August Book Basket...

Since August is back to school month here in Georgia we are going with a school/ABC themed collection. A smattering of this and that with a few favorites thrown in for good measure. I'm already itching to start compiling books for September, October, November, and December. I really do love the second half of the year because the weeks pass quickly and we go from one season/holiday to the next. Plus, it means the return of college football. :) Anyone else eagerly looking forward to the next few months?

Anyways, here's what we have for this month:

Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney
Llama Llama Time to Share by Anna Dewdney
Olivia Saves the Circus by Ian Falconer
The Best Teacher Ever by Mercer Mayer
The Art Lesson by Tomie dePaola
Ruby the Copycat by Peggy Rathmann
Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard and James Marshall
Miss Nelson is Back by Harry Allard and James Marshall
Miss Nelson has a Field Day by Harry Allard and James Marshall
If You Take a Mouse to School by Felicia Numeroff
The Colors of Us by Karen Katz
I'd Choose You by John Trent
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
Best First Book Ever by Richard Scarry

The Hullabaloo ABC by Beverly Clearly
Alphababies by Kim Golding
Capital! Washington D.C. from A to Z by Laura Krauss Melmed and Frane Lessac
Journey Around Boston from A to Z by Martha Day Zschock
P is for Passport A World Alphabet by Devin Scillian
P is for Peach A Georgia Alphabet by Carol Crane
ABCs of Baseball by Peter Golenbock
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
The Z Was Zapped by Chris Van Allsburg

Chipper's Game...

At the end of last season Chipper Jones officially retired from baseball and it was the end of an era. He spent his entire career in Atlanta with the Braves and when you think about that, in this day and age, it's pretty impressive. Not to mention the fact that he had an incredible career in Atlanta and is destined to be enshrined at Cooperstown in a few years. AG's first true favorite baseball player was Chipper and we had a hard time all winter helping him grasp the concept of retirement. We knew that when the Braves decided to retire his number we would make plans to be there. Well, while I was in Orlando for the Princess Half in February Andy was buying tickets for Opening Day and Chipper's Retirement. 

We told AG for months that we were going to this game and that he would get to see Chipper one last time at Turner Field. He was beside himself with excitement on the morning of June 28th and spent the day gathering everything he needed to take to the game: 

 We left that afternoon with plenty of time to get down to the stadium and walk around before the festivities started. The kids were pumped and ready to go.

 AG's Heyward t-shirt was starting to get a little short on him and we told him he could get a new one at the game. He opted for a red Freddie Freeman t this time. (We've since retired the #10 Jones shirt that both kids have worn and passed the Heyward t to Avi-Kate. One of the few things that we are able to pass from kid to kid!)

Andy and AG standing next to the stadium...they removed this section of bricks and gave them to Chipper as one of his gifts to thank him for his contributions to the Braves over the course of his career. 

 We had great seats with a great view. Of course, they put Chipper's number ten in the outfield and AG's pumped when he saw it. AG was also excited that he had a nice view of the Coke bottle and the Moo-Cow.

Getting everything set up for the pre-game ceremony. It was neat to see former Braves in attendance since it was also Alumni weekend. Andy and I kept pointing out different people to AG and saying, 'we use to watch him play for the Braves when we were little.'

Deep in concentration as he watched the pre-game ceremony on the tv in our section. He was in awe of the whole thing.

The man of the night. He started playing for the major league Braves in the fall of 1993 and I was a few weeks shy of ten years old. He's been such a huge part of the organization these last twenty or so years that it's been really weird this season to look over and not see him at third base.  

Pumped up and ready to see Julio Teheran take on the Diamondbacks. It was also bittersweet because this was the first time several former Braves were back in ATL since the offseason when they were traded. Included in this trade was one of our favorite Braves, Martin Prado. BUT we have been really, really pleased with who came to Atlanta as a result of the trade. Specifically Justin Upton and Chris Johnson. 

 It was a beautiful night to watch the sunset over the stadium with the city off in the distance. Love our city.

 Avi-Kate enjoyed some quality snuggle time with her G-Daddy during the seventh inning stretch.

 AG was excited to hear 'Welcome to the Jungle' blaring at the top of the ninth and watch Kimbrel run out of the bullpen. We love to watch Kimbrel pitch and it's electrifying to be in the stadium when he runs out.

