Glory, Glory.

Holy smokes!  Time is flying.  I guess it's easy to see that blogging is taking a backseat to sleeping these days...but hang on tight because I'm going to try to get caught up this week!

We've had a lot of exciting things going on these last few weeks, but one of the highlights by far has been introducing Hadley to Game Day in Athens.

We headed up to the UGA vs. Coastal Carolina game back in the middle of September.  Harris, as always, was super stoked and Babe was pretty excited, too.  She couldn't wait to put on her "black G-Dawgs dress!" 

Biggie Chase and Laura spent the night with us on Friday night, so we all got up bright and early Saturday morning to put the finishing touches on our tailgate provisions before making the trek up 316.  We spent the morning hanging out with these crazy fools,

and even though Hadley was the only girl around, she had a fantastic time "teaching" all of us her Spanish skills.  The girl can hold her own.

Babe lucked out and was able to hitch a ride on Ben's shoulders all the way to the stadium, and once inside, she ate up every inch of the atmosphere.  My sweet girl yelled along with all the cheers, LOVED watching Hairy Dawg run the flag across the endzone, and ate up some cotton candy (as did her brother).

Because it was Lettermen's Day, we got to head onto the field at halftime. 

The kids high-fived Hairy Dawg and thorougly enjoyed running like crazy through the endzone.  Tackling Daddy was a halftime highlight, too.

When the players re-entered the field, Babe made sure to tell me that she was going to "touch everyone's hand."  She came pretty close. :)

Not too shabby for a first game.  (Harry's first game was Lettermen's Day last season.  I might see the beginning of yet another family tradition.)

We ended the day with a quick snack in The Lettermen's Club before heading back to the truck.  Harris scored a picture with his jersey namesake, and both kids indulged in cookies and popcorn as an after-game treat.

As I type this, I realize that they might be slightly spoiled.  But, in our defense, at least we're raising them right. 

Go Dawgs!!

The Fair-y, Fair-y Fair!

To say we had a blast at the fair last Thursday night would be understatement.  Harris and Hadley were absolutely beside themselves with excitement, and their giddiness was contagious.  In fact, after seeing their reaction to the fair, Ben and me are even more stoked about our upcoming trip to Disney.  I know I say this every month, but this stage, the one we're in right now, is my very, very favorite.  Five and three is so much fun!

Hadley spotted the "Horties" from the parking lot, so as soon as we made it through the gate and got our hand stamps, we headed straight to those crazy elephants.

Because I've got a sweet little baby in my belly, Ben got to ride quite a few things this year.  I most enjoyed watching him on the swings and in the House of Mirrors.  I love that man.

Harry and Babe sprinted from ride to ride to ride to ride.  They rode just about everything in the kiddie section, entered every fun house on the property, and topped it all off with a trip on the ferris wheel.

Granti, Auntie, DB, CoCo, and Sam were able to spend the evening with us as well.  Sammy had a great time on the carousel.

And, of course, no trip to the fair is complete without a stop at the 4H Petting Zoo. 

Harris and Hadley both have HUGE hearts for animals. 

The highlight of the evening, however, was the "Dora" ride.  It was the very last thing the kids climbed on before we headed home, and they ended up riding three times in a row.  It was absolutely hysterical!

We could hear them laughing and jokingly screaming from the ground...what fun it was to watch them enjoying themselves!!!  I'm so proud of the confidence they have found lately.  Confidence and manners are the two things that make me smile most when I see them displayed in my offspring.

We shared a funnel cake and some cotton candy for our fair treat, and Babe thanked Jesus for letting us go to the fair during our bedtime prayers.

Amen.

That's What I'm Talking About!

For months, my sweet, sweet Harris has been waiting for Game Day.  It finally came.

Last year, Ben and I took Harry to one game.  This season, he's got his heart set on coming to every game he possibly can.  If you ask him, he'll tell you he's going to "one hundred million" games this fall.

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but my crazy kid has become a football fanatic.  He loves talking trash, loves cheering for the Dawgs, loves getting dressed in his gear, and loves eating cotton candy in the stadium.

