That's What Little Boys Are Made Of...

Determination

Voracious Appetites

Physical Strength

Chocolate Smiles

Love For Our Flag

A Song To Make Mommy's Heart Melt

I'll Never Let Go, Aaron
Love You,
Mommy

Isn't She Lovely...

This is Morgan Mae Barrow. Isn't she a doll? My cousin, Shannon, gave birth to her on August 17th. Mommy and Morgan are doing fine. I just wanted to share this cutie with all my readers. Speaking of cuties, has anyone seen my nephew lately? Let me share a picture of Mercer:

And of course, as promised here are some pictures from our Ladies Karaoke Night:

Dancing Queens, feel the beat from the tambourine
You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life...

Rock on, sistas!

Erin and I both wanted to sing "Something To Talk About".

Jessie says, "I am ready for the stage".

We really had such a good time singing and dancing. I think we decided to try and make it a monthly event. Any takers for the next round?

Lastly, I wanted to share a picture of my son and his latest achievement. He actually started doing this a month or so ago, but my mom finally sent me this picture to show everyone:

He really loves stacking the puzzle boxes and is really good at getting them just right. Go Aaron. Oh, and one last thing...tonight...at dinner...my son...finally ate...
(drum roll please)
...a piece of...



We have been trying to get Aaron to eat broccoli FOREVER. Kate is not thrilled about it, but she will eat it. Aaron loves green beans but can not STAND the way broccoli tastes (or feels). However, each time I serve it, we talk about our "little trees" and he always wants one on his plate. Tonight, he took it one step further and actually put it in his mouth and began chewing it. I couldn't have been more shocked and thrilled at the same time. My hubby, Katelyn and I all started clapping and cheering LOUD. Aaron was so proud of himself. Of course, he ate one more piece before he started spitting it out. But hey...it's a step.

If A Picture Paints a Thousand Words...

.
...this one surely says A LOT about our family. Katelyn drew this in Art class the other day, and I thought you guys might want to see it. I'm pretty sure Aaron resembles a baby dinosaur. And both Bryan and Kate have some uneven arms going on. Unfortunately, I have a pretty noticeable bald spot. Of course, notice Kate has on PINK. I think she said we were going on vacation (hence the road in the background). I do love the picture though. I'll try and scan some of her other artistic musings another day.

As for our weekend, Bryan and the kids watched Finding Nemo on Friday night. Aaron was glued to the screen the entire movie. Seriously. He didn't move. Aaron. So, Bryan thought that it was time for Aaron to take his first trip to the movie theatre. We all went to the Sunday matinee of W.A.L.-E.

Hmm...maybe it was the movie or maybe it was still a bit too soon for our son. Don't get me wrong, he did GREAT during the previews. Sat perfectly still. And really, even through the first 30 minutes of the movie. I'm pretty sure it had something to do with all the soda, popcorn and Hot Tamales we were feeding him. But after that, he was getting up and down, talking and jumping around. Oh well...we will try again in another 6 months. Kate loved the movie and we all had fun seeing it together.

Aaron is saying, "Who me? I don't have a red sticky face. I didn't eat all those Hot Tamales."

One last thing (that's pretty darn funny to me): Aaron can now quote a famous line from Finding Nemo. Any guesses???

He will actually walk around saying "Nemo touched the butt." Super.

Everybody Dance Now....

I know...heart attack. I am posting for the first time in over a week. I apologize for my absence, but I have been taking a break from blogworld. I couldn't stay away forever, and I had some cute photos to share.

First of all, I would like to thank Kelsey for spending so much time with my daughter and helping her out with her ballet. Kelsey is a great neighbor and friend, and our family loves her very much!

This week, Kelsey held her very own summer dance class for Kate and 2 other neighborhood girls. They were all so excited to get this special time with their favorite dance teacher. They did some ballet, jazz & free-style dancing. Then they ended their class with "outdoor leaping"...you know, leaping outside...on the grass. Kelsey told me afterwards that Kate's leaps have really improved. Here's a pic of all the girls with Kels, and then one of Kate caught in mid-leap. You go, girl!

Just sing along..."Fame...I'm gonna live forever"

Today was early release for Kate's school...so we took a little field trip of our own this afternoon. We headed to our local library for some books. Kate has to read for 15 minutes each night and we are starting to run out of reading material around the house. Kate was so excited to go to the 'first grade' section and look for books on her own. I let her pick most of them out, only offering her a few of my favorites (remember Arthur, the chimp and his adorable sister, Violet?). The best part was Kate got to sign up for her own library card! She felt so special and grown up. I think that she read about 5 books when she got home. It was too cute. Here are some pics of her & the card:

Stay tuned for more updates from the Sherman Family. I was hoping to get some pics from my friend of our 'ladies night out' last night. We went to see Mamma Mia, and then did a little spontaneous karaoke at a pub in North Hills. It was such a fun night and I want to thank Claudia for putting it together for us. It's been a long time since I've stayed out past midnight and this Cinderella was a wee bit pooped this morning. I'm so blessed that my hubby takes Kate to school and that Aaron sleeps in until 8:30. I'll write more when I get those pics!

Miss Mary Mack...

Katelyn has experienced several "milestones" since entering first grade. I am amazed everyday how much she continues to grow (in knowledge, curiosity, strength & maturity). She has already lost her first tooth, learned how to hang upside down (or at least she finally got enough courage to try it), and has agreed to finally purchase a meal from the cafeteria. That's right...my picky little eater is turning over a new leaf. I hope this trend continues.

Her latest milestone is that she has picked up the art of jump roping. I guess they have been working on it in P.E., and she seems to enjoy it. I took a few pictures of her demonstrating her new (raw) skill to me. She was so proud of herself. It was too cute. I tried to teach her the song we used to sing while jumping rope...Miss Mary Mack. I pretty much got a look like "mom, you are throwing off my rhythm here".

