A lovely Sunday morning enjoying the beauty that shows the amazing talent of our creator. A great morning to play in some tide pools!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sunday morning
A lovely Sunday morning enjoying the beauty that shows the amazing talent of our creator. A great morning to play in some tide pools!
Monday, June 27, 2011
How to spend the afternoon?
Our first little family vacation was off to a great start, but it was nap time. So we all went in, took a good nap, grabbed an excellent lunch in Surfside. Seriously good friend catfish at a cute local place called 'bubbas'. Normally, that doesn't always inspire confidence, but this time friends, success. :-)
Back to the beach- now what should a boy do with his afternoon??
1. Play with trucks. As you may notice, he likes them to line up like a train. haha, he doesn't quite understand the magnets on his toy trains are not on his other toys. :-) But, hey a boy can make a train out of trucks in he wants to.
yes, there is a little CAT truck in that line up. I don't think Matt's cousin knew that CAT has a special place in my heart because both my grandfathers worked for Caterpillar- one as a welder for his whole career. Yes, happy to see my boy playing with a CAT product, haha.
2. play in a hole. Way more fun than you would think! haha.
A boy only has so much energy to spend in one day. :-) Even mine! We grabbed some dinner with a view of the ocean, and he was so tired he laid his head on the table. haha. Our squirmy worm let us take a picture or two. Rest assured, he did find the strength to get some ice cream at my request before we called it a night. Its a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.
Almost 35 weeks. yes, big belly.
I love sleepy hugs from my buddy. So sweet!
Back to the beach- now what should a boy do with his afternoon??
1. Play with trucks. As you may notice, he likes them to line up like a train. haha, he doesn't quite understand the magnets on his toy trains are not on his other toys. :-) But, hey a boy can make a train out of trucks in he wants to.
yes, there is a little CAT truck in that line up. I don't think Matt's cousin knew that CAT has a special place in my heart because both my grandfathers worked for Caterpillar- one as a welder for his whole career. Yes, happy to see my boy playing with a CAT product, haha.
2. play in a hole. Way more fun than you would think! haha.
A boy only has so much energy to spend in one day. :-) Even mine! We grabbed some dinner with a view of the ocean, and he was so tired he laid his head on the table. haha. Our squirmy worm let us take a picture or two. Rest assured, he did find the strength to get some ice cream at my request before we called it a night. Its a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.
Almost 35 weeks. yes, big belly.
I love sleepy hugs from my buddy. So sweet!
A day at the beach
Our buddy loved the beach. Check out our little piece of beach paradise.
My footprints on the right (center) and when I saw the sweet little prints I was following down to the water I couldn't help but stop and try to get a picture. He was running down to the water! haha, I love his little feet.
Trucks. beach. awesome.
Daddy was the hero of the day. He was the swim buddy, sand castle builder, little boy chaser, best daddy ever.
Daddy also picked out this little duck floatie when we got this life jacket, and he went crazy for it. Oh man, definite favorite.
Take a break?? nope. Not done swimming with his duck. haha
Mommy, your turn to come!! Oh yes, here you are world. Maternity bathing suit. Avert your eyes! haha
Love this little boy. Thanks to Laura Leigh for passing this suit on to me- honestly, I blessing that I didn't have to go through the pain of choosing one myself and spending money on it! haha It was a total blessing of a hand-me-down. And this is how much I love my little boy- I want to post a picture of myself, pregnant, in a bathing suit, so I can at least be in a photo with my little beach bum. That's love!! :-)
James had an awesome morning. His sentiments in this photo:
My footprints on the right (center) and when I saw the sweet little prints I was following down to the water I couldn't help but stop and try to get a picture. He was running down to the water! haha, I love his little feet.
Trucks. beach. awesome.
Daddy was the hero of the day. He was the swim buddy, sand castle builder, little boy chaser, best daddy ever.
Daddy also picked out this little duck floatie when we got this life jacket, and he went crazy for it. Oh man, definite favorite.
Take a break?? nope. Not done swimming with his duck. haha
Mommy, your turn to come!! Oh yes, here you are world. Maternity bathing suit. Avert your eyes! haha
Love this little boy. Thanks to Laura Leigh for passing this suit on to me- honestly, I blessing that I didn't have to go through the pain of choosing one myself and spending money on it! haha It was a total blessing of a hand-me-down. And this is how much I love my little boy- I want to post a picture of myself, pregnant, in a bathing suit, so I can at least be in a photo with my little beach bum. That's love!! :-)
James had an awesome morning. His sentiments in this photo:
"Is it nap time?"
