Thanksgiving 2011

We were really lucky that Trey's Mom and sister drove out here to spend Thanksgiving with us! Trey was off on Thanksgiving day but was on call Friday and Sunday so the kids and I loved having family here!

There was lots of play time...

(Henry decided that underneath the dining room table would be his rocket ship and he was insistent on always having a "co-pilot" with him! His BB and Aunt Mary Catherine were nice enough to get down on the floor and play along!)



...and of course lots of food time...



...which always leads to lots of rest time! :-)

(Henry LOVED that Aunt Mary Catherine brought along her dog Deke. Deke was absolutely wonderful with Henry and was very patient even when Henry was probably getting on his nerves! Thanks Deke!)



And thanks BB and Aunt Mary Catherine for spending the holiday with us! We have so much to be thankful for including both of you! We love you! :-)

Speaking of Deke

I love this picture of Charlotte looking out the window at Deke. I am pretty sure this was Charlotte's first encounter with a dog and she was just fascinated with him! :-)



And no Trey this does NOT mean that we are ready for a dog! ;-)

Our girl LOVES to swing! :-)

Who needs a broom...

...when you have Charlotte around?! ;-) Her favorite places to find crumbs are under the kitchen table and under her high chair.

"Mom, it's called snack time!" :-)

Henry's Nap (or lack thereof)

Henry was really one of the last kids his age that we knew of that still took a nap. We would put him in his room but then it would take him 45 minutes to actually fall asleep. We would then have to wake him up because it got too late in the afternoon. This is what we would find when waking him up...

...curled up with his stuffed animals,



fast asleep on the floor and never in his bed! :-)



If he did take a nap, even when we cut it short, it might be 1030p before he finally settled down and fell asleep.

A couple of weeks ago during what was supposed to be Henry's nap time I walked in to check on him and this is what I found...

...Henry about to climb up on his nightstand!



So we finally had to cut out his nap completely which I did reluctantly. It can make for a very long day especially when Trey works really late or is on call. It means no break for me without one of the kids. I will repeat...VERY LONG DAY! ;-)

I will admit that it is nice to spend the one-on-one time with Henry while Charlotte is napping but that also means that not a single thing around the house gets done during the day. But the one HUGE advantage though? Both kids (and Bunny) completely out no later than 8p but most nights 730p! Whoohoo!



So okay Henry you win! Maybe you would take a nap if you took some of that stuff out of your bed?! :-)

2011 Family Photos

Our friend here in Columbia that normally takes our annual family pictures was booked for the holidays. So I was really lucky that a friend of mine from Winston Salem who also has her own photography business (www.boyandgirlphotography.blogspot.com) was able to do a session for us in Charlotte!

The session was at noon (i.e. naptime) and was 1-1/2 hours away so we were trying not to have our expectations high even though Leah is wonderful. We even realized afterwards that Charlotte had been running a low-grade fever due to teething so she definitely was not her normal happy self. Overall the kids did really, really well though. Charlotte was not smiling in a lot of the pictures but she was not fussing either. You will notice that in all of the pictures Henry was carrying a stick (i.e. basher) but we did not ask him to put it down because that is our Henry! :-) Leah did a fantastic job and we got lots of great pictures!







Thank you Leah for capturing this fun time in our lives! :-)

Sit 'N Spin

Charlotte LOVES Henry's Sit 'N Spin! She can now spin herself a little bit but she used to hold on and just grunt like she was working really hard to get it to spin! ;-)

Henry's Pie Celebration

The 3-year old classes at Henry's preschool hosted a pie celebration the Tuesday before Thanksgiving for friends and family. Each family was asked to bring in a pie to share. The teachers had the gym decorated so cute and each child made an adorable turkey placemat for their family members!

Henry was really excited because Trey took the morning off of work so that he could join in the fun. This was the first preschool program that Trey was able to attend so I think he was just as excited as Henry! ;-)



Henry and his classmates dressed and ready to perform!



Henry told us that morning that he was not going to sing and sure enough he did not! He did do all of the hand motions though. He and all of his classmates did a great job and their performance was definitely entertaining!



"Enough entertaining you people! It is pie time!"



The teachers do such a great job making every event so special and this was no exception! It was a really fun morning for all of us!



And Henry, we are so very thankful for you and for all of the smiles and laughter you bring to us! We love you Turkey!

