Snips & Snails

Introvert vs. Extrovert

2012-02-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

Email from David:

I read this article in Time magazine while getting the car serviced this morning. I don't think you will be able to access it without a subscription, but it was really good and made me think of Hughes. It was all about introverts and how they are the thinkers - cautious and calculated. Society tends to lean towards the extroverted kids who are all personallity and outgoing, etc. But the introverts are the ones who tend to become the writers, scientists, musicians, and deep thinkers of the world. Notable extroverts were Bill Clinton, George Bush, etc., while introverts were the likes of Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Ghandi, etc. The article even mentioned that introverts may be better CEOs because they listen more than they talk, which can result in more empowered employees = better business efficiency. Go Hughes!

The other article in the same issue was more health/parenting related. It desribed an interesting study that tested various simuli on babies (popping balloons, other loud noises or distractions, etc.). Some babies reacted loudly (crying), some reacted as slightly interested. Those same babies were later assessed as children and the loud reaction babies were the introverts whereas the calm unaffected babies were the extroverts (and of course there was a group of intermediates too). Anyway, it was totally all about Hughes since he was so sensitive as a baby to loud noises and strangers getting in his face and is clearly more of an introverted personality (i.e., building Legos rather than all day basketball marathon with his friends down the street).

So big picture - Hughes will grow up to become a billionaire investor or software designer and Banks will grow up to be president, hahaha. Collins...hmmmm...maybe a billionaire president?

Do you know the Muffin Man?

2012-02-03T09:16:00.000-08:00

On the way home from Banks' preschool today:

Banks: Mom, do you know the Muffin Man?

Mom: um, well, I know the song

(I start singing the song)

Banks: Can the Muffin Man come to our house?

Mom: I don't know.

Banks: He lives on Drury Lane.

Mom: yes, yes he does

Conversation Lately

2012-01-31T16:56:00.000-08:00

Dad: Hughes, who are you going to marry when you get older?

Hughes: um, probably Miller

Dad: oh, really. She's pretty. Banks, who are you going to marry?

Banks: nobody

Hughes: Banks, you're going to be a big man and be all alone and live by yourself. That's not fun.

Today, while riding in the car with me.

Mom: Hughes, what are you going to be when you grow up?

Hughes: a paleontologist

Mom: oh, who are you going to marry?

Hughes: Miller

Mom: Banks, what are you going to be when you grow up?

Banks: basketball player

Mom: Who are you going to marry?

Banks: no one, I'm going to live with you and Dad

Guess, I can't be surprised when I have our 35 year old living with us. He warned us early.

January

2012-01-30T09:31:00.000-08:00

The month of January has flown by. We've been busy but not a lot of pictures were taken. The house is on the market and we've had one showing. I cleaned like the devil only for the boys to mess it up immediately upon coming home after school.

David only has a late class once a week so he's home after 8 most nights. I still think the Kindle we got as a Christmas surprise from David's parents is the best thing ever invented. I've read about 10 books since Christmas which is crazy. Reading at night = less Real Housewives watching. Probably for the best. I'll probably be expected to talk politics later this year in DC and not be asked what the housewives of Beverly Hills are doing.

The weather has been beautiful. Is there a way to take these 70 degree winter days to DC with me next year? We've been looking online and we've narrowed the potential areas to Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church.

Banks playing Wii. No, Collins is not playing. He just likes to hold the other steering wheel. He thinks he's big stuff now that he can crawl up onto the couch.

Hughes, Hudson and Banks

The boys have been into basketball. Suzie made them these basketball jerseys. Hughes (obviously) still has trouble with some numbers going the correct way. They think these are awesome! I bought them some basketball shorts at Target and now they think they are the real deal. We practice with the recycling bin in the driveway as our goal. I've been trying to teach them about how practicing makes you better. David has been teaching them how to talk smack. Now, Banks and Hughes say "booyah" when they make a shot and "get that junk out of here" or "this is my house" when they block someone's shot. It is quite hysterical to hear Hughes talk trash because he doesn't quite have the voice inflection correct. It's more monotone. So, there you go. Two different parenting styles. Let's just hope they don't start smack talking their teachers!

Collins' favorite toy. He loves it. In and out. In and out. He thinks he's pretty big.

I love this smile. Such enthusiasm.

This turkey is almost 16 months old. He's been taking a few steps but doesn't feel the need to really walk yet. He prefers crawling and I haven't pushed it too hard. He's got about 6 teeth trying to pop through at the moment so he's been a bear to be with unless he's on my hip while I'm standing up.

He likes to swing high. I think he'll be my dare devil and roller coaster kid.

And, lastly, Hughes had a 100 Days of School project due today. We did 100 fingers. We traced our handprints twice, cut them out, and then labeled them by 5's up to 100. These are the boys' handprints. I love them. I think I'm going to do some kind of art project with them but make them in black.

So, there is January. Nothing too exciting. Just good family time.

House for Sale!

2012-01-16T16:40:00.000-08:00

We have painted, we have stained, we have de-cluttered, we have Goodwilled, and we have taken pictures. The house is officially on the market! Any takers?

Like my picture? Like the green grass? Well, it pays to take pictures of your house when the yard is in bloom and it is summer. I took this picture two years ago and have several of the backyard with all of the flowers in bloom.

As far as the painting goes, not as easily done as said. On Friday, I touched up all over the house with our main interior color. I've done this before but it had been a while. Well, I did the entire house. I mean every mark, ding, and scratch was painted over leaving nothing but beautiful mark-free walls. Right? Wrong! Last year we had an unfortunate upstairs leak that came through the downstairs' ceiling. It resulted in a lot of dry wall being replaced, new floors being put in, and freshly painted walls. Apparently, the guy who painted the interior of our house 4 years ago and the painters from last year used two different shades of pony tail. So, while I happily touched up our walls ALL over our house on Friday I was really ruining every wall I painted.

Fast forward several hours when I realize that this paint that I have used is a slight shade darker than our wall color. I wanted to scream, to cry, to drink myself silly. It took me a while to figure out what had happened because, like I said above, I had done this so many times before. Apparently the painters from last year only touched up the two walls affected which is why when I touched up those walls they looked perfectly fine. So, needless to say, Saturday night was a painting party at the house. We haven't even approached upstairs and I'm trying to convince David to just hire someone to do the upstairs.

Besides that minor catastrophe, everything else went as planned. The boys came back on Sunday and we were glad to have the MLK holiday to relax and prepare for the week ahead.

So, yes, our house is on the market and our upstairs needs to be repainted quickly. I need a drink.

On your mark, Get set,

2012-01-09T08:09:00.000-08:00

GO!

2012 feels just like that so far. We have started the year off being very busy. We have lots of changes coming this year and we're excited!

1. We are getting ready to put our house on the market which means we are in the trenches of cleaning, painting, decluttering, goodwilling, etc. I'm embarrassed by the amount of stuff in our house that I had no problem giving away. We are also doing For Sale By Owner which adds an entire stress level to the situation.

2. David starts his last semester of law school tonight. Can I get a hallelujah? So, we then have law school graduation, the Bar to study/take, and then a job. On the bright side, I'm use to David being gone from 8am to 10pm during his school year so even if he does have to work until 8pm at the office it is still better than night school.

If I ever get the house ready (hopefully in about 2 weeks) then I'll post pictures. If you know of anyone wanting to move to Charleston (Johns Island) and want to buy a house please let me know!

Guess Who Is Taking Steps?

2012-01-09T08:06:00.001-08:00

He's not full-out walking yet but he will take three steps and then fall on his bottom. We clap, he claps, and then he crawls away. He also loves to open doors and go through them only to return 5 seconds later. This game can entertain him for a long time.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-31T12:30:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve, the boys were in St. Michaels' Christmas Pageant as a sheep and cow. I believe they were the most talented sheep and cow up there!

Wimberly was the narrator and is an excellent babysitter.

Banks on stage with his mask off. He did a great job sitting up there and behaving himself.

There were 110 participants in the Christmas Pageant.

Cutest Sheep Ever!

After the pageant, we went to the Rectory to have Christmas Eve dinner with the family and open family presents.

Hudson opening his superhero gift.

Jacob showing off his Papertoy Monsters book that we gave him.

Lucius being cute.

Uncle Rick with an aura around him.

Collins loving his diapers and crayola set. Or, is that Dad loving it?

We had a great dinner and then we headed home to prepare for Christmas morning.

Christmas Morning

2011-12-31T12:19:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure Santa brought the boys their fill. They each got email videos sent to them by Santa that said they were on the good list so they were pretty stoked about Christmas morning.

Hughes' loot. The favorites were the geodes and the robot dinosaur. He asked for a pterodactyl but had to settle for a robot t-rex.

Banks' side. His favorites were the scooter and bey blade arena.

Collins' chair. He loves the phone.

Dad taking video before the boys broke through the paper.

Sitting on the steps waiting to get permission to break through.

The boys breaking through to see what Santa left.

Cars 2 school pack.

Checking out his red scooter.

Geodes!

Christmas morning ended nice and relaxing with BecBec and PopPop coming for lunch and bringing more gifts. We relaxed all afternoon while the boys played with everything.

Christmas in York

2011-12-31T12:10:00.000-08:00

On the 26th, we headed up to York to visit with David's family. Unfortunately, Uncle Bo and Jackie had to leave that afternoon and Aunt Nancy had already headed back to New Orleans, but we did get to see most everybody else. Of course, the boys were beside themselves ready to open gifts. We had a quick lunch and then got ready to open. The boys ripped through everything in about 2 seconds flat and left the parents shuffling through the wrapping paper looking for tags and forgotten gifts.

Collins got a book, a Mickey Mouse car, some clothes, a Batman car, and other assorted gifts.

Uncle Bo and Hughes checking out Hughes' new book - The Human Body.

Banks modeling his new Optimus Prime costume. This kid loves to dress up!

G-Daddy with his grandsons. Excuse Banks' face, he was eating chocolate.

GiGi with her great-grandchildren.

We spent a couple of days in York lounging and playing on our new I-Pad and Kindle Touch. I've read three books since I got the Kindle and am totally in love with it. David was completely surprised to get his "Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, Happy Graduation" I-Pad. It was a nice relaxing visit with wonderful food and family time.

