Drew's Birthday

Drewby is 4! If you ask him he will say, "I'm already four and next time I'll be five and I'll have a Star Wars birthday." He is already past this birthday and looking on to the next. He's growing up too fast. He had a great birthday celebration spanning over two weeks. CC and Day Day spoiled him with presents and a shopping trip while they were here for Thanksgiving. Then he and I went to see Disney's Toy Story on Ice December 9th with two of his buddies and their Mom's. Me-Ma arrived on the 10th with gifts galore and we celebrated his birthday before George and I left for the Key West wedding. Yep, we were gone for his actual birthday (the 12th). Ouch! Sweet Aunt Cristie came to get him and took him to see the movie Tangled on his birthday. Mae Mae also stopped and he got to play with Me-Ma so he had a great day despite our absence. We returned on the 13th and his birthday party was on the 14th. He wanted to have his party at an inflatable play place, The Jump Zone, and I am so glad he did! I didn't have to do a thing except bring the cake. How easy! He and 21 pals played, jumped and had a blast before finishing up with pizza and cupcakes. Drew said over and over that he loved his party very much. I am happy that he was happy. Happy 4th birthday to my darling, bright and funny best buddy! You are loved very, very much!

Drew and I at Disney on Ice. That cotton candy and Buzz hat cost me $10 just in case you are wondering. Cake on December 10th.

More!

Silly boys after too much sugar.

Cristie and I with sweet David at The Jump Zone.

David liked the tot area. He also liked trying to escape :)

The group! I think 21 out of the 22 sat for the photo. Not bad.

Drew in his inflatable king chair!

Spider man cupcake cake (thank you Sam's Club!) Happy Birthday buddy!

During his 4 year check-up. He thought wearing the gown with only underwear underneath was a riot. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the appointment. He was silly! When asked if he could hop on one foot he not only showed the Doctor that he could but he continued to do it around and around the exam room. When she mentioned that he was muscular he decided to stop hopping so he could flex his muscles for her. Good grief. The Doctor was nice and looked like she got a kick out of Drew.

More Catch Up: Key West

We were only home from Mexico a few days before we headed to Key West. Our friend, Ward, got married there on December 11th. Ward is our dear friend who took us in following Hurricane Katrina. Although we were friends before, the three of us (and Bailey too!) became much closer those few months as roommates. Don't get me wrong, Katrina was a horrendous experience, but George and I always think fondly of Ward and the fun we had living with him when we think back to the Fall of 2005. We were thrilled to hear that he was getting married and we were excited to go to Key West for the big day! The wedding was absolutely beautiful and it was a really fun weekend. The ceremony took place on a pier and the reception was on the beach. It was lovely and Ward and his beautiful wife Melanie were the happiest two people on earth! Congratulations Mr & Mrs Wyatt! Thank you for including us. We were so happy to be there! Sightseeing in Key West was great too! I loved that we were able to walk everywhere and it was pretty awesome that we enjoyed two days of mid 70's weather. Judy stayed with the boys and besides the nasty cold weather which kept them indoors, she said everything went well. Thank you so much Me-Ma!!! It wasn't our intention to take two trips back to back but that's how it ended up and we are so grateful for our Mom's who took care of the boys!

Drew was a pirate with a peg-leg this day. Just being a pirate wasn't enough. First he had his leg in an empty paper towel roll (all his idea) but it ripped so he got construction paper, taped it and hopped around. He cracks me up.

David never misses a beat so of course wanted to get in on the dress-up action. He makes a pretty darling Buzz!

Touring Key West. Here I am at the Southernmost Point of the United States. Pretty neat!

Heading down the pier before the wedding. It was absolutely gorgeous!

Us with the happy couple, Ward and Melanie.

We went out on Duval Street after the wedding.

