Christmas Festivities

This December we have been so blessed to enjoy many Christmas activities. The first weekend in December we went to a country store called ZAKS Mallardtown for their Christmas open house. They have a Santa there, complete with elves. There was a Christmas craft for the kids to make and refreshements too. The best part of all...you get to take your own Santa pictures and you don't have to pay a pricey photographer! I was even able to buy a few Christmas presents while there. This sounds great, right? Well, both of my kids have decided to be scared of Santa this year! At first I was frustrated because I was really banking on getting a good Christmas card picture. But I got such classic shots that I really couldn't be upset for long.



The next day was the Trent Woods Christmas parade. The school I work at pulls some kids from this neighborhood so we had a float in the parade. Abby and I rode in the float. It was a really nice Christmas parade! I really enjoyed being a mini celebrity for the day and spending that time with my Abby. She enjoyed it, but it was during her naptime. She spent much of the time half asleep! Todd and Tyler watched the parade at Garber UMC and were near our friends Sara and David with their cutie kids Jacob and Shannon. When we got to this point, I dropped Abby off with her Daddy so she could watch some of the parade.



Uncle Ryan the firefighter was nice enough to invite Abby and Tyler to the Township 7 Christmas party. It was a fun time for all! They served a yummy dinner followed by a visit from the Big Man himself...Santa! He even had a present for each boy or girl there. We were able to convince Abby to sit on his lap, but definately not Tyler. He clung to me! The firefighters were also given a gift in honor of their wonderful service to our community...a huge flat screen TV!



I'll post more later with our church activities and Tyler's birthday...our boy is one now!

Our Birthday Princess

On Monday, November 16 we were excited to celebrate our Abigail's 3rd birthday. This is also Todd's birthday, but in his words "I don't have a birthday anymore." He's good natured about it, thankfully! She was his 25th birthday present and I tell him all the time I will never be able to top that present! I cannot believe how the time has flown. It seems like yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital. Over the last year she has really done a lot of growing and changing. Over the last year she has become a big sister, been potty trained (woohoo), and has had multiple vocabulary explosions. Her time as a two-year old was a wild ride in our family filled with a lot of crying and tantrums, but also a lot of love and laughter. We can't wait to see what this year holds for her!

I think she really enjoyed her birthday party, which we held the Saturday before her birthday. We had many friends and family there for her "Hello Kitty" themed party. She received many wonderful gifts, but by far her favorite was her "Princess Ano." This is Abby-speak for a Princess Musical Lighted Vanity. She saw this in the Christmas wish book about a week before her birthday and just had to have it. We sent Uncle Justin to the Toys 'R Us in Greenville to get it, but they didn't have it. We called Target and Walmart, no luck. Todd and I ended up driving to Jacksonville the night before the party to get it at the Toys 'R Us there. It was so worth it to see the look on her face when she opened that present. We just pray that there are no last-minute Christmas requests!

Not related, but here is an exerpt from a conversation I had with Abby this past Saturday morning:
Abby: Mommy, I'm really tired.
Mommy: Me too. I didn't get enough sleep last night.
Abby: Mommy, you really need to take care of yourself.

Where she got that one, I have NO idea!

I will post pictures soon when I have a few minutes to upload them.

Tyler updates: He is almost walking. He has taken a step or two, but I haven't seen it. Todd and my dad have seen him do it. He is now finally saying "mama" but I think it's just when he's hungry. Funny how he still associates me with food even though it's been 3 months since I've nursed him. He loves cars and likes to "drive" them around. More updates to come on him because his birthday is approaching quickly too!

Welcome to the World, Caleb!

On November 4, 2009 my good friends Kara and Christopher welcomed a sweet baby boy, Caleb Hadyn to the world. He was a teeny guy, weighing in at 6lbs 4oz. After my two chunky babies he seemed especially tiny. I went up there to visit and get my hands on that precious boy the following Sunday. Here are some pictures from my trip!

Halloween...a bit late!

Here it is, almost a month late, and I'm just now getting to our Halloween post. October was a busy month for us. It seemed as if we celebrated Halloween quite a bit! The weekend before Halloween, we took the kids to a great family-friendly party, hosted by a friend from my school. Abby had a blast! She had several kids to play with. We enjoyed a pot-luck dinner and a pumpkin carving contest. Todd was ambitious and found a template of Mickey Mouse and so this year we had a Mickey pumpkin. It was really cute!



The weekend of Halloween proved to be pretty busy as well. That Friday night, Todd and I actually had a grown-up Halloween party! We got together from some friends at my school and had a blast. It was the first time we have left either child with a babysitter for an evening out. Tyler did great. Abby did well, but was still awake at 1 am when we returned home. Guess we will have to work on that one next time. The day of Halloween, we had a wedding to attend. Our friend Jennifer got married and the wedding was so cute! It was completely a Halloween theme. We had to leave between the wedding and reception so that we could go Trick or Treating with the kids. This year Abby was a very pink princess and Tyler was Winnie the Pooh. They were both so cute! Thanks to Aunt Jessie for the pictures...we actually forgot our camera that night. By the way, we did not carve the awesome pumpkins. They were just so cool that we had to take a picture. The carriage in the picture just happened to be driving around downtown New Bern that night and the driver was so nice to let the princess have her picture taken with it. Every princess needs to travel in style, right?

