Katie Anne's First Trip to the Optometrist

This morning, Katie Anne and I made a trip to EyeWorks for her first eye exam!  It was time for my yearly eye exam (I was on my last pair of contacts!), and I wanted KA to get her eyes checked before school started.  Her vision check before preK had been questionable, and we figured that she would need glasses at some point because Saunders and I both wear them. So, getting her vision checked officially this summer was on our to-do list - and she was excited about it!  Katie Anne was very ready to get her eyes checked, and she was really really really hoping she would be able to get glasses today.

The first step was getting her eyes checked by all the machines.  This part of the exam made me nervous because I didn't know how she'd handle it when they blew the puff of air into her eyes, but I was totally wrong!  She handled all the machine checks like a pro, even the eye puff!

Then, it was time to head to the exam room and get her eyes checked!  Katie Anne was excited, but also nervous.  Luckily, she brought some friends with her to keep her company.

The doctor did a great job checking KA's eyes, and she tried really hard to do her best at reading all the letters on the charts.

After the exam, Katie Anne got the big news... she does need glasses!  Her vision was 20/75 without glasses, and she has significant astigmatism that requires correction.  So, she was able to pick out a pair of glasses today!

Her final choice was these lovely light brown glasses - she calls them her "caramels"!  I think they are a fabulous choice, and she looks totally cute in them!

She won't need to wear the glasses all the time right now.  For sports, playing, running around outside- she won't need them.  She really just needs to wear them now for reading, writing, drawing, watching tv, etc - and she's very excited about it!

Carder's First Birthday Party

After we took Saunders to the airport this morning - he's gone to LSU for banking school for two weeks again this year - we headed to Carder Brock's first birthday party!  We had a great time, and Little Miss Carder was super cute!

Wild man

 Katie Anne was such a big help to me today!

 Cute face!

 Cake time!

 Josh, Carder, and Tamara

 KA with the birthday girl!

Talia's Birthday Party

Today, I took Katie Anne to her friend Talia's birthday party.  It was a Fancy Nancy-themed party at a local dance studio, and the girls did lots of fun crafts, dances, and even a fashion show!  Katie Anne had a blast!  

I didn't take my big camera with me - I took my old point-and-shoot, and I can tell I'm spoiled now that I've got the big girl camera because I couldn't believe the quality of these pictures!  Here are a few of the cutest ones from the party anyway...

Happy Birthday, Talia!

Last Day of School!

Today was the last day of school for students, so that means that today was Katie Anne's last day of PreK!  I snapped a few photos of her before we left for school.

We can't believe her year in preK is already over.  It has been a great year for her, but such a fast one!

Here's a picture with SJ, too.  It isn't his last day of school - he has to go to daycare next week while I have post-planning.  But, he can never understand why I'd want a picture of Katie Anne without him in it, so we let him jump in for a picture!

Our almost-kindergartner strikes a pose!  She's so grown up!

Katie Anne's Pre-K Graduation

Today was Katie Anne's PreK graduation and end-of-the-year party!  

They had the party outside, and it was - obviously from the squinting - a sunny, beautiful day!  They had a luau theme for their celebration, and the kids all looked so cute.  Katie Anne got a certificate and memory book from her teachers Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Bolen.  They had lots of wonderful things to say about her - especially about how much she's grown up this year, how much her behavior has improved, and what a great helper she is to her teachers!

After the certificates were handed out, the kids ate their special snacks and had a dance party!

Katie Anne with her friends from class:

Katie Anne and one of her best friends, Diamond:

Katie Anne had such a great year with her teachers!

We're so glad that it worked out with Mommy and Daddy's schedules - we could both be there to see the fun and be a part of the end-of-the-year festivities with KA!

We're so grateful for her fabulous experience at the PreK.  Katie Anne really loved this school year and isn't excited about leaving.  She is so at-home at the PreK, and she's a bit nervous about kindergarten.  Last week, she asked me, "Can't I just stay at the PreK next year and be Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Bolen's friends?!?"  Even though she hates to leave her wonderful preK, we know she's ready for kindergarten and will do wonderfully there, too!

Mother's Day Lunch

On Mother's Day, we did a late lunch with my family at Trackside Grill in Kennesaw.  It is a beautiful restaurant, and it was packed today!  We met Gigi and Granddad; Greg, Jillian, and Caroline; Mamaw and Randy; Granny Nelle; and Johnny B's family there for lunch.  The food was just so-so, but the company was excellent!  

SJ loved his lunch!

We exchanged gifts with Gigi and Jillian there for Mother's Day.  We got Gigi a Magic Bullet that she wanted - she and Granddad make a lot of smoothies, so they wanted a quick smoothie mixer that wouldn't mean busting out the big blender.

  

We gave Jillian a lightweight summer scarf in one of her favorite colors to wear - pink! 

We gave Mamaw and Granny Nelle hand-embroidered table runners to match their kitchen from The Bartow History Museum. 

I got presents, too!  From Gigi and Granddad, I got new running shoes (which I desperately needed) and a cute pair of pink Crocs loafers.  From Greg and Jillian, I got a photo frame with a surprise inside - Jillian is going to take our family photos this summer (also desperately needed)!

We grabbed a few more pictures before we left - Gigi and the grandkids, me and my kids, plus me and Jillian with all the babies.  As you can see SJ and Caroline were so tired, but KA is ever the little model!

It was a super fun Mother's Day lunch out!