A Day Out With Thomas

On Saturday Brian, B, and I headed to Spencer, NC to meet Thomas. B has been looking forward to this day for a VERY long time. We wanted this day to be really special and it was the first time that we have done anything just us 3 since C was born! After we arrived and picked up our tickets, we let B play for a while before our scheduled train ride. There was a bounce house, corn maze, museum, and several model train stations set up. He got to see the "real" Tidmouth Sheds where Thomas lives and see a turning table. He was in heaven! Then we went to see Thomas before our ride. He talked to him and waved, but wasn't sure why Thomas didn't talk. I had to tell him he was resting before he pulls us along! After we hopped aboard the (super hot) train, B was handed a Jr. Engineer certificate from the conductor, signed by Sir Topham Hatt himself lol! He loved his ride and waved to everyone we passed. The train only went about 10 miles an hour in a large circle, but he didn't notice! We're so happy we got to make one of B's dreams come true!

He was talking to Thomas

Such a cheesy smile...never seen this one before but he was extra excited!

Giving Sir Topham Hatt a hug!

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His very 1st train ride

Waving to everyone

He was out on the ride home!

13 Months

This last month seemed to go by in half the time as normal. I guess because we've been so busy! And it's been so much fun! C had his first birthday and party and started school! He also went on his first outing with my in-laws. They decided 2 Saturdays ago that they would take BOTH boys with them to run errands, etc. That left Brian and I with nothing to do but spend time together. It. Was. Awesome! We didn't know what to do! At first I thought about all of the errands I needed to run and cleaning that needed to be done...but then I decided, forget it all, I'm chillin at home! So Bri and I stayed home and watched football all day! The best way to spend any day :) We also left C with the in-laws last Saturday b/c Bri and I took B to meet Thomas the Train! That's another post all in itself!

Here's what C's been doing this month:

• WALKING! He started taking steps at about 10.5 months. Then it started to be about half crawling/half walking. Then about 5 days ago he decided, I'm ready, and gave up the crawling. I'm LOVING this stage. He's been trying to run with B and has picked up speed just in the last 2 days!

• Eating like a little piggy (that's B's nick name for C ha!) That kid eats so much I have no clue where it all goes. He will eat anything put in front of him! I'm loving this too :

• Not really picked up any new words, but they're getting clearer. He can recognize and tries to mimic the signs for "more" and "all done", so that's been cool. He also says "more" (which sounds like "boar") when he needs more of something. 

• The kid loves his Dada! When Bri comes home, he walks as fast as he can toward him while saying Dada. It's super cute. 

• He's still taking 2 naps, but some days he only takes 1. He needs both, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way.

• He loves playing with his ABC Train, ball popper, trucks and balls. He's also a climber and can climb up on most anything!

The first 4 pictures are from his 1year shoot.

The New School Year

This year is an extra special year...BOTH of the boys will be in school! B started K-3 and C started PDO. I have 2 days a week kid free! B's teacher this year is Mrs. Templeton, and I could not be more thrilled about her! He started 2 weeks before C did, so it was all half days at first. We are now in a carpool line and love it! B feels like such a big boy walking to his class by himself. He has a half day on Wednesday, then on Thursday and Friday he has late stay until 2. C goes til 2 on Thursday and Friday. B is loving preschool and C has done really well in his class. I was worried C would cry they whole time, but he just whines for a second when I drop him off. One of his teachers had B when he was a baby, so it made it more special. She said he plays well and is a great baby! I'm gonna copy my good friend and make a list of B's favorite things. These are his answers:

TV Shows: Yo Gabba Gabba, Super Why, Dinosaur Train, Curious George, Max & Ruby, Go Diego Go
Movies: ALL Thomas and Friends, Cars 1 & 2, The Smurfs, Toy Story 2
Song: You've Got a Friend in Me...the Toy Story theme song.
Food: Corndogs and Chick-fil-a chicken nuggets
Candy: The suckers from the bank...haha!
Book: "What do Smurfs Do All Day?"; "Ted and Friends"; "Where's My Monster?"; All Thomas books!
Toy: "All of my Thomas trains!"
Activity: "Going to the park to play with my friends!"
Wants To Be: "A Tennis Player" -I'm ok with that, I think the next Federer or Rafa would be great :))

I  tried to get a shot with him holding the paper, but it turned out more like a mug shot than a cute pic ha!

Outside his classroom on his 1st day!

Waiting to be picked up in our 1st carpool line!

The boys before C's 1st day...aka, my 1st day kid free!

They wouldn't cooperate with me...go figure!

What C was up to before we left for school

B's 1st day being dropped off and picked up in the carpool line. He thought it was cool he could move to the front seat to get out of the car!

C's 1st Birthday Party!

We had C's party the week after his birthday...only because he was born Labor Day weekend. The Theme was "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." I originally got the idea from the new pottery barn kids magazine. I saw all the cute stuff in there and fell in love. Then things would pop up on Pinterest (oh how I love thee :)) so I went for it! We had some family and close friends over and had a blast. C got to play with his baby friends (all boys!) and B got to play with his friends (mostly girls ha!). Everything went smoothly with the kids and everyone got along. So thankful for that! We let C "dig" into his cake...let me tell you, the pictures don't do it justice! Then we cleaned him up and let him "open" (aka B opened) his presents. He got lots of fun toys and cute clothes. I'm glad he finally has his own stuff so now B has to share with him! Can't believe his birthday came and went that fast...before I know it, I'll be posting his half birthday! Thanks to everyone who made his day special :)

He was loving the cake!

