4th of July at the beach

Happy 4th of July!!!

I hope each of you had wonderful holiday weekends!

The boys and I headed down to my parents beach house with my mom the Thursday before the 4th... on Friday, my dad, Aunt Libby, Eddie, and Eddie's mom and sister all arrived at the beach.  Eddie's mom and sister decided last minute to make the trip and we are so glad they did!  Mom and I stayed for the full week with the boys and I was in HEAVEN!  My mom just knows what I need, when I need it... for example, she knew that Andy was waking up at 4:30 every morning and NOT going back to sleep.  She walked in the room, took him from my arms, told me to go to sleep and not come out of the room.  It was AWESOME.  She also came in one day, told me to get outside on the dock and go read my book while she watched the boys.  Again, it was AWESOME.  I did not want to leave the beach, obviously! Momma, if you are reading this: THANK YOU!  You are the absolute best! 

I took a ton of pictures during our week there, and I will try to share some of them here... I have a lot of catching up to do, blog-wise!

Cal was pretty good in the car on the way down (shout out to Nemo!), but when we got to the house, he was a WILD MAN.  He ran through the house like a crazy person.  While we unloaded the car, fed the babe, etc, he pulled every cushion off of every chair and couch and made a massive pile on the middle of the floor.  He thought this was hysterical.  I just loved seeing his smile while he was doing it!

 Again, my mom was wonderful the entire week...the boys loved having her around!  This picture below on the left CRACKS me up.  Andy is obviously a boob guy--haha!  He buried his head and passed out on in her chest!  We were worried he couldn't breath, but he was snoring away all snuggled up!
The picture on the right was typical in the house.  Cal loved to help Grandma brush her teeth.  He would take the toothbrush and brush his own teeth too-- we are all family, right??  (if you are grossed out by that, quit reading my blog.).  Mom-- the boys love you!

We spent a TON of time outside and Cal was in heaven playing in the little kiddie pool.  We have a deck that is on a canal (not on the beach) so we could watch the boats go by as he played.  Cal discovered he LOVES the boats and he would run to the railing and scream, "LOOK! A BOAT!" and everyone on the boat would look up and laugh and Cal would wave and say "HI!".  It was pretty funny to watch... Andy got a little Bjorn time and was happy too!

 

 We have a wagon at the beach that Cal loves loves loves!  We broke out some flags to celebrate the 4th and Cal was obsessed with putting them in the little holes in his wagon.  He was very patriotic the whole weekend :) If you look at the bottom picture on the right, his aunt CB is holding him while they look at boats and he is clutching all of the flags behind her back-- such a sweet picture!

Andy, although still very patriotic, didn't really care where we put the flags!  He found a great resting spot: right in the middle of the living room on the couch!  I know he shouldn't be on his tummy...we went through this with Cal, remember??  BUT, I do think it helps his tummy issues (more on that in a later post) and he sleeps much better on his belly... he also likes the carseat, but we are finding we get longer stretches of sleep when he's on his tum. Check out those lips....couldn't you just smooch him??

We spent a lot of time on the water too.  The paddle board is so much fun and we all enjoy doing it.  I was the first one out... both boys were napping and I was fully clothed and could not wait, so I jumped right on...thankfully I didn't fall... it's much easier than it looks...not to mention a great workout!

Cal wanted to join his daddy in the activities, so Eddie took him paddle boarding as well!  Cal is wearing a life jacket as the main rule at the beach house is you have to wear a life jacket as soon as you step off the deck towards the water-- Grandpa is very strict on this rule and the kids are all really good about following it!

 After he was done, he did a little swimming in the pool:

After dinner one night, Cal climbed up on Grandpa's lap to point out some boats.  How sweet is that picture? Melts my heart...

Don't worry, we haven't forgotten about Andy!  On the left, he's taking another great snooze (you might find it odd that I took pictures of him sleeping, but it's been kinda rare that he snoozes that long, and I was excited.  Like a lot...)
And on the right...you guessed it: A SMILE!!!  He is smiling more and more now and it seriously is the cutest thing ever!  He must think I am pretty funny looking because he cracks up at my face all the time.  This picture just caught the half smile.  With the camera's delay, I missed the full on smile, but you get the idea.  Pretty cute, huh??  I'm allowed to say that, right?

Our neighborhood down there has a great 4th of July parade and we were super excited to participate in it this year!  We decided we would pull Cal in the wagon, so we had to decorate it up a bit... I took it to a whoooole "nutha" level....

