OIB

The little boys and I went with G-Ma to Ocean Isle Beach on Thursday and stayed until Sunday.  It was a nice get-away and gave Derek some time to work on school work and his "play house".  (He's currently building a storage building/workshop in the back yard.  Davis calls it "Daddy's play house".)  We didn't mind that it was cold.  We'll go to the beach any old time!   Here are some pictures of our time at the coast...

There's a great park near G-Ma's place.  We went on two different days to play.

Davis was such a brave climber at the park!

My smiley baby boy

My only child who enjoys swinging

We wondered if this might be evidence of a turtle's trek to the ocean...it's a nice thought anyway!

Pretty view under the pier

Davis on his way to go feed the seagulls

Action shot

...and another one.  He was not in the least bit nervous about the birds being so close...I was!

Pretty birds

Getting ready to leave the beach, as it was getting dark

No, this is not a post card.  Gorgeous sunset!

Hiatus

I'm baaaaaack.  We have none absolutely nothing since Halloween, which is why I haven't blogged.  Okay that's not true.  I've been a little lazy about it.  Here are some pictures to help us catch up!

Playing at White Deer park

Davis playing on the playground at the Hicks Family Christmas Party

Reece at Marbles.  Next time he wants to get down and play!

Davis' first Deacons game

At G-Ma's for a Thanksgiving celebration

Our Christmas card picture for 2012...love this one!

Thanksgiving at Nana and Papa's

At Lillian's house in Thomasville.  It's so nice to get together with these girls and all the kids!

Mommy and Reecey

Christmas Eve at Aunt Bonnie's.  We got a little too close to nap time, so Davis and Derek didn't make the photo...again.

Figuring out who the alpha-dog is...

One of our favorite places--Jumpin' Jax

Nothing like playing in the rain...

Reece isn't quite sure what to think of Santa Claus

Christmas has arrived!

The boys' big gift from Nana and Papa

Reece's loot

Davis' loot

Loving their new toys!

Davis is really into super heroes these days...Avengers, assemble!

Already going for the remote

Reece in the hat G-Ma made for him

Relaxing day at Lake Benson Park

Davis is excited to throw rocks into the lake.

Hopefully I won't let two and a half months pass before my next update...

Trick or Treat!

It has been forever since my last blog update!  Here's the short version:  Recently we've taken the boys to Ocean Isle for the Oyster Festival, which was awesome; we've celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary and Derek's 32nd birthday; we went to Davis' first real outdoor concert, the Fresh Beat Band concert in downtown Raleigh; and we've done lots of other fun stuff that I can't remember right now.

Also, Wednesday was Halloween.  It was Davis' first time trick-or-treating, so Derek took off work so that he could be with us to carve our pumpkin and go "candy harvesting" as some of my cousins call it. We went to White Deer Park in Garner where they had an event called "Trick-or-Treat the Trails".  It was great, and Davis really enjoyed it.  Here are some pictures!

D's new favorite method of transportation

Spiderman got warmed up after about 30 minutes and was on a roll!

The baby fox enjoyed his vantage point as well.  

Cutest Spiderman ever?  I think so.

Our Jack-O-Lanterns

Day-After-Halloween hangover?

...And speaking of rotten teeth, Reece has a nice healthy white one already!

Reecey-Poop

I used Davis' nickname for Reece as the title of this post because I'm hoping that it won't stick and that one day this will be a reminder to me that Davis (and sometimes I) used to refer to him as Reecey-Poop.    In Davis' defense, he heard me calling Reece "Reecey-Poo" and thought I was saying "Reecey-Poop", so that's where it came from...

Reece had his four-month doctor's appointment last week and it was confirmed.  He's perfect and he's big.  He weighed 16 pounds, 5 ounces (75th percentile); his height was 26.5 inches (90th percentile); and his head was in the 95th percentile.  The doctor commented on how strong and alert he is, and said that everything about him looked great.  Praise the Lord!

