Kindergarten, here we come!

Brace yourself.....it's been a while since we posted. Where to start? What a summer! The kids kept busy with summer camps, playdates, and trips, and before I knew it, it was August and we were back-to-school shopping. Say what? But let me back up a bit and recap some very important events for the Pattersons. First off, Gray graduated from St. George's Episcopal Preschool and we were all so proud of him! He belted out the words to every song, proudly declared that he wanted to be an "Army guy" when he grew up, and snatched his diploma out of Ms. Cheryl's hand without any hesitation. The next day, we packed up and headed to the beach where we soaked up the sun, played in the sand, and swam until we were wrinkly prunes. Another wonderful week full of memories and we are so grateful to Adam's aunt and uncle, The Griesbecks, for sharing their amazing home with us again this year. I even got to spend some time with one of my oldest friends, Beverly, and her sweet family! When we got back to Germantown, Gray had his first soccer camp with Soccer Ole and did great! He sweated like crazy and played his heart out and it was an all-around great experience. Meanwhile, Hayes and I spent the week at the church getting ready for Bible School. This year's theme was "Everywhere Fun Fair" and yours truly was in charge of the decorations. That's what you get when people find out you're crafty....eek! VBS went great and Hayes was so proud to get to go with Gray this year. What a big girl she's growing into! Gray had a few other camps throughout the summer that kept him busy and focused....tennis, baseball, basketball, and Safety City, and I was so proud of how well he did with all of them. He was so great about being independent, following through, playing hard, and being a good sport, and that made me one proud momma! Hayes also had a big ole time this summer, mostly hanging out with me, but also at a few camps. She did a summer art/dance camp, a gymnastics camp with Gray, and a theatre camp where she made her stage debut as "Cottontail". And she also turned 4 with a ballerina birthday party at the clubhouse. All of her friends came and participated in a ballet class and rehearsal, then dressed up and performed for the parents. What a bunch of hams! We spent the 4th of July in town, but stayed busy! The kids rode their bikes in the Kimbrough Woods parade, which ended at the clubhouse for a pool party. Hayes won her first swim race and Gray was so proud, he made sure everyone knew that was his sister! Next we headed to the country club for some water fun and then over to a friend's house for a cookout and fireworks. 6 adults + 6 kids = tons of fun! We took one last trip down to the coast to see P and Pop and the kids had a blast going to their first waterpark, playing outside, visiting the beach, and eating at The Whitecap (one of our faves!). Next, we headed down to Louisiana to help celebrate my grandmother's 91st birthday, and then to my Godfather's house, who just turned 86. I'm so glad we had the chance to spend some time with family we hadn't seen in a while. As soon as we got back, it was time for Gray to start kindergarten. And even though I've had all summer, well all year really, to get used to the idea of him going, it was still tough. But meeting his sweet teacher, Mrs. Brasfield, and learning all about his new school, Farmington, really put me at ease. We are so lucky to live in such a great community with such sweet schools and I am super excited about Gray's first year as a Farmington Falcon. We've already joined the PTA and have met lots of new friends that make this process not-quite-as-scary. I am so proud of Gray and the big boy he is turning into. He was so brave that first day of school, showing no hesitation, and coming home with one story after another about all he is learning and doing. He must have felt it too because he came home after the first week and decided to ride his bike without training wheels....and he did! After only a couple of tries and a few falls, he was riding on two wheels! I know this is going to be a big, big year for my not-so-baby-boy, and I can't wait for all we have ahead of us! Hayes, too, is growing up right before our eyes. Even though she is 20 months younger than Gray, she is only one class below him, so she started 4k this week with Ms. Cheryl, Gray's amazing teacher from last year. It's hard to remind myself that they were almost a year apart when they each started her class, but I have already found myself surprised at what Hayes can do. She is loving her new class at SGEP already, and learning something new every day! She also started soccer and she is just as fast as her big brother on the field! Go birdie, go, with your long legs! Well that was a lot, so that's all for now. Hopefully it won't be so long before I post next time, but with the days as packed as they are, it's hard to stay on top of it. Until next time, The Pattersons

Spring sprung and summer is here!

