The Williamson Family

A Mountain Getaway

2011-07-07T19:13:00.000-07:00

Over the 4th of July weekend, the kids and I tagged along with my parents on a quick mountain vacation. We really needed to get away for a few days. We stayed in a precious mountain house, affectionately called "Granny's Old House." The owner's grandmother owned the house and raised six children in it near the town of Sparta, NC. It had beautiful mountain views and was surrounded on three sides by cow pastures. In fact, most mornings we sat on the back porch and ate our breakfast along side the cows! While we were there, we took the kids tubing on the New River, mucked around in a mountain stream at Stone Mountain, climbed to the peak of Mount Jefferson, visited Shatley Springs to drink the healing spring water and eat family style, went to the original Mast General Store in Valle Crusis, shopped at Ashe County Cheese, and of course ate at the Daniel Boone Inn! We packed a lot into a long weekend. The kids were so well behaved considering how long we spent in the car. Here are some highlights of our trip!

Our sweet family!

Stone Mountain

The summit of Mt. Jefferson

Granny's Old House

New Swing Set!

2011-04-11T18:29:00.000-07:00

My whole family has been a huge support for me trying to get my house back in order after our recent family changes. One way that my daddy and Justin have helped is by putting together a swing set for the kids. Todd and I purchased it last year and never had a chance to put it together. Over a couple of weekends, Daddy and Justin worked hard to put this thing together and we have already enjoyed it quite a bit. We've even had a playdate and invited Abby's friend David over to play.

Here are Abby and Tyler swinging together!

Hanging out in the clubhouse:

While swinging, Abby noticed this triangle up in one of the neighbor's pine tree. She blows me away with how observant she can be!

This is how tall the pine tree really is:

Learning how to be a family of three...

2011-04-11T18:19:00.001-07:00

Well, after I made the last post about us buying a bigger house and those precious Valentine's Day pictures, big changes started happening in our home. I won't go into a lot of detail, but just know that Todd and I are now legally separated. It was not my choice and I was completely surprised and devastated. It has been a little over a month now, and the kids and I are just now getting into a rhythm and are looking for our "new normal." Because we have two beautiful kids together, I have made it my goal to stay positive and not be negative in regard to Todd. Yes, my life is completely different. No, it is not what I wanted, signed up for, or expected. But, at the end of the day, I still have a home, a job, and two precious gifts from God in Abigail and Tyler. I have wonderfully supportive family and friends. We will make it and God will see us through!

My Funny Valentines

2011-02-19T14:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some cute pictures of my kiddos from the Sunday before Valentine's Day. I know, I know, I'm way too matchy-matchy. But when your kids are this stinkin' cute, you just can't resist! :)

Love their expressions in this last picture!

The Last Five Months

2011-02-12T19:04:00.000-08:00

We've been a little MIA these last five months. Okay, maybe a lot MIA. Here's a quick recap since September to get you caught up with our crazy lives!

-We've had all four of our birthdays. Abby and Todd celebrated on November 16th. She remains his greatest birthday present to date :). Abby turned four this year. It blows my mind how quickly time flies!! My birthday was December 16, and Tyler's was on December 17. Our baby turned 2!

-We've had multiple Christmas celebrations with all of our wonderful family in all the corners of the state. We've celebrated in Sanford, Sims, Elizabethtown, Aurora, and New Bern!

-Abby is taking dance now at a small local studio. It's called Happy Feet, which is perfect since she loves that movie so much! She's in a preschool age class, and I have been super impressed with the experience. I was really worried that she wouldn't be a good listener, but she does a fabulous job listening to her teacher Mrs. Kristen.

-We've had several decent snows for New Bern this year. We've missed some school, which will be sad when it's time to make it all up!

I think the biggest news of all is that we are going to put our home on the market soon. It's bittersweet for us, but we feel it is the right thing to do. Even though this is our first home, we are quickly outgrowing it! We were not planning on selling our house right now, but I think God is leading us in this decision. It all started with me browsing the internet for homes in our area. Not seriously, just to see what was out there. I found a foreclosure in our area and it was a good deal for a lot of house and not in horrible shape. That house ended up going under contract before we could do anything about it. However, that got the ball rolling. We are actively working to put our house on the market and hope to do so very soon. And now, we have another house prospect that will most likely work out. God knew what he was doing when he had me searching the internet that night!

