Maddy's First Day of Kindergarten

Most of you already know that last Monday, August 13, Maddy started Kindergarten. I'll just go ahead and tell you what you want to know.... Maddy loves Kindergarten! She loves school, always has, and we hope always will. If you ask Maddy what she likes about school she'll tell you that she loves taking her lunchbox, writing in her school planner, reading Pete the Cat, and talking. In fact she likes talking so much that on the second day of school she got a "yellow" card for talking during reading time. :-( But in her defense, Maddy tells us that she was trying to make friends by "reading" to a girl she didn't know.

Who knows if that will be the only time she gets "in trouble" at school but I can tell you that every day since then she's quick to point to the "green" box in her planner and repeat the classroom rules to us at dinner. All in all, Maddy has handled the transition to Kindergarten well. I have not.....

Leading up to school I knew I might be a little sad to have my baby gone all day but no one prepared me for the overwhelming emotions I felt last week. I didn't just feel sad because I missed Maddy, I felt like the rug was completely been pulled out from under my feet and I was no longer in control of Maddy's day. And that's not just me wanting to be a "helicopter" parent who hovers over her child and make every decision for her. I saw enough of that when I was teaching to know that I want my girls to be independent and make good choices on their own. But I thought I would have some sort of transition period to help ease my anxiety and let go of my "preschooler."

Well that's not how it works. We chose a great school for Maddy to attend. We have full confidence in the school and it's staff. They were great at the open house and on the first day to acknowledge the major anxiety a lot of Kindergarten parents felt but by the second day....BOOM the door was slammed in my face (literally) and reality set in. Elementary school means business, there are rules and procedures for everything. I appreciate and understand the "rules" but I didn't prepare myself for the fact that the rules would apply to me, starting day one!

After a week of grinding my teeth, panicking, and almost pulling Maddy out of school (yes, for a brief moment I entertained homeschooling) I can say that I survived the first week of school. I was almost as excited as Maddy was for the second week to start, but not quite (I don't like getting up early). As I was talking to another parent about the transition from preschool to elementary school, I realized it all comes down to faith. Faith in your child's abilities, faith in the decisions we make as parents, and of course faith in God. In other words, I know and trust that Maddy is ready for "big" school and I know that with David and God by my side I (we) can handle anything that elementary school and life throw our way!

Now remind me of this in two weeks when Kate starts preschool.... Sigh.... :-)


Maddy with her teacher, Mrs. G

Not sure that this bookbag will last 13 years but it would be interesting to save it and see how big (or small) it looks on her when she graduates from high school....

Family Vacation - June 2012

Seems like summer has absolutely zoomed by, hard to believe that two weeks from today Maddy will be starting Kindergarten (Yikes!). Back in May I honestly thought I would have more time to blog, take pictures, and tackle some household projects but between vacations, trips to see family, and family coming to visit, I am ready for school to start just so we can get back into a routine. In the meantime I plan to take the next two weeks and catch up on summer blogging, get both girls ready for school (Kate is starting preschool soon), and enjoy a few more lazy days around the pool.

It's been a month since we returned from our beach vacation but better late than never when it comes to sharing our pictures. For the first time since our honeymoon David took an entire work week off. We've always been good at taking long weekend trips but have never gone on a week long vacation. So the last week in June we rented a condo on Hilton Head Island, packed up the girls, and headed to the beach for an entire week. It was awesome.

We played, swam, built sandcastles, ate ridiculous amounts of junk food, watched movies, and just enjoyed being together. The only tense moment came when I forced everyone to dress alike and pose on the beach for a family photo. It was so hot that evening and I didn't realize poor David was on an ant bed the entire time! Despite all of that we managed to get a beautiful family picture....

