The Tough Times Make You Stronger: August....in November.

SOME day I will get back on track and all caught up on blogging our lives. Insert note about how I really want to be back on track....I know the kids will want to read it.....I love looking back through the pics.....my mom keeps asking me to update the blog......yada yada. Time to buckle down, upload a ton of pictures, and make some words happen to tell our story.

Because we have an awesome story to tell!
August seems like 100 years ago now, and both kids seem to have grown up way too much since these pics were taken!

We always start August with Tiger Pride and hope for an amazing Clemson football season!

I LOVE when we get a picture of them looking at each other and laughing their heads off. They are sooo fun!

Reminding me of the good 'ole days!

Right after we left our Disney Staycation, we got the BEST visit from Aunt Gerry! I cant believe I didnt take a TON more pictures, but we had a great time! And both of my kids love her as much as I do!

(Some pics are out of order...)

LOL This kid.

We soaked up the last weeks of pool time before school started for both kids....poolside snacks and games and music and laughs and suntans and memories.

Lots of awesome late nights with friends!

And this guy? Still not too big to snuggle in my arms :)

Whitney had her five year old check-up at the doc's office and loved being in "the China room". She wondered if her cousin Cai might have been in that room since he is from China ;)

And back to Aunt Gerry's visit! She bought Whitney a Rapunzel dress with a hilariously awesome wig....LOVE.

And I got a night out with some of my favorite mamas!

I love catching them giving hugs.

I took Grady to meet his new preschool teachers before his big first day, and he got right to work!

He felt right at home and still loves going to school each week. Its such a blessing to be able to walk him into class, kiss him goodbye, and know he is in great hands with people who love him.

And then we got to head back to Mac and Gramps' house for some Aunt Gerry cuddles!

And, of course, Mac and Gramps time!

Grady has a crush on Anna and Elsa, and he was caught talking to and hugging and kissing Whitney's Elsa doll :)

We had several GREAT beach days towards the end of the Summer! Now that Grady LOVES the beach, we all enjoy it so much more!

Grady had previously LOATHED the beach. Now? He RUNS into the water and digs in the sand and gets dirty and sandy and loves every second.

Beauty Queen

Best Daddy Ever!

And then the inevitable happened. The first day of school. For both kids. On the same day. :(

Seriously? How is he so big kid already!?

He can be such a ham :)

And this girl?? Wasnt she JUST born?????

Brother couldnt wait....he wanted to bust in on Sissy's photo op :)

I can't believe how much Whitney has grown up in the first quarter of Kindergarten! She is reading more, adding and subtracting, writing better, and talking about photosynthesis and cytoplasm and trapezoids and 3-dimensional objects and fiction vs nonfiction. Her little brain is busting with new information and stories and excitement! It has been SO fun to see her enjoy school day after day. :)

The first day of school was emotionally exhausting. For me.

This girl? Was a total ROCK STAR!
Our traditional first day of school breakfast with a candle :)

And Grady got the candle treatment, too!

Im not sure he understood it, but he definitely liked it :)

And, just like that, she was ready to head out the door :)

And of course I made everyone take pictures before we left for their big day!

We dropped Whitney off first. I couldve lingered in that classroom ALL day. Its probably a good thing we had to hurry to get Grady to his first day down the road.

Our big girl got right to work and made fast friends with the little boy who sat next to her. She wasnt nervous or scared or apprehensive AT ALL. Such a cool kid :)

How beautiful is she!?

We were only allowed to walk them to class the first week of school. SO hard to let go :(

She was such a great sport as I snapped 1000 pictures and tried not to cry.

She wasnt strong enough to open the door. Sigh.

Her teacher has a retired teacher in the classroom every day, helping with centers and reading groups, etc.

We couldnt leave without Whitney racing over to us to give Grady another kiss goodbye :)

And then....it was Grady's turn. :(

Another happy camper!

He walked right in, said "hi", walked over to the sink to wash his hands, and was ready to play!

Ms. Bonnie has been teaching at this school for over 20 years. She has an amazing reputation and Grady loved her right away. Grady has definitely been blessed with two AMAZING teachers to start his school experience!

And with that, both kids were in their respective classrooms. And I was kidless. And it felt really weird.

Eric and I went to get some yummy breakfast - kidfree!

And then Mac and Gramps and I headed back to school to pick up our guy!

He had a great day! And, better yet, he has loved every day since then!

And before too long, and after I wrestled with how to manage a Grady lunch/nap with Whitney's school carline, it was time to go pick up our girl from her first day of Kindergarten!!

I was sooo excited to see her...and there she stood....almost zombie-like....on information overload, dazed and confused. lol

It took 49+ minutes to get to the front of the car line that first day of school. Insane.

And when we finalllllly made it home, I was soooo excited to have both of my sweet kiddies back in my arms :)

No, they werent gone for a week's vacation. Just a day of school. But this is the first time I ever left Whitney in a unfamiliar place, where she only casually knew a few faces and could barely remember anyone's names. And I knew she couldnt find her classroom on her own. It was all new. ~~And I was worried she wouldnt like it or would be scared.~~ Lets be honest. I knew SHE would be a rock star. It was *I* who was a hot mess.

Oh my goodness, I hope and pray that I always remember their giggles together in unison. THE BEST.

And that night, Whitney and I made meatballs together for the first time. And they were delicious!

