Filson Has a New Girlfriend!

After hearing the exciting news this morning that Anna Leigh & Patrick's bundle of joy arrived in the night, Filson & I headed to Raleigh to meet Vada Rose Cunningham. She is gorgeous & at 1 day old already has a styling hairdo that many girls would die for! It looks as if they stopped on the salon on the way home to get her some highlights...she is so cute! John met us there on his way to VA & we also got to spend some time with Jay & Donna when they arrived from Iowa. It was such a great day & we are so excited Vada is here & as cute & healthy as she can be. You would never believe Anna Leigh had given birth just hours before, she looks amazing!

Congrats to the Cunningham's & welcome to the world, Little Vada!!

Who needs toys when you have Tupperware?

I am sure you are beginning to see a theme here, as the only pics I catch of him lately seem to be when he's going through one of our cabinets. He can entertain himself for long stretches of time, so I'm happy for that.

We returned Friday night from a long week on the road. We went to a friend's daughter's 1st birthday party last Sunday afternoon & then headed straight to Greensboro from there. We turned Filson's car seat around before the big trip, so it was an adjustment for him to be facing forward & able to see us in the front seat the whole time. I think this made it even harder for him to fall asleep in the car, being able to see mom & dad right in front of him & afraid he may just miss out on something if he dozed off! He is one curious little fella!!

We had a great night at the Clark's on Sunday. The Haldrup's were also there, so all 6 cousins were able to play together for the night. Filson loved the attention from Riley & Jensen and tried to keep up with Garrett, Holden & Reece. They are all so good with their little cousin. We hated that the family visit was so short, but are looking forward to them all coming to visit us for Filson's 1st birthday in a few weeks.

We hit the road Monday morning & headed to Lexington, VA for 2 nights. On Wednesday, we moved on to Charlottesville and stayed there through Friday. It was far from relaxing, as we spent the majority of the trip in the car, driving around hunting for a rental home. However, it was so nice for the 3 of us to get to spend the week together and we really had a great time. The hotel in Lexington had a beautiful, huge front yard which we sat in each night & let the little guy crawl around after his ball and wear himself out. In Charlottesville, we spent both nights at the downtown pedestrian mall, which is full of outdoor restaurants, shops, and people roaming around. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of luck with the house hunt. We hope to soon find a permanent spot in order for us to start spending more time up there with John & keep him from having to make the long trip up and back each week.

Our little guy was a good traveler & slept great all week. He hit the 11 month mark while we were on the road. We are also beginning to see signs of orneriness in him, surely of which were passed down from his father : ) He definitely knows the meaning of 'no', and seems to test us at every chance he gets!

John has to head back to VA tomorrow, and we're excited that it's a short work week & we'll all get a 3-day weekend together. Filson & I also hope to make a trip to Raleigh this week. We're anxiously awaiting the arrival of my best friend's first child who was due to make an appearance yesterday! Good luck, Anna Leigh!!

First Steps

I saw him take some steps Tuesday afternoon! He took off from the coffee table and took a couple, then continued to practice the rest of the afternoon. He took up to 4 at a time and also stood up on his own from sitting on the floor. Ready or not, I am sure it won't be long now until he's running around!

I am happy to say we finally had a good night's sleep last night! Between his bug bites bothering him & his cold, we had been up a lot in the night the past couple weeks. He had been sleeping so well until this point, and I was really not excited about this switch in his schedule!! Our baby-sitter was here last night & he went to sleep well for her around 8pm & did not wake until 6am to eat, then fell back asleep until 8am. It sure will be nice if he can stick to that for awhile!!

I'm adding a few pics from this morning. He has a huge curl over each ear and it looks so funny. He was in a great mood when he woke up (probably thanks to a night of uninterrupted sleep!) and went right to his new favorite toy....the blue Tigger ball his Uncle brought him Monday. He has had so much fun rolling, tossing & chasing that ball around! His other favorite hobby is still emptying the cupboards. I got a shot of him getting into the kitchen ones while I fixed his breakfast. I don't care how many fancy toys you could give that boy, I still think he would prefer to be emptying our bathroom or kitchen cabinets!

Hanging with Uncle Neil

Filson had a visit from Uncle Neil last night & enjoyed every minute of it! He loved playing with him & the new Tigger ball he brought.

The Little Guy is still fighting off a cold & dealing with a head full of bug bites, so his sleep schedule still isn't back on track. He did take 2 long naps yesterday & is down for another this morning, so maybe he'll catch up on what he's missed.

