Visit with Nina and Megan!

This weekend Nina and Megan came up to do a little shopping and stopped by for a visit. Gwennie literally could not stop moving and for 3 days now she keeps asking where they are! We also went solo without Corbin for 2 nights while he, Russ and Wheels headed to the Widespread Panic concert. As you can see from the pictures, Gwennie enjoyed her nightly ice cream and made a huge mess but thoroughly enjoyed herself! Hudson also is moving and a shaking! He's figured out how to turn over on to his stomach but once he gets there he doesn't know what to do! Here's a few pictures of the weekend and a video of Hudson showing off.

My Monster Truck Can Crush Your Dollhouse

Yes, that's right....Gwennie's wearing her Monster Truck T-Shirt straight from The Grave Digger's house where her friends Henry and Addie (and his parents Dave/Missy) got it for her. The shirt actually is pretty appropriate since Gwennie runs over just about anything she sees.

This weekend we just hung out at the house since the kids are getting over a cold and they also had pajama day at school so Gwennie and Hudson sported some of their nicer PJs for class. As would be typical, Hudson had a blow out on the way to school so his ducky outfit was switched out right away for play clothes. Gwennie surprisingly made it through the entire day with only a few spills on the shirt.

Last night before bed I snapped some pictures of Hudson playing in the tub and Gwennie/Daddy doing their nightly acrobatics.

Rally Day

Sorry for the late post. It's been busy over here to say the least. Gwennie sported her TarHeel gear in support of the game on Saturday and this weekend was Rally Day at our church so we snapped some pictures of all the kids playing around. I also took some video of Gwennie reacting to Corbin trying to catch a fly in the house and Hudson who is starting to giggle which we both find to be one of the best parts of our day.

Outer Banks 2009

Well, as you can see from the picture, we had a large crew come to the Outer Banks this year. Lots of friends, family, babies, toddlers, dogs and fun!! Between the beach and the hot tub/pool (and the amazing food) we all literally fell into bed every night exhausted from all the daily activities. All of the kids had so much fun together. Gwennie, Henry and Alexis motored around the house/beach/pool/hot tub while the babies - Clare, Addie and Hudson enjoyed the sun and warm weather.

Sunday we enjoyed the beach and the pool and Corbin/Dave took a shot at surfing for the first time in about a year. Baby Addie and Hudson chilled in the pack n play sport while the big kids ran around and Clark did some fishing.

Missy, Dave, Henry, Addie, GeeGee, PopPop, Gwennie, Hudson, Corbin and I all headed to the NC Aquarium (along with just about everyone else in NC!!!) for some indoor entertainment on Monday.

Tuesday Nancy, Jennifer and I did some retail therapy while my parents and Gwennie checked out the Currituck Lighthouse and Clark/Dave/Missy and Corbin were on kid patrol. Addie and Gladys arrived Tuesday night just in time for yummy Frogmore Stew Clark Style with steamers, shrimp, corn, sausage, potatoes and plenty of good food and great conversation!

Wednesday we were back at the beach in the morning where Alexis and Gwennie went sliding on the dunes and pretty much had sand everywhere! Gwennie has no fear in the ocean so we have to watch how far she goes. She loves to try to balance when the waves crash into her (which makes Corbin and I VERY nervous). Wednesday night Missy, Dave, Baby Addie and Henry checked out the Whalehead Club Wine Festival where Henry got his own kite! GeeGee, PopPop and Mimi (Gladys) stayed home with Gwennie, Clare and Hudson while the rest of us headed over to BluePoint for an amazing dinner!

Thursday was pretty rainy so we all laid low and played inside or ran out to the hot tub to check out the crazy surf.

Friday was another great beach and pool day and as you can see from most of the pictures, Tyler, Ginger and Ruby had as much fun as everyone else. Tyler would take leisurely swims in the pool while Ginger and Ruby would join him if a tennis ball was involved. On the beach the three of the dogs would run after the ball and each other until they were exhausted. Gwennie and Alexis also had fun playing in the sand/surf all morning. By the afternoon the dogs were pooped and so were the kids so they went down for a three hour nap! Friday night we got ready for the big packing session on Saturday morning when everyone said their good-byes and geared up for the drives home.

