follow rules!

 

The Baby Bible - another recommendation from a friend. It has Bible stories at around 5 sentences and each sentence has some sort of motion that goes with it. They're easy to remember and fun to act out. Her favorite one is Noah's Ark. She gets a little carried away making animal noises.

 

A few more favorites...
Duck in the Truck - this book has great rhymes and cute characters but I'm not so thrilled with the ending. The duck gets his truck stuck in the muck and enlists the help of a frog, a sheep, and a goat. They try lots of different ways to get him out and when he finally gets his truck unstuck, he leaves his friends stuck in the muck. So, we always have a bit of a talk after this one saying the duck wasn't very nice.

All By Myself - Who doesn't love Little Critter books? Everytime Katie asks for this one, I think she's saying she wants to read by herself and then I remember it's what the book is called. Gets me everytime!

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy - My favorite book ever. My mom brought this book back from London last year. Our cousin from Australia who lives there told her this was a classic Australian children's book; one she had read to all her boys. However, I was told I had to read the book in an English or Australian accent. Challenge accepted! If I was reading at a children's story time, I would definitely pick this book. Next time you're over, ask me for a reading and I will oblige (I'm now thinking in my English accent as I type).

 

We're trying to branch out and start getting more books from the library to change up the rotation, so hit me with some suggestions!