Early morning walk on the BEACH
We we lucky enough to be able to get away one more time this past weekend and take our boy to the beach. Matt and I LOVE the beach - but this quick trip was probably my favorite beach time ever because he had so much fun. Our boy loved it.
He loved it so much and was so excited that he got up just after 6 am on Saturday morning and wanted to get out there.
Love taking an early morning beach walk. In my PJs. (I thought of you Grady!! haha)
Can life get better?? I submit that it cannot! But seriously, I love this picture. It melts my heart to see my sweet boy walking with his Daddy and our little dog. I love this picture. I love early morning beach walks. I'd like more of these please. :-)
Why don't we live here?? haha
He loved it so much and was so excited that he got up just after 6 am on Saturday morning and wanted to get out there.
What is this magical place??
Where did my toes go??
Love taking an early morning beach walk. In my PJs. (I thought of you Grady!! haha)
Can life get better?? I submit that it cannot! But seriously, I love this picture. It melts my heart to see my sweet boy walking with his Daddy and our little dog. I love this picture. I love early morning beach walks. I'd like more of these please. :-)
Why don't we live here?? haha
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Water baby
We were able to celebrate our friend Ryan's birthday with the Sigmon family this weekend, and we got a chance to take our little boy to the pool for a swim. Well, it was sort of a swim- more of a splash!
Our little buddy LOVED being in the pool. He was so excited to get in and played, happy as a little clam, until way past his normal bed time. I couldn't believe how much fun he had. I wish we had more opportunity to take our little water baby to the beach this summer, but next summer, he and Hayden will get to be beach bums together!!
So content. :-)
My sweet friend Rebekah is expecting her second child, their first boy, coming up in the next week or so!! It has been so much fun being pregnant at the same time, escpecially because her little girl, Addison is the same age as James. We'll have double trouble here soon enough!! Check out how she's so tall that her belly doesn't even bump into mine, but sits on top!! haha. Here, she is 38.5 weeks and I'm 33.5. Big belly x2!! Can't wait to meet her little boy when he comes. Seems like it has gone really fast.
Thanks for making us a part of your family again! We love hanging out with the Sigmons. :-)
does this face look familiar??
Our Father's Day brunch was AWESOME. Yes, if you come visit, we have found another great place to take you. Fran's Filling Station- best brunch ever.
James: "Oh you want me to smile for this picture?"
"How's this??"
Does this face look familiar to anyone else?? haha, Mrs. Teresa, I'm sure you know who I'm talking about. (yes, this is big brother Matt with his new little brother, Mike. too funny!)
Happy Father's Day
James (and Hayden) got to wish their 'Dada' a very special Father's Day. We went to the bookstore and picked out a couple of little books that they can share with their daddy. :-) James picked out one about being Daddy's helper, and Hayden gave him one called Daddy Hugs. Soo sweet!! Can't wait to have some sweet Daddy hugs for my new little fella when he makes his appearance.
James likes to spend some sweet, quality time with Daddy. What does he love to do?? Jump on Daddy. Sit on Daddy. Wrestle Daddy. Hog tie Daddy, haha. He wishes!! And of course, give Daddy some sweet, goofy little boy kisses. Love that scrunchy face!
Oh, Daddy. I love you soooo much!!!
Happy Father's Day. :-)
James likes to spend some sweet, quality time with Daddy. What does he love to do?? Jump on Daddy. Sit on Daddy. Wrestle Daddy. Hog tie Daddy, haha. He wishes!! And of course, give Daddy some sweet, goofy little boy kisses. Love that scrunchy face!
Oh, Daddy. I love you soooo much!!!
Happy Father's Day. :-)
Friday, June 17, 2011
Maybe looks like me??
So I keep trying to decide if James looks like me or Matt. What do you think???
Matt?
Me??
Matt?
Me??
What do you think?? Picture of James and his Papa for comparison. :-)
toddler bed success!!
I wanted to just document for my own sake (my memory is not the most accurate sometimes, haha. Just ask my sweet husband) the first few days of the toddler bed. I know I posted last that we had no intention of switching him over just yet, but well, we did. He wanted to.
