Lots of News, Family and Happy Easter!

It has been a very busy week here! Hudson (finally) realized that he could in fact hold his own bottle. I think this week I must have been taking too long so he just took matters into his own hands and since then he's been feeding himself (including his table food which is pretty messy!).

Apparently Hudson also decided this sitting stuff was for the birds and the next morning I found him standing up in his crib checking things out! Now every morning I find him (and sometimes Gwennie throwing things into his crib) bouncing up and down waiting for us to wake up.

Thursday was the Easter Bonnet Parade at School. Both Gwennie and Hudson had a nice time parading around the block and as you can see from the pictures a lot of time and effort was made by all of the parents on the kid's hats.

Friday the kids were out of school so I took them up to Dan Nicolas Park in Salisbury where we checked out the carousel, wildlife center and petting zoo. Hudson slept through most of the action and when we got home we headed outside to try out Hudson in the kiddie pool. Gwennie seemed to enjoy it more than Hudson! Gwennie passed out on the couch from all the fun.

Sunday was the 91st aannual Webb Family Reunion and Easter egg hunt. As you can see from the pictures it was a beautiful day and lots of family was there. The kids (and the parents) had a blast and I found 2 money eggs! Which unfortunately are going straight to the tax bill :-( This is my favorite picture from the party because Hudson just LUUUUVS Big Bill!

Overall it was a wonderful weekend and we are so happy spring has sprung!

Failed Attempt at an Easter Photo

This weekend we feebly attempted to take pictures with both kids in their Easter clothes and I also tried to get pictures taken with the Easter Bunny. Apparently the mall no longer does this (after I trudged all over the mall and out to another mall searching for the photo stand. Guess Santa must have the market cornered!) so it looks like these are the best I am going to get. I also took some pictures from the book store and of the hail storm we had last night. The dogs, Corbin and I were pretty nervous when we heard all of the noise but it must not have been too bad since the kids slept through the whole thing! Also...here is a video of Hudson imitating Gwennie. I will let you decide what he is mimicking.

Aunt Nina and a Minivan!?!?!?!?

Well...we took the plunge and traded in the SUV for a minivan. As much as I will miss my "cool mobile", this is so much easier and the kids love it. Gwennie can't wait to hang out in her new car and Hudson loves that we don't accidentally smack his head on the roof when we put him in the car. I think I will come to love it, just need to get used to the new swagger wagon.

Nina also came for a visit this weekend as Uncle Robert was having his knee replaced. Saturday was beautiful so we headed to the Riverbanks zoo with our cousins Russ, Blyth and Alex. Then we went to dinner down the street with friends and Sunday we laid low given the rain kept us in the house. Overall it was a great weekend and we were glad Uncle Robert is doing well but we miss Nina! We loved having her with us and she was a big help!

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays...

This was the weekend of birthdays and warm weather! Saturday we decided it was time to clean my car out. I really don't remember the last time we really took out everything and gave the car a good session with the shop vac. I think the best thing anyone can do for clutter is to watch the show called "Hoarders". Needless to say the car is finally looking normal again!

Saturday afternoon Gwennie and I headed to Lia's 3rd birthday party which was super fun. As you can see from the pictures Lia's family and buddies from school were there and they all had a blast with the Pinata, Easter Egg Hunt and playing in the backyard.

Saturday evening we headed over to Oliver's for his 1st birthday party and as you will see from the pictures, he was all about his cake! We figured he might like the icing but within a few minutes Oliver had 1/2 of the cake in his hands, hair, face and was going for the walls next!

Sunday morning we left the boys at home to rest up (they both are getting over a cold/cough) and headed to Ben's 2nd birthday party at My Gym. The kids loved playing with all of the rings, bars and their favorite had to be the bounce track. Ben's mom Kristin made an amazing Dinosaur cake (yes...that wasn't a typo, she literally baked and iced the cake herself!) that was just as delicious!



Click on the picture of Lia to view more pictures

Gwennie's 3!

It was a big week for everyone at the Meek household. On Tuesday Hudson decided he was tired of waiting for everyone to move him around so he is now a full fledged crawler! There is a video below of his first time really moving.

