Horsies Oh My!

Yesterday we took Jack to the Carolina Cup, and what an adventure it was. Originally we planned on taking both boys, but then reality kicked in!! It was raining and we had too much to carry, it would be impossible with both boys. So Ewan spent the day with his Oma and Opa. He had a wonderful and DRY day!!!

After dropping off Ewan it was off to Camden for the races. When we arrived it was cloudy, not raining YET. We gathered the chairs, backpack, picnic basket and put Jack in his stroller. And we were off to our spot....boy did we ever luck out!! One of the guys Josh works with has friends with two parking/tent spots, right on the rail!!! And it wasn't that far of a walk from where we parked. What luck!!

We got to the spot and settled in with all our goodies. Jack was excited even though he had no clue what was going on. He does love a crowd, more people to entertain, especially the pretty ladies!!!

After a while it began to rain, luckily were had a tent to go under. Our other friends arrived during the heavy downpour, with their son. So Jack finally had somebody his age to hang with. Jack actually enjoyed running in the rain of course. He is all boy after all!!

The races finally started so Jack stayed with Daddy at the rails and eventually the horses came. This was VERY EXCITING!!!! He pointed at the horses and kept yelling, nothing we could understand of course. But he was definitely loving it!

In between the races Jack enjoyed flirting with the ladies, lifting my dress, playing in the mud, playing horseshoes and just running around. He also enjoyed watching cars get stuck in the mud!! It was such an eventful day for the little man!

Luckily it stopped raining after a while so most of the races were nice to watch. We managed to walk back to the car before the rain began too. So overall we were pretty lucky and relatively dry. It was a very fun day!!!

Jolly Giant

He isn't green, but he sure is jolly and a giant!! Today Ewan had his 4 month well visit. He is a whopping 27.5 inches long...that is off that charts again! He weighs 17lb 13oz. I knew he seemed bigger than his brother!! I get sore holding the "little" man! He started out 1.5 inches shorter than Jack but is already 1 inch longer than Jack was at this age!! Looks like Jack has some competition here!

We've been enjoying the spring weather. We managed to get walks two days in a row, now it's raining. Oh well. Jack has been enjoying his outdoor time, he can't get enough of it. His favorite "toy" is Cosmo's leash!

In the meantime we just keep on surviving. Jack is always finding trouble to get into. Just wait until Ewan is able to walk. He was trying to roll over on the exam table this morning!! I think I'll be forever chasing after them!! Plus, at the rate they are growing they will be towering over me by the time they are 10 years old!! Right now my biggest challenge is trying to get photos of the boys together. Jack isn't quite old enough to hold Ewan, yet Ewan can't sit on his own. So we do what we can!!

Splish Splash

This morning Daddy got home from riding dirt bikes and decided it would be a nice day for a picnic lunch. Not a bad idea I thought. We went to Clemson extension just as the RC planes finished flying so we decided to picnic at the Children's Garden. Such a lovely little hideaway. Jack was highly distracted so he didn't eat much.

We played for a while in the garden area. Jack enjoyed playing on the slide and roaming all over the place. So much running! Then we headed to the lake. Jack of course tried to go in the water but Daddy stopped him. Then he enjoyed playing with the tree bark (aka eating it) by the lake. We kept walking, keeping an eye on Jack. As soon as we were far enough away Jack made his run for the lake.....and just ran right in. Josh ran after him, with Cosmo, and got to Jack right after he fell in the water!!! So wet Jack, wet Daddy's foot and wet Cosmo!!! WET and STINKY!!! Now we had to get Jack to the car where luckily I had a change of clothes for him. Needless to say Daddy didn't want to carry a wet and stinky Jack so he stripped off Jack's shirt and we walked slowly.

Jack got to the car and was stripped of his wet clothes and diaper. He had leaves and grass and other stuff in his diaper!!!

It was a very smelly ride home!!!!

Spring is in the Air!!

So now spring is in full swing in sunny South Carolina. Jack is thoroughly enjoying the new season. He can't get enough of the outdoors. This morning he helped Daddy weed and do other yard work while Mommy and Ewan ran errands. Jack's favorite part of helping is eating dirt and chewing rocks!! I'm enjoying the tulips coming up (though Jack and Cosmo do their best to eat them) and the blossoms on the pear and peach trees. Hopefully we'll get some good fruit! Josh already planted the vegetable and herb gardens too. I so love fresh fruits and veggies from our own yard!