Overall it was one of the best vacations EVER and we can't wait until next year! Here are over 300 pictures from the week.

The Going to Bed Book

Gwennie decided to read me a story as a change of pace tonight.

Crawford Turns 5

This weekend we celebrated Crawford's 5th birthday bowling at Strike City! All of the girls had so much fun and were sporting their custom made "Crawford's 5th Birthday Bowlarama Ball!" shirts. The girls were so cute in their outfits and had a great time using different bowling strategies (that they all wanted to tell us about). Overall it was a great party and we all went home for a long 3 hour nap!

Also - here are some of Heather's pictures from the visit in Owings Mills

Yellow Ducks....Here I Come!

Today was Gwennie's first day in the "Yellow Ducks" at school and as you can see all of the kids seem to be having a wonderful time there. Luckily most if not all of the kids in the class were from her previous class (the Butterflies") so it was an easy transition. Her new teachers are wonderful and I know them very well. Speaking of which, if any of you have an in with the Panthers, please let me know as one of them is a HUGE HUGE of fan of Muhsin Muhammad and just celebrated 30...yes that's right 30 years of service at our daycare so we are trying to get him to come see her.

In other news, we spent most of the weekend in the backyard playing with the snake (thank you Auntie Hey Hey) and enjoying the nice weather. Corbin is really enjoying his paternity leave, Hudson is getting bigger every day and Gwennie needs a haircut so we are planning for that this week so she can actually see again!

A Visit to Owings Mills and Daddy Leave

It has been a LOOOONG week and as you can see from the lack of pictures, very busy. Thursday Gwennie, Hudson and I decided to give Daddy a break before he started his paternity leave so we headed up to Baltimore to visit Heather (Auntie Hey Hey as Gwennie calls her), Alan, Ari and baby Matthew. As you can see from the picture below, we were loaded up! The last time we were up there Matthew was all of 2 weeks old so it's crazy to see how much he has changed in 6 months. Gwennie and Ari were inseparable. They literally would wake up and want to see each other. Whoever was the first to wake up would walk into the other kids room and say "Good Morning Ari" or "Good Morning Gwennie" and then they were off and running until about 9 PM every night. Luckily Matthew and Hudson were good babies so we were able to keep up with the toddlers. Alan usually took afternoon duty and was amazing. He took them on walks to the park, played out front with them and was so patient with the crazy 2 year olds!

Yesterday Corbin started Daddy leave and had both kids in the house. Gwennie was worn out from her visit so she napped from about 1:30 to 4 and Hudson was equally exhausted so he chilled in the car seat and swing for most of the day. So far he's doing great and enjoying some much needed father/son bonding.

2 Months Old!

This weekend Hudson turned 2 months old and as you can see he's pretty happy about it. We had a nice weekend hanging out with friends and going to the pool. For those of you not in the South, it was HOT. Saturday was about 93 degrees and Sunday was about 96 so we spent most of our time at the pool or in the house with a couple of walks or stints outside in the backyard.

Friday night we had some chicken for dinner and I thought I would grab a few of the funny shots of Gwennie/Dad devouring dinner. Saturday afternoon our friends Mark, Kristin and Ben met us at the pool. As you can see from the pictures Gwennie and Ben really enjoyed themselves.

Big Meeting and Look Who Is Smiling!

This weekend we headed down to Sparkle City to meet some very important family members. Hudson met his Great Grandmother Gary, Great Uncle Bob, Great Aunt Nina, and his cousins Megan (Happy Birthday!) and Caroline. If you follow the blog, you know that Hudson's middle name Ross is shared by Nina and Caroline. We all had a nice visit (Gwennie loves to explore around the back yard) and enjoyed our time together.

Hudson also just started to smile this week (might be gas but we think it's when he's happy to see us) so here are a few pictures from tonight when he was in a great mood before bed.

We also had a nice visit with the cousins Gini, Alex and Blyth. Gini and I must have been having a moment of temporary insanity because we decided around 5 PM on Wednesday night we were going to take all the kids (that's 4 kids - although Alex is 7 and an amazing help!) up to IKEA to get a few things and grab dinner. We must have been crazy! Still...we managed to make it through the night but one funny story I will share - for those of you that did not read about it via facebook - was when we were getting a potty seat for Blyth (who already at 19 months is interested in the potty!), Gwennie saw the potty, grabbed one out of the pile, pulled her pants down and was in the proccess of "going potty" when Gini and I had to stop her and usher her to the little girls room. We both were pretty sure she would have done her business right there had we not stopped her!

