Monday, September 13, 2010

1st Day of School & Fall Sports begin...

School started over a week ago and so did fall sports...

This is the first time I have really had time to sit down and blog. Our first day of school is great! the kids were up early and excited to get ready for their first day. Craig was out of town Monday night to Tuesday morning and was supposed to get home AFTER I left to take the kids....which means Levi was going with me! We took our pictures by the fireplace and started to load the mommy bus (our minivan) and Craig pulled up. I was so thankful...he kept Levi and I could concentrate more on the kids and making their day special. We got to school and walked Alex to his locker at Mrs. Freels class. Next we walked Autumn to Mrs. Hagerty's class and finally Drew to Ms. Isaac's class. All 3 kids were happy about their teachers and had a few friends in their class from last year. A great start to the new year.

After I got the kids settled, I went to Katie Swaggerty's house...her oldest Ethan was starting at Hardy (our school) this year in Kindergarten. I watched Katie's other two boys (Luke & Malachi) while she took Ethan up to school to meet Mrs. Thomas (Drew's teacher last year who we really loved)! I had so much fun with the boys and was again thankful Craig had Levi with him at home. Luke, Malachi and I were playing Candy Land, reading books, and playing with their trains. Once Katie got home I left to go pick up Levi and head back to school for the noon pick up. The kids were all smiling when I picked them up excited to tell me about their first day. We had to take turns talking!! We went to Wendy's with Lisa McCormick and her kids and got a yummy lunch to celebrate! Craig made our favorite Homemade Chicken Nuggets for dinner, I went through all the paperwork the kids brought home and it was a GREAT day/evening!

Now a week later...the kids are still LOVING school and I am so thankful for that. I am enjoying my time with Levi and Craig when he is home. We are in the full swing of baseball for Alex and soccer for Drew. Autumn's Daisy Troop will be starting later this month.

I LOVE fall season!!!

Pictures...

Kids first day of School! So excited!
Alex - 3rd grade; Drew & Autumn - 1st grade!

Levi...Go Blue! & a day out with mom & dad!
Drew & his friend Jessi at soccer! Alex at baseball!












Friday, September 3, 2010

September Already???


September is here. The summer is coming to an end. This is our final weekend before school starts on Tuesday. We had an adventurous summer vacation going lots of fun places. Tennessee, Atlanta, Chicago, Up North, Mackinac Island, Turtle Cove Water Park, Skate Park, movies, bowling, birthday parties, etc...

While in Mackinac Island with our friends...Autumn got her hair cut! It looks adorable and fits her sassy personality just right!!!

The last 2 weeks my parents have been taking one kid at a time (my 3 and Ellen's 3 big kids) to spend the night, go out to eat, pick out a new school outfit, and then while nana was sleeping in the next day, papa would take that kid on a special adventure. Autumn was the first to go. She spent the night on Sunday and Grandma Donor was still in Michigan so she got to take her to the airport and go pick out her clothes at Kohl's. She came home SO excited about her pretty skirt and shirt! Mommy approved...she did good! Drew was next...he went on Monday night and had fun picking out a motor cross shirt and skate board shirt and eating dinner at Logan's Steakhouse. He said it was the best place ever cause he could throw peanut shells on the floor! The next morning he was going to roller blade while papa jogged. Drew woke up with a headache and was sick to his stomach. He laid around and papa took care of him. That afternoon he came home and slept for almost 3 hours then he woke up feeling fine. We figured out he has been getting migraines that can be caused from disturbance in his sleep patterns. Alex went next. They went to Chee Burger, Chee Burger and then off to Kohl's again. He picked out a Motor Cross shirt and 3 piece Star Wars sweat suit. The next morning they went on a long bike ride to get some good exercise. Alex loved it! Talk about special memories with nana & papa. My parents are great! Since Drew was sick and didn't get to go roller blading...when it was Josh's turn and he picked going to the skate park, Alex & Drew got to go too and they had a grand old time!!!

We went up to the school yesterday to see the postings of the classes and who the kids will have for teachers this year. Alex has Mrs. Freel, Drew has Ms. Issac, and Autumn has Mrs. Hagerty! I am excited for the year to come and all the things they will learn, friends they will make, and milestones we will see. I can't believe that my Alex is starting 3rd grade and Drew & Autumn are starting 1st grade. To top it off...Levi is going to be 1 year old in 8 short weeks! Levi is crawling all over the place and pulling himself up. He has even taken a few steps already. He has 6 teeth now (4 on top, 2 on bottom). Everybody is growing up!!! :(

For some reason I can't move the pictures so they will stay at the top for now!!!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

May flew by and it's already June....