Saturday Gwennie had her birthday party with all of her favorite friends including Crawford, Lexi, Lia, Stella, Matty, Charlie, Ben and Noah! As you will see from the pictures, all of the kids had a blast and were pooped once it was over. Corbin took a few funny videos of the madness.

Sunday was such a beautiful day that we pulled the bicycles out and took the kids to the park. Mommy and Daddy are in such bad shape that it was a struggle to get there and luckily Gwennie was more interested in having snack so we all rested before some well deserved play time. We headed back for a cook out with just the family and Hudson got to play with a few "new to you" old toys that Gwennie used when she was his age. Overall it was a great weekend! Here are our pics, a few videos and a link to some pictures Allison took of all the fun!

Click here to view photos

Weekend With the Cousins and Tubes Today...

It has been a great weekend in Charlotte. Our cousins Russ, Gini, Alex, Blyth and Tally (the dog) came up for a concert and stayed through the weekend. We all love when they are here because it gives the kids a ton of stuff to do and it give their parents a nightlife! Friday we had lasagna for dinner and as you will see by the pictures Gwennie and Blyth got more on their faces than their mouths! Saturday the boys took the girls to the park while Gini and I did some shopping and headed to dinner and a movie. It was so nice to get out for a "Girl's Night" so a big thank you to the hubbies for taking on kid duty!

Sunday was pretty laid back, the kids and I headed up to Melissa's to check out her beautiful new home and I wish I would have brought the camera. Gwennie had so much fun with Bella (the dog) that she was exhausted by the time we got home.

Today Hudson went in for Myringotomy surgery (tubes in the ears) which Gwennie also had around the same age. They both went through about 3 months of ear infections and since Gwennie had her surgery she has had 1 other ear infection in 2 years. Hudson is sleeping now but as you can see from the pictures he was a wonderful patient!

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Finally Some Warm Weather!

After what seemed like never ending cold weather, we finally were able to enjoy a nice weekend outside and at the park. Saturday we hitched the dogs up to the stroller and headed to the park. Hudson had his first of many times in the swings and loved it. Gwennie spent most of her time crawling in the jungle gym, singing and explaining to everyone that the sticks on the ground were "magical". I snapped a couple of videos of them as well that you can watch below.

Snowy Weekend!

This weekend was filled with lots of snow! Friday evening the snow started and by Saturday morning there was about 5 inches on the ground. Around 8 AM we dug out the snow clothes, bundled the kids up and let the dogs make a first pass at the front yard. I think out of everyone, Ruby seemed to enjoy herself the most. She ran all over the yard and couldn't seem to get enough of the weather. Gwennie loved making tracks in the snow and kicking the bushes to see what would happen. Hudson wasn't really sure what to think but was a good sport. After the snow we headed inside for pink chocolate chip pancakes. Apparently the snow wore everyone out because the kids passed out after! Saturday night we made some pot roast and gave some pureed pot roast to Hudson and as you can see from the pictures he seemed to enjoy it.

Sunday I tried my hand at beignets from New Orleans which really just were flattnets but still tasted pretty good. The house smelled like a fryer for the rest of the day so I think we will leave it to the experts and just stick to pancakes. Sunday night we spent Valentine's day with some friends for a kid friendly pizza dinner. Today it was just me and the kiddies so we did an IKEA run and then daddy came home early so Gwennie put on her dress, shoes and jacket to help with the recycling. Next time we will remind her that her shoes should probably match and in the winter it's a good idea to throw some pants on!

Oyster Roast 2010

This is literally the only picture where both Blyth and Gwennie are clothed and clean!