The Wimberly Dinner

2011-12-31T11:54:00.001-08:00

Every year around Christmas time we have the Wimberly Dinner. The dinner was started by the four Wimberly brothers who wanted to get all of their families together - one who happened to be my grandfather, Ken Wimberly. Well, time has passed and the family has grown tremendously. Interestingly, of the four Wimberly brothers, children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren there is only one boy to carry on the family name.

BecBec and PopPop's grandchildren

Banks and Lucius

Eliza Frezil & Edward Wimberly & Amanda McNulty

We were missing Lil and Conrad.

Wimberly, MaeMae, Al, Rick, Rebecca, Adelaide, Elizabeth, Tony, Christian, Amelia, Hudson & Jacob - MaeMae's entire family

The Wimberlys from Sumter

Gary, Wilkes, Heathie, Wimberly, Scott, Boo, MiMi, Greir, Sister & Uncle Bob

We were missing Robbie, Collins & Cassidy.

Aunt Carolyn & Uncle Marvin's family

Mullin, Wimberly, Aunt Carolyn, Uncle Marvin, Wallace, Lee, Catharine, Mary Wallace & Wilds

We were missing Anna and Michael.

Collins was wonderful and cuddled on everybody. I think every person might have held him throughout the night but his PopPop can always get him to go to sleep.

BecBec & PopPop's family

David, me, Michele, Bill, Kent, Trina, Banks, Hughes, Lucius, Emma, Anna Banks, Bryce, PopPop, BecBec, and Collins

It was a quick trip to Sumter but always great to see everyone.

Letters to Santa 2011

2011-12-19T14:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2011

Dear Santa,

For Christmas this year I would like a Velociraptor robot dinosaur (but a lot) because I like them. I also want a Bey Blade. I have been very good for 20 years. I have cleaned up all day. I really, really want a Utahraptor's tooth. I want it because it is sharp. I also really, really want a geode. I like crystals. I also want the skeleton of a T-Rex. And a big surprise present.

Love,

Hughes (age 6)

as dictated by Hughes

Christmas 2011

Dear Santa,

Santa, I have been good this year. I shared my toys with my brothers and friends.

I would like a Power Ranger and a Bey Blade named Rock Leon. I only want two toys.

Can you please bring me a red scooter, too?

Love,

Banks (age 4)

as dictated by Banks

Dear Santa,

Please explain to Hughes that dinosaurs are extinct and that real skeletons and teeth are

really expensive and out of our price range. I would also like you to question his "been good

for 20 years". How is that even possible when he's only been on this earth for 6? And,

"cleaned all day"? I sure missed that because my house is still a wreck! As for Banks,

please write him a note telling him that you did the best you could but your "toy machine"

couldn't make Rock Leon. He really is a good kid. Thanks a bunch!

Love,

Anne Wimberly

What do you do when it 75 degrees in December?

2011-12-16T13:09:00.000-08:00

You play outside all afternoon!

It was a gorgeous day today and the perfect start to Christmas break.

Driving the four-wheeler while blowing bubbles - multi-talented!

Pretending to boogie board in the grass.

Excuse Banks' face - 1/2 dirt, 1/2 road rash from stopping the skateboard with his face but that was yesterday's accident.

Playing in the Cozy Coupe

Collins spent about an hour getting in the car, getting out of the car, repeat, repeat, repeat.

Merry Christmas and Happy Friday Y'all!

Hughes' Holiday Program

2011-12-16T12:22:00.000-08:00

Harborview Elementary had their Kindergarten Holiday Program this morning. It was all four kindergartens and they all did a great job. Well, one kid cried and left the stage, one girl kept scratching her bottom and her mom took her off the stage, one kid kept his lips closed the entire time, and the others did a great job singing. Luckily for me, Hughes was part of the great singing group!

Does it get any sweeter than this?

Best Boys in Miss Rodgers' Class!

Hudson, Conley & Hughes

It was a great program. Lots of songs. Lots of hand motions. Lots of proud parents.

If you would have asked me last year how I thought Hughes would do in a school performance, I would have said that he probably wouldn't sing and maybe do a few hand motions. Boy, am I wrong! And, I love being wrong in this instance!

Way to go, Hughes! You rocked it up there!

JICP Lights

2011-12-16T12:05:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night we headed over to James Island County Park to see the lights. We went inand parked andthen the kids hopped in the back of the Steeds' truck to ride the loop to see all of the lights. Somehow, David and I managed to skip the truck ride and stay with Collins walking around. Of course, the boys thought it was awesome riding in the back of Mr. James' truck.

We met The Deprills, The Murphys, and The Steeds.

Between us we had two 6-year-olds, one 4-year-old, four 2-year-olds and two 1-year-olds.

Collins having his turn on the carousel. I took my name out of the hat for Mother of the Year when I realized I left Collins' coat at home. Lucky for us, the Murphys had an extra - an extra PINK one!

Collins and Charlie

Thumbs up for the carousel.

Marshmallow Time!

Collins, why must you look away?

Typical family picture.

Santa was not the greatest this year. I hear we missed the "good" one. Even Hughes called him out telling me that that was not the REAL Santa. I told him I thought it was one of Santa's helpers. But, we told "Santa" what we wanted anyways. Hughes wants the phoenix bey blade, Banks was another type of bey blade, and Collins just stared at him.

We had a great evening and I am glad that I can check that off my to-do list!

Jack the Transformer

2011-12-14T11:40:00.000-08:00

Transformers - More than meets the eye.

Transformers - Robots in disguise.

Autobots (and Jack the Elf) wage the battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons.

Jack the Elf may have to make himself a Lego car tonight!

Crustbreakers 2011

2011-12-13T08:15:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we headed up to York for the Crustbreakers' Christmas Party. We always love to go to this party because we get to dress up and have a great time with family and friends. Somehow we managed to not get a group picture this year but every one in the family was there and looking pretty snazzy.

Before we left for the party

Neal (aka Uncle Bo) and Jackie before the party.

On Sunday before we left, we tried to get a picture of all the grandchildren.

This is the best one of the older grandchildren.

Banks wasn't feeling well (only later did we realize he REALLY wasn't feeling well when he threw-up in the car on the way home). Collins was not camera-ready and it showed. Hughes & Kate were great listeners. And Charlotte, well, she was very concerned why we were taking pictures of them and not consoling Collins.

Merry Christmas and Bah Humbug!

First Haircut

2011-12-13T08:08:00.000-08:00

Collins got his first haircut last week at 14 months. He was looking a little shaggy/rattail-ish. We took him to this new posh place named Our Master Bathroom and his stylist was his mama.

Before Picture

We wet it in the back to show how long and scraggly it was.

I evened up the back and cut the wisps of hair above his ears. He looks much more polished now and is ready for his close-up.

Lookin' Good!

Day 4 - Epcot

2011-12-06T10:02:00.001-08:00

On Friday, we went to Epcot. We went to the Nemo ride first and then went to Turtle Talk. After that, we walked and walked and walked.

The boys inside Bruce's mouth. I guess that's their scary faces.

Belle and the Beast

Hughes did not want his picture taken at this point. Collins wasn't really sure what was going on at this point.

Pooh and Tigger

Funny sidenote: yesterday we were down at Charleston Place looking at the trains and this lady had a Pooh teddy bear taking pictures of it in different poses inside the hotel. Weird? yeah, I know. Anywho, I pointed it out to the boys and Banks said, " yeah, but that's not the real Pooh". You gotta love their innocence.

PopPop and Collins jamming to some Beattles coverband

Horsing around.

And, the real reason we came to Epcot was to see and hear the Christmas Story. When we were there it was narrated by Mira Sorvino. It was beautiful besides the three little boys I had surrounding me who couldn't appreciate the singing and were constantly having to be told to "shhh".

Epcot at night.

We said our farewells to Mickey and Minnie and vowed to come back in a few years. The boys need to grow a few more inches and reach deep to find the courage to ride some roller coasters before we come back. It was a great Disney vacation and I am thankful that I have the best parents who would forego their Iron Bowl weekend to spend the week at Disney with me and the boys.

Thanks BecBec & PopPop, you're one in a million!

Thanksgiving Day

2011-12-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

On Thanksgiving Day, we celebrated with a quick lunch with buffalo chicken wraps and hit Downtown Disney. It was the easiest Thanksgiving dinner Mom ever prepared. All she did was pay and throw her trash into the trashcan.

We spent about an hour in the Lego store. The boys were in heaven.

Making their Lego men.

Family Shot with the Lego Family

Riding a bulldog

While the big boys were playing in the outdoor Lego playpark, Mom and I took Collins into the shops and did a photo montage. Who needs to buy all these silly hats when all you want is the picture?

Donald Duck

Hey Mon! Don't Worry, Be Happy.

Abra Cadabra

Seriously, Mom?

Dumbo!

Hughes building. He could have stayed there all day long.

Banks racing his Lego car. He came in 5th.

Next, we went to play putt putt at Winterland Summerland. This is a Disney course and it was great. One course was a Christmas/winter theme and the other was a summer theme.

We choose to do the Christmas course. We like to play putt putt in our family and it's always a competition.

Happy Thanksgiving from our Air Stream to yours!

Hughes playing the ice hockey hole.

Banks ready to go.

The ice castle with moat. You had to time your stroke so that your ball would go over the draw bridge and not into the water.

Collins only wishing he could play.

Frosty shot water from his pipe!

PopPop trying to take the lead.

BecBec started off strong but then fell apart.

This hole you had to time your ball to go under Santa's feet and not get blocked by them.

I started off a bit slow but I'm proud to say I pulled myself together and managed to tie it with Dad. The boys played a hole ahead of us and we weren't keeping their score. They still have a lot to learn as Banks sometimes swings his putter like it's a wood and Hughes picks his ball up and places it right beside the hole.

We had a great Thanksgiving Day and ended it with some midnight shopping at Target for the Black Friday sales - the girls did the shopping, the boys slept at the condo. The day was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the parks.

Day 3 - Hollywood Studios

2011-12-03T09:36:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, we went to Hollywood Studios. I knew to go to the Toy Story ride first to get fast passes and I did except we didn't make it into the studios until 10am and the fast passes were already out for the day! We didn't let it dampen our spirits.

At the front of the park. I promise they were excited.

After the Star Wars ride with BecBec and PopPop. Collins and I stayed out to go get fast passes for the adults for Aerosmith's Rock'n Roller Coaster. That has got to be the best roller coaster EVER! I warned Dad to take his hat off but didn't think to tell him to hold on to his eye glasses. Lucky for him, he's still got quick reflexes and managed to snag them before they were lost forever. Mom screamed through all of the loops, twists, and turns. I got to ride it twice and it was awesome!