Catch Up: Thanksgiving & Mexico

If I have any regular readers, you are probably wondering what happened to the blog. We have been out of town twice since Thanksgiving so I am finally getting around to catching up on some posts. We spent Thanksgiving in Myrtle Beach with Judy, my folks and the Watson's. We went down on Thanksgiving day after I ran in the Cary Turkey Trot 8K. The boys were very sweet to brave the frigid temps and cheer me on! Thanksgiving weekend was great! We were spoiled with two delicious Thanksgiving meals; a traditional one on Thursday and a casual one (cajun fried) on Friday. The weekend went by quickly, especially since our family headed home on Saturday. We wanted to have Sunday to get ready for our trip to MEXICO!!!! George and I were beyond thrilled to sneak away for four whole nights! My Mom stayed here with the boys and we went to an an all-inclusive resort in the Rivera Maya. It was fabulous! The resort, staff, food and accommodations were even better than we expected. It was just the right amount of time away too. We hated to leave the warm weather and relaxing environment but were excited to get back to the kiddos. I'm sure my Mom was excited too! She handled it like a champ but I know first hand how much work it is and I'm sure she was happy for us to return. Thank you CC!!! We love you!

Whitley and Drew during Thanksgiving dinner. Drew wanted to wear a tie because he said he needed to look handsome for Thanksgiving.

David was tuckered out and fell asleep while watching football.

Mexico...
Doing what we went to do! Relaxing in the sun!

Me too!

Water aerobics! I felt the need to participate since all we did was lay around and eat the entire trip. I quickly realized I was probably better off lounging since there wasn't much more exercise going on in the class. I think George got the better workout while laughing at me :)

Just had to make fun of myself a little bit and share this... I took part in a beer drinking contest and got beat by the lady in the black, blue and green bathing suit. Yeah, the old one. George still hasn't stopped laughing about it! I have to say, the lady was incredible! I thought I had it in the bag. Heck, I love beer. Guess, she loves it even more and has a few more years of experience under her belt.

George lovin' life (and the swim-up bar)!

We went to Playa Del Carmen one day and walked around. It was fun to check out the shops.

During our last dinner. We ate and ate and ate on the trip. We were surprised by how good the food was. The guacamole was out of this world and we've been craving it constantly since our return.

George and a yummy soup trio.

More Fall Fun!

November flew by of course! Everyone was sick once or twice but we also had some fun. I have pictures from random things so I'll share the stories as they go....

Drew dressed and ready for another pirate treasure hunt. We go on at least three or four a week. Halloween costumes year round? Sure, why not! Drew and his classmates during their Thanksgiving parade. Luck would have it that George was out of town for the family feast and David was pretty darn sick. I couldn't miss it because Drew would have been crushed so I dragged David, a ham and a dozen rolls to his preschool. I felt bad bringing a sick baby to school but he was so clingy that there was zero chance a germ was getting near anyone but me. Drew took full advantage of the situation by eating three rolls and two desserts for lunch...nice! He knew I couldn't do much about it with pitiful David in my arms. It was a nice event and could have been fun. Oh well. Maybe next year!

David having dinner with our friend Harrison. Drew wouldn't put down the toys long enough to eat so he missed the picture. Isn't Harrison a cutie?

Running around the house mostly naked with a balloon. What's not to love about that?

Flying by!

McDonalds! We haven't eaten fast food in awhile because I can't bear the play areas. David thinks he's five years old when he gets in one which means I have to climb, slide and wiggle through tight spaces to keep him from getting hurt. After getting stuck in the top of the cow car at Chick-Fil-A wearing a short skirt (I'm sure the other folks there are still talking about that!) a few months ago I vowed to never go again until David is ready to play solo. We were running errands on the other side of town the other day when I spotted a McDonalds without a play area. Score!

Drew and his buddy Peter having ice cream on the porch. I will be so glad when our neighborhood is complete and the ice cream truck stops coming through for the construction workers. The driver blares the music so loudly that it's impossible to ignore his arrival. I usually tell Drew to forget it but he and Peter had been playing so nicely and quietly (which meant I got a ton of things done!) so I figured they deserved a treat.

