I don't want to be 5!!

So today we had Jake's 5 year check up at the doctor's office. He strutted into the office telling everyone, "Know who's 5? Me that's who!" Everything went well until the nurse brought in the shot tray and Jake figured out what was going on. The nurse pricked his finger to check his iron level and Jake freaked out. "I want my NANA! I don't want to be 5 anymore! I want my NANA!"

So much for needing Mommy when he's sick/hurt!

Jake turns 5!

Well it's official... Jake is 5! He woke up yesterday saying, "Today is MY day!" And everyone he talked to knew it was his birthday! We surprised him last Sunday with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. Jake and Connor love that mouse. We had a good time playing games and eating pizza and Power Ranger cake. In fact, Jake loved it so much that he begged Nana and I to take him back yesterday after he got out of school. Because I'm a sucker we went back. The place was empty though and we got to play on all the "big boy" games because they weren't being monopolized by the older kids!

Nicholas enjoys his first visit to The Mouse!

The Bramhall Boys playing at Chucky Cheese!

The Pink Pig!

Today we went to Buckhead to ride the Macy's Pink Pig, an Atlanta tradition since 1953, this was our first year riding the pig. Why would you ride a pig you ask? Well, it's a pig and it's a TRAIN! Need I say more? The boys we're estatic to go ride a train pig.

Of course the line was long and horrible, but the boys were actually on their best behavior and we got through it and they rode the pig 3 times!

Check out the website if your interested in this crazy Pink Pig! http://www1.macys.com/campaign/pinkpig/home.jsp

Christmas Musical

Monday night was the boys Christmas Musical at their school. We were very excited to see it as Jake had a speaking role and we had been helping him memorize his lines. He was very excited about it and every time I would pick him up at school the teachers would tell me he was doing an amazing job at practice.

Connor on the other hand was scared senseless about it. According it his teacher he cried nonstop during practices... except for Monday which was the dress rehearsal.

So I took the boys to the school and dropped off Jake in his classroom and he got into his costume. I took Connor to his classroom and he started bawling and ran away from the costume and tried to hide under a desk. No matter what his teacher or I did we couldn't get him into the costume. So Connor came with me and watched the musical.

Jake did an amazing job. He knew all of the songs and came right up to the microphone to say his lines and he knew all of them! Then towards the end of the musical we came back up to the microphone and sang a solo! It was such a surprise and Rob and I were so thrilled and proud of him.

Christmas is coming!

The boys are so excited about Christmas coming! We decorated the house and the boys did a great job of putting ornaments up on the tree. Everyday they wake up and say, "It's getting to be Christmas time!"

Of course, presents have become a major discussion. Jake and Connor both want EVERYTHING they see! So all I heard for a while was, "I want to buy this." So I told them that they should put it on their list for Santa to bring. Well now the list is about a mile long and I'm having a hard time explaining to them that Santa won't bring everything on their list and they need to pick the most important toys they want and put them at the top of the list. I guess I didn't really think that one through!

Last Saturday we took the boys to the local park, because they we're doing train rides. Of course the boys stayed on the train for as long as they would let them!

"Someday Mommy..."

So the other day the boys and I had been running around doing errands and we got home late. I was tired and didn't want to cook, so I ordered Chinese food. When I sat the boys down for dinner Jake and I had a very interesting conversation!

Jake (looking at his Chicken Lo Mein): Mommy, when I go to Nana's she cooks real food for me.
Mommy: Oh? What kind of food is this?
Jake: This is pretend food since you didn't cook it.
Mommy: Well, I really like pretend food then.
Jake: Don't worry Mommy, someday you'll be able to cook real food like Nana for me.
Mommy: Good, that's a relief!

Soccer finally ends!

On November 11th, Soccer finally came to a close. For Jake it went out with a big score! He had decided that in order to get a trophy he needed to score 3 goals in the last game. He even told his coach this! The last game, however, was against a team with two really tall girls, they were even taller than Jake! So he had a really hard time getting the ball away from them. But just before the final whistle blew, Jake scored his 3rd goal. We're really proud of both boys for doing a great job this season in Soccer!

Halloween 2007

What a fantastic day! The weather was hot, as usual, but clear and sunny. Rob took a half day off of work, so he got to pick the kids up from school and surprise them... I'm not sure who was more excited, Rob or the boys!



Later that evening we went over to the Wainscott's for a great afternoon of food and Halloween games.

Then as the sun set we went out with our friends to Trick-or-Treat!

Pumpkin Carving Party

Okay, so I know I'm about a month behind on my blogging... get set for a marathon of posts!

The weekend before Halloween the boys and I through a huge BYOP carving party. We had tons of parents and kids carving and decorating all of their pumpkins for the big night. A big thanks to all of our friends who came out and made it so much fun, can't wait to do it next year!

Mmmmmm..... pumpkin cupcakes!

The finished pumpkins!

Conversations we have during carpool line...

Jake: Mommy, how did you know how to have babies.
Mommy: Well, God made Mommy special so that I could have babies. But I had to wait until I was a big girl to have them.
Jake: Oh, He left you a voicemail on how to have babies.
Mommy: No it was a text message.

2 minutes later...
Jake: Mommy how do they connect toilets to the water treatment facility? (Yes he knows about water treatment facilities thanks to Rob and The Discovery Channel.)
Mommy: Well, the toilets connect to little pipes that connect to big pipes that run under all the buildings and streets to the water treatment facility.
Jake: Oh, okay.

