Who needs expensive toys?!

One of Henry and Charlotte's favorite toys is a plastic bin. I will fill the bin with plastic balls and the kids will pretend it is a ball pit.  Their absolute favorite though is when they take turns sitting in the bin and I pull them around the house.  (Good for lots of laughs, bad for my back!)

Or they will each have a bin and sit in them side-by-side to watch television.

They also use them to make funny faces. :-)

"Squishy face!"

Old-Fashioned Soda Shop

A couple of weeks ago we treated ourselves to dinner at an old-fashioned soda shop here in Charlotte. The food was delicious and the kids were dancing throughout dinner to the fun music. And of course, we had to test out their homemade ice cream after dinner!

"Of course! All of our meals end with ice cream!"

"Next time we should skip dinner and eat LOTS of ice cream!" :-)

Daddy's Little Helpers

We had a leak underneath our kitchen sink so Trey went to take a look at it.  Immediately he had two little helpers!  Henry had his light saber flashlight and Charlotte had a headlamp so that they each could take a closer look!  :-)

What can I say?  They LOVE their Dadda! :-)

Mmmmm....Ribs!

Trey grilled ribs one Saturday night and both kids absolutely devoured them!  I am not a huge fan (even though they were delicious) so I don't know whether Trey was happy because the kids loved them or unhappy because he had to share with someone else!  :-)

"Dadda, what's yours is mine, right?!"

Henry told his teacher a week or so later that his favorite food was ribs!  I bet she had never heard that before!  ;-)

Bedazzled!

Charlotte didn't think I looked fancy enough so she decided to bedazzle me!  Thanks Charlotte!

Our Charlotte Living In Charlotte

Whenever I introduce someone to Charlotte, the next thing that is always said is, "Oh!  You have a Charlotte living in Charlotte!"  Yes, we realize our daughter has the same name as the city and no, we didn't plan it that way.  :-)   

Our Charlotte is a go-go-go girl!  In fact one of her favorite things to say is "Go, go, go!"  The day before school started we were getting Henry's bag all packed up and Charlotte wanted to get herself packed as well.  She packed her lovey and paci in a backpack, threw on a hat, and was ready to go, go, go!  :-)

Charlotte is a great eater except when it comes to vegetables.  That girl can spot a vegetable within a 10-mile radius!  She does love dip, however.  At this point the only way we can get anything green or orange in her mouth is if it is covered in dip.  One of her favorites is guacamole!

I am not sure that it counts as eating a vegetable when it is being eaten with a chip but we take what we can get around here!  ;-)

Charlotte loves, loves, loves being outside.  She does not care whether it is 100 degrees and raining, she wants to be outside.  It is rare that we have a day that we don't spend a little time at a park.  

"I do love some fresh air!" :-)  

Charlotte loves playing dress-up.  I have had to lock my jewelry box up because her favorite thing was to dig through it and dump everything out.  She now has her own jewelry box filled with lots of bracelets, rings, and necklaces.  

Charlotte, you are stubborn, spunky, and determined.  You keep your Daddy, Henry, and I cracking up and you try to never let things get too boring for us around here!  You are our loving and beautiful baby girl and we are so lucky to have you as ours!  :-)  

A Day Out With Thomas

Last Sunday we spent a day out with Thomas the Train! :-)















Who is that peeking through? It's Henry...



...and Charlotte!  :-)



















We actually got to take a ride on Thomas the Train!  This was Henry and Charlotte's first ever train ride and they loved it!



















Henry thought it was really cool to meet Sir Topham Hatt! Charlotte could've cared less! ;-)



















"Thanks Dadda for making this morning happen! We love you!"

Festival and Dinner Out

One of our most favorite things about Trey's research year in fellowship is that he has weekends OFF! That means we get to plan fun things and know that he will be there! :-)

Last Saturday we met some friends at a festival in a local park. The weather was beautiful and the kids had a lot of fun running around and exploring. We all agreed that going to festivals with kids was a little bit different (to put it lightly) than when we used to go to festivals before kids. Port-a-potties, a poopy diaper and no changing table, breakable arts and craft booths, lots and lots of people, and tempting fair food at every turn made for four very exhausted parents by the time we left! Regardless, we all had a great time!

Henry and Charlotte loving every minute of their time with Daddy!



















Henry taking a turn on the inflatable slide...



















That evening we went out to buy a leaf blower (Exciting stuff, I know!) and we decided to stop at Jason's Deli for dinner.  It has been many, many years since Trey and I lasted visited there but we were happy to discover that they were still offering free ice cream!



Funny story - Henry got really upset when we got up to leave because we did not clear our own plates or clean up our mess. He was so confused! I guess it has been a LONG time since we had been to a restaurant with a wait staff! Hahahaha! :-)

"That Henry is one funny kid!"

Henry's First Day of 4-Year Old Preschool

Throughout the whole move the thing I worried about the most was Henry. I knew Charlotte was really too young for any of this to affect her too much. But Henry had close friends, a wonderful preschool, and a neighborhood and a home that he loved. Well I cannot even begin to tell how amazing this big boy of ours is. He has handled everything beautifully and really looked at all of this like a big adventure.

