Flashback: October

Halloween Fun at The Hollis House

We got one more use out of our Disney costumes before retiring them to the dress-up trunk!


Kara Looked a lot less like Baby Bell this time around!


October also brought more Rebel football fun!

FLASHBACK: August & September

Late Summer & Early Autumn...

August 2009 was filled with lots of summer fun as we soaked up what was left of school free days and prepared for a fall full of academia- this year for both me and Jenna Ashlyn!

Jenna attended her first "real live" concert. It was a Demi Lovato concert, but she was there for the opener, David Archuleta, former American Idol contestant. She thought it was the "coolest thing ever" and said that she "wouldn't mind coming to one of these every weekend."

We had a great time visiting the Carolina Panther's training camp at Wofford. The girls liked doing this ALMOST as much as their daddy!

The girls developed an affection for artificial bling bling after receiving said items on a trip to Meme and Papa's house in LaGrange.

We had a bast at Jenna's first Fall Festival in September. Jenna's favorite part of this day was entering an old shoe in the Ugliest Shoe contest. Despite our best efforts, the tiny pink Croc came off lookin' kind of cute with quarter/penny/ raisin eyes, fruit loop nose, key chain mouth and rubber band hair! Nonetheless, we had a good excuse to wear our super cute cow outfits!

Lastly, what was the best part of September??? The beginning of REBEL FOOTBALL, OF COURSE! We had lots of fun cheering for Uncle Z and being his own personal Rebel mascots!

Flashback

I ALWAYS do this... school starts and I abandon my sweet little blog. I had TONS and TONS of stuff to add from August, September, October, November... you get the picture! I've only missed seven months, right? SO, I am still going to add it in anyway- I'm just going to cram it all into one post per month! :) Maybe between now and Spring Break we will end up in March; hold on to your hats, folks! Here we go...

I don't want Kara to feel like Jan on The Brady Bunch when she says, "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! It's always about Marsha!" The last two posts have been devoted almost entirely to Jenna, Jenna, Jenna, so...

Here is a little about Kara, Kara, Kara- with pictures!

She is adjusting to life without her sister at daycare. I feel sure that it is only a matter of time until she feels as though she rules the roost there! Kara is so cute when I pick her up after school; she has been listening to us and constantly talks about Jenna's new school, saying that she is going to go there too when she is "a little bit bigger like Jenna!" She also talks about Jenna's teachers and her schedule, saying things like, "Jenna sing songs in music class" and Jenna get a book in that library; I do dat too one day when I get bigger"- it is so funny! She is such the big girl in such a spunky, cute little package!

Jenna's First Day: K-5

The note home says it all, "Jenna had SUPER first day of school!" She loved it. She did great. She can't wait to go back. And I survived! :-)

She was very excited that her class had music today. She said lunch was "really really good." She loves her teachers; in her words, "they are so so nice!" All in all, we could not have asked for a better first day!

Kara had a tougher morning. She cried for Jenna and said, "I go to big school wif Jenna- I be a big girl too; I go to kidegaden wif her!" She pretty much broke my heart after I had put much effort into NOT crying in front of Jenna. However, after getting to school, they said she recovered from her suffering of sisterlesness pretty quickly, and I managed to get to my school on time and clean up my mascara before greeting my first period class!

Jenna is ready for day number two, and we are just praying that the whole "I love school" attitude sticks for at least twelve more years! :-) Pictures below for all of the eager grandparents!

Our Little School Girl

She was SO excited about carrying her new pink book bag- it was nearly as big as her! She loved her school bus tag too!

Showing off the matching apple bracelet that "made her outfit just right" according to her! Thanks to Nana for her super cute apple attire!


My Sweet Girl


Though we tried to get a cute sister snapshot before parting ways, Kara was not interested in the camera this morning!

Where Does Time Go?

My sweet baby actually starts K-5 tomorrow! Where does the time go? I swear it seems like only yesterday that I stood over her during that first night home as she slept and just cried because I was so amazed and overwhelmed by what a precious, beautiful miracle God had blessed us with. Now she is officially a big kid and still every bit the miracle. She is soooo excited and enthusiastic, and for that I am grateful. I am so proud of the amazing little lady that she is becoming before our very eyes, but I am also just a little bit sad (ok, so I'm trying not to be a big puddle in the floor) that my baby is just a few short hours from one the first BIG "firsts" in her sweet little life! I'll post lots of pictures after the big day tomorrow. For now, I'll reminisce with a few pictures from the past (the ones that I have saved on this computer, at least.) Wow, five years can pass in the blink of an eye. And the answer to my question: Where does time go? I guess time simply passes paving the road for an even brighter future while creating a beautiful backdrop of the past.

Keepin' Cool

Backyard water fun has been a big hit around these parts over the last few months. Some of our favorite summer afternoons have simply consisted of eating a picnic lunch on the deck out back and chillin' out in our super fancy $10 plastic pool. Maybe August will last twice as long this year! :-)