Braves got the win to shutout the Diamondbacks 3-0! Teheran wanted to get 10 strikeouts in honor Chipper's #10 and the Kimbrel got his 23rd save to that point in the season. It was a great game. 

 These last two pictures make my heart happy. I'm glad we got to take the kids and enjoy it with my parents. I remember learning about the Braves and the game of baseball in early elementary school. I can remember my Dad waking me up one night in the fall of 1991 and running downstairs with me so that I could see the Braves as they made their playoff berth. That year they went from the worse to first and began their domination of the National League East for the next 14 years. Here's hoping that this years team continues to play deep in to the playoffs. I haven't been this excited about a Braves roster in a long time and they are playing lights out. Reminds me of the teams I grew up watching and I'm sure AG will carry memories from this season well in to adulthood.

Words for Wednesday...Christmas in July Edition.

These two have declared today Christmas in July...earlier they watched Charlie Brown Christmas and now they've moved on to The Grinch. :) It's funny to look at this picture and see how much they've changed since last December. Anyone else longing for the holidays or are my kids the only ones?!?

July Book Basket...

Since this month is dedicated to the beach and traveling I decided to do a 'water/beach' theme for the month. I came to the conclusion that I need more 4th of July books in our personal library but I'm not sweating it this year since I just did a complete history/America themed basket in May for our trip to Williamsburg. Note to self for next year. :)

Sailaway Home by Bruce Degen
The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole
The Magic School Bus at the WaterWorks by Joanna Cole
Curious George Goes to the Beach by Margaret and H.A. Rey
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell by Lucille Colandro
Sheep on a Ship by Nancy Shaw
Pirates Don't Change Diapers by Melinda Long and David Shannon
Greetings From the 50 States by Sheila Keenan
Olivia Forms A Band by Ian Falconer
Coconut Mon by Linda Milstein
The Jolly Mon by Jimmy Buffett and Savannah Jane Buffett
Vivienne and the Giant Boots by Patrick FitzSymons
The Big Big Sea by Martin Waddell
A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
Wally the Whale Who Loved Balloons by Yuichi Watanabe
The Fish Who Could Wish by John Bush and Korky Paul


Like I said yesterday, we are in the process of completely reorganizing several rooms and moving things around. One of the things that we did is move one of the bookshelves that Andy made a few years ago to the den. It has six cubby spaces and some red collapsible bins to hold small toys/board books. One cubby contains some of the kids most loved authors including Mo Willems, Ian Falconer, and Anna Dewdney. The other open shelf is now my designated 'book basket' space. I've been wanting to have a designated shelf/space for themed books for awhile now. (Like the last few years!) However, it just didn't work till now. I really wanted it to be in a common/shared space in the house and not tucked away in one of the kids rooms. That way we can pull them out to read together on the couch. Since we moved the shelf in to the den the kids have spent more time pulling out the books and making use of them. (Which makes this teacher's heart very happy.) I also put on the shelf two ocean themed puzzles on the shelf for them to use. I can see us making good use of this as we head in to the second half of the year. I have a vast collection of themed books for the months ahead and I look forward to displaying them.

Pictures to come! Once I get everything the way I want it. We are still quite disheveled at the moment. I'm also mulling painting this fall. I ready to change up some of the colors in the house...

It was time...

...to change things up around the house.

I had gotten to my breaking point with the way things were arranged in our family room and was ready for a change. Up till now the bulk of the kids toys were stored in half of the family room. However, due to the narrowness and the depth of the room the kids toys were really starting to take over everything. Everything. And this is with me rotating toys in and out of the attic on a frequent basis. So, we got to thinking about things...

