New Year

These boys keep me on my toes. I have been busier than ever the past 7 (almost 8) months. I struggle to balance my time between the two boys, and still fit in laundry, dinners, church activities, preschool obligations, and the rest of life.

Grant is finally starting to sleep a little with more regular naps, and it gives me a mintue to get caught up on things that have been tossed aside for months. It is a little like Heaven to be able to wash, dry and fold a load of laundry!

The littlest has started sitting on his own, and decided to master this little trick Christmas day. He also got his two front teeth before Christmas, so I guess we can put that in the win column! He is rolling all over these days, but will get stuck going one direction until someone goes and gets him and brings him back. He has a temper that is unriveled in this house, and does not hesitate to let you know when you have crossed him.

Preston is learning at an alarming rate. He is able to scrawl all of the alphabet, and has all the sounds down. He is eager to learn to read, and does great sounding out a word, and then being able to recognize it through a book. It is hard to believe that in a year he will be reading. I don't think I was reading until first grade.

I hate that I haven't recorded the end of last year better, but my resolution for this year is to keep up better, and post something at least three times a week. Even if it is a two second blurb about how busy we are. I have forgotten so much about Preston as a baby, and I regret that. So I vow to do better. I know Brandon is probably cringing because that will mean I will need time on the computer, but this is important!

We talked to Preston about all the exciting things that were going to happen this year. He is going to turn FIVE! Grant will turn ONE! He will go to Kindergarten, Grant will learn to walk. We will go to the beach. He will learn to swim all by himself. It is going to be a big year. Happy 2012!

Picture overload!

This is going to be post one of a bazillion to add all the pictures that have been patiently waiting on my camera! Sorry if the cuteness is overwhelming.

field trip to the park. The other kid was much larger, and he got to "fly!"

They love to do everything together... for now.

I can't tell you how many mornings I have found him doing this.

two fingers, just like mom.

My sunglasses are apparently fair game, but has anyone seen them, I miss them.

The corn box at the pumpkin patch.

The never ending corn maze, that we ended up cheating to get out...

Waiting for the tractor.

Yes, we had snow before Halloween, and have yet to get more. But that's fine.

I promise there are more pictures, but Grant woke up, Preston wants a snack (at 9:15) and Grant needs to get back down for a nap. Wish me luck!

Falling

Disclaimer: This post was started on my birthday, yep, November 30th. Shameful to let things sit that long, and memories fade. Also, I guess blogger is mad at me for being away so long, and will not let me add any other photos, other than the one below, and it will only let me place it there. Yay! That is all.

Wow! Look how bald he was!

Fall blew past us straight into the holidays! Grant has consumed so much of my time I have little time for anything else. But that is the way I want it. I want to spend my time focused on my family. Even if it means that I don't have time to type about every moment. I do want to get better though. I have found that you can order books that are your blog, so instead of trying to scrapbook everything when "the kids are in school" I plan to order a book!

Fall kept us busy with craft shows and football and friends. It was very temperamental with really cold days and really warm days. We even had a measurable snowfall before Halloween.

We didn't do much, but I think in my determinedness to be done Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving (which I accomplished a day after) I made fall busier. This means though that I can sit back and relax through the holidays. I am so looking forward to that!

Preston's preschool had the cutest Halloween party. I had the sweetest little Hokie Bird, and football. Preston, of course, changed his mind about 100 times on what he wanted to dress up as for Halloween. Thank goodness we have connections to people that have sewing machines! His costume was amazing!

Grant mastered rolling onto his tummy and has finally gotten comfortable hanging out that way. For a long time (I say long, a month) he would immediately roll to his belly and get very angry that he was on his belly. He has yet to roll back over, but he his discovering that it is okay to be on his tummy. We are all thankful for that! Since this post, he has started rolling all over and is now mastering sitting!

Picture post hopefully to follow!

Where it all began

I have been MIA, it is still the battery issue. It has gotten so bad that I haven't uploaded pictures in a month. And there are 370. The battery will probably die before they all upload. Love it! It is now a debate as to whether to buy a new battery and portable hard drive or a new desktop.

I have a lot to catch up on, but I will start with the surprise trip to where all this started. At the end of September, managed to surprise everyone with a long weekend to show Preston where we were married. He had been asking us a lot about what it was like, who was there, etc. So I made plans and secretly packed us up! I even managed to get in touch with our wedding photographer to take some pictures for us, look for your Christmas card!

Our dune

Brandon was definitely surprised when we picked him up at work 10 minutes after he got there. Being totally honest, he wasn't excited and didn't say much for the first 30 minutes, then he figured out where we were going and got on board. The kids were angels on the ride down and we only stopped 3 times!

As soon as we got settled we went straight down to the beach and showed Preston the dune that we got married in front of. I was halfway expecting the dune to be gone because there have been so many hurricanes in the past five years. Everything was exactly the same, so beautiful. The water was so warm and felt like bath water, even at the end of September!

We lucked out and had a beautiful day on the beach. The weather was great, but there was a really strong wind. I managed to get some sun. We took Preston on the shortest/longest walk on the beach ever. He could spend hours just digging holes and burying shells. Grant was an angel and took a nap in our little umbrella tent.

We spent the weekend visiting places that we used to always visit. Our college student waiter at Cap'n Bill must have graduated and have a real job. Preston was amazed with the volleyball courts at a restaurant, and the fried pickles were still really good. We told Preston the story about driving down three days before the wedding on Brandon's birthday, and how we used to always go eat there when the Hokies where playing and we couldn't watch the games at Aunt B's house.

