Grandpals Day.

Fawn was a lucky boy to have all four grandparents accompany him to Grandpals Day at BWF. They sang songs in the auditorium and then went to the cafeteria for breakfast and then back to the classroom for a tour. Fawn got to read to them and show them around. He said it was a special day -- and his grandparents thought it was pretty awesome too.

Signing his name on the fancy board.

Mimi and Pops.

Lulu and Doc.

Lots of love for this special kindergartener.

Easter Happenings.

Like with the Advent, it was so different to lead up to a holiday with Fawn in big school. We just didn't have the time to focus on the season for weeks and weeks. And like with Advent, that was actually wonderful. We spent the weeks of Lent reading from the Jesus Storybook Bible. While if you do it every day you make it to the resurrection on Easter, we were a bit off schedule. We only made it through the Old Testament and then read the stories from Palm Sunday to the giving of the Holy Spirit. I think it was a great exercise for all of us, though, and I see the Word of God finding a place in their little hearts, which is such a joy for this mama.

We did brave the Overton Park Easter Egg Hunt for the first time. It was so well done and a huge hit. They went all out with the Easter eggs -- there were TONS of them. Plenty for all the children to go home with a stuffed basket. After the hunt there were all sorts of carnival games and face painting to enjoy. Not to mention a visit from the Easter Bunny.

While most children were dressed in their Easter finest, my boys were dressed like this.

Fawn got a NC on his face for North Carolina. At the end of the season he got super into UNC basketball, memorized the fight song, watched basketball games, and declared his undying allegiance to the Tar Heels.

Spring Break was the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. Fawn got to participate in the waving of the palm branches at Covenant. Just precious to watch those children. We also made resurrection rolls, and the boys were really into it this year. And we dyed Easter eggs. Plenty of preparation for an awesome Easter Sunday.

They were more excited than they look to decorate eggs! It was so hot -- almost 90 degrees! I threw the eggs away because I was a little worried about food poisoning.

I just love the smile with the missing tooth.

And this guy melts my heart.

He is just so cute.

A truly blessed Easter with these two.

Donuts with Dad; Small Fry Style.

It was finally time for Small Fry's special time with Buck at IPC Day School for Dinner with Dad. But, Mother Nature had other plans in the form of an ice storm that never materialized. Thankfully, IPC rescheduled to a morning event -- Donuts for Dad. Small Fry was so excited to take Buck to school with him. And Buck made the day even more exciting by taking Small Fry a "secret way" to IPC. He's been begging Daddy to take him to school ever since.

Thumbs up to a special day with Daddy!

February and March Catch Up.

One word to describe our time since Small Fry's third birthday: BLUR.

As a family, February is always our "sick" time and this year was no exception. We all spent mid-February dealing with the winter crud -- just colds and coughs but all four of us were down for the count. We are like clockwork. You can count on us to be sick for Buck's birthday every year. I was hoping that once the crud left our house we would be home free until spring...not so fast. The stomach bug arrived with a flourish. Small Fry had a touch of it, followed by a marathon stretch for Fawn. He was sick, sick, sick. Which made the migraines go crazy. Sweet Fawn was a trooper, but poor buddy had it rough for several weeks. He missed tons of school, but finally seems to be on the mend (though he's home with a migraine now as I type this!). Speaking of migraines, we had our six-month check up with Dr. Mathison this week. We are increasing his preventative medication in hopes that a small increase will pay off in dividends in migraine prevention. My prayer for Fawn is two-fold, one that he will grow out of them and sooner rather than later and two that God will show us how He is using these for good and for His glory. Small Fry was a bookend of the sickness with a small bout of croup, but it was well-controlled which gives me great hope that he is on his way out of this scary stage!

This guy was a trooper too -- as we cared for big brother for weeks.

Interspersed with sickness was mother nature, who chose to scare us with winter weather that never quite materialized. The boys missed two full days of school. One was for a snow storm that didn't arrive until 8 pm at which point the boys were asleep and we lost power and couldn't even see the snow. Buck made the strategic error of promising snow about 2 pm. It was a long afternoon, and I doubt he will make such a bold winter weather prediction again. The other was for an ice storm that never materialized. Though it did start sleeting at the exact moment Small Fry had an altercation with the train table, likely got a concussion, and probably should have been checked out by a doctor. On top of the missed days, were four delayed starts which did nothing but mess with schedules, cause Small Fry to miss gymnastics, and (thankfully!) allow for some lazy mornings.

