Hallowow! What happened?

Okay, because Halloween was so crazy and chaotic, what with the Bulldogs getting their butts kicked, eyes gouged, etc. Not to mention the rain, wind, cold, haywire hayride and general Blankenship chaos, I did not get any good Halloween pictures. Sorry to disappoint!

The day started great. The rain held off in the afternoon and the day seem to be going well. We loaded up ALL of our things, which took forever, and headed to my brother's house. Things went from bad to worse as the bulldogs suffered a major loss to Florida, and the skies grew cloudier. My dad had loaded up his old pick up truck with hay in order to take the grandkids trick-or-treating. My mom told him to take the kids for a little ride and then we would go from house to house. Well, when the renegade truck finally reappeared the sun had set and the rain had started.

To sum up, Wylie was a skeleton, Mary Grace was a fairy, and Baby Jeffery...well at least I got one good picture.

Here is the ONLY other picture I was able to get that night. My mom and I in our silly hats.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Wylie reading his first book!

I got so excited when Wylie brought home his first guided reading book from school that I recorded him reading it.

Pause!!!!

Have you ever tried to press pause at a really good moment in a movie because the phone rings, or you have to go to the bathroom, but you can't find the remote?

That is how I feel in my life right now. I wish I could just press pause and spend one really good day with each of my kids right now. They are all at such fascinating and great parts of their little lives right now.

Wylie is doing so well at school. We are receiving wonderful and positive notes home pretty much every day. He is just brimming with excitement at all that he is doing, and able to do. It's like he grew up over night!

Mary Grace started Dance lessons and she loves it! I could not even get her to sit still for a picture because she was so excited.

She also started school this week. She gets to go in the carpool line and she is very proud of herself. I, on the other hand, boo hooed after she hopped happily out of the car to the building. Completely unaware that her mother was sobbing in the car. This makes me have a greater appreciation for my parents. How many times did they sit back with tears in their eyes while we were blissfully unaware?

Jeffery is still sweet little Jeffery. He is sleeping through the night still, and waking up a little more during the day, flashing those bright blue eyes at us.

Life is happening so fast right now, that I wish I had more time for friends, family and especially my husband! Maybe I will find the remote soon!

Blaire

Jeffery at 8 weeks

Happenings

It's been incredibly busy at the Bingham household lately. Wylie started his first week of kindergarten. The new schedule is a complete shock to the system! We have to be at the bus stop at 6:55 a.m., no that is not a typo!!!! You can tell how early it is by looking at the pictures because it is still dark outside. Wylie asked for lemonade one morning for breakfast, and when I told him that was not a breakfast option, he responded by saying that it was night time, as he pointed to the dark window void of sunshine!!! Of course Mary Grace gets up with everybody. I didn't think about that when we moved her bedroom downstairs.

I did better than I thought I would with him starting kindergarten. The only time I broke down was when I packed his lunch Sunday night. Weird huh? Even when the bus stop pulled off in the darkness with my first born, I felt more excited for him than anything.

He bounced out of the bus on Monday with a gigantic smile on his face. Hurrah! He loves it and is doing great. Bringing home nothing but green strips so far. I am beyond proud, and I am excited that he is actually sharing details with me. This is the child that would only tell me about snack each day at preschool.

Mary Grace on the other hand has had a very difficult week so far. The little girl that has been potty trained since March has wet her pants every day this week!!!! This is absolutely frustrating and obviously a cry for attention. I can't say I blame her, being the middle child and all. unfortunately, I got an email from her preschool at the beginning of the summer letting all of the parents of three year olds know that the kids must be potty trained before starting the new school year. Hopefully things will get better before she starts school, which is in one week!

Jeffery still continues to sleep and be the sweetest baby in the world. Must be the name, right Dad? He is starting to sleep through the night. It was sporadic at first, but so far this week it has been every night. From about 10 or 11 to 6 the next morning. When is it that they start sleeping late? He is still blue-eyed, which I think is going to stick. He is also still bald headed. For those of you who do not know, he had a sprinkling of hair on the top of his head until I gave him a bath one night. I was scrubbing the cradle cap gunk off of the top of his head when apparently his hair went with it. You can imagine the look of surprise as I realized my son now had a mullett!!!!

Drew's job is going great. he is getting a ton done especially since he is getting there about three hours before everyone else!

Whew! I am ready for a vacation!

Princess Party

Mary Grace turned three on July 17th, this is a picture from her birthday breakfast. I can't believe my sweet girl is already three!

She also got to go to a camp that day, so of course we had to look the part.

To celebrate her birthday, we had a princess/swimming party at our neighborhood pool. Notice the tiara that she kept on throughout the entire party.

We were at our neighborhood pool, so we still had to obey all of the rules including "adult swim". Everytime the lifeguard blew the whistle, we would run up to the clubhouse for cake and ice cream and presents.

The food included a Sleeping Beauty birthday cake, magic wand fruit skewers and pink punch. I think I had the most fun being creative with the food.

This is the present from Mommy and Daddy. I have never seen so much pink crammed onto such a small space of plastic.

I love this picture. This is Mary Grace's little buddy from across the street. Two peas in a pod!

You know you have had a successful party when this happens at the end of the day......

Baby Jeffery...finally!

I know I am about three weeks late, but here he is.

Jeffery Walker Bingham

July 25, 2009

6 lbs. 6 oz.

19 inches

Here he is sunning outside trying to get rid of the last bit of jaundice. The verdict is still out on hair color. My mom insists that he is a red head like Wylie, but I think he will be more blonde like Mary Grace. I wish I could get a good shot of him with his eyes open because I may finally have a blue eyed baby!

I made it to 38 weeks when my water broke this time. The delivery was easy, and we all got to come home together!

So far, and I know I will regret this statement, Jeffery has been a really good baby. Weighing in at 6 pounds, he is the heavyweight of the clan. He is sleeping and eating well. We are just eating him up and enjoying every minute so far.

Wylie and Mary Grace are so sweet with him. It's funny to see what pet name Wylie will come up with each morning for him. My favorite so far has been "Good morning my little popsicle."