The car stunt show was most definitely a favorite. Well, except for the explosion at the end. Collins was not a fan of that. Banks was shocked that the REAL Lightning McQueen was there along with Finn McMissile. Cars2 is absolutely on his wish list from Santa.

Before the cars stunt show.

Watching the motorcycle make the jump.

Afterwards, we headed to the Honey, I Shrunk The Kids playground. Unfortunately, every one else in the park had the same idea. It was very crowded and we didn't stay for long.

Collins liked crawling on the back of the ant. Really, Collins was happy all of the time. He was happy in his stroller, he was happy sipping my smoothie, he was happy waiting in line. He was a fantastic baby the entire trip. Well, all for except maybe the last hour in the car on the trip back home. He was fed up by then.

Showing off the mouse ears.

Snack Break.

Salute with the Green Army Man from Toy Story

Well, since the fast passes were all out for the entire day we were left with no other options but to either skip the ride or wait in line. We decided to wait in line for TWO hours. What were we thinking? The boys did pretty well with the wait and finally it was our turn.

Hughes pulling the "ball popper".

Banks playing the game, too.

I can't say the experience/ride was worth a two hour wait.

Tomorrow: Thanksgiving Day and PuttPutt

Animal Kingdom - Day 2

2011-11-29T16:44:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, we hit Animal Kingdom. This was definitely a more laid-back day than the previous one at Magic Kingdom. We got our fast passes for the safari ride and then headed straight to see The Lion King show.

Hughes practicing his wart hog face and snort. We were in the wart hog section for the show.

This show always entertains me.

After the show, we were ready for our safari.

The boys loved it.

Hughes kept telling me at the beginning of the safari that his favorite animal was the Eskimo. I kept asking him to repeat himself and explaining to him that an Eskimo is a person not an animal. After going back and forth several times, he finally pointed to a picture on the ceiling that had a whole slew of animals and he pointed to the antelope. I said, "antelope" and he said, "oh yeah, antelope".

Giraffes are so cool.

We saw all of the animals except for the lion. We could only see the tip of his tail swaying. Otherwise, it was a huge success. We saved the baby elephant from the poachers. The boys were concerned about the mother of the baby elephant. I didn't have the heart to tell them that it was only pretend. I love their innocent hearts.

On our way to DinoLand. We tried to get fast passes for the Yeti rollercoaster but they were all out. Mom & I were ready to take it on. Oh well, I'll settle for a dinosaur ride.

Playing in the dinosaur playground. The boys needed this running, climbing, sliding time.

Collins really, really enjoyed the dinosaur playground because he had been in the stroller all day the previous day and finally we were somewhere that I would let him really play around. He climbed these little rocks for what seemed like forever. He also has mad climbing skills.

One of the workers came up to me and told me that he had never seen a kid scale the rope ladder as fast as Hughes had done it. He was quite impressed. Maybe I should sign Hughes up for rock climbing? Just kidding - over my dead body is he going to scale the side of a mountain! Does he know what I went through to have him?

This is when Banks told me he was "sweatery". You gotta love it!

After the playground, we went around the corner and found the below dinosaur tucked away in the trees to have our lunch. We packed our lunch daily and treated ourselves to ice cream & snacks in the parks.

Of course when you're in DinoLand, you must hit the dinosaur gift shop. Not surprising the boys went straight for the dinosaurs that we bought two years ago when we were there. I steered them away from the "already purchased" dinosaurs. Hughes picked two geodes/crystals. He is really into rocks lately and will collect any and all. Banks picked two race cars - Mickey and Tigger.

We ended the day with the Nemo show. The boys were entertained with their new toys and Collins was entertained by the sweetest 9-year old boy sitting behind us. Thank heavens for him because otherwise it would have been me wrestling a greased pig for about an hour. But when the show started Collins was totally enamored. In fact, he did really well in all of the shows we went to. Well, except for the car show but that's for another post.

So, Day 2 ended at the park with 3 happy boys. Did I mention that the weather the entire time we were there was in the mid-70s? It was awesome weather.

Magic Kingdom Day 1

2011-11-29T13:32:00.000-08:00

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with Mickey. David stayed home to focus on finals and the boys and I headed off to Orlando with BecBec and PopPop. I'm thankful this year will be the last year that holidays get interrupted because of law school.

On the monorail heading into Magic Kingdom.

Welcome to Disney World!

Love some brotherly love! Hughes immediately said upon getting into the Magic Kingdom that he was not riding any roller coaster rides. Guess we scarred him last time with Goofy's Barnstormer. I thought Banks may be my roller coaster kid but the area with the Barnstormer was closed so I guess I'll have to test that theory next visit.

The Teacups with Pop Pop.

I wanted to throw up midway.

Collins and PopPop waiting outside of Dumbo. I also realized at this point that my boys have not seen a lot of the old Disney movies. I was trying to explain Dumbo and Hughes looked at me like I was crazy - baby elephant, huge ears, flies. Can't say I blame him.

BecBec and Hughes up in the air.

Buzz Lightyear time.

Definitely a family favorite.

Look who is having fun!

Total concentration.

Total Domination!

Jailed with Zerg or Zorg.

Something like that.

Winnie the Pooh

Sword in the Stone

Woo Hoo - Ride'em Cowboys!

Another Dumbo ride.

Goodbye Magic Kingdom!

The boys were troopers. We were at the park until 9pm.

One Proud Mama

2011-11-17T10:25:00.000-08:00

Hughes' kindergarten class has their Thanksgiving program this morning. This was Hughes' first time in a school performance and his first time singing/talking on stage in front of a crowd. I have to admit I was a little nervous. He can be hard to understand. He may not participate. Well, all of my fears disappeared when I saw him standing on stage with such confidence.

You have to know that Hughes does not do anything unless he is 100% sure of himself. So the fact that he was on stage with confidence is a testament to how much they must have practiced. And, I was one proud mama. David had the video camera. I had the regular camera. We were your typical camera-crazy family. I didn't want to miss a second of this occasion.

Hughes' line was "the ship was very crowded and cold - 102 passengers". For a child who has been in speech therapy since he was two, I was nervous no one would be able to understand him. But Hughes doesn't realize that people have a hard time or at least it's never held him back from talking to us or friends. We practiced saying it slowly and clearly and what do you know? He said it slowly and clearly! He was one of the students you could understand! I don't think I'll ever forget that line.

Singing lots of turkey songs with hand motions

And, at the end each student came up to say what they were thankful for. Conley (holding the little yellow A) said his mom - ahhhh, how sweet. Hughes (holding the brown T) said his dog - huh? Guess, David and I are pretty low on the totem pole if Charlie is beating us out.

Suzie and Conley

Banks was so excited to see Hughes on stage and was just as proud of him as we were. Collins got to stay with a friend and take his morning nap so he missed the performance. I'll make sure Hughes sings his turkey songs to him today to make up for him missing the show.

Enjoying a little Thanksgiving feast of doughnuts, apples, yogurt and chicken minis.

Hughes with Miss Rodgers

Hughes,

You did awesome! I'm so proud of you. You did fantastic standing on stage, watching your teacher, and singing all of the songs. Your confidence astounded me and it just reassured me that you are on the right path. You are a star!

Happy Veteran's Day - a little late!

2011-11-14T05:47:00.000-08:00

Hughes' class made cards to send to our veterans.

Happy Veteran's Day!

Thanks PopPop and GDaddy and greatgrandparents for serving our country!

(Good Job Hughes on the drawing - it looks awesome!)

Collins - 13 months

2011-11-11T13:46:00.000-08:00

Collins is in to everything!

His favorite place to play is the back porch where he can cruise the table and get into all sorts of things - terrariums, dog food container, Charlie's bowls, the recycling bins, any toys that the boys might have left out there, Nerf foam bullets, etc. Yesterday I caught him under the table. He got pretty upset that he couldn't figure out how in the world to get out. I helped him and then he immediately went for Charlie's water bowl. I normally put this up but he was too quick for me this time. It was a warm day (not that you could tell by his outfit) so I wasn't too worried about a little water play.

Under the table

Splash Splash

Such a sweet face!

Playing with the terrarium top

At 13 months, Collins:

*eats any and all table food - we call him our Mikey.

*can cruise like a champ.

*can stand for about 2 seconds and then sits down gracefully.

*tried to put on his shoes by himself which is funny b/c my babies never wear shoes until it gets cold.

*loves to climb the stairs.

*loves bath time.

*has been sleeping better. The pneumonia/croup threw him off and now we're just getting back to his normal sleep

*got 2 more teeth so now we're up to 6.

*can clap and wave bye-bye.

*is a human garbage disposal with Charlie as his clean-up crew.

Go Stingrays!

2011-11-11T13:35:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, we went to the Stingrays hockey game. David and I know nothing about hockey so we weren't much help explaining the rules to the boys. Luckily, we had a few people with us who were experts about the game. We went with David's work and it was a lot of fun.

Conley came with us.

Banks watching intensely.

We had a good time. David was disappointed that there wasn't some huge fight. There were a few pushes but nothing big. Can't say I'm dying to go back to one.

Dear Law School,

2011-11-10T14:39:00.000-08:00

Dear Law School,

I am over you. I wish you would hurry up and finish so that I could have my husband back at nights. You have been the 3rd person in our marriage for the last 3 1/2 years and I'm tired of sharing. I did not sign up to have a sister-wife. Besides, if I did I would at least want my sister-wife to share the cooking and cleaning duty and you do neither. All you do is take him away every weeknight and every Sunday afternoon/late evening and cause stress. You suck as a sister-wife.

I look forward to the day in May when I can say good riddance to you and your nasty schedule. I'm tired of your ridiculous one-exam-at-the-end-of-the-semester-is-your-final-grade-stress. Also, if I had known the amount of Red Bull that would be consumed in this household during the four years, I probably would have bought stock in the company. Who buys Red Bull monthly by the case at Costco? a law student.

So, our time is nearing and I can see light at the end of the tunnel. This light has never looked so bright. I can picture family dinner time and I can imagine help reading bedtime stories and even having someone just to chat with at night once the boys go to bed. Oh, how grand life will be without you! Let's just get these next 6 months done and call a truce. K?

