Everyday Bits Of...

OOPS!

2012-02-05T14:44:00.000-05:00

Kinda got behind on the blogging..sad part is: still not caught up!! Soon enough, though..

Below is the last 2 1/2 months in a very quick recap!!

What a Difference!!

2012-02-05T14:42:00.001-05:00

July 2010
(picture of a picture...ignore the weird top and bottom)

February 2012

They are currently 3 inches, 2 pounds, and 1 shoe size apart. (!)

4 Years Old!!!!

2012-02-05T14:38:00.000-05:00

Dinner in a fancy dress with Just the three of us! Then shopping with Gymbucks :)

We had a family party the Saturday after her birthday ~princess theme~ and she was showered with love and gifts (too many!) by our sweet family. :D

Brynlee's Birthday!

2012-02-05T14:31:00.000-05:00

We rode up to Winston Salem for Brynlee's first birthday!! It was super fun! Everyone slept on the way there :) Emory's jammies when we got home were too cute not to post..

Sweetie!! January 2012

2012-02-05T14:28:00.002-05:00

Lots of Pajamas and Pictures :)

2012-02-05T14:26:00.001-05:00

Life :D

2012-02-05T14:23:00.002-05:00

Harrison Smith!! What a cutie!

Happy New Year!!

2012-02-05T14:20:00.000-05:00

A warm welcome to 2012!! We spent New Year's Day outside enjoying a burst of warm weather!!

The Girls!

2012-02-05T14:16:00.002-05:00

Chain of Events...

2012-02-05T14:14:00.000-05:00

When you cry this hard...

You pass out. And rest up so your sweet lil body can heal...

So your oxygen saturation can be at 100%...

So you can go home for Christmas!! :D

2012-02-05T14:11:00.000-05:00

So...that cold resulted in Emory having some labored breathing (increasingly so through the night Monday, Dec 19th). Took her in for a checkup and even though I was expecting them to say: "tylenol and rest" they actually said: "RSV, drive to be admitted to the Hemby Children's Wing at Presbyterian Main." Talk about scaring me!! It is actually standard procedure for anyone under 6 weeks who tests positive for RSV (which she did at her dr visit). So we spent Tuesday 20th - Saturday (Christmas Eve) in the hospital. Emory did very well. She actually seemed to be the exception to the rule for a couple days, but spiked a fever Thursday which resulted in our staying an additional 48 hrs and necessitating a gamet of tests to rule out other stuff. This is usually what happens right away when babies this small (2 weeks) are admitted, but she was doing so great, they held off until that fever hit. We actually think, based on some things we heard at the hospital, that it may have even been a faulty thermometer! Either way, better safe than sorry, for sure. We were so appreciative of God's blessing of health~we were by far the most healthy patients on the wing.. so happy to leave that Christmas Eve morning, especially after seeing some of the other families that were unable to do that due to being in far worse situations. Still..very scary and definitely earned a few gray hairs that week. Praise the Lord for healing Emory and sustaining us during that time~like every day, right!! :D

I stayed the entire time (nursing, and of course I'm not going to leave our 2 week old there alone!! even if she'd been bottle-fed I would have stayed. OF COURSE.) and Josh was able to come up a lot thanks to Nana and MawMaw keeping the other two!! I missed them so much. Can't really even write about it b/c I'm still emotional about it..let's just say: two weeks postpartum is Not the time to be separated from your hubby and kids!!

I was able to see Charlotte and Liam at dinner a couple of the nights and take them out on a pancake date that Wednesday :)

What happened while we were in the hospital...

Nana brought over a lil Christmas tree for our 2011 Christmas!! Thanks again, Mom!!

Emory received her first bouquet from a suitor! Thanks, Harrison!!

Pancake Date!!

Sick, but Happy!!

Visiting with Daddy.

Nasal Cannula finally off!! this picture is of her sweet face after the cannula was finally removed.

Dinner with the Knotts!!

2012-02-05T13:54:00.000-05:00

Mike and Emily were gracious to bring us some delicious taco soup and chips and ice cream as a "new parents again" dinner!! They brought the food and everything but the kitchen table over to our new house!! This was during the 1st buyer possession (a two week time period where we had access to the house to paint and do a few projects before we moved in). We were (as pictured) taping and painting the kitchen and dinette from green to beige. :) The kids loved our picnic dinner!! Thanks again, friends!!

**also this evening included Liam dumping a coal from the fireplace on the den carpet, and all kids being either sick or getting ready to wake up sick**

My 6 am view after Emory's breakfast..

2012-02-05T13:49:00.002-05:00

...view from the 8th floor of Camden Grandview

I couldn't pick one, sooo....

2012-02-05T13:47:00.001-05:00

Lots of Fun in this Chair :)

2012-02-05T13:44:00.001-05:00

Early Emory Days :)

2012-02-05T13:37:00.001-05:00

A Christmas Miracle...

2012-02-05T13:34:00.000-05:00

The miracle was that both children didn't cry about Santa, looked at the camera immediately and smiled at the same time!! Maybe the only year that ever happens... ;)

What we do during preschool sometimes...