Bear Hunt

2010-09-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

On Labor Day, Amy and I decided to take the kids on a Bear Hunt through downtown New Bern. For those who haven't seen them, there are 27 bear statues that have been placed in spots around the downtown area, with another 23 in the Greater New Bern Area. The bears have been painted to represent either the location or the ideals of the organization that sponsored placement of each bear.

More information about each of the Bear Town Bears can be found here.

Here are the bears we found today (20 of the 27 downtown bears)

And some photos from our journey:

Vacation!

2010-08-21T17:59:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we took a long weekend trip up to Virginia. We were gone 4 jam-packed days! We left on a Thursday afternoon and drove up to Virginia Beach, taking a quick dinner break in Elizabeth City. Waterfront Park is downtown and gave the kids the opportunity to stretch their legs.

Friday morning we woke up bright and early and drove from Jodi's house in Virginia Beach to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. We spent a long, hot, but fun day there. Abby and Tyler enjoyed the Forest of Fun which is a Sesame Street themed area. Everything is very kid friendly. Here are the kids waiting to get on a ride:

Here we are riding!

And that was the last image ever taken by my camera. Following that picture, Todd proceeded to balance the camera on a fence post to get out his cell phone. The camera tipped, and then fell onto the rocks around the ride, and into the water. Luckily (I thought) I was able to fish the camera out as Tyler and I rode by. Not necessarily so lucky because the camera was a goner. So about 30 minutes into our vacation we were short a camera. I was sad, but we stayed positive and had a great day! Todd and I were able to leave Abby and Tyler with my parents on a few occasions to ride some grown-up rides. We LOVE rollercoasters!

On Saturday we went to the Virginia Aquarium near the Oceanfront. We were able to see a 3D IMAX movie about dolphins and whales. Abby normally loves watching "animal shows" as she calls them, but something about huge whales coming right at her head didn't do much for her. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the movie just fine. It is a large aquarium and there were plenty of cool things to see. One of Tyler's favorite parts was the massive stingray touch tank. He loved to watch them swim around and around and we even got to watch a feeding.

Sunday morning we ventured towards Newport News and visited the Virginia Living Museum. We would highly recommend it for families with kids. Or if you are dorky teachers like Todd and I, even adults like it! It is kinda pricey to get in, but since we are members of the NC Aquarium we were able to get in for free because it is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. There are lots of hands-on things for kids, as well as animal exhibits both indoors and out. It is like a combination of a zoo, aquarium, and museum.

When we left the Living Museum we had originally planned to drive home. But, we decided to be adventurous and drive down the Outer Banks. It took us about 2 hours, but we made it to Kitty Hawk just in time to have a fantastic seafood dinner. Dinner was good, but of course we didn't have any kind of hotel reservation. We drove towards Manteo because we knew it would be a little cheaper. We ended up at the Dare Haven Inn. Too put it mildly, it was an interesting experience. It was very dated, the mattress was horrible, and there were mismatched towels in the bathroom. Despite all of this, we had a great evening. Todd and I put the kids to bed, and then sat outside on the breezeway in some comfy chairs. It was the first time during the whole vacation we were able to sit and talk and enjoy each other! As Todd called it, here are some images of "The Hotel Time Forgot":

The next morning we got up and went to the NC Aquarium in Manteo. It is smaller than the one in Pine Knoll Shores, but it was nice to see something a little different. We were able to watch a live dive and listen to the diver answer audience questions. Abby also enjoyed looking for sharks' teeth in their sharks' tooth pile.

That afternoon we headed home. We were glad to get home and sleep in our own beds!

Visiting Granny & Papa

2010-07-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

The last weekend in June we took a long weekend trip to Sanford to visit with Granny and Papa. It ended up being an action packed weekend! Abby and Tyler especially enjoyed the wading pool they had for them! Friday morning we had a playdate with Granny's neighbor Meredith. On Friday evening, Todd and I went to the Rascal Flatts concert with Kara and Christopher at Walnut Creek. We had a great time. We hadn't been to a concert in years! Saturday morning we took a trip to SanLee Park where they have a really cute little nature center. They have birds, turtles, snakes, crayfish, and even a squirrel! The kids loved looking at the turtles especially and that is now Abby's favorite animal. Sunday was busy too. We went to church in the morning, and in the afternoon some of Todd's friends from high school came to Sanford to catch up and meet the kids. We enjoyed visiting with Carolyn, Kristen, and Chris!

