Bunker

Today, Henry discovered the "ditch". No matter how much we tried to distract him with other fun toys and games, he couldn't get enough of the dirty, nasty ditch. My thoughts immediately turn to snakes and spiders and ants. Brad, on the other hand, thinks it's cool and "such a boy thing". Whatev! I guess I lost this "battle in the bunker"!

You Should See the Other Guy

No, not really! But, it seems that Henry did get in a fight with a mosquito or a sand gnat or some other small pesky creature. We went to the beach yesterday and by the time we got home his left eye was looking a wee bit swollen. I thought he was fine until he woke up this morning. Almost "swoll" shut! Still not worried until he woke up SCREAMING violently from his morning nap. I could not get him to calm down and knew something was wrong. His eye was even more swollen by this point. So we headed to the after hours pediatric urgent care clinic at St. Francis. We saw a great pediatrician and she definitely said it was a bite of some sort AAAANNNDD a double ear infection to boot! UGGGGHHHH!!! No wonder Henry's been waking up so early these last few days. He's really been fine except some minor ear pulling and early waking. What a tough little man!

Happy Memorial Day

To describe growing up in the lowcountry of South Carolina, I would have to take you to the marsh on a spring day, flush the great blue heron from its silent occupation, scatter marsh hens as we sink to our knees in mud, open you an oyster with a pocketknife and feed it to you from the shell an say, “breathe deeply,” and you would breathe and remember that smell for the rest of your life... The Prince of Tides-Pat Conroy

We had a beautiful day today and 90% was spent outside at Mimi and Pops creek. I slathered Henry with sunscreen and he had a ball playing in his pool, watching D and Daddy grill, swinging in his "WEEE", and climbing up the steps!

"Just sunin' myself"
"Uncle D, I think you're too big for my frog pool!"
Brad throwing the Cast Net

We Love Visitors!

We had such a fun weekend with lots of fun visitors! Saturday morning Tricia, Cameron, and Jonathan came down for a wedding and spent the day and night with us. We had so much fun shopping for Henry's outfit for Cam's wedding and lunch at the Crabhouse. Thanks for entertaining the wild man and come back ANYTIME!

Hanna and John came down on Saturday and we had a great time at lunch and grilling burgers that night. Henry loved all the extra attention and I loved discussing wedding plans with Hanna! I am so excited!!!

All in all, we had a very fun and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend!

Wendy's

My little "Wendy"! Frosty and French Fries, anyone?

Take a Hike

We got this 'pack' as a hand-me-down and although we aren't avid hikers, i'm sure it will come in handy. Maybe in the mountains...or the beach....or just the neighborhood. OR, maybe we'll take up hiking? Naaahhh! No hills to speak of in Chuck!

But they sure do look cute!!!

Happy 3 Years Brad!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BRAD!

It's been a great 3 years! I love you and am so proud of you!

Shelby

Real, Live Hippy!

Henry got to meet his first real, live hippy!

One of our great friends from college, Levi (right), was in town last night and really wanted to meet Henry. He lives in Colorado and is back east for a while b/c his dad just passed away from cancer. It was so great seeing him and Henry loved yanking on his beard and tugging on his long hair.

Henry with Jason and Levi!

Conner Comes to Chucktown

Sorry this post is so late, but better late than never right? Conner and his mommy came to Chucktown last Thursday night for a quick, but fun trip! Henry and Conner had fun together and i'm quite certain Henry scared the daylights out of his cuz a time or two with his sudden screeches! But, really they were so cute together and I loved being able to hug and kiss on Conner some.

Playing at Henry's train table
AUNTIE with the boys
Me with the little men
Just chillin' after breakfast!

Thanks so much for coming down! We can't wait to visit Cola in a few weeks!

Now we just need to get little Bradley in the mix and we'll be complete!!!

LOVE YA'LL!!!

Congratulations Hanna and John!!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO HANNA AND JOHN ON YOUR ENGAGEMENT! WE COULD NOT BE MORE HAPPY FOR YOU BOTH AND CAN'T WAIT TO START YOUR WEDDING SEASON!!!

I can't believe my baby sis is getting married! I love you Hanna and am so happy for you!

Motherhood-It Will Change Your Life

*i found this little story about motherhood on another blog and found it to be very true and heartwarming


Motherhood - It will change your life... (My favorite - a MUST read every Mother's Day!)

We are sitting at lunch when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family". "We're taking a survey," she says, half joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"

"It will change your life," I say carefully, keeping my tone neutral."

I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on the weekend, no more spontaneous vacations..."

But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in child birth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing heal, but that becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will be forever vulnerable. I consider warning her that she will never read a newspaper again without asking "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a souffle or her best crystal without a moment's hesitation.

