First Day of 3K!!!

Yesterday was Thomas's first day of 3K at Highland Park. He even did car line drop off and pick up! He was so excited to go with his new book bag they gave him, and to take a snack. I think the reason he did not seem to hesitate was the car and truck drawer he discovered at open house on Tuesday. Once we got his pants on with the tag in the back, we headed out the door. As you can see, Lily was not excited to see him leave. She kept calling his name, especially when we were in the car without him. He chose to go to CiCi's for his back-to-school dinner - and he was excited about his new blue Corvette. Mom survived the day okay, too :) And, Lily was quite the character at dinner.

The many faces of Lily

These are just some sweet pictures of our little girl....I am overwhelmed by how quickly she is growing. I am also amazed by all the funny different faces she makes.

Dino Pool

Gran and Papa gave Thomas this pool last Christmas, and Jeremy got it out when I was in Savannah. It is the perfect size for Thomas and Lily right now. He likes to stand on the outside and jump in. So, not to be outdone, Lily jumps up and lands on her bottom every time he jumps in. Then they both crack up. It is pretty cute. They also really liked using the plastic slide as a water slide.

Chubby Gang

Jeremy apparently stayed in Japan too long, because he decided it would be a good idea to buy Lily a t-shirt from the Chubby Gang store! It looks like it has a playing card with skeletons on it and says Chubby Gang across the front. I do have to give him credit, though. At least he bought a great fall color, and she somehow pulls off the look. I think it helps that it fits so tightly on her belly, so it makes the Chubby Gang thing cute for a 16 month old.

I Need to Practice Falling Down...

Sorry the video post isn't working. We will try to correct that soon.
So, here are some pictures in the meantime...
We took Thomas back out for a ride on his balance bike. He decided he should "practice falling down" so he wouldn't get hurt! It was so funny to watch him do this in the driveway! I think he just wanted to see how the pads and helmet work without actually hurting himself. He is doing great with picking his feet up and coasting down the street.

Thomas and the Balance Bike

We are pretty impressed with Thomas and his balancing act. This is only the second time he has played with his bike for more than two minutes in the driveway. He wanted to ride it all the way around the block. He insisted on wearing his knee and elbow pads since they are HotWheels like his helmet from Santa. He is much more daring than I expected!

A Weekend with Cousins

We went to Augusta this past weekend to hang out with Gran, Papa, Uncle Robbie, Aunt Kelli, Walker, Uncle Stan, Aunt Kim, Trace and Davis.

We attempted to let Thomas and Walker share the queen size bed in Thomas's room. We'll just say that after many giggles and lectures, they fell asleep in separate beds around 11 p.m. The next night went slightly better after the long day of swimming. I will say that they were not whiny or out-of-control at all until late afternoon Sunday, which was so impressive!



Jeremy's parents were out-of-town, so we took care of their pool and warm tub (translation: hot tub set at 97 degrees) for them. Thank you for the use of your house, Steve and Debbie! The kids (and adults) had a blast! Everyone swam, ate pizza outside, and loved the hot tub with the bubbles.



Love little D's muscle pose...



Thomas likes to wear his goggles to look under the water, but then he puts them on his cheeks when he is above water. Such a silly, random little boy...



After a long day of swimming, some of us went to Rhineharts where Lily decided Papa was her new best friend. She spent the entire weekend attached to him and calling his name constantly. It looks like he didn't mind too much...



After dinner, Robbie and Kelli decided it would be a good idea to take Thomas and Walker to McDonald's for ice cream cones that they let them eat in the van. Once back at Steve and Debbie's, we let them finish them outside. I think you can see why....



Love this one of Walker's profile. He is so serious about this cone...


We hosed them down afterward and took their clothes straight to the washing machine.

Eating Habits of Two Different Children

Here is a picture of what Thomas ate the other night in Columbia....




And here is one of what Lily ate....




Thomas had spring rolls, potstickers, sesame chicken, brocolli, tuna nigiri....Lily had nothing! I cannot believe how picky she is. What kid doesn't at least eat chicken?!

