we have a PRESCHOOLER!

Somehow we already have a preschooler in the house!  I don't know where that (almost) 4 years has gone, but alllofasudden, Deacon has started preschool!

Scotts Hill Christian Academy is a preschool associated with our church, Scotts Hill Baptist, on the church campus, and that's where Deacon is enrolled in preschool.  He goes 2 days a week, on Tuesday & Thursday, from 9am until 12pm, and he seems to love it so far.  It's nice for mama, too, since Natalie naps during that time frame, so I have a little bit of time for myself on occasion.

We had an open house at SHCA the week before he started where he was able to meet his teachers and see his classroom and all the cool things Mrs. Faulk had set up...

Then, on September 4, we headed off to school for the first time.  After all the necessary photos were taken, of course...

[sweet boy, ready with a gift for his teachers, Mrs. Faulk and Mrs. Smith]

We are looking forward to a great year for Deacon.  He seems very bright already and is very social, so we're hoping that SHCA will be a great outlet for him in terms of honing skills that he's already showing signs for, and developing new skills for life.  We like his teachers and we know he does, too, so that's always a win.  :)  And everything SHCA does is bathed in lots of prayer and the Lord's guidance so we really can't expect anything less than a wonder-filled year!

beach bums...

Aaaaaand another 2 months has gone by since my last post.  It's not my intention for this to be the pattern.  It just is what it is, you know?

As a matter of fact, I've had this post in mind for quite awhile and I've only just had an opportunity to go through my [thousands and thousands of] photos to choose some to post here.

I thought with the end of summer approaching, or at least the end of beach season, it would be neat to post some photos from some of our trips to the beach this season, including Natalie's first time at the beach and in the ocean (intracoastal waterway):

[these were taken in May, when Natalie was 10 weeks old --

her first trip to the beach]

[these were taken a month later in June, when she was 14 weeks old]

[these were taken at the end of June, when Natalie was 4 mos old --

isn't her bathing suit adorable??]

[these were taken at the end of July, when Natalie was 5 mos old --

she took her first boat ride AND got into the water for the first time!]

These are not the only times we went to the beach; they're just the times I took my camera along, so as you can see, we have been quite the beach bums this season, since I'm now able to stay home with my littles (praise the Lord!).  Deacon loves going to the beach and now playing/swimming in the water.  He's gotten very confident with his puddle jumper, and it's nice for mom & dad, too, knowing he will pop right back up to the top.  :)  

So long, summer!  We'll see you next year!  Bring on F A L L!

24 weeks old!

[all photos taken with instagram]

{ first 8 weeks }

{ second 8 weeks }

Wenzel: Party of 4!

Being a mom of 2 kids is NO.JOKE.  Everyone told me that, and I believed them.  And I'm here to say they were preaching TRUTH.

And that's my excuse reason that it's been over 2 months since I posted here.

The other reason?  I've been living life as a mom with 2 kids.  It's the most challenging thing I've ever done -- but it's also the BEST.

And THAT'S the truth.

Okay, on to the point of this post.  I have a friend in our Connect Group at church that is a photographer, and she just happens to live in our neighborhood, right on the road behind ours.  She was sweet enough to come by one day before Jeff went back to work to take some family photos right after Natalie was born.

Deacon is 3 years and 4 months old in these photos, and Natalie is 12 days old...

16 weeks old!

[all photos taken with instagram]

{ first 8 weeks }

8 weeks old!

[all photos taken with Instagram]

Happy Easter!

Easter weekend this year was a little, um, on the cool-ish side.  And rainy.

Boo.

So we didn't go to the Spring Fling our church usually does -- in fact, they had to cancel the event due to the weather.

Boo.

Easter Sunday was cool, but at least it was sunny.  I had to improvise with Deacon's shirt, and putting a long-sleeve onesie under Natalie's dress, but they were still cuties, in my opinion.  :)

We were invited to a luncheon that afternoon so Deacon did get to do an egg hunt with some other kids inside our Family Life Center at church.  He had fun with that.

I put a couple of beach toys in Deacon's Easter basket, along with some chocolate and peeps (just like his daddy...).  In Natalie's I just put a couple of soft toys that she'll be able to play with later on.

[Natalie's 1st Easter]