Singing along to the "News Reporter" song from Backyardigans

You can't see anything, b/c it was nightime in the car and video footage would have been terrible, but this is Charlotte joining "Unique-qua" (sp??) from the Backyardigans CD... awesome!!

Train Lover!!

Yes, he is in Charlotte's seat. I put him there after we dropped her off at preschool b/c it was the side of the car the train would be coming by..

also, side note: Liam almost always calls me "mom"... eh well, waddaya gonna do?

Mister Blankie is super funny!

Bedtime can be like 2 am for college students...when everything is funny..

Playground Prowess..

Sold!

Well, Josh and I took our first picture on these steps in May of 2005.  Our lives have changed so much since then..This is our last family picture on the front porch of our Shaw Hills house.  We'll always treasure the memories of all that happened while we were here.  :D  What a great first home!!

(Charlotte: 3 yrs, 8 mo., Liam: 2 wks shy of 2 yrs, Emory: 28 wks gest.)

The posts below are some before and after pictures of the move...might have teared up a bit (!)

Charlotte's Room...

Liam's Room...

I'll use Liam's room as the example of the packing process...Day 1: they came and broke down pieces and packed up boxes, Day 2: they loaded the boxes and furniture onto the Giant truck, Day 3: they drove the truck (which was taken overnight to a secure warehouse that Armstrong Relocation owns) down to Matthews where our storage unit is and unloaded it ~ it is packed to the gills!!

Before

 Break down

boxed up

All done!  Goodbye sweet nursery/Liam's room :/ So many sweet memories... (like every room)

Den...

Dining Room...

Baby Girl: Name Announcement!

Emory Claire Hall   is the name we have chosen for this sweet little bundle we can't wait to meet!! We are excited that we have this decision made!  I always love when we can call them by name.. :)

And speaking of sweets...

I can still eat them!!  I am so happy to record here for posterity that I passed my glucose test!! Looks like I'll be buying the girls nicer cars than Liam...just kidding~my sweet little man just was too sweet for me in utero :)  I am so happy that we don't have to do the "leeks and lentils" diet, as Josh and I call it ;)

Bring on the cheesecake!! (just kidding again...trying to keep the weight gain down this time..)

Um, Sweet!!

Josh told everyone to hold hands on the way to the car. (which is on a quiet street right beside the field~maybe a 30 second walk from the bench pictured in the post below).  I grabbed his, so the kids were left to fend for themselves!!  Just kidding, but what we saw when we turned around warranted getting the camera out...

 "C'mon Buddy, you need to hold a hand, Daddy said.."

 Almost got it...

There we go... complete sweetness!!

Dilworth Elementary

Everyone loves to go to Dilworth Elementary after work or right before dinner on the weekends and play ball. All kinds: soccer balls, mini basketballs, beginner baseballs, even beach balls. We throw a bunch in the car and head over. They love playing with Josh and digging in the dirt under the willow oaks. I got out there a couple of times, but I've gotten a bit large to run around, so I usually hold down the fort on the "blue bench" as the kids have creatively named it.. We've already come to treasure these times at this place, and so, to document for memory's sake, here are some pictures... (you can get a better view of the fields in the videos, which I'll post later).

 They love these old nets and the dirt under the trees as much as any toy or playground we have or have been to.. :)

 Daddy resting after a tough session of "I try a'gin" with Liam. :)

Me and my two sweaty sweeties! (and baby girl :D)  Thanks to Josh for the greatly appreciated loan of his new sunglasses.. :)

Can't think of a more appropriate title than...ADORABLE..

The kids were ready for naptime in our room, and I was finishing up putting the dishes away.  When I got back to the room, this is what I found: Charlotte pointing out different things and Liam repeating her. This video is 2 minutes, but it was going on way before I started filming.  Sweet little dears. Love Them!!