Pumpkin Time

Lately around the Williamson household it has been Pumpkin Time! This past Saturday, the whole family took a trek down to Mike's Farm. We took a hay ride out to the Pumpkin Patch where Abby and Tyler took a turn as professional pumpkin pickers! While we were there we made a trip around the farm to see all the animals. Abby enjoyed feeding the goats and donkey and Tyler just enjoyed the day hanging out with all of us.

Earlier today Nana and Granddaddy took Abby and Tyler back to the pumpkin patch, this time right here in downtown New Bern. Christ Episcopal Church has a pumpkin patch each year and some of the pictures below are from their trip today. Tyler and Abby took a wagon ride, went swinging, and hung out with the pumpkins. Uncle Ryan is excited about Tyler's shirt: Farmer in Training.

The final piece in the Pumpkin Puzzle is the Mickey Mouse Inflatable Pumpkin that Grammy Nan got for Abby and Tyler. Hopefully we'll get it blown up to get us in the real spirit of Fall and Halloween! Enjoy the pictures!

Back to School!

Todd and I have been back in school now for a few weeks and we are trying to get back into the swing of things. We are both dealing with large class sizes and other effects of the budget crunch. Todd's team of 7th graders has 100+ students and my group of 1st graders is at 24, the legal cap for 1st grade in North Carolina. It has been a hectic opening of school, but we are surviving! The hardest part is not being able to spend as much time with Abby and Tyler as we would like.
Our Abby is growing up so much! We have been practicing on her big girl bike, and she is finally getting the hang of pedaling. Now we just have to work on the steering part! She really seems to enjoy it and she's really cute with her little Ariel helmet. We are having a new challenge with her...sibling rivalry. Now that Tyler is mobile, he is finding her toys. We are trying to teach her constructive ways to deal with this rather than the typical 2 year old responses of snatching and pushing him away. We're working on it! We have also noticed that the more tired Abby gets...the more clumsy she gets! Just the other week she got a black eye from running into a table on my mom's deck. Thank goodness that has faded! She also made her singing debut at church on Sunday singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She was able to sing a few lines before she realized she had an audience and got embarrassed!
Tyler is doing a lot of developing lately and will turn nine months on Thursday. He is becoming such a big boy, although he's starting to thin out some. I can't believe that in a few months we will have another toddler on our hands! He's been scooting on his belly across the floor for a while now, but just Sunday he starting crawling on all fours. He's pulling up on furniture and finding all sort of cool things he shouldn't have! My baby is now waving bye-bye and saying "da-da" when he does it. I really think he means bye bye! He also loves peek a boo and pat a cake!
The pictures on this post are from a variety of things. There are some of Abby playing on the McDonald's playground on the way to Sanford on Labor Day weekend. There are also a couple of Tyler taking in the mariachi band at a new Mexican restaurant in town. He was mesmerized! And of course, I put in a few of Abby riding her bike.
On a more serious note, I need all of you to add a little girl named Rachel Smith to your prayer list. She is the great-granddaughter of Abby and Tyler's babysitter. She is 4 years old and has been fighting a disease called Blackfan Diamond Anemia all of her life. She's had a bone marrow transplant to counteract this disease, but is now having complications and may not make it. Pray for a miracle, and also keep her parents in your prayers too. They really need strength during this difficult time. Here is a link to her website through the Children's Organ Transplant Association.

Rachel's COTA Site

Tea Party

One of Abby's favorite thing to do it play tea party. She has a few tea sets and it's one of the few things that can keep her occupied for an extended period of time. She even has one in the bath tub. For months my mom has promised Abby a real tea party. So in memory of my precious Nana (Abby knows her as Nana Carol) we had a tea party. We invited our favorite New Bern ladies, dressed up, and had a fabulous time. Nana Hix, Grammy Nan, Auntie Dot, Aunt Elaine, my aunt Dot's friend Sally, mama, Abby, and I were in attendance. Nana Carol was watching over us as mama and I wore her hats! Mom had her kitchen decorated with a lace table cloth, pink plates, and bright orange daisies (Abby picked these out). We had hot tea, lemonade, and iced tea and ate some yummy fancy food. A good time was had by all, and we will definately make a habit out of it for Abby. A big thank you to my mom for organizing it for my girl!

Bath Time!

