Cheer Camp!

I know I know....she is only 5! But, this is a fundraiser for the cheerleaders, and it was just 3 days from 9-12. I'm not ready to send her off to a 5 day a week camp that lasts longer than a school day, so this was the best option. AND SHE LOVED IT! She got new "workout" shorts and wanted to wear them the first day. I was actually early the first day to make sure that we were all signed in. They held camp in the gym. This totally confused Big G. "I thought Lila was going to cheer camp." Me: She is buddy, Why? G: Then why why why is she at cheer camp on the basketball field?" HAHAHA! He cracks me up! Lila sas super cute during their spirit day pep rally! I, of, course, made sure that I learned the dance routine before we left so that we could practice at home. All the girls only knew the "Oh Oh Oh...you don't you're beautiful" part. The Dance song was by One Direction. Here she is getting her certificate and afterwards with her friends! I mainly videoed so I didn't get a lot of pictures. I've been shouting in my head these days: SUMMIT...SAY IT LOUD BLUE AND ORANGE BLUE AND ORANGE SUMMIT...SPELL IT OUT, S H S, S H S

Lila is 6!

6 years!! 1st Grade! That just sounds like such a BIG girl! Although Sister is very mature for all of her 6 years, I still think of her as like a 3 year old. (Maybe because if I would let her, she can still wear 3T) I did finally make myself this spring clean out all things that were a size 3 just for the fact that she is now 6. Lots of fun things happen when you are six...she gets to move to "Children's Church" on Sunday mornings and she will be in the other building during VBS. I will admit, I tend to go overboard on birthdays and holidays. I have been trying to scale it down,but honestly, I love it and I love to spoil others! I had planned Lila's party for the Saturday before, so I hadn't given much thought to her actual day. It all kind of came last minute, but we didn't stop all day and I think she Loved it! I took the balloons from her party and taped them to her door so that she would be surprised when she woke up. She actually slept in so we were anxiously waiting for her to wake up. Wake up Birthday Girl! In the past I have made them cinnamon rolls shaped in the number they are turning. This year, without mentioning the cinnamon rolls, I asked Lila what her request for breakfast was. YAY! So happy she chose them! I also decorated our chalkboard and Big G made a card for her that we set out. After they made up some games and played with the balloons, we had lunch and got ready for a afternoon out. I hired a sitter for the boys, so that sis and I could spend some one on one time together. Daddy got to meet us at Toys R Us, and As I pulled in, I remembered that they announce the birthday child's name over the speaker and give them a crown to wear around. She got a couple of new baby dolls for her birthday. When my sister asked her what she wanted for a gift, her reply after thinking for a moment was, " Well, what would probably be a good idea are some pants for my baby doll. Because one them doesn't even have any PANTS!" Well, that solved that. I told her she could go and pick out some new clothes for her baby doll. Daddy was just heading out to lunch when I told him where we were going, so he only got to stay a minute, but let me tell you....that made this girls day!! She LOVED having him there with us. I might as well have had the little boys there with me, because they played tag and hide n go seek all over that store! Next Stop: Sweet CeCe's! My plan was to take her to the Honey's Candy place in Downtown Franklin, but they are closed on Mondays. Boo. We will have to try that again sometime. This girl loves her some ice cream! Her choice...Cake Batter, Nerds, Sprinkles, Gummy Worms, and marshmallows!! I held in my strong desire to say no. I clinched my jaws, held my breath, and left her put it up on that scale to be weighed. (Let's just hope we have a good report at the dentist this week! :) ) Stop # 3: Divas and Dudes for her first big girl pedicure! I'm pretty sure she was coming down from a sugar high and was about to crash. She chose pink toes and a yellow flower on her big toes. This girl, REALLY REALLY wanted to go swimming. I, on the other hand, was nervous that the water would be freezing. It had rained the day before and it was only 75 out. She also wanted to go to Chuck E Cheeses. I told her we could only do one or the other. She chose the pool. So, we raced home to get the boys and off we went. It WAS freezing, but there wasn't any complaining from them. They had a ball, and I was totally stressed out! I either need them all in life jackets or all to be really really good swimmers. Who am I kidding? I wouldn't relax then either. Anyway, they had an awesome time. I however, even after reminding myself 1200 times to not forget to take her picture at 4:51 knowing we would be at the pool, totally forgot. I blame it on the fact that I was trying to wrangle 4 kids in a gross public pool bathroom. I'm pretty sure she was probably pottying at that exact time. Big momma fail, but I did end up taking it at 6:51 while we were at Cracker Barrell. My other mommy fail was that I thought I was videoing the Cracker Barrell workers singing to her, but it wasn't recording. We came home with full bellies and played outside catching lightning bugs until dark. It was a super fun nonstop day for my precious little one. I absolutely love being this little girls momma! She is so smart, funny, creative, imaginative, thoughtful, loving, and beautiful! I will admit, I had a conversation with Michael concerned that we are raising ungrateful children. Lila is shy and a little insecure around strangers. Not always, but sometimes I had to remind her to say Thank You whenever someone wished her Happy Birthday. I want all of my children to have an appreciative heart. I want them to be thankful for all that they have and are given. I want her to understand that people spent a lot of time and effort doing nice things for her. I.E. Picking out and making nice gifts for her. Not that I was out looking for her to thank me for her day out, (I am her mother and I want to do nice things for her), but I DO want her to be appreciative when others do nice things. My 2 year old is constantly saying thank you, and I want all my children to do the same. So after expressing my concern to Michael, I woke up to find THIS: All by herself. Totally unprompted! Thank you Jesus for this sweet sweet girl!