Sweet Summertime!

2010-07-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

Recently we took an evening trip to Dairy Queen for some yummy ice cream. Tyler was able to have his first ice cream cone! He made a huge mess, but he loved it!

Uncle Justin and Hannah came too! Here we are snugglin' with Uncle Jus!

He's got some big shoes to fill!

Because of Winn-Dixie

2010-05-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

I recently had the opportunity to read the novel Because of Winn-Dixie to my students. It is a children's novel and if you haven't read it, you need to. In the book, the father blesses a meal at a party for his little girl. It really touched me, and I wanted to share!

Dear God, thank you for warm summer nights and candlelight and good food. But thank you most of all for friends. We appreciate the complicated and wonderful gifts you give us in each other. And we appreciate the task you put down before us, of loving each other the best we can, even as you love us. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.

My heroes!

2010-05-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

Early in April, we had the opportunity to watch a training burn for Township 7 Fire Dept, along with several other fire departments around the New Bern area. Both of my brothers are volunteer fire fighters. I know I'm partial because I'm the big sister, but these guys really are heroes in my book! Even as volunteers, they are there 24/7 to help the citizens of Township 7, which is the James City/Brices Creek area. They are right there in burning houses, brush fires, removing victims from car wrecks, and many, many other duties. It is a dirty, hot, dangerous, and sometimes even thankless job. But they do it willingly and without a second thought. And I couldn't be more proud!

Blog Slacker

2010-05-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

Hello out there blog friends. I am sure you are shocked to actually see a blog post by me! Yes, the Williamson family is still here, going strong. The kids are growing by leaps and bounds and are as precious as ever! Here are some highlights of the last couple of months. Hopefully I will get pictures posted soon!

-New Van! We traded Todd's faithful 1998 Nissan Sentra for a 2009 Chrysler Town & Country. Best move we've ever made, and we've enjoyed the van more than we could have imagined! He's got the Escape and he is glad he doesn't have to deal with the quirks that accompanied the Sentra. It was a good little car though. And GOOD on gas!

-Abby is playing t-ball! She is in the YMCA's Bam-Bam t-ball program designed specifically for ages 2.5-4. It is equally as cute as it is hilarious! She is doing a fantastic job and it helps mommy see she's not the only one in tantrum world.

-Easter. We celebrated this special season with several Easter egg hunts and special time with family. We attempted church with our Shallow Well family but had to leave early because Abby had a little tummy bug that day.

-Las Vegas! Todd and I took a wonderful trip to Las Vegas with no kids. It was fantastic although we missed those munchkins terribly! Todd presented some technology stuff at a middle school conference and I relaxed. In the evenings and on Saturday we enjoyed Las Vegas Blvd. (The Strip) and enjoyed a different but beautiful landscape.

Thanks for your patience with my lack of posts lately. Stay tuned!

January/February Fun

2010-03-02T18:04:00.000-08:00

So as a mom, I LOVE bathtub pictures. Here is a sweet one of our darlings...

...and here is Abby's version of a kick-me sign.

Other than our bathtub fun...we've been up to a lot of other cool things. Here are some random albums of life in the Williamson household!

Abby v. Brownie Batter

Sleepy Baby

Tyler v. The Mirror

Baby in a Basket

Snow!

2010-02-16T18:30:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we got a monster snow for New Bern! We measured and had a little over 5 inches at our house. It started snowing around 9:00 pm on Friday and was already sticking in a matter of minutes. Todd and I were having a "date night" and we had to rush home so that our babysitters (Justin and Hannah) could get home safely. When we went to bed, there was already an inch on the ground. It was really magical waking up on Saturday morning to a winter wonderland. Abby was so excited, but was very patient as we had breakfast and got all bundled up to go outside. We enjoyed making snow angels, building snowmen, having snowball fights, and of course, making snow cream! Yes, we southerners find a way to make anything a food! We get snow so rarely, we have to take advantage of it! Abby is the perfect age to enjoy the snow. Tyler, on the other hand, was very overwhelmed by it all. He couldn't walk in it, which really frustrated him. He would take a step, and then trip over it. He spent a lot of time walking around on the porch with a broom hitting my porch furniture (hey whatever keeps him happy). I think an inch or two would have been better for him. Regardless, both of the munchkins played hard and took fantastic naps. Todd and I were pretty lazy that afternoon watching Remember the Titans and the Carolina game (and yes, the Heels actually won one).
Luckily the snow didn't linger too long. I love the snow, but I hate watching get all dirty and yucky. It didn't mess up roads/travelling too much either which is fine by me!
Enjoy the pictures of our fun in the snow!