Airport Tour

One of the moms groups here arranged for a tour of the airport. Thomas was so excited to see the Honda ATV inside, the rescue fire truck, sit in an airport rescue truck, and check out the landing gear of the plane up close! He loved the new Ford rescue truck and seeing where the landing gear doors were that hide the gear when in the air. He even touched a wing! Lily just hung out in the stroller and watched all the 59 kids and 32 moms run around!! Sorry there aren't more pictures from this, but my camera died. I am hoping to get more from Liz soon (hint, hint if you are reading this ;) ).

National Night Out and a Rough Dental Visit

We took Thomas and Lily to National Night Out last week so Thomas could see the fire trucks, police vehicles, ambulances, and get some free things. He was so excited! Very timid around the big trucks, but excited to be there and see Snoopy. He even got to sit in the driver seat of the fire truck. Lily had a great time once she was able to get out of the stroller. She discovered how my water bottle worked, and was content for the rest of the night. It was incredibly hot, but they were troopers. Even Lily's hair was wet from being so sweaty, but Thomas still jumped in the inflatable dinosaur.

Thomas had his third dentist visit Thursday, and it did not go well. It seems like each visit has slowly gone worse than the previous one. For some reason, he was too scared for the hygenist to use the electric toothbrush, and barely let her floss his teeth. I did get a cute picture of him with his "sunglasses" on before panic set in. I think we will have to talk it up more before his February appointment. Lily, however, was so grateful for her new toothbrush that I opened there. She sat right in the chair and brushed her teeth while we waited for the dentist to come see Thomas. I'm not sure why she likes this new toothbrush more than the one she already had, but we are so glad that she enjoys having her teeth brushed now.

Melmo and Our Mealtime Routine

Lily has discovered a stuffed Elmo in our house. She loves to point out his giant nose, hug him, and shout "Melmo" every time she sees him. It is very endearing. Today I let Thomas watch Sesame Street, and she was so excited to discover that Elmo lives somewhere besides on her diapers and in stuffed form. Then, she quickly returned to reading her books and loving on her new Snoopy we won.



Just a little peek into our dining world. First of all, you will notice that there are two vehicles on the table. One is "watching" Thomas eat, and the other is "watching" Lily. Thomas has had someone watching him eat, as he calls it, for about a year or so now. We only allow one vehicle on the table, but our smart little guy has figured out that if he has one for Lily, we will let him have two. We are suckers for anything where he shares with his little sister. Also, you will see Lily's red flower in her hair. She likes to wait until her hands are super sticky, then decides to take her bow out of her hair while she is eating. So, now she has this red "highchair bow" that we switch for every meal and snack. Thomas was allowed to have fruit snacks today, which has become a rare treat, so he had a great day.


The Sunday after Jeremy got back from Japan, he decided we should go somewhere for some family time. We went to Woods Bay State Park about 30 minutes south of Florence. It is a swampy area with black water, snakes, alligators, and no rails on the boardwalk. I'm sure you can guess how I felt about it with two young kids. You can also tell how unsure Thomas was of the situation if you notice that he doesn't seem to ever take his eyes off the water. We didn't stay long because the bugs were pretty bad and the trails weren't stroller friendly. Still a great day, though. We were just so incredibly happy to be our family of four again.

Sleepy Bears, Fifths Disease, and another Children's Museum

I just love both these pictures of the kids sleeping. Lily's little face is so chubby and soft! I love that baby look. And, Thomas is just his typical sleeping self. I'm not sure why he was sleeping in our bed that day, but it cracks me up that Pokey is across the bed and he is sleeping upside down.



Lily developed a horrible rash the afternoon after the children's museum. We were relieved to hear that she didn't pick something scary up in Lumberton (wink, wink), but found out it was Fifth's Disease instead. It didn't bother her any, but it certainly scared us a good bit.





This was the first children's museum we visited. It is a much smaller scale than EdVenture in Columbia, but Thomas could have cared less. He had a great time with the fire truck, water play, riding the animals, and grocery shopping. I'm not sure what his fascination is with that since they don't give free cookies away at this store!