Dishwasher Jungle Gym

Well, as you can see Gwennie will crawl on anything. Last night while I was washing dishes, Gwennie decided that the dishwasher was a new toy. My mom said that I used to do the same thing when I was a baby so I guess it must be genetic :-)

Some Video from the week

Here's some videos we took this week.

Here is Evie and Gwennie hanging in the wagon.


This is Gwennie checking out Elmo



This is Christmas Dinner

Birthday and Christmas Weekend

This weekend Grandma Verna, Grandpa Mel and Nanna Susan joined us for the holiday. My father and I celebrated our birthdays (I'm 32 and he's 70 years young). Saturday we hung out in the old hood for a Block Party. These first set of pictures are of Gwennie and Evie enjoying the wagon ride.

Grandpa Bob, Nancy, Uncle Rob and Uncle David also stopped by as well for a visit.

Christmas morning we all had a nice meal, opened presents and enjoyed relaxing around the house with the dogs. We should have some video soon. It's loading right now.

Click here for pictures

Blyth Allan Webb

Our new cousin arrived on 12/17/07


Blyth Allan Webb

7 lb. 10 oz.
20 3/4"

Corbin and I went down to meet her on Tuesday and she's just beautiful and is such a good baby!

Much love to Mom Gini, Dad Russ and Big Sister Alexandra

Happy Birthday Grandma D

On Dec 4th my Grandmother Jane Dycus ("Grandma D") turned 90 years young. She is my father's (Mel) mother and lives in Orange County, CA. My Dad's side of the family all lives near one another and are very close. At the last minute my mom and I found some cheap tickets so Gwennie and I flew down to Phoenix for a long weekend and drove over to the party at PJ's Abbey which is named for my Aunt Peggy Jane (married to my father's brother Uncle Gary) and run by their son Gary. This is a little confusing but here goes...I have 5 cousins all of which I remember well growing up but to see them again was worth the 4 1/2 hour flight and 5 hour drive to California.

My oldest cousin Stephanie is married to Charlie and has 3 children...Mindy, Mandy and Trevor. Mindy and Mandy are both married with girls of their own. Mindy is mommy to Ava and Mandy to Emma. Stacey is next and she is married to Jack with their son Tanner who is going to be a famous major league catcher some day. Jody is married to Kent and they have Conner and Lucas (Luc) who are both hilarous and witty kids. Gary (or Gary Jr.) is married to Lisa and they have 2 boys Nicholas and Matthew. I met Matthew at the party and he was hanging out in the kitchen where I think he knows like the back of his hand. Last but certainly not least their is Carrie (who I grew up with as she is only 2 years younger than me) and she is married to Scott and they have 3 boys Carter, Austin and Logan...all three of which were tearing it up with mom on the dance floor. Here is a picture of my Mom, Dad, Jane, Gary and Peggy.

As some of you may or may not know, I have a half brother and sister (Jennifer and Jeff). Jeff and are both pretty busy but finally caught up again. I also got to meet his awesome wife Stacey and my nephew Max and niece Isabella (Bella)! Bella and Max owned the dance floor and were so much fun. Gwennie just loved playing with them and Max was enamored with her. We also got to catch up with Jeff's mom Sharon and her mother Grandma Edie who is also 96! The women in my family are unbelievably healthy (as you can see from the pictures!

We also visited with my Great Aunt Virginia who is 97 years young! Here is a picture with her and Gwennie. We all have a special place in our heart for Aunt Virginia and her husband (who passed away a few years ago) Uncle Charlie. She's just as sharp as ever and really enjoyed Gwennie climbing all around her.

When we got home we had a nice dinner with my Aunt Pat and Uncle Frank. They also kept Gwennie entertained and my Uncle Frank swears that Gwennie said "Dog" last night at dinner. We spent the rest of the night trying to make her repeat herself. Interestingly enough now when we say "Gwennie, where's the dog?" She immediately looks for Ginger and Ruby. Here's a picture of Pat, Frank and Gwennie.

We are happy to be home now with Dad and the Girls who had a nice relaxing weekend of TV, sleep and some much needed peace and quiet.

Click here for pictures

Who's this guy?

As you can see Gwennie was pretty interested in Santa. She really wasn't into looking at us at all. Here's some pictures from last night with the Fishers. Crawford decided Gwennie needed a sticker on her head!

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Calabash, Hot Dogs and Fries...oh my!

Well, this weekend we introduced Gwennie to one of our favorite treats (Calabash Chicken and french fries from Fatz Cafe). As you can see she was all over it. Later that day Corbin took her to our weekly Costco run and let her try hot dogs which she also was a big fan of. I think it's so funny that she pats the table everytime she wants more. Wish she would do that for Broccoli and Peas!

