Oh Happy Day!

We have been waiting SOOOOOO long for this day, but Dave finally got a new job. Not JUST a new job, a job in his field. We are beyond happy. Thank you to all of our friends and family for supporting us, praying for us, and for hearing us gripe the last few months. Dave will be a staff consultant for a small consulting firm in Charlotte. We aren't sure where we are going to move, but we KNOW we will be moving into our own house!

Here is what the boys have been up to recently:

Drake is getting more vocal. He really gets going when he is mad or grumpy, which isn't often. The boy will eat anything; even those nasty baby food diners like lentils and rice. He gets so proud of himself when he puts puffs in his mouth and when he pulls himself up to the fireplace. I placed a down comforter over the brick and pushed a rug up to the fireplace, in order to protect that delicate head. He is still waking up 2-3 times a night, but I have cut him down to only 1 feeding. Can someone please tell him he really doesn't need to eat: he won't listen to me. He is also still on his reflux medication, but the doctor said it should get better by 9 months.



Lincoln is becoming more like Dave everyday. He hates having his sheets tucked in at the bottom of the bed; he enjoys America's Funniest Home videos and will have Dave rewind certain clips over and over; and he comes up with hilarious one-liners (He handed Dave his sucker and told him "take it sweet" which is what dad tells Maggie when giving her a treat.). The 2 had fun playing in our small snow storm on Sunday night. Dave taught Lincoln how to make a snow angel. Preschool has got him interested in letters and Spanish.






I feel so blessed to have happy/healthy children and now I will have a happy husband. Life is good!

Missing Dave

Dave has had a very crazy work schedule lately. It has been pretty tough with him gone and working so much. I know, I know, I have my parents to help, but it really isn't the same. With that being said, I'm so glad they are around to help with baths, dinner, entertaining, etc.

Lincoln has really taken this work schedule hard. He often cries for Dave and hates it when Dave has to commute to Winston. One day he was particularly upset, and I had no choice but to call Dave. The only way Dave could get him to calm down was to promise that he would teach Lincoln how to hammer a nail later that night. That fixed it right away. Who knew?? Another night Dave came home and Lincoln cried happy tears as he hugged him. I really am grateful that Dave has a job, but sometimes I would like to...never mind, I shouldn't write that, plus it's Sunday.

Oh man, I really don't want to make this a depressing blog, but the kids are sick again. Dear heavens, we have not been able to enjoy this beautiful winter very much! Before they came down with the current bug, we did escape to the mountains for the day. I was feeling spontaneous, so I packed up a lunch, strapped the kids in the car and took off. Our first stop was Mystery Hill, a fun little science center. The main room defies gravity. You can't really tell from the picture, but Lincoln's feet are floating in the air.




Our next stop is one of my favorite places, The Mast General Store Candy Barrel in Boone. I loved going there as a kid, because as the name suggests, there are barrels of candy, lots of candy to choose from. Lincoln had a great time picking out handfuls. We ate a little lunch and then headed to the park in Blowing Rock. It was a gorgeous day: we didn't need hats or gloves. Both boys were excellent travelers on the way home; even without a DVD player, ipad, or any other devices. We just enjoyed some good kid jams and the mountain views, plus the candy helped too!


I wish I had more pictures, but the batteries in the camera were dead. I can't complain, because Dave used the camera to take pictures of this:






A beautiful bracelet made of Claro Walnut. I am a very lucky lady for many reasons. I also loved waking up to this on our anniversary:

I guess this turned out to be a pretty happy post after all.

What to Do

Lincoln started preschool earlier this month, and he has brought every single germ home to share with the family. He has had a double ear infection, nasty fever, cold, and now this awful cough. My dad, Dave, and Drake have all picked these germs up too. Thankfully, I have stayed healthy through it all!

Although Lincoln sounds awful, he feels ok. This makes it tricky to entertain him. It is beautiful outside, but he starts coughing as soon as he starts running around. I don't want to take the kids anywhere, so they don't spread anything.

Good thing pinterest, magazines and creative people exist: I have found some fun things for Lincoln to do. We have made homemade bouncy balls, a mini-indoor sandbox, a superhero cape, bath paints and finger puppets.

On the Move

Someone has been on the move lately...

He saw the camera cord, and is coming for it.

Getting closer.



Almost there.

Got it!

Happy Birthday Dave

Dave celebrated his 30th birthday last week. We waited until the weekend to party! We tossed around some weekend trips, but decided it would be easier to just stick around town. Dave planned the whole day with fun activities.

