It's already happening...

Once in a great while, I will put a note in Landon's snack for school. It will be something simple like "Hope you're having a good day! I love you!", etc. I don't do it often--maybe three times this whole year. Earlier this week while we were discussing his snack, he said "Mom, don't include a note this time, though. My friends make fun of me when you do."

Sniff. Sniff.

I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. Who are these so called friends? Do I need to go up to the school and tell them a little something about my notes?!?!? This is my baby--I can send him any notes that I want to, and they better keep their little mouths tightly shut. Okay, that wasn't exactly my reaction; however, I did feel like I had been hit, and I realized that it was starting. Mom isn't so cool anymore. Again, I was reminded that with each day that goes by, my children are taking steps away from me and creating their own lives.

The good news is that I'm not completely shut out yet. When I dropped him off at school after his doctor's appointment the next day, I went to give him high five so I wouldn't embarrass him. In front of another 1st grade class, my little man grabbed me instead and smacked a kiss on me.

Sigh...

I'll enjoy those kisses for the very short time I still have them.

Fall and Halloween Fun

Here is Lilah at her "Pumpkin Day" at school...

Noah and his class at Pumpkin Day....

Lilah and some of her classmates watching the older kids on the playground...

Lilah blowing bubbles at Grandma and Papa's Halloween party....

The Skeleton (Matt), Batman (Landon), Spiderman (Noah)...

Batman (Landon)...

My own little Minnie Mouse...

Jason and the kids carving pumpkins...

The pumpkin that Noah picked out...

What Landon did during the pumpkin carving...

Spiderman (Noah) at his school Halloween parade...

Minnie Mouse with her class at the Halloween parade at school...

Pumpkin time at Stone Mountain

A couple of weeks ago, we packed up a lunch and headed to Stone Mountain for the afternoon. This month is the Pumpkin Festival at the park, and we thought it would be a great day to spend as a family. We were right--we had a fabulous time! The kids were able to decorate their own little mini pumpkin, and the boys had their faces painted. We took a train ride around the mountain, and we rode to the top on the Summit Skyride. To finish off the day, we picked out our pumpkins for Halloween. I love days like that one.

The kids walking through the park.

Brotherly love

Daddy helping Lilah decorate her pumpkin.

The kids showing their decorated pumpkins

Landon's face painting

Our very own tiger

Mommy and Lilah enjoying the train ride

Checking out the carving while riding on the train.

On top of Stone Mountain

The Atlanta skyline (and the haze that goes with it)

Landon and Lilah trying to find the perfect pumpkin.

"I think it's this one, Daddy."

My babies

Just another day

I thought I would take a few pictures of a couple of things we do around here on ordinary days...

Here is Lilah cooking with her daddy. Jason lets Lilah and Noah

help him often. They love it, and he's so patient with them.

Waffles for breakfast...yummy!

A picnic dinner...in the living room.

The UGA game was about to come on, so we decided it was

time for a family dinner in the living room. The kids thought it

was a treat. It was, I suppose, but mostly we wanted to

watch the game. :)

San Diego

At the end of September, Jason and I headed to San Diego, CA for a good friend's wedding. Jason was the best man in the wedding, and I did a reading during the ceremony. We had a fabulous time. We flew in Thursday night and took the red-eye back on Sunday. I can't say that we did that much beside the wedding events. Our hotel was on Mission Bay near Pacific Beach, and we spent a lot of time walking around there with friends. It seems like we ended up in an outside bar overlooking the ocean a few times, but how could we resist with such beautiful weather? We're so thankful that my parents took care of the kids and Kasey while we were gone. It's so nice to go somewhere and have no stress about the kids. Landon, Noah, and Lilah all said that their weekend was fantastic. Kasey had an extra wag in her tail, and Max was in heaven at the kennel getting to play with dogs who play as hard as he does. So, it was a happy weekend for our Seabolt family--no matter where we were. I'm just glad Jason and I were in San Diego that weekend. ;)

There were 4 or 5 big birds in an outside area of our hotel. Pretty cool.

Our friend, Shelby, drove down from LA to spend the weekend with us.

Jason and the boys

The gang hanging out Friday night.

Jason and I on the wedding day.

At the wedding

Four years old, really?!?!

I can't believe my baby boy has turned four! I also can't believe that it's taken me almost a month to get anything posted about the kid. I think this was by far his favorite birthday (that's saying a lot since he's had 4 whole birthdays). We finally threw a birthday party for him with his friends. He was so excited! We went to a local park and rented out the pavilion (for free, I might add) which worked out wonderfully!!! Every time we pass the park, he still says "there's my birthday party". The kids were so entertained by running from playground to playground, so no extra activities were necessary (my kind of party). He was a very happy boy that day!

Happy birthday, NoNo. You still make me smile by just looking at me with those big eyes of yours, and you fill my heart with that belly laugh of yours. I love you!

Noah opening some presents at home on his actual birthday.

Noah on the swing with his girls-Kate and Brinley
Some of the kids eating pizza.

Getting ready to blow out his Buzz Lightyear candle

Everyone grabbing a string for the pinata.

Pinata goods...

Noah opening presents from his friends.

The party totally wore our girl out. She fell asleep in her Aunt Sally's arms.

Soccer is back, and there's a new kid playing!

Well, we're back at the soccer fields every Thursday and Saturday, but this season, we have an addition to the schedule. Noah is getting to play his first season of soccer. Like Landon did his first season, he's fortunate to have his dad as his coach. So far he seems to like it and even scored a few goals his first game. Landon is playing on the same team he played on last season, and we're happy that there are 6 returning players (out of 10) on the team. They are really learning to play together and starting to pass the ball a lot more. Each kid is finding his place on the team, and it's fun to watch. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed watching Landon's game until after Noah's game. Although Noah's games are entertaining, I have to admit I like the older kids playing. I think that's the soccer player in me coming out. :) It could also be that it was much harder having Max at the fields with us when I had to watch Lilah on my own since Jason was coaching. No matter what, I enjoy our soccer-filled Saturdays.

Noah playing in his first game (I love the smile on his face).

Landon playing keeper in the first half.

Lilah at the fields. Two games is a bit much for her right now, but popcorn always helps. :)
Landon and Noah play with brothers on each team-fun and crazy!

My newest soccer player