WHCA students have been volunteering their time at the Preschool this year, which means that my children benefit from this. On Friday, our school had its Spiritual Emphasis Day, and our 7-12 graders spent about 30 minutes in the preschool classes. Both young and old enjoy their time together; many of my students constantly ask when they are going to do it again. On Friday, my students helped Lofton's class with an art project; Kelsey Garner is making an imprint of his foot in the picture above. Some other of my students played on the playground with Landon's class. I couldn't go outside to see them because Landon would cry when I left. So, I had a student take some pictures of him for me. She told me that he was just doing his own thing, which doesn't surprise me.

Bedtime Story

The other night, Lofton insisted on reading Landon some bedtime stories. They both crawled in our bed, and Landon enjoyed his milk while Lofton read a few books to him. It is fun to watch Lofton read the stories to him. Lofton has many of the books memorized, and Lofton likes to be goofy and make up ridiculous things while he reads to make his baby brother laugh.

Disney on Ice

Roanna called a few weeks ago to see if she could take Lofton to see Disney on Ice. Of course, we let him go. I couldn't imagine denying my children time with their grandparents. I know for a fact that memories made with grandparents are memories that are cherished for a lifetime. So, Lofton went to Disney on Ice with Nana last Thursday, but that wasn't all. He first ate dinner downtown before going to the show. And, while at the show, they made the most of it. Nana was gracious enough to buy Lofton a snow cone, a t-shirt, a light up sword, cotton candy, and a Lightning McQueen hat. Nana said that Lofton enjoyed the show and was on the edge of his seat the entire time. After the show, he got to spend the night with Nana, and inspite of the sugar, he was asleep rather quickly. The next day, they went swimming, and then they went to see The Clone Wars. Lofton had an excellent time, and tonight while I was tucking him in he said, "Did you know that my Nana tells the best stories?" I am guessing she told him a bedtime story or two, or that was his hint for me to tell him a story! Thanks Nana for the memories!

911, There is No Emergency!

What are the odds that a seventeen month old playing with the house phone would call 911? Well, apparently the odds are good. This morning when a telemarketer called, Landon grabbed the phone, and since I saw on caller id it was a telemarketer, and I was on my cell phone, I let him grab it. Less than a minute later I hear, "304 South Aztec... I hear a kid... it must be a mistake." Landon had hit speaker phone, so I grabbed the phone from him and hung it up, thinking it was the telemarketer. Then I started thinking about the fact that the lady on the phone was saying our address and that it must be a mistake, so I assummed he had called someone. I hit redial, and I hear, "911, what is your emergency?" I apologized and explained, and the dispatcher was so understanding; she even laughed. I called Phillip to tell him about it, and the doorbell rang. I thought it might be Amy because I told her I would keep Jude, but to my surprise, two police officers were standing at my door. They too were understanding and found it humorous. Looking back now, it is rather funny, but I was rather humiliated in the moment! I guess this is a story we will tell for years to come!

It's a Boy

Amy had a boy on Wednesday, September 10th, and since then, Lofton has been eagerly waiting his turn to hold him. We went to the hospital hours after Gabe was born to visit, but I told Lofton he had to wait to hold him once Gabe got home. Lofton did a great job, and he thinks Gabe is "so cute", which he is. Congrats, Jonathan, Amy, Ella, and Jude.

Mr. Independent

I don't know if growing up with an older sibling forces you to grow up fast or what, but Landon thinks and acts like he is Lofton's age. He does or wants to do everything Lofton does. In fact, we have already put his high chair in the attic because he has been sitting at a booster chair since a little before his first birthday. The other day he decided to boycott the booster. He refused to eat in it, and he insisted on sitting in a chair! Hopefully, he won't outgrow his crib anytime soon!

Couch Potatoes

Those of you who know Lofton, know that he has always loved TV. He has been watching it since he would sit in his baby swing and watch Baby Einstein. When he was Landon's age, he was a big fan of Blue's Clues and The Wiggles. In fact, for his first birthday, he got a portable dvd player. However, Landon is much different. He has never shown interest in tv. I tried Baby Einstein when he was about 9 months, and he could have cared less. Since then, I have tried occasionally, and this summer while we were traveling I tried it in the car. I thought he might enjoy it since he had nothing better to do, but he apparently had better things to do. However, his teachers at the Growing Tree tell me that he likes Clifford and Baby Genius, so I recorded some Clifford episodes and bought a Baby Genius both of which he watched for about 5 minutes. But, in the past week, I have caught him enjoying Scooby Doo upstairs with his big brother. He actually sat and watched about fifteen minutes, but he did have a snack to keep his interest, too!

8 Reasons to Visit Nashville

Ok, so I just finished reading my October issue of Parents magazine, and the last article was titled "8 Reasons to Visit Nashville". Reason number seven states, "Of course, there's a theme park." Ok, so I have lived in Nashville for 12 years now, and I find it odd that the writers of this article state matter of factly that "of course" Nashville has a theme park. So, I ask my fellow Nashvillians, did you know this? I mean, I thought the only theme park was torn down to make room for our beloved Opry Mills. Well, it so happens that we still have a theme park called A Cowboy Town just ten minutes from downtown! Has anyone been? Let me know if it is worth the $46 adult admission!

More Like a Flop than a Flip!

Amy and I took the boys to the Flip Factory on Wednesday for a trial gymnastics class. Ella, the more likely candidate, was sick, so she did not get to go. The boys actually had a great time, but the class was about 15 minutes too long. They started to wear down, and there was too much down time while waiting in line. Lofton is quite coordinated, so he did pretty well. He is still practicing his moves at home. I don't think we are going to enroll him just yet, but it is something that we might look further in to.

Fishing Fun!

Phillip took both boys fishing last Saturday over Labor Day weekend. It was their first official all boys outing, and I stayed home. Of course, Phillip has taken them places before but just to Walmart or something; never a major boys adventure.

Wii had a fun night at the Griffins

On Saturday, the Griffins had us over for a cookout, which of course, led to the boys playing Rock Band in the bonus room. It was quite entertaining, and as you can tell from the pics (which I stole from Joni's blog) that the boys are quite serious about it. The guys wanted to have a girls vs. boys Rock Band, but there aren't many female bands on the game; no Go Gos, Banarama, or Indigo Girls, so Joni and I just resorted to taking a turn on the drums and guitar. The kids had a great time together as always. Thanks, Jonathan and Amy for letting us all come over!

Titans' Picnic

Titans "Family" Day

On Sunday, we went to the Titans' family picnic. I guess when you spend as much time with them as Phillip does during training camp, you are considered "family." It was "a great party" as Lofton put it. There was an inflatable slide that Lofton thoroughly enjoyed; Landon did not want anything to do with it. Landon enjoyed running all over the field. Both boys loved playing on all of the practice equipment. It was too hot to eat, so we all enjoyed ice cream treats from Purity. Landon and I ended up wearing his. There was also a balloon guy; I am not sure what you call them, but you know the guy who can make just about anything out of a balloon. Well, both Lofton and Landon ended up getting a sword, which Lofton loved. And, I guess a Titan event wouldn't be complete without T-Rac. When Lofton saw him he said, "Look, I have one of those guys at home." (Lofton has a stuffed T-Rac that we bought him when he went to his first Titans game.) Lofton met David Thorton too, and I guess when you are "family" you don't ask to have your picture made, so we have no picture of David Thorton. However, even though David Thorton was super nice to the boys, Lofton wouldn't have been as impressed with having his picture made with a player as he was with getting his picture made with the mascot!