VERMONT VISIT!

Bet you wish you were coming here with me this weekend:

To visit these sweet gals {and dogs}:

{Photo credits--Bo}

I will miss these turtles:

{Apparently they are sad I'm leaving}

But excited to spend all weekend with daddy!

Peace out!

NICU Nurses

told us this day would come. The day we couldn't possibly imagine filling up our little boy. He is a BOTTOMLESS PIT!! AND ALWAYS HUNGRY!!! So hard to believe behind teary eyes and lots of prayer, we watched Van struggle to eat 1/2 an ounce of breastmilk in the NICU.

Thank the Lord, now he squeals like a teradactyl if you don't get the spoon in his mouth quickly enough. I just have to remind myself constantly that its a good thing to have a super hungry baby because it means his plump little body is getting plumpier. Love to little hungry Van. {Snags, when you saw this title, I bet you thought this post was about something else...grrr}

 Van likes his new-found independence in his silly sounds tigger jump-around.

Today is a big day. I am attempting a DH Hill visit with Van and then if he's good, we are heading down to the grand opening of the downtown Raleigh farmer's market. Wish us luck!

Hold your own

Like Van and his spoon! After a busy, fun beach weekend we are now in visit--Vermont mode full blast. So excited about seeing my  northern fam this weekend!!

Here is a sneak peak at my giggle box:

FRAY TURNS 1

My sweet little niece is 1 year old today. I cannot wait to go visit her next weekend and squeeze her little dumpling cheeks to pieces. (I have a problem spelling "niece" and "piece" correctly...typically I would spellcheck but since they both occurred in the same sentence, to heck with it...and yes I am in English Grad School).

I will never forget walking down the hall at Rex Hospital and hearing my sweet sweet little Fray crying when she was first born!! It was the best sound and made me cry.

Look how beautiful she and her mommy are!

She is the most beautiful little lady ever. {But there is something a little saucey behind those beautiful blue eyes! This gal is gonna be something else}

Van's 6 mo check up went well. He is up-to-speed developmentally and behaviorally. He is 17 lbs! Which puts him right in the middle of the growth charts. Hard to believe he started here at 5.5 lbs:

We are so proud of this little fella. What a growing machine. 

Today we are getting ready for our beach trip this weekend, hence the crabs, and super excited about showering my baby mama Bex and showering the engagement of Routhie and Matt! What a fun weekend :)

Foot. In. Mouth.

Van has a new thing. He lays on his back and puts everything in sight in his mouth. Including toes. Yesterday evening Evans was eating a banana while holding Van {and we KNOW Van loves banana baby food} lo and behold if Van does not yank a huge handful of Evans's banana and cram it into his mouth. Luckily we were able to pull most of it out, but it happened so casually it almost seemed normal. Sneaky Van. He has a 6-mo Dr. visit this a.m.!

Six Months!

Precious Van is six months today. Unbelievable. To celebrate, we are going to the park and Van is trying out his new sippie cup! He is halfway to the year mark. I am trying to get a video of Van giggling, it is my favorite thing in the world--but everytime I approach him with the video camera he gets curious and shy. Happy Monday!

5 years

ago today I met Erv.

He is a fantastic human being in so many ways. I am blessed to be married to such a faithful, cute, loving, and supportive husband. The past five years have been the best, craziest, most loving years of my life:

I love wondering what our next five years will bring! Babies?! Trips, special time with friends and family...

To celebrate, we are going on an oh-so-swanky date to El Rodeo, then to hear a lecture on modern art in the Third Reich. {Strange, I know} but whats even more strange, is I am currently reading Sarah's Key about the round-up of French Jews in Paris during the war. A sad, but incredible read. So I am already a little interested in the topic. Hope you all have good weekends!

Life.

The house is a mess.

Our baby is cute.

But teething.

{His cute hat is minimonograms}

I am bordering insanity.

Luckily our first cleaning lady ever comes tomorrow!

Our porch got a simple sweet spring makeover:

Back to the grind.

Today: I surrender.

To a thesis that never gets worked on.
To the delicious supper that never gets made.
To the "restore the core" pilates video rarely used.
To the pile of laundry neglected for 2 weeks.
To the empty garden waiting to be planted.
To the poor dog wanting me to throw the ball one last time.
To my sweet dumpling that is not satisfied today.

I just need 3 more arms, 4 more cups of coffee and -- wait. I don't need anything but a deep breath and a pep talk. Anyone up for that?? : ) You know my number.

The best baby toy ever.

I might sound like a hippie, or a passage from Walden but, I think the best baby toy is nature. No joke.  Flashy baby toys need not apply. I love laying Van on a blanket outside and watching his eyes follow a butterfly or bee, or looking up at the sky.

I enjoy seeing him turn to look at birds he hears chirping or cars passing by. Squirrels, Sophie, neighbors... he hears dogs barking... sees all of the flowers blooming in our front yard.  Surely he smells the yummy flowering bushes across the street. ...All of this sensory stimulation is natural and much more peaceful than a loud, crazy baby toy!

At 5:30 p.m., any day of the week, you will find me, Van, and Sophie, outside on Nanny's bench, (well...Soph is at our feet) waiting for Evans to come home from work.

Its my favorite time of day (not only because my help arrives) but because we get to pause and watch all of the neat things going on outside.

Somewhere along the way, my child has turned from an infant to a little boy:

{Those orange sweet potatoes go well with green and white stripes}

And he has decided to sit up on his own!

{Van's "ipod" has him so captivated... maybe some flashy baby toys are okay...}

Milestone.

{Sort-of holding his own bottle!}

Starbucks and Pedicures...a Three Year Tradition

Hard to believe we started this monthly tradition in May 2007 (isn't it Rhombus and Snags?) I felt like anything going on this long is worthy of a post. Of course, things are a little less exciting without one of our regular members. :(

I hope it lasts many more years {we just won't let dad know how much of the yearly budget goes towards foot care}...

Megan and I have both adhered to this tradition pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and post pregnancy {although I believe Snags had to bail once because of the manicure fumes}.

And yes Rhombus's feet are prettier.

Speaking of footcare...any of you regular runners have good tennis shoe recommendations? I am in the market for a new pair. Let me know your faves!

Van's First Easter

We went to the early Easter service.

My two favorite guys:

Van's first Easter goodies:

The service was excellent. I am not sure if this joke will be as funny written as it is spoken, but our interim minister started off the sermon with this story:

"I have ministered so many places, that anywhere I go, I am bound to run into someone I have ministered before.  Well, first thing this morning, I run into a woman...and I say--'You look like Helen Brown!' and she replied 'You don't look so good in black yourself.'"

Say it outloud to yourself a few times and you'll get it. He gave such a nice light-hearted sermon and relayed that Easter is supposed to be a light, enjoyable day.  So we made the most of it!

After church, my personal chef started the leg of lamb for our parents:

Surprisingly, the parsley and rosemary from our neglected garden withstood the winter and early spring.

Finished product (before cooking)

My contribution:

Van sort of joined us for the green beans:

Not many leftovers.

We tried to capture some good Easter photos but the sun was very bright!