Webb-Duncan Family Reunion

This weekend was the annual Webb/Duncan Family reunion weekend! This year we changed venues and went to the Pine Island Club outside of Columbia, SC. It was a perfect area for big gatherings - beautiful lake, pool, playground, shelter with LOTS of space and running water (not to mention the wonderful vent that pulled all the grill smoke out). We all had so much fun!! Gwennie and Hudson were pooped! This morning Hudson slept for 6 hours straight and Gwennie slept in until 7:30 AM! Overall it was great fun and we can't wait until next year.

On our way down we stopped for gas and you will see what we found in the parking lot...created by Bob Ford from Blythewood, SC!

Here are our pictures from the weekend

The Zoo, the Potty and GeeGee is back!

This weekend Corbin headed to his 20 year high school reunion (yes...we are that old!). I decided to stay home with the kiddies and luckily GeeGee was kind enough to come back to help out. She also decided that I couldn't make any more excuses as to why I wasn't potty training Gwennie so Friday to today we are on the potty track. For any of you that say your kid isn't ready...let me introduce you to my mother! It really is just a battle of wills. Gwennie is really starting to get it but it just takes diligence and patience. We literally spent 2 hours on the potty on Saturday because Gwennie refused to go and we refused to let her get up. After she went, all was good!! And I will say after that she now goes within 5 minutes of being put on the potty.

Monday we decided to get out of the house and called Gini to see if she wanted to meet us at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia. We love that zoo because there are so many indoor attractions if it gets too hot and the aquarium is amazing. As you can see we also spent lots of time in the Gorilla exhibit (air conditioned!) and the gorillas both just sat there and chilled with us infront of the window. Blyth and Alex loved to hold Hudson and we are looking forward to seeing them again this weekend!

Here are some pictures from the week. As you can see Hudson is wide awake now and Gwennie is in the fake "cheeeese" smile phase.

Hudson's Heart

During one of our visits to Hudson's pediatrician, he noticed a "noise" while checking his heart. We checked again last week and it looked as though Hudson had a heart murmur. His doctor reassured us that is was probably nothing but just to be safe he had us make an appointment at Presbyterian Pediatric Cardiology. We arrived today and the doctors were amazing (there is a reason they were voted Best of Charlotte for their practice/doctors). Dr. Hammill explained that Hudson does have a murmur but it is simply just that the chambers are so thin (because he's a baby still...they are about the thickness of a sheet) so the "noise is just the blood flowing in and out of the heart. Hudson is perfectly healthy and not to worry, the noise will go away in a few months when the inside of his heart chambers thicken.

This weekend was pretty low key. As you can see from the pictures it was as Corbin put it - "white trash weekend!" Gwennie was running around in a Thomas the Tank t-shirt and a saggy diaper on Sunday. She still loves Thomas and not much matches that outfit so we figured, go with the theme. I try not to say that my kids are amazing too often (well...actually I do all the time but sorry, they are my kids so I am biased) but Gwennie really is such a good big sister. Today she came in to tell me that "Baby Brother" was hungry and I needed to speed up the bottle so she could feed him. Then she held the bottle for him the whole time he was eating and after quietly told me she wanted her milk and headed into the kitchen to tell "MR CORBIN!!!!" that she needed her own milk. Our neighbor's daughter Stella calls us Mr. Corbin and Miss Natalie so Gwennie has taken to doing that....although I am Mr. Natalie which Corbin says is pretty appropriate sometimes!

A Big Thank You to Nana!

I meant to do this yesterday but as you can see the first day without help was a little crazy. Nana came up for a week to help out while Gwennie's school was closed for the week (coincidentally also at the same time that I had to go back early for a week at work due to some vacation conflicts). I am pretty sure if Nana wasn't there I would probably be committed by now. She took Gwennie to all sorts of fun places like the park, Monkey Joe's, the Library, the backyard (yes...I haven't ventured out there in a while...I don't do bugs).
Anyhow, again - thank you Nana for all your help. We miss you already!

