Halloween 2012

I think these costumes may have been seen before, although slightly different. This year a football player from Ohio State in honor of Papa and a fairy princess in pink!

Chace Turns 7! October 10,2012

Ballet Begins

My baby is a little ballerina!

First day of Pre-K and First Grade, August 2012

Paige officially started back to school on August 20th (sorry for the sideways picture but it won't post any other way!). Even though she was there all summer, it is back to "work" for her. She is so excited to have all her friends back and is already close to reading and writes her letters very well. I am excited to see how much she will learn and grow this year. She wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up and she's excited to take ballet this year and spend time with all her friends.

Chace is now in first grade! I can't believe it! His teacher this year is Ms. Bulnes and Nottingham has a new Principal and Asst. Principal this year so we are excited for the year. He says he will be an athlete when he grows up and if by some strange reason he is not, then he will be a coach!

We love Skeeters!

One of the fun activites we had this Summer was a trip to see the Sugar Land Skeeters game was a blast! Chace and Paige loved being up close with the players and the stadium is so nice we felt like we were on vacation for the night!

Summer 2012

What a great Summer we had! It started with Westchester Swim Team. We cheered for Chace and all his friends. They did very well. Chip took the kids to an Astros game, we visted New Braunfels and toured the Natural Bridge Caverns and loved Schlitterbahn and eating lunch at the Grist Mill. We spent many weekend nights are our pool with friends or up at the neighborhood pool.

Chace participated in a weekend basketball league and had a pretty good time burning some energy off Saturday mornings. They also spent extra time with Mimi and Poppi at the end of the summer at a baseball themed Mimi camp which was great.

Its a great day to skate, May 2012

Paige's first roller rink experience was at the rink where I grew up going to birthday parties! They now have a new invention called the "skate mate" which you can see in the video below. She fell a few times but had great confidence and looked great!

Kindergarten - Check!

Of course I was holding back tears at this boy walking to school on the last day of Kindergarten, it seems like just yesterday it was the first day...isn't that how it always feels? Time moving so quickly! He had a great year. We loved his teacher, Ms. Querbach, and his classmates were great as well. He made a few new good friends and was part of a smalll group of boys that called themselves the "agent team." The parents of the agents are still trying to figure out what that really means!

Chace is at a very high reading level and amazes us all the time with his interests, saying his favorite subject is non-fiction reading and the computer station. Outside school he says he wants to be an athlete when he grows up and is intent on trying every sport possible.

 3 of the 4 "Agent Team" members Chace, Kenneth and Aiden

Hugs to Kenneth and he's ready for Summer!

Goodbye to Papa

Chip's grandfather Joe Porter passed away February 25, 2012. He was 95. He was an amazing person. I feel lucky to have known him for 18 years, and to have been able to be in the same city with him for 10 years. It is wonderful that Chace and Paige got to see such a great example of a person as they grow old. He was always excited to see them and wanted to be a part of their lives as much as possible. It was simply and honor to know him and we miss him greatly!

Papa's 95th birthday last December

Joe was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December 1, 1916, and was the son of Talmadge Newton and Mabel Wottring Porter. He grew up in Marion, Ohio, and was a graduate from Marion High School. He was predeceased by his beloved wife Rachael K. Bean, whom he married on April 2, 1942. They were married 57 years until her death in 1999. Joe served his country in the U.S. Army during World War II. After completing Officer Candidate School, Joe was stationed in England and was part of the European Invasion Force, landing on Utah Beach in 1944, on D Day plus twenty. Following the war, he completed his education and graduated from the Ohio State University with a BS in Education. He taught Distributive Education for many years at both Central and West High Schools and finally retired from the Columbus Public School System in 1977. He and Rachael were long-time members of the Columbus Unit of the Wally Byam Caravan Club International, and they traveled extensively with their Airstream trailer over the years. Joe served this organization as its treasurer. Joe and Rachael were members of Overbrook Presbyterian Church for many years and Joe served his God and his church as both a Deacon and an Elder.

Catching up

THE KITCHEN!

