First Zoo Trip of the Year!

Today B, C and I met up with some of my old friends. I grew up with Michelle and Lisa in TN until they moved in 1999. Our parents have always been good friends and kept in touch, as well as us girls. Karen and Scott (the parents) just recently moved to the Greenville area, and Michelle and her son Jack (2yrs) came up for a visit. Lisa and her son Jacob (22 months) were here for a few hours and got to hang out with us at the park. We played at Cleveland Park for a while and the boys played well and shared their snacks (I was impressed that all 3 got along so well and shared too). It was our first time meeting each others kids. We talk a lot and see pictures via facebook, but haven't had the opportunity to get together. After Lisa and Jacob left, we headed to the Zoo. It was C's first time @ the zoo, and he slept half the time haha! Once he woke up he was checking out all of the animals! I think he had a good time. Brooks and Jack had a great time and had the funniest conversations. We went to Brick Street Cafe for lunch (one of my favorites) and had some great food! We had a wonderful day and it was so beautiful and warm. I'm hoping this awesome weather will stay. We can't wait for them to come back again...maybe next time we can have a girls night :)

Jacob, Brooks and Jack all sharing the goldfish

B was ready to see the elephants...while C slept

Jack and B waving to the elephants

C wasn't sure what to think of the giraffes

He loved the lions!

Carson at 6 Months

Carson's half birthday was on March 4, but his 6 month check-up was Friday. I thought for sure that he was close to 15lbs and was bigger than Brooks...well I couldn't have been more wrong!

6 month stats:

• Weight: 13lbs, 12oz
• Height: 26 1/2 inches
• Head: 16 1/2 in

If this gives you any idea on how much smaller he is than Brooks (and we all know how tiny B has always been), here's B's stats at 6 months:

• Weight: 16lbs, 6oz
• Height: 27 1/2 inches
• Head: 17 in

Here's what C has been up to:

• Sitting by himself...Yay for some independence!
• Babbling a lot and "talks" to his toys
• Laughs a lot, especially at Brooks 
• He will laugh when something is actually funny
• He also laughs everytime I trip over something or injure myself...who told him that was funny?

• Is trying to scoot across the floor. While laying on his tummy he will try and get his knees underneath him and can scoot a little ways. (Lord help us, he'll be crawling before I'm ready)
• Eating 2 meals a day of solid foods and drinks about 24oz of formula
• Can hold and drink out of a sippy cup
• LOVES his mommy...a little too much. Very attached to me and has started having some separation anxiety...YAY for me! (haha)
• Grabs everything in sight and immediately puts it in his mouth to chew on
• Teething is full blown now...no teeth yet, but they'll be here soon enough
• Rolls across the room
• Brooks is his favorite person and is happy as long as he's in the room

Here are a few pictures I took of him today:

Our Playgroup Trip to the Greer Fire Department!

For our Monday playgroup, Caroline, our awesome friend, set up a trip to the fire department. The kids had a blast! Brooks was terrified once we went into the garage where all the fire trucks were. A lot of the kids were scared there were going to be a lot of loud noises, but once they were assured that wouldn't happen (crossing our fingers there wasn't a fire!) they were good to go. First, once of the firemen showed us how he got dressed in their uniform for a fire. Brooks went up and gave him a high-five! Then they showed us their helmet and breathing mask. The Captain put the helmet on Brooks and mask on Andrew and Stella. Then we all went upstairs to their living area. We hung out and watched a short video about what to do in case of a fire. Then the kids all demonstrated how they could stop, drop and roll. It was very entertaining! We saw their bedroom and the fire pole, and one officer slid down the pole. Then we went back to the garage and 3 officers slid down the pole for the kids...it was AWESOME! (I have this on video at the end of the pictures) And we finally got to play in the fire trucks! At the end they handed out fire hats, a coloring book and sticker. C was really good and just hung out for the hour we were there. We all went to Firehouse Subs for lunch and us moms got to have a little social time too! Brooks hasn't taken off his hat since we got home (except for his nap!). This was by far one of the best playgroup trips ever! Thanks Caroline :)

B wearing the helmet

C chillin with B

Everyone watching the movie in the cozy chairs

Stop, Drop and ROLL!

One of the firemen sliding down the poll

Who knows?

Here's the video...it takes a second, but they will start sliding down!

A baby shower for Kayla Grace :)

When we moved to Greenville we met a family who moved the same week as us from Charlotte...they're The Oddo's. Jimmy and Emily (the parents) have 3 kids, Heather, Melissa, and JC. Heather and I are the same age and immediately were connected at the hip and you couldn't find one of us without the other! We went to different colleges, but have always kept in touch and gotten together at least once a year. They all moved to Charleston several years back and Heather went to CofC and JC is in his last year at The Citadel. My mom and Emily were very close friends as well, and have also kept in touch. Melissa got married 5yrs ago and her husband Jonathan was stationed in Germany, so they were there for a few years. They moved back and are in Sumter. She is having a baby girl in April (3 weeks away) and they're naming her Kayla Grace! Heather and Emily hosted a baby shower this weekend and it was a blast. I took the kids with me b/c the girls were dying to see them! Brooks immediately got in with the group of girls (he thought about playing with the boys, but his cuteness attracted the girls attention, so he stuck with them...such a ladies man!) and C was passed around 10 times over! Brooks became extra excited when he saw there were presents to open, so Melissa let him open them for her (she's going to be an awesome mom!). He was surprisingly ok that he didn't get to have any of the gifts, he was just happy to rip the paper off...I will have to remember this ha! She racked up and will definitely be ready when the baby comes.
 It was nice to spend some time with the Oddo girls...although in October Heather's last name will be changing!!! She got engaged on NYE, so exciting! We got to go out on Saturday night to dinner and chatted it up till midnight! I hadn't been out that late in years...thats kinda sad considering I'm only 26, but hey, thats what kids will do to ya!

