Family Fun Day

Yesterday, Sean took the day off work and we declared it Family Fun Day. Nonni came and stayed with Sullivan so we could get the big kids out of the house for a while and not have to worry about nap schedules. It was so fun having a whole day to just play and have fun with them! They loved the special attention also! We started our day off at Mountain Play Lodge. They both got braver as the day went on and tried things that they were nervous to try when we first got there. I love seeing them have the sense of accomplishment when they try something new!

Then we decided to brave Olive Garden for lunch, since we only had the big kids and I love any chance for pasta :) They did really well! Their favorite parts were the "salty bread" (Porter) and the chocolate mints (Savannah). 

After lunch, we went back to Mountain Play Lodge to finish playing and then followed it with a trip to Sweet Frog.

They were both pretty tired by the time we headed home to get Sullivan.

We came home with the intention of playing outside for the rest of the afternoon, but a bee's nest changed our plans. So we headed to Lowe's for bee spray and decided to go check out the new Publix grocery store. Everyone got to pick a treat. Savannah chose strawberry donuts, Porter chose jelly beans and mommy and daddy chose red velvet cake. 

We finished the day by looking at lizards, smiling horses and kitties in tutus on Daddy's phone while all cuddled up in Porter's bed. Yes, they picked the pictures :) I love special days like this with our little family!! 

Our Weekend

This weekend was a big deal! For anyone married to a tax accountant, you know exactly why! This was our first weekend with a whole day to spend doing whatever we wanted and with Daddy at home! It was glorious! We celebrated in all of our own ways...donuts, washing the car, watching shows, playing, church, Sunday night ice cream... SO much fun! We love spending time together, so it was just what we needed!

Porter particularly enjoyed some time with his best buddy. He helped Daddy wash the car and even watching DIY home videos about fixing busted pipes.

Savannah and I supervised the car washing ;)

And because I love my biggest boy so much, I am posting this incredibly imperfect picture

Our tiniest babe ended up with a fever after church, but was still as happy as a clam!

(Sidenote: my favorite moment of the whole weekend was not pictured. Sean and I had nursery this morning and our tiny guy was so tired that he fell asleep on me for about 30 minutes. That never happens, which makes it a big deal. I adore baby cuddles!)

And my second favorite weekend moment, we told the big kids to get ready to go return a movie and get ice cream. Well, they sure did. Their "getting ready" involved a mix of pajamas, soccer shorts, dress socks, and church shoes. On the wrong feet. Hilarious!! I love them! And I love the way they worked together to accomplish these ensembles! 

Family Pets

With Porter loving animals as much as he does, I knew the day would come that he would begin to find/collect new "pets". However, I didnt anticipate said animals to be spiders...gross!! He was so enthusiastic about this spider that he even got Savannah in on the action. He named him Jungle Jack and chased him all over the living room (again, gross!) until finally (with Nonni's help) he was captured. He couldn't decide if he was more terrified of or amused by Jungle Jack. They kept him in a container until Daddy got him and they decided letting him go in the front yard was the best plan. I feel certain that this is only the beginning of our "can we keep it?" phase. It could be worse, I guess ;)

7 Months with Sullivan

This month with Sullivan has been my favorite yet. He is (finally) sleeping through the night pretty consistently. I had to say, I thought that might never happen. He is happily on formula and trying as many new fruits and veggies as he can get a hold of. He has become obsessed with trying to figure out how to pick up puffs. Between having a full tummy and getting much more sleep, he has become one more happy, giggly little guy. His temperament is so sweet and cheerful. His smile is huge and quite contagious. He is doing this precious flap/wave thing to say goodbye and is doing his own version of "more please" to tell us when he would like more of something. He loves the jumper and has become an excellent roller. He seems to have learned to scoot, roll, or wiggle his way to most things he is interested in. He seems to be quite active and loves to be moving. He enjoys car rides much more these days and is usually pretty happy in the car. He is taking two good long naps during the day and goes down for bed around 8:00. He definitely knows his family and a few other familiar faces. He is starting to exhibit some stranger anxiety when it's not one of those few people trying to talk to or hold him. We love this squishy little guy!

Patio Play

One of our favorite places to play at home is the patio. Shade, swings, mulch to dig in, what more could a kid ask for?! Last week it finally got warm enough to bring out the water table and sand. The kids had a blast! We followed it by dinner on the back porch to make for a perfect spring day. 

Baby goats and Tulips

Today we ventured out and went to one of our favorite places, the Biltmore House. Well, Antler Village actually. Why on earth anyone in their right mind would take small children into something so breakable is beyond me, as a sidenote. We knew that spring would probably mean some baby farm animals and tons of beautiful flowers. We were right! We had so much fun! 

The big kids got to play in the sandbox

We got to look at some precious baby goats with their mamas 

My little flower child will pick up flowers from just about anywhere and carry them around so sweetly 

Porter waving at the horses 

Our picnic in the gazebo

And just so you don't think it was all fun and games and went too perfectly, these next photos were my attempt at getting my darling :) children to sit nicely and smile in front of the flowers 

Frame worthy, huh? Geez kids! 

I couldn't get over how beautiful the gardens were!

And because mama had a free coupon, we stopped by Chick Fil A for a free frosted lemonade milkshake. It was delicious! 

I think we wore him out...

And for a little rest back at home...