George's Birthday Week!

George is 35 today! Happy birthday hubby!!! We started his "birthday week" with dinner and cake at the Watson's last Saturday night. The weather was absolutely gorgeous so we enjoyed playing outside for quite sometime. Drew and Whitley had a blast running, playing on the swing set and doing some low-key activities on the deck too. Tom cooked burgers and hot-dogs and Cristie made her famous macaroni-n-cheese, the best present for George! On Sunday, Cristie and I had a sister/sister day with some shopping and a play. Our friend, Alison, had the role of Lenny in Crimes of the Heart and we really enjoyed it. Monday through Wednesday's activities are kind of a blur as I was down with strep throat. I haven't had that in forever and forgot how miserable it is. I am very thankful for Penicillin and glad to be almost back to 100%. Today was Drew's Easter party at school since next week is Spring break so George, David and I went to the party. Drew was very proud to have the "whole family" there as he says and we had fun watching him in the Easter egg hunt. Then we went out to lunch for George's birthday. The boys were very good although it was a shock to see that David was into everything! Things change so quickly because just the last time we ate out, David was happy as a clam to just chill in his car seat or my arms. Today he was in a high chair and was literally moving the high chair closer to the table by jumping in his seat! He was so eager to grab everything in and out of his reach. George and I were pretty busy but did enjoy a delicious meal. We are looking forward to continuing George's birthday week through the weekend!

David's first time in a swing. He loved it! Blake, our neighbor, is helping.
Pretty Aunt Cristie with David.

Drew and Whitley finishing up a picnic on "Whitley's park."

Running wild! They thought they were on a jungle adventure!

Playing with the "swimming animals" in "pools" outside. This activity never gets old!

Happy boy!

Drew after helping Daddy blow out his candles.

Decorating Daddy's birthday card.

Getting ready to open his cards and gifts!

Drew was so proud of the Superhero card he and David gave George!

George's birthday lunch. David was grabbing everything from the table and putting it in his mouth. I figured the top to his cereal container was better than the menu, silverware, ketchup and other things he was reaching for.

Taking a break from coloring for a quick pic.

Drew's Great Week at School

Drew had such a fun week at school! Tuesday they celebrated St. Patrick's Day and it sounded like a blast! He talked all the way home of a little leprechaun that destroyed his classroom but left cupcakes as a treat! When Drew came out to the carpool line he was wearing a leprechaun hat and beard. He was so proud! On Thursday the kids got to wear pajamas to school because they went on a pretend camping trip! He had smores, played in a tent and made a darling fishing pole craft. I surprised him with new pajamas on Thursday morning when he woke up...Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na Batman! He was pumped! Then today he had Little Kickers, aka "soccer school." George ordered him a pair of Adidas soccer shoes and he was excited to wear them today! He was darling out there and I've been very proud of him! His soccer skills have definitely improved and he continues to have a blast!

My little leprechaun!
Cleaning his new glasses "like Day Day does." My Dad is forever spraying Windex on his glasses and wiping it off with a paper towel. Guess Drew took notice because when I came home with a new pair of shades for him he said he had to clean them before trying them on.

Drew eating his new favorite cereal (Captain Crunch with berries or as Drew calls it, "ball cereal"). CC had some at the beach last week and he begged me to buy some. Drew is sporting his new Batman pajamas that I surprised him with for camping day at school.

David just lovin' life!

Drew at soccer school. He is number 8, going through the cones.

Weekend Re-cap

We had a nice and busy weekend! We recently purchased a bike trailer for the boys so we went on a nice family bike ride on Saturday. Drew really likes it and David seems to tolerate it. I'm sure he will like it more as he gets bigger. Saturday evening we met the Watson's in Durham for pizza at Mellow Mushroom. We enjoyed visiting with them and both Drew and Whitley were very sad to leave. On Sunday we played outside a lot and prepared for some company to visit that night. My friend, Melissa, who I've known since high school came through town with her family and stayed the night with us on Sunday. It was great to catch up with her - in between caring for five kids (her 3 plus my two)! Here's a few photos from the weekend...

Aunt Cristie and perfect David during dinner.

Whitley and Drew LOVED this! They call it "being tall."

Sweeties!

Melissa's kids, Hailey and Will, with Drew during an episode of Scooby Doo.

I believe Drew was saying, "But she won't get off the blanket." Drew and Will were using it to play hide-and-seek.

Is it obvious that I said, "Drew, put your arm around Will and smile." Geez!