I was extremely lucky to find a fantastic church preschool for Henry. It is a large preschool (220 children) and is about 10 minutes from our home. The hours (930a-1p) are a little better than his old school because they start a little later and he stays for lunch. The classroom and curriculum are play-based but they are really set up to be more of a transition into kindergarten.

He absolutely loves school and is so happy every afternoon when I pick him up. His teachers are sweet and loving and he has already made a really nice friend in his class. We hope that this is just the beginning of a wonderful year!

Henry on his first day of 4-year old preschool...



To see how far we have come...

Henry on his first day of 3-year old preschool...



Henry on his first day of 2-year old preschool....



Henry, you are smart and funny and brave. You are kind and thoughtful and polite. Your dad and I often wonder how we were ever lucky enough to become your parents. We love you to the moon and stars and sun and back. Hugs and kisses that are glued on forever. ;-)

Welcome to Moe's!

Our love for the restaurant Moe's is no secret. I have blogged before about it. It is quick and easy and the food is good. It is the only restaurant where both kids will clean their plates. The kids can scream and act up and you just blend in with all of the other screaming kids. (Not that OUR kids ever scream and act up! Haha!) And my favorite part is that Tuesday is kids eat free night! In Columbia there were two Moe's locations within 15 minutes of our home so I was really excited to learn that there is a Moe's about 10 minutes from us here in Charlotte! Woohoo!

And this location in Charlotte is even more fantastic because there is a clown there every Tuesday night!

This clown specializes in balloon animals...



...and face painting! Here is our son, the "tiger"! :-)



The only thing missing is the Watts family. We miss you guys terribly! Moe's just is not the same without your company! :-(

North Carolina...Feels Like Home

It feels really good to be back in North Carolina. Trey and I lived in Winston Salem while he was in medical school and those years were some of our favorites.

I am pretty sure that these two fellowship years in Charlotte will be no different. Well except now we have a few more years of marriage under our belt and two crazy kiddos! :-) Charlotte is a beautiful city. People are really friendly. There is always something new to do...festivals, concerts, sports events. Shopping and restaurants are easily accessible and close no matter where you are. There are trees and flowers and beautiful landscaped areas everywhere you turn. And parks, oh my goodness, there are parks. At one point I counted six playgrounds in a span of 3 miles.

"What she is saying is to be prepared for LOTS of park pictures!"

Moving with two children was a challenge, to say the least. Their favorite activity was to dump packed boxes out and then play in the boxes. We were extremely lucky to have my mom and Trey's dad here the weekend of our move. My mom took the kids out of the house for several hours while the movers were packing up our home and Trey's dad was a huge help with the movers in both cities. Not to mention that my mom stayed for several days afterwards and pretty much did the bulk of our unpacking for us! It was a good thing too because at that point Trey and I were exhausted!

"A challenge? All we did was sit quietly and watch TV and did not ask for anything." ;-)

We were really lucky to stumble upon this rental house. We struggled to find a home in our price range that was zoned for a good elementary school. (Henry will start kindergarten next year.) If a home did come up on the market, it was rented out within a few days. We actually came to see a couple of houses one afternoon and when we called to see about renting them we were told they were already rented out that morning. Ugh! This home came on the market on a Friday that Trey happened to be in town. He took a look at it and then I drove up that same day to take a look at it and we signed a lease immediately. The neighborhood is beautiful with windy roads and lots of beautiful, old trees. It is zoned for a fantastic elementary school that is five minutes away. The neighbors are extremely friendly and really social. Our home is really comfortable with a big deck out back and a wonderful screened porch. We feel so lucky to have found it.

There is one thing about the home that has taken some getting used to though. There is no garage or carport, just a long driveway.

That means that these two sweet things just might melt in the rain! ;-)

We have been here two months and are mostly settled now. We still have some boxes to unpack and a storage unit in Columbia left to deal with but overall settled.

The kids have done lots of exploring and found new ways to give their mommy a heart attack...



...and we have located an ice cream shoppe close by.



What more can we ask for?! ;-)

It has been a while! :-)

It has been way too long since I have updated the blog especially since the last picture I posted Charlotte had no hair! Definitely not the case any more! :-)



So let's get everyone caught up! Trey graduated from his general surgery residency in June of this year. A week after graduation, he started a minimally invasive surgery fellowship in Charlotte, North Carolina. We put our home in Columbia, South Carolina on the market in February of this year and unfortunately it is still on the market seven months later. The kids and I were planning to stay in Columbia through the summer but after two weeks of living apart with Trey in an extended stay hotel in Charlotte we decided that was not a good plan. We found a house to rent in Charlotte and in seven days the kids and I packed up our home in Columbia and we moved 1-1/2 hours north! And even though it is a huge struggle trying to keep on top of two homes (Let's not even mention the bills!), we would not trade being together under one roof for anything.

I have missed blogging and I am hoping to post more regularly. Check back often for more updates! :-)