An Afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch

We woke up to the most beautiful fall morning on Sunday!  It was exciting to pull out the sweater dresses and boots and since it was still breezy and cool when we left church we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at our local pumpkin patch.  The kids were quite excited about our spontaneous plan!  Here are some pics from our day......

Happy Fall Y'all!

 

 

Fun Days with Keegan

Keegan and I have been busy the last couple of weeks.  I'm soaking up my days with my little guy, knowing how quickly they will pass!  We have so much fun but we always get excited when it's time to pick Sissy up.  Last week Shelly and Nolan were in town from Houston and we took our boys to the mall for lunch and play.  It was a great surprise to get to see them!

We took a trip to the zoo with sweet friends Christina and Kenlee.  Keegan has begged to go to the "monkey zoo" for months so he was quite excited! 

And the week is never complete without some Presley time...

My grocery store buddy these days.....He insists on walking now and usually carries my list :)

This is such a special time and I'm so thankful for the days I get to spend with this little guy one on one.  He's at such a fun age where he gets excited about little things and comments on almost everything. 

I  remember how special this time was with Ava so I can't help but think ahead to the days of preschool and eventually kindergarten and remember to just cherish every day.  He will grow up on me too! 

But for now I'll make the most of this time together, thankful I get to be alongside him as he grows.

 

 

2.5

Keegan is halfway to three years old today!  Our boy has grown up so much the last six months.

He is such a ball of energy and walks nowhere.  He literally runs circles around the kitchen/living room every evening claiming "I so fast Mama!  I so fast!"  And he is!  We get so many comments from people about how quick he is on his feet.

He's also quite a talker these days.  He will reminisce about our vacation or a trip to the zoo, tell me all about it and ask "you remember that?!"  Cracks us up.  He begs to go to the places he loves most like "the monkey zoo", the park and his grandparents' homes.  Lately he will stop and randomly tell me who is friends are.  "Mama...Presley my friend.  Mama....Preston my friend. Etc... Almost every sentence begins with Mama.

He loves to pray out loud.  He blesses the food at dinner in this manner "Dear God, Thank you for food.  Please keep Poppy safe. And please give Marley shoes. Amen."  (Marley is our Compassion child in Guatemala and after hearing us talk about her and her needs for a few months, he became mostly concerned that she be provided a nice pair of shoes.)  He prays it almost every time he sees her picture on the fridge.

He misses his sissy during the day but I think he is enjoying my undivided attention.  I love to take him to music and movement at the library and watch him play! 

Especially with his favorite little partner in crime....

He is loving his new preschool room at church.  My sweet friend Lauren sent me these pics of him in chapel a couple of weeks ago.  She said he was a hoot; singing, clapping and dancing. 

Lining up to head back to class....Such a big boy now!

His favorite toys right now are his Thomas trains and his cars and the last few weeks he has started building "castles" with his duplo legos.  He brings me books to read to him throughout the day and he actually sits still long enough for me to read them.  He pulls "goodnight moon" and "the going to bed book" out of his book basket every night before bed.  We read, sing, rock, then pray almost every night.  He enjoys the routine and I enjoy holding my sweet boy that will be too big to rock one day too soon.  As I say often, I'm so thankful God gave us this precious boy.  Our bond is so special and I can't imagine life without this blonde haired, blue-eyed boy. 
We love you Keegan Reese.

 



Baby Kinley!

Kinley Breanne Hutchison surprised us all on Thursday night by arriving two weeks early!  She weighed 7lbs 7oz and our family joyously welcomed the newest baby Hutchison!

Sweet Baby Girl!

So precious!

Mommy & Kinley

Family of Four

We all took turns meeting this sweet girl we've been waiting on......

Ava is quite smitten with her new cousin :-)

We are all so thankful for this healthy, beautiful baby girl.  What a blessing she is to us already.

Welcome sweet baby Kinley!  Aunt KyKy is looking forward to many years of spoiling you :-)

 

A Week of Adjustments

We all survived Ava's first week of Kindergarten!  It has seemed like such a long week.  The hardest part of the day is the quiet.  It's so quiet in our house now without her little voice chattering about something or playing with Keegan. 

But she's had a great week!

 

She actually loves PE which is a total surprise.  She says the coaches are fun :) 

She made a new friend on her first day but didn't know her name.

Her new friend is Gabrielle and they have lunch together every day.

Her star chart filled up and she and three others got to choose a sticker yesterday.

She got to go to the library and check out a book for the week.

Music class was not that fun because they just learned the rules :)

"There's so much to do all day long!"

 

She has done so well this week although we could tell she is so tired today.  So glad the weekend is here!  Keegan has adjusted so much better than I thought he would.  He doesn't ask for her 1,000 times a day; only 100 or so.  He says "Mama....I know Sissy at school, but I just gonna check ok!" And he runs to look out the door. 

 "No, not yet Mama!" Every single day.  I'm not sure why he thinks she's just going to walk home one afternoon?  He is always napping when one of us goes to get her so I guess he doesn't know that we bring her home.  He has the biggest hugs for her when he wakes up and says "Sissy, play with me!?"

Keegan started potty training on Tuesday!  He's actually been using the potty off and on for a couple of weeks now.  I'm not sure if it was that he was so ready or the fact that I only had one kid at home but it was so much easier this time.  It's hard to believe my diaper days are behind me.  Five years... just like that!  Of all the things that make me sad about my little ones growing up- this not one of them!  I'm loving carrying my handbag again and he loves his new undies. We are so proud of our little man. 

We spent a lot of time at home this week and I think he is enjoying this one-on-one attention. 

This boy melts my heart.

We've played "choo choos" for hours this week.

Ava started her ballet/tap class.  This is her third year of dance and although it's quite a transition to attend a 4pm class after school she still loves it so much she didn't want to take a break this semester.

Her class is a lot bigger this year and it's fun because it's full of friends from last year and the year before. 

Our time with Ava is so limited and precious now.  We usually color and talk about her day when she first gets home and we did make a trip to the library once this week.  But then there is dinner and bath and bedtime is pretty early these days.  For all of us!  We bought Ava the Jesus Storybook Bible for her birthday and we end the day with a story or two and prayers for the next day.  Except for last night--I won't pretend that we all weren't exhausted and crashed early without either.  But overall it's been a really great week and we are thankful for all the mercies we've been shown!