Updated Pictures and Tyler's First Haircut

2010-01-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

Today we took the kids to have their pictures made at Portrait Innovations. They were really good during the photo shoot, but were both very screamy while we were trying to pick out pictures. To their credit, it was an hour past lunchtime, so we won't hold it against them!

We also took took a family trip to the barber right before the new year to get Tyler's haircut. As much as I hated to see those precious curls go, he looks so good now. He looks like a little boy! You know it's time when strangers ask you how old your "little girl" is. Argghhh.

Happy Birthday, Tylerbug!

2010-01-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

Amongst all of the Christmas activities, we celebrated two birthdays at our house in the month of December. My birthday was the 16th and then Tyler's was the 17th. He was my birthday present, 7 1/2 hours late :). The first year of life is so big developmentally and it has been awesome to watch the transition from a newborn baby to a toddler!

Tyler on December 17, 2008 at 8lbs 8oz

Some current milestones:
-Walking at 11 1/2 months
-FINALLY cut first tooth at 12 1/2 months
-Trying to talk. Says "mama" and "dada" clearly. We've heard him say some other words randomly also. I seriously think he said "cookie" the other night.
-FINALLY drinking out of a sippy cup. But the little booger still wants a bottle to help him get sleepy for night night!
-Staring to actually play with toys rather than always trying to eat them. They do still taste good to him on occasion.
-Fighting back with Abby. Not really a good thing, but a milestone nonetheless.
-Weighs 21 pounds

Tyler now, at 21lbs.

Here are some pictures from his first birthday that we celebrated with family and friends. Tyler was hilarious with the cake...that's why there are so many shots of it! Abby was very dainty with her cake when she turned one, but not Tyler. He had no trouble figuring that out. The other highlight of the party for Tyler was getting some boy toys! He had a few baby toys and there are lots of pink girlie toys around, but those just aren't as good for a little boy. Enjoy!

Christmas Festivities, continued!

2010-01-01T20:24:00.000-08:00

Saturday, Dec. 18 was Riverside UMC's Christmas pageant. This year, both Abby AND Todd were a part of the production! Abby was an angel and Todd was Jesus. The pageant was cute as always, but Abby had a little difficulty with the whole standing still thing. As one of the angels, she was the second person to come in and had to remain in a standing-still position for the entire production. If you know 3 year olds, you know this is a very lofty aspiration! Needless to say she spent the whole time running around the choir loft. Looking back on it, I can laugh. But that night it was frustrating because I had Tyler in the pew and couldn't really do anything to stop her. After the performance there was a small Christmas party in the fellowship hall with another visit from St. Nick.

The next night we were able to participate in a live nativity. The Kings are some good family friends and they have hosted a live nativity in their yard for 19 years running. This is the first year I have even seen it, and it was precious! Tyler was too young yet, but Abby was able to be (you guessed it), an angel. This time it was very short. The kids just processed out while someone read the Christmas story, and then they processed back. Very simple, but a sweet way to celebrate the birth of Jesus!

Next up, Abby and Tyler's babysitters hosted their annual Christmas party. This is a large event, complete with a large spaghetti meal, lots of treats to eat, and opening presents of course!

Christmas Festivities

2009-12-20T19:07:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-30T19:00:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-30T18:50:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-21T18:30:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-07T16:24:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-08-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

**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!

2009-07-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-11T00:54:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-24T14:57:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-14T15:12:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-24T15:48:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-09T07:29:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-04-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

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

2009-03-04T15:33:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-12T15:15:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-06T16:22:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-24T04:43:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-01-20T10:28:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-20T09:37:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-01-04T15:18:00.000-08:00

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

Welcome to the World Tyler!

2008-12-17T04:40:00.000-08:00

Tyler Leaton Williamson was born at 7:37 AM at Craven Regional Medical Center. He weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and is 21.5 inches long! Our little guy has a head full of hair and looks a lot like his sister! Will update this post with pictures once they are on a computer somewhere!

Tyler is Born!