Boys Playing

Here's a video of the boys playing together. At first David was playing with that toy while Drew played with his own toys but when Drew realized what fun David was having he had to butt in and take over. I often feel a little bad for David because Drew is so bossy. You can see that Drew wants David to do exactly what he has in mind, even if that means grabbing his head and forcing him to do so! David doesn't seem to mind though and loves when Drew plays "baby" toys with him. I think they are cute sitting in the same position!

Fall Fun

We've done a few fun things this Fall that haven't fit into other blog posts. Here's some pictures....

We went to the North Carolina State Fair a few weeks ago. It's a big deal here but I can't say I was impressed much. There were a few neat things but for the most part, we just walked around people-watching and eating. After trying just about every fried food they sold, I announced to George that the food was gross. When he asked me what I expected, I replied, "Food like Jazz Fest." We got a big laugh! It was a far, far cry from Jazz Fest!
David's first corndog! I had to remove the breading because it was so thick and greasy and he still had a stomachache the next day, poor little guy!

The petting zoo was definitely the highlight of the night!

David petted every animal. We were holding up the line big time!

Here's Drew at the park at his preschool. I went to his Harvest Party and had a ball with him. We went on a hayride, played lots of fun games, did crafts and ate yummy treats! Drew was very proud to have me in his classroom and I was proud of him too!

David making his nightly mess! He eats dinner so fast that many nights we give him a popsicle to kill time while we finish eating. He loves that treat!

Drew after lunch one day.

Our crowd at the ECU/Navy game. George and I went to Greenville last weekend to tailgate with friends, go to the game and spend the night. The weather and game were horrible but we had a good time catching up with friends! Drew spent the night with Aunt Cristie and Mae Mae came to stay with David. Thanks to them, George and I had a worry-free time! Both boys had a blast too! Drew didn't even want to come home. I understood why when I heard about all of the fun things Aunt Cristie and Uncle Tom planned for the kids. Check out T's blog to see for yourself! http://www.whitleygrace.blogspot.com/ I was so happy to see Drewby but the feeling was not mutual. The entire way home I listened to him whine, "I want our home to be just like Cristie's home, I want our food to be just like Cristie's food (Easy Mac for dinner and chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast), I want our toys to be just like Tom's toys (Tom pulled out Star Wars toys from his childhood! How am I supposed to compete with that?!?), I just want to go back to Cristie's house.....Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" David was just as smitten with Mae Mae, giving her tons of hugs as she tried to head home on Sunday. Guess the boys just don't miss me as much as I miss them!

A Busy and Happy Halloween!

We had a busy and very fun Halloween weekend. The festivities kicked off on Friday night with a costume party at the Watson's. The boys were happy to see the babysitter, Natalie, and George and I were happy to head out for some adult fun! Cristie and Tom hosted a great party and were very cute in their pirate costumes. George and I wore their costumes from last year which we loved! Cristie made the saloon girl dress and did a fantastic job! All Cristie needs is an old bridesmaid dress (which she has plenty of!) and she can create just about anything! When we got home that night we quickly changed clothes and rushed next door for our neighbor's 40th birthday party. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow that night. Judy arrived on Saturday for a short visit and brought goodies from her recent trip to Germany. Soon it was time to get ready for another costume party. It was another fun party and another late night! Sunday was a lazy day at home until it was time for trick-or-treating. Drew has been so excited for Halloween this year and his enthusiasm was contagious! We all couldn't wait for it to begin. He was an awesome trick-or-treater. He was polite, darling and not the least bit greedy! I was shocked by David's interest in Halloween. We brought the stroller thinking he could just ride but he wanted nothing to do with that. He loved to smile, hold out his hand and then drop the candy in his bag. He was adorable!

Cristie and I on Friday night.
George and I on Saturday night.

The knight, dragon and princess! Cuties!

David is ready to go!

Whitley is too!

So is Drew!

David finally retired to the stroller and dug into his candy.