For those of you not watching the news, there was a HUGE storm that hit Virginia/Maryland/DC this weekend. We were planning on heading up there to visit friends and celebrate birthdays, unfortunately 3 ft of snow got in the way! Thursday afternoon Corbin and I were wavering between leaving at 4 PM to beat the snow or just heading to the Low Country to hang out with our cousins at the annual Oyster Roast. Finally around 3 PM we decided not to chance it and called Russ/Gini and asked if they wanted company this weekend. Gwennie and Hudson love to spend time with Blyth and Alex and we always have a blast hanging out with E, Gini and Russ so we left the car packed and headed down to Columbia Friday night. Blyth and Gwennie kept everyone in hysterics Friday night as they made an interesting mess of "Spaghetti Night". Gini made the sauce while Russ cooked the meatballs and it was a huge hit. Gwennie and Blyth probably stepped on more than they ate but they had lots of fun doing so. After hosing them off and putting their jammies on we read a few stories. They spent more time "talking" on their cell phones with each other than actually listening to the story but by about 9 PM they were wiped out and ready to crash.

Saturday morning we all loaded up and headed down to Huger (pronounced YouJee...don't ask my why it's said that way, couldn't tell you) to see the rest of the fam and as usual, I didn't plan well so the camera battery didn't make it very long :-( Here are a few pictures from Saturday with Page showering her ace Auntie/Mothering skills, Aunt Louise pushing Gwennie on the swing and Molly (who is a big sister to baby Jack!) giving a "Yay, we did it!" picture smile on the swing. When the girls got there Molly/Blyth/Gwennie/Alex all couldn't wait to play together (just like Xmas!) and had lots of fun making a mess.

I wish the camera was working all day because the pictures of Gwennie COVERED in mud from playing on the slide were pretty funny. I think she might have been the dirtiest kid there but she sure did have fun!

A big thank you to Nana, all of the Aunts and Uncles (especially Bill who held Hudson and kept him smiling and happy) Page, Emily Vick, and Jeremy for helping out with kid duty!!! It took an army to keep track of all of the little ones!

Who Dat???

It's Clark! This weekend we celebrated Gwennie's Godfather's birthday in New Orleans. Nancy, Clark, Corbin, Stephanie, Matt and I all headed down to New Orleans (sans kiddies) for a weekend of eating, eating and more eating! We also happened to be down right at the start of Mardi Gras season. We were fortunate enough to see the first parade called Krewe du Vieux which is VERY racey and not something you take the kids too. WARNING....some of the pictures are a bit graphic but they are straight from the parade and luckily the night vision on our camera blurred things a bit. I also removed some of the more interesting ones for the faint of heart! .
Sunday we also got to see the Buddy D's Bet Parade which was a tribute to the recently deceased New Orleans sports broadcast legend Buddy Diliberto. He said he would wear a dress down Porter Street if the Saints ever went to a Super Bowl...well he passed away just a few months before the Saints won that bet so thousands of men and women came out to parade in his honor. And I can officially say we are all huge Saints fans now. Signs read "Who Dat" and "Bless You Boys!" all over the town. I am not sure what the NFL thinks about that logo but I can tell you New Orleans deserves a Super Bowl victory!


Here are the pictures from the week with a couple of the kids from this morning. AGAIN...THESE ARE A LITTLE RACEY!!!

He Needed His Toys!

This is how I found "baby brother" on Tuesday morning. Gwennie decided he needed all of the toys in his room in his crib. Luckily he happened to be on the other side of the crib so he wasn't buried under the pile but he seems very content with his new crib buddies and Gwennie was reading to him with one of his books that she had pulled off of his shelf. She's been doing this just about every morning and she now gets that he only needs the "little" toys in his crib rather than everything! Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Messy Kids!

Not too many pictures this week. After about a week of being illness free Gwennie looks to be coming down with a cold and it has been raining all weekend so we decided to hang out near the house. Saturday we had a girls day and saw the Princess and the Frog which Gwennie loved! We then headed over to Chick-a-let (I think you can guess where we went) for lunch while Daddy and Hudson chilled at home. Last night I gave Hudson a cracker while Gwennie was eating some pudding for dessert and these pictures pretty much sum up what happened a few seconds later. I also put up a picture of Gwennie's morning outfit today. Apparently she's decided black patent leather and PJs on her head is a new fashion statement!