2012-02-05T13:30:00.000-05:00

go explore at the Matthews Train Depot!

Guilt Trip Recovery Day haha

2012-02-05T13:27:00.000-05:00

The kids and I went to Latta Park one day right before Em was born. I was feeling super guilty about being tired physically, tired mentally from the moving stress, and just feeling like I had generallly been a not-so-fun mom lately, and here I was getting ready to go into labor anytime.. So we had an extra fun day even though it was super cold.. We went to the park, then to get hot cookies, then to see Happy Feet 2 (which we did all by ourselves!!) It was an awesome day and we had a really fun time together. Special memories for me (since they probably won't remember..) Here is Charlotte at the park (Liam was running around behind her and wouldn't stop for a picture.) Then below is the theater all to ourselves! Haha!

on the couch...

2012-02-05T13:21:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving Program 2011

2012-02-05T13:19:00.000-05:00

It was so cute!! The kids did really well at their little tables. So glad Josh and I got to go together to see our big girl's first preschool program!!

Emory Claire Hall!

2011-12-11T21:56:00.000-05:00

Well, this girl likes to do things on her timetable! :D On Thursday, Dec. 1st, my doctor informed me she could schedule me for an induction Monday (Dec. 5th) morning if I wanted...um, yes please!! So we quickly moved Josh's paternity leave around, and made arrangements with MawMaw and Nana for the big sister and brother. Pam came down Sunday evening to stay at the apartment with Charlotte and Liam while Josh and I stayed at Mom and Dad's house so we could get some extra sleep and be close to the hospital. We left the apartment about 8:45pm, and by the time we arrived at Mom and Dad's I had experienced 4 contractions...didn't tell Josh this until we got there. We visited for a little while and then everyone went to bed. I continued to have contractions all night, which of course meant very little sleep, but I was excited!! Little (well, big, as we later discovered) Emory was going to do things her way..no induction needed here :) My doctor had already told me labor would be quick once it got going, so I was hoping the contractions would help steer us in the "quick delivery" direction. I basically labored all night, kind of wanting to go on to the hospital since Dr. Cannon had told me not to wait too long, but not wanting to go and be sent home.. (I'm not a good judge of whether I'm barely in labor or really far along) So I made it until 6:00am, at which point I woke Josh up and said, I think we should head on over (induction was scheduled for 6:45, so I figured we wouldn't be sent back home to wait if I wasn't very far along). We arrived at the hospital, got checked in and set up in a room with all of the monitors and things, and waited.. My dr had said she had a surgery at 7:30, and so I could start the Pitocen drip at 6:45 and she'd break my water when she got out of surgery. So all of this went accordingly, and when she arrived around 8:45 to break my water, she told us that I was at 8cm and going to have Emory really soon. I had planned on an epidural, but Dr. Cannon said I'd have her out after a few contractions and I could get the epidural but it would be pointless.. So at that point I made a decision I never thought I would and decided to just forego the epidural (!) I had 2 more contractions before I felt like I could bring myself to push (aka cause myself intense pain on purpose...weird!!!), and then pushed through 3 contractions and boom! There was our beautiful baby!! It was an incredible experience where my eyeballs came out of their sockets and Josh's hand became rubberized, but it was amazing and I'm thrilled I got to experience it with the best guy in the world by my side. :D

Emory Claire officially entered the world at 9:21 am, weighing 8 lbs 14 oz (!) and stretching out to 20 1/2 in! She is, as you have seen above, gorgeous and we are absolutely head over heels in love with her. Not to leave out that she sleeps through the night (I have to wake her up for her to eat~awesome!) and is a doll baby during the day.. So far she has only cried when she is gassy, but I'm sure that will change as she leaves the "sleeping and eating only" phase of infancy.

Big Sister and Brother are taking extremely well to her~Charlotte is in hog heaven and Liam apparently thinks she is fun because he is always laughing when he interacts with her. We are so so so so so so happy and are thrilled miss Emory is here safe and sound. :D We love you, sweet girl!!

Just for the record books...

2011-11-18T11:08:00.000-05:00

And by record books, I mean ours when we convert the next installment of blog posts into another book.. But just to keep track of things, I had my 36 week obgyn appointment this past Tuesday (11/15) and I am 70% effaced and 3.5-4 cm dialated! Miss Emory is definitely on her way! We are ready to meet her whenever she decide to make her appearance, and since we close on our new home in 2 weeks (!!), we're excited to find out if she will arrive before or after that happens :) She'll have a whirlwind birth story either way, haha!

Leaf Pile!!

2011-11-18T11:05:00.000-05:00

Charlotte loved this!! When it was Liam's turn (and he was dying to try it), he counted 1,2,3 and then got tossed in...only to immediately say Out!Out! Help, Nana! :) What a fun leaf pile. :D

Lunch Date!!

2011-11-14T16:46:00.000-05:00

We had such a great time getting to see Lauren and her sweet boys (Mr. Ben, pictured, and Mr. Nate, not pictured) for an impromptu lunch last week!!! What a treat!! :D

Christmas at Biltmore!