First we went to Hickory Dickory Dock, an arcade center. Dave and Dave saved the world.

Lincoln rode the motorcycle like no one I've ever seen.

Next, we went to a Mexican restaurant. It was such a pretty day, we sat outside. Notice Lincoln squinting in the sun.

That's where the pictures end, because that's where I had to bail out. The guys had a great time at an indoor shooting range.

At night, we feasted on homemade cookies and ice cream sundaes. The plan was to go to a movie, but Dave was very thoughtful and rented one, so that I could be included. Movies in the evening are just tough to get to, with Drake not taking a bottle.

It was such a fun day, I think we need to have more 30th birthday parties, except mine that is!

Merry Christmas

Before I can blog about the holidays, I need to get caught up on the previous few weeks. Drake turned 6 months...6 months, I can't believe how fast the time is going! He is mostly sitting on his own, but prefers to be on his tummy, inch worming around. He also gets where he wants by rolling around. He weighed 18 pounds 6 oz and is 26.5 inches long. His head is only in the 15th percentile. The booger is so cute, but has been waking up 2-3 times at night to eat. This is no growth spurt, he has been doing it ever since Thanksgiving. Something needs to happen, because I tend to not be the most patient with Lincoln when I am tired.



Speaking of Lincoln, he is funny/naughty as ever and has been loving this time of year. I was trying to talk on the phone with the dr's office one day and Lincoln kept yelling at me and having a melt down over something small. I kept trying to sush him, but it wasn't helping. When I got off the phone I let him have a long talk about being quiet when I am on the phone...listening to mama...not having fits...I must have been going on for a while, because Lincoln kept saying, "ok mama, ok mama." Then finally, "Mom, mom, mommmm, mom quiet down a little, ok." I tried really hard not to laugh, I even covered my mouth, but he caught me. He asked me if I was laughing. I tried to say no, but started to laugh even harder. He better not try that one again!

Today, I am so proud of him, because he did a fabulous job in his first day of Sunbeams (Sunday School). Dang, I got ahead of myself! Corey came out for a week before Christmas. Lincoln loves his Uncle Corey, and they had fun going to Waffle House, dancing to Christmas music, and eating breakfast with Santa.



I braved the mall a couple days before Christmas to get the boy's picture taken with Santa. Lincoln already had breakfast with Santa, so he wasn't that interested.




We also made a gingerbread house, but Lincoln only wanted to eat the candy. That is why there are only about 2 pieces on it.





Every where we went, if someone said Merry Christmas, Lincoln would tell them he wanted a remote control Santa train. We also explained to Lincoln the real reason for Christmas, and he thought every little baby was baby Jesus. He got excited every morning to put a piece of the nativity scene on his magnet advent calendar. Every day he asked if it was time to put baby Jesus on the scene, and I would tell him not yet (it was number 24). And EVERY day he would ask if he could just look at the baby Jesus.


On Christmas Eve, Dave got his Christmas present, tickets to the Panthers game. He isn't a huge Panthers fan, but has always wanted to go to an NFL game. Mom was brave enough to watch both boys the whole day. We had so much fun! The atmosphere was great, the fans sitting behind us were hilarious, and the Panthers won. We also had a good time talking about the "TopCats" (panther cheerleaders) choreography: step right, step left, hair whip, clap, hair whip, hair whip, clap, clap, clap.


Christmas Eve night we continued with our movie tradition. We spread blankets on the living room floor and watched Kung Fu Panda 2. We didn't really hype Lincoln up about Christmas, because we wanted him to sleep. It worked! He slept until 7:30 the next morning.

I was so excited for Santa to bring Lincoln his train, I could hardly sleep! In the morning, the shocked look on Lincoln's face was fantastic. He even had to ask, "Is this my remote control santa train?" He has been playing with trains all day ever since.



Rachel and Dave E came over for Christmas dinner and some birthday cake. Kipling, Chaucer, and Lincoln all had matching sweaters, totally by accident.


I hope all of our friends and family far away had a wonderful Christmas! May the New Year bring much happiness to you all!!

New Nephew!

Yesterday, I forgot to mention the fantastic news we got last week! Little Wynn was born to Dave's younger brother Andy. I know it's mostly family who reads the blog, but I use this as our family journal. We will pull this out years from now and "ooohhhh" at our cute, newest nephew. He is our 12th nephew...the neices are still behind with 6. Yawning baby pictures are some of my favorites!