Sincerely,

A Tired Mom

P.S. Tell your buddy, Mr. MBA, not to even think of rearing his ugly head any where near my husband.

P.P.S. You can also tell your cohort, The Bar, that I don't like him either.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T16:35:00.000-07:00

Halloween has been checked off the list for 2011!

The boys had more stamina this year than last therefore their bags were twice as full. Lucky for David and I, the boys don't like peanut butter so all Reese's cups must come to us!

My Boys

Power Ranger, Giraffe, and Phantom

Some of the boys and Minnie of the 'hood.

Sweetest Giraffe Ever!

Group Shot of the Barberry Woods kids. The group gets bigger and bigger every holiday.

Side shot of the group.

Dad cutting class to pull trick-or-treat duty.

Picking up some loot!

Checking out the loot!

Update on Collins

2011-10-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

We went to our pediatrician today for a check-in considering he just got discharged yesterday. The hospital sent us home with one dose of steroids to be taken this morning and then a 14 days of antibiotics to treat the pneumonia. When Collins woke up this morning he was pretty wimpy. He basically just laid around, ate half of a waffle, drank some milk and then vegged on BecBec's lap. I put him down for his morning nap at 9am and had to wake him at 11:15 to get ready to go see the doctor. He was perkier than he was in the morning which is typical when the steroids kick in. Dr. Geils checked him over and decided to keep him on steroids for another two days. So, now we sit and wait and hopefully the drugs will kick this croup and pneumonia out of his little body.

Sweet Collins

2011-10-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

In the past 10 days, Collins has been diagnosed with croup, hand, foot, mouth, and pneumonia all accompanied with fever. We went to MUSC Children's ER last Sunday because he was having trouble getting a deep breath. He got a dose of oral steroids that was suppose to last 3 days. On Monday, he felt great and we thought he was getting better but on Tuesday morning when he woke up he sounded just as awful as he did on Sunday. So, I took him to our pediatrician. That's when he got diagnosed with hand, foot, mouth and was given a steroid injection in each thigh. On Wednesday, we thought again that we were getting better but the same thing happened that on Thursday he sounded awful again. Friday was a little better (we thought) and so we let the weekend go by with no real change in Collins' behavior. Think lethargic, wimpy, not eating food in over a week, barely drinking - all in all, just pathetic. On Monday when he wasn't showing in progress of getting better I took him back to the pediatrician to get checked out again. Collins got a dose of oral steroids there and did a breathing treatment. She sent us on to MUSC Children's ER to get x-rays and completely checked over. The xrays either show a small patch of pneumonia on his upper right side or they show a spot where the lung has collapsed. They also gave him two breathing treatments, tylenol for the fever, started him on antibiotics, and admitted us to the hospital.

They took some blood once we were upstairs to check to see if the infection has moved into his bloodstream. While the phlembotanist (sp?) was doing this she commented how awesome he was doing. I had to break it to her that he has no voice to cry and his body has no energy to fight her. We have to wait 48 hours to get those results.

This morning he has more energy than he has in a week. He actually ate some breakfast and has been drinking pretty well. But, we've been down this path before where the day after steroids has him feeling great and then the following day we're back to our pitiful selves so I'm not quite as optimistic at this point as I probably should be. He slept great last night even with the vitals being taken every four hours. The couch wasn't too terrible to sleep on but the baby next door screamed all night so that kept me up. We're waiting on Dr. Summers to make her rounds this morning to see if we're going home or staying another night.

Get better, Sweet Collins!

Mickey & Pumpkins

2011-10-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

Last Thurday, we took Hughes and Banks to see Disney on Ice 100 Years of Magic. Hughes didn't want to go at first and said he wasn't riding any roller coasters. I guess I scarred him when I made him ride Goofy's Barnstormer two years ago.

When we got there, of course, they were inundated with light-up swirly toys, swords, hats, shirts, more toys, etc. We let the boys pick out one souvenier and let them get one snack. $60 later we came away with two Buzz Lightyear swords that light up, one shark cup with snowcone inside of it and one bag of cotton candy that came with a Mickey crown. CHA-CHING!

But, I wouldn't trade that night. The boys' eyes lit up when the show started and we had great seats. At one point, the princesses and princes came out to do a dance number and Hughes looked at me and stuck his finger down his throat like to gag himself. I don't know where he learned this but it made me laugh out loud. Obviously, he doesn't like princesses. It was a 2 hour show and towards the end we were all tired but it was still fantastic.

Thanks Mickey for a special night!

On Friday, Hughes did not have school so I declared Banks not to have school, too. We went and had mexican for lunch which Hughes requested and then we went to Wally World to get our Halloween costumes. I have totally let go my need to make my boys' costumes and they are thrilled. So, without further adieu, here are our 2011 mass produced, cheaply made but lovingly adored costumes.

Hughes the Phantom, Banks the Power Ranger and that ghost is Sally the Lion from Hughes' class. Sally visited with us this weekend so we made her a costume, too.

**Side Story - that furry green thing in the background is a witch that hangs on the outside of the downstairs bathroom door. One morning Banks was jumping around grabbing himself and I told him to go to the bathroom to which he replied he couldn't. I asked him why and he said he was afraid of the witch. I had to show him that it was pretend and just for fun but he didn't believed me. This resulted in a little boy losing control of his bladder because he couldn't muster the courage to face the witch.

Now, on to decorating pumpkins. David has been busy studying so we decided this year to take the easy way out of decorating pumpkins. We used the push-in face parts (think Mr. Potato Head). It was awesome, no mess and very little clean-up.

The Boys

Hughes (6), Collins (1), and Banks (4)

Sally the Lion made the family picture, too.

Update on Collins: Collins is back to running a fever. He has never left the crummy feeling stage so we'll go back to the doctor tomorrow. He's barely drinking and not eating at all. You can't tell from the above picture but he was just whimpering.

Croupy Croup

2011-10-18T12:31:00.000-07:00

The croup has invaded.

Croup - 3 Holman Boys - 0

Clearly, the croup is winning. It has now taken down all three boys each individually. Banks had it first but seemed to only have a touch of it. He was only down for maybe 2 days. Then, Hughes had a full-blown case and was out of school for four days last week and ended up on steroids to treat the swelling in his throat. And, now Collins.

I actually took him to the Children's ER at MUSC on Sunday afternoon because he was having trouble getting a good breath when I got him up from his nap. So, I called David at the law library, told him what I was doing and he met us over there. They gave him an oral steroid to help with the throat swelling that lasted 36 hours. Today, he is feeling worst than he did yesterday so I took him to the pediatrician to get checked out again. Still swelling in his throat so they gave him a shot of steroids. You know your baby feels terrible when they can't even muster a cry when getting two shots in their thighs. I'm fully expecting him to have roid rage at some point.

But, on the positive side . . .

Wait. There is no positive side.

(of course, I know there is a positive. this will pass. it's not terminal. i'm just being dramatic)

He also has hand, foot, mouth disease. Not to be outdone by his big brothers, Collins had to one-up them.

So, I shall sit in the house and be quarantined for another week. You would think with all this time at home my house would be spotless but it's not. Collins likes to be held and he likes to nap on me. What can I say? I'm a sucker for some baby snuggling time. I'm no fool. I'll take what I can get.

Arggh! Happy 6th Birthday, Hughes!

2011-10-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

Hughes' 6th Birthday was celebrated this past weekend with a spend-the-night party at the creek house. We had five 5-6 year olds and two 4 year olds and the party went beautifully. No one got home sick, no one got in a fight, every one just had a great time.

We started the festivities with a little running around the property which quickly turned in to a fort building mission and started the tie dye process on our pirate shirts.

Banks thinks he's 6 and I treat him like he's 6 all the time! I have to remind myself that he's only 4.

Check out Banks' hair! I can't bring myself to give him a "big boy" haircut.

Pirate birthday cake courtesy of BecBec

Charlie was there, too!

The gang before we started the treasure hunt.

Hughes, William, Conley, Banks, Hudson, Thomas & Lucius.

Checking out the crab trap for the first prize.

Conley spots it!

Eyepatches for our burly pirates!

2nd prize - pirate booty!

(which quickly got eaten later in the day)

Thomas

So far, they've gotten their eye patches, booty, & hats!

They just found their pirate teeth and earring.

Conley

Hudson

Thomas

Bryce was there to be my assistant. She worked hard.

William

The swords have been found!

Arrgh! David telling them to look on their maps for the "x".

In search of treasure.

Lucius practicing some sword moves.

Conley actually found the treasure box first. This treasure box was only covered by leaves.

Hughes getting to it quickly and opening it up.

Full of rings (pops), gold coins, glow-in-the-dark bracelets, etc.

Collins and PopPop taking a snooze on the porch during the hunt.

We finished off the night with hot dogs, running around outside, making a giant treasure map using sidewalk chalk, more running around, hide-and-go-seek, etc. The boys all laid down around 9 and at 10 I turned off Looney Tunes.

Sunday morning we were up bright and early at 7am. The boys were back outside running around in their pajamas. We checked on the tie dye shirts and then we were hungry.

BecBec let everyone make their own waffle. It was a thrill for the boys to make it themselves.

Group Shot with our new pirate tie dye shirts. I'm pretty impressed with how they came out.

More playing in the woods before we left to come back to Johns Island.

Sweet Lucius

Hughes hanging out in a tree.

The treasure map that David worked diligently on. Apparently mine was not good enough so David had to redo them. For the record, his are better than mine.

And, we had a lunch of pizza and yogurt with birthday cake for dessert.

Hughes wished for a puppy! WHAT!

Hudson & Conley

Hughes & William

The party was a roaring success but I'm glad I don't have to do another birthday party for about a year! This is one party-pooped mama!

Taco Boy T-Rexes

2011-10-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

Total Domination.

The Taco Boy T-Rexes are a force to be reckoned with.

The boys had a great soccer game last week.

Banks going for the kick.

Hughes throwing it in.

This picture gives me a glimpse of him as a 12 year old. He looks so old and mature to me. This was right after he scored his first goal and he was cool as a cucumber.

Game Over - Snack Time!

Woo Hoo!

Happy Birthday, Collins!

2011-10-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

Dear Collins,

How has it already been a year? I barely remember you in the tiny infant stage! Here was our first family of five picture. You came into the world with ease.

You have made having a third child look easy. You are relaxed and a go-with-the-flow baby. You can push through your morning nap without a whine yet you can also take some awesome naps.

