Meg's first Ole Miss football game

Last night, we took Meg to her first Ole Miss football game. We arrived in Oxford an hour or so before kick-off and met Pop and Uncle Will in the M-Club room. We ate dinner and visited with some former Ole Miss athletes, including Yazoo City's own "Gentle Ben" Williams. "Gentle Ben" told Pop that Pop's father, Big William, was the reason he went to Ole Miss. After dinner, we headed to the game. Meg and Mommy had planned to hang out in the M-Club room until halftime, but the game wasn't being shown on TV there, so we all ended up at the game together. We were quite the crew - even Ron Taylor, the biggest Ole Miss fan we know, said we were "die hards" for bringing the whole family to the game. But, the children had a blast hanging all over Pop and Uncle Will, eating popcorn and M&M's, and watching the game and cheerleaders.

His father's son

Charlie is like his Daddy in so many ways. For example, he loves balls, and he loves to organize them. In this picture, he has lined up some of his balls and is counting them. He does this with his cars and animals, too.

God, our Father!

This is the prayer that they teach at Covenant Preschool. Jane Gray and Charlie both love to sing it before we eat.

The Barbour's Bombers

Tonight, the Barbour's Bombers took on the Media Giants in a charity softball game at Trustmark Park. The Barbour's Bombers rolled 13-4 thanks to Daddy's home run and two double plays at shortstop. Uncle Will and Cousins Jay and Austin played great, too. Daddy and Uncle Will were even on the news tonight! The kids had a blast hanging out in the dugout, running the bases, and going crazy all over the baseball field. It was Mississippi Hall of Famers night, and I got to hug on one of the Hall of Famers, Rev. Dave McIntosh, the man who baptized me when I was a baby - how cool is that! We ate dinner at the cafe and watched Rev. McIntosh throw out the first pitch. After a couple of innings of the Braves game, we headed home to catch the first night of college football. On the way out of the stadium, a foul ball rolled right to us - it was the perfect ending to a fun night at the ballpark!

Jump!

Meg loves to jump in her jumping toy. This afternoon, while Charlie was playing the piano and Baby Mozart was blaring in the background, Meg danced for her Mommy and big sister. Jane Gray couldn't resist joining in on the fun, so she jumped in at the end of the video.

Teething

Meg is working hard on tooth #2.

Alice's birthday

Tonight, Fair and Paul had a dinner party for Alice's birthday. Fair used all of Alice's recipes, and the food was delicious! Alice May was there, and it was so sweet to see Alice and Alice May with Meg.

Crawling

It's official - Meg is crawling!

Cheerleading at the Prep game

In conjunction with the Prep cheerleading camp, Jane Gray cheered tonight at the Prep-Washington game. She cheered the entire third quarter with the Prep cheerleaders and her friends and cousins, Liddy and Genevieve. She loved holding up the signs and practicing her cheers and cartwheels. Charlie and I hung out a little on the track surrounding the football field. He was so funny running around with a football he had snagged from one of the coach's sons. He kept saying he was going to "hutt, hutt," i.e. play football. So, fearing that he would run out on the field, we headed back to the stands to find a pooped Meg being held by her sweet Uncle Paul. When Jane Gray was done cheering, we grabbed some popcorn and headed home. Meg was so tired that she fell asleep while her Daddy was giving her her bottle. She was so sweet during the game, though, and never complained. She's such a trooper!

Cruising

Meg is now cruising all over the place. She is so determined. Once Meg sets her sights on a toy, she crawls, flops, and inches to reach it. Today, the prize was the remote control. Victory was sweet!

Meg's first tooth

We are pleased to announce that after much pain and suffering, Meg's first tooth has finally broken through. The poor child has chewed and chewed to produce this first gem. She and her big sister both struggled with their first tooth. And, now that Meg's has appeared, Meg is back to being her normal, content self. Yeah, Meg!

Charlie's first day of school

After seeing Mommy and baby sister off to church and big sister off to her school, Charlie patiently waited (yeah, right) his turn for carpool to pick him up for his first day to 3 year old mother's morning out. While we were 'patiently waiting', Charlie drank his milk, read dinosaur books, held his last bite of cinnamon roll in his mouth for an eternity, played with cars, played animals, . . . . When Ceci eventually arrived, Charlie ran for the door and then ran to Ceci's car. Needless to say, he was excited to go (he'll learn soon enough not to show so much enthusiasm for having to go back to school).

Morning in Louise

Charlie and I, along with Pop and Will, headed to Louise this morning to meet with some wildlife biologists to discuss management of the property. The ride to Yazoo City was filled with chatter from the back seat (as is the normal course these days). Driving to Pop's house, Charlie said 'deer'. I was about to say 'no, those big white things are horses' when I noticed a small buck standing on the tree line. We stopped and watched him while he stopped and watched us. Once we rounded Pop up and were headed out in the truck, Charlie exclaimed once again 'deer'. I was thinking again that he was reminding Pop and me of where he saw the buck earlier, but once again, I was wrong - there was another deer in the same spot. On the way to Louise, we were talking about all the corn in the fields, so Pop pulled over and picked an ear of corn for Charlie. Charlie was so pleased until he found out he couldn't eat it, so we decided to feed it to the deer. Once at Louise, we met up with Uncle Will and the other guys, rode around in trucks and 4-wheelers, got a little dirty, saw bugs and critters, and explored all over everywhere. We need to work with Charlie in his getting dirty ability as he is not a big fan right now. We returned to Yazoo City to drop Pop off, and on our return trip we grabbed some nutritious Wendy's for the ride home. A few minutes later, I looked in the rearview and saw Charlie's eyes shut but he was still chewing his chicken nuggets. In all, it was a great, but tiring, morning that stretched into the afternoon.

Margaret's 91st birthday

Grandmother Margaret turned 91 today, so Fair had all of us over for lunch and cake. Margaret seems to really enjoy the children, and Liddy, Jane Gray, and Charlie had a blast blowing out the candles on Margaret's cake.

The Grand Hotel

The Barbours vacationed this summer at the Grand Hotel on Mobile Bay. We left Jackson on Friday after school and arrived just in time to play at the pool before dinner. The pool was amazing, and the kids loved sliding down the slide, playing in the geysers, and "cooking" in the hot tub! After a yummy dinner, we headed to bed and to watch the Olympics. Pop's room adjoined ours, and the kids loved snuggling up with him in the morning. Saturday was overcast, so it was very cool. We took turns playing at the pool and the "beach" where the kids hunted for hermit crabs, played in the sand, and kayaked with Pop. That afternoon, Fair, Mary Stewart, Jane Gray, and I went to tea. We went into Fairhope for dinner and then turned in early again. Sunday morning, we all ate breakfast together and then played in the rain on the grounds - the kids fed the ducks and seagulls, played hide-and-go-seek in the bushes, and monkeyed in the trees. Jane Gray said that the trees had low-hanging branches so that the children could climb on them and tickle them. After a brief dip in the pool, we decided to go on a bike ride before heading back to Jackson. We had a wonderful trip!

Jane Gray's first day of kindergarten

Last night, Charles and I attended the First Pres kindergarten parents' orientation. We met Jane Gray's teachers, Mrs. Anne Pringle and Mrs. LeAnne Pittman, and got to see her room. Today, it was Jane Gray's turn, and she performed beautifully (much better than her nervous, sentimental parents). She has been looking forward to this day for so long, and she was calm, confident, and excited. We're so proud of you, Jane Gray!

Charlie's new teacher

Today, Charlie went to school to meet his new teacher, Mrs. Conn. She was so sweet - she and Charlie hit it off!