Drew's 3rd Birthday Party

Way back in August, Clayton asked Drew what kind of party he wanted to have for his 3rd birthday. Drew immediately answered, "I have a Lightning 'Queen party!" I am not super crazy about licensed character parties, I must admit. So, I gently tried to dissuade him from his request by offering many, many other options. Homeboy was not budging at all! He was dead set on a Lightning McQueen party and never wavered from that theme.

So, I caved. It is his party, not mine. He should get what he wants, right? :)

We had the party at our town's community center. They have an indoor water park that Drew was pretty excited about. Our family and a few close friends came to celebrate our boy. He had a ball and still talks about his fun "birf-day party." Ha!

Motor Oil (Sweet Tea) & Antifreeze (Lemon Lime Kool Aid)

Tatoo Station

Wade's little mini-me makes his 3 the same way as his Daddy - with his middle finger, ring finger, and pinky.
They are so quirky!

Drew giving one of his sweet buds a big thank you hug. :)

"Thank you for my presents!"

Time for a birthday swim!

RA Racers

Our church has a missions organization for boys that meets on Wednesday nights. It is called RAs (Royal Ambassadors). They work on scripture memory and learning about missions. They work on various mission projects and have guest speakers that come to speak to them. In addition to their heavy focus on missions, they throw in some fun activities. They have an annual camp out in the spring and a pinewood derby in the fall.

Wade was actually in RAs as a kid, and has many fond memories from that part of his childhood. His mom saved his vest and his old pinewood derby cars. I love that he has such a soft spot in his heart for this organization. When he was asked to teach the 1st grade RAs, he was happy to accept. :)

RA Racers was on October 21st this year. Clayton & Wade worked hard for weeks on Clayton's car. Hobby Lobby has a whole section dedicated to RA Racers, so we made many trips to the good ole Hob Lob. ;) There was lots of talk of color schemes, aerodynamics, weight positions, preparing the axel, etc. It was pretty cute to watch Wade & Clayton bond over this project.

There were 9 cars from the 1st graders, and there was some fierce competition. Ha!

Clayton with 2 of his buddies.

When all was said and done, Clayton won 2nd place. He was sooo proud!




I realized after the race that, between our 3 boys, there will be a grand total of 18 RA race cars made by our family. I'd say that we are off to a good start. ;)

Clayton's First "Poim"

Clayton wrote this on 10/15/11. He handed it to me folded with "Poim" written on the outside.
Translation: "Roses are red. Violets are blue. You are so pretty. You are so sweet. You cannot be beat. Love, Clayton"

Handwriting - S
Spelling - S
Sentiment - E+++++ :)

Drew is 3!!!

My Drew turned 3 years old today! I cannot fathom how 3 years have passed since I first held this precious boy...
At 3 years old...

* Drew is 40.75 inches tall and weighs 38 pounds (according to my measurements today). He wears 4T shirts and 3T pants. He wears a size 9 1/2 shoe.

* We spend a lot of time in the car these days, and Drew is such a good rider. He just talks and sings the whole time. He is getting to that stage where his imagination is in overdrive. When we are in the car, he is always pretending that we are in a race. He'll say, "Mommy, we're winning the race!" or "Mommy, that white truck is first and we are second." He ranks all of the cars around us. It cracks me up!

* I'm not quite sure how it started, but Drew thinks that he can change the stoplights and make them turn green. He'll say, "Mommy, I will change the light to green in just a minute." When the light eventually changes, he says, "See! See! I did it!" I always say thank you, to which he replies, "My pleasure." Funny boy. :)

* Drew loves the song "I Will Follow" by Chris Tomlin. He asks for me to play it every time that we are in the car. He sings along and it is just precious. I tear up every time that he sings, "If 'dis life I lose, I will follow you." Those words coming out of his little mouth with his little lisp - it gets me every single time.

* I printed off some letter flash cards at the beginning of the school year. Drew has loved to practice with them! We work on them while Clayton is doing his school work, and I think that it makes Drew feel big to have "school work" also. :) He has gotten really good at recognizing his letters. He consistently gets all of the letters except for Aa, Ii, Jj (he always says, "'dat letter looks like a candy cane!"), Kk (he always says "X"), Qq, and Vv. I think that is really good for a brand new 3 year old!

