Sweet Repeats: Edition Thomas PJs

One of the many benefits of having three boys is that we have plenty of clothes to go around, provided they don't get worn out first. Andrew and Coleman could share some things, but with them having opposite season birthdays, not everything was handed down. I sold a lot of Andrew's little things due to lack of storage, but I did keep quite a bit and have been able to enjoy them again with Jonathan. Jon Jon has also been able to wear a lot of Coleman's things, so his closet has never been lacking.

I love seeing these precious items come out of the storage boxes for Jonathan to wear. It's almost like I get to have Andrew and Coleman back to that littler size again for a while. My memories are so sweet and clear of them in so many of these outfits, and it pulls at my heartstrings to realize that this season of sweet little boy clothes is coming to a close.

So, I have decided some documentation is in order. Since I can't keep them little enough to wear these things forever, I will be featuring Sweet Repeats here on the Quiver. When I have pictures of two or all three of them wearing the same item, I'll post them together. I think it will be fun to see them in the same things at close to the same ages, but with their own style and personality.

So here's our first of the Sweet Repeats. All of the yahoos have loved Thomas at this stage of life Jonathan is in now. Gigi and Papack found these pajamas for Andrew just after his two year old train birthday party. Here he is wearing them playing with his brand new train set.


Coleman loved them too. Here are two shots of him with them on. You can see he was a wee bit bigger than Andrew at this age!


And last night Jonathan got to wear them for the first time. He was just tickled about them, and posed so nicely for his picture.

Coleman Joe, Age 4

Here is a brief account of our Coleman at age 4.

*Coleman loves pretending. Favorites are any superhero (Spiderman especially), Buzz Lightyear, firemen, knights, and of course pirates. He and Andrew have been on a "secret spy" kick lately which has them sneaking around the house looking for bad guys.

*Favorite foods include macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, baked beans (hot dog beans), noodles or pasta of almost any sort, apples, and grapes. He loves a cheeseburger from McDonald's and a Sprite is a huge treat!

*Coleman is still a big helper in the kitchen. Whenever I am cooking, especially with the mixer, he is right there to help out. He loves to watch our creations as they bake in the oven, and then proudly tells the family that he helped make our dinner.

*Outside is his most favorite place to be. He loves riding his bike, playing on the playground, or helping Brent with the yardwork. He still follows along with our toy lawnmower and his little blower matching his daddy step for step. The Gatorade breaks they take together are so sweet, and you can tell that Coleman is eating up this "guy time" with his dad.

*Coleman's best friends are his brothers. He is such a great "magic link" between our oldest and youngest. He plays equally well with them both, and they both love his company. Every morning, as soon as Jonathan is out of bed, Coleman comes over to love on him and say good morning. He and Andrew have an occasional blowup over something, but two minutes later they are right back to buddies. The middle is not an easy place to be, but Coleman is figuring it out pretty well.

*At preschool each day, when we pick Jonathan up from his class, Coleman holds his hand as we walk out. I hear him ask without fail, "JonJon, did you have a good day today?"

*Another thing that cracks us up is Coleman's use of the phrase, "Awww, Nuts!" As in, "Awww, Nuts! I swallowed my gum!" It is such a frequently used expression, that now we often hear Jonathan saying, "Aww, Nuss!"

*Adrenaline could well have been his middle name. Fast, faster and fastest are his favorite speeds. He loves tubing behind the boat, or zooming down the hill on his trike. Bravery seems to come naturally to Coleman as he will try anything once. Not even a flu shot scares this boy!

*This year brought the addition of Coleman's glasses. We are so thankful to have them, and so is he. At first we were unsure of how well he would wear them, but he keeps them on almost all the time without prompting. Before January, we would never have thought of Coleman as missing something, but these little fames just finish him off perfectly. Everyone who meets him tells us how much they love his glasses.

*He seems to be very artistically and musically inclined. Painting is still one of his favorite activities. He sings very well, and loves to try to do Andrew's practice exercises for music class.

*Blue is most definitely his favorite color.

*Coleman has a passion for life like almost no one I have ever known. Whatever he is doing, he is doing it one hundred percent. If he is happy, he is the happiest person you can find. If he is not, he is the most unhappy person you can find. He is one of the most loving children God ever created. When he is in a snuggly, cuddly mood, there is nothing better. His compassion is precious. If someone is hurt or crying, he expresses concern and lovingly pats them on the arm or back until everything is okay.


Coleman, your middle name Joseph, means "God will increase." We are already watching Him do just that as you grow into a bigger boy. Our prayer is that you will continue to increase in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man, just like Jesus did. Your favorite song is "Great and Mighty is the LORD our God, Great and Mighty is He." We love that these words are being carved into your heart each time you sing them. We pray you never forget the truth of this preschool song. We cannot wait to see the mighty man of God you will grow to be, and the great things you will do for Jesus. As precious as you are to us, you are more so to Him. We love you so much Coleman!

"This is the LORD's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes."
Psalm 118:23

September Science Club

For our Science Club in September, we learned about orienteering. It was a great afternoon with tons of hands on navigating for the boys and girls. They started off with Ms. Angela explaining about the magnetic force of the poles and how to magnetize a needle. Here they are doing just that.



Then we went outside to a course that was set up using colored strings all around the downstairs area. The students were each given a map and used it to find their way around the area. They learned how to read the symbols on a map that stand for things in real life, and then navigated their way around the space, collecting stickers at each checkpoint.