Melissa's girls, Hailey and Olivia. Sweet Olivia just goes with the flow. I guess that's how a 3rd child has to be. I kept trying to find toys that an 18 month old would like but Melissa told me not to worry about it. Olivia is used to following the big kids and doing whatever they are doing - as you can see.

Melissa and David.

Melissa and the babies after we put the older kids to bed.

Fun Family Times

I started this blog last week but never got around to finishing it. Partly because we had a really busy few days and partly because I was engrossed in a really good book, Roses, and chose to read it during any spare time instead of working on a blog post. My Mom and Dad were in town last weekend and we had a great visit. My sister and her husband were away on an anniversary trip so my folks were watching Whitley. We went out there on Saturday and visited with them and the Lindsey's who came in from Virginia for the day. We had a nice day enjoying the warm weather and the kids had a ball playing on Whitley's swing set. Sunday afternoon the boys and I headed to Myrtle Beach with my parents for a couple of days. The weather was so beautiful and we took full advantage of it. Drew got to ride his golf cart, four wheeler, play with his golf set and insisted on a beach picnic. David was sweet as can be and never stopped smiling. He even grinned through a huge diaper blowout on the highway during our return trip Tuesday. We pulled over and I was planning to change him in the car but once we saw the damage we had to get out and tackle the mess. It took three adults, two bottles of water and a tub of wipes to clean him up. Just picture my Mom holding sweet David up by his arms, Dad splashing water on him from his head to his toes and me wiping him down. What a sight! The boys and I dropped Mom and Dad off at the airport on the way into town and we've missed them very much since.

Drew had a blast playing at the beach. He collected lots of shells, chased seagulls and didn't take a single bite of lunch after he insisted on the picnic!
Drew cracked us up with this! He wanted to put his feet in the ocean and started hiking up his pants when he was quite a distance from the water. It was hysterical to watch him waddle toward the water with both hands pulling at his pants.

Day Day "doing it all" as he said! He was eating dinner, entertaining David and feeding Drew.

Day Day and sweet David soak up some much needed Vitamin D. It felt so good to enjoy the sun after such a cold winter.

CC, Day Day and David enjoy the beautiful weather in South Carolina.

CC was the mystery reader at Drew's preschool during her visit! What a fun surprise!

Drew playing at "Whitley's park"

Drew and cousin Lila.

Cousin Sydney and I.

My darling little thumb sucker!

Whitley wears Melanie's sunglasses and Drew wears mine during their tea party.

Little Guinea Pigs

The boys and I just got home from Duke University where Drew and David participated in a research study at the Infant Cognition Center. I got a form in the mail from Duke after David was born asking if he could participate in research studies in the future and I figured why not. Just about every time I read about a new study on children, the research was done at either Duke or UNC. I never wondered who had to drag their kids to such a thing but now I know, Mom's who deliver their kids in the Triangle area. A staff member called a few weeks ago and asked if David could come in. She started explaining the study and when she mentioned computer screens, numbers and counting I asked her if she meant to see my three year old instead. But no, she meant David and was thrilled to know that I also had a three year old and hoped I could bring them both. So today was the day and it was actually a neat program. David sat in a high chair in front of three computer screens and watched a bunch of white dots flash on each screen. They were trying to prove that infants know quite a bit about numbers although they can't communicate it. One screen had more dots than the others so they expected him to look at that one more, or something along those lines. I'm not really sure what Drew was asked to do because I wasn't invited into the testing room. I could hear them talking a lot about numbers and I heard Drew count a few times. I also heard him interrupt her to talk about dinosaurs, his baby brother and all of the characters in Madagascar. Actually, she must have had some toy monkeys in the room because she and Drew were both talking about monkeys and then Drew started talking about the monkeys in Madagascar. That led to discussions about Melman, Gloria, Alex and the rest of the clan. All in all I guess the boys were helpful in the study. The researcher said they did great and she gave David a bib and let Drew pick out a toy from the toy box. He had a hard time choosing (they had some awesome stuff!) but decided on a Star Wars lightsaber. I think Drew is a tad smarter just from being in the study or maybe from just walking around the Duke campus. He was playing with a "telescope" (paper towel roll) when we got home and said he wanted two telescopes. When I told him we only had one he said, "Then I'll get my scissors and make two" and that's what he did. I was pretty impressed as I watched him cut the roll in half. I've included a few pictures from this week although I haven't taken many...

David took full advantage of the toys they had in the waiting room while Drew was with the researcher.
Heavy load!

George and David cheering on the USA!

Drew jammin'.