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!

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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