2011-11-14T16:44:00.001-05:00

We headed up to Biltmore to see the Christmas Trees on display in the house.. It was gorgeous and the kids had a great time! They look for Christmas decorations everywhere now. We are definitely looking forward to closing on our house so we can get in there and put our Christmas things up and around :)
This trip counted as our "Christmas Trip to the Mountains" since, with Emory's upcoming birth, we decided to forego Blowing Rock/Dan'l Boone Inn/Christmas tree cutting.. We'll definitely pick back up next year!

Firstborn

2011-11-14T16:37:00.001-05:00

I love this girl. :D

Preschool Recap

2011-11-14T16:33:00.000-05:00

She was telling me about all of these things, *which would have made a better video, but hey..* and then I just asked her questions about the things she told me about... And I was taping her in the rearview mirror.. don't worry..I got it lined up on a stoplight and then watched the road :D I'm pretty pleased with how well it stayed on her haha! She does love her some preschool!!

T Ball :)

2011-11-14T16:28:00.000-05:00

The kids are getting their Tball on.. :) Josh is clearly miserable and sad about this...siiiiiike!

Back Yard FUN!!

2011-10-31T09:29:00.000-04:00

Nana and Poppy's house got an upgrade in the back yard last week!! They installed this slide and climbing wall off of their deck. Um..do I even need to write that the kids LOVE it?! It rocks!! The slide ends right in their "Castle" tree, which is awesome. :D Thanks, Nana and Poppy!!

Halloween 2011!

2011-10-31T09:27:00.000-04:00

Well, here is the cutest Tinkerbell ever, and Captain Hook (since Peter Pan was vetoed by a certain daddy of our household who shall remain nameless...) looking his most handsome!! We also trekked up for our book club halloween party (even though we were all soo under the weather). We had a great time and it was great to see all our friends..but the kids were D-O-N-E by 1:00 so we had to hit the road home... :/

Excuse the terrible pics..if I can track someone else's down where some of the kids aren't cut out I will!

Eye Doctor

2011-10-31T09:20:00.000-04:00

Miss Hollywood here had just had her pupils dialated..hence the amazing throw-away sunglasses. Charlotte had a check up for her eye alignment (recommended at her last well visit), and everything came out great!! Perfect vision and no problems with the alignment!! We think ol' Bud Bud is good to go on vision, too.. It could be miss Emory that follows in Erin's footsteps instead of Josh's..we'll see! (no pun intended ;p)

Sick Nap

2011-10-31T09:18:00.001-04:00

We've all had a terrible cold this week...poor kiddos. But it has made for some cute Donald Duck voices and extra snuggles.. Mr. Liam conked out hard one day for naptime ~ didn't even make it to the bed. :/

Beach Babymoon!

2011-10-31T09:14:00.000-04:00

After we went to CH to meet Harrison, Josh and I took off on a little "babymoon" to just rejuvenate ourselves before we are officially parents of 3!! We did nothing but get Starbucks, take it to the beach and sit under a blanket (our view each morning pictured below), eat, shop a little, and go on like, 7 dates!! :D

It was really wonderful, and as always, we are so grateful to our sweet family for letting us use the beach house!!

Harrison!!

2011-10-31T09:09:00.000-04:00

It was sooo amazing to finally hold my sweet nephew, Harrison Cole!! All I can write without crying is that we are so grateful to God for bringing all three Smiths back from Colorado!! Love you all!! Praise the Lord!!! :D

Leaves!

2011-10-31T09:07:00.000-04:00

It definitely took these two a while to figure out how to actually play with leaves...our old yard didn't really have a lot of big leafy trees for them to learn..haha! but they got the hang of it :)

Game Day!!

2011-10-31T09:04:00.000-04:00

We figured it might be a while before we make it back up for a game, so we decided to take one of Josh's friends up on a generous offer of tickets and a parking pass (a must for a very pregnant lady)! We had a ball, and saw a winning game!! The kids loved it :D

Biltmore!

2011-10-31T09:03:00.000-04:00

Our second trip to Asheville this year was a whirlwind, but it was such an sweet and treasured time for us. We had perfect weather and got to see all of the outdoor activities ~ gardens, animals, little village below the inn, etc. We had such a great time that I barely took any pics, but here is one of the kids :)

"Horses!!"

2011-10-17T08:52:00.000-04:00

Not sure when this was...we are at the "horses" at Concord Mills. :)

Sword Silliness!

2011-10-17T08:48:00.001-04:00

Oh my gosh I laughed so hard loading this. Sorry about the fussing at the end~came off a sounding a little harsh b/c I was trying to make my voice stop laughing still. My new favorite part is Liam's "sword is totally still, head is going back and forth" contribution to the event!! When he came running in here to see the video he heard playing, he looked at the screen and said "where's my pants?" haha Funny Sweeties!!

Singing along to the "News Reporter" song from Backyardigans

2011-09-26T19:32:00.000-04:00

You can't see anything, b/c it was nightime in the car and video footage would have been terrible, but this is Charlotte joining "Unique-qua" (sp??) from the Backyardigans CD... awesome!!