4 Years!

This weekend Corbin and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary by going out to dinner. We realized the last time we went to dinner by ourselves was around the time Gwennie was born!!!!! Anyhow, it was nice to get out and we had a great time. Unfortunately on Saturday Hudson had some serious gas and was pretty upset all day so we missed our BBQ plans. Since we didn't have any pictures, I figured I would post some of Hudson from today and a couple of old ones from the morning of the delivery.

Nana has arrived and a visit to Lulu and Big Bill's

Nana arrived on Friday and was a big help this weekend. Saturday Corbin and I had our first night out so we decided to see a movie but were a little worried about leaving a crazy 2 year old and a 3 week old with Nana but she was great! All the kids were sleeping soundly when we got home and the next morning Gwennie actually slept until 7:30!

Sunday we packed up the kids, Nana, and all the stuff that goes along with kids and headed to Big Bill and Lulu's place for a swim (and so Lulu/Big Bill could meet Hudson). We had so much fun at the pool! Gwennie loved to sit in Richard's old rocking chair and Will (Bill's son) was also there and was a HUGE help in keeping track of Gwennie. Belle also provided wonderful entertainment with her "cleaning" of the chicken Gwennie kept dropping/feeding to her.

Overall a great weekend!

A Big Thank You to GeeGee

Well.....the week is done and GeeGee is back in Arizona. I don't think she realizes what a help she was but Corbin, Gwennie, Hudson and I and I do! GeeGee moved Gwennie into her big girl room, organized, washed and cleaned both rooms and pretty much kept the house running for the last three weeks. We already miss her but know she has to go home some time. So this is our public thank you to GeeGee for all the help she gave us before, during and after Hudson's arrival!

Happy Father's Day!

As you can see from the picture Gwennie wanted to give her daddy his father's day present a little earlier than he wanted to rise out of bed!

This weekend was filled with more firsts but this time with Gwennie rather than Hudson! Friday night Gwennie spent her first night in her "new room" along with just about every stuffed animal, pillow and blanket in the house. It took GeeGee laying down with her for a while but she slept through the night and now loves her new space.

Here are some pictures from this weekend.

Welcome Adelaide Elizabeth!

We are happy to let everyone know that our good friends Dave, Missy and Henry just welcomed Adelaide (Addie) into the world yesterday around 2 PM. Addie weighed in at 8 pounds 15 ounces and is 21 inches long. Missy and I commiserated together while we were pregnant because we both thought we were carrying big babies (which as you can see we were!). This is a picture of her proud big brother Henry and Addie chilling in the hospital.

First Week....

Well, we made it through the first week and Ginger/Ruby finally got to meet Hudson on Friday. So far they have been really good with him and Ginger seems to constantly check the bassinet to see if Hudson is in there.

We also had another first this week....first bath! Hudson is now over one week old and so far has been doing lots of sleeping during the day. Not as much at night but he's getting better. Hopefully in another week we will have things down and will be well on our way to more night sleeping.

GeeGee extended her stay which has been wonderful. She takes Gwennie to school and pics her up and I am pretty sure if she wasn't here I don't know what I would do. So a big thank you to my mother for all of her help!

More pics and Hudson's Name

Here are a few more pictures we took today of Gwennie with Hudson. She now wants to hold him all the time and actually is pretty good at keeping him close to her. She's still mastering holding his head up but she is very gentle and careful with him.

A few people have asked where Hudson Ross came from.

Hudson was named for my Great Aunt Hudson (we call her Hudsie) and she was named after her Grandfather so he's named after his Great Great Aunt Hudson and his Great Great Grandfather Hudson. Coincidentally, our cousin Richard is Richard Hudson Heatly so he's also named after our favorite jokester on Corbin's mother's side of the family.

Ross is an equally interesting name. Corbin's Papa (Grandma Gary's Husband Tom Gary) grandmother's family name was Ross. Papa's father was named Ross and Corbin's Aunt Nina and cousin Caroline both share the middle name Ross. So Ross is for the many wonderful people on Corbin's side of the family.

Introducing Hudson Ross Meek!