My lottery house

We took Preston downtown and I started my "let's move" campaign. Wilmington has such a community atmosphere, and I would pick up and go the second Brandon agreed. We just missed the farmer's market, but we did catch a horse tour ride through the downtown. I love the history that town boasts. The estate houses that over look the Cape Fear river are amazing, and if we ever win the lottery, one of them has my name on it!

The weekend went by too quickly and hopefully we won't wait another five years to get back there. It feels like home and hopefully one day it will be! Even if we only have a part-time home there!


I have always loved this "half house," and leaving always brings tears.



Half a year

I know I have been MIA, but the last six months have been crazy, hectic, busy and beautiful. We have been here, there, and everywhere, and Grant has been with us for half a year. It is hard to believe. So much has happened, but at the same time, so little has gotten accomplished.

Grant has definitely ruled the roost in his short little six months. He is opinionated and demanding. He is a cuddler to the core, and always wants to be touched. He has taught me that I can survive on very little sleep, and that I can get things done with a baby attached to my hip.

He adores his brother, and I know that once he gets on the move I will no longer have my beloved cling-on, and that Preston will need to learn to do things with a baby attached to him. I love the love that these boys have for each other. They have their moments, when roaring can scare a baby, but they gravitate to each other.

It feels like yesterday that Preston came strutting into my hospital room and climbed right up in bed with me to meet his brother, arms full with two stuffed doggies. I look at the pictures from that day and can't believe how young my big boy looks. He has grown as well. If you measure his height, he has gained an inch, but in lessons learned, they are immeasurable. I was so worried that I was ruining his life the night I spent laboring in the hospital by bringing another life into ours, but it has been all good. He is so happy with his "Brother McGee."

I can't believe we are halfway to one, these next six months are going to be so much fun, and I am going to drink them in.

Growth

I have been out of touch lately. My computer battery is on its last leg, and we only get 30 minutes out of a charge at a time, so with everything else that is required, blogging is coming in last.

Fall is in full swing. It was rainy and cold the last couple week, and has had us indoors more than normal. I pulled out my big pot and made some good homemade veggie soup, when it all started. Last week we had another taste of summer, so I decided to pull out the stroller and head for the park.

I was instantly surprised by the heat. It had to have been pushing high 80s. I was instantly sweaty, and regretting the decision to walk. We had dinner at church, I was going to need to allow time to shower when we got home.

Who knew the trays were to rest your feet on?

It was good to play at the park though. It was good to get some use out of my muscles, and have the slight tinge the next day. I wish I had taken more time to walk the babes around this summer. I have been lazy though. I think back to the days that I did daycare, and I would schlep FOUR kids in a wagon and carrier all the way to the park, library, where ever just to get some fresh air in their lungs.

We had a low key weekend this weekend with friends coming to watch football and play. It rained and has maintained a cool 60-70 degrees. So much for a long hot fall! 

Grant is onto new things, and is getting on his side these days, but any hint of his stomach touching and flops back over. He has no desire to lay on his stomach and hold up his big egg.

He has also found a love for books, and we now have family bedtime stories. It amazes me at the involvement he has in the books.

Grant's achievements and change are so much more obvious. Preston is more subtle in his growth. He is growing up and turning into an independent little boy and no longer my baby. Just this morning, he decided that he could write his name by himself in preschool, and wouldn't take the entire craft time to do it. I was so proud of him. We had taken away TV and were shoving it down his throat and getting nowhere. Last night we decided we would back off, and just give it time, and it worked! My husband can be so smart sometimes! I should also add, that the name was perfect. I don't mean to brag, but every letter was just as it should be, all in a line and the same size. Imagine that!

Grant's first secret house.

Also, if you could please pray that Grant soon gets over whatever is causing him to be such a grump for the last three weeks, I would really appreciate it.

New Friends!

Does anyone remember the days when Grant was little, and I was still trying to figure out nursing? When I would constantly say that Grant needed to make some new friends because I felt like he was attached to a boob 24/7? I miss them, yes, I do. As trying as they were, they were so fleeting, and I wandered through them in a sleep deprived autopilot.

Wow, how he has changed!

Grant, though, at three months, has finally found new new friends. I am so glad. I can now wash some dishes, and make dinner without stopping five times. It is wonderful. My little boy is growing up!

We call his new buddies paci and blankie. He would really much rather hug a cloth diaper than the blankie, but he says blankie will do in a pinch. I prefer the blankie than explaining to the little ladies at church why he is clinging for his life to a cloth diaper!

Preston is also making new friends. Preschool is back, and there are new faces to learn. He is playing new games. That always involve making me a table. They have a new tool bench, and the boy loves him some tools. Every day before I sneak out the door, he comes running asking me to put the workshop apron on. Then promptly gets back to whittling that wood. Or sawing the preschool table with the plastic saw. His teachers are saints for not twitching because the noise is numbing!

With the second year of preschool we are talking lots about Kindergarten and what it will bring. He talks about the bus, and how when he is in High School he will ride the one near his house. Good boy, Mom isn't ready for the bus. I don't know that I am ready to send my little five year old on the same bus as a bunch of rowdy high school kids. I prefer to keep the innocence in tact as long as possible. He will pick up enough in Kindergarten. I wish he could stay with Miss Debbie and Keri forever! That would also require him to stop growing, and I have yet to find my genie and make my wishes...

We are all doing new things, and it is good to have a new routine. Or any routine at all. Summer was great and I am going to miss her dearly (I am sure summer is a girl, and fall is a boy.) We let go of routines, and packed our days full of fun. I would have loved to found more time at the pool, and with Irene destroying our beach, I have lost my beach vacation. Next year, please come soon, let us have a long hot fall, and an early spring with lots of bright flowers.