Train Lover!!

2011-09-26T19:30:00.003-04:00

Yes, he is in Charlotte's seat. I put him there after we dropped her off at preschool b/c it was the side of the car the train would be coming by..

also, side note: Liam almost always calls me "mom"... eh well, waddaya gonna do?

Mister Blankie is super funny!

2011-09-26T19:29:00.001-04:00

Bedtime can be like 2 am for college students...when everything is funny..

Playground Prowess..

2011-09-26T19:28:00.002-04:00

Sold!

2011-09-26T12:00:00.000-04:00

Well, Josh and I took our first picture on these steps in May of 2005. Our lives have changed so much since then..This is our last family picture on the front porch of our Shaw Hills house. We'll always treasure the memories of all that happened while we were here. :D What a great first home!!

(Charlotte: 3 yrs, 8 mo., Liam: 2 wks shy of 2 yrs, Emory: 28 wks gest.)

The posts below are some before and after pictures of the move...might have teared up a bit (!)

Charlotte's Room...

2011-09-26T11:59:00.001-04:00

Liam's Room...

2011-09-26T11:56:00.003-04:00

I'll use Liam's room as the example of the packing process...Day 1: they came and broke down pieces and packed up boxes, Day 2: they loaded the boxes and furniture onto the Giant truck, Day 3: they drove the truck (which was taken overnight to a secure warehouse that Armstrong Relocation owns) down to Matthews where our storage unit is and unloaded it ~ it is packed to the gills!!

Before

Break down

boxed up

All done! Goodbye sweet nursery/Liam's room :/ So many sweet memories... (like every room)

Den...

2011-09-26T11:52:00.002-04:00

Dining Room...

2011-09-26T11:50:00.000-04:00

Baby Girl: Name Announcement!

2011-09-17T12:42:00.000-04:00

Emory Claire Hall is the name we have chosen for this sweet little bundle we can't wait to meet!! We are excited that we have this decision made! I always love when we can call them by name.. :)

And speaking of sweets...

2011-09-17T12:40:00.000-04:00

I can still eat them!! I am so happy to record here for posterity that I passed my glucose test!! Looks like I'll be buying the girls nicer cars than Liam...just kidding~my sweet little man just was too sweet for me in utero :) I am so happy that we don't have to do the "leeks and lentils" diet, as Josh and I call it ;)

Bring on the cheesecake!! (just kidding again...trying to keep the weight gain down this time..)

Um, Sweet!!

2011-09-03T19:42:00.000-04:00

Josh told everyone to hold hands on the way to the car. (which is on a quiet street right beside the field~maybe a 30 second walk from the bench pictured in the post below). I grabbed his, so the kids were left to fend for themselves!! Just kidding, but what we saw when we turned around warranted getting the camera out...

"C'mon Buddy, you need to hold a hand, Daddy said.."

Almost got it...

There we go... complete sweetness!!

Dilworth Elementary

2011-09-03T19:39:00.000-04:00

Everyone loves to go to Dilworth Elementary after work or right before dinner on the weekends and play ball. All kinds: soccer balls, mini basketballs, beginner baseballs, even beach balls. We throw a bunch in the car and head over. They love playing with Josh and digging in the dirt under the willow oaks. I got out there a couple of times, but I've gotten a bit large to run around, so I usually hold down the fort on the "blue bench" as the kids have creatively named it.. We've already come to treasure these times at this place, and so, to document for memory's sake, here are some pictures... (you can get a better view of the fields in the videos, which I'll post later).

They love these old nets and the dirt under the trees as much as any toy or playground we have or have been to.. :)

Daddy resting after a tough session of "I try a'gin" with Liam. :)

Me and my two sweaty sweeties! (and baby girl :D) Thanks to Josh for the greatly appreciated loan of his new sunglasses.. :)

Can't think of a more appropriate title than...ADORABLE..

2011-09-02T17:38:00.000-04:00

The kids were ready for naptime in our room, and I was finishing up putting the dishes away. When I got back to the room, this is what I found: Charlotte pointing out different things and Liam repeating her. This video is 2 minutes, but it was going on way before I started filming. Sweet little dears. Love Them!!

Sleepy Boy

2011-08-25T08:32:00.000-04:00

One day as I was tidying up lunch dishes, I realized I didn't hear the sounds of cars and various toys being thrown around in Liam's room, so I went to investigate. (Keep in mind this was only minutes after he'd been at the lunch table)... Sweet little guy had climbed in bed, gotten his blankie, and konked out. Too sweet!! Hindsight showed that he was worn out from cutting two back teeth simultaneously. He only has two teeth to go until his first set is complete..thank goodness! :)

Trolley!

2011-08-25T08:28:00.000-04:00

The kids think taking the trolley uptown is equally fun to whatever we are actually going uptown to do! They have a blast. Charlotte thinks she is big time when she pulls the "stop requested" rope above the window :)

The trolley stops at our apartment every 12 minutes, so we always see it come by when we are at the pool. Liam loves to shout (from the pool through the breezeway and atrium) "Hey Trolley!!" So cute.