* Drew's favorite color is green. He would eat at McDonald's for every meal if we allowed him to do so (chicken nuggets and apples). His favorite TV show is Rescue Heroes on Qubo, and he LOVES to color with markers.
* Drew has the cutest little way of saying things. I'm sure that they are pretty typical, but I need to make a list so that I don't forget. :) If you ask his age, he will say, "I'm free!" He says, "'Sanks!" instead of "Thanks." He tries to sound big on the phone and says, "Whatcha doin'?" but he drags the phrase out and it sounds funny. He says his brother's names are "Cwayton and Owen." When we pick Clayton up from school, he always asks, "Hey Cwayton! How your day at school? You keep all your tickets?" He has figured out that those are always my first questions and tries to beat me to the punch. :)

* Clayton was really particular about his bedtime routine at 3, and Drew is definitely following suite. We always sing the same four songs in the same order - "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands," "Jesus Loves the Little Children," "Deep & Wide," and "I am a Promise." He will correct us (kindly, of course) if we go out of order. :)
* He always requests a "huggy, kissy, nosey" before bed (hug, kiss, and Eskimo kiss). :)

* If you ask Drew his full name, he will respond, "Andrew Scooby Doo Carp'der." Ha!
* He has been brainwashed by my T-sip husband and flashes the hook 'em horns sign pretty often. Ugh - where did I go wrong???
* Drew LOVES his brothers! He really looks up to Clayton and tries to copy anything that his big brother does - that is a blessing and a curse at times. ;) He also loves Owen and is so sweet and nurturing to his baby brother. It is so neat to watch him step into the big brother role as well.
Drewy Drewster,

I seriously don't think that I have ever been around a happier child! You have your moments, of course, but you spend the vast majority of the day laughing and playing like you don't have a care in the world. You squeeze every last drop of fun out of life, and I love that about you! I hope that you always have that joyful attitude.

I absolutely despise the term "middle child." I feel like people have this preconceived idea of that place in birth order. I refuse to use those words to describe you. I call you my "Little-Big Boy" or my "Happy Medium." I try to tell you how special you are because you are the only one of our sons that has both a big brother and a little brother. Isn't that cool?!?! I hope that you always feel like your spot in our family is crucial and important. You are the magic link that holds our family together. I don't ever want to imagine what our family would be like without you. We all benefit so much from you!

You, Dear Child, have personality with a capital P! You are so much fun to be around! You have the greatest laugh. I don't even know how to describe it. It's just so pure and uninhibited. If I could bottle that up, the world would be a much better place.

Three years ago today, you changed me. You have made me more relaxed. I don't take myself or life as serious. I have more fun. I love harder. I am a better version of myself because of you. Your joy is infectious, and I am glad that you share it freely with me. You have such a special place in my heart, Drew Carpenter. Don't you ever forget what a treasure you are!

I love you to the moon and back!
Mommy

I leave the room for a minute to lay Drew down, and...

I come back to Rapper Owen courtesy of Big BotherClayton.

Boys... :-)

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Location:When Mommy's Away...

Pumpkin Patch 2011

Last year, we were fortunate enough to stumble upon an awesome pumpkin patch right by my BFF, Leah's, mom's house. It is in Decatur, so it is a bit of a drive, but we were soooo pleased last year. We decided to make it an annual tradition. :) Last Thursday, we loaded up 2 cars to maximum capacity and headed out to the country. It was just as good (if not better!) this year. We all had the best time!
Here is the post from last year. **Mascara Alert**: Drew looks still looked like a baby back then and now he is a certifiable big boy. Looking back at last year will make you cry big, fat crocodile tears. Or maybe that's just me... :-/

My Three Dapper Darlings :)

This year, Mama Ginger was kind enough to go to the patch with us and then to host Leah, Holly, Abbey, and I and all of our kiddos for lunch. That's 4 adults and 7 kiddos! She is a saint, I tell ya! Lunch was yummy and the company was even better. :)

Leah, Holly, Me, and Abs
I have such beautiful friends! Their hearts are even prettier than their faces, I can assure you of that. Love these girls!

Kiddo Group Shot
Clayton, Drew, Caroline, Maggie, Sadie, and Luke

There's somethin' about that Drew - he makes me smile.

My Punkin' in the punkin's

Apparently, the pumpkins were much more interesting than his Mama jumping up and down acting like a fool trying to get him to smile. Ha!

After the children had paid their toll by smiling for a gazillion pictures, it was time to let them loose to enjoy the fun! This patch has animals, bounce houses, a barrel train, hayrides, face painting, etc. It is pretty much a kid's paradise.

This year they had a pedal go kart track. Clayton was in hog heaven! Right after I took this picture he said, "Muscles, don't fail me now!" Ha ha! Crazy kid.

Drew loved the goats. I'm pretty sure that he exceeded his allotment of 1 cup of goat food at least 10 times over. :)

Clayton was a bigger fan of the chicks. He was so sweet holding this one and talking baby talk to him, "Aw, little buddy, do you miss your Mama?"

"Can we keep him, puh-leeeezzzz?"

The future Mr. & Mrs. Clayton Carpenter
We're racking up the pictures for their wedding slide show. ;)

Drew and his bud, Luke

It was a full day of fun! We didn't get home until 4:30 and the boys just got car naps on the road. But, we left with full bellies and happy hearts. Can't wait til next year!