Poor Laura Ann!!

Poor Laura Ann got her annual visit from the stomach bug yesterday. Bless her!! The rest of us are loading up with apple cidar vinegar in an effort to stay well.......

Saturday Fun

Big Daddy & Nanna came to cheer Daniel on today in his Upward Basketball game. I managed to snap a few pics before we left for the game.

Daniel's Big Day

The day started out with putting the finishing touches on his Main Idea Mobile for him to take to school today. He wasn't excited AT ALL about working on this, but was surprisingly excited to take it to school once he was finished with it. When he got in the car this afternoon, he immediately announced that he had had a BIG Day!! First of all, he was awarded Good Citizen by Mrs. Johnson, got to go to the office & get a ribbon from Mrs Schmitt to wear the rest of the day. And secondly, he lost a tooth in the afternoon that has been loose forever & that the orthodonist was supposed to be pulling on Monday. Yay! I'd say it was a pretty big day! :-)

And yes, I realize that he is wearing shorts & short sleeves to school in January. I grew weary of fighting that battle long ago.

Too Close to Home

Our state had yet another bad tornado outbreak & this time it was too close to home.....only a few miles away. Dan & I spent some time, along with friends, on Wednesday & Thursday helping some victims sort through what was left of their homes. There are pics of 3 of the homes from the neighborhood in the slideshow, but many more were lost. These families lost mostly everything, but in spite of that, were so thankful for their lives & were reminding all of us workers throughout the day that 'these are just material things'. They were such a blessing to meet & work with!

Carrie Anne was super sweet to bring home all of the laundry strewn about one of the houses we worked in, so I picked up Meredith & Barrett from school that day so she could finish it up. Daniel & Laura Ann were THRILLED to have extra playmates today!

Tea Parties & Time Outside

Laura Ann has countless tea parties around her little table. I so wish I could freeze her like this!

And while she is having tea parties, the boys are running wild outside. Getting them in is a chore.......even after dark!!!

More Basketball & a Visit from Gran

Rosemery and a Report Card

Laura Ann was thrilled to get some mail from our friend in Guatamala, Rosemery. She and Laura Ann share the same birthday & have the same size hands! Laura Ann also got another good progress report from the WEE Center today.

Outside Fun!

We are loving the mild temperatures and are spending lots and lots of time outside!!

Fun at the Lake with the Girls!

I enjoyed a super relaxing little trip with some of my favorite friends to Carrie Anne's lake house this weekend. We relaxed, ate and talked nonstop for almost 24 hours. Shhhh.....don't want all of the husbands to know how late we stayed up!!!

Lunch at Big School

I took Laura Ann to 'big school' for lunch with her brother today. She thought she was big stuff going through the line by herself (with a little help from Daniel). Daniel was excited that we got to sit with his friend, Anderson.

Laura Ann Starts Gymnastics!

Laura Ann decided to give gymnastics a shot this semester & she has been SO EXCITED about going! She did a little routine in the driveway before we left.......I'm not so sure she understood exactly what gymnastics were at that point, but she caught on fast once her class started!! :-)

Celebrating #14!!!!

Dan & Uncle Matt got a Christmas surprise from their friend, Boyd.......tickets to the National Championship game!  Dan left Sunday morning & they all met in New Orleans Sunday afternoon for a few days of fun.   Daniel's 5:00 basketball practice & a very late kick off on a school night made it hard for me, Daniel & Laura Ann to make big plans for the game, but we didn't let that stop us.  Laura Ann worked all day on Monday making decorations for our National Championship 'party'.  When we picked Daniel up from school, we headed straight to the grocery store and bought party food and balloons.   We partied until time for basketball practice & then some more when we got home.   I let Laura Ann stay up until the end of the first quarter & then got her in bed.  I decided to let Daniel stay up with me.  HE HAD A BALL!!  He is finally understanding most of the game & was all into it!   It was a great win for the Tide, so of course, Daniel was pumped!  Dan was welcomed home this afternoon as if he played in the game himself.......banner and all!  Ha!   What can I say, we like to celebrate here in the James' house and our team bringing home #14 is a pretty good reason!  Roll Tide Roll!!!

More Bike Riding

Laura Ann wanted to show off her bike riding skills to Jeb & Daniel this afternoon. She still hasn't mastered the brakes, which makes me a little nervous on the pavement!!

Daniel's First Upward Game of 2012

Laura Ann Rides a Bike!

Dan took the training wheels off Laura Ann's bike months ago & they practiced some in the yard. She did great, but still needed more practice & we just haven't done it. Dan decided today to take her to the mall so she could practice on the grass. She did great. She has no problem pedaling, it's the starting & stopping the she just can't get. We still have some work to do! We went to lunch after our practice session. Dan & I are going to make the most of this last semester having our baby girl at home before she goes to big school!

Stary Eyes!!!

Daniel does great in all areas at school except handwriting. Every report card, conference, etc. this is what we hear from his teachers. He gets three grades on his spelling test every week.....one for spelling, one for the dictation sentence & one for handwriting. He usually gets 100 on spelling & dictation & straight face on handwriting. He brought home his test folder today & guess what!?!? He had a starry eyes for HANDWRITING!!! Woo Hoo!! I had no idea he could write this neatly. I have to give full credit to Mrs. Johnson. She has worked wonders with this kid! And I don't expect him to write like this on a regular basis, but it is nice to know that he can do it for test purposes!

Oh, and I should note that he did this back in November......I only get his test folder at the end of the grading period so I'm just now seeing it.

Fun at McWane

We spent their last day of Christmas break at the McWane center with the Greenhaws. Daniel and Laura Ann had a super fun day with Morgan & Griffin. And I had a super fun day catching up with Leigh!!! We have come a long way since our baby days & adult communication is much easier with these BIG kids!

A Zoo & A Book

Laura Ann has been busy! She called me up to her room last night & told me to bring my camera. She had made a zoo in her room with her stuffed animals. Today she wrote a book. She actually drew step by step illustrations of a story & scribbled some lines at the top of each page. It would have taken way too long for me to help her with all of the spelling. She can read it perfectly, though!

Happy New Year!!

Daniel and Laura Ann enjoyed some fun at Big Daddy and Nanna's on New Year's Eve while Dan and I enjoyed dinner out with friends. We had our traditional New Year's Day lunch on the 2nd when Daniel & Laura Ann got home. YUM! We are looking forward to a fabulous 2012!!!