This was quite possibly the loooooongest winter I have ever witnessed. We had one week of cold, dreary weather after another with what seemed like no end in sight. And of course, the first weekend with warm weather, which we planned to spend doing yard work, going to Gray's t-ball game, and all that fun stuff, was spent in quarantine. Gray woke up that Friday morning with a fever that escalated to 104.5 and he tested positive for the flu. He is the only person I know that has had the flu twice after the flu season has ended! But after a wild goose chase to track down Tami-flu, he was back to his old self in no time flat. We kept ourselves busy with after school activities, which seemed to cut down on the meltdowns and idle mischief. Hayes took another semester of ballet and had her first big dance recital on a real stage. I'm not calling ABT yet, but she has definitely learned some new moves and I'm so proud of her! She has been showing off her tondus, releves, and plies every chance she gets, but blowing kisses as she curtsies is her favorite move by far. She is such a ham! Even Lovie and Cousin Greer came to see her big debut and stayed for pizza and playing dress up afterwards! Gray joined his first t-ball team (Go Cubs!) and we are already plotting ways to poison him against it. It is probably more so a function of the fact that we didn't know what we were doing when we signed up him and accidentally signed up with a league that is clearly preparing the kids for the Major League by age 10. However, we were way in over our heads! The kid had 2-3 practices a week PLUS a game! Our only saving grace was the fact that half of his games were cancelled due to the rain or wet fields....which ultimately meant that some weeks would require 2 practices plus 2-3 games in one week. Sheesh! If he didn't look so darn handsome in his uniform, I might have had to pull the plug. But, we are not quitters and we stuck it out for the season, but you can bet that next time (if there is one), we will opt for Church league or something far less intense. Lesson learned for this Momma! The kids have also just completed swim lessons at the Pool School at St. George's and they absolutely loved it. And I loved the fact that they were so worn out afterwards that they could barely manage more than a bath and a meal before begging for bedtime. Summertime couldn't come quickly enough! Here's to hoping that this summer we have 2 full-fledged swimmers! We are so excited about our new piece of furniture that we had a family friend make for the wall in our breakfast room. After searching for years for the perfect piece, we were thrilled at the prospect of designing a custom one for our space. We finally have a place to display all of our red toile pieces and even better, more storage! Many thanks to Jim Hover for his talent and patience as we worked through it together. We know this will be a piece we have forever and will hopefully pass on to the kiddos! We spent Easter in Gulfport at my parents again this year and had a great time with the whole family. The weather was gorgeous, the kids were pretty well-behaved (for them), and we ate some awesome food. We had a crawfish boil on Good Friday, fought over whether to eat Brooklyn pizza or Lil Ray's po-boys for lunch and compromised on both, and then enjoyed fresh seafood from the White Cap, a family-owned favorite. Adam and I took the kids to Lynn Meadows Discovery Center on Friday and then P and I took them to the St. Mark's Easter Egg Hunt. We wore them out in between with trike races, croquet, bubbles, jump ropes, and my parents new investment.....the bouncer (a.k.a. the smartest purchase they've ever made). We finished off the weekend with a magic show from my parents neighbor, "Harry the Magician", and a yummy lamb roast. Even though we had to jump in the car for a long 6 hour drive right after Easter supper, it turned out to be more-than-tolerable for the first time thanks to our newest discovery: wireless headphones! I don't know how we are just now finding out about these little beauties, but let me just say that they are life-changing. It's the little things, you know? Until next time, The Pattersons

And a Happy New Year!

We celebrated the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013 with some fun friends and neighbors who really know how to have a good time.

Thankfully, Lovie and Papa kept the kiddos for the night and had their own little celebration complete with sparkling cider, noisemakers and silly string. We spent the next few days of our holiday vacation putting the house back to "normal" (if there is such a thing for us), shooting hoops on the basketball goal Santa brought us, and enjoying some low-key family time.