For more pictures click on the link below....

https://picasaweb.google.com/jessica.bury/HiltonHeadJune2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIC0qILUjLejhAE&feat=directlink

Father's Day Outtakes

For this years Father's Day I got creative (thanks to Pinterest) and made some great photo gifts for David and the Grandfather's (Poppi and Granddaddy). Each deserving father received a customized picture like this:

A personalized Father's Day card complete with Maddy's answers...

 And a personalized can of mixed nuts with the following label..

Pretty nice selection of gifts, if I do say so myself... But the outtakes from my photo session with the girls produced some priceless facial expressions that I just had to share with everyone.... Enjoy!

Kate: "I don't understand why she keeps taking pictures, surely there is 1 out of the 400 she took that will work"

Maddy: "I don't know Kate, just trust me, keep smiling and look at Mommy and it will be over soon" 

 "Oh, man! Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Enough with the pictures Mom"

"Do what?!?!"

May 2012

So you know you are way behind in blogging when Nana emails and asks for an update. And I am waaayyy behind on the blog but I am also thinking Nana and Grandaddy need to jump on the Facebook bandwagon. (Hint Hint) You don't have to be friends with the whole world, just me! Ha....

To catch you up to date on what's going on in the Bury World I have put together a pictorial review of May.

First up in May we attended the Junior League of Macon's 2nd Annual Touch a Truck. The girls had a blast getting up close to all kinds of trucks and vehicles. One of their favorites was this funny little race car.

Then on the Friday before Mother's Day Maddy's preschool hosted a lovely tea party for all the Mommies. It was adorable. The children sang songs, made cute gifts, and the teachers treated us to yummy tea sandwiches and cookies. The Mother's Day tea is an event I will miss as Maddy moves onto big school. :-(

 A week later Maddy completed 4K (preK). She had a great year with two of the best teachers you could ask for. It's amazing to look back and see how much Maddy has learned this past year. Thank you Ms. Vicki and Miss Brooke for everything!


Maddy with her PreK teachers. Ms. Vicki and Miss Brooke

Summer fun began quickly after school let out. Maddy hosted her first slumber party with her best bud Tate. They enjoyed swimming, movies, pizza, popcorn, and staying up late. :-) This was also the week we had to say goodbye to Tate and her family. They moved to Texas Memorial Day weekend. We miss them so much but know we'll see them again one day.

But what's the best way to get rid of the blues? Go visit good friends at their lake house and spend 3 days swimming, boating, and relaxing. So that's exactly what we did. We headed to Lake Martin, AL to visit our good friends the Bedford family. We have decided to make this an annual trip. 

The kids (and adults) loved riding the big tube around. Kate was too small this year but next year she'll be right there in the mix with the big kids. But don't feel too bad for Kate, she found a way to occupy herself.....

From left to right: Pepper (3), Maddy (5), Reif (5), and Kate (2)
Maddy and Reif have been friends since they were 6 months old.
And if you ask them, they say they are going to get married. :-)

Easter 2012

So I didn't realize an entire month has passed by since my last post... Yikes, no wonder Nana has called several times asking for an update. But I have a very good excuse for not blogging, I've been busy doing this....

I am finally an Aunt! Aunt Jaja to be specific. :-) Chloe Jean Johnson was born March 6th in Indiana. She was a wonderful surprise to all of us, including her parents Kimmy and Charles. On March 8th we loaded the van with Mimi, Poppi, and the girls and headed to Indiana to meet Chloe. We did this because the thought of waiting a week until Chloe (and her parents) returned to Georgia to meet her seemed crazy. Even crazier than driving 13+ hours with two sick children but that's another story that I'll save for later. Needless to say, the past month has gone by in a blur. Between spoiling Chloe and working on the photography business I've neglected this blog.

But I did manage to take a few pictures of Maddy and Kate this past Easter weekend. Now I will go ahead and admit that I did not take a picture of them all dolled up in their Easter dresses and matching accessories. What's the saying...cobbler's children have no shoes? Well that would apply here. I got so wrapped up in preparing food, packing the car, and leaving on time for church that I never took a picture. :-(  So I will just have to "recreate" the moment and take a couple of pictures. I am sure the girls won't mind dressing up again.

