First Snow of 2011

 Although this is not the first snow of this winter season, this is the first snow of a fabulous new year.  Our family loves the snow, and since the south is just not prepared to deal with the lovely white stuff, I actually have been out of work and school for the last two days, and Evan has been out of school.  The city and state do a decent job of clearing the interstates and main roads, but they just don't have the resources to clear all of the secondary roads.  I guess it wouldn't make a lot of monetary sense to invest heavily in expensive snow equipment for the one or two snows we might get a year.  We are so thankful for the precious time we have gotten to spend together as a family, for the yummy snow cream we have gotten to enjoy, and just for the happy memories we have made.  The snowfall yesterday was beautiful with big soft flakes until late in the afternoon when it turned to a nice cold icy mess.  By this morning, all of the beautiful snow was covered by a very slick coating of ice. 


Evan's first look at the new snow.



Our backyard under a blanket of white.



Our house looks pretty in the snow.



Time to go out and play!



A family picture in the snow.



Going sliding in the snow.



Wheeeeeeeee



A family that swings together!



Uh oh, someone's going to get a snowball!



"Another snowball please!"  We had to keep him supplied!



"Thank you!"



Cousin Reade eating his rice cake in the snow.



Cousin Lanny tried to make his own snowballs.



Cute cousin Reade really loved the snow this year.



That's quite an arm he's got there!



Emma's snow angel.



The kids decided to decorate the wall with snowballs.



The big boys were up to no good!



The Crazy Kids...can't believe we are adding two more to this mix! ;-)



They were about to hit the photographer with those snowballs!



Snow makes them CRAZY!



Getting some energy out in the trampoline cage!



They had a ball jumping in the snow and throwing snowballs inside the cage.



Reade kept saying, "I want no ball.  I hit Evan."  It was so cute, and Evan was a good sport to let Reade practice throwing at him!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

As you can probably tell, Evan adores his Daddy!  He really is one of the best!  He takes such good care of both Mommy and Evan and is just so loving and fun.  Now that Evan is getting bigger and they have so much in common, it is just fun to sit back and watch them play.  Evan loves Transformers now, which is one of Daddy's old favorite toys from when he was a little boy so Daddy loves buying Transformers for Evan and teaching him what they can do.  Daddy loves sports, and Evan has definitely "inherited" that interest with maybe even more enthusiasm!  They have both enjoyed that Evan is starting to play sports now.  Daddy is training him to be a little Wolfpack fan too.  Now, you might think Mommy is feeling just a little bit left out from all this fun, but that is definitely not the case.  Evan and Daddy both love to bring Mommy into the fun.  Evan sometimes has too much energy for just Daddy so he often turns to Mommy for an additional player.  Mostly, Mommy just loves to cuddle and love her two boys, and they don't seem to mind obliging her!  They really have to be the two most cuddly "men" in the whole world! 

For Daddy's special day this year, we continued the tradition of making him a birthday cake.  Since Evan is such a good "secret keeper," I told him we would surprise Daddy with a NC State Wolfpack cake.  Evan would have chosen a chocolate cake, but I know that Daddy's favorite is red velvet so I explained to Evan that we would make him a red cake.  Evan did a good job keeping the secret, but when it sounded like he would reveal the secret and Mommy caught him, he would say, "I was just going to ask Daddy if the Wolfpack were playing tonight."  Ha!  Nice cover up, Evan!


Daddy's "Wolfpack" cake. Evan asked where wolfie was, and Mommy explained that she was not THAT TALENTED! 



The kids enjoyed helping us celebrate after dinner with cake and ice cream! 

24 Weeks!

These photographs were Daddy's idea while we were in Charleston, SC for New Year's. 


This weekend, Daddy actually felt the baby kick...and saw it too!  He is kicking very hard now.  Evan stayed at home with his Grandma while we were in Charleston for a wedding so when we got home, Evan got to see and feel the baby kick too.  He thought it was pretty funny!  Mommy is very glad this little one is getting stronger and bigger, but sometimes those little kicks are not so funny.  He is quite a mover though. 

Mommy has also been making a few purchases for the baby too.  She has his bedding already and plans to do his room in more of the classic baby boy blue.  She has also bought him a few outfits but is really looking forward to seeing him in some of Evan's old outfits too!  Now that Christmas is over, Daddy plans to begin some work in the nursery.  We do plan to purchase a crib in white, but we already have a dresser that we will use as a changing table.  It is currently a rich cream color with brass/gold accents and hardware and matches the double bed in the room.  Daddy plans to repaint all those pieces white and update the hardware with something more modern and boyish.  Baby Brody's room will still have the double bed in it so family can still visit us.  We can't wait to begin to put Baby Brody's room together.  Mommy is so excited about how it will turn out! 

New Years in Charleston!

We brought in the New Year in the beautiful city of Charleston where we attended a wonderful couple's wedding and New Year's Eve after party.  It was a blast, the weather was terrific, and we even got some much needed rest!  The only sad part was that Evan wasn't with us.  Yes, this was very sad to me.  I love my baby, and I want to take him everywhere with me.  We just thought that staying up until after midnight on New Year's Eve away from home would be too much for him so we asked Grandma to come and stay with him.  Apparently, they did stay up until midnight though!  Grandma spoiled him completely rotten by taking him to eat at all his favorite places (lots of pizza and chicken nuggets for him) and taking him to the movies to see the new Yogi Bear movie.  I was so jealous! 

Anyway, Eddie and I did manage to have a great time together, and since this may be our only getaway before the new baby arrives, we can't really regret it. 


Our first stop was Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island to see some history and the beaches.



The entrance to the fort.



Daddy loves big guns and cannons.



He's so handsome!  ;-)



Pregnant Mommy enjoying the beach.



The beautiful Cooper River suspension bridge.



A pelican and some seagulls were enjoying the nice weather and sunshine.



Mommy even got to take her shoes off and put her feet in the water.



The pelican's flight.



And his landing too.



Hanging out on the rocks.



A nice day for a sail.



Mommy needed a rest break.


The Wedding and Party


Karen was a beautiful and elegant bride.



Our table with the Liffords. 



The coolest CSL representers, Jolee, Katie, Tyler and Brooke!



The happy couple take the dance floor.



Dancing under the stars.



Karen and her father.



The CSL girls get the dance floor to themselves.



We are beautiful!



Mr. and Mrs. Lifford



Me and my sweet hubby!



Richard, Brooke, Karen, Jolee and Me



The bride joined the band!


Exploring Charleston


Walking along the battery.



A beautiful old Charlestonian mansion.



Decorated for Christmas.



Walking under the Live Oaks in battery park.



Mommy loves Live Oak trees.



A picturesque gazebo under the Live Oaks.



Mommy under the gazebo.



Nope, no horse and buggy ride for us this time. 



Eddie got to see the Hunley, the first successful attack submarine.  This is actually a replica that was created for the movie and is actually 10% larger than the original.  The original is still submerged for another 5 or 6 years in a tank undergoing electrolysis to stop it from rusting.  The eight men who died inside the submarine on that fateful night in Charleston Harbor have now been buried with honors. 



Can't believe 8 men fit inside here shoulder to shoulder!