Christmas Program 2010

On Tuesday the kids had their Christmas Program. It was absolutely adorable! Here is Brookelyn on the bleachers with her classmates:

She did wonderfully, saying all the words to the story, singing all the songs, and acting out all the motions her teacher had taught her. She even bowed at the end (even though no one else did)!

For Braedyn, this was a first! His first Christmas program. He did great. Didn't say a single word, sing a single song, or act out a single motion. But, he stayed on stage, didn't cry, and flashed those killer dimples the entire time!
I guess I should take back that he didn't act out any motions, because the little girl he has a crush on, Dowery, did grab his hand during the program and they stayed locked together! They were front and center, so everyone was saying how absolutely adorable they were!
Afterwards, we caught a cute picture of them by the Christmas trees.
Brookelyn LOVED her "princess dress" and twirled around for the rest of the afternoon!

What a wonderful afternoon!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We started celebrating with the kids' school parties. Braedyn LOVED the popcorn balls we brought!

And, Batgirl had a pretty good time at her school party too!

On Friday, we took the kids trick-or-treating at Allen's office. It was great! They had the conference rooms all decorated in different themes. Batman LOVED it!

Batgirl and Honey had a pretty good time too!

As if they didn't already have enough candy, we headed to Uncle David's office to do a little more trick-or-treating at Walmart!
When Sunday arrived, the kids were old pros! We loaded them up in the wagon and headed out.
They loved all the scary decorations.
And, Daddy pulled them all over the neighborhood! It was a great time!

Hogs vs Ole Miss

Honey and Sashi arrived on Wednesday, and that night we went to Bobby Petrino Live (where the head coach of the Razorbacks, Bobby Petrino, brings players and talks about the game ahead) at The Catfish Hole. Many of you know that Brookelyn's dream has been to "touch Bobby" and she is evidence that dreams do come true! Here is Brookelyn with Bobby!

The game was Saturday, and we were lucky enough to be able to go on the field with the Junior Razorback club (the kids are both members). It was pretty cool to be that close to the players!
Brookelyn got to see the cheerleaders as they arrived on the field.
And, she got to get some love from Pork Chop!We headed up to the stands to watch the game. The kids were GREAT!
Can you tell Braedyn was having a great time?!
And, then the rain came! But, Mommy was prepared with stylish garbage bags for everyone.
We finally left after the second rain delay. I think this picture sums up how we felt as we drove home!

Auntie Jenna Comes to Visit!

We hadn't seen Auntie Jenna in quite a while since we had ALL been busy with work and moving. But, we were SO lucky that she was able to come visit us a few weekends ago! Since she lives in downtown D.C., we thought we would show her a good time out in "the country" here in Arkansas. What better place to take her than the Ozark Corn Maze?!

Allen led us all the way through the maze without any trouble! Here we are at the end:

And, we had to get a shot of the kiddos!

Mommy got talked into riding the cow train (which was not made for Mommy hips I might add). The kids LOVED it!

And of course Daddy couldn't leave without shooting the corn cannons--the real reason he wanted to go in the first place. Brookelyn thought they were too loud:

But, Braedyn LOVED them!

He and Daddy shot the corn REALLY FAR!!

We miss Auntie Jenna already! Hopefully she will be able to show us around D.C. soon!!

First Razorback Game!

The kids were so excited for their first Razorback game at the stadium! We had already had a busy morning with Brookelyn's soccer practice, but the kids were raring to go!

Here we are right before we left--all Razorback ready:

And, here are the kids with Honey and Sashi:
Mommy stole a quick picture with B-man, rocking the red mohawk:
And, here is the little Razorback princess in her bedazzled jersey:
We walked all over campus, through The Gardens, and finally up to our seats. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the kids acted through the entire game--way past their bedtimes.

Everyone cheered when the team ran through the A!

Here is B-man on Daddy's shoulders watching a play:

And, Brookelyn loved calling the Hogs!

It was an awesome evening! We are hoping our little good luck charms will bring the Hogs MANY more wins!

First Soccer Practice

Brookelyn had her first soccer practice with her new team, The Breakers, on Saturday morning. She was SO excited!

Here she is thinking about her big day:

We got there and got set up. B-man took his post in his own little lawn chair. He loved watching the girls, but he REALLY wanted to play!

Coach Allen started by stretching all the girls out really well. (Notice B-man is in the circle too.)

Then, practice started!
Here is Coach giving the girls a super pep-talk!

