Party Pics

What a great day we had celebrating Brantlee turning 2!! The weather was beautiful, and many of our family and friends came to the party. Most and best of all, this curly-headed girl had the time of her life. She was very aware that this was her day ;) She squealed and screamed when each guest would arrive, and she was so excited the entire time! I wish I could post a picture of each and every guest or friend. Thanks so much for all her sweet gifts! It was a very great day.

She carried around Minnie for almost the whole party. Poor Minnie looked pretty rough and ragged by the end.

She was in awe that everyone was actually singing to her.

She did it all by herself!!

Collin and his best "girl" friend Allie. They are inseparable at school.

The second or third gift that B opened was a little bag filled with some makeup for to have for herself. We requested this, because she nearly destroys mine every morning when I try to get dressed. She. loves. it. After she saw this gift, she wouldn't put it down. She walked around showing everyone her makeup. Poppa even let her apply some blush and lip gloss-ha!!

But guess who became fascinated by the baby doll crib??

After the birthday festivities and food, the boys (including several grown men) decided to play some soccer and football. I snagged some pics of our little man being so grown up out there.

Future quarterback maybe?

Playing with some new toys and putting her baby to bed.

Brantlee Grace-

You are such a joy, little girl!!! You are so sweet, sassy, matter-of-fact, and very independent. From day one, you have made it clear that you have your own mind and your own agenda. We've learned to respect that ;) You have changed in so many ways over this past year- from barely walking to climbing steep ladders and up slides backwards, from saying only a few words to full out conversations. But most change has occurred in the area of hair! This time last year, we were so proud to just have a bow in your hair. And now we can't keep those curls under control for more than an hour. We are loving every minute of raising a princess ... well, a tough and usually dirty princess. You are so very girly, yet you are equally as much of a tomboy. You are just plain funny. But when you have your mind set on something, there is nothing funny about the situation. We pray that part of you never changes, no matter how hard it is to parent at times. You make our hearts smile, and we love you, Brantlee Bug!

Love,

Daddy, Mommy & Collin

I Be 2!!

Two years ago on this day and about this time in the morning to be exact, Brantlee Grace came into the world! Where does time go?? Two years already? Anyway, Miss Priss has been talking about this birthday for weeks now. A typical conversation goes something like this:

Brantlee, when is your birthday?
"Octoder niiiint (9th)."

And how old will you be?
"I be two!" (with 2 fingers held up, but sometimes 3 and sometimes 1)

Well, what kind of birthday are you having?
"I gone have Miiiinnie Mouse."

And what are we going to do at the party?
"We sing Happy Birday and blow out da cindles."


This morning we started celebrating with birthday pancakes just so she could get some practice blowing out those candles we've been talking about.

Big brother Collin just so happens to be a professional candle blower outer, so he had to do it too, of course. He has been so selfless and excited for Brantlee and her party. That's hard to do when you are only 3.

The party is at 4 o'clock, and we are busy as can be getting everything ready today. Thank you Lord for beautiful weather. It's going to be a great day :)

Finally Fall

A slight drop in temperature, fall displays and a few turning leaves makes just about anyone happy. We have been soaking in the beginning of Fall for the last couple of weeks. The weather has been so perfect, and it is hard to stay at home and rest :) Last weekend we went to a 1st birthday party for twins Preston and Pace Perrett. The party itself was fabulous! Not to mention we got to see lots of old friends, mostly Kyle's MC football buddies, their wives and babies. Great times.

It's the pumpkin man!

Brantlee, why don't you stand by the pumpkin man so I can get your picture??

I'll take that as a "no."

No Brantlee, please don't sit on those rocks.
(Don't act like you haven't done it to get what you want.)

What a difference children make! Here is Craig, Kyle and John Michael "supervising" their children Ryder, Collin and Charlie in the hammock.

At the end of the party, we tried to get all the little ones together for a picture. This is how it turned out. The more I look at it, it's not that bad. No one's crying. That's pretty good.


Go Tigers Go!!

Last night we ventured out with Nana and Poppa to the Northeast vs. South game. Being back in "The Jungle" (a.k.a. Tiger stadium) brought back some memories for Kyle and me. We saw lots of familiar faces and had a good time.

This morning we went to one of the best birthdays we have attended in a while! Harrison and Hudson turned 3 today, and we celebrated at Kamper Park & Zoo with a football theme. All the kids showed their school spirit. Happy Birthday boys! We love you, and we had a blast!!

After the party, we were treated to free train ride and a visit to the zoo. Awesome :)

Checking out the alligators

Cruising the zoo

Before heading home we couldn't help but stop by Laurel's annual Loblolly Festival. There were tons of people on this beautiful day. C and B stopped to decorate a pine cone from a Loblolly pine tree maybe?? I'm assuming here.

I had to pull them off of the jumpy things kicking and screaming. Literally. They were exhausted and so was mommy!

I wish these pictures justified the height of this slide. It was monstrous. But I promise no one was injured.

At age 2 & 3

Last Saturday we had Collin and Brantlee's pictures taken in Hattiesburg by Ms. Alison Crumpton, and they turned out so precious! The photo shoot was definitely an active one but well worth the effort to do it. These ages are so, so special and fun, but challenging at the same time. I think these pictures truly capture who they are right now. (Sorry B for the pouting picture, but you did put on quite the show on this day. Just for memory's sake, I had to include it.)