We woke up on the morning of the 4th and got everyone dressed and ready to head to the parade!

Cal saying CHEESE with his grandparents:

 The boys' outfits... I got a few better ones of Andy, but you can't really see the outfit :)

 Carrie Beth, Grammy and Andy waiting to go...

 Cal in the wagon!!  When we first got there, he was excited to be in the wagon and see it all...

 It was a hot hot hot morning, but we were happy to be there!

 Once Cal realized he could get out of the wagon and walk, it was all over.  He wanted nothing to do with the wagon again!  He was all about walking!

 We started out towards the back of the parade anyway, but with Cal trotting along at a snail's not-so-fast pace, we were soon the caboose of the parade...Cal didn't care though!  He was taking this very seriously!

 When the parade wound back around, we waited and joined back in in the middle, so we really only did half of the parade route, and it exhausted our boy!  We came home for some swimming! 

This is my favorite picture from the weekend:

 Eddie and Hank out in the canal:

We had really great weather most of the time we were there, and one day it was slightly cloudy (hardly at all), so we came in for a little bit and Cal was into everything...literally:

 We went to dinner in Beaufort that night and ate on the water where Cal could see all of the boats... he was so excited to point them all out to us!

This picture of Andy is so funny to me... he loves to sit up like a big boy!

 And finally, playing with the hose in the pool!  Eddie's mom gave Cal this "Cars" hat and he loves it.  He loves all things from that movie and screams "McQueen!" every time he sees anything related to it- haha! He loved getting sprayed in the face with the hose-- seriously... and at the bottom picture, he was yelling at a boat that just went by our house...haha

 I got some great pictures of Eddie's mom and sister from this week, but for some reason, they aren't loading on the blog... I tried two different ones of them and they aren't loading.  They must be too gorgeous for my site :) but I do love y'all!!  There are a ton more pictures up on MobileMe.

It was a wonderful week and I was not excited about coming home, but I must say...it feels quite nice to be back again. We've been gone a lot and it is nice to just be HERE.... remind me I said that this week when everyone is melting down at the same time....!!!

Birth Announcement

I finally got Andy's birth announcements in the mail!

Half the battle of the birth announcement is getting a good picture of the little nugget.  With all of his "issues" there for a while, getting a good pic was tricky!  I had my really good friend who happens to be a great photographer (hey, Katie!) come over and try to get some pictures too.  I LOVED how hers turned out, but when I uploaded them to the stationary site, they were too grainy.

Here are some of her pictures:

 And here is one that I grabbed of him, right after bath time:

 We ended up making that one the announcement.

And, while I would LOVE to send all of my blog readers (and I am amazed that anyone reads this thing, but I have found out recently more people read it than I thought!) an annoucement in the mail... here is a "viral" version for you!

front

back

There's my little Andy!

Wintergreen, VA

For Thanksgiving this past year, we rented a great house in Wintergreen. For the Williamson family vacation this year, we wanted to go somewhere all together, but without this portion of the family having to fly (I can not imagine being on an airplane with Andy and his screaming...). Eddie suggested we go back to this house since it is so spacious and everyone would have their own room.  It was a great break from the heat and humidity of NC and we had a great time!

Here is a recap with pictures:

This is Eddie's mom-- she was going to be called "Grammy" by the kids, but Cal has decided to call her Mimi.  We say to call, "say grammy!" and he looks right at you and says "MIMI!"  Oh well...Patty loves it either way and will take him calling her anything, just as long as he calls her :)

Mimi and Andy on the back deck

 Andy having a little stretch out time

 A rarity: I am in a picture!  Enjoying the sunset on the deck with my sweet hubs (we look ROUGH after a day in the car with 2 kids)

 The first full day we were there, it was rainy and kind of cold...it felt wonderful out! We found out there was a kids' center where there was a bouncy house and some games.  It was the perfect thing to do with Cal to burn off some energy. 

His first stop once we got there was the ski ball game-- of course: balls!  Grammy Mimi showed him how to roll the balls up to the top and Cal took this task very seriously. 

Rolling/throwing the balls up:

The problem with that approach was that not all of the balls would go into the holes, and this made Cal a little perturbed.  He wanted to score points, and he was going to figure out a way to do it...

He found a way:

After we left the ski balls, we headed over to the jump house.  Cal didn't want to go in alone, so Mimi climbed up there with him to jump and help with the slide.

 Another rarity: a picture of me!  Andy is happy in the Bjorn, so I strap him in and away we go!

