Ribbit

One of the presents Edwin got for his birthday was this hooded towel. I, of course, being the smart a** that I am, decided I needed my picture in it too! Edwin looks much cuter as a froggy though.

Edwin has a new favorite game to play at Grandma and Pappy’s house. Uncle Brian showed him how to climb inside the entertainment center. It’s so funny to watch!

One Finger

(This is the sleepy Birthday Boy on our way home after the party)

Edwin is old enough for one finger!! Haha. Happy Birthday to my sweet baby boy. I know he won't remember today, but I loved every minute of it!! I woke him up this morning, snuggled his sleepy pj-covered self and gave him a bottle. Then the three of us drove up to Wilmington. Ed dropped me off at church, and then brought Edwin over to Auntie Katie's house. She took care of him so Ed could get a few things done (including buying and assembling a new Big Wheel for Anthony because he accidentally ran over the other one! haha). Anyway, after church, it was time to prep for the big party. Edwin was sleepy so he had a nap before the guests arrived. I'd say the party was a big success. Due to the well-timed nap, Edwin was bright eyed and full of energy to celebrate such a big milestone. He played with the other kids, enjoyed opening his presents with Daddy, and devoured a chocolate cupcake. Oh yeah, and had a bath to clean up the frosting :) When we got home tonight, we let Edwin play with all of his new toys, much to his delight. I think one of his favorite toys was from Auntie Katie. Do you remember those old-school toys that have the plastic balls in it that pop when you push it? I'll see if I can find a picture online. Anyway, he always goes for the simple stuff. Auntie Katie graciously took lots of pictures for us (much appreciated because I had my hands full). Here are a few from her camera (the good ones) and a few from ours. Enjoy!! By the way, I think we wore the birthday boy out. He's sound asleep....in dreamland.

Jessica & Spencer, Me & Edwin, Brittany & Ella

This Elmo hooded towel was a gift from Grandma Jeanie & Grandpa Glenn in Ohio. We sure missed them today!

Edwin sure loved his cupcake!

This is the ball popper thing I was telling you about...hard to see though

Opening presents with Daddy

Edwin was taking it all in

Little Miss Ella (my friend Brittany's daughter). So cute!

I think Edwin was preoccupied with something besides the camera

It was so fun to watch Edwin playing with the other kids. Rebecca even got down on their level to play

Handsome Spencer (my friend Jessica's little boy)

This was the scene at our house early this morning. Edwin still in his Mickey Mouse pjs enjoying a few Cheerios.

Our lovely decorations

My husband rocks!!! He made this Elmo cake. And for those of you who have never attempted a project like this, it is VERY ambitious. He did an awesome job!

What a Difference a Year Makes

One year ago today I was hugely pregnant and fairly miserable. Although grateful for the convenience, I was tired of staying at mom and dad's house. Ed was worried about me making the 45 minute drive up to Wilmington everyday, so he convinced me to stay with them. I missed my own bed, I was sick of getting up every 30 minutes to pee, I missed my husband, and I WANTED TO SEE MY BABY!!! That night around 10pm, Ed and I talked on the phone to say goodnight. For some reason (gee, hormones?) I cried for about an hour afterwards. I feel like God finally said "ok, enough. You can have your baby now." Because at midnight, I finally went into labor. I won't bore you with all the details, but the sequence of events to follow will forever be burned into my memory. Especially when Edwin made his grand entrance into the world at 2:53pm on Friday March 30, 2007. And like the title of this post says, what a difference a year makes. The first few weeks at home with Edwin stretched out endlessly...a blur of sleep deprivation and wild fluctuating hormones. I don't think I've ever cried so much in my entire life! But slowly we all adjusted to each other and now we're quite the happy little family. I can't believe our little baby boy is turning one tomorrow...but I"m so excited! Katie will be armed with her camera, so hopefully I'll have some pictures of the party to post either tomorrow night or Monday.

If Necessity is the Mother of Invention...

...then I'd like to thank the guy who invented this: Seriously. Ok, for those of you who are wondering what the heck I've posted a picture of, stay with me. It's a contraption that you can put things in (ice cubes, bananas, whatever) to give a baby. They can chew on it and you don't have to worry about them choking on anything. Comes in VERY HANDY when your poor little baby is teething! When Edwin and I got home tonight, he was acting just fine...and had been the whole way home. But in a span of about 10 minutes, things went south fast. Suddenly Edwin is screaming and Ed & I can't figure out what the heck is wrong. Our sweet boy is happy about 95% of the time, and even the other 5% is manageable. We tried bathtime, because that usually makes any of his tears go away. No sir, not tonight! It just made him scream and cry even harder. So after exhausting all of our tricks, including Tylenol, teething gel, a bottle...I remembered this contraption. And that's all I can call it because the name of it escapes me right now. But it was heaven-sent. I popped a few ice cubes in there, let Edwin chew for a few seconds, and suddenly it was as if he had never cried. For the next 45 minutes, he played and laughed and giggled. Better yet, he even went to sleep without a struggle!! So take my advice, buy one of these "things". I think we got it at Walmart when he first started teething months ago. He never used it back then, but it certainly saved us a few bits of sanity tonight!!!

