Cousins

Alex and Claire got to meet Anderson the other day and I was amazed at how well they did. Claire was not jealous-- she really enjoyed holding Anderson and was very gentle with him. I loved this picture so I had to share it.

THE BIG ARRIVAL

Anderson Wade Phillips arrived Friday, May 29 at 3:34 pm weighing in at 6 lbs 10 oz and 19 inches long. He is beautiful and perfect! We are thrilled. Mommy and baby are doing great!
We got to meet Anderson today- Alex was delighted and Claire was worried about her Mommy enjoying holding a new baby. I think it will take a little time for Claire -- she has been the baby so long, it's hard to get used to NOT being the baby anymore. I am not worried though. It won't be long before she is wanting to cuddle him too. He's such a sweetie!! How can anyone resist? We can't wait to visit again, but the Phillips family needs a little rest for now . . . .sweet dreams Anderson! To Wade and Ginger- we hope you get some sleep too!

Claire Dancing

Claire wanted me to post this video of her "dance moves" for your enjoyment. (I especially get a kick out of her tongue sticking out when she is concentrating on the jumps :))

Best Buddies

Alex wanted me to post this picture of him and Smokey. They play together so well! Smokey has been great to keep Alex entertained. He just got his summer haircut so he looks a little different. :)

Pre-K Prom

Some of you know that Oneida's prom was this weekend and the B&G Club was still decorated today. So, the Pre-K classes had a "prom" of their own where the kids could dance and dress up. Claire wore her blue dress from the father-daughter banquet and looked very cute! Nana was her chaperone/date for the prom. She said that Claire had a blast at the prom and kept dancing with ALL the boys!! Not just Jeric- who she often says is her "boyfriend." Once one boy would get tired of dancing, she would go off to hunt up another one to dance with.

Needless to say, her father is not too happy about this picture of his "timid, shy little girl".
At dinner tonight, he asked her if she danced with other boys. (Evidently, they had a discussion about dancing with boys this morning before school.)
Phillip: Claire, did you dance with boys at the dance today?
Claire: (grinning from ear to ear) No.
Phillip: Claire, did you dance with Jeric?
Claire: Sometimes
Phillip: Did you dance with anyone else?
Claire: No. (giggle)
Phillip: What about Sam?
Claire: Sometimes (giggle)
Phillip: Anyone else?
Claire: Maybe.


And the evasiveness begins. Thank goodness Nana was there to watch out for her.
Nana- please book your calendar for April 26, 2020, Claire's junior prom! We'll need your help!

Claire lands the plane!!

It takes a while for the videos to upload so I waited to do this one. In this video, Claire is "helping" to land the plane. It's pretty cute because she is so busy socializing, and then she remembers to pull back on the handles at the last minute. We have a ways to go before we let her land by herself!! She's much like her Mama- often too social to pay attention to the important things. Enjoy!

The Flying Jones Team

We were so lucky over Easter weekend to accompany a friend who was delivering a plane for a trip and we all got to fly to Knoxville. Alex and Claire got to fly the plane! Alex says he wants to be a pilot some day. In fact, that's all we have heard about since the trip. Below is a video of Alex flying . . . he is very proud.

We've been busy!!

Thought I'd share the Easter pictures- A &C always want to do a "crazy" one . . . this one is a little more crazy than I'd like, but if you know them. . you know it is par for the course . . . . .

Claire's First Dance Competition

For those of you who haven't seen the pictures yet, this was from Claire's dance competition on Saturday. Her group danced to "Ice Ice Baby" and were dressed up like "penguins". They were 3 points away from Platinum, which is the highest award you can get. We are sooo proud of them!! They also came home with a special award: the "cutie patootie" award- one judge gave out special awards and said that Claire "waddled like nobody's business" I have to agree- they were totally cute!

The Facts of Life . . . .

Alex was with me Monday with a case of "dont-want-to-go-to-school-itis" (sinus stuff) and I was making an appointment for Smokey and Stripes to be neutered. Here is our conversation:
Alex: "Why are we taking Smokey to the vet?"
(I really want to say "so he will quit humping the furniture" but think that is not appropriate)
Me: "So he can't have babies" (now that's a smart answer, right?)

(He gets very quiet for a minute)
Alex:"So. . . . . boys can have babies? "
Me: (Pause) "Well, they can help girls have babies."
Alex: "How's that?"
Me: (bigger pause) "Well, when the boy parts get with the girl parts, that's when babies are made"
Alex: "Oh, OK."
Me: (big sigh of relief) So what do you want for lunch?

What a Wild Weekend!

We went to the Wilderness of the Smokies hotel and indoor waterpark this weekend. I forgot the camera but did make these videos of Phillip and Alex "surfing" on my phone. They are not that great to view but you get the idea.

Happy Birthday Laura and Mike

Some pictures of Laura and Mike trying to eat their birthday cake. We recommend spoons next time !!!!

First Prize

For the Cub Scout's anual Blue and Gold Banquet, there is a father/son cake baking contest. This was Phillip's first time ever baking a cake! (He said the directions really weren't that hard! I knew I should have had him baking all along!) It is an Indiana Jones cake and it won first prize. They are so proud!

Memories

I have not posted anything in a while (sorry!) and so I will do two for today. Tonight Claire was reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and it reminded me so much of all the little fellers at Roxanne's learning the pledge. Alex was so proud to say it - - and I will never forget how he ended it-- with Liberty and Jesus for All!!
We could all learn a few things from kids, couldn't we?

Storytelling

Alex has always been a storyteller- and a convincing one. I think he gets it from his father who can tell you some outlandish made-up farce with a straight face. Today, on the way home, Alex says "Mom, the electricity went out today at school and we all had to go outside!" There had been storms in the area, so I thought that the electricity probably did go out at some time. I am wondering why they took the kids outside, though, since there were severe thunderstorm warnings out????? "Then, we all had to get our desks and carry them outside" he continues "and Ms. Amy had to bring the pencil sharpener in case we broke our pencil. Her desk was REAL heavy to carry so we all had to help her." . . . . . Me- "Really- did it rain while you were having class outside?" Alex- "No" and then he moved on to something else. Said it all with a straight face. Not even cracking a smile.
For those of you who remember- he had us all torn up when he was in Kinderstart by telling us about how he got choked on something at lunch and his teacher had to carry him to the school nurse. I wondered why the school hadn't called me if such a serious event had happened . . . . The next day I asked his teacher if anything happened the day before at lunch and she kind of looked at me funny and said "No, why do you ask?" It was a total story- but told very convincingly. I think he will make a great lawyer someday . . . .

Meet Smokey!

Oh what fun a new puppy is. We all enjoy Smokey, except when he forgets his bathroom manners. I told the kids it took us 3 years to teach them the right place to go to the bathroom so we should just be patient with Smokey! Claire agreed until he peed on her Princess couch . . . .

Merry Christmas!

The kids got wheels for Christmas!

It was a wonderful Christmas with lots of fun spent with family and friends.

After Christmas, we decided to go see a lady about a puppy. As predicted, we did not come home without a puppy. Meet Smokey, our newest addition! He is happily peeing on the floor as I write this. I forgot how hard house-training is. One cute moment (of many) was a conversation Claire was having with Smokey on one of the first days- she was kneeling, staring intently into his eyes and whispering "Please don't pee, please don't pee, please don't pee."