This year began big for us with the major kitchen/den/laundry room remodel. We (and by we I mean other people that we paid) basically went down to the studs in the den and kitchen, took a wall out between the old kitchen and dining room, remodel all paneling, popcorn ceilings etc. It was 8 weeks from start to finish and we survived it better than expected.

This quote makes alot of sense to me and I happened to see it while deciding if we should add baseball to Chace's Spring schedule of activities. We decided not to have him participate this year and focus on tae kwon do and swimming and relaxing with family on the weekends :)

"Mothers who know, do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all." Julie Beck

Chace's Valentine Message

Just so cute! Happy Valentine's Day!

Paige Madelynn Anthony is 4!

And here she is at 4 months old!

Paige - you are just the best girl! You have such a sparkling personality from morning until night! You keep smiling and dancing and singing through the day. You are enjoying the new bike you got for Christmas and love taking care of your baby dolls. You also love to sit and cuddle with us all the time. You have a best friend at school named Nadia but also love to play with the boys and chase them around. You are excited to learn new things every day at Sherwood Forest and we're always impressed at how smart you are. I can't wait to see what this year brings! Love, Mommy

P.S. You are 43 inches tall and 38 lbs...95th percentile for height! Hmmm I wonder where you get that from?

End of 2011

I'm delayed in posting this! What a year of fun and adventure for our family! We now have a Kindergartener and a very mature and smart pre-schooler. Chace and Paige bring us so much happiness! We got to take them to San Antonio and visited Sea World and Hill Country Hyatt in April. We didn't do a major trip this year but the kids spent extra time with their grandparents this summer and Chace stayed with Aunt Kim for a couple days. Chace has been doing Tae Kwon Do and achieved a yellow belt in December. Paige did a ballet class through SBISD on Saturdays and is ready to graduate to ballet school as soon as possible. Here's glimpse into our year. I am looking forward to 2012!

Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween! This year Paige is a sweet black kitty and Chace is Obi Wan Kanobi. They had a very successful evening!

The kids found our newest neighborhood friends Taylor and Andrew Scott and went trick or treating together!

Our Annual Photo Shoot

We thought about skipping a year but Mackenzie Wheatley can really get our kids smiling - and us too! We're so sad that she and her family are headed to Belgium for a few year. Thanks for always getting such great shots Mackenzie! Here are a few from this year you'll see more on the Christmas Card!

Party Time

Star Wars theme party - yippee! We celebrated Chace's birthday with his friends on Saturday, October 15th. A Jedi Knight and Darth Vader came to entertain the kids, fun for all!

Chace's 6th Birthday, October 10, 2011

Here's a flashback of October 10, 2005

At that time he was 8lbs 12 oz and 22 inches long! Now our sweet boy is 49.5 inches tall and weighs 50 pounds!! He is very smart, leading his kindergarten class in reading and doing very well in math. He enjoys playing computer games and watching shows like Scooby Do, Ben 10, Danger Rangers etc. He has many friends and loves to play football in the yard with "the guys". He also loves Star Wars - theme party pics to come. He is taking Tae Kwon Do and getting stronger every week. It's so much fun to watch this kid grow up! I really can't believe he is six years old!!

Let's Dance!

Turn on some pop music and the kids love to dance and sing! Here's Paige on a recent Friday night dance party at the Anthony House :)

August 22, 2011 Chace Goes to Kindergarten

First Day of School poem

 

They started school this morning,

And they seemed so very small.

As I walked there beside them

In the Kindergarten hall.

And as they took their place beside

the others in the class,

I realized how all too soon

Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw them as

They first learned how to walk.

The words that we alone made out

When they began to talk.

These little angels so much absorbed

In learning how to read and write.

It seems as though they must have grown

To childhood overnight.

My eyes were blurred by hastily

I brushed the tears away

Lest by some word or sign of mine

I mar their first big day.

Oh how I longed to stay with them

And keep them by the hand

To lead them through the places

That they couldn’t understand.

And something closely kin to fear

Was mingled with my pride.

I knew they would no longer be

The babies by my side.

But they must have her chance to live,

To work their problems out,

The privilege to grow and learn

What life is all about.

And I must share my little angels

With friends and work and play;

Their not babies anymore –

They’re in Kindergarten today