Wow! May flew by and June is here!

We were busy in May with soccer and baseball!

Drew is an all-star on the soccer field. He played on the Astros team and scored at least 5 goals each game! At the end of the season his coach got each player a trophy and took them to Dairy Queen to get anything they wanted! My son of course goes for the BIG banana split! I was standing there quietly trying to talk him into something else like maybe just a blizzard...then the coaches wife heard Drew ask for the banana split and said he could get anything. So, Drew and the coach both got one! He ate every bite and was very proud!

Alex has been playing baseball for the first time and likes it. Papa agreed to coach his team and that made it more fun and special for Alex. It helped me out too since the soccer and baseball schedules conflicted quite a bit. There team is called the Bulls. Alex has been playing 2nd base and outfield. He is doing good hitting the ball too!

Autumn is my little helper. She goes to the sporting events to help me cheer the boys on! She is a HUGE help with Levi. One day I wasn't feeling too good and I was laying on the couch. She wanted to change Levi's diaper for me...she did a great job from start to finish! She likes to help me feed him his cereal and food too! A little mommy's helper for sure!

Levi is almost 8 months old...I can't even believe it! He is such a joy to have around. He loves to smile and laugh! He is a good baby and I'm thankful for that! The only thing we still have to work on is Levi drinking from a bottle so he can be left with a babysitter sometime...mommy needs a little time away every once in a while...I'm only asking for a couple hours!!! The other day Levi was cranky and I felt his bottom gums and there was a tooth starting to poke out! He loves to sit and play with toys, cruise around in his walker, and he is starting to get up on all 4's...just a matter of days and he will be crawling and into everything!

We had a great week last week with Ryan here from Georgia! He got out of school in mid May so came up to spend a week with us. We kept him busy with baseball games, dropping off and picking up from school and everything else we throw into our weekly schedule! He was a huge help with Levi too and adored him!

The kids are out of school this Thursday the 17th and we are off to Tennessee the 26th... we can't wait for vacation! I have lots of ideas of fun things we can do this summer... hopefully we'll get it all accomplished and have some fun doing it. The kids are too quick to say they are bored so my plan is to have a bucket of chores they can pick from when they are "bored". Maybe they won't get bored as often and find things to do on their own!!!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

APRIL 2010




Looks like a once a month Blog entry is all I'm getting to these days...

April was another busy month for our family! We had a lot of fun celebrating Easter, Spring Break and Birthday's!!!

Alex turned 8 on Easter Sunday! The kids and I drove down to Chris & Mandy's after church for lunch and an Easter Egg Hunt! Nana & Papa met us there and joined us just in time for the egg shaped cake! My big boy Alex is really 8 years old! Wow...I can't believe it! Just this morning we were driving to school and he said something about going to school everyday and I told him just a few more weeks and he will be on summer break and be an official 3rd grader...then I stopped and said, "Alex, I can't even say those words...it's too hard! You are growing up too fast!"

Over spring break we enjoyed some fun activities with friends...play dates, swimming at the Canton Summit with nana & papa, Bowling on Friday once daddy Craig was home. My friend Salena turned 30 so her hubby planned a great surprise party that Saturday! It was a great spring break. Originally we had hoped to travel to Tennessee for part of the week, but it didn't work out with Craig's schedule so I didn't know how the week would go with the kids home...we stayed busy!!!

My nephew Eli turned the BIG 1 year old on the 15th and we had a party in Perrysburg, OH on the 17th. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and watch him open his gifts and eat his cupcake!! After we left the party my parents joined the kids and I at Splash Universe for the night...it is an indoor water park in Dundee, MI. We got a family fun suite with a king size bed in one room, 2 bunks in another and a little living space! The kids loved playing at the park, swimming in the pool, and just having fun! We were tired by the time we got home on Sunday!

The boys have started baseball and soccer for the spring season. Alex is on the South Lyon Junior League...Bulls team! My dad is coaching so that is a lot of fun for him! It is a blessing to me since my dad can drive him to practices and I don't have to sit there with the other kids. Drew is on the South Lyon Rec soccer league on the Astors team...he is a super star out there! He missed the first game because he was sick and the next week he scored 5 goals...the other parents and coach said he was not allowed to miss anymore games! He was proud of that!!! Autumn isn't playing any sports this season, but she is my big helper around the house. She LOVES to play with Levi! One day I was not feeling good and Craig was out of town so she asked if she could change Levi's diaper...she did it from start to finish and did a great job!