'Twas the Night Before Baby

2008-12-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

And Todd's poetic skills failed him, so he'll just type up a quick update :) It's almost 10 pm on Amy's birthday and we're gearing up for Tyler's arrival. Todd's mom is in town to help out with Abby and we all went out for a birthday dinner at Outback. We dropped off Miss Abigail for a sleepover at the babysitter's house tonight. We're heading off at about 5:30 in the morning to go the hospital and pick out a baby! Oh, Amy just told me we don't get to choose, that we've already signed a long term lease on Tyler...guess we'll take him then :) Here's a final belly shot of Mommy...and a shot of the insane number of diapers we have stockpiled (Thanks to our folks who passed along quickly outgrown diapers!) We'll update you on Tyler's arrival tomorrow when we get a chance (sooner rather than later if the hospital has Wifi)

Woah BABY!

2008-12-09T13:18:00.000-08:00

Well it officially appears that Amy is about to pop! We're t-minus 1 week from delivery and we're both ready to meet our little guy. Tyler Leaton is scheduled to arrive at 7:30 AM on December 17th, unless he's impatient of course. At Amy's final checkup prior to the big day everything looks good with Mommy and baby! Dr. Joyner is estimating he will be between 7.5 and 8 pounds. Here's the belly in it's current state...and a picture of Abby with Santa Claus earlier this weekend for good measure :)

Abby Turns Two!!

2008-12-07T15:46:00.000-08:00

This has been a long time coming, but Abby has turned two!! We had a small party here at the house with my family and Todd's parents. Abby got a new doll house (you should hear Todd talk about all the accessories...) which she has really enjoyed so far. She also got a lot of other fun toys and now Mommy and Daddy don't know where they are going to fit Christmas!! Here are a few pictures of the day...Enjoy![gallery link="file" columns="2"]

Happy Weenie!

2008-11-05T23:43:00.000-08:00

Yes, this is what my daughter walked around saying all Halloween night instead of Happy Halloween. It was just too cute to correct, and we are still asking her to tell us Happy Halloween just so we can hear it more. This year Abby dressed up as Abby Cadabby. This is a new character on Sesame Street who is a fairy. Our Halloween evening started out kind of interesting, when Abby bumped her nose on a table before we even left. The bruise from that is finally fading, nearly a week after the fact. Then we got out of the car and walked to the first house with their light on. Abby proceeded to throw the biggest tantrum I have ever seen because she wanted to sit in her stroller. I had brought the stroller just to carry our bags. Well in the process her wings got broken, so for the rest of the night she was missing her wings. Luckily, sucking on a lollipop seemed to be the cure, and she did very well for the rest of the night. Here are some pictures of her all dressed up. They are not the best pictures, because its hard to get pictures of an almost 2 year old who is on the brink of a tantrum!
[caption id="attachment_71" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Abby Cadabby!"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_72" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Trick or Treat!"][/caption]

Pumpkin Carving 2008

2008-10-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...the only problem with the cover picture of the album below is that many of the 1,000 words Amy was probably thinking are unprintable :) While over at Nana and Granddaddy's the Wednesday before Halloween we had a little fun while carving the pumpkin. It started with a bit of joking about whether the pumpkin or Mommy's belly was larger. While Abby helped to get all the "leafs" (and you thought they were seeds...) out of the pumpkin, Daddy decided it would be a great idea to dress the new baby up in his first Halloween costume. Amy was a good sport through it all and endure much laughter and a lengthy photo shoot. Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving 2008

31 weeks and counting...

2008-10-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

We finally know when Little Man Williamson will make his grand entrance! At our last doctor's appointment we scheduled our c-section! His surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 9:00 am. Now, this is subject to change. I still of course could go into labor if he so chooses, or my surgery could get bumped that day if they have a lot of women in labor. But, it's really nice to have a date to look forward too! I lobbied for Dec. 16 so we could share a birthday like Abby and Daddy, but that is not one of Dr. Joyner's surgery days. He still does not officially have a name, but we are getting closer. We'll let you know when we know! Here is a 31 week belly picture. It's hard to believe that I have another 7 weeks to grow!
[caption id="attachment_62" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="31 weeks"][/caption]

Mum Fest 2008

2008-10-13T14:58:00.000-07:00

We took Abby to the Mum Fest this year on Sunday. The weather was beautiful! Abby had not had a nap that day, so she was a little tired, but she really enjoyed the John Deere display. She calls anything that resembles heavy machinery "tractors" and is pretty fascinated by them. She also enjoyed getting her stylish hat from Liberty Tax Service and wore it with pride until she pulled it off and broke the foam. Oh well, there's always next year! The Mum Fest topped off a very exciting weekend for Miss Abigail since she got to visit with Granny on Saturday while Daddy and Papa went to see the Tarheels beat Notre Dame in football. Mommy got in a little shopping and relaxation!