Henry's First Basketball Game

(Stolen from Trey's Facebook page)

Youth ticket, $9.
Pizza, $3.
Bottled water, $3.
Taking your son to his first Gamecock BBall game, priceless.

Happy Birthday Trey! (Part 1)

Trey had a week of vacation in November which included his birthday on 11/11/11! We had planned to head up to Charlotte for a few fun-filled days but unfortunately Henry was getting over a cold, Trey came down with strep throat, and then I caught the germs at the end of the week. Needless to say we just rested at home instead which was just as nice!

On Trey's birthday we spent the morning at an indoor/outdoor fun park here in Columbia. It was a pretty cold day (by South Carolina standards) so we hung out at the indoor arcade most of the time.

"That is perfectly fine by us!"



"Charlotte, are we excited about the arcade or what?!"



Trey and Henry were in hog heaven the whole morning! Henry got to ride a motorcycle,



play guitar in a rock band,



and bash some monsters! ;-)



Charlotte and Mommy even got in on some race car action! ;-)



"That was fun! Can we do that for my birthday?!" :-)

Happy Birthday Trey! (Part 2)

After eating some yummy jambalaya for dinner, it was then Henry's favorite part of anyone's birthday...cake time!

By the huge smile on Henry's face you would have thought it was his birthday! ;-)

(By the way, Henry let Trey borrow his birthday king crown!)



Make a wish!



Trey made the comment that he was turning 34 and still didn't have a "real" job. I don't agree with that at all but no matter what you have a wife that adores you and two kids that think you hung the moon!



We love you so very, very much Birthday Boy! ;-)

Playing in the Leaves

Henry raking up the leaves in our yard...



We don't get to make many snow angels around here so Henry decided to make some leaf angels instead! :-)



"Ahhh, this is heaven!" :-)

THANK YOU!

I wanted to send a huge THANK YOU to my parents for all of their help these past couple of months! I am pretty sure that they were the only reason I survived the months where Trey was gone on interviews and Charlotte was sick.

Mom and Dad drove 8 hours for a weekend in October specifically to watch Henry play soccer. :-) And then Mom at the last minute decided to fly out here for five days to help with the kids while Trey was gone. She helped me juggle Charlotte's doctor's appointments while getting Henry to and from preschool. She watched a sick, puny Charlotte so that I could nap. Plus she watched the kids numerous times so that I could get out by myself which is HUGE! And then a couple of weeks later she and Dad drove back out here to watch the kids so that Trey and I could go to his medical school reunion! Whew! ;-)

So Mom and Dad, THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

We love you and appreciate all that you do and Henry and Charlotte loved every minute spent with their Memére and Pepére! :-)

5-Year Medical School Reunion

It is really hard to believe but Trey's 5-year medical school reunion at Wake Forest was held at the beginning of November. We were really excited that my parents were able to come watch the kids so that Trey and I could go!

These are the friends that you can go for months and years without seeing yet pick up right where you left off.



These are the friends that when you get together you know you will ALWAYS have a good time!



These are the friends (among others) that we are really excited to be closer to once we move to Charlotte!



These are friends that will be lifelong no matter how much distance is between us!



Thank you guys for all of the memories made this weekend! I had not laughed that hard in a really long time! :-) We love you!

"Date" Night at Sonic

The nights that Trey is not home can be very long so lots of times the kids and I will go out on a "dinner date". I give Henry a couple of restaurant/fast food choices and his hands-down favorite is still Sonic Drive-In!

"Mom, I don't get Henry's love of this place either! I guess the straws taste alright." ;-)



How can I say no to this happy, excited, covered-in-mustard face?!



I definitely miss date nights with my husband but date nights with my kids come in a close second!

The iPhone Master

My three-year old son knows how to use my iPhone WAY better than I do so there are lots of times I find pictures on my phone like this! ;-)



He makes me smile!

"Trick-Or-Treat"

The kids anxiously waiting to go trick-or-treating!



In the wagon ready to go!



While we were sorting through all of Henry's loot, Charlotte decided to sneak away a piece of candy for herself. :-)



One of Henry's most favorite neighbors, Mr. Tom was giving away body parts candy. Henry absolutely LOVED that!

What a large eye you have there Henry! ;-)



I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween with no tricks and lots of treats!