One of my new favorite mommy things to do is give Tyler a bath. Right now I'm bathing him in the sink (minus the baby bath tub) since I don't quite trust him sitting up in the big tub yet. It also is a life saver for my back! When it's time to give him a bath, Abby and I put one the bar stools up to the sink and she climbs on. She is always my big "helper" when I give him a bath. The two of them have an absolute blast! Tyler has two of his favorite toys, a plastic spoon and a rubber duck. Abby and Tyler laugh, play, and splash. By the time we are finished, I have one clean baby, a toddler ready for her bath, a messy wet kitchen, but two happy kids! It is one of my biggest joys as a mom to watch my two children play together. Their laughter is priceless, and I will always treasure it!




I included some pictures of our Tyler snoozing with his daddy a few Sunday mornings ago. He was so cute sleeping with Todd that I had to snap a couple of pictures. He is still very much a mama's boy, but he is warming up to Todd. They have had more opportunities to hang out lately and that has helped a lot. As you can tell from some of these pictures, Tyler has already learned how to be a ham for the camera. It doesn't take them long to learn! He continues to learn and grow every day. He now eating Cheerios or the Gerber puffs on his own. He uses his thumb and first finger and pinches them. Not all of them make it to his mouth, but he's learning! Here is a video of one of his "I'm tired" performances. He takes his fist and rubs not only his eyes, but his entire face. Many times he'll include his ears too. It's quite hilarious!

Link to Tyler Video

Where did summer go? **UPDATED**

**POST UPDATED WITH PICTURES**

Well, it's that time of year again! Unfortunately our summer is fading quickly away and Todd and I will be back at school once more. Todd went back on Friday to a day-long meeting (yuck). I go back on Monday for two days of training and then I start workdays on Wednesday. The kids come back for both of us on Tuesday, August 25. It seems like we are just now getting into our easy summer routine and it's already time to go back!
We've been keeping busy as usual over the last couple of weeks. Tyler has had several big firsts. He pulled up for the first time on Wednesday night. It's all over now...he'll officially be into everything! He also had his first trip to the beach. He loved the waves! Despite being as careful as possible, I think he ate a few handfuls of sand as well. Since he's still exploring the world by putting everything in his mouth I think that's par for the course! I'll post pictures as soon as I get them onto my computer.
Abby has officially completed her first swimming lessons. She was not promoted to the next level, but I expected that. She still is awful young...she was actually supposed to be 3 to take the class. She did great her first two days of class, and the last two days of class, but really acted like she was scared all the days in between. Anytime it was her turn to swim with the teacher she would get out of the pool and run to me crying. And I would go to her and put her the pool. The funny thing is, once she was actually in the water with her teacher, she did everything she was supposed to do just fine! She also refused to jump off the side of the pool everyday, but the last two days she would as long as I was right there with her. All in all, I say we made progress. I think I'll wait until the spring to repeat the class, but I'm glad she had the exposure.
By the way, I'm glad you found us at our new home @blogspot. Mark this new site in your favorites so you can visit and check up on us all the time!

July is flying by!

Over the last few weeks we have kept busy around the house, the library, and the YMCA. Our most recent adventure has been Abby's swimming lessons. We were going to enroll her in the Mom and Tots swimming again, but the teacher has taken the summer off. So, I talked to the aquatics director at the Y, and she told me to go ahead and enroll her in the Pike swimming class with the understanding that we would pull her out if it didn't work. This class is for 3-5 year old beginners, so she is still quite young for the class. Since she is so fearless in the water we really thought she needed some formal lessons. She is actually doing quite well. We are pleased with how well she is listening to her teacher and following directions. She is still working on putting her head back in the water when they try backstroke and she is hesitant to jump off the side of the pool. She may need to take the class over, but that's fine because we just really wanted her to be exposed to the water this go 'round. Wow, this is starting to sound like report card comments...school must be around the corner unfortunately. Other than swimming, Abby is still enjoying our weekly library story time. The summer reading program is coming to a close, and we have the end of summer party this coming Tuesday.
We also have a lot to report with our Tylerbug. He is scooting EVERYWHERE! I can leave him playing in the living room, come back a minute later and he is down the hall looking for me. He is not crawling on his hands and knees. He prefers to army crawl where ever he goes, but hey, it works! He is babbling more and more, and yesterday we started to hear dada for the first time. He can be really loud sometimes, but I think he's trying to talk over his sister:). He almost pulled up yesterday on Abby's block table. He made it to his knees. He is getting stronger with his sitting up. It is so nice now that he can sit in a restaurant high chair and grocery cart. He's still an easy-going little guy for the most part, but he is very much a Mama's boy. He tolerates Daddy, and will even have some fun with him if I'm not around. But, as soon as I come into view, he fussing and holding his arms out to me. I secretly don't mind, but it does make it hard to get things done because he wants me to hold him, or is crying for me to hold him quite a bit. Well, unless he is crawling and getting into something he shouldn't. Then he is perfectly content without me:).
Enjoy the pictures of our cuties!