Swimming!!

2011-08-24T12:55:00.003-04:00

Some video of the girl swimming!! She is rocking it~these are from several weeks ago! Now she can swim all the way across this pool and back :) She also goes on lots of "rescue" missions to retrieve Ariel from the middle of the pool. Quite the little tadpole, huh?

She completed a six week swim lesson course at the YMCA, and got "most improved" in her class, but the real progress took place in our apartment pool with Daddy as main teacher. She has gone from playing on the steps and not wanting water to touch her face at all...to jumping in with no swimmies on her arms, touching the bottom with her toes, then popping up and swimming to the other side of the pool. We are really proud of her and happy for her to be able to enjoy such a fun summer activity!!

Future Drummer..

2011-08-24T12:53:00.002-04:00

Um, needless to say, he had a blast. :) I see a sound proof room in our future haha!

Baby Girl's Future Room

2011-08-24T12:52:00.000-04:00

These are some factory images of the furniture we got on clearance! We have tossed around all of the ways we could do furniture to figure out our most cost-effective method :) There were probably a couple of different ways we could have sliced it, but we ended up deciding to convert our current crib to a full size bed for Liam's big boy room when we found this entire collection for only a couple hundred more than buying a second-hand crib would cost us!! Talk about easy decision! So, we went to USA baby to look at the crib I was looking to get off craigslist and check the color, and found a clearance sale of not just the crib, but the nightstand and dresser as well! (the pics below show the hutch, too, but we didn't get that.) We got the collection in the "Snowdrift" color that you see in the nightstand. It is so pretty and we were able to tack on the conversion kit in the price, so we've got a complete bedroom that one of the girls will use from now on!

Baby Stuff!

2011-08-24T12:36:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been searching on craigslist as the summer has gone on for some of the "baby gear" we had sold or that had broken..and today completed the process!

We had used our swing until it didn't work anymore, and it would have cost so much to have the motor replaced by graco that we just decided to look for a "new" one. The bouncer/recliner we had was also so stretched out that the babe would have been resting her tootsies on the music/vibration motor, so we were in the hunt for a new one of those.. Fortunately, our first craigslist score was a product that does both! It is a baby swing that not only does side to side And front to back swinging, but you can also remove the seat from the swing frame and use it as a baby papasan chair! (an added bonus is that the pattern is verrry living room friendly!) Plus, we saved $145 dollars off of the purchase price by going through craigslist! (the key is to look for those people that barely used their stuff, so it is in better condition..and all of our purchases are in such great shape that it makes me a little sick to my stomach that we bought brand new the first time around! ah well, lesson learned :p)

Then, I had noticed on a friend's blog that her exersaucer was really neat: instead of putting the child in a seat surrounded by toys, this model has a toy table that the seat revolves around..this allows the baby to start out on those walking movements, and plus you can remove the seat feature and just have an activity table once baby can stand up and toddle around!! We love it!! The family we bought this from only used it for 6 months since their son walked early, and he was in daycare full time so he barely ever used it! Savings on this item: $50!

Then today, we purchased a travel system that is perfect!! We bought the cadillac of strollers the first time around, and while it is feature-filled and smooth-riding, the graco quattro tour deluxe is also Gigantic!! We had actually sold our travel system in order to have some $$ to put towards our double stroller a while back, so we didn't have an infant car seat or a single stroller. This week, the perfect combo popped up: the Chicco Cortina system. It is a very lightweight car seat that will be much less bulky than our old infant seat, and is rated extremely high on safety and customer satisfaction. Love it!! (plus the fact that it is tan and Pink is an extra bonus ;p) Even though Charlotte will probably be able to go to a booster seat in the near future (as soon as she hits 40 lbs after her birthday this winter), it still made sense for us to have the infant seat since they have changed the reccomendations and we'll be cramming in 3 car seats for a little while! Whew! On the way home from meeting the seller I looked in the back seat and felt like I was driving a little preschool van instead of our family Pilot! haha :D We also like it a lot more than we would have if we'd had to purchase it new...we saved $235 by going the craigslist route..hurray!!

Just so this post isn't all words, here are some pictures of the stuff.

Sorry for the boring post~I was on a shopping endorphine moment haha!
We joked at lunch that now they will let us put her in the car since we have an infant seat again! Baby girl, we are ready for ya anytime after Thanskgiving! :)

Baby Girl at 22.5 weeks!!

2011-08-12T12:54:00.000-04:00

So, I don't want leave out this sweet girl from our blog too badly...Thus, an embarrassing picture of yours truly at 22 and 1/2 weeks! about 4 more months to go!! *Maybe a little less, which wouldn't bother me haha! I find out in 6 weeks if I have gestational diabetes again, which would be bad in all ways except for an improved diet, haha.. Well, we'll deal with whatever comes! As long as she is alright, I can give up my favorite foods for 3 months :)

Salon Hair Cut!!

