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.

Hovering

So I have been rolling this post around in my head for several days because I can't come up with the words to make it flow. I have started several times, but gotten nowhere fast. We went to Lake Laura over the weekend to enjoy some quiet family time. It was pretty darn serene. Peaceful with a side of squealing kids.



Yes, I am fully aware that these are the ugliest "ko-nails" ever.

 It was also strange how every one's conversations echoed just so that you could hear everyone with perfect clarity. I over heard two ladies chatting about the involvement people have in their children's lives. Well, really it was one lady, and the other was just listening.

The main talker was saying that people are too involved in their children's lives, they are too overbearing. That parents no longer allow their children to learn and grow for themselves. I was with her at this point.

Then she went too far. She said that it is just too much when parents get involved and become classroom moms, and volunteer coaches and Sunday school teachers. She hit a nerve, we are all of those things to our kids.

These days I believe that you need to build a firm foundation of closeness and togetherness when we are truly less connected then ever. It has become all too easy to connect with one another through facebook, texts, e-mail. Some would argue that this has connected everyone more. And yes, it has helped me reconnect with some friends from High School, but does it really help me connect with my family? I don't think so.

Even baby took a nap.

I believe family connections are made in the fun and the tough moments. I can remember a camping trip from before Brandon and I were engaged that we made with my mom and sisters like it was yesterday. We look back at that trip and still laugh like crazy because it was so hot and miserable and the mosquitos were lethal. We talk about that trip all the time though. We all learned something about ourselves and each other that week.

I believe that kids need a strong sense of connection to their parents in this age so that they feel safe and that there is trust at home. I want my kids to come to me and know that no matter what has happened I am going to be there for them helping them grow and learn from whatever it is.

This woman continued to say how parents hover too much, and don't give their kids space. I agree that kids do need to have space to make mistakes to learn from, but they also need a strong base to return to when things go awry. At this point I looked over to see who thought we should all have her opinion and lets just say that between her cigarettes and dyed maroon hair she probably just doesn't have the time to be very involved.

So I picked up my little and went down to my big boys and hoovered for her benefit. So there.

Lets Go, Go, Go, On an adventure...

Ever watch Cat and the Hat on PBS? If so you now have the song stuck in your head for the rest of this glorious day! Brandon does this to me at least twice a week, and I go around all day humming it. Next time you see me, ask and I will sing the whole thing for you!

I love this, it looks like they are in cahoots.

We have been here, there and everywhere the past couple weeks. We started with a whirlwind trip to Richmond to visit our new grown-up Aunt B. She is now a working woman, and we hardly get to talk anymore. I miss her, so we picked up and invaded her house for two days. It was the busiest two days though.

We exhausted ourselves with a trip to Maymont Park. It is a must see for little kids, we will have to go back when it is a little cooler and I have another set of hands.

This kid can find a great stick anywhere.

"This is my greatest stick, Mommy."

The fast shoes

We wined (they should offer it) and dined at Chuck E. Cheese. It is one of those things parents should let their children do once. And once is more than enough to last a lifetime.

We hit up their Children's Museum. It was an over sized version of ours. Still fun, but didn't accomplish the sleep I was hoping for on the drive home.

He is my little trooper.

I don't understand the draw to these, but all kid's museums have them.

He was kind enough to get me some coffee.

Obviously apple picking was very serious business.

Then we made a new record time of taking four hours to drive 143 miles that should have taken more like two hours.

Six days later we hit the road again for my annual family reunion with my sisters and mom. We all do our best to go to the Kenny Chesney concert every year at Virginia Beach. One of us was missing in San Diego this year, but we picked up a new little four year old that went like gang busters until Kenny hit the stage.

We stayed in our usual campground in the usual pop-up, and discovered lots of new fish in the canal surrounding us this year.

Preston has a new love for kayaks and the ocean. He defeated every wave that our arms would hold him up to kick and make bubbly.  He even caught a few on the boogie boards. Yay, I have a beach bum!

We topped off the beach trip with Croup and a very long night. Thank goodness for extremely helpful Walgreen's pharmacists, that will offer to let you hold your child's face in front of a freezer to help open his airways.

As I type this after the busiest week of the summer I have a three month and one day old babe snoozing at my feet in his boppy pillow. It is good to be home. This week will be our last before the last year of preschool, and I want to be still in our home, but at the same time I want to soak up the last week.