Seeing Red?

04.26.2010

Have you noticed that the last 4 blog entriess feature Andrew in a red shirt? I promise he has other colors in his wardrobe - but he's a lot easier to keep an eye on when he's in red! ;)

Zoo Trip

04.24.2010

We set out this morning to take the kids to the Greenville Zoo. We were really excited about it. We were meeting our friends from Charlotte (well, Concord), Tim, Sarah and Avery, and just knew Andrew and Avery would have a great time. Outside the zoo is a public park and picnic shelters. We met there, let the kids play on the playground for a few minutes, and then huddled under the picnic shelter to eat. It was beginning to rain. We weren't surprised. The forecast was calling for rain. But it wasn't supposed to rain until later in the day and we thought we'd have enough time to go through the zoo before the rain came. We didn't. We sat under the picnic shelter until it was just too cold for the little ones and then decided we better come up with a plan B.

We ended up at Monkey Joe's. I had never been to one but had heard good things about it. It's basically an indoor inflatables park. And boy did the kids have fun. Little Andrew played so hard his hair was soaked with sweat! And little Megan had her first piggy back ride from Daddy! We had a great time and I look forward to having another opportunity to take Andrew to play again someday.

I took a lot of pictures. I didn't think any of them would turn out very good. (Have I mentioned I HATE my camera?) But I ended up with several I like - probably too many to post, but I'll post them anyway. Enjoy!

Sunny Sunday

04.18.2010

Do you ever have those days you wish you could bottle up and remember forever? I had one of those with my kids today. The only thing missing was Daddy who, of course, was at work.

After church, we grabbed a sandwich and headed to the park with Papaw and Neena. Andrew always has a great time at the park. He hated the sand in his sandals, but after a quick switch to his tennis shoes he was good to go. And Megan had her first experience with the swings at the park. She was hard to get a good picture of because she was looking all around, but she seemed to enjoy the ride. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the perfect kind of day to be outside. After the park we went to get ice cream. For Andrew, this made it the best day EVER. Then we went back to Papaw and Neena's for some more fun outside. Andrew held his first caterpillar, rode in his wagon with Megan (and no, there's not picture of that - bad Mommy!) and had his Papaw roll him around as he stood on a hand truck. I've said it a million times, but Andrew is all boy!

Being at the park, though a very happy time and place to be, made me a little sad too. We were at the park where we celebrated Andrew's first birthday. Next month, we'll be celebrating his fourth. Where did all that time go?

Dollywood - Trip #2

04.14.2010

Our second trip to Dollywood went somewhat smoother than our first. There weren't as many glitches as what we experienced on opening day. Our only complaint came after Andrew rode is new favorite ride - the bumper cars - twice and had run to get in line for his third turn. After his second ride, the attendants changed and suddenly Andrew wasn't tall enough to ride anymore. It was really a matter of the fact that Andrew was so excited he wasn't standing still and the attendant was unreasonable. Next time, I'll be sure Andrew has his tennis shoes on - I'm sure that extra quarter inch will make all the difference!

Our next trip is planned for early May, but here are some pictures from our last trip:

Andrew was ready to get to our room for the night. He needed to freshen up before dinner. :)

We let Andrew eat ice cream for lunch - homemade peanut butter ice cream, that is! We figured if we had to spend a small fortune for lunch, we might as well choose something he would actually eat!

I was really surprised when Andrew ran though the water. He hates having water in his face (which makes washing his hair a real joy, as you can imagine!).

Anywhere there's a train, you'll find Andrew! I imagine we'll be taking a ride on the Dollywood Express each time we visit the park.

Andrew loved feeding the ducks. His little giggle is infectious!

It's very hard to get a good picture of my guys on the bumper cars. It's in a dark area and they move entirely too fast for my stupid camera and it's stupid delay.

Exhausted!

Happy Birthday Ella!

04.12.2010

Little Ella Hoffart turned 3 on April 11. Not only is Ella our niece, but she's our Goddaughter too. And we are very proud of her! We had a nice afternoon celebrating with Ella and hope this was her best birthday yet!

9 Months Old

04.07.2010

Little Megan is growing up way to fast, but we are enjoying every fast-paced minute we have with her. She's such a good baby and we are so blessed to have her - just as we are very blessed to have little Andrew too!

At 9 months, Megan...

• loves to eat now and enjoys all baby food. She's ready for stage 3 food but for now we're adding cereal to her stage 2 food to make it thicker - she's not quite ready for the size of a stage 3 jar.
• moves from a lying down position to a sitting position with little to no efforts.
• pulls up on anything that's not moving - and some things that do!
• has stood for a few seconds without support (just once).
• "walks" wish assistance.
• throws anything that's in her crib with her in the floor - she needs room to roll around, and man does she roll around!
• HATES to be confined.
• LOVES to crawl a million miles an hour in the floor.
• responds to her name.
• lights up when she sees Andrew - she thinks he's the funniest thing ever.
• loves puffs.
• is a nightmare to change because she moves around so much.
• is beginning to sleep between 8 and 9 hours without interruption (at night, of course).
• smiles all the time and has 2 really big teeth (okay, they're not that big - but they're growing in fast!).
• makes lots of noises with her mouth.
• bangs her toys around a lot.
• is great at sharing her toys (what choice does she have, really?).
• loves to drink water - I'm so proud of that!
• is a really good girl at church and doesn't mind all the attention she gets at all!
• is finally starting to grow more hair. Maybe by her birthday we'll be able to use a bow!
• travels well and will make her first trip to the zoo later this month, followed by a trip to Tennessee next month (and of course, our annual beach trip in September).Is the most precious little girl ever. She's such a good baby. She has a mild temper and the sweetest disposition.
• is loved by all!

(Yes, I know these pictures need to be cropped. I'll add it to my "to do" list.) :)

Happy Easter

04.04.2010

The Easter Bunny came and left goodies for Andrew and Megan. They had just a short time to play with their new goodies before we headed to church. After church, we went to Old Fort to spend Easter with the Hoffart family. Andrew had a great time with his cousins and Megan enjoyed a nice long nap on Grandma. This was the first year Andrew really participated with the Easter egg hunt and he had a lot of fun. He also learned to play "Hide and Seek."

(This is Andrew counting for "Hide and Seek.")