7 Months Old & a Pizza Party!

Hudson is 7 months old as of Friday! He's starting to sit up without help and is such a happy kid. I try not to talk too much about how great my kids are but he's such a happy baby and really lights up when anyone is in the room. Gwennie is great with him as well and in the morning the first thing she wants to do is go see if "baby brother" is awake. She now thinks his real name is "Buddy" and corrects Corbin and I by telling us..."his name's not Hudson....it's Buddy!". Nice to know she picks up on EVERYTHING we say!

We had a few friends over last night for pizza and playtime. Ben and Noah are both a little younger than Gwennie but they all love hanging together and really had fun playing run-around-the-house as fast as their little legs would go. Ben makes sure to give everyone a high five at each pass...we decided he's going to be a marathoner. Noah loves to play with our coasters and spent lots of time throwing then stacking them in neat piles.

Happy New Year!

Well, 2009 has come and gone and over here we are COLD but enjoying our time with Gee Gee. She finally is leaving today and everyone is VERY sad (I think Corbin might be in the worst shape because as of now the laundry train is gone and he knows how long it will be before he sees clean clothes again!). To take up some time GeeGee, Gwennie, Hudson and I headed to our annual Lazy 5 Ranch excursion. As always the animals there were more than happy to take pictures and entertain Gwennie and GeeGee who don't particularly like the emus but love the llamas.

Hudson is still trying to clear up an ear infection so we let him chill out in the back where he snoozed or checked out the animals from the window.

Christmas 2009

This is about the view we all had Xmas Eve while we were attempting to put together the dollhouse I randomly bought months ago for Gwennie. Not knowing there was something like 4000 pieces, we decided to crack open the box around 9 PM thinking we would be done within an hour.....or so.....

Well, the dollhouse is done and is a HUGE hit (as was the Dora Scooter which was literally a last minute toy). Hudson loves his incredi-block and sock monkey which I am pretty sure is going to be attached to him in later years. As you can see from the pictures Nana Sus, GeeGee and Pop pop were here for the fun and were a big help with all of the cleaning/assembling of toys and food. The day after Christmas Corbin, Gwennie and I said our good bye's to Nana and headed to Monkey Joe's to burn off some of the food we had been eating all weekend. Gwennie wasn't to into going on the slides but loves the bounce house and you will notice her father does as well!

Pop pop and I celebrated our birthdays and you can see from the video below that Gwennie liked to serenade us every night before birthday cake (which we ate just about every day for almost four days now! Safe to say we are birthday caked out!


Here are the pictures from the fun and 2 videos of Gwennie. Every time she jumped on the Dora Scooter "Skip to My Lou" was heard throughout the house and lately she's adding this nutty ballet routine as well that I caught a quick show of with my dad's camera phone.

Quite Possibly the Best Webb Family Xmas EVER!!!!

Once again the Webb family met up for the annual holiday sleepover. I think everyone can agree this might have been the best party yet. From the Spice for lunch (wonderful burger joint in Sparkle City) to decorating of the gingerbread dolls/houses and the finale of the "Tiger Woods Starter Kit" Chinese Auction, everyone had a blast! The kids literally passed out both nights from exhaustion and I loved hearing "where's Gwennie" from Molly or "Hi Molly" from Blyth. Gwennie was also Miss Chatty and woke up every morning with the same question...."Mommy/Daddy....where's Molly, Blyth, Faryn, Kamryn & Alex?" She could not wait to see her cousins and Hudson was pretty much occupied by every family member. I think he's going to expect to be held from here on out!

Here are lots of pictures from the weekend.

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!!!!

What a great vacation! Saturday Corbin, Gwennie and I headed out to California to visit with our friends Michael, Michelle and Madeline. As you can see from the pictures we spent LOTS of time outside and at Disneyland. Gwennie and Madeline had a blast and quickly became BFFs! Michael and Michelle were amazing hosts and we loved waking up to warm, sunny weather. Corbin and I both agreed this is one of the best vacations we have ever taken and we can't wait to come back and visit again!

Baby it's Cold Outside....