9 Months old today!

Yes, we can't believe it either!!!

Rocking Horses

Monday we needed to occupy Gwennie so we put her on the rocking horse we got her for Christmas. As you can see she is concentrating so hard to stay on that she couldn't smile.

The Pressure!

OK...I know it's been over a week since I posted and I am already getting threats for more pictures. Here's a few from yesterday and today. The sunglass pictures were from yesterday and today she had her 9 month appointment with Dr. Neale (pictured with her below). He's so nice! Gwennie seems to like him although I think she's figured out that Dr Neale = shots so she sort of looks at him funny.

More Entertainment

This weekend Gwennie was a little grumpy so we found this interesting way to keep her occupied. Everytime she'd start to whimper we would play this game. I think in the end Corbin and I got more of a kick out of it than Gwennie did but none the less, it was another source of comedy!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving we headed down to Neeses, South Carolina to meet up with the Corbin side of the family (Corbin was named for his Great Uncle Edward Corbin - Corbin Edward Meek). There are 5 siblings and their families that all meet up together every year. Here is a picture of them from left to right. Iris (Gwennie's grandmother where her middle name Iris came from), Dot, Ed, Harold, and Irine. One thing that I found so amusing was that apparently they always line up in order of age. We all had such a good time and Gwennie was so happy to have new faces to look at and people to carry around and play with her.

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Bathroom updates and Monday Morning Stroll

I keep meaning to put pictures up from when we repainted the bathrooms. Here are some before and after shots. Disregard the fact that I completely forgot to fold the hand towels! Also, the before of the guest bathroom was right after we moved in so the first picture is a little cluttered with all of our moving stuff.

This morning we went for a walk down the street and played in the swing out back. It was pretty sunny so Gwennie wore her sunglasses. Sometimes it shocks me that we can put just about anything (hats, sunglasses...big snail costume) on this kid and she just goes along with it! I think she liked stolling around like a movie star...diva in training that she is!

Click here for pictures

Here's a video of her after the walk. The girls (Ginger and Ruby) are so funny...as you can see they turn their heads to the side every time we say the word "walk".

Jam-Packed Weekend

This weekend was pretty busy. Nanna Susan came into town on Friday afternoon and stayed with us all weekend to help Corbin and I prepare for Gini Webb's baby shower on Sunday. Saturday morning we headed over to get some professional family portraits done...well, more like took a few pictures as a family and the rest of the time was devoted to Gwennie's antics. As you will see, she's a much happier kid outside. Sunday we had a nice shower with a small group. I can't believe it but the only picture I took was of the cupcake tower before the shower started!











Click here for the professional shots

I'm 8 months old and I have a new cousin - Molly Gilbert!

Yesterday was a big day in our family. Gwennie is now officially 8 months old and at 6:50 AM, her new cousin Margaret Salisbury Gilbert (Molly) was born! Clay and Brandt are also doing well and you can check out Molly on their blog which is listed in our links under "The Gilbert Family". We are very excited to meet her!

Painting the Bathrooms

This week we are painting the bathrooms so Miss Gwennie took a bath in the kitchen sink instead of the bathtub. We also took a few pictures from this week.

Click here for pictures

Banana Gerber Stuff

This weekend Gwennie tried out some of those Gerber Graduate banana puffed rice snacks. Here's a video of the action.

Halloween Party

Happy Halloween! Tonight we gathered in the old 'hood and went to a party. Everyone was there! Unfortunately I didn't take too many pictures. But here are a few.

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Source of Continuous Amusement...

This evening Corbin came home to this....as you can see Gwennie's practicing her comedy routine. That toy is the alligator from the Loonie Spelling Squirties

Standing Up

Well, as you can see from this video, Gwennie has now figured out how to stand up on her own....and eat the stain off of the crib. She also has her mother's graceful balance and managed to bump her mouth on the edge (that's why we had to stop filming). Don't worry...no trips to the emergency room. Just a few tears and she was good to go again in a few minutes.

Halloween Parade

This weekend was the neighborhood Halloween parade! The local firetruck comes down and leads the kids around the block. Between maneuvering Gwennie and trying to keep her outfit together, I didn't get many pics. I took some pictures this morning of her in the full getup and she's also learned how to pull herself up in the crib so I grabbed some cute photos of that last night. I have a video as well so I will post that part later this afternoon.

Click here for pictures

Sooner than we thought!

If you read the blog two days ago you would see that Gwennie was pretty close to crawling. I had said she would be motoring around by next week. I spoke too soon...as of today she's got crawling down!
Here's a video of her crawling across the room. As you will see, she was more interested in the phone (typical, right?) rather than her toys!