For those of you that haven't heard...Hudson Ross Meek blessed us with his presence Monday morning at 7:32 AM. He's a big kid like his sister and weighed in at 8 pounds, 15 ounces and is 20 inches long (Gwennie was 8 pounds 11 ounces so we have some big babies in the Meek household!).

So far everyone is recovering well. Mommy is a little sore from her C-Section so Daddy and GeeGee have been great with helping out at the hospital and GeeGee is doing a great job taking care of Gwennie when we aren't around. Gwennie loves her baby brother and thinks he's the bee's knees! She always wants to know where he is, makes an effort to be gentle around him and likes to give him kisses.

Here are some pictures from the week and a video of the kids.

First Haircut!

Gwennie had her very first haircut this weekend! She did pretty good considering we can barely get a comb through her hair without her freaking out. Here are some pictures from the day! Remember to click on the picture below to play the video.

Summer is here!

Saturday we headed down to Sparkle City to meet up with our cousins Rich, Lynn, Faryn and Kamryn....as well as to see Miss Belle who was very excited for the company (and falling hot dogs from the girls!). It was an absolutely beautiful day and HOT so everyone really enjoyed playing in the pool. A big thanks to Lulu and Bill for opening your house to us! Most of the pictures are of the girls as they were more entertaining than the rest of us but there's a couple of pictures of the big belly that I am walking around with (and ready to get rid of!).

This weekend we decided to check out the pool again to work off some of Gwennie's 2 year old energy. Saturday it was pretty cloudy out so the pool was empty which was great! Gwennie had fun running around the kiddie area and checking out the waterfalls.

Sunday we had a barbecue and unfortunately the weather decided to make any outdoor plans a little difficult. Fortunately everyone was a good sport so we hung out in the carport, kitchen, playroom and the covered back porch. Corbin smoked a Pork Butt which was a big hit and the highlight of the party was when a friend of ours who happens to be a police office came over to say hello. Jeff literally is better than hiring a a clown! All of the kids (and a few of the adults) were in awe of his police car, the lights and the sirens! Gwennie kept asking "where the lights go??" and Crawford could not get enough of Jeff and all the things that went along with him (radio, car, walkie talkie, etc...). We all explained to the kids that the BACK of the police car was a place we never wanted them to visit :-) Thanks again Jeff!!!

Monday we had a wonderful visit with Great Granny Gary, Aunt Nina (who Gwennie now calls Geegee Nina), Caroline, Megan and Great Uncle Bob. We all had such a nice time catching up and Gwennie wore herself out running around giving everyone "high fives or bumps" and exploring the back yard. Overall it was a great day and Gwennie can't wait to go back. In the car ride home Gwennie said..."I had fun today" which she's never said before so we thought that was a great ending to a fun weekend!

Unfortunately I forgot the camera but here's a few pictures from the pool on Saturday.

Stella's 3rd Birthday and a Visit from Nana

This week was pretty chaotic but overall a fun time for everyone. Wednesday Nana came into town because Corbin was heading to CT so she offered to help out with Gwennie and just in case Meek 2.0 appeared, we needed a backup plan. Nana was very helpful and Gwennie enjoyed her visit.
Wednesday night we invited some friends over to watch the season finale of Lost. Our friend Lillian made this great Darma cake to celebrate and as would be a typical Lost ending...we are all left waiting for next season!

Saturday we headed up to Patterson Farm for Stella's big 3rd Birthday bash! They had a great play area, a corn box (sort of like a sand box with dried corn....Gwennie was not having any of the corn box!), a petting zoo, strawberry picking and a fun tractor ride. Then after all that....cake! Overall the kids had a great time and were exhausted (so were all the parents) which resulted in a 2+ hour nap. Many thanks to Bragg and Michelle for hosting a wonderful time!

Mother's Day and Daycare...Long Post!

This weekend was a busy one overall with BBQs, movies, church events and lots of nice weather. Saturday we finished up the rest of the cleaning after the renovations and enjoyed some warm weather. Corbin cleaned out the storage room and you wouldn't believe what we found from the previous owners! Gwennie and I did a run to babies r us for some last minute Meek 2.0 purchases. Then while Gwennie took a nap I enjoyed my Mother's Day gift of a pedicure. When Gwennie woke up and we had a neighborhood party where she wore herself out in the bounce house playing with the rest of the kids in the 'hood. Sunday my youth members ran the service at our church (I am so proud of them!). We then had the Penguin for lunch and the entire family took a long nap. Sunday night we tried out a new sitter (one of my youth members - Katherine who Gwennie loved and asked where she was on Monday morning!) while Corbin and I headed to see Star Trek - great movie...worth the price of admission.




