Isn't She Lovely!

The theme Alyssa's pageant was "Isn't she Lovely". It was so cute. They used Darla and Alfalfa pictures from The Little Rascals. We had a really good time. We used it as sort-of a "girls night out". Reagan was so good. There were 106 girls in the pageant. Alyssa was #3. So, this made for a LONG wait from #4-106. Reagan was so good though. There was a break after #53 and they had a boy group singing for entertainment. The girls really enjoyed them. So, just to make sure the event is well documented, here is a list of the "girls" that attended. Allison, Madeline, Honey, Jackie, Presley, Me, Reagan, Jessi and Marcia.Cindy and her mother went too (she works for Jeff), and Tracey and one of her friends came as well. Cindy did an excellent job organizing all of the details for Alyssa. She got her hair and make-up done by an excellent stylist(I guess that is what you would call it), and she helped her pick out her dress, shoes, and earrings. Alyssa looked BEAUTIFUL! Jeff was so proud of her. It was her first pageant~ and she could NOT have done any better. She walked, turned, and kept her eyes on the judges. You would have NEVER known this was her first pageant. Cindy- THANKS SO MUCH! This will be something that Alyssa will always remember. Not to leave out JEFF (DAD) with the "girls night out theme"~ He was so good. He made sure everyone had a GREAT seat- arriving at the earliest time to get the perfect spot for everyone. What a proud DAD. You could see just how proud he was of all of her accomplishments when she walked out on that stage. I can NOT imagine the feeling he had when she walked out. I almost cried, and she is just my niece. I get way to emotional even writing about this.In the pictures below, you can see how obsessed Reagan is with Alyssa. Now, Alyssa was not as, what should I say, careful/delicate/cautious, as she should have been. The pictures of her with Reagan are during INTERMISSION! She still had to go on stage. She didn't care. She held all of the girls- at THE SAME TIME- wrinkling up her dress and messing up her make-up. It made me a nervous wreck. She still had to go back on stage and do other things. She didn't care though. She was done as far as she was concerned. She didn't care if her make-up was a mess, her dress was wrinkled, or anything else. She had done as she promised her Dad- PARTICIPATED! That is all she cared about. I am glad we made the trip to the pageant though~ this was Alyssa's first AND LAST pageant. SO FUNNY! Sorry about not having a picture of Madeline and Allison. I will try to find one and post it.

These are some old pictures of Grant and Reagan riding horses at Honey's house. Alyssa is so good to let them participate when she comes down from Birmingham. My children are fearless. They really don't fear any of the things that most children do at their age. I am NOT bragging! I struggle to find discipline tools and techniques that are effective because of this issue. I love them so much~ You too Alyssa!

Go Rock Your Momma and Dental Dude and Diva

I guess this will be another "funny things that the kids say" entry today. Grant is so funny. He often "prank" calls Poppa and says "There's a cow out Mr. Horne" Poppa plays along and he will say..... "Who is this?" Grant replies "Go Rock Your Momma". Let me translate.... That is how he says our president's name Barak Obama. He is so funny. He gets it now, but it sure was funny at the time.
Reagan is shown below imitating Toddler's in Tiara's- which she will not be doing outside of our living room. The pictures of the children on the hay is just to show how much fun they have living on a farm. They love jumping from one to the other. Reagan would not be left out, so you can see that she got her batting practice in after Grant's session. And FINALLY........
DENTAL DIVA AND DUDE.... Reagan loved helping her "Uncle Jeff" work on her Daddy's teeth when we visited this last time. She worked on me also. I think I can cancel the appointment to have my tonsils removed over spring break because she went overboard with the suction. Grant may also have a future in the dental field. He realized while we were out to eat that the paper from the straws make an excellent "temporary" for anyone that may be missing a tooth. But, you can see that it did slip one time when I was making the picture. He quickly fixed it though. We have so much fun with these little guys. Hope everyone is doing well.

Pre-Pageant Preview

I am so proud that my niece Alyssa has decided to participate in her senior high school beauty pageant. She is not SUPER excited, but we sure are. She is all to aware that usually the same girls win these events, but, she wants to do it because she knows it is something she will never have the opportunity to do again. I can't believe she is about to graduate high school. I was in the 10th grade when she was born. I know OLD people only say this, but, it seems like that was only the other day!!!!! We will all be in the audience to support you ALYSSA. We are so proud of you! Good Luck! And, I will try to make sure Scott doesn't do anything to embarrass you~ No Promises though!