2011-08-12T12:45:00.000-04:00

Well, after 3 1/2 straight months of pool time, Charlotte's hair was one massive, slightly greenish, tangle. She had actually been asking to get her hair cut, and so it worked out well for us gals to go to the "beauty shop" last Saturday! She did so well. She was such a big girl :) *and definitely thought so herself ;)*

Here are some pics of the big event!

Very Excited!!

Making sure she's supervising her stylist...

Happy to be such a Big Girl!!

Happy Camper!! (although as soon as we got in the car she wanted her normal middle part back)

Sweet New Nephew!!

2011-08-04T08:22:00.000-04:00

Harrison's Story

Love you, little man!!

Concert...

2011-08-03T09:34:00.000-04:00

In case you can't tell, they are singing "Here We Come A Caroling.." Well, at least, Charlotte's version.. Also, they are looking at themselves in the mirror on the opposite wall. Awesome!! Forgive the unsteadiness of the video: the camerawoman was snickering a little bit. :)

Charlotte has something to tell you...

2011-07-28T15:19:00.002-04:00

Baby #3 is a....

2011-07-28T15:10:00.000-04:00

GIRL!! :D

We found out this morning that we will be welcoming another daughter into our family!! We are soo excited, and soo happy that the doctor said everything is looking healthy and right on track :D What a precious blessing!! Now we just have to figure out a name for this sweetie!!

Money Shot

Hands in front of her face ;)

Lake Pictures from Josh's Phone

2011-07-28T07:57:00.000-04:00

Here is some video and a still shot of Charlotte and Tina on the tube! Notice the crossed arms...she was daring Scott to go faster :) Tina said that in one breath Charlotte goes: "I'm holding on, I'm a strong girl! Do you see my pink fingernails?" I love the mix of that statement :)

Thanks again to Scott and Tina for making this awesome day happen!!

Liam and the beginnings of a golf career...

2011-07-25T08:54:00.000-04:00

Please excuse the over-enthusiastic mother shouting "YEAH" at the end... It was very funny because he kept holding his golf swing pose at the end. haha!

Charlotte at Discovery Place

2011-07-25T08:52:00.000-04:00

Liam and the Maccaw (sp?) at Discovery Place

2011-07-25T08:51:00.001-04:00

Enjoying a Party Favor!!

2011-07-25T08:50:00.000-04:00

We enjoyed seeing my dad's side of the family a couple weeks ago! Scott (one of my 3 cousins on that side) and his wife Jamie have 3 kids, and the twin girls turned 3 this month! they had an adorable Rapunzel party and it was super fun :D They were kind enough to create party favors for the kids, and this was by far the favorite of ours! Needless to say, Josh and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this in the back seat on the way home...

Knoxville

2011-07-25T08:42:00.001-04:00

We spent the past weekend in Knoxville with Josh's aunt and uncle! Scott and Tina were wonderful hosts, and we had an absolute blast all weekend getting to spend some quality time with them! On Friday, we went to the Knoxville Zoo, and then spent Saturday out on the lake! I should hopefully be able to get some of the videos we took on Josh's phone of the kids out on the tube, but we all had a blast! As usual, I spent the time hanging out and not taking many pictures, but here is what I do have from the zoo and lunch at Brixx before we headed out Sunday afternoon. :D

fortunately for us, we were able to be super close to the animals! plus, there was plenty of shade for the walkways~a couple of improvements from the Asheboro Zoo...

Cutest Red Pandas.

Scott and Tina, we can't wait until next time!! :D

Camden Grandview Apartment

2011-07-15T10:51:00.000-04:00

Well, a few weeks ago we got settled into our 3 bedroom apartment uptown!! We are loving it! We are soo close to uptown, we can literally walk to many things that we have enjoyed doing~forgive my pregnant brain if I've already blogged about our activites: Discovery Place, the statues on the Green, Museums, Libraries, Dance School (where we go watch the ballerinas practice), and so much more. We have a pool here, not as big as the one at the preserve, but still just right for our family. Plus, we usually have it to ourselves, as most of the residents work uptown and so during the day it is all ours :) Well, this post was supposed to be pictures of our apartment, so let me get on with that!...

Great kitchen with brand new appliances! (we had to take the stickers off the fridge doors lol)

Dining Area

Guest/Kids bathroom

Liam's first big boy bed!! He is doing great! In the morning, he sits in bed and hollers "Mama! Mommy!!" until I come in and get him..too funny!

Other view of Liam's room

Charlotte's room...she will probably have to downgrade when we buy a new home lol!

View of den (it also came with a coffee table, which the kids used solely for a launch pad onto the sofa and chair, so it is now residing in our closet ;p) and master suite is the door behind the chair.

other view of den

Sorry, don't know why these came out so bad...oh well here is our room!

other view of master bedroom and "office" haha! also, I can help you decorate your windows if you need help~don't you love our "curtain? Sun is brutal and we get awakened so early that we tacked up a sheet to give us a break. Thankfully it works really well!

Master closet is in between the bed and bathroom.

Master bath..soo much storage here!~there are closets and cabinets everywhere! We'll be lucky to find so much in our next house!