On Sunday, April 25th we had the April birthday party at Ellen's house and celebrated Alex, Hannah, Ellen & Chris' birthdays! It was a fun day! Spending time with ALL 10 cousins!

Levi is now 6 months old! I can't believe a 1/2 year has gone by already! He is adorable of course and doing so many new things each week. When Craig is gone on a trip and comes home, he notices more than me the new things Levi is doing. He loves to walk around the house in his walker now. He is sitting up and playing with toys! Levi is a chatter box always talking and laughing. He has the best giggle around. I love it when he is giggling so hard he closes his eyes! Adorable!!! (if I may say so myself)...

Craig and I...same old, same old...he continues to work hard to provide for our family and I am at home with the kids enjoying the time I have with them while they are still little. I am thankful for his days off and the help he gives me around here. He helps with the running back and forth to school and cooking our meals! I am so blessed! I mapped out a couple routes around the neighborhood and started walking...would love to turn that into running eventually...we'll see!

What a month April was...and to think it's only the beginning of May and our calendar is FULL! Baseball games start on the 11th and go twice a week until July. Soccer continues for the month of May. School is winding down and we are getting excited about summer vacation, hopefully a visit from Ryan and our trip to Tennessee!

See you next month!!!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Wow...another month has passed. March has been a busy month...not that every other month isn't busy for our family of 7!

My birthday was on the 11th...the kids had a full day of school so while they were at school, Craig and Levi took me out to lunch. When we picked up the kids from school we stopped for ice cream on the way home and had dessert before dinner! Levi was laying down for a nap in the morning that day and was fighting it and all of a sudden rolled over from his tummy to his back! He hasn't done it since, so that was a nice little b-day gift :)

I have been watching Grace every Tuesday from 12 to 4pm while Ellen takes the other kids to their reading class. Autumn loves to help me and one week Grace was crying and Levi was hungry so Autumn sat in the rocker and Grace sat with her and fell asleep...it was special!

My friend Lori and her family rented out a roller rink to celebrate birthday's in their family and they invited us to come and I invited Kathy Maurer and her kids...we drove all the way out to Monroe to roller skate but it was a lot of FUN! The kids did pretty good on skates. Drew was on blades and loved it! I even got on skates and pushed Levi in the stroller. It was great because there weren't a whole lot of people there.

Levi is now 5 months old and as cute as can be! He is sleeping really good at night...about 10 hours. He is taking 2, sometimes 3 naps each day. He loves to play in his exersaucer and is now eating rice cereal with applesauce and some squash. He is finally getting the hang of eating off the spoon.

We've had a fun month of spending time with friends and hanging out with family! We are blessed! Now we are looking forward to Easter on Sunday, Alex's birthday, and Nana & Papa returning from Florida (it's been too long), Spring Break and some fun activities to keep us busy, the warm weather and start of spring sports! Alex will be playing baseball and Papa is coaching so they are excited about that. Drew is playing soccer! Autumn, Levi & I will go from sport to sport and cheer them on!

Sunday, February 28, 2010

4 months old already...

Levi is 4 months old!!!



He is doing so many new things...he likes to play with his little toys now and can get them into his mouth to suck on. He likes to sit up more in his swing to see what's going on around him.



Levi finally got to meet his big brother Ryan while we were in Georgia for our winter vacation!



He did such a great job at Magic Kingdom and riding in the car from Michigan to Georgia to Florida and back again!



He got a new Bumbo seat from his friend Brody and he likes to sit up in it and play some.


He also got a Johnny Jump Up from Grandpa & Memaw Pritchett and he is getting use to jumping and playing in that too!


He is on a great schedule for me...sleeps 10 hours at night and takes (2) 2 hour naps and then one shorter one sometime in the evening.

He is a joy to have around...smiling and cooing and giggling! The kids enjoy the challenge of making him smile and entertaining him!



Time is flying by once again and I wish I could stop it right here for awhile... I have to make his 4 month check-up appointment to find out how much he has grown...

Pictures from our winter vacation...

Here are a few pictures from our trip!

Craig with his 2 boys...Ryan & Levi!

The Pritchett men...

4 generations...Grandma Crum, Memaw, Daddy & Levi!

The 5 kids...we took family portraits while in Georgia! This is one of 123 the photographer took!

Ready for a day at the Magic Kingdom!

The girls (plus Eli) waiting for Chef Mickey!

Levi & Grace in their t-shirts!

Chef Mickey!

Waiting for our turn on Thunder Mountain!

Chef Goofy with all the kids!

Nana & Papa with Levi!