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away

So….I was in the parking deck, heading back to work after my lunch break. Suddenly I spy a dollar on the ground. There was nobody around (and hadn’t been for awhile), so I decided I would pick it up. My plan was to get a delicious ice-cold coke. Mmmm. Yummy. I headed to the breakroom, changed the bill into a dollar coin (the machine doesn’t accept bills), put it in the slot, hit the button for Coke and waited. And waited. Pushed the button some more…Nothing. I even tried the change button. Nothing. Somehow, the machine ate my found dollar!! So after all that, I ended up using my debit card (gotta love technology) to get that coveted Coke. I couldn’t really get mad though because it wasn’t even my dollar to begin with!! Oh well…..

Good Clean Fun

I'll post more pictures from this weekend tomorrow, but for now, you have to check out this video. Yesterday we had Easter dinner at mom & dad's house. Edwin enjoyed a variety of foods, including mashed potatoes and gravy, peas, bananas and granola, cheese puffs, etc. Anyway, he was in his high chair next to Ed...and they started playing their little "game." It's too hard to describe, so just watch. This is some good clean (well, almost clean) fun!

Easier to post pictures than words :)

Edwin looked so sporty this morning, I just had to take a picture. The jacket was Anthony's, given to him by great-grandma. So cute!! This was just before we left the house.

Edwin absolutely loves his bathtime. We have a huge garden tub in our master bathroom, which is now full of plastic boats and rubber duckies. Look how happy he is!

Edwin's new trick is to carefully place the boats on the ledge. Such concentration on his cute little face!

Oh yeah, and he always tries to stand up in the tub. Tsk tsk...

I told you the tub was huge!

I Love Crackers!

It's the end of another weekend. Does time seem to speed up as you get older? I'm not trying to get all "deep" or anything, it just seems like everything goes by so quickly-especially now that Edwin is around.

Anyway...it was a great weekend. Since Ed isn't working right now, Edwin and I are enjoying spending lots of time with him. We enjoyed a little family time on Friday night after work, including a trip to Southport to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant, San Felipe. YUMMY!! Edwin enjoyed watching all the new people..and he got a lot of attention from all the staff (as usual). On Saturday, Edwin spent quality time with Grandma and Pappy while I went with Katie on a photography extravaganza (Ed stayed home and did manly work--a.k.a. mowing the yard, sealing the deck, etc.). Katie & I started by going to my friend Katrina's house for a newborn photo shoot. Her little boy, Asher, was born on February 21st. It was so good to see her...obviously she hasn't been at work lately! It was a lot of fun to see how she handles being the mom of three-she definitely has her hands full with Caleb (5) and Bryson (3) and now Asher (0). We also found out that Caleb and Anthony are on the same t-ball team!! Should make for some fun game nights. After Katrina's shoot, we headed over to Ashley's house to take newborn pics of Miss Loralai. For any of you who are familiar, that's the little girl who made a spectacular grand entrance into the world on February 19th. She cooperated beautifully for her photos, much to the delight of her mom and dad. Katie is still in the process of editing them, but I'm excited to see how they turned out. After all the baby-picture-taking, Katie dropped me off for my haircut (see previous post). I would have posted a pic of the new 'do that night, but we had some wild and crazy thunderstorms and there was NO WAY I was trying to go online. Thankfully we escaped any tornadoes and my worry was for nothing. This morning I got up early for church (seriously....I love PC3!!!!) and then back home for the rest of the day. I finally tackled a project I've been wanting to work on for awhile. Edwin's bedroom. As he grew out of clothes, or got too big for his bouncy seat, things just got shoved in his room. I never found the time to organize everything. But that all changed today. I'll have to take some pictures because it hasn't looked this pretty since the day before we brought him home from the hospital!! Haha. Hopefully he can actually play in there now.

So that's it...the weekend wasn't anything over-the-top exciting, but I enjoyed virtually every minute of it. Especially the nap all three of us took this afternoon! Oh yeah, and the title of this post will be explained in the following pictures.....enjoy! And have a great week :)

For Ashley

I completely forgot (again) to post a picture of my new haircut...so here they are. When I got home yesterday with my new 'do, I asked Ed to take a picture for me. Well, I wasn't happy with his results, so I went into the bathroom and took a couple of my own. They're a little blurry, but I think you get the point. And no, this didn't take four hours! Haha. Whitney and I laughed about how long the last one took, but this was only about an hour and twenty minutes. I'm so happy with it!! I'll post more pics of edwin later...after he goes to bed. But for now, Ashley, this one is for you.

Sick Baby = Tired Daddy

So we’re not sure if it’s another lovely side effect of the antibiotics, or just a coincidence, but Edwin not only had an upset tummy from the “south side” yesterday, but he added the “north side” last night.

