We started out the week with sickies. First Baptist called right around lunch time on Monday and said Graham had a 103 fever and was complaining that his neck (his throat) hurt. So, I went and got him and we headed to the doctor. He was clearly not himself. He had an ear infection and the throat culture revealed strep throat too! So, Dean stayed home with him on Tuesday and his fever broke and after a couple doses of medicine, he seemed to be doing better and went back to school on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Evan and I went with Graham to First Baptist and we had Evan's first visit to his new classroom. He was being a little clingy to me at first, but then we went on the playground and he took off. He was very happy to play with his buddies Gray and Vivienne. We stayed about an hour and then headed back to Honeytree.

Graham had to miss karate for the first time on Tuesday because he was sick, so he was very bummed about that. He was excited to go back on Thursday and is learning several new steps as he is on the way to his next stripe. Evan had a great swim lesson, he floated on his back several times unassisted - until he realizes that he is doing it and then he fusses! He is definitely making progress though so that is good!

On Friday morning, I took Evan back to First Baptist for his two hour visit without me. He was fussing and clingy when I left him but he settled down in a few minutes and had a good time. He played and played and had snack and didn’t even notice when I came in! I took all his "stuff" and dropped off for him to be all ready for his first day! He got lots of love when I picked him up on Friday evening from all the different teachers that he has had and everyone said it would not be the same without him!

We were so very happy to see Memorial day weekend arrive - our official kick off to lake season! We headed out on Saturday afternoon and spent several hours. We hit the pool first and then went over to the beach for awhile. Dean and Graham rode the kayak and swam out to the floating dock. Evan liked playing in the sand, and even ate a little, haha. We headed back to the pool to cool back off and then stopped and got pizza and called it a day! On Sunday, we headed out even earlier and my parents, Kenneth and Lillian joined us for the day. We had lots of fun in the pool, at the beach and back at the pool. Evan loves being in his float or just being carried around in the water. He was either splashing the water like a mad man or laying back all mellow practically asleep! Graham showed off his swimming skills a little bit as well. We were quite tired by the end of the day and headed home with two tired little boys! We headed back over on Monday afternoon for one last hoorah! We went out on the boat first and took a short little sail. Graham is an old pro and is quite helpful to his daddy and Evan was just kind of taking it all in. It was very very hot, so we cut it short and headed to the pool to cool off. Graham decided he was really ready to swim and he started diving in and swimming from side to side of the pool. He starts off on his stomach and then flips over on his back and then back over as he gets to the wall. He would just be standing around and then would start swimming, it was something to see. He likes to get everyone's attention to make sure everyone is watching him! We headed home and both boys fell fast asleep! We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs when we got home and it was the perfect end to the perfect weekend!

We had another busy week on the go go go. Graham had two great classes of karate. He continues to be so excited to go to each class and really worked hard on Tuesday night and then on Thursday night, he got his third strip for his belt for completing his 14 step Ki-Bon. He was so proud of himself. He also got to break a board for the first time ever, so it was a big night for him!

Evan is starting to settle down a little bit in swim lessons and not fuss the whole time. He is continuing to cooperate with laying back on his back, but just doesn't want to be quiet and fully cooperate when they let go of him. But, he is showing more relaxation every class, so that is great. He is weighing in around 26 pounds and they talk about how strong he is.

On Saturday morning, Mama and daddy came and watched the end of Graham's swim lesson, he was very excited to be able to show off his strokes and breathing. They headed home with us and played with the boys while Dean and I did some outside work. They all had a good time playing and we had a nice visit. Dean worked outside til dark and was quite tired and sore, so we stayed home from church on Sunday and slept in.

Evan has hit a really good pattern on bedtimes and naptimes the past few days, we simply change his diaper, put him in his crib and leave his room and he cries out for a couple seconds and then lays down and goes to sleep!So, that has been wonderful! Not sure if it will last, but enjoying it while it does!

This is Evan's last week at Honeytree. He has visits at First Baptist on Wednesday morning with me and Friday morning without me and we cant wait!!!! Graham is super excited for Evan to start going to his school and it is just going to be so amazingly easier having one drop off and pick up spot! Hopefully he will have a great transition!!!! His first day will be next Tuesday after Memorial Day.

We are very much looking forward to Memorial Day weekend and kicking off lake season! It will be Graham's 5th summer and of course, he is already talking about it like crazy and just cant wait. Evan was such a baby last summer and slept so much, he didnt really get to enjoy it. But this year, he will be so much more active and so much fun!

We had another jam packed busy week. We have our routine now and it will continue for a few more weeks with swim lessons and karate and then we will drop swim lessons the second week in June and will just have Karate. Then, we will pick back up swimming in the fall. Graham is continuing to really enjoy the karate, so we are really glad we are doing it. He looks forward to it, enjoys the class and practices at home!

Evan just has two more weeks left at Honeytree and then the big move over to First Baptist and we are all super excited, Graham especially! We go and visit two days next week and hopefully he will have a good transition. He is still being mommy clingy alot of the time, but maybe once he sees his buddies and with the visits, it will go okay. One of the teachers was a teacher of Graham's that we loved, so that is good to already know a teacher!

On Friday, I went and ate lunch with Graham and the duck class, that is always fun. Graham is still having good days and bad days and so I was mainly wanting to see a little bit of what the class was like during the day. He is one of the younger ones and he is in a class of more boys than girls for the first time ever, so I really think that dynamic has a little bit to do with the issues we have been having!