Family- There's nothing like it!

We miss Madeline and Mary.... oh yeah.... and Joel and Allison too! You can really tell how fast time goes by when someone has a baby. Those little rascals grow so much, and so fast! I can't believe the pictures of Mary. Precious! Madeline looks like she has taken on the role of "big sister" seriously. But, if Mary is like me, she will only be the little sister in age only. Madeline takes after her "Aunt Key" a little bit. She doesn't seem to grow like "NORMAL" people. I hope Mary doesn't get a complex if she takes after me and is within her normal "CURVE" on the growth chart. I will make sure she knows that Madeline, Jackie, Presley, and Allison are the "WEIRD" ones! Just kidding!!!!! Madeline doesn't even way as much as Reagan. I know now why I had a complex when I was younger! Don't worry Mary! I am here for you! Who knows... Mary may be just like them too. She was super petite when she was born. I love those rolls on her in the bathtub though! Alyssa is in a beauty pageant on February 18th at Hoover High. We are so excited about getting to see everyone when we make the trip to Birmingham.

Post with a Purpose!

I haven't mentioned the behavior issues that we have had with Grant at school in any of my previous "post" on the blog. However, since this is a scrapbook of some sort for my children, I want to make sure that if they need answers when it comes to their children, they may be able to find the answers in the pages of this book(once it is printed). So, here we go.......
Mrs. Johnson has mentioned several times that Grant can't seem to keep his hands to himself, is super energetic, and tries to finish his work first so he can talk and socialize. He has the messiest work I have ever seen when we get his papers home on Wednesday. So, Mrs. Johnson has moved Grant to a table by himself- until he earns his seat with his classmates again. She asked me if it was okay, and I told her that she could put Grant in a cardboard box and tape it shut if he wouldn't behave. She opted for the seat by himself. Grant has been eager to be back with his friends though. This has lasted for about 3 weeks, and yesterday, he made it back to his seat with his friends. You could really tell he missed them. I hope this lasts! I did want it documented because it seems as though Grant's father had the same behavior issues according to "Poppa". So FUNNY!!!! I was an angel! He didn't get this from me. We even looked at Scott's report card from the 1st grade, and his and Grant's are identical. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I hope that Reagan's behavior doesn't tell everyone all of my secrets like Grant has done to Scott. I know it will happen that way though because I have given Scott such a hard time about all of this.

Catching up on the latest at the Horne house

Well, things have been quite chaotic around our house lately. I don't know exactly why it seems that way right now, but it sure seems busy. Grant has been playing Upward basketball, Reagan has completed potty training~ and her dolls have too! Grant has obviously been spending entirely too much time with his dad~ note the under armour attire and black taboggin' photo below. Reagan is WAY to into her looks at the present time. She has taught herself how to take pictures (of herself mostly) with my blackberry! I have requested that friends and family stop telling her how beautiful she is for a little while. Grant has photographed his new tooth coming in, and Reagan loves spending time with her cousin Jake. She always makes me take a picture, and then she says " Let me see" right after she hears it "click". Funny! I have started cooking at home in an ATTEMPT to save money. I took a picture of a typical night at our house during supper. It includes eating, talking, laughing, and trying to fit in spelling word review. Not too much review usually happens though. In the picture, you can see Reagan asking Grant to spell a certain word.... as if she knows what she is reading! Grant is not into academics right now. He especially HATES reading and spelling. I guess his favorite subject would be math if you asked him. He doesn't really care for any of them to be honest though. We signed up for baseball this week, and Grant is excited about that. He will be in "coach pitch" this time. Reagan is taking dance and art lessons. She LOVES LOVES LOVES to dance. Reagan found a pair of pink glasses in my office and claimed them as her own. I bought several pair of glasses on ebay to repair student's glasses that were broken or damaged. I took the lens out of this pair for her. She says she is like Grant. We all think she looks pretty cute in them. And, finally, I guess a little nap under an umbrella on the couch is just what you need after a long day in the 1st grade. Where do they come up with this stuff? I love being their Mommy! What a BLESSING!