Family Mountain Weekend

Well, I don't know if East Fork Ranch will ever be quite the same. Yup, we did it....we took the plunge and loaded up the kids and half of our house into the car and made the trek to N.C. for a little family time. It was great fun and I think that Pratt and I realized that we need to make more time to do things just as a family.

We started out on Friday around 11:30 or so and what should have taken only 5 hours ended up taking nearly 7. We made our first stop only an hour down the road to grab some lunch and we ended up spending way too much time there. Shelby is notorious for saying she has to go potty and not really having to go or claiming that she isn't finished when she really is so we waited in the parking lot of the Ruby Tuesday while Shelby sat on her super cool new travel potty. I think that she just really liked the potty and didn't want to get off. When we finally coaxed her off and got some gas we were able to get back on the road only to be told by our little princess in the back seat that she had to go potty again. I tried to change the subject and distract her, but then I started to think, "Oh no, what if she really does have to go potty??? I don't want her to have an accident in her carseat. That would make a smelly rest of the trip." So, with all disregard of the law and what is safe I set up her new potty on the floor of the car and let her sit on it at which point she did potty. Well, this basically went on for the rest of the trip and I have to give her credit because everytime she said she had to go she went. We finally pulled up to the cabin around 7:30 and Shelby was so excited. JP could really care less; he just wanted to sleep. Instantly Shelby put on her hat and never took it off except when she was sleeping.

The next day was so nice because I got to sleep in until 6:30 (I know, it is really sad that I now consider getting up at 6:30 as sleeping in.....). JP was ready to go and Shelby followed shortly behind. It was a fun morning though because we just did whatever. There was no one rushing off to this or to that. Once we got going we went to this great little restuarant for the best pancakes ever. No kidding, these are the best!!! Then we hit the grocery store on the way back to get necessary provisions. After a very short morning nap from JP we headed back into town to do some shopping and have lunch. It turned out to be a very beautiful day and not as cold as I thought it would be. Of course being from the south we had JP bundled up to the hilt. Poor kid couldn't even move underneath all that we had on him. He just sat there so still and would only move his eyes around as he had this perplexed look on his face. At one point when I set him down on the floor he just tipped over backwards. Thank goodness his puffy jacket was so puffy and allowed for a softer landing!!!! Shelby really enjoyed the rest of the day just hanging out and playing with daddy.

The next day (Sunday) was JP's FIRST birthday!!!! Oh my, I really can't believe that my baby is one already!!! What at first seemed like a time that would never come because I was sure I would die before it got here had arrived!!!! We spent the whole day at the cabin. It was supposed to snow that day, but it didn't. During the morning we took the kids down to the river, looked at the trout ponds and went to see the horses. That night we had Wilton and Amanda Graves over with their two kids, Wilton and Ellie, to have a little celebration over the huge milestone of the day. Shelby had so much fun playing with Ellie and Wilton that she is still asking about them and wanting to go back to the mountains to play with them. We were so glad to have them over to help celebrate and it also gave us something to look forward to during the day that kept us from getting cabin fever too bad. Pratt and Wilton had a great time talking about, well, I am not really sure what they talked about, but if I had to guess I am sure that it had something to do with work, house building, and wine. Amanda and I mostly talked kids (why is it that all I talk about these days with other friends are kids.....hummmmmm...I wonder:-) Anyway, we had a great time visiting with them and catching up on all that had come to pass in the two years since we last saw each other.

This is JP on Sunday. We were all bundled up for a fun day of throwing rocks in the river, visiting the horses, and just walking around. At this point we kind of knew that it wasn't going to snow, but I still had high hopes.

Shelby loves her brother sooo much!!! Sometimes when she hugs him, she hugs him so tight that I think that his eyes are going to pop out.

This is Shelby and Daddy talking to the horses. She wasn't nearly as timid around them as I thought she would be.

Doesn't JP look older in this picture??? Maybe it is just me since I knew that he turned one. Oh, what a joyous and sad occassion all at the same time.

Here is the great cupcake making fest. Shelby did a great job helping to stir the batter and frost the cupcakes.

Monday morning came fast and early as JP was up at 6:00!!! And I promise you that all the sudden he looked like he grew a couple of inches and lost so much of his baby look. He really looked like a little boy. It was so sad and so exciting at the same time. We loaded up the car and then Pratt headed over to Cold Mountain with Wilton to take a look at the community they are doing over there and I took the kids over to play with Ellie. Once Pratt got back we loaded up and headed out (and not a moment too soon as the temp. that day was a freezing 25 degrees!!!!!) We had such a wonderful time and can't wait to go back. Like I said before, Shelby is asking us to go back....I want to eat dinner in the mountains. I want to play with Ellie in the mountains.