Alrighty, that concludes the photo tour :) We'll be here through October. Hopefully we can sell the house soon and start a "Home Hunt" here in our new town :D

Kids Swimming at the Preserve

2011-06-27T17:02:00.000-04:00

They are awesome!!

Charlotte at the Beach :)

2011-06-27T17:01:00.001-04:00

Beach Park :)

2011-06-27T17:00:00.002-04:00

I love how she is just getting down on the ground when he falls! Unity!!

Garners Visit!!

2011-06-27T16:57:00.000-04:00

To kick off our first weekend living downtown, Kevin, Kindra (Quenra as Liam called her), and Alivia came for a visit! We had a blast!! We reserved the little mini movie theater here at our complex and watched Tangled, went to Latta Park, and explored uptown a little! But most of all, we spent some real quality time with great people we are thrilled to call our dear friends!!

The Preserve at Ballantyne Commons

2011-06-27T16:54:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of our 1st apartment (April 27-June 22nd) in Charlotte! It was wonderful to have the pool so accessible, and be soo close to a SuperTarget! What isn't pictured is Charlotte's bedroom, which adjoined to the wall (also not pictured) on the right side of this first picture.

1st Swim Lesson!!

2011-06-27T16:51:00.001-04:00

She did so great! They barely did anything, and I think this had to do with their normal teacher not being there. It was so precious though, and Liam actually cheered for her some!

Beach Trip June 2011

2011-06-27T14:24:00.000-04:00

Well, here is a recap of our trip to the beach this year... (this will be all words, pics are below.. I just want the play by play for down the road, so feel free to skip a long blog entry with no cute pictures!)

We were soo happy to be able to head down earlier than expected, so we hit the road Saturday during naptime, and got a good chunk of the trip over before the kids woke up! As soon as we unpacked, we headed to Broadway at the Beach to eat dinner with Josh's Uncle Scott and Aunt Tina! We had a blast eating at Margaritaville and walking around the shops there. We stopped for a while at the playground so the kids could work off some energy before heading home to get everyone settled. After we left Broadway, Charlotte was a little antzy about seeing the ocean, so we stopped at the beach for a quick "toes in the sand" before heading to the house.

When we got back to the beach house, we discovered we'd forgotten the pack n play...so Liam upgraded to a big boy bed that night!! He has done a great job since the first time :D Big Boy!!

Then Sunday we hit the beach all morning, grabbed some of our favorite pizza at Basil's, and headed home for naps. Then, since we weren't sure we would get any sunny weather since they were calling for thunderstorms all week, we headed to Myrtle Waves Water Park! It was awesome and we were able to do even more than we thought we would (b/c of the kids heights). :D After we closed the place down, we were starving, and lo and behold, right across the street was Hard Rock Cafe!

On Monday, we did the beach thing all morning, had lunch and of course naptime, and then headed to the outlet mall where we found a little something for everyone. :) Then it was off to another MB favorite: Carolina Roadhouse!! Yum :p After dinner we went to a little fair they have on Ocean Drive. The kids had a blast on all of the little rides...and thank goodness we caught the teacup ride one cycle before someone threw up..yuck!

Tuesday held more beach in the morning! Each day, the water was very calm, and the kids were able to go out with us past the waves breaking and float in the gentle water..soo fun! and so proud of our big swimmers for floating by themselves! Then we went to a pool near the beach house and had a great time floating in the lazy river :) I have been craving Japanese a lot lately, so we headed to Nakatos for dinner :D The kids did well most nights at the restaurants, but this one was especially fun with the fire and "volcano" of onion and such :)

Wednesday we did the beach thing all day! All morning and then again after naptime. Then we got cleaned up and headed to the Spring House Family Restaurant for some "breakfast for dinner".. the kids enjoyed a chocolate chip pancake, and once the waitress figured out Josh wanted a sausage patty and not some disgusting Italian sausage thing, dinner was great! Then we went over to Barefoot Landing to see the tigers :)

Thursday we kicked off things with a healthy breakfast at Krispy Kreme! The highlight was running into one of Josh's friends from Summer Project! We got to meet their kids and then Josh and Ed made plans to get together after all the kids went to bed. So glad they were able to catch up! After breakfast, we went to the park to play and see the ducks and turtles, then beach in the afternoon, and some Atlanta Bread for supper (and free wi-fi, so I could download my new book onto my nook to read during Josh and Ed's reunion).

Friday we hit the beach once more (and can you believe it didn't rain one time the whole week?! Hurray for incorrect weather forecasting!), then cleaned up and loaded the car. We had Basil's one last time (for this trip) and hit the road home. Once again, kids napped a good chunk of the way and we had another smooth trip! We had to leave Friday because Charlotte started swim lessons at the Y Saturday morning!! Soo cute, but that is another post.

We are so so incredibly grateful to Josh's grandparents for allowing us to use their house. It is a wonderful place and we have so many fond memories of being there. Thanks again for another wonderful family vacation!!

Beach Football!

