Preschool bound

This has been the smoothest transition yet! Sadie loves, loves going to school. She is in playschool 2 days a week and it has been wonderful. She talks about her new friends and sings her songs. There is an excited cheer when she is told that it is a school day. I hope this enthusiasm will continue!

Kindergarten, Here I Come!

Look at this big girl! We were all so excited for her first day of Kindergarten. I knew she would love it! Although, amidst the excitement, I still had some difficulty letting go of my first born. Her first day was wonderful and so have the few weeks that followed. She is learning and making new friends. I love her eagerness to learn! She just soaks it in. Her teacher is an old pro so I am confident that she knows what she is doing. She runs a tight ship which seems to suit Savanna's personality but I will admit that it is taking me a little longer to adjust. All in all we are having a great beginning to our Kindergarten year! 

Born and bred

My cousin, Matthew, is a freshman at Carolina. I have a special place in my heart for that university...a long family history, an important history of the university itself, and my own exciting college adventures in and around its campus. He shares the family history and I am so excited for him to be living out his college adventure there as well. We headed to Chapel Hill to make sure he was getting into the swing of it all. It seems he is adjusting well to the challenges of college and a new social environment. I look forward to visiting him again!

Smile....

it is August birthday time at our house! Sadie wanted to have a smiley face birthday and we had a good time with it. My dad and brother also have August birthdays so we combine the party to include them. Our baby turned three this year. She is a quirky, laid back, energetic, independent kid who just brightens our day. It rained so we had to keep the party indoors this year. This was the first time in 6 years of birthday parties that we have had to be inside. A hurricane was dictating the weather that day. Sadie has really been into drawing smiley faces so we thought it would make for a fun birthday party idea. Don't you just love the cute balloon she chose? Uncle Forrest was unable to attend this party so we celebrated with him a little later in the month. Here they are with our "Sam tree" as I call it. My grandfather, Sam, also had an August birthday. Sadie adds some spunk to that sweet group of men in our family and I don't think Sam would have minded a bit to share his birthday month with her either. Happy birthday Sadie bug!!!

Trailheads

One Saturday in August we packed a picnic lunch and headed up to Fairy Stone State Park in Va. What a fun adventure! This place has lots to do but all we had time for was our picnic and a hike to the dam. It was a little hot but the trail is mostly shaded. We put our feet in the water at the end to help us cool off. The girls were such troopers that day. We heard some whining but we all made it. There were dogs and horses along the trail, beautiful views, and different paths to take. The girls lead the charge to the dam and we got there with no problem. We will definitely be back to swim in the river but this time it was closed as we finished our hike.

Gaps

   Savanna has always had gaps in her teeth. It is a good thing we are told but she now has a gap where her first lost tooth once stood. Shortly after school started she lost one of her bottom front teeth! She was so nervous about losing that tooth! She would not let me pull it because she was afraid it would hurt or bleed a lot. Even when it hurt being left alone she refused. One day she was in her room playing and came downstairs with her tooth. She had pulled it herself and survived!