I mean it was quite the goose egg.

Wowzers.

We have enjoyed some great weekends. Buck and I enjoyed my happy place -- The Grand Hotel in Fairhope -- the last weekend in February. It was a great, super-fun getaway. I look forward to that weekend every year. And, we all went to the farm the first weekend in March for youth turkey weekend. Beautiful sunshine, lovely spring...it was a great way to spend a family weekend.

"Hunting" at 6 am while the big guys are really hunting.

The boys both got haircuts, which were long overdue. Fawn got a buzz cut. I had been fighting it, but his super thick hair was out of control. And guess what? I absolutely love it. He has the perfect head of hair for a buzz. He looks precious -- and blonder -- and older. He loves it and has put "Buzz" on his list of approved nicknames. Small Fry is waiting for his own buzz cut. I told him he had to wait until after we get his picture made this summer and he seems fine with that. He loves to play the "baby" card around here and I think he knows that babies don't have buzz cuts.

Before.

Before.

After.

After.

Baseball has started -- kind of -- the weather has prevented most practices and our only game so far. Buck is coaching again, which Fawn loves. And Fawn is really enjoying learning the fundamentals. I have discovered Zumba -- where have I been for the past five years? Loving it! And loving this spring jogging weather. You know what else we are loving around here...all things neon, Under Armor, and big boy.

What color are your shoes Small Fry?

They bright.

If he had his way, I would wash his Under Armor every night.

Neon + Tall Socks = Super Cool

Looking forward to Spring with these awesome boys!

Sweet and Funny.

I know I gave up the Friday Funnies blog posts awhile ago, but I had to share this gem from Fawn.

The boys were fighting playing rough and Fawn was kicking. I asked him to not kick. "Mom, I am not kicking, I am pushing with my feet." 

But then he can also be just the sweetest thing. The other night when I was getting him ready for bed he said, "Mom, God is my first favorite person because he made you my mommy." Sigh. 

Love him.

Small Fry is THREE!

Oh to describe this precious life at three. Wow, I can hardly begin. First of all, it's amazing to think that when Fawn was three we were welcoming Small Fry into our family. Fawn seemed so grown up; and Small Fry still seems so childlike. I actually think they are at just about the same place developmentally and it's really all just relative. In 2012, I was comparing Fawn to an infant -- he did seem grown up. Now I'm comparing Small Fry to a six year old.

While I know I had three amazing years as a mom to Fawn before Small Fry entered our family, I truly cannot imagine life before Small Fry. He is so much a part of us that I don't know how we functioned before him. And, when "they say" love multiplies "they" are so right. Not only has our capacity as parents to love increased (love is patient, in the words of Paul, and more children means more patience), but the love between our children is something this house was missing before there was Small Fry. As one of the boys' favorite books says, "Life is truly twice as fun since you came along." No statement could be more true of Small Fry.

He has grown up so much in the past year. He is potty trained -- woo hoo! -- and did so easily. It was a breeze, and for that this mama is thankful. He can participate in just about any outdoor activity with his older brother -- pedaling a tricycle, playing whatever pretend game Fawn has thought up, and giving his best to any athletic endeavor. He still loves balls -- and loves to be active. We've started gymnastics, which he loves. He is a strong little guy and determined. He sleeps in a big boy bed, and has given up naps (no sorrow here -- I love the extra time with him and not being on a schedule). And he does carpool at school -- morning and afternoon. Just goes on his merry way to get on with his day.

Small Fry is SMALL. He hasn't gained much if any weight since his first birthday. And, has gotten just a bit taller coming in at less than the 10th percent on the scale. We're hoping his eating will improve and he will hit a growth spurt here soon. He's not a terribly picky eater, but it's hard to keep him still or focused for long enough to eat a ton. His favorite foods are almonds, strawberries, scrambled eggs, and macaroni and cheese. He does not like carbonated drinks (yay!), but loves apple juice and Gatorade. He will pretend to be sick so he can have Gatorade. And speaking of being sick, when he is sick (which has been a lot this winter), he insists on a milkshake. Like father, like son.