You are into everything. Your older brothers weren't much of putting things in their mouths but not you, buddy. If you can shove it in then it is going. I can't tell you the number of things I have taken out of your mouth - legos (x100), money from Hughes' piggy bank, a tack from Hughes' wall - you are now not allowed to crawl in Hughes' room. You are starting to cruise some on furniture. You like to stand up holding on to something but you aren't fond of the falling down on your hiney part. You like to stand up in the bath tub which is a constant struggle. The other night you flipped out of the tub while I was helping Hughes take his shirt off. You cut the inside of your lip which seemed to bleed forever. You're fine but the bad thing is that you're not old enough to learn from your mistakes. So, the very next night as soon as I would sit you down you were trying to stand up.

You babble way more than Hughes or Banks ever did. You love to be in the middle of any game that the big boys are playing. Hughes can pick you up and is very proud of that fact. Banks still kind of chokes you when he tries so we've put the brakes on him. You love to swing in the backyard and if I let you then you would play in Charlie's water bowl all day long.

Your birthday fell on a Tuesday so Dad was in class that night. We had a pancake birthday dinner especially for you and your brothers. It was your first time with syrup hence why you are stripped down to your diaper. You liked them a lot!

The Holman Boys

Hughes (almost6), Collins (1), & Banks (4)

I am a boy mama and I love it!

Collins' 1st Birthday Party

2011-09-29T16:23:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer - All of my children were born during football season. For some this won't seem like a big deal. For me, it was a huge deal. It means that I missed a great deal of Auburn football. Collins especially got a "pass interference" when I missed the National Championship Game due to him refusing to take a bottle. So, because all my babies are Fall babies their birthday parties have to be scheduled around football home games. Therefore, his birthday party was just two weeks early. Again, to some this will seem ridiculous. To me, it's a way of life.

Collins is (almost) 1!

We had a small family birthday party for this special guy. He was the center of attention and loved all of it.

Collins and BecBec

Quick Shot with the Parents

(ignore the Santa picture in the background - I forgot to take it down last Christmas, realized it in February and now it's become a joke - it's almost time to put it up again so I think I'll keep it up)

Collins and MaeMae (great aunt)

The birthday cake

Clearly, I did better on this one than Banks' spiderman cake.

My only mishap was forgetting to ice between the layers but, hey, it still looked good and tasted good. In my book, that's an A+.

Everyone singing. You can't tell but he loved it. He started bouncing up and down. He loved it so much that we sang it twice just to see him bust a move.

Oh yeah, he liked it.

Because the layers weren't iced, he picked up the entire first layer and tried to eat it.

Making a mess.

"Kudos to the chef!"

Shaking the plate

Then, we let him open his presents. He got a big Caterpillar truck push toy. He had lots of helpers to show him how to use it.

We had a great party surrounded by family. Collins is one loved boy that's for sure.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!

What's going on?

2011-09-23T13:15:00.001-07:00

Hughes just informed me that he invited his whole kindergarten class to his birthday.

Ummm, what happened to the 5 boys sleeping over?

_________________________________________________________________

In other news, we've have been sick. And, by we, I mean all three boys. Starting with Banks early Wednesday morning (like 2am) with 103.5 fever. Gave him some Tylenol and he was back to sleep in no time. Send Hughes to school Wednesday morning and get a call at 10am from the school nurse. Hughes - down for the count with a 102 temp. Hughes told me on his way home that when you're sick you get to sit on the couch and watch tv. Soooo, that's basically what they did all day Wednesday and Thursday. By Thursday afternoon, both boys were feeling better and I knew that they would be going back to school. They were pretty easy because all they did was sit on the couch lethargic and sip apple juice.

So, true to fashion not to be left out, Collins woke up at 12:30 Friday morning with a fever and pretty much stayed up for the rest of the night screaming. Oh, and he would only sleep for short increments on my chest - 20 lbs. of hot sweatiness on my chest. And, besides for feeling bad for him, I loved all the snuggling as he's no snuggler regularly. This fussing was not a "my body hurts" kind of cry. It was more like "I'm going to kill somebody if this pain doesn't go away now".

Quick (yeah, right) trip to the pediatrician and he has an ear infection. He just had one two weeks ago. I'm giving him one more ear infection within the month and I'm calling the ENT. I personally think tubes were God's gifts to moms.

BecBec, I hope you're on standby if I get the fever!

__________________________________________________________________

Banks has informed me that only girls like purple and pink while boys only like red, blue and orange. Also, only girls drink Coke. And, when he grows up he's going to be a police officer with Dad. Umm, okay. At what point do I break his heart and tell him his dad is not a police officer?

Banks' Superhero Birthday Party

2011-09-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we had Banks' 4th birthday party with a superhero theme. We had a jump castle, snow cone machine, juice boxes, cupcakes, and football on tv. It was awesome and exhausting at the same time.

Cupcakes galore complete with superhero rings.

Hughes picked up one of the rings and said "I thought these were golden not plastic". Total disappointment on his part.

The Spiderman Cake

Clearly I am not a professional cake decorator. I think I fall into the "kindergarten skills" category. BecBec was unavailable so I had to do it myself.

Anna Banks getting some Collins' love.

Happy Birthday banner my friend Elisabeth Hunter made - you should get one, too!

Some pre-party jumping.

Anne Banks in the process of a toe-touch.

Emma do a flip.

mid-jump

Anna Banks and Emma dressed as Super Cam.

Maiden voyage for the sno-cone machine. They were a huge hit!

First sno-cone of many.

Banks started the party as Spiderman, had a wardrobe change mid-party into Batman and ended the day dressed as himself.

Family Shot - why can't everyone look at the camera?

I mean, good grief, even Collins is looking at the camera!

Having a cold one*.

*no beer was consumed by this baby

Banks & Thomas (friend from school)

Nola & Miller

Super William

Love some homemade costumes!

Batman can't look much sweeter than this!

Jennifer and Hayden enjoying some boiled peanuts.

Super Charles and his 4th sno-cone.

Rachel and Stacey - both supermoms!

Baby Whit - dressed in his super daygown as all babies should be

Super Eloise

Super Elliott

Super Charlie - he's two weeks older than Collins.

Time to blow out the candles!

And, then out came the cupcakes.

Super Lucius

How's that cupcake, Francis?

And, finally, my plant mysteriously bloomed a cupcake.

I owe a big thank-you and possibly some money to my three wonderful nieces - Anna Banks, Emma and Bryce for manning the sno-cone machine and making all the kids happy. Also to Aunt Shell who was sweeping and hanging birthday banners before every one got here.

Banks, you had a blast and kept saying that this was the best day ever. I'm not sure I can do it again, though. I may need a year to recover.

Oh wait, Collins' birthday is right around the corner and then Hughes' birthday. We have officially entered birthday season.

First Soccer Practice

2011-09-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

The big boys had their first soccer practice last week.

No one cried + every one participated = huge success

The Taco Boy T-Rexes

Thomas, Hughes, Lucius, Conley, Hudson & Banks. Wyatt was out of town.

4/7 of the team is my family - 2 sons, 1 nephew and 1 cousin

Banks dribbling towards the goal.

Lucius taking it to the house with his red shoes. Banks was beyond jealous of these much cooler soccer shoes. Sorry, bud. Yours are hand-me-downs as are most of your clothes! Thank you big brother for that.

Hughes in the midst of a practice game.

Practice kicking.

It's going to be a fun season. This is Banks' first team sport and he's ready to knock some heads. I think he may be our jock.

Go T-Rexes!

Collins @ 11 months

2011-09-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

Collins is a dream. In fact, he's the coolest, most laid back dream baby ever. He rarely cries, he loves to take his naps, he prefers to drink his bottles by himself, he also prefers to feed himself, and he is quite content playing by himself or crawling around checking out all of the superheroes and transformers. He's got four teeth in (two on the top and two on the bottom) but looks like some more are lurking around the corner. He's pulling up on everything and has been found several times with his hands in the toilet splashing around - gross, I know.

But, like I said above. He's a dream. I'm sure I've jinxed myself now.

Staring at the camera

Okay, I'll give you a smile.

Oh, you want a bigger one. How's this?

Cutest duck bottom ever!

Look who has a new best friend? Charlie has found out which side his bread is buttered and Collins was so proud of himself, too.

Dear Banks

2011-09-07T12:23:00.001-07:00

What a year it has been! I swear I think you're the same age as Hughes. I treat you just the same. You hang with all the 5/6 year olds in the neighborhood. Y'all have the same bed time. The only time you show your age is when you fall asleep in the afternoons on the couch. This doesn't happen every day but about 2 times a week you get a great afternoon nap in the den.

You could live on Nutella alone. That is your normal lunch sandwich with a glass of cold milk. You will refuse to taste dinner and instead choose to go to bed without eating. Normally, when you do this you are past exhausted and are in the whiny, fussy stage. You can drink your body weight in milk. You tried Sprite this year and immediately spit it out. You love McDonald's and would eat there everyday if I was crazy enough to let you.

You still love superheroes - Batman, Spiderman, Wolverine, etc. You love Bionicles and playing Bey Blades with your dad. Transformers has been a new love here lately. We watch them on YouTube. You especially love all of Dad's transformers from his childhood at Dawa's house.

You've had a great year at school thus far. On a normal morning, you happily go in to Miss Adele's room and give me a wave. You always get great reports.

On a bad note, you are quick to use bodily force when you get mad. You have punched Hughes in the face about three times with no retaliation from your brother. One time you did it in church while we were waiting for communion. You have given us no warning when you're about to do it so it always shocks us. Hughes is the receiver of a lot of your aggression. Be glad you have such a great big brother who is not volatile or you would be due for a smack down.

Banks, You are adored by Collins who constantly follows you around the house babbling at you. He tries to play transformers with you but you just get frustrated at him. You love to push him on the swing and you two have quite the bond during lunch - both eating Nutella sandwiches!

You are a terrific kid. You are confident and sensitive and boisterous and shy all in the same breath. You definitely keep us on our toes with all of your questions. Just last week you asked me what happened to snow when it melted. Huh? You think deep and ask lots and lots of questions.

Love you to the moon and back! I'm so thankful that I get the privilege of being your mom!

Happy 4th Birthday Banks!

2011-09-07T04:46:00.000-07:00

Where did the time go?

Really, you're already 4!

