100 Days of School...

Today Anna Lauren and her friends celebrated "100" days of school.  And since our daycare director is thoughtful enough to take pictures, I have pictures of Anna Lauren and her friends that I'm sure will make for many laughs when she is a teenager.  They were supposed to dress as if they were "100" today so there are some funny pictures to say the least! 

And I cannot go without noticing the fun it looks like these kids are having at school.  For sure assures me that all is good with daycare and Anna Lauren is getting to experience so many fun and exciting things each and everyday!

Brayden Derryberry and Samatha Young...

Garrett Gardner and Kenly Kelly...

Holli Grace Italiano and Anna Lauren Calvert...

Holli Grace Italiano...

Anna Lauren was determined to wear the high heels but other than that, she didn't like any of my ideas.  I tried to get her to wear a shawl, but she opted for the scarf.  And her bun...well, I tried...seems as if Nanna is the only one that can get a good bun in her hair.

Thomas Hewitt Oswalt and Shelbee Nipper...

Brayden Quick and Will Jones...love the one pants leg in his pants...classical for an old man!

Brayden Derryberry and Kenora Griffin...yes, she is wearing a wig.  She has a twin sister, and they were dressed the best this morning...both in wigs with glasses on...not sure where her glasses are in the picture?

Enjoying the Calm...

After a crazy busy November and December, I must admit we are just "enjoying the calm" for a few weeks.  And that is the reason for not posting in a while...we have not been doing much.  However, that is going to quickly come to an end...Anna Lauren will start soccer soon, Matt and I are running the New Orleans 1/2 marathon, and we are going on a cruise.  So I think we will be back to our normal "crazy busy" come February and March.   So for now we will continue to enjoy the calm before our pace of life picks back up to what we consider "normal"...

This morning the kids agreed to pictures before church...Anna Lauren wanted to show off her curls (she slept in rollers) and Cooper wanted to say he moved to a new room at school this week...other than sitting in a big boy chair for breakfast and lunch, he is on the same schedule and pretty much doing the same thing.  Oh...and he has given up his pacifier except at night.  I haven't done that to him yet.  And no...he didn't wear the blue crocs to church...he put on church shoes.  However, he found them this weekend and has not wanted to take them off...so in order to get him to cooperate to get dressed...I put the crocs back on his feet!

Anna Lauren showing off her curls...she has put pink sponge rollers in her hair numerous times but come bed time they hurt her head.  FINALLY...she slept all night in them.  Oh the memories...I think I slept in pink sponge rollers every Saturday night until probably sixth grade!

The little man is so busy these days...so hard to even get him to stop long enough for a smile.

Mississippi Children's Museum...

Although Saturday was a beautiful day and we should have spent it working in our yard, we opted to use the family membership to the Mississippi Children's Museum we got for Christmas.  The museum sure provided for a "fun" Saturday afternoon! 

Cooper did a lot of this...it was a lot for him to take in...

Anna Lauren milking the cow...

Again, Cooper did a lot of this...however, he was very entertained...

He thought he was "something" in this hard hat...

By far the favorite of the day, the paint launcher...it shot paint balls onto a huge piece of paper...

Anna Lauren waiting her turn to do spin art...

Spin art...

Obviously they were having a little "friendly" conversation on the tractor...sometimes they are sweet and sometimes not...you just never know!

Let's Set Sail...

I'll be honest, Matt and I really love a cruise...and...we REALLY have the fever to go on one soon!  And to make the matter even worse, one of the class ships we prefer is sailing in and out of New Orleans for a brief period of time so it really, really gave us the fever!

You guessed it...Matt booked us a cruise today!  In March, we will set sail with our precious little girl who will be celebrating her 5th birthday while we are hopefully in Grand Cayman.  Anna Lauren LOVES to travel so we thought this would be a good birthday / last hoorah before "real" school in August. She was thrilled when we told her we were going and immediately got on the computer and started looking at pictures of the ship.  I think 1st on her "to do" list is ice skating...

We are super excited and will begin counting down the days very soon!

A New Year...

After being off work and school for two weeks, tomorrow we will begin a new year...2012!  For the most part, we traveled the last two weeks of December visiting family and enjoying a few relaxing days at the beach.  And now all the suitcases are unpacked, the laundry is done, the monthly grocery shopping is done, the January bills are paid, and the Christmas decorations are back in the attic.  Whew...been a busy two days of "chores", but we are now ready for our normal routine and of course, ready to see what 2012 has in store for our family.

Looking forward to another good year of making memories we will always cherish!

2011 Highlights...

Well, another year has come and gone and I must say the Calverts have no complaints.  Another good year full of fun and lots of memories to always cherish.  I wanted to end the year with a few  "highlights"... 

January:

• At 3 months old, Cooper started "big boy" school at Ridgecrest Baptist Weekday

February:

• Matt and Mandi ran the New Orleans Rock 'n Roll 1/2 marathon
• Cooper was dedicated at Pinelake Church

March:

• Anna Lauren turned 4...Sarah Beth James, Miss Mississippi, surprised her at her princess birthday party...Anna Lauren was thrilled to say the least
• We spent a weekend in New Orleans playing and enjoyed the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Tim Biven...Anna Lauren LOVED New Orleans!

April:

• We celebrated Easter 
• We celebrated Matt's 33rd Birthday

May:

• Anna Lauren was in her 1st pageant...she won a "princess" and "most photogenic"

June:

• Anna Lauren took 2 weeks of swimming lessons
• We all went to the Miss Mississippi parade and autograph party in Vicksburg

July:

• Anna Lauren and Mandi went to the Miss Mississippi pageant
• We bought MeMe's mini van

August:

• We went to the Brookhaven Exchange Club Fair
• Anna Lauren started 4 year old preschool at Ridgecrest Baptist Weekday
• Anna Lauren got her ears pierced
• Matt and Mandi celebrated their 8th anniversary

September:

• We spent a week in Orange Beach at the Wharf for vacation
• We celebrated Mandi's 32nd birthday while in Orange Beach
• Cooper turned 1

October:

• Anna Lauren went on her first school field trip to the pumpkin patch
• Cooper got his first hair cut
• Mandi ran in the Run for Life 1/2 marathon in Madison
• Cooper moved from the nursery to a toddler room at Ridgecrest Baptist Weekday
• Halloween ~ Anna Lauren was a bride and Cooper a Dalmatian

November:

• Matt went to Washington, DC on a work trip
• We celebrated Thanksgiving with Mandi's family in Brookhaven
• We moved Nanna to The Inn in Brookhaven
• We saw Santa at Miskelly's

December:

• Anna Lauren had her 1st Pep Rally
• Anna Lauren and Cooper were in the Christmas program at Ridgecrest Baptist Weekday...Anna Lauren was an angel and Cooper sang Jingle Bells
• We celebrated Christmas with both families
• Thanks to Santa, we went to Orange Beach with the Bounds family for several days

Whew...what a year...and I would do it over in second...such fun!