Our sweet little boy is growing and changing so quickly.  He's able to push up on his elbows when he lies on his tummy, he chews and bites on anything he can grab, and he is an all-around smiley, happy baby...as long as mama or daddy has him.  He, like Davis, prefers a familiar face to look at, but will give each of his grandparents short stints of lap time.  He has very strong lungs and seems much louder than Davis did as a baby, whether he's happy or upset.  I guess our second child feels like he needs to be the "squeaky wheel" in order to be heard...he might be onto something.

It's Fall, Y'all

It finally feels and seems like fall around here.  The cooler temperatures have been wonderful, and it's hard to believe the fair and the pumpkin patch are just around the corner.  I guess I need to get my fall stuff out of the attic before it's already time to get out the Christmas stuff!

Last Friday, the boys and I went with my mom to the Southern Ideal Home Show at the fairgrounds.  Davis had so much fun running around the place and he got lots of free stuff, which is always a bonus.  He really loved climbing up in the Bobcat and I think he wants one for Christmas.  So does Derek.

Over the weekend, Derek and Davis planted mums and pansies.  Reece and I weeded , blew leaves, and watched the big boys work.

Nana and Ms. Jackie came by the house to see us and Ms. Jackie brought Davis a pumpkin, which he painted on Saturday night.

On Sunday Davis helped Daddy mow the front yard.  We tried to get him to "help" by riding on Derek's back in the carrier, but he wasn't having it.  He wanted to "really" help, so he used his lawn mower and was pretty happy with that arrangement.

On Monday Davis got some new pebbles in his sensory bin.  He likes using his heavy machinery to move the rocks around.  He also likes dumping the rocks on the floor.  Thank goodness for the shop vac.

Davis' independent spirit is in full force lately.  He wants to do everything "all by myself" and I often hear Derek muttering, "Little Leah" under his breath when he's trying to help Davis do something.  Independence and stubbornness will take him far in life I'm sure, but it's sometimes hard to remember that when you're trying to get out the door on time or when you know a huge mess is about to be made.  I guess it's a good reminder to all of us to see the bigger picture and to slow down and enjoy the moment.  I love this little dude's personality and he definitely keeps us on our toes!

His Cup Runneth Over

Labor Day Weekend in Pictures

The boys and I went on a little stroll on Friday afternoon.  They love our new double stroller, and so do I.

We had a nice little Labor Day weekend around here, beginning with Friday night.  Davis, Reece, G-Ma, and I went to our buddy Garrett's 2nd birthday bash at Pullen Park.  It was a great party and of course, Davis loves any reason to visit Pullen Park.  He rode the carousel (a horse this time), played on the playground, and almost rode the boats!  We love that place.  Unfortunately, there are no pictures to document this experience as I left my phone in the car.

Saturday, Nana came to pick up Davis and he spent the night with her and Papa.  He had a great time.  They played outside a lot, had spaghetti and meatballs for supper, and went to feed the ducks at Toisnot Park.

Davis fed the ducks two whole loaves of bread.

While Davis was gone on Saturday, Derek did a couple projects around the house; I went running solo for the first time in a long time; Reece and I worked on back carries; and Derek cooked us a delicious dinner on the grill.  It was a nice, relaxing night except for some fussiness on Reece's part that was all my fault.  I ate something with dairy in it, and Reece did not approve.  (You would think that eliminating dairy from my diet would be pretty simple...turns out, after 30 years of being able to eat whatever I want, it's quite an adjustment and sometimes I just plain forget!  I'm getting better though...)

BBQ chicken, grilled zucchini, and baked potato...yum!

We did it!  Reece was asleep in about 10 minutes.

On Sunday, we went out to Derek's parents' house to hang out and retrieve Davis.  Homeboy was t-i-r-e-d and slept from the time we hit Elm City (approximately 7:00pm) until 6:00am on Sunday.  He must've had lots and lots and lots of fun!

Grandaddy came on Monday morning and took the babies and me to the park where we played and had a picnic lunch.  I don't know who got more exercise, Davis or Grandaddy.  They did lots of races up and down the hills; it looked like a military training exercise to me!  We had a great morning out, and we can't wait to do it again soon.

They conquered the dragon!

Now it's Tuesday, and after all that weekend fun, we need to start thinking about what to do for the rest of the week!  I'm sure it won't be boring...