'08 is going to be GREAT!!!

I have to say it....Aside from my sweet baby boy's birth, I am so glad that 2007 is over!!! Talk about a challenging year in our house! Man, thank goodness we did a study on 1st and 2nd Peter in CBS this fall because I was about to just give up. It seemed like every time we felt like we were starting to get our bearings straight something else would come up, but the blessing in all that is that God was always with us, carrying us most of the time as we could hardly stay on our feet. Praise God for always watching us and keeping us in the palm of his hand!!! He truly is the Lord of lords and the King of kings.

Now on to the new year! So far '08 has been great!!! Clemson Football is once again undefeated and even though the basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss to UNC the other night, they are looking to be quite the threat this year. Some people have even said that we will make the Big Dance!!! How great would that be!!! Shelby and JP are doing wonderful. I was hoping that maybe we would start to get more consistent nights of sleep; that hasn't come yet, but I am sure soon enough I will be having to drag my kids out of bed in the morning (atleast I am hoping for that).

It is only 9 days into the new year and already I feel like we have done enough to fill up a couple of months. It has been nice to have everyone back in town from their travels. Yesterday we started back into our routine of school, CBS, etc. Shelby was so excited to go back to school and while I was beginning to fear that she may be dropping her nap, all she really needed was one fun morning of school to really wear her out.

New Year and new miracle!!! Shelby actually wore her hair in a ponytail for almost a whole day. She looked so grown up and soooo cute up (she hasn't let me put her hair in a ponytail since). Here is a side picture. Her hair is getting so long. Pratt and I keep talking about when and if we should cut it, I just can't make up my mind. One day I think that we need to trim it a little, but then the next I think that we should just leave it because her hair is still so thin.

Shelby was so excited to have Rob and Erik back in town. They came over for dinner the other night and immediately were roped into playing, reading and doing whatever my little princess wished. Here is a picture of Shelby and Rob reading. I don't know how much of the book that they made it through before Shelby was on to the next adventure.

As you know, Aunt Suzy and Uncle Patricio have been in town for a couple of weeks to visit. The kids have had the most fun playing with them and hanging out. Shelby asks all the time, "Aunt Suzy Uncle Patricio stay at my house?". I think that she really loves all the extra attention that she gets. One of her favorite things to do is put Uncle Patricio to bed. She makes him lay in her bed, turns on her noisemaker, walks out and shuts the door behind her. Then she announces to everyone in the room that Uncle Patricio is taking a nap and we should be quiet. He puts up with so much from her and I am so thankful!!! It is so sweet to watch them together. When Suzy and Patricio come over I might as well be chopped liver. It is a great break for me. Thanks so much guys for all you do!!!! Anyway, here is a picture of Uncle Patricio and JP hanging out in Shelby's room. JP is still a mama's boy, but every day he is discovering more and more about his world and enjoying other people's interaction. Look at how happy he is!!!!

As you can tell from this picture we have been busy. I never seen Shelby act so tired as she did this day. Truthfully, I can't even remember what day it was or what we did that day, but whatever it was it tuckered her out. She has had her little anywhere chair for a year and not once has she ever laid down in it like in this picture. I just love how she looks so restful and it makes the picture complete to have Froggy in it because she definitely would never lay this still without him in her arms.

And finally, check out how cute my little man is in his new hat. We are going to the mountains at the end of this week and so I had to get a few essentials for the kids so that they could stay warm. This hat is about the cutest thing that I have ever seen on JP. The funny thing is that I took this picture yesterday when it was 75 degrees out. I don't think that he will get much wear out of the hat here, but I know that it will be great for our trip. On the walking front, everyday he has been taking a few steps here and there. I know that it is just a matter of time that he will be walking!!! I really can't wait to see how the dynamic of his and Shelby's relationship will change. They play together so well now and I hope that it only gets better as he becomes more independent....I hope!

Oh, one final, final thing. Pratt is doing great. I realize that I don't really talk much about him or myself on this post. Our lives revolve a lot around the kids, but we also have other things going on. His latest endeavor has been in the form of a 1980 something Jeep Wagoneer. You know the kind with the wood paneling around it. He has done a lot of work on it, some on his own with the help of friends and some we have had to hire qualified professionals. All in all, it is really looking good.