I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for child care, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think about her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of her discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that everyday decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonalds will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.

However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.Looking at my daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years - not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor.My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the ways she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is always careful to powder the baby or never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she'll feel with women throughout history who have tried desperately to stop war and prejudice and drunk driving. I hope she will understand why I can think rationally about most issues, but become temporarily insane when I discuss the threat of nuclear war to my children's future. I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike.

I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real, it actually hurts.

My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I say finally. Then I reach across the table, squeeze my daughter's hand, and offer a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all of the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings. The blessed gift of being a Mother.

(Author Unknown)

Mothers Day Weekend in Brevard

We had such a relaxing weekend at the Mountain House and hated to leave on Sunday. It really seems like time slows down when we're there. Maybe it's the mountain air?
Henry had so much fun exploring all of the fun things the "wilderness" has to offer. We put him in the little creek behind the house and he LOVED it! It was freezing cold, but somehow children are immune to cold water.

We drove to Waynesville, a cute little town, on Saturday and came back by way of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Beautiful, but Mama gets a little carsick on those curvey roads!

Chef Daniel cooked a FAB meal for us on Saturday night and then we all slept like hibernating bears to the sound of the rain hitting the red tin roof. HEAVEN!!!

This is Mimi playing "Wii's Guitar Hero". She was booed off the stage very quickly and so was I.
This weekend was the perfect way to spend my second Mothers Day! I'm one lucky Mom!

Happy Mothers Day

Wishing all of the mothers in my life a very very happy day! I love and admire all of you and thank you for making me a better Mother!

BIG OL DUMP

TRUCK, silly!

14 Months

HENRY IS...

Happiest:

Outside
Playing with basketballs, footballs, and golfballs
Swinging at the park
Right after dinner
Climbing stairs
Playing peek-a-boo with Daddy
Singing Row Row Row Your Boat
Reading books in Mama's lap
At Mimi and Pops house
Playing with Uncle D
In his baby pool
Chasing Lucy & Buster
Chasing the girls on the street

Unhappiest:

Getting his diaper changed
When we tell him no
When it's time to go inside
When it's time to put his clothes on
When I wipe his nose
When I clean his ears

Sweetest:

When he plants an open mouth kiss on your cheek
When he gets sleepy, he lays his head on my shoulder
When he puts his arms around my neck and squeezes tight

And at the end of our very busy days, this is what I get to stare at.
One very happy, content, and tired little boy! And i'm lucky enough to be his mom!

HOT!!!

Yes, folks. The grill is HOT...if you didn't know! We have been trying for a while to teach Henry the word HOT and it has been a very successful effort. He knows that the stove is haaaa. That our coffee cups are haaaa. The steaming veggies are haaaaa. However, I'm a little concerned that while he knows how to say the word, he doesn't get that it will inflict pain or cause harm. Because while he's saying "haaaa" he will then reach for said "haaaaa" item in an attempt to grab/touch. We're workin' on it, though!

So yes, he's saying "haaa" in the pic above whilst touching the grill.

p.s. this was mid-day Sunday and the grill was cold as ice

Community Supported Agriculture

This spring Frankie bought a share in this local farm's co-op and is kind enough to share her goods with us. Every Wednesday she goes and picks up her box of the freshest, most yummy produce. The past few weeks it's been LOTS of greens...bok choy, onions, broccoli, turnips, tat soy, some really odd looking things that i'm not sure what they are or what to do with them and tons of great lettuces. All of these are winter veggies, so we should start seeing some squash, peppers, tomatos, etc....summer veggies. She also gets a dozen fresh organic eggs every week.

We have had some of the most beautiful salads you can imagine this past month! There is just something about eating fresh, local, organic food. It just seems to taste better. Tonight we're having stir fry chicken and veggies with local broccoli and bok choy! Yum Yum!

So, thanks Mimi for sharing with us! We appreciate it!

Papa Comes to Town

Last weekend we were lucky enough to get a visit from Papa! And Henry enjoyed every minute of it! (We did too!!!) We had lunch at the Crab House on the water and watched all the "boooaaa's" ride by. We visited Dick's and Target to pick up some much needed 'boy toys' and then home to play in Henry's new baby pool. Brad and I were supposed to go to a wedding, but opted out to stay and hang with Papa.

Papa loved squirting Henry with the cold water and watching his reaction...so funny!

Henry loved squirting himself with the cold water!

Papa teaching Henry how to properly swing a golf club

Thanks for coming down to visit Papa! We love you and can't wait to see you again!

Happy Birthday Nana

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!!!

WE HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!

WE LOVE YOU TONS!!!