Zoom Zoom....

Yesterday we headed to Costco for some formula and came back with a car! Well...sort of. This little contraption keeps Ms. Gwennie entertained for hours. This morning Corbin was pushing her around and left her behind me. I kept hearing the horn going "honk, honk" and when I turned around she looked at me as though she was saying..."hello....Mom? I'm honking here....push me around the house!"

Pretty close to crawling...

As you can see, Gwennie is getting pretty close to crawling. Hopefully in the next week or two she will have it down (on the other hand we really haven't baby proofed anything so this should be interesting!!)

Invasion of the Yip Yips

Invasion of the Yip Yips Part 2

You tube is being kind of odd...ready the previous post before checking out the above video

Last night Gwennie had the sniffles and ended up waking up around 11. We brought her into our bedroom and she was making the funniest noises. Corbin thinks she sounds like the Yip Yip martians (google and youtube are the best!). I have to agree!

Weekend with the Girls

This weekend was just the girls while Corbin was at a concert with Gwennie's Godfather Clark. We went to the Fall Festival at a church down the street with Crawford, Janet and Andrew Fisher.

Click here for pictures

Also - here is a video of Gwennie on her new swing

Pumpkins and Cold Weather

Well it is finally cold in the mornings now so Gwennie put on her hat (thanks Kiki) and sweater and was ready for a morning walk. We also headed over to the church down the street to take some pictures with the pumpkins. Gwennie wasn't too keen on sitting on the haystack (might have been the fact that she was wearing a dress!) but she was a good sport for the rest of the pictures.

Click here for pictures from today

I'm 7 months old!

This weekend was Gwennie's 7 month birthday. Saturday Corbin dressed Gwennie in her lucky Carolina onesie (thank you Matt/Michele) in the hopes that the Tar Heels would win their football game. Luckily it worked and they won 33 27, so Daddy was especially happy all weekend.

Here are some pictures from Ari's birthday and Gwennie

Happy Birthday Ari!

On Wednesday, September 26, Ari turned 1 year old so this weekend Corbin, Gwennie and I headed up to Owings Mills, MD to celebrate. The Eisgrau family throws a great party! As you can see Ari really enjoyed the cake!! Just wanted to get this pic up right away, I will have more pictures up later, check back soon.

Week in Boston

Last week Gwennie and I headed up to Boston to visit some friends and to do some work at my Boston GH office.

Wednesday night Parrish, Kiki, Rich and Jess came over to meet Gwennie. Somehow I forgot to get the camera out so no pictures...sorry about that! Gwennie really enjoyed meeting everyone and was pretty good given the late night she had!

Thursday night Gladys and Don came into town and took over baby duty. They are going to be such great grandparents! Gwennie loved playing with Gladys and Don and on Friday night when our flight was delayed to the next morning, Grandma Glad gave Gwennie a bath while Grandma Don handled taking care of Addie, Ryan and I (with some yummy dinner!).

Thanks to Addie, Ryan, Tyler, Gladys and Don for everything. We had so much fun!!!!!

Addie took some great pictures so check her blog soon for updated pictures.

Click here for pictures

Kanuga Weekend

This weekend we headed up to Kanuga for a church retreat. Don't worry...there was no weird chanting or holding hands...more like a weekend of meeting all the people in the church and lots of time to hang out with family. We were a little late in getting moving so Friday was more of a bust but the rest of the weekend was really fun.

Click here for pictures from the weekend.

There are also some cute pictures from when Ari and Gwennie took a bath last week.

Here's a video we also took a while back.

Yahoo!

Just wanted to share the great news! Our good friends in Charlotte, Mark and Kristin Bordeaux are expecting a baby in March. We are so excited for them! Gwennie is going to have another friend to hang with during the TarHeel games!

Yippee!!!!

Labor Day Weekend

This weekend our friends and family came into town to celebrate the christening of our daughter, Gwendolyn Iris into St. Martin's Episcopal church. Everyone had a great time together and we are all recovering from the food, food and more food.
Heather, Alan and Ari Eisgrau drove down from Owings Mills, Maryland. Clark and Nancy Spencer flew in from Bel Air, Maryland. Clark is Gwenie's godfather and Heather is her godmother.
Gwennie's Nana Susan drove up from Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. Her Grandma Verna and Grandpa Mel flew in from Arizona. Her Grandpa Bob and Grandma Nancy drove down from Hickory, North Carolina. Gwennie's great grandmother Iris, Great Aunt Nina, and cousins Caroline and Meghan drove up from Spartanburg, South Carolina.
From the area, both Nanny Jennifer and Nanny Brandi came over. Gwennie's "Charlotte Grandparents" Linny & Pops Brown, Mamma & Mamps Fisher and Crawford (who calls Gwennie BabyWynnie) as well as Linda and Stacey from All Wags (where Ginger and Ruby go to "school")

