First Day of School

Grant is at a new school this year. He attended a MDO program last year, but this year we thought it was time for a more academic setting. We found a local preschool that has a wonderful program, three mornings a week. This is only his first week and he is already coming home singing new songs and talking about new things. I always go to pick him up a few minutes early so I can sit in the back of the class and watch him for a few minutes. He does so well in a classroom setting! He makes mama proud! Grant has "homework" too. We identify letters, numbers, colors, etc and he reads a book with mom and dad.

Grant sitting outside his school on the first day.

Each day they have a different project theme. Thursdays are cooking days. This school bus was his first cooking project. Too cute!

First day of preschool - August 2010 First day of MDO - August 2009

End of Summer Tradition

The first week of school for Gary means a mini-vacation for me and the kids to go see our dear friends, the Ballards. The kids always do such a great job on the drive, so we usually get there in record time. Since there were two adults and four kids, we weren't able to fit into one vehicle. We have officially entered mini-van territory. Erica had a friend who was willing to switch vehicles for a few days so that we could tour the town together.

While Erica was cleaning out her car, I took some pictures of Sadie and Grayson. They are both at the perfect age for picture-taking... both smiling on cue! Our mini-van experience.

Elijah and Family have added Bagheera the Cat to the clan. Grant loved picking this cat up! He actually did a pretty good job of not hurting it while holding it (except for one instance when he thought the tail was some sort of handle).

Oh, my precious baby boy! I can't say enough about this kid. He is SOOOO easy and happy and beautiful and perfect. Love. Him.

Speaking of precious... this girl is a doll. I just love that she has such distinct personality traits already. It makes you realize how fast they grow up!

The Ballards have the same swing set we do. And it got a lot of use while we were there.

Elijah and Grant enjoying the tire swing!

We went to the zoo on our visit. Since it was in triple-digits, we were practically the only ones there. Unfortunately, we snapped this one picture and then the camera died. But we had fun seeing all the animals.

The Crew - August 2010

The Crew - February 2010

Happy 30th, Julie!

My dear friend, Julie, was down celebrating the birth of her third nephew. It also happened to be her 30th birthday... a few of us surprised her by joining her family in celebrating.

You can never pass up an opportunity to embarrass the birthday girl! Grant ate most of that dessert... by the end of the night Julie was his second favorite person in the room... ... his first favorite person was Bailey. KC, Tony, Bailey and Hunter (well, almost) joined us for dinner as well. It takes Grant a little while to warm up, but after a few minutes he was playing trains and animals with little miss Bailey! It was so great to see everyone! And Bailey ended up getting a new baby brother the very next day... maybe in a few years we'll have a huge kiddie table to monitor when us mommies want to get together.

What a Hot Mess!

I heard someone use that phrase (I think Jessica), so I hope it's G-rated! I thought it was appropriate for Grayson's current stage... he is into everything! And it is so fun to watch! However, I think my life just got a little harder. Grayson loves his brother. Anything Grant is doing, Grayson wants to be a part of. Grant is not so much a fan of Grayson's new found enthusiasm for playing together. I think there might be a few teaching moments in my future!

It was sweet potato night at the Scogin household and we couldn't let Grayson pass up a chance to try a new veggie! He loved the taste and loved playing with his food. Grayson reorganizing Grant's room. I'm a little freaked out by this picture because Grayson looks SOOOO much like Grant here.

Curious Grant

Thomas is most definitely Grant's favorite character, but lurking somewhere in second is Curious George. We watch the TV series on PBS, we read the books and we get really excited about things that George has taught us. Well, our local library had a Curiosity Day. The kids watched a movie, looked at books, colored fun pages and took their picture with Curious George and The Man With the Yellow Hat.

Grant had a great time and we just love this library's programs. They do such a great job! Grant has really become interested in books this summer and I think it is partly due to this great program.

Grant carefully choosing his library books.

Grayson enjoys the library, too!

Vacation Day 5: Bryson City, NC and Thomas the Train

So this was the big day. Grant was going to meet Thomas. He was so excited! We woke up extra early and made the two and a half hour journey to Bryson City, NC. He was wide-eyed the entire way... Thomas could be around any corner!

We stopped to eat breakfast at The Iron Skillet to make sure we had the energy to follow Thomas and his friends around all day. There were several train tables set up and Grant found one all to himself...

... and then tried to walk off with as many trains as possible!

Grant picked out his very own Thomas tattoo. (And we even found one for Grayson.)

Modeling his Thomas art.

By this time, we needed to stand in line. Grayson was all smiles as we prepared to board the train.

"I've been waiting for this moment all my life!"

My boys enjoying a peaceful train ride with hundreds of other toddlers.

Gary and Grant.

Jr. Engineer Grant.

Jr. Engineer Grayson.

Grayson was such a ham. I have at least ten pictures of him just grinning from ear to ear while riding the train. Maybe he'll be as big of a Thomas fan as his big brother.

Sir Topham Hatt, Grant and me.

Showing off his new engineer's cap.

Me and my sweet boy on the bus ride back to our car. We all had such a great time!

Vacation Day 4: Bogg's Creek

Day four of our vacation and we decided to take it pretty easy. We slept in, grabbed some Subway and headed to Bogg's Creek for a picnic. This is a small river if you're from my part of the world, but in the mountains of Georgia, it is just a creek.

Gary, Grant and I had a great time walking through the creek. Grandpa even did some fishing. It was the most peaceful and relaxing lunch I've had in a while. I never knew there were so many shades of green. I think I could spend every lunch here. My camera was dying at this point, but somehow I had just enough power left in that battery to get this picture. Priceless. He's going to love this one at the slide show before his wedding.