Brooks charming the girls

C doing the same!

He played with Keira the whole time...he loves blondes :)

Heather and I

C had a great time!

The Odd girls: Emily, Heather and Melissa

It's a beautiful day...

This weekend was so nice and I was super happy that we got to play outside! On Saturday B, C and I went  with my in-laws to the park down the street. B rode his tricycle all around while C watched all the kids play. C rode in the swing for a while and B tried to push him...it was so funny! We had such a great time! Then on Sunday, after the kids and I went to a baby shower, we came home and played outside for several hours. B played basketball, soccer, rode his motorcycle and tricycle, colored with sidewalk chalk, played on the swing set and enjoyed running around with Daddy. He was very busy! C hung out in the stroller...he's not quite big enough to do much else, but he will be soon enough! Here are some pics I took from the weekend:

I had to put them in matching clothes...I'll continue this until they think it's uncool :)

He give me this "you are so crazy" look a lot...

He LOVES his feet!

Brooks thinks he The Man when he rides this HA!

What's in a name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet."

In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, this one line encloses the main struggle and tragedy of the play. Juliet basically tells Romeo that a name is meaningless and artificial. Of course we all know that she continues on to tell him she loves him, not his name, and then they pledge their undying love for each other.
My point? Brooks has many names for everyone in our family. Some are super cute and sweet, others, not so much. Nevertheless, I love him no matter how many times he calls me "Mr. Poopy Head". Yes, he calls me that, on a regular basis, and no, I don't like it. I tell him it's not nice and I have NO idea where he learned that from! On the flip side, he also regularly calls me "Princess Mama," which I happen to love! He will ask me, "Are you my princess, Mama?" and I reply with "Of course, and you're my prince!" I have to say, that is one cute kid! Carson's names are "Little Lamb," "Baby Brother," "Little Prince" and "Silly Goose". Brian's are "Daddy,"" DiDa" and "The King" (of course, that one was made up by Bri bc he knew I was the princess and B and C are princes...plus he wanted to establish his place in our 'kingdom' lol!) He calls me the 2 previous names, plus "Mommy" or "Mama"and "Jessie" (she's the cowgirl in Toy Story...he's always "Woody" when he calls me this).
So, what's in a name? Tomato/Tomahto, Mr. Poopy Head/Princess Mama. Apparently Juliet is right, as long as you have love, not much else matters :)

Our super cute, super rotten boys :)

I've lost my keys!

Have you ever left your house and had the feeling, "I know I left something, I just can't think of what it is!?" If you're a mom or pregnant, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. I was driving down the road the other day when I just KNEW I left something I would need. I finally figured it out....it was my keys! At every traffic light I would dig through my purse, look in the floor boards, and check all the seats...where were they? It took about 5 minutes before I got to Brooks' school that I realized I HAD THEM. I was driving wasn't I? What's wrong with me that I wouldn't notice my keys are in the ignition!?!?I decided this was a major problem. I'm too scatterbrained and need to focus more! I am a crazy person! Then I remembered I'm a mom. When I was pregnant with Brooks I had pregnancy brain like most moms do. It didn't really last afterwards, just a minor case of it. Well, once I became pregnant with Carson I had to write EVERYTHING down or I would absolutely forget it. It was severe and I just couldn't wait till it was gone. 6 months later and its just as bad...some days worse! I used to be able to make a long grocery list and get everything on the list without looking at it once. I was proud of how I could remember everything....now not so much. Sometimes I feel I should be put in the looney bin, but B reminds me that I have 2 kids and an active schedule, so I shouldn't be hard on myself. Hopefully I will remember to not forget things so often!

Side note: This actually happened on Thursday, and on my way home I though this would make a good blog! Well, I just remembered TODAY, so I rushed to the computer to type this up before I forgot again HA!

I'm officially a soccer mom!

Okay, so maybe it's not official, but Brooks is playing his first season of soccer! It's a parent-tot program, so us moms (and a few dads) play with them. There are no games, just playing and learning the game, so we get to learn with them. He likes it so far and plays about as good as any other 3yr old. The kids are hilarious to watch and I'm sure its even funnier to watch us moms out there running after our kids and the ball! They play games like drive the "car", sharks and minnows and popcorn. Brooks' fav is the popcorn game. He hands me the ball and I shout "POP" and he runs after it and kicks it back to me. He's not been to fond of Sharks and Minnows (which was the monster game last week, but the name was changed bc some kids cried bc they were scared of the monster...Brooks was terrified ha!), but he felt better about it after he and his friends got to take turns being the shark. He loves playing so far, but who's to say he will want to follow in his cousin Anna's footsteps. She's already committed to Campbell University and will have almost a full ride...I can only dream of this for Brooks! We will continue with soccer for now, but if he changes his mind and wants to play football, well I won't stop him! Maybe my original dream of him becoming the next Peyton Manning (ok, let's face it, he's probably gonna be too short to play QB), or any other position in the NFL will come true. Dare to dream...we might not even have the NFL by then, but thats a whole other blog!

Brooks getting ready to play on his first day!