Small Fry has transitioned to IPC Day School effortlessly and absolutely loves school. He does not, however, like church. He pretends to not know much from school, for example he will not under any circumstance let on that he knows the ABCs but then I will catch him singing them when no one is looking. He is not as likely to grab a stack of books for me to read like Fawn was at this age. But if a book is being read, he hangs on every word and is so attentive. He likes to play near other children, but aside from interacting with Fawn, he is not social. He prefers to keep his circle small. He still loves Mickey Mouse, but is starting to be interested in all the things Fawn loves (TMNT, Transformers, super heroes). When it's just the two of us at home he is much more likely to play with age appropriate toys. He has a style all his own. Boots whenever at all appropriate and what he refers to as hipster clothes. Think hoodies and stripes and jeans. He will not wear any of the cutesy clothes I made for and dressed Fawn in at this age. He's just growing up so fast.

His sweet little voice I could bottle up for the rest of time. I love the way he says "that because" whenever he's asked why. And how "all" comes out more like "awl" and little is "wittwe". And, I even love that he calls me "Fat Belly" and Buck "Big Ole".  Small Fry, your Fat Belly and your Big Ole and your Bubby love you more than you will ever know. We are so very thankful for you each day.

Celebrating Small Fry's Third Birthday.

Right on the heels of Fawn's birthday, Small Fry turned three on Sunday, February 8th. This year we wanted to do something to celebrate him. When Fawn turned three we had his first "real" birthday party with friends and such so I just assumed we would do the same for Small Fry. He, however, had other plans.

When I would ask and try to figure out what he would enjoy he was absolutely against any birthday party with his friends. "I not want nobody at my birthday" and "I not want no party" were heard and heard frequently in our house. Small Fry is a strong willed child and I knew not to push it. If he didn't want a party or friends at a party I was not going to force it. So we tried to think of something fun to do for his party -- just the four of us -- to make the day special. Small Fry came up with horseback riding. And, after lots of Google searching and phone calls, I found a stable south of Birmingham that starts lessons at three years old. So we set up private lessons for Small Fry and Fawn and I got them cute cowboy stuff for goodie bags. We were also going to have the grandparents over for a fun birthday dinner. Everyone seemed super excited about this plan...until January 25th (otherwise known as the night of Fawn's birthday party) when Small Fry announced that he was having a hunting party just like his brother. Awesome.

He was still set on his new birthday plan the next morning. So, we cancelled our horseback riding lessons, went to Smith's in search of extra camo paper products (score!), and took all of our cowboy and western paraphernalia back to Party City. Small Fry was still set on just his family being with him on his birthday. He is not my social child! I did want to do something with his class to celebrate, though, so I arranged to take treats the Friday before his birthday so he would have some experience of celebrating with friends. The week of his birthday we went to Hobby Lobby for paper products and a favor for his classmates -- of all things he picked pirates even though there was both camo/hunting and cowboy stuff to also choose from.

The Friday before his birthday, he got the full treatment at school -- birthday crown and all. I came after lunch with a birthday balloon, iced sugar cookies, and pirate patches for the kids. He loved passing out treats and pirate eye patches to all of his friends. Then they sang to him and it was the sweetest thing.

Mr. Non-Cooperative

Buck was out of town for work and I thought he wouldn't be home until Sunday afternoon...but being the A+ dad he is, he booked an earlier flight and arrived Saturday night and surprised us. He was home for his baby's birthday and it was awesome! We woke up as a family on Sunday to celebrate Small Fry with cinnamon rolls. Then it was church, lunch, and a mommy/Small Fry play date at the park while Fawn went to a birthday party. The grandparents plus Uncle Ben (Aunt Allison was sick) came over at 5 pm for some Nerf action (we didn't really get out any of the other hunting games) and dinner. Dinner was followed by presents galore -- Small Fry loved every minute -- plus the exact same duck hunting cake that Fawn chose. Only difference...Small Fry actually figured out how to use the duck call on his cake.

So proud to be three.

At the last minute he decided he didn't want to wear camo to his party.

After the hilarious comment "I not have no guns" during Fawn's birthday, Mimi and Pops were sure to get Small Fry not one but two Nerf guns. He was a happy camper.

Fawn, the most amazing big brother, is helping explain a fun animal sound toy from Lulu and Doc.

Deja cake.

Small Fry was happily tasting frosting while we sang to him.

I love that look of joy.

Happy birthday to you!

Make a wish.

Hope it comes true.

I guess I wasn't cutting cake quickly enough because he started licking the cake decorations.

I am determined to have a picture with my boys on their birthdays each year.

I hope he was happier than this looks!

It wasn't what I thought we'd do for his birthday, nor what we originally planned, but it was a perfect way to celebrate the absolute joy that is our three year old. We love you to the moon and back Small Fry! You are such a light in our lives. We love watching you grow and are absolutely in love with the little boy you are.