In closing, I hope that you all have a wonderful new year!!! We are definitely looking forward to all the God has planned for us, everything from the fun adventures to the lessons that we need to learn.

He did it!!!!!

First off, since I am almost a week late....Happy New Year to you all!!! I will have to take time later to post a "New Year Thoughts" blog for you. Right quick, while I have a moment, I have some big news about JP.

TONIGHT AT MY PARENTS HOUSE, HE TOOK THREE STEPS!!!!!!

It is so exciting. My mom, sister, Pratt and I all got to witness it and we errupted with such excitment that we scared the poor boy to death. He may never walk again because of that but atleast we got to all see his first three steps. I can't tell you how excited we all were. Yeah for my baby boy!!!!

Anyway, that is all for now. Have a great night.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Okay, so it has been a while since my last post. As you can tell from the pictures, this Christmas Holiday has kept us very busy!! We have had a wonderful time hanging out with family and celebrating Jesus' Birthday. Even today Shelby said that she wanted to go to NeNe's house to celebrate (and she really did use that word) Jesus' Birthday. I am so thankful that our savior's birth is what still stands out to her most even after the Christmas season has past.

On Christmas Eve we went to our church for the Christmas Eve service. I always love this service as it evokes so many wonderful childhood memories for myself. After the service was over we picked up the kids from the nursery and immediately Shelby asked for a cookie and to see Rob. Sadly there were no cookies or Rob that night, but she quickly got over it when we told her that there was something special waiting for her and JP at home. To care on a Christmas Eve tradition that I grew up with, Shelby and JP got to open up their Christmas pjs. Shelby was so excited and JP was nearly too tired to care. Christmas morning we were up nice and early. Shelby was a little tentative at first as she didn't know what to make of all the presents under the tree, but as soon as JP made a move for her new tricycle she was out from behind my legs and in the thick of things. It was such fun to watch the excitment build with her. The very first present she unwrapped was a new pad of drawing paper and she got so excited!!! JP also jumped into. He was beside himself with trying to figure out what to play with first. After we had our little family christmas time Aunt Suzy, Uncle Patricio and Meme came over. Shelby got to open more presents and JP took a little nap to recharge. We spent some time with them, opening presents and eating. Shelby took her tricycle for its maiden voyage outside. After JP woke up we went to Papa and Grammie's house. It was like a Christmas dream walking into their house with the living room overflowing with presents. Uncle Jake was there and got a lot of loving from JP. Once again we opened more presents and ate. That night we went to the Ussery's house for the first ever Feliz Navidad party. It was great fun! We had mexican dip, mexican lasagna, those little mexican sodas, and even a pinata. The kids had a great time running around and JP really got excited over this little ride in car. The highlight of the evening was the pinata. After the kids took a few swings at it the daddies took over. Of course my husband's zeal for life found him flying through the air and ripping the pinata out of the tree; at which point he wrestled it to the ground and tore his head off. For a minute I thought Shelby would be scarred for life as she came to me quite distraught saying, "Daddy broke the bunny." over and over.

A few days later we had Christmas with my family. It was great fun, and don't worry Matt, I forgive you for not saving any dressing for me. We had ham, mac-n-cheese, baked beans, green bean casserole, etc. Rob joined us and we just had a wonderful time. Of course this Chrismas party was filled with gifts of Clemson. I am so excited because tonight I am going to wear my new Clemson skirt (khaki skirt with little tiger paws all over it) for the Chik-fil-A Bowl game.

Well, I have tons more stuff that I could bore you with in this post, but I am going to have to run because JP is screaming for me to come get him out of his crib. I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year!!

PS-Great-grandparents, don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you. I just haven't made it to the UPS store to mail your gifts. Hope to do it soon!!!

Strike Two

Tonight was the Annual May River Montessori Christmas program. We started out the late afternoon/early evening with high hopes that just maybe Shelby would get up on the stage with all of her school friends to sing "Jingle Bells". She talked about it all the way there and I thought that just maybe this would happen. Like true parents we were snapping pictures of our sweet little angel before the show to document this momentous event, and well, that is all we got....before pictures. No during pictures. When it came time to get up there she was a no show. Oh well, maybe next year when she is older and wiser.

Funny thing, as I type this I can hear Shelby over the monitor singing "Jingle Bells" in her bed. The program was quite cute. Some kids had speaking parts and some kids sang solos. During the toddler's rendition of Jingle Bells one little girl just sat there on the stage with the look of shear terror in her eyes and her little lip sticking out so far. It was so funny.