As you can see here...it was a chilly 29 degrees on Sunday. Unfortunately it was a brisk 24 degrees in the house because our gas pump on the heater wasn't working so we all were in sweatshirts and under blankets until Daddy could fix the heater. Hopefully today it will be resolved and it is finally warmer in the house as we are running on electric now which is not as efficient but at this point we all just wanted the house to be warmer.

Other than the cold temperatures, we attempted some Xmas pics in cheesy matching outfits (I know the kids will be mad that I made them dress alike when they were younger). Until they can pick out their own clothes, they are stuck with matching smocked clothing for now. I figured you all would like to see some of the "outtakes" from our Xmas picture fiasco...

Thanksgiving, Xmas Trees, Football and Birthdays!

It was a busy busy holiday at the Meek household. For Thanksgiving we celebrated with Granny Gary and Uncle Robert, Nina, Caroline and Megan at their house and the kids all had a wonderful time visiting with everyone. Gwennie spent most of the day running after Chloe their toy poodle (who I am pretty sure was happy to see her go)! Hudson loved being the center of attention and was passed around all day so he was also spoiled rotten.

Friday we picked out our tree which was pretty difficult given 2 of our top 3 trees were swiped the minute I turned around to look for Gwennie (who loves to play hide and seek between all of the trees). We finally nabbed a tree and headed home to decorate the house. As you can see from the pictures we decided the dogs also needed a treat and love to play the "peanut butter on the nose" trick with them so I snapped a few shots of them trying to get all of the peanut butter off of their noses.

Saturday Corbin had a class so I headed down to Columbia to visit with the Webb/Workman clan for the Clemson/USC football game. Gwennie loves to hang out with Blyth and Alex and I am always jumping at the chance to see Russ, Gini, E, Rachel and Parks. We all had a great time and ate ourselves silly with all the food...fried turkey, cookies, chip, dip and LOTS of snacks kept the kids very well fed and every time I turned around Gwennie had a piece of turkey, chip or cookie in her mouth.

Sunday Gwennie/Hudson and I had a park play date with Crawford and Janet since the weather was beautiful and then Corbin took over daddy daycare for the night so I could head to a birthday dinner for Miss Jen (who took care of Gwennie when she was a baby).

Overall a great weekend and we are all trying to recover from all the food/fun!

Not much going on this week. We all are battling a cold so most of the weekend was spent around the house or in the backyard. Gwennie got a haircut on Saturday and as you will see from the pictures...her bangs were cut a little short! The good news is that her hair grows so fast that in about a week she will look a little more normal.

Since it was so cold out on Sunday we spent LOTS of time trying to entertain the kids. As a last resort we tried High School Musical on NetFlix. Check out the video below of Gwennie jamming out to one of the songs.

Don't Cha Know?

Gwennie goes through a bunch of sayings every week that constantly make us laugh and wonder where she gets them from. The one we know comes from us is "Come on Dude....you can't drive!" which both mommy and daddy have said in the midst of traffic! Now whenever we are at a light Gwennie "talks" to the driver for us. When we were taking a video of Hudson having his first taste of oatmeal...about 1 step up for cardboard rice cereal, Gwennie had one of those moments and asked her brother "don't cha know?" Check the video and the pictures below from this weekend. We also tried to add some bananas to the oatmeal but his face pretty much shows exactly what he thought about banana oatmeal!

5 Months Old!

Hudson celebrated his 5 month birthday on Sunday and although he's been sick with an ear infection and cough, he's been a real trooper. I really thought he would be at his wit's end when we had to use the nebulizer on him but he loved it and thought it was a game! Luckily, Gwennie likes doing things her baby brother does so she was also a good sport when it was her turn to be "nebulized". As you can see from the pictures GeeGee is still here which has been wonderful. With her here Hudson has been able to stay home and get better (and receive LOTS of attention). I am pretty sure when he goes back to daycare he's going to be a handful since he's constantly held by GeeGee during the day. Overall we are going to miss "the Geege" as we like to sometimes call her. Corbin loves having someone to do all the laundry and tell him what a great cook he is! I love having my mom here and Gwennie/Hudson think she hung the moon!