And on day two, she did great. It was "yellow day" and she didnt have anything yellow...so I stitched it out the night before. Phew. :)

And then she did it. She walked into that building like such a big kid again. She had no clue where she was going lol But she went confidently. And that counts for something.

And the hours ticked by slowly, and it was finally time to go pick her up....and I believe there were 56 cars ahead of me.

And it took 37 minutes.

And the next day? This dude waltzed into school like a boss.

And he tried to sit nicely at chapel....

....where they sing and dance the same way he loved at Whitney's old school.

And then he spotted me spying on him in the back pews, and he became a jerk. But....he's improved since then. :)

And on "Blue Day", this girl suddenly looked like a third grader. And I was one of the only moms still walking their kids into school. lol

Hey. They only let us walk them in that first week and then we werent allowed past the front desk. I was gonna suck in that whooooole week :)

And really? Wasnt this last month?!

And isnt it insaaane that I was pregnant with Grady in this pic and had NO idea?!

And how did this happen???......

....when this was just a month ago?!?

The first 2+ months of school have gone REALLY well. We learned that Whitney is in the "honors", or advanced class, and that the students in this class all earned their seats based on the placement tests they took back in April. Ive been working in her classroom each week, doing reading groups, decorating their door for Red Ribbon Week, etc, and we are SUPER blessed with an AWESOME class of kids! Not a bad one in the bunch! Whitney is being exposed to all the typical 5 and 6 year old behaviors...potty talk, "bad" words like "stupid", and endless silliness.....but the group of kids are really well behaved and eager to learn. Whitney comes home talking about photosynthesis and how many vertices are on a pentagon. She is reading better and better each week, and she is excited to be reading magazine headlines in the checkout line or road signs in the car or menus at restaurants. Kindergarten opens up a whole new world for our girl!

And this dude. He is just as smart as his big sister!

I put this shirt on him one day and he looked at it and said, "Daddy shirt!"

I thought it was cute that the shirt reminded Grady of his daddy. I posted it on FB and Eric responded from work:

He had left for work at least a half hour before I got Grady dressed, but Grady remembered that daddy had been wearing a very similar shirt that morning :) SO observant :)

School is hard work! He crashed after a fun day :)

We puppy-sat for Aunt DeeDeeDee's happy dog, Bennie, and Whitney LOVED every minute! She proved that she was a responsible dog caretaker, walking Bennie and feeding him and checking his water frequently.

And loved every second of cuddles she got from this sweet guy :)

We realized it was sorta fun to have a dog around again....and the wheels in my head started turning.

Admiring his batman muscles in the mirror :)

We had a few more beach days after the start of school. And we all loved it :)

The kid who wouldnt touch sand six months prior....

....gave the sand a hug lol

We were excited to kick off football season!

And I always love the before-church photos with these cuties :)

And afterwards, we enjoyed Water Day at church!

Grady LOVED the big water slides!

The night before Bennie was set to head home with Aunt Dee, Whitney was sad. She missed Bailey a lot and she didnt want to let her new dog friend go. She asked to sleep with Bailey's old collar. :(

That was when I KNEW we were getting a dog sooner than we expected.

I always said we would get a dog when this guy is potty trained. Well.....we didnt wait.

More Tiger football excitement!

I love sleeping baby pics.

And I LOVE that this guy wakes up happy now. A year ago, he was waking up from naps screaming and sad. Now? He wakes up talking and singing and calling, "Mommyyyyyy!!!!" Love it.

This girl is amazing. She looks 12 years old and acts 32. And she's incredibly smart. She is so freaking awesome.

Grady's "art" hanging in the school lobby :)

He loves to brush his teeth :)

And because we are half crazy, we went to Hollywood Studios in August. Because 100 degrees and a theme park with two kids makes sense...?

The Frozen sing a long is awesome :) Especially with two five year old girls :)

He sits so nicely through the whole show and loves it.

And I love this girl!

"Micro-waves!"

And stroller naps are the best :)

yeah. ouch.

We have continued to add to our Bass Blessings box throughout the year, and we excited to add some positive news about Uncle Joey!

And Whitney has loved writing the blessings herself :) ("All of God's creations!")

Whitney and Grady get a package from Aunt Gerry at least once a month. This purse was sent a long time ago and Whitney loves to fill it with tiny treasures and take her offering to church in it :)

Nothing fancy or exciting but my two favorite kids sitting at a kiddie table. Love them.

So grown up :)

And this guy got a great haircut.....followed by a tragic haircut several weeks later...sigh. An on-going battle.

I am so blessed.

I started working in Whitney's classroom every Friday. It is awesome for sooo many reasons.

I got a peek into her journal. Her second journal entry was a picture of her in bed. Note the alarm clock. She is not a fan lol

Her teacher is AWESOME and her class is sooo well behaved and such a blessing! They get homework calendars on the first of the month and we just have to complete three assignments each week. We can do them all on Sunday or spread them out. It helps on nights like Awana nights since there is no need to rush homework. Takes the pressure off everyone!

And to start football season, my mom bought me Clemson flowers and took me for a purple pedicure. Isnt she the BEST mom!? Yall knew she was an amazing grandma, but she's also the best mom I could ever ask for! Thanks, Mom!

And we were Tiger ready!

We had some besties over to watch the UCF game from Ireland and then stuck around for some pool time and the Tiger football game that evening. LOVE football season!