On Saturday morning, we headed to swim lessons and then Dean and Evan headed back home to hang out for the day and Graham and I headed out for a big day. I dropped him off at Kenneth's for a few hour playdate with Lillian and I headed to a fun twins baby shower for Stacy Burkett. Graham and Lillian played really well together and Lillian was very sad to see him go. We left there and stopped by Brad and Kelly's for a quick visit and Graham was excited to play with Grey and Reed. Then, we left there and headed to the Salem YMCA for our last stop of the day - PJ bouncy birthday party at the Salem YMCA for one of Graham's classmates. There were several of the birthday circuit gang there and we had a fun time. Graham was very very tired by the time got home!

We headed to church on Sunday and the boys did very good. When we get up to the choir loft and Evan sees Dean - he points at him and yells "da" so that is cute. I remember Graham doing the same thing! We headed home after church and Evan took a long nap and then we headed out to play. The boys love to swing and swing on the playset and just wander around the yard! A great way to end the weekend!

We had another busy week with activities. We are in a routine where I take Graham to karate on Tuesday night and Dean and Evan go on home. Then, on Thursday night, Dean and Graham go to karate and I take Evan to swim lessons. Graham is getting better and better at his karate and really seems to enjoy it, so that is good. Evan is still throwing a fit at swimming, but he is doing it! Swim lessons are gonna continue until early June and then we will take summer off since we will be at the pool so much and then we will resume in the fall. So, then for the summer, we will just have karate.

Evan continues to be more and more communicative with us. He is signing more like crazy and shakes his head no. He has several "words," for things that we are starting to hear over and over. I am not nearly as concerned about how many actual words we are hearing, because as I listen to Graham talk our heads off, I know he will get there, ha ha!

Evan continues to be fiesty and play rough! He is still biting some and even plays rough with Graham. He pulls and tugs on Graham and Graham doesn't quite to know what to think about him sometimes!

We had a big weekend celebrating Mother's Day. We headed out early early Saturday morning and took brunch to Dean's parents house and celebrated there. The boys ran all around and played and we had a nice visit. We left there and headed to my parents house for an afternoon cookout and Kenneth, Danah and Lillian joined us. The kids had a ball playing together and the weather was great and we got lots of outside time! Everyone was very tired when we headed home!

On Sunday, we headed to church and then headed to Hotel Roanoke for the grand Mother's Day buffet. Mama and Zerna joined us and we had a lot of fun. The moms got complimentary mimosas, so that was neat. Evan ate all kinds of things off the buffet and Graham ate a roll and applesauce! Evan is quite the little eater and Graham continues to be super picky, the trick is gonna be to keep Evan eating so great!!!! We walked around the hotel and took some pics and then headed out. Evan conked out and took nearly a three hour nap! Graham and Dean rode bikes for awhile and it was just a gorgeous day and a wonderful Mother's day!!!!

Both boys made me pretty handmade goodies at school, so that was sweet and then Dean and Graham gave me sweet cards and a bottle of perfume. Graham told me several times on Sunday that I was beautiful, so that was the best present of all!!!

Graham is continuing to love his karate class. He gets really excited to go and works really hard. He likes to practice some at home also. It seems to be a really good activity for him. He is still struggling a little some days with his behavior at school so hoping the karate class helps as well as some of the other rewards systems that we are working on. We didnt have swim lessons this week because of spring break.

On Friday after work, we headed to Rachel's for Dean and Graham to get haircuts and for Evan to get his very first haircut. He had some pieces that were getting long and straggly on the back of his neck and a few pieces curling around his ears. Of course, he went in to major mommy clingy mode, so Rachel suggested that I just stand and hold him and she would work around his movement. She did great and once I held his hands so that he couldnt reach back and grab at his head, he did too! She even used the clippers to trim him up a little hairline. He should be all set for a few more months now. She said his hair is a lot lighter than Grahams and that his new roots are pretty blond! So, that will be interesting to see what happens! Graham was an old pro of course and got them both suckers after their cuts.

On Saturday morning, we went as guests with Tyler and the girls to swim at the YMCA. It was our first time in the pool with the boys since their winter swim lessons and it was really amazing. Graham would just swim around and jump in and swim to the side, it was really great to see. Evan was very relaxed in the water and let us pull him around on his back several times. It makes us really excited to get to the lake this summer to the pool! We left the pool and headed to Panera for lunch and then stopped by Lowes to get some yard stuff and headed home. The boys and I played outside while Dean worked in the yard, it was a great day and the boys just love being outside!

We headed to church on Sunday and the boys keep it interesting. Graham sat in the pew and opened the hymnal and traced his finger across the words singing bible song after song and then at the altar wanted to talk about how we are going to go to heaven and then Evan grabbed the wafer tray from Father Gardner and almost dumped them! We left there, made a quick grocery store run and headed home for more outside work and play time! We have spring fever in the biggest way!

Evan is still working on those 8 teeth. The eye teeth are just about in, but the molars are still gonna be awhile, they are just partially through. He is drooling tons again and cramming his hold hand back in his mouth. his personality is really developing and he is communicating more and more and even has been know to throw a few temper tantrums!!!! He is tons of fun though and Graham continues to just be a super big brother to him!!!!