In other news, for the past two nights my family has been introduced to the video game "Rock Band". Our neighbor friends brought over their friends' PS3 and the ever-famous "Rock Band" that we have heard about. (We have actually seen it one other time on the Wii, but didn't really have time to try everything out)

For me, I would have to say that I probably wouldn't purchase this game simply for one reason: where are the songs? As the person who would want to sing the lyrics, I can honestly say I knew MAYBE 3 or 4 songs. It's pretty heavy rock music. I have the same complaint about Guitar Hero. Why can't they come out with some other "pop/rock" music that would be pleasing for us non-heavy rock fans? Okay ladies and gents...if you could pick the songs for this game, what would they be????

At least Rock Band was a slight improvement from Guitar Hero in that more people could play at the same time, and the characters on the screen wore more clothing. And I did get some cute pics from the other night. We did have fun (as always) with our friends.

Bryan was super excited to try the drums. Claudia was excited about her debut hit, Wanted Dead or Alive. Move over, Bon Jovi.

Aaron couldn't wait to get his hands on the drumsticks. He had a lot of fun playing with his Daddy.

Here's the Band Members. They all took turns singing, playing guitar & drums. Go B, Richard & Peter.

Here are some of the groupies: Kate, Claudia, Gaby & Lorena. Love those bunny ears.

Don't know if you can tell, but besides the infamous bunny ears showing up again, Aaron is holding his "play" electric guitar. He is looking at the screen, trying to rock out like his Daddy. Isn't that just too cute?

Rock Around The Clock!

I love the 50's. I obviously wasn't alive during that decade, but I have seen enough TV and heard enough music to know that I would have loved it! Mostly, the music--take the post title for today-- I love the music.

Well, my baby girl got to experience a little bit of the 50's this weekend when she went to a 50's music-themed birthday party, complete with a dance floor for a sock-hop and some yummy root beer floats. Of course, the party invite encouraged appropriate 50's attire, so I went in search of a poodle skirt and scarf. Thanks to Heather, finding the skirt was a breeze. She had one and it fit Kate perfectly. The rest of the outfit was easy, except for the scarf. I ended up buying some cheap fabric at Walmart and sewing it myself. Please, no comments about the sewing. I was just happy to put something together that stayed together. So...here is a pic of my cute little sock-hopper:

Here she is with the birthday girl, Gaby, and her sister, Lorena. They are our neighbors across the cul-de-sac, and they play together so much they act just like sisters!



And here is a pic of Kate & Lorena having fun with their poodle skirts:



And later that night, my husband got out our cornhole boards (I'll get to that), and some of the neighbors came over to play in our front yard. One of our friends (Kelsey) gave Aaron a lollipop for a treat! Wow...it kept him occupied for quite awhile. I will have to keep that in mind when I need him to sit still! He sat contently with his daddy, just licking away. It was so cute...he kept telling everyone, "Look, I lick. I lick it in my mouth." Believe it or not, he almost finished the entire lollipop, and then went soundly to sleep. Good thing we didn't have to deal with any sugar highs!



As promised, here is a pic of our cornhole board:



If you want to find out how to play, click here. It is a lot of fun!!! My husband and our neighbor, Richard, made their own boards. Gotta love the flames!

Most Sundays after church, you will find our family at McAlister's Deli at North Hills. We LOVE that place! Along with a great, kid-friendly atmosphere, the food is delicious and the kid's meals are reasonably priced. Of course, I do happen to like their sweet tea (not as much as McDonald's, but close). Another fun thing about McAlister's is that after lunch is over, the kids love to play around the outdoor fountain.

That said, last Sunday, the fam and I decided to try someplace different for lunch. Call us crazy, but we were out for a little adventure! (One thing that you may not know about me or my hubby is that we are not very spontaneous. In fact, both of us like to settle into routines...we are creatures of habit.)

So...I pulled out my Citipass book (see how crazy I can be?), and decided that we needed to head to Cary, NC. It's only about a fifteen minute drive from our church, and as many of you might remember, it's where we bought our first home. I found this pic from '02 (look at the snow!). Anyways, we decided to drive by it again for old times sake. Katelyn didn't even remember living there! How sad. Many great memories...and it was fun to see it again.


On to the restaurant...we decided to try out The Loop. We had eaten their a couple of times when we lived in Cary, but it had been so long that we really couldn't remember it! As the picture below shows, it is a pizza grill, but it did offer a variety of sandwiches/wraps, salads, and shakes!

Here are a few pics of the inside just to show atmosphere/lighting. It was very comfy and kid-friendly. The kid's meals were a bit pricey, but did include a drink! Bryan got a spicy barbeque chicken sandwich, and I tried the grilled chicken salad. We both loved our meals! The fries were steak fries and very yummy, and my sweet tea was great. The best part was the ICE. I kid you not, ice matters to me. Ha! They have that awesome pellet ice that I love. Woohoo! Sorry I didn't take pics of the food...but sometimes food pics just look unappetizing. (You know what I mean? Like the pics on some Asian/Mexican menus? I feel like saying, leave the pics off...it doesn't help sell that item!)

We all had a great time....well maybe three of us did. I had a little grumpy one who only wanted to watch his DVD. See his mood below:

One last thing that happened at The Loop...I found my price tag. I was in such a hurry trying to get out the door for church, that I forget to take the tag off my new shirt. Wonderful. Another example of how I am losing my mind...one piece at a time. I guess I need to stop giving it away! Ha! (Get it..."I'm going to give you a piece of my mind") I have to laugh about these things.