And Now I Am Married.

As part of a message illustration at church last week, one of Babe's biggest dreams came true!  My diva of a girl got to "pretend marry" her self-proclaimed boyfriend, Walker.

She wore a white dress and lipstick (thanks, Daddy!), walked down the aisle, and held Walker's hand on stage while Carter did his thing.  She waved and smiled and laughed and made sure the spotlight stayed on her.

It was hysterical.  It was also quite a feat to convince her that she and Walker were only married for "pretend."  She was soooo excited to be a wife and only slightly disappointed that he didn't want to kiss her. :)

That girl.  She's going to be the death of us.

And she's so worth it.

Championship Game.

The Eagles played for the Spring 2012 Flag Football Championship last weekend.  We ended up losing, but Harry played a great game!  Check out that intensity!

While flag football has definitely been Harris' most successful sport by far, he still hasn't found that one thing he's completely passionate about.

Or maybe he has.  That kid is a video game fool.

We celebrated the season with cupcakes and trophies at the end of the game.  My sweet boy was equally excited about both.

I really hope he chooses to play flag football again next year.  We had such a great time spending our Saturday afternoons with our friends and family at the ball park.

We even made this baby girl a fan. :)

Muffins for Moms.

He had blueberry.  I had chocolate chip.

Kindergarten Roundup.

Last week, Harris' future elementary school hosted a "Kindergarten Roundup."  We'd been talking it up all week, so naturally Harris was super pumped for the big day.  I, too, am getting more and more excited for him as we get closer and closer to his public school debut.  I'm not sure if I'll still feel that way or not once August rolls around, but for now, I do.  There is no doubt in my mind that our decision to have him start Kindergarten at six years old rather than five was the right thing to do.  We're confident, he's confident...it's pretty much a win-win.

We started the morning in the cafeteria with a greeting from the principal and a performance by the current Kindergarten class.  A couple of Harry's friends were up front singing, which was pretty cool for my sweet boy.  After a few songs, the upcoming Kindergarteners were divided into groups and led away for story and craft time with the current teachers.  Harris didn't hesitate in the least when his group was called; in fact, he couldn't get out the door fast enough!

We were able to hear from the school counselor and an administrator while the kids finished up their project time and then were reunited to take a spin on a school bus.

I'm glad I don't have to ride a school bus every day.

The driver was very sweet and explained all the bus rules to us.  She took us on a ride through a local neighborhood and demonstrated quite a few different "stops."  She even demonstrated--multiple times--how the bus turns around in a cul-de-sac.  I appreciate her dedication, but once was enough for me. :)

And then we were done.

Ben and Harry headed out to meet his class at the Gwinnett Braves game for his last field trip of the year and I headed to work.

And just like that, he's grown.

Here we go...

Five Months.

Your fifth month flew by! 

You're growing and changing and learning and laughing every day.  You've spent a lot of time working on putting things in your mouth this month:  toys, fingers, your pacifier...you're at the stage where you reach out and grab for everything and everything goes straight to your mouth.  Harris LOVES to let you grab his fingers and suck on them!  Daddy and I are constantly on him to keep his fingers away from your mouth, but you both love it...so sometimes I let it slide. :)  If you can see your paci, you're good about grabbing it and getting it where it needs to be, especially when you're in your car seat and can use the pacifier clip to help manuever.  Your hand-to-mouth coordination has really started to improve.

You still spend a good amount of time on your playmats, but you've started to branch out and spend more time in your "Johnny Jumper" seat as well as your exersaucer.  Your short, chubby legs are finally long enough to reach the ground!  The Bumbo is still a favorite, too, especially when you've got a toy to chew on and/or you're in a position where you can watch Harry play the Wii.

At the very end of the month, we started you on rice cereal.  You seem to like it!  Some nights you'll devour all that we make and some evenings you won't eat anything at all, but that's okay with me.  I've become so much more flexible this time around!!!  I think it's a good thing for all of us.  I've been mixing your cereal with breast milk and will continue to do so for quite some time; I've got a ton of that stuff stored away in the freezer.  You're still in size 2 diapers and 6 month clothes, you still have a big bald spot on the back of your head and thin hair all over the rest of your scalp, and you're still a great sleeper, although I think we've reached the point where Daddy and me are going to have to become more respectful of your bedtime.  Eight o'clock is just about your limit, with 7:30 being the optimal bedtime for you. 

We do still let you catnap throughout the day and if we happen to be home, I'll put you down in the afternoon (around 1:00-2:00) for a little bit while the big kids have their "room time."  As summer rolls around we'll definitely get more serious about napping in the crib.  You're pretty aware of everything going on around you these days and simply don't want to miss out on any of the action.

You're sweet and chunky and absolutely adorable.  You laugh and laugh and laugh when we put lotion on you at night.  Your siblings are enthralled with you.  And I can't believe you're almost 6 months old.

I love you.

Rice Cereal.

To celebrate Emmy's five month birthday, we fed her some rice cereal. :)

I honestly haven't been in a big hurry to get her started on solids.  She's a great nurser and is always content, and I figured that solids just meant one more thing to add to our family's schedule, so it really hasn't been a big priority of mine...

But we went for it on Friday.  The big kids LOVED watching her eat, and it turns out Big Nut is a fan of the spoon. 

And the cereal.

We're feeding her around 5:30-6:00, in between her 3:30 and 7:30 feedings.  I'm hoping to drop the 7:30 feeding soon and just do the rice cereal and her bedtime nursing session.

I don't think she'll mind.

So...rice.  It's what's for dinner.

Firebirds.

You're looking at the newest Firebird, folks.

Harris got his first look at his new elementary school this afternoon.  The big spring orientation isn't until next week, but we checked out the media center and cafeteria today as we turned in all of our paperwork.

While I completed the basic information (address, emergency contacts, etc.), Harry quietly read books and waited for his "screening."  I finished up just in time to catch the very end of the assessment from across the room.  I could hear my sweet boy ask the teacher if she wanted him to say the information in Spanish, too, because he was "learning that at school."

He didn't tell me too much about the screening, except that he was asked about uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, shapes, and sight words.  He did tell me that he got "distracted" by the lowercase "b" and the lowercase "d," because sometimes they look alike.  He said the rest of it was easy. :)

We completed his transportation paperwork as well, allowing him to ride the bus to and from my school, and walked out with two new spiritwear shirts.  He's already selected one to wear to school tomorrow.

I sure hope I'm ready for this...