The Birthday Boy

Our little guy turned 2 on Friday! The boys and I headed to Target in the morning where he picked out a new Matchbox Fire Rescue Station with his birthday gift card. He had a permanent smile on his face while carrying it around the store, much like you see in the picture of him holding it above. In the afternoon we had cake & he opened a few presents which included a new baseball glove & a set of bongos. We then headed to the beach for a little while where we watched boats come in from a fishing tournament. After some play time in the sand, we went out for pizza before heading back to the house. Filson & John watched one of his new DVDs, so it was around 11pm before his big day ended. With visits & birthday presents from Mimi & his grandparents this month & cards and packages in the mail from friends and family, I think our little boy enjoyed turning 2!

The Brothers

Sporting a Thomas tattoo on his hand while playing with his new train cars...I think he looks like a mini-John in this shot!

A new trick...his dad was teaching him some slick gymanstics moves over the weekend, and this is Filson's version of standing on his head

Big Brother looks a little guilty in this shot.... PlaygroupMimi made a quick trip up Monday morning to visit the birthday boy who will turn 2 this week. Unfortunately, the memory on my camera was still full, so I didn't get any photos of Filson opening his gifts. She brought him some great new things and there is a shot of him this morning playing with his new aquarium cars for his Thomas train set. It was so nice of her to make the trip up as it is always fun to see her!

Yesterday I invited the girls from playgroup over in the morning. I planned to take some pictures of all the kids playing together, but only ended up with this one. That may tell you what kind of chaos we had here. Including myself & the boys, there were 11 moms & 14 kids (ages 5 wks-3yrs) in our house. The boys & I were worn out by the afternoon & luckily last night both of them were down for the night by 8:30pm. I hit the sack soon after, and even with getting up in the night for feedings, I still felt somewhat rested by this morning. Today was a pretty easy going day playing at the house. John returned from VA tonight right before Filson headed for bed, and the little guy was very excited to get to spend a little time with his dad!

Visiting Vada

Tuesday afternoon the boys & I took a little road trip up to Raleigh to visit the Cunningham's. We had a great night hanging out watching the kids play & feasting on a delicious meal Patrick made for us. They have the most amazing garden & I loved being able to finally eat some of the yummy stuff from their backyard. Vada turned 1 two weeks ago and she had a lot of great new toys that Filson loved trying out. She is such a sweet little girl & it is fun to be close enough to get to see her on a regular basis. Yesterday Anna Leigh & I took the kids to a park near downtown Raleigh. It had a lot of great playground equipment, plus a huge carousel, train & boats you could ride on. Filson & Vada really enjoyed it, and Ian slept soundly in the sling the entire time. All 3 were out within minutes of leaving the park, so we headed back to Wilmington so I could take advantage of the boys actually sleeping on the car ride home. I had almost 2 complete hours of silence in the car, which was quite a treat! My camera ran out of memory space while at the park, but Anna Leigh has a lot of great pics of the kids on her blog (Hammy Days) which you can open from the link on this page.

1 Month

Ian turned 1 month old yesterday. We feel lucky, as he has been a great baby so far. He has really begun to grow & fill out. The newborn diaper covers & some of his onesies are getting a little tight on him. He tipped the scales at 9lb 4oz & was 20 1/2 inches at his check-up last week. It has been a month full of activity and the time has flown by. Yesterday he was dressed up to go to a baby shower at Wrightsville Beach. His dad & brother went out on the boat fishing & brought home flounder for dinner, so they had a fun day. I am sure if Ian had his choice, he would have rather been out with the boys than at the shower! I took his first picture next to his sock monkey that Nana Donna made for him. I'll try to get this same shot each month to watch how fast he grows.

Pool Day

Yesterday we met at my friend Melanie's neighborhood pool for a fun morning. Our friend, Stacey, is in town visiting from Utah & she was such great help taking Filson in the big pool to swim. Melanie has an adorable 1 yr old son & an almost 6 yr old daughter, who was like a little mother to Filson & he thrived on all the attention. I had a great time catching up with Mel & Stacey!

Last night John returned home & his cousin & his wife, Ryan & Lyne, came for a visit. They have been vacationing with Lyne's family in Topsail Beach this week & we were so excited they came on down to Wilmington to see us. They are so good with the boys, which is great to see since they are expecting a baby boy this fall!! They will be great parents & we are so happy for them! We hope they can come back to Wilmington & stay for a longer visit soon.

I also took a few pictures of the boys this morning, Ian seems to be filling out & changing every day!

Grandma & Grandpa's visit

Grandma's birthday dance with Filson

Gma & Filson blowing out candles


Filson & Ella

Trying on Grandpa's shoes

Rocking out with his new guitar

Ian's first boat ride

Ian at the beach

Yes, I made Filson wear the silly headband again this year!

Watching the boats along the Intracoastal Waterway

Brothers

Filson & the alligators

at the Aquarium

Grandpa & Filson enjoying the view at the Ocean Bar & Tiki Grill

Ian at the Tiki Bar doing what he does best

Who let Filson have that Miller Lite?? Grandma & Ian

We packed a lot of action into the past week and it is hard to believe how fast the time flew by. My parents flew into Wilmington last Wednesday afternoon and we were very happy to see them & to introduce them to little Ian. Thursday morning Grandma & I took the boys to story hour at the library while Dad & Grandpa worked on replacing more windows at the house. We celebrated Grandma's birthday with a yummy ice cream cake & then met some friends at Hamburger Joe's where Filson hit the dance floor.

Friday morning we did a little shopping in the morning while the guys did some more work on the windows & then they were able to head out on the boat for awhile in the afternoon. That night John & I were able to go to a friend's party while Filson hung out with Gma & Gpa. They hit an outdoor concert & then the toy store where they did some early shopping for his upcoming birthday. I think they were all 3 having a great time, John & I actually made it home before they did that night!

Saturday we headed out for Ian's first boat ride & spent the day on the beach at Mason Inlet. We had great weather & Filson loved finding fish & playing in the water. We enjoyed our neighborhood cookout/parade/fireworks show that night & were all exhausted by the time we returned home.

Sunday John & Dad were able to head out fishing during the day. That night we ate dinner at the beach & watched the boats cruise by on the intracoastal. Monday John had to leave for Virginia and the rest of us headed to the Aquarium after Ian's doctor appt. Filson enjoyed all the fish, turtles & alligators, but did get a little tired of being in his stroller after awhile! We stopped at a tiki bar in Carolina Beach on the ride home & it was perfect weather to sit out on the pier & enjoy the beautiful view.

We really enjoyed all the help around the house & Filson especially enjoyed all the extra attention. We were worn out from all the activities & all 3 of us slept for over 3 hours after taking Gma & Gpa to the airport Tuesday afternoon. Filson was very upset to awake from his nap & realize that his playmates had flown back to Iowa. Hopefully it will not be long before we can all get together again!

Tuesday night Mama & the boys spent our first night alone as John was still in VA. It definitely is going to be a bigger challenge being home alone with 2 now, but the boys were both very good. We have been so lucky to have had all the great family & friends come and help us out over the past month & have truly appreciated everyone's generosity!