He is still standing on his own occasionally, his legs seem to be getting stronger every day. His dad moved the coffee table farther away from the futon & Filson is so proud of himself when he makes the leap from one thing to another. This video is pretty dark, but I think you'll be able to get the idea. He is big on clapping now, so claps for himself after this accomplishment!

Pool Day

Filson had his first dip in a swimming pool today. One of my friends from our play group lives in a development with a pool, so we met a couple of girls there. The pool was perfect for little kids & he loved it. He was able to crawl around in the shallow end and spent some time in a float. He put his face in a couple of times.

We have a pool party to go to tomorrow in our neighborhood, so he may get to hit the water again!

He's still trying to adjust to the quiet house with our company gone. He has not yet gone back to his morning naps, and I'm really hoping that he has not given them up for good!! He has slept like a champ any short time we've been in the car the last couple of days, but it's almost as if he's afraid he'll miss something if he falls asleep at the house. He is getting over his congestion, though, and has slept great through the last couple of nights. Hopefully we can all catch up on some rest over the weekend.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

A few more family pics

Evening boat cruise

Monday night we headed back out for one last trip on the water. Our friend, Eric, offered to take us out on his boat for an evening cruise. Our boat is not big enough for our entire family, so it was great to all be able to go out at the same time.

The Arizona crew had to head back Tuesday morning & John took off for Virginia. We are so happy they made the long trip out here & really had a great time. Filson already misses having Jaya & Sophia to chase after!

We drove down to Ft. Fisher Tuesday morning & took Filson on his first ferry ride. It was a 30 minute trip to Southport & was a great ride with a nice, cool breeze. We had lunch at a seafood restaurant on the water & spent the afternoon in the cute shops on Main St.

Grandma & Grandpa flew back this morning & it is very quiet around here! We really enjoyed all the company & spending the week with our family. Thanks to all of you for making the trip!

Sunday Funday

Sunday Grandma & Grandpa entertained Filson so the rest of us could take a boat ride to Wrightsville Beach. We grabbed lunch & walked out to the ocean & then cruised back through Mason Inlet. Anna Leigh & Patrick arrived Sunday and we hung out at the house & grilled out that night.

Monday morning the cousins all played together before heading downtown to meet John for lunch. We had lunch on the Riverwalk & checked out some of the shops.

BreAnn & Greg had made it to town after a long road trip to the midwest. We really appreciate them making the journey and bringing all the goodies!!

Sun on Saturday

Saturday we headed back to the beach. The kids all seemed to have a great time with the sand & water. I hardly saw Jaya out of the water all day, so I think we could talk her into coming back for another visit!! We were all pretty beat by the time we headed back to the house. After rest & Grandma's wagon ride, we went out to dinner. We also had worked up an appetite, so decided on dinner at a Nikki's Sushi & Steakhouse, where the Uncle's could get there sushi fix & the knife-tossing chef could entertain the kids at our hibachi table. By the looks on their faces, I think the kids were all pretty fascinated!

Fun on Friday

Filson, Mom & I went shopping Friday morning while the guys went fishing. We all met at Dockside for lunch. It was another gorgeous day and the view from the restaurant was perfect.

Filson perfected his self-feeding skills over the week, so each meal was interesting to watch him get a little bit smoother at hitting his target. He now wants everything set in front of him so he can do it himself. It does make dining out a little easier on us!

Friday night we headed to Mayfaire for the live music. The crowds everywhere seemed to be really down due to the heat, so Filson enjoyed having lots of open space to crawl around.

Cody's family arrived Friday night for their first trip to Wilmington!

Roe Family Visit

We have had a fun week with the Roe family here! I'll try to make a few posts in order to get as many pictures posted as possible. Mom, Dad & Ryan all arrived last Wednesday. Grandpa & Grandma took over Filson duty right away & let the rest of us go out for a childless dinner, which was much appreciated!!

Thursday morning we headed out on the boat & enjoyed a day in the sun. The weather was gorgeous & we practically had the beach to ourselves. They did pick the hottest week of the year to come to Wilmington, so luckily we were able to spend a lot of it on the water.

That night we all headed to our local hangout, Hamburger Joe's, and met up with some of our friends.

Play Group

We hosted our Mommy & Me Lunch at our house last Monday, June 2. There were 8 of us, with babies ranging in age from 3 - 11 months. It was great to see all the babies & Filson enjoyed having lots of people around.