July 2009

Vacation 2009

On Monday, June 29 the Williamson crew embarked on an eight day journey. This was the longest we have ever been away from home with the kids (including when we just had Abby), so we were quite nervous about packing enough and how temperments would be. To our surprise, packing for 8 days was not much different than packing for a night or two when you have small children. You just need more clothes. And the kids were surprisingly well behaved (although you always have moments). We spent four wonderful days in Sanford with Granny and Papa, and then four days in the Boone area with Nana and Grandaddy. Here is a journal of our journey:

Monday, June 29: We left for Sanford around 2 in the afternoon. We got to Sanford after 5. Quick dinner and then Todd had to rush off to a memorial service for a friend's father.

Tuesday, June 30: Despite temperatures in the 90s we went to the NC Zoo in Asheboro. It was actually not too bad temperature wise because most of the zoo is shaded. Abby had a ball! Her favorite animals were the flamingos, pronounced "flumingos." Tyler liked the zoo alright as long as the stroller was moving. You'll see a picture where he's screaming in the stroller because we stopped. The big drama for that day was that in our haste out of the door in the morning we left Tyler's milk, baby food, and bottle in Sanford. I had a can of formula in the car, but without a bottle that's not much help. I ended up having to find a secluded area to nurse him. And of course, I didn't have my nursing cover-up with me, so I did the best I could with a large burp cloth. Wow, I really earned my mother of the year award with that one!

Wednesday, July 1: In the afternoon we took Abby and Tyler to the Marbles Kid's Museum in Raleigh. It was awesome. She was able to do most everything in there. We really appreciated that because most places are more geared towards kids and have little to offer toddlers. There is a huge area with all kinds of real-life things that are on a kid's scale. A boat, ambulance, fire truck, post office, grocery store, kitchen, and more...all with props for them to use. Tyler even got in on the action in the "Baby Marbles" section where he could roll around basically in a padded room...hahahaha. That evening we drove up to Kara and Christopher's house and had a yummy taco dinner.

Thursday, July 2: In the morning we went to a great little park in Sanford with Granny and Papa and then had lunch at the Dairy Bar. After lunch, Todd took Abby and Tyler home for a nap, and I drove up to Raleigh to see Kara's ultrasound. I had never seen one that wasn't my own, so it was a special treat for me to be there with her. I even got to see the 3D and 4D images. Wow! I had thought about having a 3D with both Abby and Tyler and now regret not doing it. The regular 2D ultraound was also very detailed. We were able to see the valves moving in his tiny heart...which was no bigger than your fingernail! What an AWESOME God we have! It reminded me again just what a miracle life is! We are certainly fearfully and wonderfully made.

Friday, July 3: Friday held a frenzied morning of repacking the car and grocery shopping for the mountains. We did manage to see out of the back window, and we didn't have to ride with anything in our laps! We left Sanford around 12:30 and grabbed lunch on the road. After a very long ride (the last hour of which was a very curvy mountain road and a screaming, hungry Tyler and a fussing, hungry Abby) we made it to our "cabinet" as Abby would end up calling it. This was near Linville Falls. That night we ate at Famous Louise's Rockhouse Restaurant, famous for being built in three counties. It is where McDowell, Burke, and Avery counties come together.

Saturday, July 4: Tweetsie Railroad! We had a great day at Tweetsie. Not too hot and not too crowded. Abby liked the train okay until the cowboys started running around and shooting. I think she was just a little too young for all of that. She really enjoyed the rides, except for a little helicopter one she couldn't ride with an adult. We did a lot of uphill walking. We saw the baby animals in the deer park. Tyler LOVED the goats! I held him close to the fence and he would just laugh out loud. We left Tweetsie and went to dinner at the Mellow Mushroom (a lot of fun) in Boone, and then watched fireworks in a sweet little town called Crossnore.

Sunday, July 5: Proved to be a rainy day, so we packed up and went to Linville Caverns. Really cool cave tour. Both of the kids did pretty well in there. Afterwards we went to the original Mast General Store in Valle Crucis. Neat place, but very crowded. Everyone had the same idea on a rainy day. We also rode to West Jefferson to see Fresco paintings in a little Episcopal church. After dinner at Bandana's BBQ restaurant, we were pretty tired and went back to the cabinet to rest.

Monday, July 6: It was a cloudy morning, but the clouds were supposed to clear up. So, we hiked Linville Falls. Yes, we took the children. We'll push a stroller anywhere :). We hiked to the first set of falls and they were beautiful. Somehow I don't have a picture, but we really enjoyed them. Then the trail got too rough/uphill to push the stroller, so Nana watched Abby and Tyler so Grandaddy, "Justing" as Abby calls him, Todd, and I could hike the rest of the trail. Long, hard walk uphill but the view was worth it. On the way down, there were a few sprinkles, but I didn't think much of it. When we got back to where Nana was with the kids the bottom fell out. I mean pouring, and a half-mile curvy trail to get back to the welcome center and our cars. And you guessed it, only one small umbrella between the seven of us. And to make it better, we had left the rain/sun canopies to the stroller in the car. It was a long, cold, wet walk back. So, the zoo incident was my nomination for mother of the year, but this sealed the deal! Later that afternoon we visited Todd, NC. Apparently Todd is so special that they named a town after him! We concluded our evening by eating like hogs at the Daniel Boone Inn.

