My heroes!

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

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

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!

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

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!

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!

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!