Banks at his 1st birthday. Yes, we did get him dressed for his party but I love his snoot face.

Banks at his 2nd birthday.

Then his 3rd Batman Birthday party.

And, now his 4th birthday. Here are some pictures of our morning celebration.

Dad lighting the candles on top of the french toast sticks.

Watching the candles come towards you.

We're singing loudly and you're loving it!

Counting all four candles making sure Mom didn't forget any.

(right before David brought the breakfast over he asked me why there were only 3 candles - oops! I guess it's going to take me a little while to realize he's 4)

Blowing out all of the candles.

Happy 4th Birthday Banks!

Labor Day Wkend

2011-09-05T16:21:00.000-07:00

We headed up to York on Friday to spend the weekend with David's family. We spent Saturday at the lake. The kids swam, built forts, played hide-and-go-seek, and had snow cones while the adults watched football. I have no pictures of all this fun because the manual switch was flipped and I couldn't figure out why all my pictures were blurry so I stopped taking pictures. Thankfully on Saturday I noticed this and, voila, my camera was back in business.

Dad and Collins hanging on the back patio at Dawa & G-daddy's house.

The face typically behind the camera.

Collins & Dawa

Making silly faces while they eat there birthday cupcakes. So far, all of the Holman grandchildren have Fall birthday between the end of August and October 9th - that's 5 grandchildren's birthdays to be exact. So, we always have one big family birthday dinner. Think of it like a mini-teeny-tiny Christmas. The kids love it and everyone gets a present.

4/5 of the grandchildren - Charlotte (2), Hughes (5), Banks (3), and Kate (4)

Dawa & Collins - Collins was blowing raspberries and thinking it was hysterical.

My Boys

Giving Gigi kisses and thanking her for the Batman and dinosaur birthday gifts.

G-Daddy and Collins checking out Collins' new smartphone - thanks Fisher-Price!

Shooting webs in their new Spiderman pajamas complete with slippers that Dawa & G-Daddy got them as part of their birthday present. The other portion was Transformers that only David can figure out how to transform. I'm steering clear of those things because I know what will be asked of me - 100 times a day!

The weekend was great and was made even more relaxing because we had Monday to take our time getting back to Charleston.

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

2011-09-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

three boys in a tub.

Teamwork

2011-09-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

The other weekend Hughes got it in his head that he wanted to build a boat. So, David gathered some scrap boards we had in the garage, the necessary tools to do the work, and called the boys outside to start this project.

It's an interesting boat with Hughes being the head designer.

Dad and Banks double-teaming it.

**Banks dressed himself that morning. He loves those Lilly shorts much to his Dad's dismay and he always tries to wear them to play in. I guess he wore me down that morning.

Hughes also picked out his ensemble complete with "safety glasses" that happened to come with his Nerf dart gun, one work glove (a la Michael Jackson), t-shirt on backwards because he likes the design to be on the front, and jeans in 110 degree heat index.

Dad having a proud moment.

Voila - the finished product.

A boat that won't float.

And I thought I looked good

2011-09-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Oh Banks, you have a way with words. One day you're going to find yourself so deep in a hole that there will be no way to climb your way out - all figuratively. Banks speaks the truth . . . the blunt truth. . . the hard-to-hear truth . . . the better-be-glad-I'm-your-mama truth. Unfortunately, I think he got this characteristic from me.

This morning while unbuckling Banks out of the 3rd row of the suburban my hips hit the seat. Banks then asked me "why do you have such a big hiney". Guess I'll be squeezing in some extra runs this week!

Banks has also renamed boobies and now refers to them as softies. I have no idea where he got this from but was patting himself on the chest the other day and was telling me "these are called softies". Then, he looked at me, patted me on the chest, and said "you have soft softies". Well, kid, nothing I can do about that.

Banks has also loved to dress up as a power ranger lately. The problem with that is that we don't actually have a power ranger costume. His costume is his underwear, sword stuck through the side of his underwear, and a pair of underwear on his head. He has seen pictures of power rangers so he knows that this is not what their costume looks like but he continues to don this costume. In fact, he insisted I put his "power ranger mask" in his bookbag for school. Uh, this was a pair of underwear. I told him he was not allowed to take his "mask" out to show anyone. So, now, he told David that he needs to get a big pair of underwear so that he can be a power ranger, too. Anybody have any large tighty-whities for David's mask? Clean, preferably.

Hughes' First Week of K-5

2011-08-24T07:57:00.001-07:00

First five days of kindergarten is over and Hughes is still loving it. I will admit that the 7:20am start time is harder on me that it is on him so far.

I realize that every kid gets one of these certificates but I couldn't help myself from posting it!

He seems to really like his teachers and has only told me once that kindergarten is boring. He also told me that everybody is always asking "when's lunch". I asked him if he was one of the students asking that and he said, "I not ask that, not me".

Yesterday, he came home with this - a good listener note! This makes me proud because every morning for the last couple of years when I would drop him off at preschool and now kindergarten I always say "be a good listener". So this makes me smile from ear to ear! And, I know not every kid gets one of these!

Also yesterday, he brought home his first piece of artwork from art class. I'm assuming the assignment was draw a teddy bear because Hughes has never shown much interest in teddy bears or drawing them. Either way, I like it. On a different special area, Hughes told me that his music teacher was "kinda pretty". I think I need to meet this music teacher and see what Hughes' taste is like!

And, not to forget our first child. Charlie is enjoying all the peace and quiet he is getting in the mornings with Banks at preschool, Hughes at kindergarten and Collins taking his morning nap. In fact, I'm enjoying the peace and quiet as well.

Practice Photo Shoot

2011-08-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

So, I'm learning with my new camera. I love it. I especially love how fast the shutter speed is! My pictures are crisp and clear. Now, I'm just learning what all the different settings do and when I should use a particular setting. Lucky for me, I've got several friends who have the same camera and they've all given me tips.

Hughes(5) - wasn't really in the smiling mood.

Note to Self: 1pm on a hot day is not the best time to try to take pictures.

Banks(3)

Little sweaty, squinchy eyes but he was pretty cooperative so I've got to give him that. Of course, it could have been the candy we were holding as collateral.

Collins(10months)

He was a doll.

Shot of the boys. Besides Banks' flailing arm, it's pretty good, right?

Also, it's a good thing I bought my camera when I did because just a week later David's car died! So, now we're looking for a car for him. But on the bright side, I can take great pictures of his new clunker when he takes it on its maiden voyage!

Collins @ 10 months

2011-08-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

Collins has exploded this past month with accomplishing milestones. He is babbling a lot now, crawling all over the place, self-feeding, cutting four teeth and pulling up to his knees. We've had to put the baby gate up and raise his crib rail.

He had about a two week stint of not sleeping well at night (mainly just getting up early - 5:45am). At no point did I check his gums. Well, lo and behold, this little turkey was cutting two on the bottom at the same time and then the following week his top two came in. No wonder he was not sleeping well!

Above is a picture of mid-babble. He blows a lot of raspberries. We're working on mamamamama but haven't gotten it down yet. Oh yeah, dadadada is still a work in progress, too.

Love that smile and dimples!

Crawling all over the place. BecBec worked on this with Collins while I was at Mom & Me Camp with Hughes. He was just starting to get it with her but then came home and totally showed off his skills.

And, on his knees. He loves to get in this position and bounce up and down while flailing his arms and babbling. I know he's saying something important!

Collins loves fruit - watermelon, grapes, honeydew. Yesterday at Jason's Deli, he ate 3/4 of my bowl of chicken pot pie soup. He's still taking two naps a day. His later nap tends to be his longer one.

He really is the best baby. 99% of the time he is always smiling and relaxed. I hope he always has this demeanor.

Collins, you make our family a better family. I don't know what I would do without your wet kisses and giggly laugh. You're the perfect caboose to this Holman train.

First Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

Oh My! Kindergarten is here. Real School. Real Tardies. Real Homework.

Hughes started at Harbor View Elementary today and is in Miss Rodgers' class. He has his friends Miller & Conley with him along with his cousin Hudson.

Quick picture with Christian, Wimberly & Collins.

Hudson not quite ready to let go.

Conley getting his work done.

I was so proud of Hughes. He walked in and hung his bookbag up and went to the table with the rest of the children to start working.

Here he is with Miss Rodgers. Excuse the bad light, this was the first time using my new camera.

As I was putting him to bed last night telling him what a great first day he was going to have, he told me that he hoped kindergarten wasn't boring. And, on the way to school this morning he finally admitted that he was a little bit nervous.

Hughes, I can't wait to hear about your first day. I know you're going to be one of the sweetest boys in the classroom. I hope you make lots of friends this year and, most of all, I hope you learn to love school. How in the world did you get big enough to start kindergarten? You're so big that I can hardly pick you up anymore and that makes me a little sad. Have a blast at school and I'll be waiting with a hug and a kiss.

Camera Questions

2011-08-12T06:51:00.000-07:00

My point-and-shoot camera is broken and I'm ready to upgrade. I want a digital SLR camera. We're looking at the Nikon 3100 but I have questions.

1. There is a package deal at Costco where I can get included in the camera purchase a 18-55mm lens and 55-200mm lens. Do you have both of these lenses? Which do you use more? Or do you only use one?

2. What is your least favorite thing about your SLR camera?

3. What SLR camera would you get if you could buy one/another one?

Any and all comments are welcomed!

Legos & Digestion

2011-08-12T06:38:00.000-07:00

Well, Collins has finally done it.

At some point in the last couple of days he has managed to get a hold of two small cone-shaped Legos and digest them. Ugh, at least try to digest them.

Imagine my surprise when changing his diaper yesterday. I had no idea that he had swallowed such so to see a yellow and red lego mixed with, ugh, well, you know, I was shocked. But, I took this as a learning opportunity and called Banks and Hughes over.

I'm always saying "pick up your Legos or Collins will try to eat them". Now, I think they understand. And, no, I did not wash them off and put them in the baby book like BecBec did with Bull's famous nickel. I gingerly closed the diaper and threw it out. Our collection will just have to be missing two cones.

Hughes told a friend that his Legos smelled like horse poop. I'm sure William couldn't wait to play with them then.