Tuesday, July 7: Packed up and went home. We were 1.5 hours into our trip before we got out of Boone because of road construction, but the kids held up remarkably well.

So, here we are back at home, still getting back to our normal routines. We enjoyed vacation, but boy are we glad to be home!

Oh, and Tyler has grown up so much in the last two weeks. He's now sitting up unsupported for long periods of time, making a grabbing motion for things he wants, and scooting across the floor. It's time to babyproof the house again...this time the problem is Abby's smaller toys!

Vacation 2009

June Photoshoot

On Tuesday, Amy and I decided to take the kids up to Greenville for Tyler's 6 month pictures and to try and get a good family portrait taken as well. We scheduled an appointment at Portrait Innovations since our previous experience there had been so wonderful.

We arrived and were able to head in immediately for our shoot. This time instead of having two people working with the kids we had our lone photographer. Couple that with Abby being full-fledged in the terrible twos and it's amazing we got any pictures that were worth purchasing. Below is an album of some of the pictures from the shoot. Hope you enjoy them!

June Portrait Innovations

School's Out for the Summer!

And the students think they're the ones excited about school getting out for the summer! Hahahaha, what they don't know is that this pair of teachers have them beat in that department.
All kidding aside, it has certainly been a busy close to the 2008-2009 school year. Both of our school were testing and retesting for EOGs, which equals crazy time in the schools! Todd had to administer the regular EOGs for his homeroom class (the whole "make your mark heavy & dark, no stray marks" bit). He then had to adjust and readjust his schedule numerous times to accomodate for remediation and retesting. At my school, it meant that my teacher assistant was pulled away for testing, no resource or duty-free lunch. I love my students, but 7.5 hours straight (for 3 days in a row) with 21 rambuctious first graders who have to remain quiet is enough to drive a saint insane! And then the whole process repeats itself with the remediation/retesting thing at our school too.
But THANKFULLY Todd and I made it through with our sanity relatively intact and we are ready to enjoy our summer with Abigail and Tyler. We are looking forward to the summer reading program at the library, many trips to the aquarium, the Todd family reunion, time with Granny and Papa, and any other adventures/trouble we can get into. Todd will stay busy with the Marine Science Academy and Teacher Academy. I get to be a stay at home Mommy for a few precious months! Now on to what you guys want to read about: updates on our cuties!
Abby continues to be a typical two-year-old. Meaning: periods of her being the cutest thing in the world immediately followed by massive on the floor crying tantrum because she heard the word "no." Despite this, we still can't get enough of her! She is so hilarious talking. Our new favorite are the "gobbles" that she wore at Lowe's to do her kids craft project. You also have to push the "ringbell" to get someone to answer the door. One of her newest obsessions is wearing band-aids. On any given day she is wearing one on a real or imaginary boo boo. It's one of the little battles I choose not to fight. If she wants a band-aid, she gets a band-aid. One less tantrum:). Abby also has a new bike. It's a real bike, just very tiny with training wheels. We went to Wal-Mart to get her a trike, only to discover that our girl is already too tall for one, and fits on the bike perfectly. She still doesn't quite understand pedaling, but she will get the hang of it! She is becoming more and more in love with Tyler everyday. She cried the other day when Todd left him at the babysitter so he could have some father/daughter time with her!
Tyler is finally rolling over! He waited until he was 5 1/2 months old, but he finally did it! He is now rolling everywhere! His new favorite pastimes include the johnny-jump-up, the exersaucer, and his playmat on the floor. You do have to be in his sight, or all of those things are no longer fun and he is finished! He is sitting up when supported. I will be glad when he can sit a little better in the grocery cart so I don't have to lug that heavy infant carrier everywhere I go! He continues to eat very well. My summer project is to work on getting him into a regular breakfast, lunch, dinner eating schedule. He still likes to eat every four hours like a newborn. What can I say? My boy likes to eat! He goes for his six month well baby check up on Thursday, and I will be curious to see what he weighs!
We'll keep you posted on our summer activities!

MayJune 2009

Our busy world!