Today we had our 35 week ultrasound for Meek 2.0 who is about 6lbs 8oz by our Dr's estimate. Looks like this one is going to be another 8 pounder! Right now we are still on track for a June delivery...unfortunately I am not dilated at all, don't have high blood pressure and am not showing any signs that this kid will appear anytime soon. Lately my biggest problem has been heartburn which decides to start around 10 or 11 PM, just in time for bed. Here's a picture of the baby from today.





On a separate note, I try not to put my opinions in these posts and I figure most of you don't really care but today we had our teacher conferences for Gwennie's daycare. The report was great and we are still amazed we get daily update sheets, weekly newsletter and Parent-Teacher conferences for a toddler. A brief summary: Gwennie has music class every Monday, art class EVERY DAY, takes nature walks around the grounds during the week. She has a weekly lesson plan - last week they talked about Mothers including reading stories about Mommies and making Mother's Day gifts. She loves to interact with her classmates. For example today when we walked into the room Gwennie made it a point to say Hello to all of her classmates and then they all play together. When one of the kids is sad, Gwennie and the other kids come over and bring them toys to make the child feel better and in general loves going to "school" every morning. They sing songs, know how to count, know their colors and can can relate to things that I find just fascinating...when we were putting together some furniture last weekend Gwennie asked if she could help with our "puzzle" (it was from IKEA....the kid must be a genius). Corbin and I agonized over the decision to use daycare and in the first couple of months we thought we might have made a mistake (if you do decide to go with daycare....the first few months your kid will get every runny nose, cold, flu, and stomach bug there is...then after about 3 moths your kid is like Teflon to illnesses!). What a difference today. The benefits we have seen for our child has been enormous. Granted like all schools/facilities, you hope you are at the best place in town and for us, Gwennie's daycare is by far better than we could ever imagine.

A Big Girl Bed!

This weekend we decided it was time to put together Gwennie's new bed for the inevitable move in June. She seemed to love the bed and now all we have to do is actually get her to stop jumping on the bed and to sleep in it.

In other news we are on the home stretch with the renovations. Here are some pictures from yesterday.

Warm Weather...

This weekend was sunny and warm so we took advantage of the nice weather and spent most of our time outside. Saturday morning Gwennie helped Corbin wash his car while I did a Target run. Then we pulled out the pool for the dogs and Gwennie and tried out the sprinkler (Gwennie was not down with the whale ) to cool off.

We also have some new friends above the hammock which look to be running out of space in their nest. We will check again next weekend to see who's actually tried out their wings and who is still hanging out with Momma bird for a bit longer.

Weekend in Colombia

This weekend we were on notice to "vacate" the house as they were finishing up the floors and it was going to be pretty stinky so we headed down to Columbia to visit with our Aunt E and our cousins Russ, Gini, Alex and Blyth. It also happened to be the weekend of the home tour in their neighborhood so with the wonderful weather we spent Saturday touring around the area and enjoying the sun.

Sunday we decided to help Russ and Gini with some cleanup and furniture moving. I am pretty sure by the end of the weekend they were ready for us to leave as we literally had them moving couches, desks, bicycles and anything else we could find into other areas. As you can also see the dogs and kids also had a blast. Gwennie now wakes up every morning wondering were Blyth and Alex are. I think she'd prefer if we all lived in a commune together!



And here's another link to the renovations. As you can see the floors and counter tops are also in.

Easter 2009

This weekend was the 90th annual Webb family Easter hunt and reunion weekend. Corbin's family on the Webb side has been meeting on Easter weekend with family for some great food and fun times (including everyones favorite...the Easter egg hunt!!) and this is our 3rd year attending. This year it was nice and warm unlike two years ago when we went it was during a frost and everyone wore their ski wear!!! Almost all of the cousins were in attendance and Rachel won one of four of the money eggs! That is the adults favorite part (besides the food) of the day. We all dig around a field for hidden bags of money. The field includes some poison ivy and fire ant hazards which makes for interesting digging.