Before school started again, Hayes was invited to have "tea with the queen" at Lovie's with Greer. The girls had a blast playing princess and using their best manners just like the book that Lovie had given them.

http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Sarah-Duchess-York-Ferguson/dp/1416954201 If you have a little girl in your life and have not heard about this book, I encourage you to check it out. Lovie gave it to the Hayes and Greer for their 3rd birthdays and included a handwritten invitation to have tea with her. It was seriously one of the cutest things I've ever seen and I have to say, those were some lucky little girls that day!

Even their Pinkalicious dolls got to attend the party! As for me, I can finally breathe now that the annual event I plan every year, Staxtacular, is complete. I am thrilled with the results of another successful event to support such a worthy organization, the Stax Music Academy, but am excited to also be opening my Adoorables business back up again. I have a home show in my neighborhood this week and have been busy preparing for that. I continue to feel blessed to be able to have plenty of orders just from word of mouth.....that Etsy was killing me! P came up to Memphis for Valentine's Day weekend, and let Adam and I have a night on the town. Though we had lofty aspirations to head downtown, we ended up going to the country club for a quiet dinner, which was so nice! It's a good thing we had a minute to relax and prepare for the chaos that awaited us at home. Gray had the norovirus and we were greeted with a very sick little boy and lots of red velvet cupcake vomit all over the floor as soon as we walked in the door. He was a pitiful little thing, but bounced back pretty quickly, thank goodness! He's a trooper! That's all for now! The Pattersons

Lots to celebrate and be thankful for!

I am so behind on posting, but before I even get to Christmas, there were some fun and exciting things to report! First off, we had our FIRST-EVER adults only Patterson family dinner and it was AWESOME! We had a nice, long, leisurely dinner at Folk's Folly to celebrate two momentous occasions....Billy P turned 60 and Lauren turned 30!

Next, Lauren and I took the girls to Sweet & Sassy for a makeover that I had given to Greer for her 3rd birthday. While Greer was hesitant at first, she was all about it in the end, selecting the "Diva" hair-do and the blue eyeshadow. Hayes, of course, was in her element and was so tickled to get the full treatment. The girls had a blast waltzing up and down the runway and we treated them to lunch at the mall afterwards. What a fun girls outing!

Hayes liked the idea of getting make-up put on her and having her hair done so much that she started asking for the treatment daily. So, we found the perfect excuse to indulge her diva demands....her first dance recital!

In other news, we were so excited to attend Lauren and Andrew's big gender reveal party for the baby they are expecting this April. While most of the room was sure it was another girl, my gut told me it was time for another Patterson boy and I was right! As soon as she cut the cake, bright blue was all we could see through the happy tears! How priceless is Lauren's reaction? I just love the way Lovie, Andrew and Greer are all looking at her to see her face. So stinkin' sweet! Can't wait to meet baby boy Patterson in just a few months and our kids are so excited about their new cousin!

Till next time, The Pattersons

We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas.....

The month leading up to Christmas is always jam-packed with fun festivities to get everyone filled with the Christmas spirit, and this December was no different. It was our 2nd Christmas in our new home in Germantown and we had a great time decorating the house and enjoying all of the neighborhood and area activities.

Kimbrough Woods' Annual Breakfast with Santa

Germantown's Sweet Treats with Santa - Kids Making Ornaments

St. George's Preschool Christmas Program

Making a gingerbread house with Daddy Other activities that we really enjoyed with the kids but somehow didn't capture pictures of: Carriage rides through our neighborhood during the annual Kimbrough Woods luminaires event, Enchanted Forest at the Pink Palace with P, Aunt Mal & Uncle Big, and the Germantown Parade, which runs right up the street from us. But, we adults made some time to have fun too of course! I was in charge of the Kimbrough Woods' annual holiday party, and it was so nice to get together with friends and neighbors to celebrate the season. It was at one of our neighbor's lovely homes and the weather, which was 70 degrees and beautiful, allowed us to enjoy their outdoor living area....perfection!

And of course, we thoroughly enjoyed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which included a visit from P and Pop!

The kids in their Christmas jammies and new dream lites on Christmas Eve!

Kids table at Lovie and Papa's on Christmas night Christmas 2012 was definitely one for the memory books and we are already looking forward to the next one. A very belated Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! The Pattersons