You know you've nursed 4 babies when your boy stands up on your bed and says, " HEY, look at my boobies! I think I just saw milk squirting out of them!". Hahaha!! 

Happy Harrell

Today I became a Baseball Momma! Although Superdad and I feel like it is a little too young to start, the whole fam has been looking forward to this day! Graham has asked for days...no weeks...no MONTHS when it was going to be time for him to play baseball. Growing up in a family who loves athletics and being married to an all star college baseball player, I will admit that I am excited that Big G is excited to play ball! SuperDad and I both agreed that no matter what, we just want him to have a good time. WELL.....that was not a problem! Smiley boy got nicknamed Happy Harrell by his coach. All through practice and during the game he did not stop smiling. During the first practice, (which Pop Pop got to attend) I was able to hang out for a while, but then I needed to nurse GT. As I sat in the car and watched the practice from afar, my eyes swelled with tears and they streamed down my face. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen! I couldn't hear what was going on, but watching my boy toss ball with his dad was priceless. Due to spring break, we were not able to have a practice for a few weeks. G was devastated. He asked every day when his baseball game was. First practice, March 15th The night before his game, he blessed us with this sweet and funny prayer: After thanking God for "this wonderful day and wonderful night and having so much fun with my friends" Big G said, "and I pray for my baseball game tomorrow and that we win and that we have lots of fun and that nothing bad happens and that If we win we get a special treat, like a medal or a toy....or like a uh crown, like a KINGS crown. But if we loose then that is ok because we can get the special treat the next time. But I REALLY hope we win so I can get the special prize!" ( let's hope he is satisfied with just a snack!) FINALLY the day arrived! When my boy put on those baseball pants and his new uniform, my heart started beating a little fast! Oh how I love a boy in uniform. The day could not have been more perfect. The weather was amazing, and my boy had so much fun! The fact that he did pretty well too also helped! :) Because the game was smackdab in the middle of naptime, G went on with dad to the game then I arrived with the littles right before. Just a few quick snaps before the game: Mamaw and Papaw drove all the way here so that they could be here for the excitement of the first game and so they could see a game before Papaw started his fishing tournaments. G batted 4th! The boy was seriously so excited that he could barely concentrate on what he was doing. He even hit the tee a couple times before hitting the ball because he was just so worked up! You will see through all the pictures that I am not lying when I say he smiled the WHOLE time! Graham is a pretty quick runner, and he thinks his cleats make him even faster! Again, he is smiling rounding those bases. Big G mainly cracked me up when he took the field. He played 3rd first and then pitcher and then first base. I was very proud of how he hustled after the ball. He ran after it everytime, which even resulted in him ending up in the outfield a few times and scuffling with his own teammates over the ball! :) Hey Momma! I love this moment between him and his daddy: High Fives: Baseball READY Bitty Braves! And my favorite!Be still my heart! Good Game! G was so excited his friends came to watch I am very proud of how well he listened and paid attention and did what he was suppose to! I am looking forward to many days and nights spent of the ball field. Go Bitty Braves! (Oh, and one final note, as he ran to first base for the first time, I got a huge lump in my throat and my eyes swelled with tears....HAPPY HAPPY FULL OF JOY AND PRIDE BASEBALL tears!)