Curious George comes to our house!

Charlie is loving joy school.  The kids rotate with the "Curious George backpack" and Monday was finally Charlie's turn.  He was beyond excited.

George likes to "jump high"

We opened the backpack and inside was a stuffed Curious George, bedtime stories and a Curious George journal to write about George's stay at your house.

afternoon run

 George "loved the slide"

George came everywhere with us from Monday afternoon to Wednesday morning.  This morning I over heard Charlie say, "I'm gonna miss you bud," to George as we were getting ready to leave.

George "got scared in the swing"

Luckily the backpack rotates and he'll be back at our house in 5 weeks! 

A summary to share with his friends at school

Park Play

We have had some great weather lately.  We finally want to play outside again!
Snap shots of our trip to the park last week: 

Hopefully this isn't foreshadowing for Joey's teenage life

 Look who showed up!  Charlie's best friend Danny.  I'm glad Charlie has such a great friend.

Playing Catch Up: Last Weekend

This weekend kind of stunk because I've had a cold and it rained everyday.  However, last weekend was awesome.

First we went to a friend's baptism on Saturday morning.  It was the first baptism we've been to as a family and it was a great thing for Charlie to see.  We were able to talk about what baptism is, on a 2 year old level, that day. 

Charlie found the "Jesus picture," that's in the front of his Book of Mormon, at the stake center

Later that day we went to Crystal Bridges to walk the art trail.  We've been wanting to go for so long and it was finally a cool enough day to go! Going on family walks/hikes is one of our favorite things to do as a family.

We packed a dinner and headed off. 

The landscaping was beautiful and there were animal sculptures along the way!

see the bear?

Me & my boys

take note of Tony's hair in this picture :)

We had a blast!  There are several other trails that we're wanting to do now.

Tony and I spoke in church on Sunday (thanks to our friends that watched the boys during sacrament meeting).  Maybe I'll start volunteering us to speak so we can have a kid-free sacrament meeting :)  Kidding, kidding...kind of.    

Charlie and I making banana bread

Charlie loves to help in the kitchen so together we made banana bread.  He is getting to be a great helper!

That evening we played in the backyard and I cut hair.  Yep, not just Charlie's but Tony's hair too.  I was a little scared since he had work early in the morning.  I would feel pretty bad if he had to go to work with a bald spot on the side of his head. He was a good sport and explained step by step what they do in the salon....

 

 I was so proud I made him smile for a picture!

I would say it turned out pretty good!  I may just start a male hair cutting business.  Five bucks a head? ;)

Charlie was starting Joy School in the morning so we had an early bedtime.  Can't believe he's already big enough to go to school.

Great weekend.

Charlie goes to Joy School

We had a special breakfast on his first day--pancakes and hot chocolate--his favorite

Last week was a big week at our house!  Why? It was Charlie's first week of joy school!  He was so excited to be big enough to go to school. 

classic 1st day of school picture

Some friends and I started a little joy school for our 5 kids.  Each week we take turns teaching at our home.  It is perfect for Charlie since he has a whole 3 years before kindergarten.
I was a little emotional after dropping him off.  Not because I'm so sad to have him gone a mere 5 hours each week, but because the school phase of my life has started.  From here on out I will always have a kid in some kind of school.  It didn't help that Charlie kept saying, "mom, I have to leave you..." the whole morning. 

Just Joey & I

While at school, Joey and I had a great time!  I forgot what it was like to have just one kid at home.  We went to the store, played, did chores together...I'm looking forward to more one on one time with him.

 This is so great for Charlie.  He has loved his first few days of school.  He looks forward to seeing his friends and having some big kid time.  When I picked him up, from his first day, he gave me a big hug and said, "missed you, mom."  I love this boy.

 Charlie & Curious George

Today he got the ABC show & tell jar--you would think it was Christmas morning!  We've been finding things around the house that start with the letter C.  So far we have his cape, cars and a chip from his play food set.  He has begged me all day to go back to school so he can show everyone.  Unfortunately you can only go to school once in a day.  It will be a long wait until Wednesday!

Labor Day

I have to say that this year's labor day was my definition of a perfect day.  I woke up at 5:45 am, dressed in my running clothes, had breakfast, read my scriptures and then headed to NWA's "Run for a Child" event with a friend.  We were running the 10k together!

Jenny, Jill, Carrie and I after the race

The race went really well! It was hot and the course had a lot of hills, but it felt great to finish!  Right before the finish line I saw Tony and the boys cheering for me.  I appreciate my family coming to support me doing something just for me.  Later in the day Charlie told me,"mom, you race and I clap!"

I think Charlie enjoyed the race because he got lots of powerade :)

We came home and played in the boys' rooms. 

Charlie & daddy in the "tent"

The mattress & box spring my mom used-- pressed together between the wall and dresser

Charlie was our muscle man! 

 During Joey's nap daddy mowed the lawn.  The grass was so long after all of the rain we've had!  Joey was glued to the window as soon as he woke up.  Nothing more exciting than watching the lawn get mowed!

watching daddy mow the lawn

After the backyard was nice and clean we headed out back to play in water.  It was 100 degrees so it was either water fun or no playing outside. 
Great day.

Happy Labor Day!

Finally an update

We haven't had much going on besides the usual day to day things. Here is a quick Gibson family catch up:

Charlie: right now his favorite meal is breakfast.  Every morning I roll over and he is in bed with me (Tony is already at work--he leaves early). As soon as he sees I'm awake he says, "pancakes pweaseeeee? Hot trocket (chocolate) pweaseeee?"

 He got to explore a firetruck at a friend's birthday party

Charlie & Addison

He is really into friends and always wants to have a friend over. He likes to tell me, "I have lots of friends, mom."  He is very affectionate and will come up to me, sigh and say, "I love you mom," while patting me on the back. He's a sweetie.  He turns 3 next month and is starting a little preschool next week!  I can't believe how grown up he's getting.

Joey: Well, he finally got a hair cut.  I am a little crazy for his long wavy hair, but it was getting ridiculous so I had the stylist clean him up a bit.

 At the library

 Rockin' the bedhead during his afternoon snack

Joey is my little wind up toy. As soon as I set him down he is full on running.  He is very physical. He loves wrestling daddy, charlie, blankets, stuffed animals....He loves hugging and gives those sweet, baby open mouthed kisses.  He is always doing a little dance by lifting one foot and then flapping his arms.  He cracks us up.  One of my favorite parts of the day is reading him a story and singing him a lullaby before nap time.

Tony: is doing well, but busy at work.  He is a certified scrum master as of last week!  He is still the financial clerk in our ward, going on 3 years now?  Tony is the fun roughhousing dad and the boys are always trying to sneak up to "get him" (in Charlie's words).   The boys can't wait for him to get home every day.

Me: I have spent the past 5 weeks training for a labor day 10k.  It has been fun and challenging since I took a little break from running after the half marathon since it got so hot outside.  I love going to the library and getting new books with Charlie.  When it's a rough day I choose to escape by taking the boys to Chickfila for mini sundaes and playing in the play place.  Besides that, I'm currently serving as the activity day leader in our ward and love it.
 
This post kind of reads like a Christmas card, does it not?