We got our amazing blessing of a deal and got it all set up on the 8th of June just before James' 17 month mark. We didn't put him in it that night, but the next day I attempted to put him down for a late afternoon nap. Those are sometimes not successful even in his crib, so I didn't think anything of it when he wasn't having any part of it. (I'm already having a hard time keeping track, haha it was only just over a week ago!)
Needless to say, I think it was Saturday night that Matt said, "you know, I don't want him to think its just a toy. Why don't we put him to bed in it?" I'm thinking, ok well I'm sure he won't stay in it. Matt thought the same thing- no way he will stay in bed. We haven't had a successful nap in it yet, so no way.
Wrong! haha. He slept the whole night in it, never got up once. Crazy boy! We were so nervous I think both of us slept with one eye on the monitor, afraid he would fall out of bed or get up when we weren't watching. Thank goodness for a video monitor. Thank goodness for a baby gate that we could put up on the outside of his door frame to keep him safe should he learn to open the door for the first time in the night. Whew- my hubby was a quick thinker with that one.
Now, I can't remember if it was one night or two that he slept fine, no getting up. But, by the third night he decided it would be a good idea to get up and come after us. Enter: Silent return to bed method. Thank you sleep book, Healthy Sleep Habit, Happy Child. First night, it did take Matt around 30 min or so to accomplish bed time, with around 25 or so returns to bed. Second night, my turn. around 15 min total with maybe 10-12 returns. Third night, my turn. 2 TOTAL RETURNS. He stayed for around 10 min, then up once. 10 more, up second time. Now, DOWN. It has been maybe three nights now that he goes down, no problem. No getting up. And now, he naps there too, no getting up. We even hit a record 3 hour nap yesterday in his big boy bed. Go James!!!
So there you have it. Our unintentional attempt actually led to the complete change over within a week. All almost exactly on his 17 month mark. Never saw that one coming! haha
Coming soon... the first hair cut! Our new house has harder water or something and his hair isn't curling like it did in Hickory. The tangles and the mullet effect are working together to encourage his first hair cut. Can't wait for the photo op!
Just to have a picture in this post, here is one from the fountain. Once he got the hang of it, he jumped right it. But, I thought it was soo sweet to see him holding Daddy's hand when he was a little nervous still. :-) We have such a sweet boy. I love him.
We got our amazing blessing of a deal and got it all set up on the 8th of June just before James' 17 month mark. We didn't put him in it that night, but the next day I attempted to put him down for a late afternoon nap. Those are sometimes not successful even in his crib, so I didn't think anything of it when he wasn't having any part of it. (I'm already having a hard time keeping track, haha it was only just over a week ago!)
Needless to say, I think it was Saturday night that Matt said, "you know, I don't want him to think its just a toy. Why don't we put him to bed in it?" I'm thinking, ok well I'm sure he won't stay in it. Matt thought the same thing- no way he will stay in bed. We haven't had a successful nap in it yet, so no way.
Wrong! haha. He slept the whole night in it, never got up once. Crazy boy! We were so nervous I think both of us slept with one eye on the monitor, afraid he would fall out of bed or get up when we weren't watching. Thank goodness for a video monitor. Thank goodness for a baby gate that we could put up on the outside of his door frame to keep him safe should he learn to open the door for the first time in the night. Whew- my hubby was a quick thinker with that one.
Now, I can't remember if it was one night or two that he slept fine, no getting up. But, by the third night he decided it would be a good idea to get up and come after us. Enter: Silent return to bed method. Thank you sleep book, Healthy Sleep Habit, Happy Child. First night, it did take Matt around 30 min or so to accomplish bed time, with around 25 or so returns to bed. Second night, my turn. around 15 min total with maybe 10-12 returns. Third night, my turn. 2 TOTAL RETURNS. He stayed for around 10 min, then up once. 10 more, up second time. Now, DOWN. It has been maybe three nights now that he goes down, no problem. No getting up. And now, he naps there too, no getting up. We even hit a record 3 hour nap yesterday in his big boy bed. Go James!!!
So there you have it. Our unintentional attempt actually led to the complete change over within a week. All almost exactly on his 17 month mark. Never saw that one coming! haha
Coming soon... the first hair cut! Our new house has harder water or something and his hair isn't curling like it did in Hickory. The tangles and the mullet effect are working together to encourage his first hair cut. Can't wait for the photo op!
