Birthday Bowling!

We celebrated Blake's birthday in mid-October.  Our crew donned their Halloween apparel for the party.

The birthday party was at the bowling alley.  We quickly discovered that bowling was a hit!  Vince love, loved it.  He squealed with excitement as he watched.  He was going to be sure to also participate.  I don't think he ate anything when the pizza and wings came out because he just didn't have time for that.  There was bowling to be done!  Vera and Blake also loved it.  

We only had 1 bowling ball so we didn't have any mishaps or pinched fingers in the ball return.  They loved it!

Since we didn't get a picture of them at Annie's party, we snapped a shot of Annie with Grandma and Papaw.

Blake had an awesome cake!

Papaw's newest buddy.  He helped Vince eat cake & ice cream.  After the party, Papaw took him in the combine as they shelled corn.  Vince didn't move the entire time he sat in the combine.

A Tale from the Bus Stop

Around mid-October, I did not have school on a Friday, but Vera did.  We discussed how we would get her to/from school, and decided to let it up to Vera.  She was excited about the opportunity to ride the bus, so we acted on making arrangements for her to do so.  We asked if she knew where to go or what to do when she rode the bus, and very confidently, she said she'd follow Jenna and Jace, two kids from her class that also ride bus 12.  I was excited for her to have this opportunity, and also because it'd save me from having to load up the younger 2 to run Vera to daycare or school.

It was a chilly fall morning.

We watched the sunrise while we waited for the bus.

I contacted the superintendent's office, and received confirmation back that she could ride the bus for the day.  We went out to the end of the driveway to wait for the bus with plenty of extra time.  We finally saw the bus coming down the road.  It made a stop a few houses before ours, and then...it drove right past our house!!  I waved at the bus driver, and he saw me, tried to slow down, but then kept driving.  Vera was devastated.  She was almost crying because the bus forgot her.  

We went in the house, and I told her I'd drive her to school.  Honestly, I was nervous to take her to school because I had no idea what the procedure is...where do I drop her off?  Does she know where to go once I drop her off?  And, I was dressed with my teeth brushed and contacts in, but my hair was all over my head!  Eek!  

As I was buckling the younger two in the car, the bus came back very slowly and nearly stopped.  I went out to the edge of the driveway and watched.  It went down to the railroad tracks and started to turn around.  I yelled for Vera and she came running.  I also grabbed Vince, pajamas and all.  The bus stopped, and Vera excitedly hopped up the steps.  I talked with the bus driver briefly, and he shared that he had no information about the pick up.  I was slightly frustrated to hear this, since I followed the protocol for a bus change.  But, I also understand that mistakes and miscommunication happens, and it wasn't that big of a deal.  After she left, the thought crossed my mind on whether she'd make it back home later that afternoon.  

Vince was so confused about why the bus picked her up and where she went.  I explained that the bus took her to school and that she'd be back later.  He was content with those answers.  We enjoyed our day at home, and we watched Vera get off the bus later that day.  

Vera's version of this story is much more entertaining.  She recently told my mom that the bus "forgetted about her."  I know we will remember this incident for quite a while, and we laugh about it now.  

This Is Life

In the previous post, I mentioned the Pearsons at their finest.  Here might be a better depiction of our life right now.  We took the kids to get their pictures taken in early October.  I took them right after school, and Adam met me there.  The photographer assured me we could handle them without Adam's help.  Thank goodness he came!  We nearly lost Vince in her pond.  Vera left with grass stains on her knees.  Getting the kids to sit and smile was nearly an Olympic feat.  Honestly, just getting them to sit was the Olympic feat.  Never mind the smiles.  They did fairly well as individuals, but the group shots really show their true colors.

The best for last.  We only need one good one, right?

Annie is 1

One year goes by so fast!  We cannot believe that little Annie is really a year old!  

We celebrated her birthday on a Saturday evening with family.  We had kids aplenty, and I think everyone enjoyed being together.  The weather the weekend before and after the party was beautiful, but the day of Annie's party was just so so.  It was chilly and damp, but it didn't stop the kids from being outside.

Annie's birthday "theme" was Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.  Her cake turned out pretty cute.

This smash cake survived the wrath of Vince on two occasions.  I had it on the counter before the party, and he managed to open the packaging and started eating the icing.  I put it up higher, and he managed to sabotage it a second time.  Fortunately, I caught him quickly each time and just "doctored up" the icing a bit.

We all sang Happy Birthday...

...and I gave Annie the cake.

She picked at the candle and icing, and then sat and cried.  She wanted nothing to do with the cake.  We tried to give her a taste, and she cried more.  I don't know if she didn't like being the center of attention, or if she just really didn't like the cake.  We offered her some tastes of cake later, and she ate it willingly.

She loved the gifts, though.  She squealed and giggled as Vera and Bailey helped her rip the paper.

She was spoiled with so many nice (and very cute) birthday gifts from everyone.

My parents gave her this doll, and it was a hit.  She gave plenty of  "awws" to the baby, and even said "aww."  So grown up!

Her godparents got her this ball pit, which will provide plenty of entertainment this winter.

Annie's godparents and Miss Scarlett.

Grammie and Papa 

 And here's the Pearson family at their finest.  This is real life, folks.  These pictures tell the story of our life perfectly.  Enjoy the outtakes.

Playing in the Jeep was quite a hit!  Cohen and Vince are busy playing, but the highlight was watching Nora and Scarlett interact in the Jeep.  I wish I had taken pictures of them.

We celebrated Annie's actual birthday at home the following Tuesday.  She opened her birthday cards, and we gave the smash cake a second try.  She reacted the same way with crying, and hardly touched the cake.

It was more fun to play with the plate.

Birthday card in the mail.

Vera loves her baby sister.

And Vince loves to eat his baby sister's birthday cake.

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At one year, Annie has 3 little teeth all on the bottom, but there are a mouthful more coming through the skin any moment.  She has been super fussy with these new teeth.  Despite not having many teeth, she loves to eat table food.  We've been feeding her lots of fruits and veggies, noodles, crackers, bread and cheerios.  She thinks she's a real hotshot eating table food, and especially feeding herself.  She also likes sippy cups, and she's particularly good at snatching Vince's cups and drinking from them.

Enjoying some fruit the morning of her birthday.

I cannot believe how much she understands already.  She shakes her head yes/no answering questions that we ask her.  Although it may not be the answer she really means, she is responding appropriately.  She also shakes her head no when we tell her no, no!  She says hi and bye and her little movie star wave is so adorable.  She repeats a lot of words like pat, mom, dad, and whoa.

 Shortly after she turned 1, she started pulling herself up on furniture.  Prior to that, she would stand against things, but she'd get scared and shaky.  She was unsure of how to sit back down, so she'd just cry.  She mastered pulling herself up within a day or two, and now she's slick at checking out things she wants, including hanging on our legs and climbing up next to us in our chair or couch.

She's a tough little cookie.  Vince certainly does his share of stealing her toys, stepping on her, pushing her over, and roughing her up.  It won't be long until she fights back.
We opened the ball pit the day after her birthday party at a time where the older 2 were busy so that Annie could experience her gift alone for a while.  She doesn't get it to herself very often.

Annie loves to be held.  I often feel bad because we just aren't able to hold her much in the evenings.  She stays busy by playing and keeping up with the older 2.  Each evening, she snuggles with her dad and drinks her bottle as he rocks her to sleep.  She's definitely a daddy's girl.  She lights up when he comes home from work.  She reaches for him over me, which is ok.  It's nice for Adam to experience that too.

Annie Pie, Baby Nee Nee, Punkin Tweet, we love you so much!  Happy one year to you!  Please stay sweet forever!