After that activity, we went upstairs to practice finding North using a compass.


Our last activity was to navigate our way through the woods and find the stickers at those checkpoints. We had a great time!

Best Birthday Ever

Around here we tend to stretch out our birthday celebrations for a while. Usually our partying is finished within a week of the special day. This year, we finished celebrating Brent's birthday on September 17. For his present this year, the grands and greats pitched in with me and the boys to get Brent tickets to a home game at Georgia Tech. With our funds pooled, we were able to get incredibly good seats. Brent was very excited when he opened them, but Andrew was even more excited than Brent. We had decided that five is a great age to experience your first college football game, so there were three tickets in the envelope in July.

As the game got closer and closer, Brent was giving me hourly updates on the weather prediction for gameday. The morning of the game, Gigi and Papack came to stay with Coleman and Jonathan. We were loaded and pulling out of the driveway by 8:30. It was cool and cloudy, but we had perfect football weather by the time we got to the stadium. We surprised Andrew with a train ride downtown. We took MARTA to North Avenue and walked the rest of the way to campus. Here's a picture of a very surprised Andrew and a very excited Brent.




We got to campus and walked by Cloudman dorm, where Brent lived his Freshman year.



Cloudman is right behind the stadium, so it was a very short walk over to the ticket window area. This is where lots of pregame activity usually goes on. There are vendors set up on both sides of the street, lots of balloons, and general fun and excitement. When we walked up, we noticed the band was standing in a V formation leading to the doors of the stadium right under this huge Buzz.


Then we noticed some of the team in their jerseys milling around near the doors.

Then we noticed there were fans making a tunnel across the street. The band wasn't playing, so we didn't know what was going on.


However, we began to sense that something or someone big was coming, so we found a spot in the line for Andrew to stand so he could get a better view of whatever it was going to be. Suddenly the crowd started to get excited and we started hearing the drum line. Then the band started playing the fight song. Then the Ramblin' Wreck came driving by. Then the whole team and Paul Johnson walked by! We could not believe our good fortune! It was two hours before kickoff and the team was walking by giving high fives to anyone with their hands out. Andrew slapped a couple of hands, but was a little shy, so he didn't shake the Coach's hand. I couldn't get a picture of Andrew and the players and explain to him what was going on all at the same time, so here are the shots I did get.


Brent and I were just about flabbergasted! We could not believe what we had just seen! In all our years of going to games in college and after we were married, we had never been there for this pregame event. And here was Andrew at his first game ever, high fiving the players! After the team went inside the stadium, the xylophones put on a concert.

After all that fun, we walked around campus a while. If it looks like Brent's feet are on the ground, I assure you that is an optical illusion. I am quite certain he floated around campus the entire day.



We were really hoping Andrew would get to see Buzz up close, but hadn't mentioned it as a possibility to him. As we were walking up the hill, Buzz came riding down toward the stadium in his golf cart. Andrew got a personal wave, and I caught it on film! Well, I guess it wasn't actually film, but I got a picture of it. We were so excited he got to see Buzz up close!



Just before we ate lunch, we saw Buzz again, and this time Andrew was able to get a picture with America's Favorite Mascot! Once again, Brent and I were shaking our heads in disbelief. In all our years of games, we had never been this close to Buzz, and here Andrew is at his first game with all these awesome experiences in one day! I think we have a mighty high standard to come up to for our future games.


Andrew got to choose a cap from a street vendor and we ate lunch on the stairs by the stadium. Here is the evidence that I did attend the event.


After lunch we walked over to our gate to meet a dear friend and head in for the game. On the way, we grabbed a pic with the Tech Tower.

Here they are in our seats. We were on Row 6, between the 20 and 30 yard lines, on the home side. A far cry from where we used to sit at the games!

The band pregame show was great and brought back lots of memories.

Andrew really surprised us with how interested he was in the game. Having our seats so close to the field helped I'm sure. He stood and clapped for touchdowns with us, and by the end of the game, he was watching and standing without us telling him to. Of course, that day he had a lot of practice recognizing a touchdown! At one point, the punt returners were lined up right in front of us, so Brent was "encouraging" them to be sure and catch the ball. Andrew chimed in with, "Catch it my man!" and we cracked up.





If there was a way for his first gameday experience to be improved, I have no idea what it was. We rode the train back to our car, and drove home. After about five minutes in the car, this is what we saw in the backseat.

Andrew never falls asleep in the car anymore, so this was a sure sign that a good time had been had. Brent has declared this one of his best birthday presents ever, so I feel sure it will be repeated. Coleman will get to go next year, and he is already about to bust with excitement. It was just a great day.

Jonathan's Water Day

Jonathan's class had their Water Day back in August. The parents were invited to come and watch/help. When I got there, Jonathan and his friends were already dressed and ready to go! The teachers had set up some fun play areas under the porch, and everyone had a good time. Here are the pictures.

Wordless Wednesday: Edition Brotherly Love

Growing Up

For Andrew's preschool graduation, we gave him a new bike. A big bike without training wheels. He was very excited to learn to ride and balance on his own. This summer, over about three different evenings, he figured it out! It was overall an enjoyable experience for us all, with very little frustration and no major crashes. Here are some pictures from his first night practicing and a video of him in action.

Heading to the end of the drive to start the process.



Check out that grin!



And here's a very short video of him that first night.



And here's a video of our dare devil yahoo on his inherited bike. Be sure to listen for him to yell, "Incoming!" as he approaches the driveway.