Just to have a picture in this post, here is one from the fountain. Once he got the hang of it, he jumped right it. But, I thought it was soo sweet to see him holding Daddy's hand when he was a little nervous still. :-) We have such a sweet boy. I love him.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
One correction
I said that Hayden's first gift was from his Aunt Darcy and Uncle Josh, and that was true to an extent. haha. Really, he has actually been given a few little things so far, just nothing when he actually had been given his name!! So, his little backpack is the first thing that really displays his name, which I just love.
1. A super, adorable, sweet recordable book from his Grammie and Papa. His Papa recorded the reading which is so much fun. Hayden didn't even have a name at Christmas 2010 when he recieved this book, but he was loved!!! It's called All the ways I love you from Hallmark.
2. His mommy bought him an outfit. haha. See New Clothes for the New Baby! How could I resist??
3. His mommy bought him an Easter basket. No pictures of our Easter baskets because we actually picked up and went to Florida last minute and celebrated with our extended family. I was (as I usually am) too tired to take pictures when others are taking enough to document an event. Plus, I alway end up worrying about watching him way more attentively when we aren't at home. Taking pictures myself is almost always an 'at home' activity or a camera phone activity. haha, its terrible I know.
Needless to say, I got two baskets because I wanted them to match next Easter when James and Hayden get to celebrate it together. I got two books because I thought they were just too much fun for Easter. James' book was called What is Easter? which explains why we celebrate = Jesus!! And Hayden's was called Runaway Bunny which just had the perfect colors and message for my new little boy. Since I had two baskets and two books, I had to buy two Easter bunnies. haha. I LOVE these super soft little guys made by one of my favs, Jellycat. James got a brown one to match his book, and Hayden got a white one to match his book. You can see James little bunny in his big boy bed pictures. haha
4. We bought our awesome, amazing double stroller. That was a purchase really for Hayden, but for mommy's ease of two boys under two. Anything to make my life a little easier, I'm in! I feel like I'll have my work cut out for me no matter what, haha. It will be soo worth it though. I can't wait to see our sweet little Hayden in the stroller with his big brother. So much fun!! In case you were curious, it's the Britax B-Ready.
5. Your Aunt Natassja passed on some of your sweet cousin Jack's newborn clothes that were summer weight. My favorite was a sweet little blue sleep gown with simple white animals on it. So much fun to have something new to enjoy! Thanks Aunt Natassja. :-) ps. (We will pass back when if you have another little boy!!)
So, Hayden. You have been blessed my little fella. And I'm sure many more blessings to come!!
1. A super, adorable, sweet recordable book from his Grammie and Papa. His Papa recorded the reading which is so much fun. Hayden didn't even have a name at Christmas 2010 when he recieved this book, but he was loved!!! It's called All the ways I love you from Hallmark.
2. His mommy bought him an outfit. haha. See New Clothes for the New Baby! How could I resist??
3. His mommy bought him an Easter basket. No pictures of our Easter baskets because we actually picked up and went to Florida last minute and celebrated with our extended family. I was (as I usually am) too tired to take pictures when others are taking enough to document an event. Plus, I alway end up worrying about watching him way more attentively when we aren't at home. Taking pictures myself is almost always an 'at home' activity or a camera phone activity. haha, its terrible I know.
Needless to say, I got two baskets because I wanted them to match next Easter when James and Hayden get to celebrate it together. I got two books because I thought they were just too much fun for Easter. James' book was called What is Easter? which explains why we celebrate = Jesus!! And Hayden's was called Runaway Bunny which just had the perfect colors and message for my new little boy. Since I had two baskets and two books, I had to buy two Easter bunnies. haha. I LOVE these super soft little guys made by one of my favs, Jellycat. James got a brown one to match his book, and Hayden got a white one to match his book. You can see James little bunny in his big boy bed pictures. haha
4. We bought our awesome, amazing double stroller. That was a purchase really for Hayden, but for mommy's ease of two boys under two. Anything to make my life a little easier, I'm in! I feel like I'll have my work cut out for me no matter what, haha. It will be soo worth it though. I can't wait to see our sweet little Hayden in the stroller with his big brother. So much fun!! In case you were curious, it's the Britax B-Ready.
