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!