2011-06-27T08:41:00.000-04:00

Josh sent Liam over to this group of college kids to play up his cuteness and fangangle a football from one of the guys. It was hilarious! Josh, Liam and Ben (football owner) tossed the ol pigskin around for a while on the beach while I listened to 6 college girls talk about how cute our son is. didn't mind one bit! it was true! Charlotte built a sand castle and tried to get a little attention from them as well, understandably. So I obliged :) In my opinion, she was the most beautiful little girl at the beach :D

"In Bed"

2011-06-27T08:37:00.000-04:00

She requested we do this daily! I was just happy that at least 2 out of 3 of our kids don't mind sand literally covering every inch of skin! haha!

Josh and his construction crew

2011-06-27T08:35:00.002-04:00

Josh and the kids went to build a sand castle...they were immediately joined by all these other children. Then 3 moms went to stand near them...I'm sure they'd say they did that to make sure Josh wasn't some weirdo, but I know it was really just to get a closer look at his hotness. Sorry ladies, he is taken!!

Erin and 3 kids at Barefoot Landing

2011-06-27T08:33:00.000-04:00

Yep, I am at that "is she pregnant or did she just eat waaay too much" stage of the pregnancy, and this is the only shot of me in weeks that doesn't look GROSS, so it is the only one making its way onto the blog. :)

Josh and Charlotte at Barefoot Landing

2011-06-27T08:31:00.002-04:00

Sweet little Father-Daughter shot at Barefoot Landing :) She is as sweet as she looks in this picture (80% of the time ;p)

Liam at Hard Rock

2011-06-27T08:29:00.000-04:00

After we went to the Water Park on Sunday afternoon, we headed across the street to Broadway and ate at Hard Rock Cafe! I've never been a huge fan of paying so outrageously for a burger, but after the water park, we were so hungry that it tasted amazing~really felt like we got our money's worth this time haha! Also, you gotta love the sunscreened hair look on Liam..totally awesome.

Ice Cream Shoppe!

2011-06-27T08:27:00.002-04:00

All he said anytime his mouth was empty was: "More!!"

Two Hunky Guys..

2011-06-27T08:26:00.002-04:00

Completely Relaxed...

2011-06-27T08:25:00.002-04:00

Frontal Sand Angel!

2011-06-27T08:24:00.002-04:00

Totally Relaxed

2011-06-27T08:20:00.000-04:00

chilling one last time in the pool at the Preserve... I didn't have any trouble with naptime right after this was taken haha!

Uptown Water Fun!

2011-06-09T11:40:00.000-04:00

Charlotte enjoyed this last summer, so this time we came prepared: fresh diaper and clothes for everyone afterwards! Needless to say, they both were totally soaked by the time we needed to leave!

T Ball Video

2011-06-09T11:39:00.002-04:00

Some live action of the T Ball outing!

Liam at Monkey Joe's

2011-06-09T11:38:00.001-04:00

He loved this, mainly b/c he could do it all by himself! (also, he thinks I'm taking a picture which is why he says "cheese" cutie pie!)

Gum, Anyone?

2011-06-09T11:28:00.001-04:00

Double Trouble...

There will be a lock on our next pantry.. I tell Charlotte to get down b/c I wasn't sure it could hold both of their weights :)

Chicken Biscuit!

2011-06-09T11:26:00.001-04:00

Charlotte saying her latest joke! AWESOME!!

Hot and Adorable!

2011-06-09T11:14:00.000-04:00

Usually I'm talking about Josh when I use those two words together, but this time I'm referring to the weather and the kids. We had to run a bunch of errands one day, and they did so great out and about that I got them some ice cream. This was a little bench time outside the ice cream shop afterwards.

Sweet Friends!!

2011-06-09T11:12:00.000-04:00

Our sweet neighbors came to visit us!! We felt so loved on~they drove almost 4 hours to hang out at the pool on Monday, and the kids had a blast! Trent and Charlotte were the magic secret to encouraging each other to swim independently! It was awesome! Plus, Liam got some time with his future wife, Brooklyn! (that is, if handsome Mr. Carter there in the middle doesn't put in a bid first, lol! I might put my money on Carter with those curls!) What a bunch of sweeties!! Not pictured are their moms, who I miss SOOO much!! :/

Concentration...

2011-06-09T11:09:00.002-04:00

she is working on a colorwonders marker masterpiece in this picture...love that girl!

T Ball!!

2011-06-08T08:53:00.000-04:00

So this weekend, we all headed out to ol'WallyWorld to get a "starter kit" of T Ball equipment... the cutest bat ever (well, the pink was was actually cuter but Josh wisely insisted we go as neutral as possible on the bat), a pink and white glove that is still a little big (we would have gotten the Boy one as well, but the tiniest glove they had was still ridiculously big on him), a pack of soft T balls, and a flimsy-but-the-only-one-they-had T ball stand. Oh my goodness they were precious!! And, even though they certainly aren't ready to join a team, they both displayed some natural coordination that was comforting to see :) We are both so proud of them! Josh also impressed me with his future T ball coaching skillz! He was so patient with them and they did just great :) Since most of my time was spent keeping the kid not with Josh from getting beaned in the head, there were not many photo ops, but here is a nice action shot of Charlotte! Looking forward to innumerable ball games to come!