5. Your Aunt Natassja passed on some of your sweet cousin Jack's newborn clothes that were summer weight. My favorite was a sweet little blue sleep gown with simple white animals on it. So much fun to have something new to enjoy! Thanks Aunt Natassja. :-) ps. (We will pass back when if you have another little boy!!)
So, Hayden. You have been blessed my little fella. And I'm sure many more blessings to come!!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
A Craigslist blessing
So I have been finding some amazing deals for our new house on craigslist, which is such a blessing. We found our best deal yet today, just around the corner from us. I have been stalking craigslist for months now looking at toddler beds- trying to find the perfect one. Now that we are in, and getting settled, I have been wanting to finish our boys room, since we decided to have them share. It really has been one of the only things that I can do to prepare for Hayden, since James has to pass down his things to Hayden, we have to have something for James to grow into.
Well, success. EXACTLY what I wanted for way less then I had hoped to pay. We celebrated our amazing find by buying toddler sheets (putting them on the crib mattress we got hand me down from Aunt Darcy) and making up the bed for James to try out.
Curious George. Adorable. He loved it.
He loves to snuggle. :-)
Our big boy in his big boy bed. I am still hopeful that this will go smoothly- we have plenty of time to switch him over. No pressure, yet! haha
Well, success. EXACTLY what I wanted for way less then I had hoped to pay. We celebrated our amazing find by buying toddler sheets (putting them on the crib mattress we got hand me down from Aunt Darcy) and making up the bed for James to try out.
Curious George. Adorable. He loved it.
He loves to snuggle. :-)
Our big boy in his big boy bed. I am still hopeful that this will go smoothly- we have plenty of time to switch him over. No pressure, yet! haha
New house - New home
We made it. :-) We now live in Charlotte, NC.
We have a huge debt of gratitude to our friends from Hickory who helped us move and to my parents for all of their help, support, and elbow grease!!
It has obviously been a tough transition for us: we have a toddler and I'm (now) 32 weeks pregnant. But, it really is amazing how much nesting power one preggo woman has. Thankfully, we are getting settled and learning our way around. We met our new doctor today that will, hopefully, help us welcome our new little Hayden Matthew in just under 8 weeks.
We have had quite a few fun moments in our new home with our little man. We have had some MAJOR craigslist blessings. James got a train table for his new playroom, which is the sunroom in our new house. It is awesome, and he LOVES it. He runs to the door to play with his trains everyday. We also revamped the sandbox our house had in the backyard for our little buddy to play in. And now, he runs to the backdoor asking to go outside to play. Yes, he is a busy, busy boy.
We got our first baby gift for little Hayden from his Aunt Darcy and Uncle Josh. It was soo much fun to have a package delivered to our new house with such a great surprise!! I couldn't believe how adorable, these MATCHING BACKPACKS are!! I just love them, and love seeing Hayden's name written on the back. James had a big time playing with his new backpack- in his favorite room. Trains!!
Thomas?? let's go play with my trains.
A shot of him in with his train table. :-)
Thank you so much Aunt Darcy and Uncle Josh. Such a sweet gift!
We have a huge debt of gratitude to our friends from Hickory who helped us move and to my parents for all of their help, support, and elbow grease!!
It has obviously been a tough transition for us: we have a toddler and I'm (now) 32 weeks pregnant. But, it really is amazing how much nesting power one preggo woman has. Thankfully, we are getting settled and learning our way around. We met our new doctor today that will, hopefully, help us welcome our new little Hayden Matthew in just under 8 weeks.
We have had quite a few fun moments in our new home with our little man. We have had some MAJOR craigslist blessings. James got a train table for his new playroom, which is the sunroom in our new house. It is awesome, and he LOVES it. He runs to the door to play with his trains everyday. We also revamped the sandbox our house had in the backyard for our little buddy to play in. And now, he runs to the backdoor asking to go outside to play. Yes, he is a busy, busy boy.
We got our first baby gift for little Hayden from his Aunt Darcy and Uncle Josh. It was soo much fun to have a package delivered to our new house with such a great surprise!! I couldn't believe how adorable, these MATCHING BACKPACKS are!! I just love them, and love seeing Hayden's name written on the back. James had a big time playing with his new backpack- in his favorite room. Trains!!
Thomas?? let's go play with my trains.
A shot of him in with his train table. :-)
Thank you so much Aunt Darcy and Uncle Josh. Such a sweet gift!