And even though we suffered a heartbreaking loss on Saturday, we had a fantastic time. Babe got to spend a "Girl's Day" with Granti, and Ben, Harry, and me headed to Athens for some good food and good times with good people.

Hadley gets to make her Game Day debut next week.  Stay tuned!

Fall.

Where have you been all our lives?

We have spent every available second of the last three days outside.  Our swingset has gotten more use in the last 48 hours then it did all summer.  Every other sentence out of Babe's mouth is, "push me very, very higher!"  The weather has been absolutely perfect.

We've also grilled out, blown bubbles, played with sidewalk chalk, ridden bicycles and scooters, and completed a  little yard work.  The kitchen window and the back screen door have been open well into the evening.  We've come inside tired and dirty and happy, happy, happy.

It's been great.

Level Advancements.

The kiddos just recently wrapped up round two of swim lessons.  Once again, they absolutely loved their time at Swim Atlanta, and both Harry and Babe passed their level tests (or whatever those things are called) to advance to the next class.

Truth be told, they were waaaaay more excited about the candy they received at the end of the last class than the advancement ribbons.  They're definitely my babies. :)

Hadley continued to fall in love with her teacher, Mr. Caleb, and soaked up every bit of his attention this time around...especially because she was the only student in her class!  Harris' personality shone through during his time with Ms. Jannette as well.  He swam great and truly became the leader of his little group, and only got in trouble once for kissing another little girl during the lesson. 

The kids have decided they're done with swimming for the time being (I'm thankful!) and ready to move on to gymnastics, so we'll be participating in a trial run here in the next couple of weeks.  Ben and I are pretty much up for anything that requires (at most) a one-night-a-week commitment, so we're willing to give them a shot in the gym. 

Look out, Team USA, Babe and Harry are headed your way!

Old Skool.

Mom saves everything, and it's finally paying off.

The kids are having a blast going through our old "Berenstein Bear" books.  I think Mom must have fifty of them from our childhood, and Harris, especially, can't get enough of them.

Babe, on the other hand, is having a blast with the old school Smurf toys Mom saved from my Happy Meal days.  Watching Hadley's excitement over those things made me question my policy of  eventually throwing out every Happy Meal toy that actually makes it into our house.

But only for a split second.  I don't think I can take the clutter.

Besides, when my kids have kids of their own, I'm pretty sure this stuff of Granti's will still be around.

Thirty One.

I'm starting to feel old.  I tried to watch the VMAs the other night and had to change the channel.  I didn't know who half of the performers were, and when Little (Lil'?) Wayne got up with his saggy white jeans and his rear end hanging out and his bare chest and his every-other-word bleeped out, I thought to myself, "I am so too old for this."

And so I'm fairly certain that was the end of my VMA run.  It was good while it lasted.

I do, in fact, have a small reason to feel old.  My birthday was last week, and my loving family helped me celebrate the big 3-1.

We started the week with a night at Chick-fil-A.  I had to work late on Tuesday, so the fam was willing to change things up and gather on Monday night instead.

Mom, Cassidy, DB, Cody, Mo, Raven, and Sam all joined in for some chicken nuggets and Bruster's ice cream pie.  That's a combination that's pretty tough to beat.

Oh, yeah!  Emmy was there, too...in case you can't tell by the hugeness of my belly these days!  That girl is growing away, and I'm growing right along with her.  We've only got about three months to go!

On the actual day of my birth, I woke up, as is our birthday tradition, to find my birthday balloons and pile of presents waiting for me on the kitchen table.

My sweet boys took the time to choose some great gifts for me:  two very nice cards, a copy of the latest magazine with Teen Mom information on the cover, and a new pair of maternity pants and a brand new shirt.

It was a great way to start the morning!  I got to continue my celebration at work with a free lunch from my co-workers and a birthday pedicure with my BWF (best work friend).  Unfortunately, we had a PTA event on the evening of my birthday, so I didn't actually make it home until the kids were in bed.

And I sure did miss spending my special day with these sweet faces (just pretend Hadley's looking sweet...she's not exactly a morning person):

Even though I had to work late, Ben and I got to finish off the night with a big bag of pretzel M&M's and a can of coke.  I love that man.

Happy Birthday to me!