Click here for pictures from the weekend

Crawford's 3rd Birthday

This weekend we celebrated Crawford's 3rd birthday with her family and friends. Crawford is from our old hood and used to live next door to us. Most of you that have been to see us know of "Jandrew" - Janet and Andrew Fisher. Crawford is their daughter. Here are some videos and pictures from the weekend. Gwennie took her first dip in the pool at the bottom of the water slide! Click here for pictures

You decide

People always are telling us that the girls look like characters from movies. The latest is that Ginger looks like that flying dog from The NeverEnding Story and that Ruby looks like Sprocket from Fraggle Rock. You decide and let us know....

Mr. and Mrs. Leichtner

On August 4, 2007 our friends Michael and Michelle were married at Leo Carrillo Beach in Malibu, California. They had a beautiful beach ceremony with just family attending and then headed to Grand Cayman for their honeymoon. We are so happy for them!! As you can see the view was beautiful from all angles...mountains on one side and beach on the other. Congrats!

Crazy Pooches!

Those crazy pooches Ginger and Ruby had a field day playing with Gwennie this weekend. She is so infatuated with them both. Whenever we go outside she goes into hysterical laughter. Ginger and Ruby love to play with her too. Ruby seems to think she's in need of a bath constantly so Gwennie has probably got the cleanest feet in town. Ginger loves to lick her face after dinner to get all the extra veggie leftovers off.

Here are some pictures from this weekend

Choppin' Broccoli

Well...more like a puree. Gwennie's new favorite flavor is of all things...Broccoli! She just can't get enough of it. I will say that the diapers are getting pretty interesting now that she's changing the food up. So far her favorites are carrots, broccoli, peaches and beets. Here are some pictures from this week. The person feeding Gwennie in the last few pics is her amazing nanny Brandi.

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5 Months Old

Today Gwennie is 5 months old! Over the weekend she finally figured out how to really bounce on the jumparoo so that's her new favorite toy. I think in a week or two we are going to have to raise the level so she can jump higher. Here is some video of her bouncing around and also a video of her cracking up during bath time.

The Jumparoooooooo

We just got the Jumparoo on Sunday and as you can see Gwennie already seems to have a new favorite toy.

Family Lake Weekend

This weekend was the Webb/Duncan Family Lake reunion down in Lake Bowen, South Carolina. Everyone had so much fun swimming, eating, tubing, eating, wake boarding, and did I mention eating? We drove down Saturday to visit with everyone. Gwennie as just recently started teething so she was a little fussy but Uncle Robert (with Gwennie in the picture) is like the baby whisperer and as soon as he picked up the baby, she was so happy!

Here's my pictures from the weekend
Here's Lynne's pictures from the weekend

Ginger and Ruby's new buddy

This Sunday Ginger and Ruby had a play date with their buddy Comet (a labradoodle that lives next door). As you can see they all go to the same groomer. It's pretty interesting how similar the three of them all are. Comet and Ginger love to chase the ball. Unlike Ginger, Comet thinks its more fun to make you chase him to get the ball back. Ginger returns the ball right away and Ruby likes to get the ball just so that the other dogs chase her!

Here's some pics from this weekend

Gwennie also was a show off all weekend. She now likes to stand on her own. She's still pretty wobbly but as you can see from the pics we are in trouble soon! She also now does these hilarious belly laughs that I tried to catch on film. The first time she did it in the tub but I couldn't get the camera at the time so here's the video of her cracking up on the changing table.

Weekend of Fun...

This weekend we had a full house! As you can see from the picture there were 6 adults, 2 kids and 3 dogs all hanging out at the casa. Dave, Missy and Henry Dixon as well as Matt and Dara Gocke (and their wonderful pooch Ben) came down for our friend Miranda's art gallery show on Friday.

Saturday we hosted a cookout with all the rest of our friends that came into town as well as a couple of local pals. Overall (as you can probably tell from the picture) it was a fun weekend and by Sunday we were all pretty tired.
This morning Miss Gwennie finally decided to show us her skills at rolling over. Brandi was in the kitchen grabbing a bottle and when she came back Gwennie was on her tummy checking out the scenery. So we turned her back over and figured she might actually perform for the camera

Auntie Ashley!

This afternoon Auntie Ashley had a long layover and spent a few hours entertaining Gwennie with her cool tricks. Gwennie was very interested in Ashley's jewelry and spent most of her time chewing on her bracelet. Here's two pics of the fun!