Tuesday, June 26, 2012

T-ball Summer 2012

Levi loves t-ball.  Here's Daddy helping him get ready to bat.















 Here's a video of Levi batting on the 25th.

A picture of Levi after he got to first base after one of his "at bats" on the 26th.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

A Weekend of Firsts


Levi and Kara Jane both had a couple of the same firsts this weekend. First for both was a trip to Stone Mountain to see the Laser Show. We met Khaki, Q, Uncle Wes, Aunt Joy, CC, Chris, Audy, Gary, and the boys. We got there early to claim our spot. 

The Bubble Man was a hit with Levi.










We went closer to the mountain for a little more clear space for throwing the football and Frisbee.  Kara watched the boys play.







 

 










We spent the night at Uncle Wes and Aunt Joy's house.

The second "first" was a trip to Turner Field to see the Braves play the Orioles. Neither kid had been to a Braves game before.





 



Levi was pretty excited, because Sundays are "run the base" days for kids. Since it was Father's Day, dads could run too. Kevin decided he'd rather take pictures. Gary took his boys and Levi, too.  Levi is in the red shirt with navy blue shorts.  Here he is starting off.










Touching first base...









After touching second...









Running from third to home....
 

He got a Braves t-shirt that says on the back, "I RAN THE BASES AT TURNER FIELD", and a certificate.  Isn't that cool?
 

Kara has also started cutting her first top tooth. After the Braves game, Kara Jane and I took our first trip to Augusta without Daddy or Levi.  Nana, Papa, and Dee Dee were very excited to have a few days with Kara.  Daddy took Levi back to Birmingham so that he could play in his first t-ball game.




Wednesday, June 13, 2012

T-ball

Levi attended his first t-ball practice today.


Aren't his little cleats adorable? Kevin said there were only two pairs that would fit him, but Levi chose the "old school" kind. He could run in the store better in them.


Levi had a great time and did really well at practice.
 

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Happy First Birthday, Kara Jane!

We started planning the first birthday party a while back, my mom, my sisters, and I. It only took a little bit of talking for us to decide to have a Very Hungry Caterpillar birthday party.
 

Kevin got the balloons for the front door. See the one little red balloon for the caterpillar's head?


Khaki helped with finding the best pictures of previously done Caterpillar parties and posting them on Pinterest. This helped us figure out what else we wanted to do for the party.


CC decided, I think before Kara was even born, that Kara would need to wear a tutu at her first birthday party.  Since we were going to have the Very Hungry Caterpillar party, we thought it would be cute to have Kara Jane be the butterfly at the end of the book.  So, Khaki created the most adorable first birthday outfit. She appliqued the "1" and made the wings to button onto the onesie.  Isn't it adorable?


CC and Audy created the best looking birthday cupcakes



and smash cake.



Kevin found the green and red lanterns, and my sisters and brother-in-law helped make the caterpillar with them.


Did you notice the framed picture in the picture above? It's a picture of me at about one year of age. My Mama Rains found it. We all couldn't get over how much Kara Jane looks like I did.
The hair that pokes out everywhere came from me!!

Khaki and CC helped create the picture caterpillar with Kevin's fantastic pictures. It was easy to decide what to have for finger foods - the majority of the things the caterpillar ate - so we had apples, strawberries, watermelon, "sausages" (i.e. little Smokies; our Papa Rains always said that a party isn't a party without little Smokies), pickles, salami, Swiss cheese, "lollipops" (my sisters made the best "lollipop" cookies!!), cupcakes, and ice cream. We decorated with oranges, apples, pears, and plums (well, actually pluots - I couldn't find plums anywhere!!). 
Audy made the signs to remind us what the caterpillar from the book ate through.


Kara ate some apple and watermelon before the cake. She decided she could eat better by putting her face in her plate. What a funny girl!



After hearing "Happy Birthday", she wasn't too sure what to do.



Then, she decided to play.





Then, Daddy showed her it was okay to put some in her mouth.



She decided she could do it on her own after that.



A great deal of the icing ended up in her lap. She liked the cake - and my sisters were so good to us. They made the cake without eggs or sugar - and it was still delicious! Applesauce was definitely the key!



So thankful to have so many friends and family who were able to help us celebrate her special day!