Another problem we were starting to look to problem solving was what to do about transitioning Avi-Kate to a big girl bed. She hadn't tried to climb out but it was bound to happen in the near future. Transitioning with AG was SO EASY because his room has a built in niche that a twin mattress fits in to perfectly. We only bought one bed rail and he never fell out of the bed because he was walled in on all four sides. It was amazing. In Avi-Kate's room we have the queen size guest bed with girl themed bedding. I wasn't crazy about sticking her in this bed yet just because it is so high off the ground and she wouldn't be able to get in/out of it by herself...plus I didn't want to have buy more bed rails! I really just wanted to stick her in AG's twin bed but I didn't want to buy twin girl bedding when I just bought her queen size bedding a year ago. And then it dawned on me. All of my twin college bedding is in perfect condition and just hanging out in the attic. So...we've taken the plunge and flipped the kids bedrooms! AG was not excited at first and Avi-Kate was confused because she was still happy in her crib. The biggest reasons we went ahead and did it were 1.) We were going to the beach for a week and Avi-Kate was going to sleep on a twin bed all week. We didn't want to come home after a week in a bed and move back to the crib. Let's just keep moving forward. 2.) We wanted to do it before AG starts back to school so that he has time to adjust and we can get the house ready for the upcoming year. Due to the insane amount of rain we got the week of July 4th we spent the holiday flipping the kids rooms and then went on vacation. Now that we are back I've got a little less than three weeks to get everything situated the way I want it. AG starts school August 5th! We need to figure out bedding for AG but at the moment he's content with clean sheets and the down comforter. Buying bedding for him wasn't a big deal to me because we figured when we moved to the next house he'd most likely end up in a bigger bed...not like spending money for twin girl bedding that she may use for a year or two at the most. I'm currently mulling several different possibilities for him. The only thing we know for sure is that we have to buy him a set of Grinch flannel sheets this fall from Pottery Barn Kids since Avi-Kate has inherited his twin Grinch sheets. And that will be a problem if she gets the twin ones and he doesn't have a new set because he loves sleeping on them. Last winter I  had to wash them and then put them straight back on the bed because he insisted on sleeping on them till well after Christmas.

By moving the kids rooms and taking down the crib we were able to move their toys in to their rooms. With plenty of space for them to play and spread out without overtaking the family room. Hallelujah! Ideally, in the next house we'll have a designated play space room/nook. The family room is much more spacious now and doesn't make me claustrophobic. We rearranged a few pieces in it and I have some ideas for new art on the walls. Andy wants to paint the kids rooms and I'm thinking about painting some of our common living spaces. We've been in this house now for over six years and I'm ready for a new color palate. The only room that is guaranteed not to be touched is the dining room. The cranberry red isn't going anywhere! Which is a good thing...I think Andy would flip if I suggested painting over it since red is such a hard color to paint. ;)

So, while I'm flipping, cleaning, reorganizing, and purging I'm also mulling paint ideas and decor. I'll start posting pictures once I get things back in order but I am really, really happy with how things are turning out at the moment.

I'm also sorting clothes and looking to do a massive purge of baby gear/clothes. We have several consignment sales coming up in August/September and I'm seriously mulling putting stuff in both sales to clear stuff out. We only have so much room and because the kids are not the same sex there are very few things that we save for AKs to wear that were AG's. It's kind of sad to me to think about getting rid of the baby stuff but I'm really content with our lives right now and the season that God has us in. Looking forward to moving ahead to see what all he has in store for us.
 

Words for Wednesday...AG's First Movie...

We took AG to his first movie at the movie theatre! We've been wanting to do it for awhile but we also wanted to pick something that we'd all enjoy. Monsters University was a perfect choice! Two nights before it was released we had family movie night and watched the first Monsters movie and made these fun treats...

The Friday that it was released we got a babysitter for Avi-Kate and we took AG to dinner and a movie. He was pretty pumped about the whole experience and loved every moment. I think the funniest part of the whole experience was looking over at him during the previews laughing his head off and Andy having to tell him to laugh softer! Haha. That and a close second would be seeing him sit in the seat with the massive refillable bucket in between his legs as he happily ate his way through the whole movie. We loved the movie! It was great for kids and parents alike. I look forward to owning it whenever they release it. Not sure when and what Avi-Kate's first movie will be but Andy and I look forward to doing something similar when she gets just a wee bit bigger. 

Family photos and a few words...

In May our family photographer, who happens to be a dear family friend, came to town and said she wanted to do an impromptu photo shoot. I was happy to oblige even though Andy was long over due for a haircut and wore a cap in all the pictures. Carrie Jo is so talented and I love the way she manages to capture who my kids really are in that moment/season. Once again, she did a phenomenal job and I love the way they turned out.

Head on over to her blog and see for yourself...

We did photos in our church's building on Broad Street and around our building before heading over to Oak Hill to finish taking pictures there. Oak Hill was the home of Martha Berry and it's now a museum.  I have a running list of places that I want Carrie Jo to capture family photos of us and they aren't just limited to Rome. It was fun to cross two places off said list! I'm really hoping we get the chance to do fall family pictures at the farm this year.

Anyways, here's just a few photos but you can find more on her blog and facebook page. :)