Jamboree Football Game

On Saturday, Jake's football team had a jamboree game. Nana, Gran, Mimi, Granddad, Uncle Billy, Aunt Leigh Ann, Maddox & Marrell all came up to melt in the scorching sun to watch Jake play. Jake was so excited for them all to be there. Thank you guys!!

Rob is helping coach again this year 

Annoyed that mom is taking his picture

Warming up before the game

Jake plays on offense and is the center

Thank you guys for coming!!

Afterwards, the grandparents & Marrell came back to our house and we grilled out.

Hollon & Gran

Hollon stealing Granddad's phone

It is not a Hollon event if a fight doesn't close down the party

First Day of School

Jake had his first day of school on Wednesday, August 12. (Yes I printed the wrong date on the school sign.) 

I promise his shorts are not as ill fitting as they look.
It is the way he is standing!

At Jake's school, you can't walk your child in, even on the first day of the year. So I have no cute pictures of him sitting at his desk or anything. Jake was really excited though. His teacher this year is Mrs. Prater. You can purchase a picture of your child on their first day with their teacher. Rob was annoyed that I would actually pay money for this, but you better believe I would!

Mrs. Prater & Jake

Rob takes Jake to school in the morning and drops him off on his way to work. Jake has been begging for us to let him ride the bus, so we told him he could this year in the afternoons. Our bus just has kids from our neighborhood on it and the oldest grade that rides it is 5th grade. Not to mention that it drops off right in front of our house. So we agreed. I would be lying if I didn't admit that I love it. No more having to hurry and wake Hollon up from a nap to go sit in carpool. Now we just got play in the yard and wait for the bus to drop Jake off. Jake has loved riding the bus, so it has been a win-win.

Fresh off the bus. I wanted to get a picture of him actually getting off the bus (because what could be more embarrassing than your mom taking pictures of you getting off the bus?) but I was too busy digging the paper out of Hollon's mouth from the mail she had just ate.

He said he had a great first day of school!

Finally got my picture on day 2

First day of school pictures. The first one is from Jake's very first day of school (daycare) in March 2009. The rest of the pictures are of his first day of daycare/preschool/school in August of each year.

2009 & 2010 Ridgedale Baptist Church Daycare, Chattanooga TN

2011, 2012 & 2013 Westwood Baptist Church Mother's Day Out/Preschool, Alabaster AL

2014 & 2015 Valley Elementary School, Pelham AL

First day of school picture last year & this year

First day of school picture with teacher last year & this year

Zoo

On one of the last days of summer, I let Jake pick everything we did that day. He picked to go to the zoo, so off we went! We got there when it opened at 9:00.

Token picture

Trying to keep the stroller bar from hiding Hollon's face in the picture

Jake took this picture. He loves the camera and took a picture of almost every animal.

He was most excited about the reptile exhibit. Jake is obsessed with snakes.

Jake wanted to take a picture of this mama monkey holding her baby. He said it looked like me holding Hollon. 

Not amused when I asked him to hold up Sophie in front of the real giraffes. 

Jake saw this statue and posed with it and said "take a picture of me mom!"

We honestly have a picture of almost every animal in the zoo. I won't bore you with the excitement of viewing every one of them. But I thought this one was funny because you can see our reflection in the glass.

They had a zipline that Jake really wanted to ride, but he was too young. He was disappointed but going down this slide a few times cheered him up.

We ate lunch at the zoo, played on the zoo park, went back through the reptile exhibit one last time and finally left around 2:00. It was super hot, but both kids did really well. Hollon was a little champ and Jake had a great time. It was a fun last day of summer adventure before school started back!

Last Few Weeks of Summer

Jake had spent a week with my parents, and Rob was gone during the weekend on his guys trip, so Hollon & I headed down to Prattvile to pick up Jake & spend the weekend with my family.

Hollon's first time swimming in their pool

Marrell entertaining Hollon

Of course there was a water gun fight

Doing their best tricks off the diving board

Uncle Billy showing Jake how to do a cannonball

Marrell's turn

My dad sneaking food to Hollon

Jake got a remote control helicopter for Christmas. Robbie has been trying to teach Jake how to fly it. 

Hollon wasn't sure what to think

She did not like it getting close to her

Hollon turned 11 months old

I was trying to trick her into leaving the bow in her hair,
by giving her another bow to hold.
She was so busy trying to hold both,
she didn't realize that she was standing without holding on to something.

Brother wanted to jump in the pictures

She is pulling up on everything

And will sneak away as soon as you turn your back

She loves to lick the wall. Gross, right??

I'm sure people probably think I just don't brush her hair, but it is honestly always this crazy no matter what you do to it.

When the light hits her hair (like in the picture below), her hair looks so blonde. But the rest of the time (like in the picture above), it is brown.

She loves to try to put on clothes

She got her first pair of shoes (besides mocs). They are a size 4. She actually likes wearing them, but I really bought them more for the fall.

She is a mess. I can't believe she starts Mother's Day Out in a few weeks. (Brother's back to school post coming soon.)

This is her face when she is bossing me around

Her favorite place to hang out while mommy is working

We've had football practice 3 days a week. 

And yes, sitting out in 100 degree heat with a 11M old is as much fun as it sounds.