The star player takes the ball down the field!
At the end of practice Coach Allen let the girls have a little fun with the parachute. Notice his whistle? It might be taken away at home if he can't learn that it is for use ONLY on the field--there are no soccer players in this house!
It was an amazing first practice! I am not sure who had more fun, the girls, Coach Allen, or all the parents watching! Tomorrow night Coach David takes the reigns, as Allen will be out of town. The Breakers home opener is Monday September 13th at 6pm!

First Day of School for Brookelyn and Braedyn

This has been a wonderful week! Both kids started school, and I am finally beginning to feel like I am digging out of all the moving mess.

Brookelyn's first day of Pre-K was on Monday. She will go Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8-2. And, let me tell you, trying to get both kids dressed, fed, and ready to leave this house by 7:45 is HARD! Here she is on Monday morning:

If you notice, her shorts match her backpack :)
She had a great first day, and couldn't wait to go back on Wednesday!

So, on Tuesday, Braedyn had his first day. He will go on Tuesday and Thursday from 8-2. I love this schedule because it will allow me to have special one-on-one time with each of them. I had an adorable collared shirt all picked out for him to wear, but the diva that he is (and learned from his sister) decided he was going to wear Spiderman or nothing. As I said before, it is hard enough to get cooperative children out of the house by 7:45, much less my two stubborn ones. So, mommy lost. Here he is on Tuesday morning:
This is his GQ pose:
And of course, flashing those lady-killer dimples!
He also had a great day. It started off a little tough because he had gotten used to having his sister at school with him during the summer, but she gave him lots of hugs and told him to "pick a flower on the playground for me" and he happily waved goodbye to us.

WOW--What a CRAZY Summer

To say that we had a busy summer is the understatement of the century!

It all started when Daddy got a new job at Sam's Club, so Mommy got to sell the house in Dallas, pack up the house in Dallas, load the entirety of the house (well technically the movers did) onto a truck, and drive the kiddos up to Arkansas.

Goodbye Dallas house!

Hello new Arkansas house! Allen fell in love with this house at first sight (literally) and so did I. But, we have NEVER had to do so much to a house to make it ready! It had cracks in the brick, overgrown flowerbeds, needed paint, carpentry, SO MUCH cleaning EVERYWHERE, new furniture, stain, putty, you name it--it needed it. With that said, all the work is slowly coming to a close, and it is by far my most favorite home we have ever had. I love every inch of it!
And, since coordinating the endless contractors wasn't enough to put me in the looney bin, I decided to push myself over the edge with my least favorite mommy job--POTTY TRAINING! But, after a week of the nudie-bootie method, Braedyn had it all down. Of course, his favorite place to pee is outside!

When I thought I just couldn't take it for one more second, summer school started. Thank you Jesus! The kids had so much fun with their new teachers and friends. Here they are on their first day!

Of course the kids kept things interesting this summer, as the Bates' kids always manage to do. Braedyn had a terrible bout of Croup which landed us in the pediatrician's office for THREE hours. And, introduced us to one of Braedyn's least favorite things in the world, breathing treatments! (The sunglasses were not a stylish accessory--they kept the mist out of his eyes.)

And, of course there was the Chick-fil-A black eye I blogged about previously, which brings me to Braedyn's lovely gashed forehead. He managed to do this while Allen was out of town in New York. Brookelyn was being a kitty cat in the bathroom when he decided to sit on her back. After I told her to get up, he managed to fall forward right into the corner of the tile. Thank goodness Melinda rushed right over and helped me triage!

Not to be outdone by her brother that night, Brookelyn scared me TO DEATH by having what I now know to be a night-terror, but what I thought to be a seizure later that night. She screamed my name and then was totally unresponsive, shaking, and glaring around with glassy eyes. Terrifying! What a night. Needless to say, Allen has not gone on another business trip.

On a happier note, we got to take the kids to their first Broadway play, Beauty and the Beast! They loved it! Braedyn even cried the whole way home because he wanted to see the Beast again! Here is my little princess all dressed up ready for the show.
One of the most exciting events of the summer, was the birth of my new niece, Lily Kate! She is just perfect in every way--except that she lives 10 hours away! We had such an amazing time with everyone celebrating her arrival!
Whew! Seriously, a jam-packed summer. But, as summer ends, we know what that brings...Daddy's favorite 8 letter word--FOOTBALL! So I had to start the kids' education by taking them to a Razorback practice!

Tonight we had our end of summer dinner (a new Bates' tradition). While summer isn't technically over yet, the kids start school tomorrow so it feels as if it is. We are so thankful for all of our family and friends who have helped us through this crazy time, and we are looking forward to an amazing fall! Woooooo Pig Sooie!