We've kept quite busy in the past several weeks. We've taken a family trip to Sanford on Mother's Day weekend, Mommy went to Meredith for her college reunion, and this Memorial Day weekend Mommy took her assessment center test and we've had a wonderful cookout with the Varley/Davis/Rackley crew.
On our Sanford trip we were happy to celebrate Papa's birthday, along with Mother's Day. Daddy was technical support for Granny's computer while Mommy took Abby and Tyler out to play. We enjoyed church with our Shallow Well family and having a relaxing weekend. Well, as relaxing as life can be with a toddler and a baby!
Mommy had a blast at her Meredith reunion. It was so nice to see her Meredith girls! We've all become Mommies or Mommies to be, so you guessed it, all we talked about were kids. Mommy had a kid-free weekend, which was very nice, but strange.
This weekend we made an afternoon out of going to Greenville for the Assessment Center. While Mommy took her test, Daddy, Abby and Tyler played outside. Afterward, we kept cool with slushes from Sonic and enjoyed their really nice playground. Very clean and kid-friendly. We did a quick lap around the mall, and then went to Chili's to eat.
Today we went to Uncle David and Aunt Barbara's river house down the county for a Memorial Day cookout. We were so blessed that Uncle Doug was able to come out of the hospital for the afternoon to join us. Lora and Jake were also there with baby Lillie. The hammock proved to be a good place for a photo op, so Mommy went a little crazy with the camera, especially when Tyler and Lillie were hanging out together on it! They are only about 2 weeks apart in age.
In the last few weeks Tyler has really done a lot developmentally. He continues to eat well, and can now FINALLY roll over. He hates to be on his belly. He also had discovered that his toes are a built-in plaything for him and is fascinated by those wiggly things! Just yesterday he was able to get one to his mouth to explore! He loves to jump when held upright...I guess the johnny-jump-up is good practice. Abby's development is mainly with language. She has also become more spontaneously affectionate. When she found out that I bought a new box of band-aids, she told me "Mom you're the best." So cute! Things lately are also "hurtable."
Enjoy the pictures!

May 2009

Growing Up!

We have certainly done a lot of growing up in the Williamson household over the last few weeks. Here are some updates on our cuties!

Abigail: Abby is doing a great job with the potty. Very few accidents and is pretty much out of pull-ups, only wearing them at nap and bedtime. She continues to sleep in her big girl bed. She's beginning to stay awake for longer after we put her in there. Sometimes she'll talk/sing for an hour or so. This new lack of sleep is contributing more to the "Terrible Twos" and we have had a LOT of tantrums to deal with. This too shall pass. Despite the daily tantrums, she also makes us laugh daily with the things that come out of her mouth. We're working on counting, and she knows the /s/ sound is the letter s. Never too early to get in some phonemic awareness! (You can't tell I teach kids to read for a living can you?) Her new favorite book, which is almost completely memorized, is Mouse Count. Really cute book for a toddler!

Tyler: Tyler has also transitioned to his big boy bed (his crib, as compared to his bassinet). Abby calls it his choo-choo bed since it has a train theme. He does well in there, but I think the wide-open space was an adjustment since he was used to being crammed into his old bed. Tyler is still trying new solid foods and LOVES to eat from the spoon. In fact, we are having a hard time getting all of his milk in since he would rather have solids. He's now eating applesauce, green beans, and carrots. He won't eat prunes now that he's experienced tastier options. We've tried peaches this weekend, but he surprisingly isn't a big fan. We'll try those again later. Next up...sweet potatoes!

Easter 2009

Here are some pictures of our sweet babies over Easter weekend. We've had an Easter egg hunt at Mema & Aunt Nan's, an Easter egg hunt at Shallow Well, and a chilly but beautiful Easter Sunday at Shallow Well. Thanks to Todd for the beautiful pictures of Abby at the very end...she looks gorgeous. The reason she's by herself in those last couple of pictures is our Tyler-man decided to play roly-poly and did a face plant in the dirt :) He's okay, just has a bruised ego...if someone four months old can have a bruised ego.

Speaking of Tyler, he had his four month check-up on Friday. He now weighs 16 pounds, 11 ounces (good for 95th percentile) and is 25.25 inches tall (around 60th percentile). He still has a little head, according to people who measure head size, only in the 25th percentile. Apparently he's a big boy with a little head. He's been eating rice cereal for about a week and we just introduced prunes today (not Dad's first choice for foods, but oh well, spaghetti and chili will have to come later).

We also have some pictures of Cowgirl Abby from earlier today at Union Point Park. The pony she's riding is named "Beauty" and she also enjoyed the swings, bounce house, and getting her "purple king hat" temporary tattoo.

Enjoy the pics!