 Back to the ski balls (check out those lashes...)

Then Tommy, Tricia's boyfriend, showed Cal the drum sets.  Cal loved them!

Me and Andy! (guess I am in a lot of pictures....).  Andy really turned a corner this week in Virginia.  The first day was rough, but he got better and better while we were there.  He was crying as much and while he was still spitting up, it wasn't quite as frequently.  I was thrilled! He had a ton of people willing to hold him, so he was a happy camper most of the trip: PHEW!  He even started cooing, which is just the greatest thing to hear.  Eddie and I were beaming...literally...it was JUST what we needed! 

 Our house was at the top of the mountain, and at the bottom of the mountain, we found a little lake.  It was SO much fun!  There was a great beach with lawn chairs and a huge trampoline and climbing thing out in the water.  Cal had a blast there...actually, we all did!

He went out in the water with his dad and went under when he wasn't expecting it so he decided to stick to the beach for a little bit:

 (again, when he is hard at work like this, he has the most seriously look on his face-- just like playing ski ball above)

 I LOVE THIS ONE!

 There weren't a lot of cars up by our house so Cal loved to go out walking running with whomever would go with him.  This day, he and Mimi went on a walk and spotted a bus. 

Cal is full on running in this picture:

 Please notice bug boots, Lightning McQueen t-shirt (his obsession), and bright pink cheeks!

I caught up with him and he started asking me "where bus? where bus??"  I didn't answer so he would say "I dunno!!!" and keep running...

 How funny is the back of this shirt???

He was running down the street saying "where bus???" haha

 Back inside the house, Aunt CB, who I also affectionately called my Au Pair, had things under control with Andy! See how he loves to have his little legs tucked under him??  That is how he likes to sleep too...

We celebrated FIVE years of marriage up there too! 

 woot woot!

 Andy wasn't a fan of being put down while we were up there.  It was much more entertaining to be held up high where he could see everything!  Here he is in his chair....very briefly. 

 I love this picture of Eddie and Cal going on a walk...holding hands.... so sweet...

 Best Buds

 Mr. Andy!

Now we are back home...until we head to the beach for the 4th!  All this traveling is exhausting!

xoxo,

One Month and Myrtle Beach

I am a bit late in this post...forgive me!

Andy turned one month on June 18th.  We were down in Myrtle Beach for Eddie's summer regional meeting-- they have this every summer and growing up, it was always so much fun to go to.  I was a little lot nervous about the thought of all four of us in a hotel room for 3 nights, but we thought, hey, let's do it.  I was going to stay at home with the boys, but my parents were going to be in Myrtle Beach too, so I wouldn't have had much help at home if I had stayed here. 

Long story short, the boys did much better than I anticipated.  Cal played SO hard during the day that he was exhausted at nap time and night time-- so much so that Andy screaming didn't wake him.  Phew!  There were two beds in the room, so Eddie stayed in one, and I stayed in the other with the bassinet (pretty romantic, huh???).  Cal's pack n play was in the corner and the room was full! Cal had the BEST time with his cousins, Jackson and Catherine.  We were all in a row of hotel rooms so we pretty much took over the floor with all of our stuff :)  Cal and Jackson were so much fun to watch together.  They are going to continue being the best of buddies.  They would run down the halls together screaming at the top of their lungs.  I am pretty sure the hotel was ready for us to leave....

Like a ding bat, I forgot my memory card for my camera, so I only took a few pictures with my iPhone:

Poolside: pimping in the shades

Hugging it out

Jackson put his own glasses on

Swimming with Daddy

June 2011: Cal, Catherine, Jackson

My little Coppertone Kid!  I loaded the sunscreen on him every 20 minutes and he got soooo tan still!