Ed and I (and Edwin of course) went to dinner last night with Mom, Dad, Katie, Brian and Anthony. Then it was time for a bath, a final bottle and head home. Sounds simple right? WRONG! Bath time was uneventful. Then we tried to give Edwin some Pedialyte in his bottle since he’d been spitting up milk at daycare. But he was having none of it. So we tried his usual formula…but he was still being really squirmy and acted like he just wanted to play. We finally started to pack everything up to leave…when…suddenly…Mount Edwin erupted. Poor Daddy was holding him and got absolutely soaked. And poor baby couldn’t stop throwing up. It was a pathetic sight to say the least. I think it took us at least two full-size bath towels to clean up the mess. After a change of pj’s, we took our chances and headed home. Thankfully, Edwin slept the whole way. But unfortunately he didn’t sleep through the night. Ed got up with him several times, including at 3:30am!! Nothing was calming Edwin down, so Ed took a chance and gave him another bottle. And being the loving, protective daddy that he is, Ed stayed up with him for almost two hours to make sure he didn’t throw up again.

So there you have it. When I left for work this morning, Edwin was peacefully sleeping in his crib and Ed was asleep in our bed. I’m hoping that they have an uneventful day today. And I’m so grateful that my dear husband let me sleep last night!!

Sunday Afternoon

Today, Ed and I enjoyed a fairly lazy Sunday afternoon. I went to church this morning, (while Daddy and Baby slept in) and then we went to Walmart to get some groceries. When we got home, it was time to play! I finally took a video of Edwin walking...check it out!

Notice his "Team Snoopy" racing outfit. Very appropriate since Ed was watching Nascar. We played some more...and Ed made fried chicken wings and Jo-Jo's (those are fried potatoes for any of you who aren't familiar...they're called jo-jo's in Ohio). After dinner it was bathtime, and not a moment too soon. If you remember, Edwin has an ear infection and is currently taking antibiotics. For any of you with children, you know one of the less pleasant side effects of antibiotics can be a VERY MESSY diaper. Seriously. I don't think we've seen one like this ever!!!! Poor Edwin was covered from head to toe...and Ed wasn't able to escape it either. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time! I cleaned him up in the bath, gave him one last bottle, snuggled him for a few minutes, and it was off to dreamland. It was a very nice way to end the weekend.

Baby in a Box

I’m just posting this because it’s so cute! Mom and Dad kept Edwin for me while I was in Myrtle Beach last weekend. Apparently he’d rather play in a box than with all the other cool toys they have for him. Typical. (I remember when we were little and we got a new refrigerator….endless hours of fun with the giant box!!)

I don’t know if you can see this (since the pic is so small)…but notice my poor baby has a “crusty” nose. He started getting sick last weekend, and it escalated into his first ear infection. Considering he’s almost a year old and has never had one before, I can’t complain. He’s doing much better now though and is getting into everything!! I think it’s time to 100% Edwin-Proof the house this weekend.

Not Another 4 Hour Haircut

Ok, so yes, I’m a dork (that’s for you DJ). But I’m so excited!!! We’re getting bonuses next week at work, and to treat myself, I’m getting my hair cut and highlighted. Now, I had been planning on the cut for awhile, but it’s a big splurge. I had sort of contemplated the highlights, but after seeing how wonderful Jenny’s turned out, I can’t resist! Do you remember when I had the 4 hour haircut? Well I’m going back to the same girl that did it…Whitney….who works at Steven Ward Hair. Since it’s a regular cut and not part of a class, I’m sure it won’t take so long. But I hope it turns out just as great! My appointment isn’t until next Saturday afternoon, but I couldn’t wait to write about it. Yes, I’m a dork.

The Bestest Weekend Ever!

Oh man, I wish I could express in words just how much fun I had this weekend. It started off on Friday morning at 8:30am when Rebecca picked me up outside PPD. We transferred all of my bags from my car to hers and then took off for Myrtle Beach…time to Scrapbook!! It might sound strange for those of you who don’t scrapbook—and you may wonder why I get so excited about it, but it’s just so wonderful to get away for a whole weekend and do something you love.

Katie met us on Friday night at Cheeseburger in Paradise. We go there every year, and we always have the same waiter…Smoke. Yes, that’s actually his name. And last year we found out his wife works at the same hotel as Ed…small world! Here’s one of the many pictures we took at dinner. (Yummy drinks!) We were all laughing at this picture because it looks like Katie and I are having a nice dinner…and Rebecca is some crazy lady that jumped in our booth!

On Saturday night, we had dinner at Ed’s restaurant. AMAZING! All three of us were members of the Clean Plate Club…in fact, Rebecca enjoyed the crème brulee so much she even licked the bowl.

Sadly we had to pack up and leave early Sunday morning……but the sadness didn’t last long. I was going to see my baby…and we had a carnival to get ready for!! Check out Katie’s Blog to see pictures from Anthony’s 5th birthday party. I swear that girl gets so creative she should be a party planner. It’s hard to believe that “little Anthony” is such a big boy! Katie had ordered one of those giant blow-up slides for the carnival. After the party was over, our family decided to take advantage of the slide…we had so much fun! Even Edwin took a couple of turns on it!!

So there you have it…I’m exhausted this morning, but I had such a blast that it was totally worth it. Hopefully I’ll have some more pictures for you soon. Have a great week!