Easter 2009

Union Point Kids Day and Tyler Prunes

Abby Mommy Day

This morning I took Tyler to the sitter and had a special girls-only day with my Abigail. We really needed this time together. I think it's the first time we've had a significant amount of time together since before Tyler was born. We didn't do anything big, but it was still a fantastic day! We started off by going to the post office to mail Aunt Kara some pregnancy books. Abby is fascinated with how the mail works so I sat her up on the counter while the postwoman (?) did her thing. Next we headed off to Creekside Park for some fun. The weather was gorgeous, but a little breezy. Abby was most interested in the swings today. We didn't stay long because a stunt pilot was practicing overhead in his plane (Creekside is right near the airport). Airplanes are one of Abby's new fears, I think it's the noise. After a quick snack of juice and Nemo gummies, we went to the Dollar Tree and got some awesome goodies. I found some cute pictures frames to put her and Tyler's pictures in at school. Abby found some pom-poms, a sand bucket, duck bubbles, a doll, and some Princess chapstick. It's amazing what a few dollars can buy you in there! Then we headed off to the Cow Cafe, one of Abby's favorites. She got to eat a hot dog, drink chocolate milk, and play in their farm-themed play area. She was in heaven. After a cup of ice cream, we went to Food Lion for some eggs and the sweet cashier gave her a balloon (also a favorite treat). We went home and made some spring cupcakes. Granny, save some points for a cupcake, because Abby is bringing some to share! She is now napping, and I am getting my last minute paperwork for having my taxes done this evening. I am so behind on that, but needless to say, I've been a little busy lately! It was such a blessing to spend today with my precious little girl-she's growing up WAY too quickly!
PS-Update: Abby is now sleeping in her big girl bed and doing a fabulous job! She is also doing an awesome job with the potty. Very few accidents lately! Tyler is now sleeping in his own room too. He's still in the bassinet, but will be in the crib soon! The new love of his life is Hunter, my parents big, black lab!

[gallery orderby="ID"]

Catching up!

Again, we apologize for not updating this blog more frequently. In the daily shuffle of kids and work, I tend to put things like Facebook, the blog, and even checking my email on hold! We have kept pretty busy in the last few weeks. Todd and Amy are both nearing Spring Break, which unfortunately we have separate breaks this year. We have had Tyler baptized at Riverside Methodist in New Bern (first church pics) and the following weekend christened at Shallow Well in Sanford (second church pics). After the baptism we had a nice lunch with friends and family from New Bern at our house. We were blessed that Todd's parents were able to be there as well! After his christening, we had a nice lunch with family from Sanford, and this time we were blessed that Amy's parents could join us. We like to say that Tyler is "double-covered" since he has now been sprinkled twice! We have also been to an Easter Egg hunt at Riverside. Sadly, we had to do this one inside because of the weather, but Abby didn't seem to mind. This past weekend we ventured to the aquarium, despite Abby having the stomach bug. (All except for Tyler have had it in the last week...yuck!) She had a blast as usual, but you can tell in the one picture that she's leaning on Todd's leg that she doesn't feel well. We probably shouldn't have taken her out, but we had already told her we were going before she got sick, and she just had to see the otters! We celebrated Nana & Poppy's birthdays also on Friday night. To top it all off, Amy is working feverishly on her National Boards (round 2) before the April 15th deadline. Isn't it just cruel to have that due the same as tax day?
We have discovered in the last few days that Tyler is ticklish! He laughs out loud when you tickle his belly and thighs especially! He's a pretty easy-going little guy. He sleeps and eats like a champ (as you can probably tell by the pictures). Compare this picture of him in the tub to our previous post about his first bath and you'll see how much he's grown in the last few months. We weighed him about 2 weeks ago and he was 16lbs. He will be four months old in a couple of weeks...hard to believe! Abby continues to be a big helper, when she's in the mood. She is a little parrot, as she repeats anything you say. We are constantly amazed at what she knows, remembers, and her vocabulary! Over Amy's spring break we are going to move her to her big girl bed. Tyler is quickly outgrowing his bassinet, so we need to do it soon. We really think she's ready. Our new hurdle is sharing...especially birthdays. She thinks ALL presents are for her. She'll learn in time! Enjoy these pictures of our little ones!

March 2009

Beautiful Weekend!

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather today and get the kids out and about. We started mid-morning at the train show set up at New Bern High (go Bears!). There were gobs of model trains set up in the gym at eye level and some even set up on the floor. Abby loved walking around and watching all the trains. Tyler tolerated it just fine until we got close to feeding time. Before we left, Abby just had to ride the big bear in the front patio of the school. We must have a future Bear on our hands! We left the train show and took Abby to Union Point Park to feed the ducks. Abby had a good time looking at the ducks and birds and playing on the swings. We finished up the day with a good nap (both kids actually slept at the same time...wow) and then pizza for dinner at Nana's.

March 2009 Train Show

Back to the Working World

Well, things have gotten incredibly more busy at the Williamson household. I am having to adjust to being a working mother again. I do enjoy my school children and teaching, but I would still love to be at home with my own personal children. I try to enjoy every minute I have with them in the evenings and on weekends. They continue to grow, thrive, and melt my heart on a daily basis. Tyler had his 2 month check-up not too long ago and was a huge 14lbs. He is smiling all the time, and trying to laugh and coo. Abby is becoming a pretty good helper and is always telling me "he's so cute." She also is already trying to boss him around. On several occasions they have both been crying for various reasons and she will look at him and tell him to stop crying. Then she continues to cry herself. I can't help but laugh! Enjoy these pictures of my cuties...one of them is the first picture we have of Tyler smiling!