As you can also see, GeeGee had the ATV sent from her house which in the videos you will notice that Gwennie finally learned how to steer. I posted one from last year when Gwennie first tried out the ATV at GeeGee and PopPop's last April. There's also a cute video of Gwennie teaching Hudson how to "fly like a butterfly". Check out the first picture in the set so you can see what I looked like as a kid....slight resemblance!

Halloween and Hudson's Baptism

This weekend was busy, busy, busy! Friday afternoon Gwennie and Hudson's school had a Halloween Parade around the neighborhood which all the kids had so much fun showing off their costumes and playing with all the other kids in the classes! Nana also came into town for Hudson's big day.

Saturday we headed over to the old neighborhood for a Halloween party with a bounce house that kept ALL of the kids busy for most of the afternoon. As you can see from the pictures Gwennie really enjoyed herself! Saturday night we picked up GeeGee and PopPop and they (along with Nana) stayed with Hudson while we attempted to trick or treat in the rain. After about 3 houses we decided it would be more fun to head back to the house so Stella, Oliver (who was Elvis with an O - Ovis!), Hudson and Gwennie played in the house while we tried to get them to stay up as late as we could for daylight savings time.

Sunday was Hudson's Baptism of which he was the apple of everyone's eye. He was all smiles during the entire ceremony and flashed a HUGE smile after he was baptized which made the entire congregation melt. His Godparents Andrew, Janet and Crawford were such a help and Hudson loves to make eyes and Crawford. Everyone headed over to the house after for brunch where Megan & Caroline entertained Gwennie and Crawford while the rest of us (Nina, Linny, Corbin, Janet, Andrew, GeeGee, PopPop, Nana and I) enjoyed a nice meal at the table. Gwennie and Crawford really enjoyed all the attention Nina, Megan and Caroline gave them all afternoon. Now we are all resting after a busy weekend!

Halloween Parade!

This weekend was the annual Halloween parade in the neighborhood. As always there were hundreds of kids, parents and a few pets ready to strut around the street. Usually the firetruck accompanies us but they got a call right before we were ready to march so we were led by an old Ford F100 instead. Regardless all of the kids were having a great time checking out everyone else in full costume. Gwennie decided she wanted to wear her mini mouse costume and Hudson was sporting his Moose (not mouse) ensemble. After we had a bunch of friends over for a barbecue and I wish I would have taken pictures because the kids were all running around having a blast! Today we are all pretty pooped as you can see from the final pictures of Hudson camped out in our bed.

Zoo With the Twins and on the Potty Training Home Stretch!

We had another great weekend of fun and fall weather. Saturday I gave Corbin the day off and headed up to the Asheboro Zoo to see Allie and her twins Nathan and James (Nathan has the blue vest and James has the tan vest on). The boys are adorable and great kids. I don't know how Allie does it. Talk about busy! The boys love to crawl around and get into everything! We lasted about 4 hours and then everyone was ready for a nap so we headed home in the early afternoon.

Sunday was a nice brisk fall day so we bundled the kids up and headed out to the backyard. Gwennie trudged around the yard looking for sticks and anything else she could find. Hudson loves to check things out in the Bjorn and as you can see from the pictures Daddy was sporting a "scruffy" look that day.

Today was a BIG day in potty training! During the day Gwennie is a rock star with doing her "business" in the potty but typically that all goes out the window so she's in a pull up. This morning Gwennie woke up, told us she wanted to go potty and behold...dry diaper, full potty and happy parents!!!!

4 Months old, Toy Story in 3D and Zoo with the Cousins

Big week here at the Meek household! Hudson is now a 4 month old baby and healthy as can be. He's growing like a weed and is starting to teethe which has made for lots of drool and chewing on anything he can find.

Gwennie and I headed to the movies for the first time to see Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D. For a first time move goer she did great! We made it through 3/4 of Toy Story 2 and then Gwennie was ready to head home for a long nap!

Sunday we decided we needed to get out so we all piled into the car and headed down to Columbia for a day at the zoo with Uncle Russ, Aunt Gini and Blyth (Alex was at Grandma's for the weekend).

Overall it was a fun weekend!!

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.