Sunday night Corbin and Russ headed to Greensboro for the opening concert of the reunited (again) Grateful Dead tour. I think they are now called the Dead because of Mr. Garcia's untimely departure. Gini, Alexandra, Blyth, Gwennie and I headed back to Charlotte for a girls pizza night sleepover and in the morning the first thing Gwennie said when she woke up was "Where's Blyth?"

Here's some pictures from the weekend and Aunt Lynne's pictures as well.



Lynne's Pictures

Cabinets and GeeGee at the Easter Bonnet Parade

While we were at the Masters on Tuesday, GeeGee came into town to take care of Gwennie. Sometimes I wondered what was going on (wait until you see the pictures of how GeeGee decided to give Gwennie a bath) but overall Gwennie was so sad to see GeeGee leave and had a great time with her, especially at the Easter Bonnet Parade that her school does every year. Here's some pictures from the week.

I also updated the renovations link with pictures of our new cabinets!

Visit from Auntie Fancy, the Pacey Bunny and the Smocking Army

Sorry I didn't post last weekend. We ended up going down to Columbia, SC to hang out at the Riverbanks Zoo since it was a nice day out. As would be typical we forgot the camera so no pictures, sorry!

Then on Tuesday our friend Nell (commonly referred to as Auntie Fancy) came for a visit and I am pretty sure Gwennie has found her new idol. Between the Koi Pond on the IPhone and all the fun playtime, Gwennie literally asked where Nell was the minute her airplane took off. Nell will be back this summer and I swear Gwennie is counting the hours.

In other very exciting news...our good friends Parrish and Ken decided to pull a fast one and sent a text that they were going into the hospital to deliver their baby boy. Since it was April Fool's day and they are big jokers, we didn't believe them...until we called the hospital! Brady George was born on April 1 weighing 6lbs, 14 oz and is pretty darn cute!

This weekend the weather was sunny and beautiful (75 degrees!) and Gwennie had a visit from the Pacey Bunny (don't laugh too hard. There weren't any pacey fairies at the toy store so a bunny purse where Gwennie could put the pacifiers seemed like a logical choice). The Pacey Bunny brought her new sunglasses on Sunday which Gwennie modeled all day....until she realized she wasn't getting her pacey back...then the Pacey Bunny and the sunglasses weren't as much of a hit. We are on day 3 of no pacey and last night before she went to bed she said good night to the Pacey Bunny and this morning the Pacey Bunny brought her a new ball so she seems to be digging the bunny again.

We also tried out the new bike trailer on Sunday afternoon. That was a big hit with Gwennie....daddy on the other hand might need a prescription for his sore legs! Sunday afternoon we were invited to an Easter Egg hunt with Crawford and as you can see from the pictures...the army of smocked children (Gwennie too) was in full effect. I was pretty sure if she didn't have a smocked outfit or a Lily Pulitzer dress we might not have been admitted at the club! Crawford was the big rebel and I must say was the cutest 4 year old there!

Birthday Party Do Over and Renovations Update

This weekend we had Gwennie's make up party at Monkey Joe's with all of her buddies Stella, Gwennie, Charlie, Matty, Alex, Blythe, Ben and Crawford!
As you can see from the pictures everyone had a blast and was pretty tired once all the pizza and cake was served. Gwennie actually asked us to go home so she could take a nap. That evening we headed up to Paw Paw and Neh Neh Meek's house to celebrate his birthday. Uncle Rob was there as well and Gwennie had a great time tiring their dog Lily out. I think in the end Lily met her match!

We also are a week into renovations. I have added a slideshow off those pictures as well.

Shower in Boston and Day 1 of Demo

This weekend Gwennie and Corbin held down the fort in Charlotte while I headed up to Boston for a visit with friends to celebrate the pending birth of Parrish's little boy. As would be typical I left my camera upstairs all weekend but check The Weiss Family blog as they will have an update with pictures soon. This is a picture of Alexis chillin with Addie's toothbrush.

We also started our kitchen demo today and as of 3 PM we are knee deep in drywall!