Here a couple of pictures that I did take at Maddy's class Easter party and on Easter morning.

Maddy's class Easter party and egg hunt. Kate was eager to help.



I am pretty sure Kate was looking for more candy.

The Easter Bunny came to Craddock Way!

Kate's favorite treat, a Ring Pop!

And what's better for Easter breakfast than a chocolate bunny?

Spring Fever Models

Last Friday the weather screamed "Spring Fever"...so we went and scouted out a new location for Easter pictures...Here are a few pictures of my favorite "models."



Pinterest

I finally took the plunge and joined Pinterest. I was reluctant to join because deep down I knew I really didn't need anything else to distract me during the day. Especially since last week our small group at church had a discussion on time management and priorities. But I joined anyways and promised myself I would use my time wisely and so far I have. In fact I think it has actually helped me cut down on Facebook "stalking" (which is a really good thing). Pinterest makes me happy and really got my creative juices flowing again...but at the same time also makes me feel like a slacker and not very creative at all.

Those of you who are on Pinterest know what I am talking about. I mean who are these people that have soooo much time to sit and think to themselves "Hmm, I should put vinyl decals on my washer and dryer to make it look pretty? (Sorry Tiffany, you know I love you and your polka dotted washer and dryer!)

Anyways, I am grateful for all the inspiring ideas and informative blogs I have found already. In fact this picture below is an idea I got from Pinterest. Now I just have to find time to take new pictures of Maddy and work on her 5 year old one.... Arghh, time management and creativity are a vicious cycle! :-)

Yee Haw Maddy is 5

We had a very busy weekend. Nana and Grandaddy came for a visit to celebrate three special birthdays; mine, Maddy's, and Uncle Thomas'. All of our birthday's are within 2 weeks of each other so while they were in town Maddy had her 5th birthday party. She won't officially turn 5 until this Wednesday, February 1st.

Several months ago Maddy said she wanted to be a cowgirl for Halloween and have a cowgirl birthday party when she turned 5. Having a cowgirl party can be kind of tricky for several reasons. One reason is that a true cowgirl party should probably include some sort of pony ride. I researched renting a pony for the day, petting zoos, and even considered having Uncle Charlie dress up as a horse and "give" pony rides on his back. And the other tricky part of a cowgirl party is the weather. In middle Georgia it's either going to be 65 and sunny or 38 and raining in January/February....

In my research I found Overlook Farm in Gray, Georgia and for a very reasonable cost they host children's birthday parties. Up to 10 children can come for 2 hours and ride horses, feed horses, and have a birthday party in the barn. So we took  a gamble that the weather would hold up and booked the farm for Maddy's 5th birthday party.

Of course I went crazy and had to have decorations, treats, food, and goody bags that all coordinated but that's just what I do. I like throwing birthday parties and I know that eventually (sooner than later) the girls won't want a big party. They'll just want a car and the ability to take their friends out to dinner without Mom and Dad...

But until that day comes we'll continue to throw "themed parties" and share them here on the blog. Here are bunch of pictures from Maddy's cowgirl party. She had a blast. Thanks to all of our friends and family that came to celebrate with us. And thanks to those that helped set up and clean up the barn, I couldn't throw a party without you. :-)

And by the way, the weather was beautiful...65 and sunny!

Cowgirl Maddy in her official cowgirl outfit. The boots, shirt, and jeans
were birthday presents from Mommy and Daddy.

Party snacks

Cowgirl Cupcakes

Nana and Mimi with Maddy's posse...

Maddy and Braxton listening to Ms. Blaine explain the rules for feeding and riding horses.
From the look on their faces I think they missed everything she said except for the part
about the horses potentially "nipping" fingers when being fed.

Here come the horses.

Maddy's reaction to the horses coming down the hill.

Our little cowgirl riding.