Today was once again another beautiful day in the Lowcountry. I am telling you, if you don't live here, you should!! We spent the lunch hour at the playground with some friends. In fact, I think that this little impromptu playground outing is becoming quite regular. So regular in fact, that Pratt woke up the this morning and said, "So, are you going to the playground today? Don't you guys usually go on Thursdays?" At any rate, we had a great time and look forward to doing it again soon.

JP has really taken a liking to the camera. He has really figured out how to make the cutest, funniest, cheesiest smile that I have ever seen.....eyes squinty, mouth wide open, and head tipped back. I just love it. Below is an example of one of his "I am the cutest baby in the world" smiles. He has just grown up so fast, right before my eyes!!



The big dump truck continues to be a source of never ending entertainment for the kids. Although, now JP is doing more of the pushing while Shelby gets to ride. While I was watching this video I was amazed at how stable JP appears. It may be only a matter of time before we have a little man walking all around the house. Also, Aunt Suzy, listen close to the end. Shelby sends you a little shout out; Hey girl, Hey!!!!

Before I close, I have to give props to Pratt. Every couple of days I have been able to go back to bed after I nurse JP in the morning. He gets Shelby up, feeds both kids, and entertains them while I get a little bit of extra sleep!!! Thanks so much!!! I love you!

Trucker

Here is a video of my little trucker climbing into his truck. Everytime I take him out he just climbs right back in.

All about the Girl

Well, you can probably guess that since it has been nearly a week since my last post that the Festival of Lights trip that I was so excited about didn't turn out to be as great as I had invisioned. After almost five hours in the car and a not so impressive light show we were home and fell wearily into bed. Shelby did pretty good the whole trip. We only had to stop twice for false potty breaks. JP, on the other hand, was non-to-thrilled to be in his car seat that long and cried most of the five hours. Oh well, maybe next year when the kids are older.......

On Friday we went to Aunt Leslie's house for a little Happy Birthday Jesus party!! It was so much fun! Leslie is so great at stuff like this and I am more than grateful that she is my friend as I never seem to have it together enough to even think of putting something together like this party. It was the most beautiful day. There were tons of kids there. First we started out with some singing time with Earl Stephens. I tried to get some video of them, but of course I was one step too slow and only ever caught the last note of the songs. After that it was craft time. The kids made this little linky thingy (see Shelby modeling hers below). It has a little star at the top with a little poem and you take a link off each day. On Christmas day you take the last link off and have your star.




As the kiddos finished their crafts they played outside. Let me just tell you that the weather has been gorgeous here!!! I love it! Anyway, then cake time! We gathered all the kids around and they sang Happy Birthday to Jesus!!! It just melted my heart. There is nothing more sweet and innocent then hearing children's voices singing about Jesus. Once again I tried to capture this moment on video, but well, that didn't work. Good for me though because I have the memory in my head, stinks for you because I can't share it:)

The weekend went on without too muck incidence. We had a great time on Sunday as we were blessed to have Ross and Erik join us for church and then we all went to lunch at Hampton Lake afterwards. Shelby just loves those guys (Rob, aka Rob-a-Dob; Erik; and Ross). She is forever talking with them on her pink cell phone and asking when they are going to come over.

Just for kicks I had to include these two pictures that we took of Shelby modeling her daddy's Clemson belt. I don't know much about that business, but I think she might have a career in it. We got the biggest kick out of her pose and all.

Today we had lunch with Erin, Jack, and Baby Finn! It was great fun to visit with them and try to begin getting back into our weekly lunch dates. Shelby and Jack had fun eating pizza, talking, and coloring. I think that Shelby finds Jack's new glasses very mature and attractive;)

Now for a little bit on JP....he is growing like a weed. I am sorry that I don't have a picture for you, but he is so cute!!! This weekend he has really started getting into daddy. He actually reached for Pratt from out of my arms!!! What a huge victory for me; maybe this "mommy only" stage is taking a breather. It is so wonderful to see JP's little face light up when he sees Pratt and he takes off crawling towards him. Remember a while back when I posted that picture of JP in the back of Shelby's dump truck??? Well, he has now figured out how to climb up into it. I have to keep that thing hidden in a closet or he would never do anything but climb up in it and sit there all day....hey, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing, hummmmm. Anyway, Shelby thinks that this is so funny and once he is in she takes off with him all over the house. He just laughs and laughs. For the most part they play so well together. What a blessing to see them engaging each other and laughing together.