Great Weather with a Birthday Postponed...

Well, this weekend was supposed to be lots of fun, family and friends with great weather but as it turned out most of the weekend was spent either at the Doctor's office, sleeping or watching movies.  Gwennie unfortunately woke up Friday a little cranky and then proceeded to throw up her breakfast (at Costco in the checkout line).  She later spiked a fever and we ended up moving her birthday party out a few weeks since we thought it was a stomach bug.    

We took her to the doctor's office and Saturday and it looks as though her antibiotic was not working on her ear infection so that is why she was so sick.  We are now on round 2 of a higher dose and Gwennie is in good spirits given the change but we are hoping this next round will knock out the infection.  We decided to open a few of her gifts including her new kitchen which she loves.   Many thanks to Auntie Addie, Gladys and Don for the dolly potty chair (here's hoping Gwennie will soon follow!) as well as the cute matching outfits and thanks to Clark and Nancy for the Gwennie travel gear.  

Confined to the house for 3 days now!

 I have found that around the 6 month time frame of being pregnant I seem to have an urge to move furniture and redo the bedroom.  I guess it's nesting but I have been thinking about it for months and since Gwennie woke us up early on Sunday and it was raining out, I decided this was the day to actually move the bed.  Last time I waited until about a week before I delivered Gwennie so this time around I think I was trying to plan ahead.  Here's the link to the first time I redid the headboard.  

This time around I again decided to move furniture but it really only took about an hour to create the new headboard and another hour (during Gwennie's nap so she couldn't "help Mommy and Daddy".  Here's some pictures of the finished product.  

We also had a snow day so there are a few pictures of this morning with Gwennie checking out the snow. 

Weekend in bed with Thomas

This weekend the whole family was down for the count with a cold that kept us pretty much confined to indoors. We watched lots of Thomas, Horton Hears a Who, WALL-E and Ratatouille when Gwennie was awake but she pretty much slept most of the weekend away. Here are the only 3 pictures from the weekend when we were trying out pigtails.

Big Friends and Family President's Day Weekend

This weekend we headed up to Baltimore to meet Clare and Matthew as well as to see a bunch of friends. Saturday morning we headed to Owings Mills to meet up with Alan, Heather, Ari and Matthew (this is him on the right). Ari and Gwennie had a great time playing together and Ari loves his new baby brother. Matthew is a great baby and loves to just chill in his bouncy seat.

That afternoon we headed up to Bel Air to meet up with Clark, Nancy and Clare (she's on the left). Gwennie was so excited to see them and spent most of the day "rocking" Clare in the swing....with all of us close by because she wasn't really grasping the whole concept of "gentle'. Sunday we drove down to Vienna to meet up with Dave, Missy and Henry which I am pretty sure was the highlight of the weekend for Gwennie. Henry has a huge playroom outfitted with Thomas and lots of other toys as well as a drum set!!!!!! Henry loved to show Gwennie all of his toys and was great about sharing and teaching her all the ways of cars/trains and drums. We all had a great lunch, took a nice long nap and then watched Horton during dinner (yummy pizza) and then headed back up to Clark and Nancy's for bed. Gwennie was so pooped she passed out right when we got back and slept straight through from 7 PM until 7:30 AM.

Monday I headed back to Owings Mills with Gwennie for more Ari time. Gwennie and Ari had a fun time at lunch together and Heather/Alan/I had our first experience with 2 toddlers at the same time in a public . We are in for a rude awakening!!!!! Overall a great weekend!

Matthew Shayne!

On Wednesday Gwennie's best buddy Ari became an older brother. Alan and Heather welcomed Matthew Shayne around 2 PM on Feb 4th. Matthew weighed in at a healthy 8 pounds, 8 ounces and is doing great. Ari is pretty excited about having a new buddy to play with.

Here's a few other pictures from this weekend. We had wonderful weather in the 70's so we spent most of the weekend outside in the backyard or at the park.

We finally had a nice weekend where everyone did not have to bundle into multiple layers just to go outside. Sunday was beautiful and as you can see from the pictures Gwennie and Corbin spent the afternoon on the tire swing. Gwennie also finally can reach the pedals on her Tricycle. Here are some pictures from the weekend.