Thursday, March 20, 2014

First Day of Spring!!!

After a long, cold winter we were more than happy to welcome the first day of Spring!!! And of course, we had to throw a little party to do so……

We baked and decorated sugar cookies with fun Spring sprinkles. 




We planted strawberries and tomatoes in these cute little pots. 


And then put them out in the sunlight. 

We colored Spring placemats. 




Insert random shot of Eleanor's beautiful curly locks. 

And we painted birdhouses! 


Oh yes. We are giddy with excitement for Spring!!!

St.Patrick's Day!

Celebrating the holidays, even the "little ones" are really fun with the children. I get to be creative and I end up having just as much fun (maybe more) as them! This was our second year doing something for St.Patrick's Day and so we already had a few decorations from last year and had collected some books. 


I was really impressed with Everett's drawing of a leprechaun! He did this from memory. At the top right is a clover and at the bottom is the pot of gold. 

And we made green play dough. 

And had green smoothies and Lucky Charms for lunch!


It was a hit. 


Hampton and a very sneaky leprechaun. 


And we went on a hunt around the house for gold treasure. 


Another activity we did was look for 4 leaf clovers in our yard. We didn't find any, but Everett said the 3 leaf one he found was still "bring him some luck." Then he smushed it in his pocket. 

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Hampton is 4!

Oh our sweet, lovable Hampton Cole. What a great kid. Hampton was very aware of his birthday this year. It was much anticipated. We decided to celebrate by going to the children's museum in Greenville. We took Ev out of school for the day and had so much fun. We spent the morning there and then had Chick Fil A for lunch. Later in the day we had chocolate cupcakes to continue the celebration. 
Apple cinnamon muffins to start the day.
 His birthday was pirate themed this year. He received Jake and the Neverland pirates Legos from us, as well as a new book and tunnel for this train set. 
 At the museum with the four!



 I decided to take Hampton to Target and allow him to pick out a couple more gifts. He chose wisely. He picked these train tracks as well as two Thomas trains. The coolest thing is that they are motorized! It's been a huge hit. He also chose some Jake bubble bath and a Thomas the train shirt. Sensing a theme? Hampton loves trains. Hampton loves Jake and the Neverland pirates. 


Hampton trying to put up four fingers to tell me he's four. 


There are so many things I want to remember about Hampton at this age. 
He is lovable and affectionate. Just today he came up to me, gave me a kiss, and said "You will always be my little mama." 
He is generous. He is the first to offer you a bite of his treat, even before he himself as had a bite. When he sat on Santa's lap at Christmas, he asked Santa what he wanted for Christmas!
He is funny. He loves to make people laugh and he knows he is hilarious. 
He has the social skills like no other. He invites neighbors over to play. He says hello to everyone when we are out. Everyone is his friend.
He is smart. He catches on to things so quickly and has an incredible memory. 
He has the attention span like no other. He can sit and do a 100 piece puzzle until completion. The kid is focused.
He is passionate. With a big personality, comes big passion. It's rare, but the boy has a temper. As in, he loves big, but don't cross him! Needless to say, he can get a bit charismatic. 
He loves his family. He may reprimand Eleanor or Thatcher for getting into his toys, or argue with Everett, but he loves his siblings. When he goes with me to pick up Everett, he immediately asks Everett how his day was and is truly interested. When we are out, he'll see something he thinks Eleanor would like and draws her attention to it. He kisses and tickles Thatcher. The other night I was trying to get a break (I was lying down on the sofa) and he started hugging me and snuggling. He looked at Eric and said, "I just love her Daddy." Swoon!
Hampton is just the best. We are so happy that he is a part of our family.