He was actually saying "cheese" HA!

John was loving the cupcakes :)

Me with my little 1yr old!

Playing outside after the party

LOVE that baby!!

"Mmmm this water looks tasty!"

Daddy helping C drive the car

GOAL! B wanted to play soccer!

Playing with his new toys

The invitations I made!!

 

 

The Caterpillar "Cake"

Carson is ONE!

Yep, ONE whole year has already passed! On September 4, Carson turned 1 and it was bittersweet. I was sad because I know toddlerhood is close by and there will be no more babies in the house...but I was happy b/c I know he will be walking/talking/playing with B in the very near future! He has been such a blessing and always finds a way to make me smile. B is the BEST big bro and loves him SO much. He tries to find ways to play with C and include him in whatever it is he's doing. B said "Mommy, I'm sad he won't be a baby anymore b/c I'll miss petting his head...but I'm so excited he's going to be a big boy b/c he can play with me and my trains!" So sweet!! LOVE my boys :))
Here's what C's been up to this month:

• Talking a lot! His words are:
• Mama
• Dada
• Br (for Brooks)
• Uh Oh
• Meow- he says this ALL the time, and crawls through the house calling for our cat ha!
• He clicks his tongue to call for our dog like I do
• Bye Bye- he also waves bye bye 
• Pa- for Papa
• Moo
• Hey- which sounds like Ayy
• He has taken steps, but not fully walking yet. He will take anywhere from 2-6 steps at a time, but doesn't seem interested in doing it all the time. Today he took 14 steps straight, two different times, so hopefully not too much longer!
• When music is playing, he bobs his head to the tune...that's how he dances Ha!
• He copies B whenever he does anything...screaming, laughing, dancing, etc...
• He claps ALL the time. He will clap for himself and it's SO funny. Whenever we say Yay, Clap, Excited, Great Job, he will clap. How does he know?
• He can say/sign for more whenever he needs more food/juice/milk
• He will eat ANYTHING we put in front of him. This is so different from what I've been used to for almost 4 years. And when anyone has food, especially Brian, he will beg for a bite Ha! When he is done eating he rips off his bib, throws in on the floor, then proceeds to throw any food that's left on his plate over the side to our dog Heidi. You can imagine how excited she gets whenever we sit him in his highchair!
• He still only has 4 teeth, but 2 more are about to make their appearance!
• Started drinking whole milk about 2 weeks before his b-day. I ran out of formula and was not about to go spend $25 for only 2 weeks! 
• He's been waving and saying bye bye at the same time! He doesn't quite have the wave (opening and closing of the hand), but instead opens and closes his thumb and pointer finger...still the same thing right!? Yesterday as he was leaving the playroom he turned around and waved/said bye bye, then crawled outta there on a mission to the stairs ha!
• He still takes 2 naps. 1st is around 930 and 2nd around 2. Not sure when it will be cut to 1, but hoping its not anytime soon.
• He started PDO today!! He had a great first day and didn't whine too much, and that makes me happy. He goes Thurs and Fri, so I'm very excited about my "me" time! 

We can't wait to see what the next month brings!!
Forgot to include his stats: Weight: 16lb 10oz 1%ile (he might eat a lot, but he doesn't gain anything!) Height: 29' 3/4 46%ile

Riding on his gift from Brian and I

Hanging with Grandmommy

With his Hami

He was more into the gift wrapping...

Eating noodles-a Korean tradition for every new year!

Happy Birthday! (B's face kills me...esp with his eyes closed ha!)

This looks yummy...

He sure did LOVE his cupcake ha!

Panthers vs Giants pre-season game

Those of you who know me well, know how obsessed with football I am. And you same people know my love for the Manning brothers. I grew up in TN watching Peyton play, so most of my life, football has revolved around the Mannings. Well, Saturday afternoon Brian calls and said, so guess what? I was given 2 club seat tickets to the game tonight! I was like, huh, are you for real? I'm actually gonna see Eli Manning play LIVE? Yes! And just to specify, club seats mean you are high rollin ha! We had awesome seats, plus we got to go inside to the lounges and eat, drink, listen to a band, and watch the game on the 47 big screens they have! It was awesome! We were on the Giant's side, so I got to see Eli the whole time. We were a little worried about the rain, b/c it started to rain when we got to Charlotte, but once we got into the stadium, the rain let up for good! My prayers were answered and I was one happy girl! I am a big Panthers fan, and this game is always hard for me b/c I'm happy for either team when they win, but sad for the team that lost. The Panthers and Cam Newton looked amazing. It was cool being there for Cam's debut and seeing first hand how good of a fit he looks to be in the Panthers organization. Derek Anderson also looked really good, so I think it's safe to say we have ourselves a QB this year! Even though I had just got back into town from NC a few hours earlier, only to turn around and drive back, and B had been working a week straight, we had a blast. It was a much needed date! Thanks Bri for getting the tickets, I had a great time :))

Eli calling the play

Cam Newton's 1st huddle in the NFL

                                          

Cam's 1st play

Eli (#10)

Our half-time entertainment. They were really good!

Part of the lounge

End of the game

Charlotte