For what it's worth, they were two of the smallest Legos Hughes has and they were connected. Do you think his intestines connected them? j/k

Just Sayin'

2011-08-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

While at Hilton Head at the pool, Banks had made friends with a little girl named Isabelle. They were the same age and chatting and playing together. Banks wanted Isabelle to watch him jump off the side of the pool but wanted me to get her attention. I told him "no, you call her name and tell her to watch you". He refused to do it saying " no, mom, you do it". This went back and forth for about a minute and finally Banks replied with "no, mom, you're a girl and girls talk to each other". So, I called Isabelle over to watch Banks jump.

On the way home from camp, Hughes was in the backseat watching me drive and he said, "mom, you have old hands". (remove knife from heart) He was looking at the scar on my right hand.

I made homemade salsa last night for dinner. Hughes loves the local mexican restaurant's mild salsa and he watched me make the salsa telling me how great it smelled. Of course, he refused to eat any last night. Well, today at lunch while I was coming down the stairs I heard him tell David that "mom makes the worst salsa he's ever had". I didn't think he saw me come down the stairs but apparently he did because then he was motioning to David with his hands to be quiet and telling him never mind. At least we know he has social etiquette and not tell someone to their face that their food is bad. For the record, the salsa is excellent!

Also today, Hughes said "I've got something red on me" while pointing to his nipple. This, of course, led Banks to explore as well. David took this conversation and showed them his nipples and that everyone has them. Banks then asked if mom had them. There was a quick yes and then the conversation moved on to all mammals having nipples. We went through dogs, cats, deer, cows. And then, David couldn't stop himself and started talking about when you're a baby and your moms make a special milk. At this point, I put my head down shaking it back and forth. Banks started to laugh. Hughes said it wasn't funny. And then, thankfully the conversation was over. Who knows what we're going to tell our new teachers next week?

Mom & Me Camp

2011-08-06T09:57:00.001-07:00

We got back from Mom & Me Camp at Camp Greenville on Wednesday and I think it's taken until today for me to recoup. It wore me out and I'm pretty sure that it wore Hughes out, too. We had a fantastic time. Hughes was really brave and did things that were beyond his comfort level (riding a horse, canoeing) and he loved them. It was so nice to have 3 days alone with Hughes to see him in his element of making new friends, learning new games and not having the little brothers tag-along.

Our partners in crime - Ashley & Grayson Me & Hughes

During rest time for the kids, the moms got to go do the zip line. I loved it!

The boys' side of the cabin - (bottom up) Elliott, Jack, Hughes, Charlie, Tradd & Thomas

Before we went canoeing. Hughes was a little nervous and saying he didn't want to do it. I had to convince the lifeguard to give us a push and that he would be fine. Once we got out there, he loved it and we went exploring for turtles.

Doing a little fishing.

At roll call at the flag pole before dinner. Katie, our counselor, was lining them up. That's Grayson, Betsy, Hughes, Tradd, Thomas & Harper in line.

Peyton, Hughes & Grayson

Sneaky Ninja Night - the kids participated in their own scavenger hunt that ended with them using their ninja skills on BlackBeard the Pirate to steal their ninja stars back.

The kids loved it!

And, then my camera broke. Soooo, I'll return in a few days with pictures from Ashley's camera. Guess Santa will be coming early to the Holman household :)

Hilton Head

2011-07-31T07:38:00.000-07:00

The boys and I just got back from a week in Hilton Head with BecBec & PopPop. We had a great time. We did lots of swimming in the pool - the boys would rather go to the pool than go to the beach. Hughes is doing great with his swimming and Banks is, too. Besides the day and a half of rain and early wake-up time from Collins, I would say the week was perfect.

We climbed to the top of the lighthouse at Harbor Island in Sea Pines.

They had a puppet station set-up from The Sand Box for the kids to entertain themselves. We tried to stay for the man under the oak tree but were just too tired.

Showing off their puppet skills.

We played putt-putt in the drizzling rain. The boys were a hole ahead of us while BecBec, PopPop, and I had a serious competition. BecBec was leading at the turn but choked on the back nine. PopPop held strong in the middle and I came from behind to win by 5 strokes - woo! Competition runs strong in our family.

One morning after I went running, we took the boys out to the beach for Hughes to practice riding his bike.

Excuse my sweaty self but a family pic was a must.

PopPop and Banks about to hit the waves.

I created a new game at the beach for the boys. It's called "stick the sand shovel in the ground and try to throw the dive rings around the handle". This was a great fun, allowed me to sit down, and kept the boys entertained.

We also played hop-scotch - also something that allowed me to sit down. I surely missed David and the entertainment he provides the boys on the beach!

One afternoon, we went to Caligny Public Beach Access where they have these fountains. The boys loved it and ran themselves silly.

One morning Collins got up so early that we went to see the sunrise on the beach. It was beautiful but, man, that was early.

Hanging at the beach in BecBec's tent.

BecBec and Banks jumping the waves.

He discovered the sand and decided he liked the way it taste.

Collins had another early morning. I guess he thought the first sunrise was so beautiful that he wanted to see another one.

This is what he looks like at 6:15 in the morning - turkey!

We saw some turtle nests which was pretty cool.

And, one last sunrise picture.

Bike Ride at JICP

2011-07-31T07:14:00.000-07:00

The other week we took the boys to JICP for a bike ride. Hughes still has not gained enough confidence to ride his bike without one of us running beside him so this makes for some very tired parents at the end of the ride. We finally got Collins a bike helmet so that he can ride in the tag-a-long safely.

Modeling his new shark helmet

Banks ready to ride - he always is.

Collins' 9 month stats

2011-07-22T12:05:00.000-07:00

I took Collins to the doctor the other day for his well-baby visit. The big boys stayed home with BecBec. Wow, it is so easy to just have one child to take to the doctor. Last time we were there, Collins had burnt his hand on a lightbulb and was rightfully fussing while Hughes & Banks tried to have a wrestling match in the waiting room and then the patient room. I think I got 10 new grey hairs just from that visit.

This visit - totally opposite. It was just me and Collins and he was totally relaxed. He studied Dr. Geils intensely as she listened to his heart and looked into his eyes. He never cracked a smile but also never frowned either. He was serious about his well-baby visit.

Length 28.5 inches 50%

Weight 19.5 pounds 50%

Head Circ. 47.5cm 95%

He continues to be at the 50% in growth but he's got a big noggin. Well, not really. In this family, a large head is just normal for a Holman boy.

No Shots at this apmt. When I was scheduling his 12 month visit, the front desk girls were so concerned about Collins' serious face. They asked me if he had gotten shots. I said no that he was just a serious baby and he was studying them. They all laughed and Collins continued to stare them down.

Sidenote: Collins 2nd tooth is coming in today. So, now we have two teeth! Yeah!

Home Grown

2011-07-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

Look what we've got growing in our backyard!!!

We're waiting for our bell peppers to turn red and our tomatoes are going nuts!

Collins helped me pick some tomatoes today. While I was picking, he was munching on one. I guess his first solid food will be a tomato straight from the vine. He loved it!

He ate it down to about nothing.

Eating it like an apple and loving it!

Fire Truck Tour

2011-07-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

We went to the Fire Station for a tour the other day. We've done this a couple of times now but the boys love it every time we go. They got to climb into the truck, walk around the outside of the truck looking in all the compartments and they got a tour of their upstairs living quarters.

Collins' 9 Months Post

2011-07-13T06:07:00.000-07:00

Since the big boys are in St. Matthews for a couple of days, Collins and I have been busy doing things around the house. We've painted, we've cleaned, we've painted some more, etc. I think he misses his entertainment that the big brothers provide (I know I do).

At 9 months, Collins can sit up and he's trying to get on all fours to crawl. He can scoot backwards like a champ especially if he's on our hardwood floors. He got his first tooth just a week or two ago. He never fussed or whined to give me any indication that something was hurting. One morning, I just saw a little white speck poking through his gums and that was it. Hopefully the rest will come in just as easy (fingers crossed).

When I told Hughes and Banks that Collins got a tooth, Hughes said he wanted it to put in his treasure box and Banks wanted to hold it. Clearly, they did not understand the concept.

He loves to eat puffs and is getting really good at hand/mouth coordination. He's not a big fan of vegetables and is particular about his fruit. He can down a bottle in no time - this talent may come in handy when he's in college!

He's the sweetest baby and hardly ever makes a fuss. He loves for us to sing to him and always gives us the best smiles. He likes to go to the pool but constantly is trying to drink the pool. He puts his little face in the water and comes up with his tongue sticking out of his mouth like a dog. He loves Charlie and loves to sit beside him. Of course, Charlie loves Collins, too. I think that may be because of the puffs left in the highchair.

Where has 9 months gone? Slow down, you're growing up too fast!

Collins, we love you!

Weekend in St. Matthews

2011-07-05T08:07:00.000-07:00

This past weekend the boys and I went to St. Matthews so that Dad could have a Boys' Weekend at our house with his high school buddies. I haven't noticed anything broken yet so I think the weekend was a success.

St. Matthews was lots of fun and the boys had a great time. We went swimming at Mrs. Donna's pool. Rarely do the boys get to swim in a pool. We are members of the water park so they do get that but it's not the same as a small pool. Anywho.

Collins enjoying his float.

Hughes doing a flip off the side. Big Daddy also brought Christian and Hudson to swim, too.

BecBec and Banks

We went swimming twice while we were there. The first time the boys were perfect. Jumping off the side to me without their swimmies/life jacket, putting their faces in the water, etc. Hughes will go totally underwater. He just hasn't quite gotten the entire swimming part yet. He's so close. Banks was doing great and being very brave about jumping to me.

Flashforward to our 2nd pool trip. Banks had been talking about showing off his cannon ball without swimmies again to me in the car. I was encouraging it and telling him that I would be right there to get him. Well, we get to the pool and I'm putting on Collins' swim diaper when out of my eye I see Banks start taking some running steps towards the pool. I'm yelling "no, no, no" and there goes Banks jumping into the pool without his swimmies and makes a big splash. I'm pretty sure I threw Collins to Mrs. Donna and jumped it after Banks.

He was fine but definitely scared. He wouldn't let go of me and finally we just got out and watched Hughes, BecBec and Colllins swim. Banks never got to gasping for breath stage b/c I was literally two steps behind him but I just can't help replaying that in my mind. If I had sent him to the pool to wait for me while I got something out of the car then that day could have been monumentally disastrous. I'm thankful for the way it turned out and I'm always pretty cautious around water but will definitely have my guard on even more now.

