Upchurch family trip

We are heading to Palmetto Bluff, SC tomorrow for the annual Upchurch family trip - which was missed last year since I had just had Sam and Kit and Jeanne were preggos with Hope and Ashton.  I have been looking forward to this trip since mom and dad mentioned that we were going to do it again.  The kids will have so much fun being with their cousins and I can't wait to spend some quality time with my sister.  Oh yeah, and I guess my brother-in-laws too!  I am a little sad because we decided not to take Sam, but I know that it was the right decision. He is going to stay with Mary, and will never be the wiser.  And we will have a much nicer trip with just Ward and Ann Park.  I will still cry tomorrow when I take him to Mary's house.

Oh and I promise to write about Ward's graduation from 4K soon.  I have tons of pictures and am trying cull through them all.  It was a great program and I know that they worked so hard on it.  I still can't believe that he is going to kindergarten starting August 9th.  That is so soon.  I will definitely cry that day.

Off to finish packing!!!  Tons to do before we leave in the morning!

Sam's First Birthday

I still can't believe that Sam has been in our lives for one whole year.  It seems like only a few months ago that I was laid up in the bed, wondering about the little life moving around inside me.  Would s/he be like me or Ted?  Would s/he be as sweet as Ward or as manipulative as Ann Park was as a baby?  Laid back (Ted) or not (me)?  Boy or girl?  Also the sleepless nights of a 6-8 week old don't seem that far behind me. I remember walking with my friend Sarah and just bawling at how hard it was living on little sleep and, since I was on maternity leave in the summer, I had to still be a good mama to Ward and Ann Park.  I was at my wits end.  But then he miraculously started sleeping . . . just like they all do.  And then we wondered when he would start laughing, and smiling, crawling, and walking.  He hasn't gotten the walking part yet, but we are close.  I say about 3-4 weeks, maybe 5 depending on how much whining he does to be held!

We had his party last Sunday from 11:30 until about 1:00.  All of our close friends and family came which was so great.  Sam was a bit overwhelmed, but still managed to have fun, basking in all the attention.  I think that Ward had the most fun of all - especially since all his best buds were there.  We ate fried chicken, potato salad and fruit and of course cake (not that Sam liked it one bit!).  And how can I forget the ice cream man?  He was a huge hit!

Here are a bunch of pictures to give you a feel for the party.  This big cake (chocolate with cream cheese icing, yum!)

And here is Sam's smash cake:

Ann Park was all ready for the party, but then got into a foul mood for some reason.  She spent the vast majority of the party in the playroom watching Little Mermaid with her cousin, Stella.  At least she was happy up there and I didn't have to deal with her!  But here she is before the bad mood hit:

Once Cher Cher got there, Sam was all over her.  He is IN LOVE with Cher Cher and she can't get enough of him!

Ward playing in the climbing tree with some of his friends:

Three of my favorite people (including the little one, Abby!)

A group of kids eating at the picnic table under the swinset.  And, yes, we have a "permission required" sign on our swingset. Our yard is very open and we have a lot of kids we don't know who are tempted to use it without supervision.

Sam was very happy when he saw his fried chicken.  The boy is an EATER!

         

The older kids were VERY happy to see the ice cream man.  Most of the boys got batman!

After the ice cream, it was cake time!  I totally sugared those kids up and then sent them home!  Sam wasn't so sure what to think about the cake, although he had no problem sticking his hand right into it. He didn't really like the taste of it, even though I tried helping him out a little bit.  Guess he won't be like his mama in that regard!

After cake, we cleaned up and played a little bit more.  Most people were starting to leave when it started raining!  Thank God for lots of helping hands to get all the presents inside without one getting wet!  

(T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!)

I love the smile behind his pacifier in this picture!

FINI!!

A Star is Born!

The recital was a HUGE hit.  Ann Park had a ball and says that she wants to do ballet again (she has been saying for the past month that she only wants to do gymnastics), so that is a relief.  I am not going to bore you with a bunch about the recital because the pictures are priceless.  Unfortunately the photographer for most of the shots didn't focus too well.  It was either due to the alcohol (yes, there was alcohol which made it a much more enjoyable expeience for the adult viewers) or laughter.

in the dressing room before the show

with her favorite friend Harper

Let the show begin!  Her class danced to "Thank Heaven for Little Girls."

the group

twirl!

I just love this pose for some reason!  Have no idea what she was supposed to be doing but she was cute whatever she did!

And then on to tap!  She is shaking her booty in this shot!  The music was "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"

You just gotta love that stomach!

If you can see through the fuzz, she is "doing the boggie" with her index fingers pointed down and shaking her knees back and forth

A little tapping!

Shuffle ball change!

Got through it

So I got through my horribly hectic Thursday.  Of course I knew that I would and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  The recital is tonight so I will try to get some pictures.  She is really excited which makes me happy since I literally had to bribe her to go to the dress rehearsal.  She looks precious in her costumes and can really shake that booty.  I am sure that I won't like that in years to come, but now it is pretty darn cute.

Also, Ward had his second to last t-ball game today and got the game ball.  He was so excited.  We definitely need to work on his hitting skills.  When he connects he smacks it, but we had some misses today - which were the first ones I have seen.  We have been working so hard on his fielding and throwing that somehow we forgot about the batting part.  Oh well.  Didn't seem to shake his confidence at all.  After the game asked me if I saw how "awesome" he was.  Oh yeah bud, I saw.

About to hit the bed.  Everyone in my house is asleep (or at least quiet in their rooms which is all I ask of Ward and Ann Park) and that rarely happens these days. It is so hard to make myself rest though since the house is a wreck and I need to do laundry.  But it is going to be a long night and we have to get up early tomorrow for my nephew Alex's first communnion.  The church is not the one we go to and it is quite a drive for us.  Let's just pray that they have a nursery for Sam (and potentially Ann Park!).