Early Christmas

Filson was able to practice his gift opening skills for Christmas morning. This morning we opened gifts from Mimi & the Haldrup family since we will not get to spend time with them this week. He received some great new things & he's getting the hang of the unwrapping thing. He should be a pro by Thursday morning! It was another unseasonably warm day here, as you can tell by Filson's stylin' wardrobe of a t-shirt, diaper, and snow boots. Our friend, Starr, came by in his go kart, and both John & Filson had to test it out behind the wheel.

You can make me sit here, but you can't make me smile

We went to the Farmer's Market this morning & saw Santa. Filson did not crack a smile the entire time we were there! He fell asleep on our way home, so think he may have been to tired to deal with the man in the funny red suit. I took a couple shots of him being silly on the porch this afternoon. We went on a long bike ride & played in the yard awhile. He's showing me his "beebo" (bellybutton) and playing with the lights, again. Keep in mind it is in the mid 70s here....yet he insists on wearing his snow boots. Guess they'll be broken in for our trip next week!

Busy Weekend

We actually had a couple days last week that reached 70 degrees, so we have been outside running around a lot. I see that it is supposed to be that warm again all week, so our bodies are sure to go into shock when we hit the cold Iowa air a week from tomorrow! In the first picture, Filson is checking out a few of our Christmas lights, as they fascinate him this year. Friday night we cruised around to show him some different light displays & as you can see, he was worn out by the time we returned home! Saturday morning we went out to breakfast with friends and then hit a garage sale on our way home where Filson scored this trike for $5! He would have sat on that thing all day if we would have let him. I'm not sure why he was so into it, as you can see he has a good foot to grow before he'll be able to reach the pedals! He & I hit a birthday party in the afternoon where he wore himself out playing with all his buddies from playgroup and that night he got to hang out with a sitter while John & I went to a friend's for a holiday dinner. Today he ran around with his Dad all day and they had all kinds of fun. John has to hit the road again tomorrow for a long week, so we are anxious for next weekend when he begins his Christmas vacation!

New Nephew!

We were thrilled to hear the news that Dominic Storm Roe arrived this morning in Scottsdale, AZ! We hear that everything went smoothly & everyone is doing very well. I believe he is 6 lb, 13 oz & 19" long and very good looking, of course : ) Congrats, Cody & Purvi!! We hope before too long we can make the trip down to AZ to meet him & visit his big sisters, Jaya & Sophia.

Decorating for Christmas

Last week should have been spent getting our house back in order & ready for Christmas, but instead all 3 of us ended up sick, so we did not accomplish much. Thankfully we just had bad colds & nothing worse, and everyone is starting to feel a little better. We brought home a tree on Saturday & John set it up & put up the outside lights. Last night we all began hanging ornaments & Filson & I finished it up tonight. He really likes the lights & loves to stand and stare at the tree. So far he has even been good about not touching it or trying to mess with the ornaments, but I didn't pull out any of our breakable ones this year, just in case!

Game On!

John graduated from Univ. of South Carolina & I from Univ. of Iowa, so we now know how we'll be spending our New Year's Day. We have never watched our teams face off before and I have a feeling John's New Year may not get off to a good start ; ) But I'll save up my trash-talking for game day!

Santa's Coming to Town

Friday night kicked off the Flotilla festivities and we headed down to Wrightsville Beach to see the lighting of the Christmas tree & Santa's arrival. Unfortunately, it began raining early Saturday & did not stop, so we missed the Flotilla festival and parade that we always attend over Thanksgiving weekend. The boys hit the train museum instead & had a great time & then met up with the older cousins to eat wings & watch football. Since we'll be spending Christmas in Iowa this year, Filson opened a couple presents over the weekend & here he is with his very own Thomas train & track from Mimi. He is having a great time playing with all his new things, but he's really missing having his cousins here to play with!

At the Beach

We had nice weather on Friday and headed down to the beach for awhile. The boys loved watching the fisherman reel in their catches & running from the big waves. There were lots of porpoises to watch as they swam along the coast. The first shot is of the twins at Thanksgiving Dinner & then some pics of our family at the beach.

Family Fun

It's too quiet at our house after a fun week with our family! We had Mimi here from Charleston, the Clark's from Greensboro, the Leeder's from Virginia/Maryland & BreAnn from Charlotte. Filson loved all the company & the big cousins to play with. Here he is showing off his new boots & table his Mimi brought him & enjoying his first Turkey Dinner. He's packing his boots for Iowa and hoping they hold on to some of that pretty snow they had this weekend!

Our Little Guy

On Thursday I watched a friend's 9 mth old baby, Ella. It was fun to watch Filson interact with her and they got along really well. He isn't that much older than her, but it seems like an eternity since he was at that stage. I can hardly remember the days when he could stay in one place for an extended period of time! He also began talking on the phone last week & I get such a kick out of him pacing around with the phone to his ear. He always has an expression on his face like he's getting some very important news. John was on the road all week, so Filson would get very excited every time he could hear his Dad's voice on the other end.

Table Manners

Filson is supposed to be learning to eat with a spoon, but he has found it is way more entertaining to play with it. Laughing & snapping pictures of him probably did nothing to discourage his behavior!

Visiting Friends

Filson & I spent yesterday in Raleigh at Anna Leigh & Vada's house. My friend, Amy, had brought her 2 children down from Virginia Beach for the weekend. Anna, Amy & I grew up in Mt. Ayr together & also spent a summer together in Japan during college, so it was a lot of fun to be able to catch up & see all the kids together. Vada is now 4 1/2 months & she was very gracious to the allow the 4 yr, 2 yr & 1 yr old come in and take over her territory & toys!! The kids were all so cute together, but unfortunately it was impossible to get them to all sit still & look at the camera at the same time! Filson had a great time & slept the entire 2 hr drive home!

Mr. Big Stuff

Here's the Little Guy stuffing as many cookies as possible in his mouth earlier this week. He loves eating his snack on the floor, as he suddenly thinks he's too cool for his high chair this week, which is why he's sitting in the big chair in the other pictures. In fact, he seems to think he's too cool for a lot of things this week. He recently stopped taking his morning nap, which is so not cool for mom as Peanut #2 seems to be draining the energy straight out of her. The missed sleep seemmed to bring on a terrible case of orneriness which was topped off last night by him breaking a wine glass on our floor. Luckily, today was much better for all of us! We did see a bottom front tooth popped in overnight, which makes 3 that have come in since the weekend & it looks like a 4th one won't be far behind. So possibly that's what's behind all the craziness?!?