So, friends, don't let your children out of your sight when around water. Don't even tell them to wait for you by the pool b/c you never know when they may feel like doing a cannon ball.

Okay, the rest of the weekend. Hughes has been curious about farms and we were talking about a peach farm the other day while we were enjoying some local peaches. Well, St. Matthews has Buyck Peach Orchard and I knew that the boys would enjoy it.

We opted to pick our own so that the boys could really experience the peach orchard.

Banks carrying our basket.

Hughes under the shade of a peach tree.

Collins ready to bite in.

There was a sunflower field right beside the peach tree so we explored that field, too. My battery died right after this picture so you'll just have to trust me that the boys enjoyed it.

We also went to see Cars 2. Mom took Collins shopping while the big boys and I went to the movie. It was cute but the first Cars is definitely better.

Thanks BecBec and PopPop for the great weekend!

Landfill, you say?

2011-06-30T11:25:00.001-07:00

This is what my back porch looks like right now.

No, it isn't a landfill.

No, we're not disgusting people who just pile their trash.

No, there haven't been any squatters living on our porch either.

This is Hughes' city complete with an airport, a bridge, skyscrapers, roads, houses, etc. Hughes started on this project about 3 days ago. He was so focused that I let him do it. He has also spent many quiet afternoons out on the porch working on his city. He had a little help from Banks and his friend Conley but for the most part, he created this masterpiece using our items from the recycling bin and duct tape.

Here he is in his favorite pajamas, Scooby Doo (thanks Dawa), while being the air traffic controller for the jets coming in.

So, here you have it. Hughes' 100% recycled city.

Mother of the Year Award

2011-06-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Don't worry folks - I've got this award in the bag. Yesterday while changing Collins' pants on his changing table, the little turkey did a twist that landed him on his elbows. Well, with one hand he grabbed the base of a little lamp and with the other, well, the other he grabbed the top of the light bulb.

He screamed. I screamed. He cried. I cried.

We went to the pediatrician where she told me has a 2nd degree superficial burn. He has one big blister and two smaller ones. The pediatrician was astounded at how well he was acting. Even in the dr.'s office, he was completely fine. Of course, I felt terrible.

The picture doesn't do it justice and it's more swollen today. Interestingly, it doesn't seem to bother him. He uses his hand just fine, he grabs toys with it, he pulls my hair with it, etc.

Soooo, I've now moved the lamp to the end of the changing table by his feet. It hurts just to look at his hand.

Clearly, I've got this award in the bag.

More Pawley's

2011-06-30T07:23:00.000-07:00

Picture right before we left. Hughes is not happy about having his picture made - go figure!

Hughes (5), Banks (3), Kate (4), Dawa, Collins (8months), Charlotte (1)

Riding the waves

Cousins

Hughes kept calling Kate his girlfriend all week and when we would correct him and tell him that she was his cousin he would reply "but she loves me".

We got Banks a boogie board this year. He was a champ on it and so excited to have a big one like Hughes.

Riding the Waves

Check out the sea monster boogie board

Collins just chillin'

Kate joining in the fun

Gigi (90) and Collins (8 months)

I buried Collins one afternoon. He loved it - can't you tell? He looks like he has man boobs in this picture.

Rockstar

I had just finished lubing him up with sunscreen and decided to put his hair in a mohawk. I guess he was feeling pretty cool because he immediately gave me this "tongue out" look.

At the Hammock Shops finishing up some ice cream.

The transformer shirts the boys have on were a weak moment of mine at WalMart. They love them but they are pretty hideous.

Kayak ride with G-Daddy. Hughes said it was too scary to do. I think we traumatized him when he was 1 when David took him out on the kayak. He's never been fond of them since.

2011-06-27T06:38:00.000-07:00

Here's a hodge podge of pictures from Pawley's.

G-daddy working on The Fort.

Uncle Andrew working, too.

Aunt Deyna reading - this will be me next year! I didn't even bother bringing a book this year because I knew my hands would be full.

Happy Baby

Working on The Fort

Part of The Fort

Picture taken by Hughes - maybe I can start being in pictures now that my 5-year old knows how to use my camera.

Banks destroying a sand castle village.

Hughes and Kate

Mom & Collins

Working on a sand castle village

Charlotte eating cookies. Collins playing with the bag.

Got the bag!

Dad and Hughes playing with the raft.

Mom & Collins

Dad & Collins

Hughes being the best big brother and pulling Banks on the raft.

Trying to ride the waves.

Dawa and Collins

The Boys Banks (3), Collins (8 months), & Hughes (5)

Holman Beach Week 2011

2011-06-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

We spent last week at Pawley's Island. It was great. The boys got to play with their cousins, the adults got to have adult beverages and conversations on the beach, and the weather was awesome (a little windy some days but for the most part awesome). We were missing Uncle Bo this year and David had to leave on Monday night so we were a little light on the family side but for the most part there were still 6 adults and 5 children. The children slept great. Collins thought he was suppose to get up at about 5:50 every morning. That part wasn't so great.

Banks and Kate before our first beach morning.

G-daddy blowing up the raft. Many a waves would be ridden on using that raft.

We finally made it to the beach and this little fellow decided to crawl up my bag. I think he was the Pawley's Island welcoming committee. Hughes loved it. Banks freaked out.

Ready to fly some kites and have some fun. Hughes is sporting his shark tooth necklace and Banks is holding his Batman kite.

Dad getting the kites up into the air.

Happy Baby - Collins loved it!

Squeaky clean after a sandy beach day.

Charlotte helping me feed Collins. She was a big helper and totally mesmerized by Collins.

Kickin' It at Bohicket

2011-06-27T05:55:00.000-07:00

For our anniversary, we had other plans. But, as most of you know, sometimes your plans get changed. We had planned on going out to a nice dinner downtown but then changed out minds and just wanted to sit by the water somewhere and have some drinks so we chose Red's at Bohicket Marina. Well, then we found out that every Tuesday in June Bohicket Marina has a kid fest with jump castles, face painting, bocce ball, etc. and it's all FREE. So, we were faced with either changing our dinner plans once again or taking the boys with us for some family time. We chose the family time.

Hughes the pirate - the first time they've had their entire faces painted. I thought it was going to be a struggle during bath time that night but they didn't seem to mind. They were happy with the pictures being evidence.

Spiderman Banks

Collins - well, he's not quite old enough for face painting yet

We met the Steeds out there and the boys had a blast. The Pirates!

Family Shot - Happy 8th Anniversary!

It was a perfect night. The kids had a blast. The festivities were free. We ate outside where the boys could run and play and not have us telling them to sit/quiet down every 2 minutes had we been inside. I couldn't have chosen a more wonderful way to spend our anniversary than surrounded by my boys.

Time flies . . .

2011-06-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

when you're having fun!

Eight years ago today I made the best decision of my life - I married David. I've never met someone who plays as hard at Transformers, Batman and dinosaurs as his boys do. Nor have I met someone who is so self-disciplined and ambitious that they can be a great dad & husband while working a full-time job while also going to law school until 9:30 at night and then studying/preparing for the next night of classes until midnight. David always has our family first and is always helpful when I'm stressed out about the boys and just need an hour or two to myself.

Eight years ago there were threatening rain clouds, groomsmen filling their flasks, PopPop worrying about his grass, and a bride, well, a bride ready to get the show on the road.

It did rain. It poured during our service and, thankfully, just sprinkled during our reception which was outside. It didn't last long and soon enough the bar was packed, the band was playing, and the dance floor was crowded. I love to dance and I think I spent about 75% of my time on the dance floor. Of course, there was that one time when I was on stage singing. It was a great party - ugh, I mean reception.

David and I drove off in the yellow volkswagon to stay in Columbia for the night. I can not for the life of me remember where we stayed but it was in 5 points in a cute little inn. We flew the Mexico the next morning and proceeded to veg out the rest of the week on the beach with frozen, fruity drinks being brought to us. David discovered the lunch buffet and soon found out that if he swam with a sub in his hand underwater then he got some great snorkeling photos of the tropical fish.

It went too fast but every day was fantastic. We came home and moved in together on Rutledge Avenue. We spent our first year of married life fighting the roaches inside our house and the mosquitoes outside of our house. At first glance, the house looked like a cute Charleston shot-gun house. In reality, it was a dump. No amount of paint could cover the real problem - the house needed to be completely renovated or torn down. After a year, we built on our house on Johns Island where we have been for 7 years and 3 kids.

Lots has changed in the 8 years that we've been married. We've added three kids & a dog. We bought a house. David got his Ph.D. and next year will have his J.D. and I quit teaching to stay home with the boys. Life is busy but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Who knows what next year will bring when David graduates?

*not many professional pictures from our wedding because our photographer double-booked and, unfortunately, for us we were the 2nd couple to book so we got some terrible old-man photographer who obviously had trouble focusing and, on top of that, he even got my name wrong on my wedding album. It reads "David and Anne". Geez Louise!

Auburn Girls

2011-06-11T04:35:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I had a college girls' weekend in Florida. It was 3 glorious days of no diaper changing, no disciplining, no tantrums, no tattling, and no kids meals! I missed my boys but mama needed this!

I flew to Pensacola on Thursday and we stayed at Joanna's condo at Perdido Beach. We ate out for dinner, we had chicken salad for lunch, we sat at the beach, we lounged by the pool, we read books, we laughed, we cried, we napped, etc. We had a fabulous time and are already talking about next year.

Natalie (friend of Joanna's that joined us for dinner) me, Kate, Callie & Joanna

Joanna, me, Kate & Callie

We missed Ashlee and are counting on her making it next year!

Discussion about Father's Day

2011-06-09T12:54:00.000-07:00

Me: Hughes, what should we get Dad for Father's Day?

Hughes: maybe a new pencil

Me: oh, that would be nice

Hughes: or maybe a new football?

Me: ohhhhh

Hughes: Oh, I know. How about an Auburn tiger shirt? (I just smile because I know David would flip that even his sons want to get him AU stuff and not Clemson - running joke in the Turberville family - the first couple of Christmases David got Auburn gear from my family)

Me: Well, maybe we should get him clothes.

Hughes: Why?

Me: because Dad is graduating from law school next year and he'll need to wear nice clothes every day

Hughes: oh, so we'll get him fancy clothes

******************************

Banks wants to get him either a dinosaur or Batman. Somehow I think he's not comprehending the full idea about gift giving.

Why is my mind going completely blank for this Father's Day?