The 7 year itch

September 6th was our 7th anniversary! We made it SEVEN years. I'm sure to some that seems like a very short time, but I'm so glad I found a man who's been able to tolerate me for seven years (and hopefully, many more).

We had a great anniversary weekend. It was on Labor Day weekend and we had my family over for a BBQ that Saturday. We ate a ton of food and hung out.

Short story--we bought a bunch of chicks earlier in the spring and they've recently gotten really big. One of them was pure white, so Tommy named it Little Dove (his idea, not ours!). Well, Little Dove is not so little anymore. He turned out to be a rooster and was starting to get really mean. One day I was sitting on the porch and Tommy went running by screaming at the top of his lungs. Hot on his trail was Little Dove! He ended up jumping on Tommy and pecking him on the back and Tommy cried like there was no tomorrow. Hilarious to see the chicken chasing Tommy, but sad that he ended up getting hurt. So Nick decided to serve "dove" with our Labor Day BBQ! He came in during the kids' nap time and said, "The problem has been dealt with." I assumed he just let Little Dove run free and was going to not let him back in the coop at night. And then he walked in with this beer can chicken. And I knew. And I gagged.

 

Most people tried it and said it tasted okay, but the smell alone was killin' me. It smelled very gamey. Yuck. And I couldn't wrap the mind around the fact that we cooked our pet (sort of. Albeit a very MEAN pet). So there's that. 

Anyways, we ate and everyone hung out until late in the night. We just bought some patio furniture, so it was nice to sit outside in the cooler weather and enjoy everyone's company!

This spot on my porch makes me swoon! I'm LOVING having outdoor furniture. I can lay on the daybed and read while the kids are playing. It's a win-win!

My mom took the kids home with her Saturday night after the BBQ, so we got to sleep in Sunday. Nick started a project that ended up taking much longer than he thought early that morning, so I met the kids and my mom at church. After church, the kids came home and we ate lunch and hung out with them for 3-4 hours. Then we took them back to my mom! They stayed the night again with her on Sunday night. It was a nice little mini vacation but without having to be away from the kids TOO long. I start to get antsy if I don't at least lay eyes on them for more than 24 hours :)

We went to see a movie on Sunday (our actual anniversary). We always have the hardest time finding movies we agree on and almost every time we go to a movie, we BOTH end up hating it. We've had better luck lately than in the past, but we're still a little leery every time we try. But we decided on No Escape and we both really liked it! It had a super good plot, but the content is very heavy. So if you want to laugh and have a good time....I'd pick something else. If you want a really thought-provoking movie, No Escape is it!

After the movie we went to Red Rock and ate outside on the patio. It was a little warm, but it was quiet and the food was great! After dinner, we just came home and relaxed and enjoyed each other. We had originally said no gifts, but a few days before our anniversary, my husband let it slip that he had, in fact, gotten me a gift. Which I was excited about, but then went into a mad scramble trying to find HIM something! He completely shocked me and got me this beauty.........

 

I'd been wanting a right hand ring for awhile, but could never bring myself to spend the money. But my husband did it for me! And who could say no to that?!? He knows me so well :) I felt pretty lame when I gave him his gift of jeans, deer urine for hunting and two body pillow covers.........But in all fairness, he WANTED deer urine and body pillow covers and the jeans I just threw in for an extra little SURPRISE factor! So.......yeah.

Our seventh anniversary was wonderful and I'm excited to do the rest of life with Nick by my side. Love you honey!

My little man's 2nd year!

We made it through our first year of preschool and now we're heading into the second year! I'm not NEAR the basket case this year as I was last year. Tommy is so much more confident in himself and slightly more open and friendly than he was last year, so I'm hoping he warms up quickly to everyone in his class! I feel like he was juuuuuust getting there at the end of school last year, so I hope he didn't regress over the summer.

He was excited to get to Noah's Ark this morning!

  

I think he felt really cool being the "seasoned veteran" instead of the "little kids," as he likes to call them. I dropped him off and he seemed just the slightest bit nervous, but walked right in and put his bag up. I watched him through the window and he was wandering around a little bit, looking lost. Still broke my heart just a little bit. He's so hesitant to just jump in and start playing with other kids. He found an airplane and started playing with that by himself. I was so hoping he would join the other kids soon!

When I went to pick him up, they were sitting in circle time and he was smiling and talking, so that made me feel better! He talked about all the kids that were there last year and let me know that a few new kids had come this year.   I kept trying to get him to take another picture but he kept saying, "I'm not facing the sun, mom!" So we walked away with this squinty picture :) This boy melts my heart!

I let him choose where to eat lunch and he picked Fazzoli's (truly a child after my own heart!). He had about 2 bites of spaghetti and 3 breadsticks--he's a carbatarian, just like me!! It was nice to just sit and chat, one on one with no distractions. I even let him talk me into a chocolate chip cookie for dessert.

On they way home, he pulled this cute snack out of his book bag...

 

 (Ignore the chocolate on his chin in the picture above :)

He did so good and I'm glad it was easier than last year! He was SOOOOO nervous last year and hesitant to leave me, but there's definitely been some improvement! 

Love you, bubs!

Tessa Grace is in preschool!

Tessa has been SO excited because she gets to go to preschool this year, just like bubby! She got a postcard in the mail a few weeks before school started. She felt like such a big girl!

Last night, she asked if I could paint her fingernails so she would "look pwetty at school." Of course, I obliged. I can't pass up painting my daughter's fingernails hot pink (isn't that what all mom's dream of when they dream of having little girls?!?)! We picked out her dress and shoes and got everything all laid out for the next morning.

And just like that, she woke up and was a preschooler! She was excited and said she wasn't nervous at all. She was excited to see Mrs. Schiesser and Mrs. Ralston (who she knew from Tommy having them as teachers and from church) and she was excited to meet new friends! Can I just note right now how EXTREMELY different my children are?!

 She looked so big and grown up! I mean, wasn't she JUST born?!? I dropped her off and she went right in. We love Noah's Ark!!

  It helped that her cousin was there with her! She actually has TWO of her cousins in her class. I love that they all get to go to school together!

I went back to pick her up when the morning was over and she was happy as could be! I asked what she did that day and all I got was, "I don't know!" Soooooo, there's that. I thought for sure she'd be the child that spilled the beans every time they got in the car, but I got NOTHING out of her! Except that it was fun! We went to Applebee's for lunch afterwards so I could have some one-on-one time to make her feel special. It was so nice just sitting and relaxing with my goofy girl!

I can't believe I officially have TWO babies in preschool! Thank God I love our school and trust the teachers there or it would be a lot harder to leave them behind!

Love you, sweet Tess!