[caption id="attachment_58" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Abby on the "tractor""][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_59" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Abby's special hat"][/caption]

Visiting Kyle & Jack

2008-10-13T14:48:00.000-07:00

Recently Abby, Mommy, and Nana went to visit cousins Kyle and Jack, and of course Jodi and Paul too! Abby had pink eye that weekend AND didn't sleep any on the car ride up to Virginia Beach, so it made for an interesting ride up! While we were there, we went to the Neptune Festival on the oceanfront (where they have the ginormous sand castle competition). The sand castles were awesome, but of course I missed getting pictures of them and only have pictures of the kids playing on the beach! Kyle and Jack are growing up so quickly. Kyle is now 5 and in kindergarten and Jack is 3. After the Neptune Festival, we went out for yummy Mexican food. Well, to continue her trend, Abby chose not to sleep all night that night (literally) so we had a very long night. But, it was still worth the trip to visit our sweet boys!
[caption id="attachment_53" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Jack and Kyle"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_54" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Abby and Kyle"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_55" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Abby burying Mommy's shoe!"][/caption]

Trying not to get behind...

2008-09-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! We are trying very hard to keep our blog updated more often than we have done in the past. Here are a couple pictures of our family walk tonight with Miss Abby. Sadly, she did not get to see the neighborhood "dog-dogs" she is always excited about, but we still enjoyed our time outdoors. Also, we have an updated belly picture. I am now about 23 1/2 weeks along. Little Man (yes, still the best we can do on a name) is kicking up a storm and generally making mommy pretty tired. But everything is going really well with the pregnancy. I don't know if I look any bigger than the last picture, but I certainly feel bigger!
[gallery]

Photo Shoot

2008-08-10T06:29:00.000-07:00

If you needed further evidence that Miss Abigail really is THE most beautiful little girl on the planet, these photos should prove that :) We're not the slightest bit biased, of course. Huge thanks to Kara and Christopher for the impromptu photo shoots while feeding the ducks at Union Point, swimming at the YMCA, and in the evening at Creekside Park. Enjoy!!

Abby August 2008

Growing, growing, growing!

2008-08-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

I talked to my good friend Heather on the phone tonight and she asked me if I was starting to show with this pregnancy yet. So, here is a side-view of Baby Boy Williamson (no, he doesn't have a name yet). He is definately out there. Tomorrow I will be 20 weeks along-exactly halfway. I pray I won't get twice as big in that time, but I'm not holding my breath! Also included is a picture of Miss Abigail Carol in her "cab" pool. That's a crab pool if you haven't been exposed to Abby-speak lately!

[caption id="attachment_37" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Here we grow!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_38" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="I\'m ready for my close-up!"][/caption]

It's A....

2008-08-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

BOY if you can't tell from the pictures below!!! He's healthy and everything looks good to this point! He is a very busy boy and changed positions three times during the ultrasound. He is as yet unnamed, but Todd and I are working on it...well, I am more seriously than Todd, but he'll come around :) We're excited to have a little brother for Miss Abigail!!
[caption id="attachment_32" align="alignnone" width="299" caption="Baby Profile"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_34" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Not for audiences of all ages..."][/caption]

Ocracoke Family Fun

2008-07-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is so late, but we wanted to let you know about our trip to Ocracoke in June. We were blessed to be able to spend an entire week enjoying the island and extended family. My cousin Susan has two homes in Ocracoke that she rents out, and she allowed our family to use both of them for a reunion. We had family from North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, and Alabama represented. Abby was able to ride on her very first ferry, play in the ocean, see several lighthouses, and of course enjoy all of the extra attention. Here are some pictures of our cutie enjoying our vacation!

Ocracoke Vacation

Baby Williamson Update

2008-06-02T14:25:00.000-07:00

Amy and the new baby had a checkup today. Everything looks good. The official due date is December 25th, 2008, although the c-section will be done a few days prior. Amy officially heard the heartbeat for the first time today. Here's a picture of our little butterbean. If you look closely you can see his/her profile, the head is towards the top right and the torso is at the bottom. It's not quite a Magic Eye puzzle, but close :)

Congratulations Daddy!