February Pictures

It is hard to believe, but Tyler is 8 weeks old now, and I will be returning to work on Monday. Although I will be glad to have some adult time and quiet car rides, I will miss being home terribly. Pray for me as I make this transition back to the working world. I know Abby and Tyler are in excellent hands with Mema and Aunt Nan, so that makes it easier!
Tyler continues to grow and change everyday. He is now smiling and making cute little noises. He is a VERY big boy! I can't wait until our next check-up to see just how much he weighs. Abby is still talking up a storm, and is using words like actually, never mind, and probably. My new favorite expression from her is "It is sure is sunny out here!" She is hilarious. She has really enjoyed Mommy being home because we get to go to story time at the library every Friday morning with Miss Pam and her frog puppet Tony. I wish I could take her every Friday morning!
Here are some pictures of our cuties. The first few are of Abby in her chef outfit compliments of her Grammy Nan. The ones towards the end are the result of a bag of mini M & Ms. I actually took two of those pictures at a stoplight because she looked so funny!

February 2009

All For Abigail

As a new mommy (again!) I often get caught up in the busy-ness and new-ness of Tyler and neglect to do many updates on Abby. Even though we are having our jealousy/attention issues since his arrival, she actually has not taken it out on him. In fact, she can be a good little helper (when she is in the mood, after all, she is 2 with all the attitude that comes with!). I have to take a moment to tell you about a couple of "mommy" moments I had with her today that just made me chuckle. Abby often tries to comfort Tyler when he is crying in the car. She sounds like my little parrot. It's like a little Amy in the car seat back there. We often call Tyler a chunky monkey because he's well, you know, chunky. I had to crack up tonight when we were riding home and Tyler is screaming. Abby kept repeating "It's okay chunky boy!" in her sweetest mommy voice. It was the cutest thing! Also tonight we were trying to leave my parents' house and I was pretty frustrated with her because she was refusing to put on her coat. Finally, she hopped over to me, looked up at me with those beautiful eyes and in her most serious voice said "I a jumping kangaroo, mommy." How can you be mad after that?

Tyler's First Bath

Todd and I had a little break this morning. Nana had Abby over for a sleep over, so we have taken the opportunity to do some cleaning/organizing around here. A never ending task now that we have two children! We also decided to give Tyler his first real bath. I know, his umbilical cord stump fell off when he was too weeks old, and we could have given him a bath then. But, it's been just as easy to give him sponge baths, and we have not been able to find all the parts to the baby bath tub. As you can tell from the pictures, he is not super happy about this new experience. You can also tell what a chunky monkey he is!
[caption id="attachment_108" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Not sure about this mom"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_109" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Nope...don\'t like it!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_110" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Warm at last!"][/caption]

Snow Day!

Today was a rare day in NC...a real, live snow day! Our newest member is completely unaware, but Abigail was in heaven today! She went outside and played at Nana's first and then didn't want to come inside or go back to our house! We finally convinced her to come in and warm up and then get in the car to come home by telling her that we would make a snowman. We did make a snowman...sort of. He must be the world's smallest...you can see from the pictures that he is less than a foot tall! The important thing is that Abby had a blast. Also included are some pictures from our weekend in Sanford.
We took Tyler to the doctor on Monday morning for his one-month well baby checkup. Can you believe that?? He now weighs a whopping 11lbs. 7 3/4 oz...he's gained 4 pounds since birth. Well...even more than that considering he dropped down to 7lbs. 10 oz. right after birth! He's also grown over an inch and is now 22 3/4 inches long. He is definitely at the top of the growth chart! Dr. Greg gave him a clean bill of health and he received his second Hepatitis B vaccine, which was harder on Mommy than Tyler. We are also happy to report that he slept through the night last night! This may not be a pattern yet, but we'll take what we can get! Enjoy the pictures of our cuties!

January 2009

Superstar Children

On Saturday while we were visiting Todd's parents we rode up to Cary and let Tyler make his superstar debut. Abby got into the mix as well and the two of them together were just over the top amazing (if I do say so myself)! We had their pictures taken at Portrait Innovations and the people there were very good about keeping things moving for little kids. Thought you might like to see the session photographs, they're low-resolution, but you'll get the idea of how awesome they were!

Portrait Innovations Sessions

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Well, the last two and a half weeks have been a whirlwind to say the least! Tyler and Mommy came home from the hospital doing well. Tyler continues to grow and Mommy continues to recover. Tyler is a good eater and an overall pretty laid back little guy. This is good considering that Abigail is giving us a run for our money. She is still adjusting to having a new brother and the excitement of Christmas. Once things calm down she will settle in to our new routine just fine I am sure. We had a wonderful but busy Christmas with Todd's family visiting us. The house is finally back in some sort of order now that the new toys are organized and the Christmas decorations are packed away. For a while it was pretty risky to walk around our house...plenty of new toys to trip over! Enjoy these pictures of Abby and Tyler for the past couple of weeks, and we will be better about keeping the blog updated in the future!

Christmas 2008January 2009