So after telling Rob about this conversation he runs out and buys a book called, "The Dangerous Book for Boys." Apparently it's everything a boy needs to learn how to do... build a fort, tie knots, make magnets, etc. Given that Mommy is the one having these conversations in the carpool line, I'm guessing I'd better get to reading... or turn on the Discovery Channel.

YMCA meets The Mickey Mouse Club House

So the boys chose Halloween costumes already and we ordered them so that they wouldn't sell out (or as it usually happens, go up in price on Ebay). The costumes came in today and both boys were so excited they had to play in them. My crazy perfectionist side came out and I almost wouldn't let them play with them because I wanted them to look "perfect" for Halloween, but then I decided that was just crazy. After Halloween I always complain that I spent all that money on costumes and the boys only wear them for about an hour. Well not this year... this year it's YMCA meets The Mickey Mouse Club House at the Bramhall House.














"Come inside it's fun inside!"

Connor loved his costume so much he had to sleep with it. You wouldn't believe the negotiating skills it took for me to convince him he couldn't sleep in it!

How things work in Connor's mind

So I'll premise this by saying that Connor is going to see an ENT because he has "enormous tonsils" according to his Pediatrician. Apparently these enormous tonsils are causing him to sleep poorly at night and snore like a freight train. On Tuesday we had the appointment with the ENT but Connor couldn't really figure out why he was going to see a doctor because he didn't feel sick.

Connor: Mommy, where are we going?
Mommy: I'm taking you to go see the doctor.
Connor: Why? My not sick. Nicholas go see doctor.
Mommy: Well your going to see a special doctor that will help you sleep better at night.
Connor: Ohhhhh, this doctor get rid of my bad dreams.
Mommy: Are you having bad dreams at night?
Connor: No, doctor get rid of bad dreams.

Ummm... okay Connor. Whatever gets you through it.

It's Official... we've got a crawler!

We have movement! Nicholas is on the go. He's mastered the scoot and the peg leg crawl. Although I don't think crawling is his main goal. He uses these impressive techniques to get to a table or chair and try to climb up. My life has already gotten tougher with Nicholas crawling... I can't imagine how bad it will be when he's walking.

I can't quite get the video posted, but will add later when I figure it out.

First Soccer Game!

On Saturday Jake and Connor started soccer. This is Jake's 3rd season and Connor's 1st. Jake has finally got the hang of it now and while we were practicing at home he would get so excited and say, "Mommy, this is it. I know I'm going to score a goal this season!" He was so cute and practiced so hard and listened to everything we would tell him.

Connor on the other hand, is interested in kicking the ball but does not want anyone near him and he has to line it up perfectly with the goal so it goes in just right! We keep telling him no hands in soccer and that he has to run after the ball and get it from Jake or the other kids to kick it in. He complains that they aren't taking turns and sharing. How do you teach your kid after all our talks about taking turns and sharing that when it comes to soccer you only have to share with your teammates!

So Jake and Connor are on the Silver Gorillas team and two of Connor's classmates, Whitney and Maya, are on the team. Well every time Connor sees them at practice or a game they run off together and start playing... never mind about soccer. Apparently Connor is quite the Casanova in class and these two girls are always talking about him!

The first game was very exciting and both boys played quite a bit as we had several players out. Jake did amazing and really got in there and took the ball from the other team and worked hard to turn it around and head to his goal. He scored 3 times during the game and was so excited about it. We are so proud of how well he's doing this season. Connor got hungry half way through the game and wanted to quit and go get a chicken biscuit that they sell at the concession stand. Check out the picture of him just sitting on the field while everyone else is playing!

Jake after he scores his first goal!

Disney 2007 - Bigger and Better

So we traveled to Disney over Labor day weekend and stayed 5 nights at the Caribbean Beach Resort. It was a great deal, as we got the Disney dining plan for free with our trip! We took Grandma and Poppa from the beach along with us and had a busy 5 days. We went to MGM, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and Magic Kingdom twice!

Jake was thrilled to be back at the parks and ride bigger and better attractions than last year. He loved TestTrac and especially Mission to Mars, which made me queasy and decline to go on the second time around. Connor was tall enough to ride most of the rides but was scared of many of them... except Big Thunder Railroad, which we convinced him was a train roller coaster. So long as the word train is involved, Connor's on board! Nicholas was a champ and hung out in his stroller day after day! He cut 4 teeth the day after we got home and was cranky for a week! Good timing Nicholas.

Since character meals were included in the free dining plan we did lunch with Cinderella, dinner with Goofy, Chip & Dale, Minnie and Pluto, and lunch with the princess' at EPCOT! Jake's favorite was Ariel. When we saw her at lunch he said, "Oh Mommy, there's Ariel. Isn't she pretty?" Seriously, isn't he a little young to have the hots for a Disney princess? Apparently it runs in the family as Rob felt it absolutely necessary to get his picture taken with Jasmine.






The boys were troopers and would last from dawn up to well past the fireworks. Jake, Connor, Rob and I stayed late at Magic Kingdom one night to see the fireworks and it was unbelievable. We got on the Dumbo ride just as they were starting and they were exploding all around us as we circled around and around. It was like being up in the sky with them. After that we stayed until midnight riding rides. When we got back to the hotel Rob was kidding with the boys that they had so much energy that we should go to the pool! Well as we tried to get Jake's pj's on, he cried the whole time that he wanted his swimsuit on and he was ready to go to the pool like Daddy said!

So it begins...

Well, I must be the last person alive to have a blog. And me with my advanced degree in Technology from Georgia Tech... it's embarrassing really. So I will create yet one more blog about my adorable children for all the world to read. Who knows maybe we'll get famous like those weirdos on You Tube.