A funny story about the regional meeting-- Saturday night is the awards night where the financial advisors receive recognition for various things from the previous year (Eddie won a bunch of awards: yay, Ed!  So proud of him...).  Well, you get all dressed up and have a nice meal, etc.  They provide a sitter service for the kiddos.  Cal was having a great time with Jackson, and Andy was still having a tough time with his spitting up/screaming spells.  The ladies who were the sitters were SO sweet and loved having Andy there.  I told them to call me when it was time to feed him.  I sat down at the table for 5 minutes and my phone went off that he was ready to eat.  I went out and sat in a chair with a blanket over me and started feeding him.  Well, I was wearing a one shouldered dress.  The side without with shoulder slipped right down and I could feed without problem.  Then, I tried to switch him to the other side...and I couldn't get the strap down.  He was screaming and rooting and trying to latch onto anything in sight.  I calmly went into the bathroom and into a stall where I was able to lift my dress up using one hand while holding him with the other.  I stood in the stall while he nursed and I started thinking about getting my dress back down.  It was fully lined and fit closely enough that I would need two hands to shimmy the thing back into place.  Hmmm....  I texted Eddie that I needed my mom to come to the bathroom.  By this point, I am having a hot flash, I have spit up running down my belly and my leg and I am about to freak out.  My mom comes into the bathroom and in my ever-so-dramatic fashion, I flung open the stall door and stood there in black heels, hanky panky undies, a dress around my neck, a baby eating, and spit up pouring down my body.  My mom bent over laughing at the scene.  Just picture that, will ya?  HAHAHA!

We got home on Sunday night (father's day!) and I was up and at 'um for Andy's one month check up Monday morning.  I dropped Cal off with my mom and they headed to the pool together and I took Andy to the check up.  I was nice and early.  24 hours early, apparently.  I made the appointment for TUESDAY, but when I entered it into my iCal, I must have hit Monday instead....ugh!!  Luckily they were able to fit me in that same day, at noon.  My mom was fine to keep Cal a bit longer, thankfully... me=MESS.

ANYWAY, the check up went MUCH better than the previous visit.  I was anxious to talk to her about his spitting up (still doing it A LOT) and also if the medicine he was on was even working. 

Here are little man's stats:
Weight: 10 pounds, 14 ounces--- 75th percentile
Height: 21.88 inches----50th percentile
Head circumference: 38.5 cm---- 50th percentile

Interesting things about the above stats:
- homie has gained 18 ounces in 11 days.  Doctors aim for 1/2 an ounce to an ounce a day...homie is getting enough food from me! He is thriving!
-Since Andy is reluctant to take a paci, he takes to food for comfort-- hence the spitting up (he's getting too much and has to regulate) and hence the massive growth spurt...
- Cal boy has always been in the 90th or above percentile with his weight...Andy might be on his way to catching him!
- Cal's head is ALWAYS in the 95th percentile (hehe)-- Andy has a little nugget head!  (AND I LOVE IT!)

We decided to stop the Zantac since I haven't noticed a huge difference in the spitting up.  We think it might be colic that is causing his crying spells.

We also decided that I would continue trying with the paci.  I have started doing the face down football hold that I did with Cal and that seems to be working-- it calms him down more and he keeps the paci in (he doesn't have a choice, I am holding it in for him!). 

Sleeping:
This is still a tough area for us.  Andy is not sleeping in bed with us (like Cal did); he's been in the bassinet next to the bed.  Our doctor encouraged us to move the bassinet out of our room, and into his room-- that way, he wouldn't hear our every turn, cough, yawn, etc, and we wouldn't hear him working to get comfy.  I moved him out that night and I slept much better... even though he was up, I was sleeping harder with him not in the room. 
I am still putting him on his side to sleep since he spits up SO much and so frequently.  It was almost choking him in his sleep...plus, he seems to prefer his side.  Actually, he really prefers his tummy.  Many of you long time readers will remember my struggles with this with Cal.  I was terrified of SIDS and didn't want to let him sleep on his stomach...but that was the only way he would sleep (not in his swing...).  Our doctor is encouraging us to place him on his back, as that has been proven to be the safest...  (as I write this, Andy is napping on his tummy and is snoozing away.  I won't do it for night time, but a little nap on his tummy might be okay now and then... Oh, and I think being on his stomach helps alleviate some of his belly pains he has.

Our check up was on a Monday, we had Andy's one month pictures/family pictures with Tamara Lackey on Tuesday and Eddie's family was arriving Tuesday night, and we were leaving for the mountains of Virginia Wednesday morning!  BUSY few days!  More on those shortly...

(the boys are sleeping so I am trying my best to catch up!)

Tamara Lackey Pictures: March

Back in March, Tamara Lackey, the photographer I have written about numerous times, held a workshop for other photographers and asked if Cal would be available to be a subject.  As a "payment" she would give us all of the pictures... I finally went by her studio (for Andy's one month pictures!) and picked up the disc.  Here are a few of them...

March 2011

Cal

18 months old

(Carrie 31 weeks pregnant)

I was suuuuper swollen this day for some reason-- more so than the rest of the pregnancy.  I love the ones of Cal, though!  She is soooo talented...I can't wait to see how the ones turned out for Andy's one month!!!