2008-05-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

Abigail and Mommy are pleased to announce that on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 Todd was named Carteret County Schools Teacher of the Year! This is a huge honor, especially for such a young teacher. He works hard everyday to find the best way to teach his crazy seventh graders and truly deserves this award. Way to go, Daddy!

PS-We will update on the new baby soon. Our official due date is actually December 25, 2008!

Teacher of the Year

Here We Grow Again!

2008-04-26T06:26:00.000-07:00

The Williamson family is expecting a new addition this December! Abby is already practicing to be the best possible big sister ever!

Into the Great Wide Open...

2008-04-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

Abigail had her first experience roughing it over the weekend. Nana and Grandaddy took her to Cliffs of the Neuse State Park for a camp-out Saturday night. Abby loved every minute of the outdoors on Saturday. She rode in her wagon, looked for turtles, cooked s'mores, and even found time to zonk out for a short nap in the car. Abby also caught two caterpillars that kept her well entertained! Sunday morning a thunderstorm rolled in turning the camp-out into a water park adventure. Click the link below for photos of her adventure.

Into the Great Wide Open...

Hoppy Easter!

2008-03-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

The Easter season has sure been busy for the three Williamsons! Mommy and Daddy have been busy working on our National Boards (thank goodness they are in the mail on their way), while Abby has been enjoying the festivities. She has visited the Easter bunny, had 3 egg hunts, and of course dressed up on Easter Sunday! Although a little chilly, Easter was a beautiful day to Praise the Lord!
All Dressed Up!
Abby riding the rocking horse her Pop made her for Easter

Happy Birthday, Stevie!

2008-03-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we met some of our family at the Sanitary Fish Market to celebrate cousin Stevie's birthday. We had a wonderful lunch and then went to the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. What a great way to celebrate Stevie turning 2!
Stevie and Abby!
Crabby Abby!
One, Two, Three...

Memphis Vacation

2007-07-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

Over the July 4th holiday, we had the wonderful opportunity to visit some of Todd’s family in Memphis. I had never been to Memphis, and had never met his cousins. It was so nice to get to know his family and see some new sights. We visited Graceland, saw the Peabody ducks, took in a Memphis Redbirds game, crossed the Mississippi, and so much more! While we were there Todd had to sample some famous Corky’s barbeque. I declare, he has BBQ sauce running through his veins! Here are a couple pictures of our adventures, including Abby and Daddy eating BBQ, and Abby returning to Raleigh on the plane!

Hello world!

2007-04-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Welcome to our family's blog. I hope you will visit often for updates on our family, and of course our sweet Abby Carol. She is growing up all too fast and I thought this would be a good way for you to see her often. Enjoy!

The Williamson Family

A Mountain Getaway

New Swing Set!

Learning how to be a family of three...

My Funny Valentines

The Last Five Months

Bear Hunt

Vacation!

Visiting Granny & Papa

Sweet Summertime!

Because of Winn-Dixie

My heroes!

Blog Slacker

January/February Fun

Snow!

Updated Pictures and Tyler's First Haircut

Happy Birthday, Tylerbug!

Christmas Festivities, continued!

Christmas Festivities

Our Birthday Princess

Welcome to the World, Caleb!

Halloween...a bit late!

Pumpkin Time

Back to School!

Tea Party

Bath Time!

Where did summer go? **UPDATED**

July is flying by!

Vacation 2009

June Photoshoot

School's Out for the Summer!

Our busy world!

Growing Up!

Easter 2009

Abby Mommy Day

Catching up!

Beautiful Weekend!

Back to the Working World

February Pictures

All For Abigail

Tyler's First Bath

Snow Day!

Superstar Children

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Welcome to the World Tyler!

'Twas the Night Before Baby

Woah BABY!

Abby Turns Two!!

Happy Weenie!

Pumpkin Carving 2008

31 weeks and counting...

Mum Fest 2008

Visiting Kyle & Jack

Trying not to get behind...

Photo Shoot

Growing, growing, growing!

It's A....

Ocracoke Family Fun

Baby Williamson Update

Congratulations Daddy!

Here We Grow Again!

Into the Great Wide Open...

Hoppy Easter!

Happy Birthday, Stevie!

Memphis Vacation

Hello world!

Where did summer go? UPDATED