Ewan and I ran errands and then went to Oma and Opa's to put in our photo order from our session back in February. We can't wait to get all our prints!! There are some great photos...especially with the boys!

Ewan continues to grow like a weed. Yesterday I pulled out his summer clothes now that it is warming up around here. He's nearly ready for 12 month clothes it seems like!! Next week is his 4 month checkup so we'll see how long he is....I'm pretty sure he is taller than Jack was at this age and that is saying a lot!!! I know he is heavier...already 17 pounds. He is rather heavy for a boy his age. This week I had to change out the stroller too; he has outgrown the bassinet attachment. What a big boy we have!

Last night we took the boys to Five Guys for dinner. Jack devoured a hot dog and a couple fries. Then after doing a little shopping he gobbled up a whole oatmeal raisin cookie from Nestle Tollhouse. That's his special treat place. He does so love it...and he's only been there twice now. After we got home and snacked more...what a pig!

While shopping last night I got Jack some swim trunks. We're trying to set up swim lessons with some of the other kids in our play group. Of course I couldn't resist the little flip flops for both boys too!! Oma would have gone nuts over all the cute clothes!

Home Sweet Home

We made it home from Ohio!!! Horray! I'll be happy to never see that state again for a long time! What a long road trip with two boys. The boys and I are thrilled to be home again. Jack is showing off for his Daddy. Ewan is also showing off everything he learned while we were gone. Amazing how much can change in just 5 days!

Jack now says bye bye and waves with both hands. He also learned that the snake say SSSSS and likes to make that noise (amazing what animal noises you can come up with when in the car for so long)!

Ewan loves to suck his fists and insists on sitting up most of the time.

Ewan and Jack can both add Virginia and West Virginia to their list of states they have seen.

Lessons learned while gone:

1. A luggage cart makes and excellent ride!

2. Sesame chicken at PF Chang's is spicy (too spicy for Jack).

3. A grown adult can make lots of funny animal sounds!

4. Shopping mall playground areas are a lifesaver!!

5. A snoring baby during a quiet time in a funeral service allows people to laugh through their tears.

6. We can all survive a long car ride...just don't want to do it again anytime soon!

7. It's way too COLD up North!

8. We couldn't have gone without Oma and Opa. Thanks for all the help!

9. Eating while holding a baby gets old after a while. We missed our bouncy and swing!

10. A Kashi cracker works as an emergency yogurt spoon!

11. We really missed DADDY!!!

Impromptu Road Trip

So Monday we left for Ohio....my cousin's wife died unexpectedly and the boys and I left to drive up with Oma and Opa. We opted for Opa's car since it has a bigger back seat and let me say we are all very snug as a big in a rug!!!

Opa and I take turns sitting in between the car seats in the back. It's either an Opa or Mama sandwich back there!! Not only are the car seats on either side, there is stuff on the floor boards on both sides, so to get in and out you need to take out Ewan's carrier and then empty the floor board and climb over the car seat base!!! Quite the adventure. The boys enjoy the company though.

I must say both boys have been extremely good so far. The driving has been pretty good; we broke up the drive into two days to make it easier for everyone. Monday Jack and Ewan both added two new states to their list...Virginia and West Virginia.

Monday night we decided to stay in Beckley, West Virginia. The first hotel we tried was booked. The second we didn't like the way it looked outside so we wound up at the third. It was very nice. The boys and I had a room and Oma and Opa had a room two doors down.

We went out for a late dinner. Jack ate quite well and didn't even make a mess. By the time we returned to the hotel it was about 8:30 (Jack usually goes to bed at 8). I set up the two portable cribs and got everyone ready for bed. Ewan went down for his nap (seems to like to nap before his last bottle) and Jack was down to bed by 9. He played but remained quiet and calm. He finally fell asleep by 9:45, just as Ewan got up from his nap. Ewan had his last bottle and was in bed by 10:20. Lights out.

AND THEN at about 11:30 (mind you I had no clue what time it was) I was awakened by a very loud noise. First I thought it was the alarm clock since Jack was playing with it. No luck. Then I checked the smoke detector. No luck. Finally it occurred to me that it was a fire alarm. After calling Oma and Opa and the front desk we left the room (Jack woke up, but remained in a good mood) and Ewan was still asleep.

I threw on some clothes, picked up Ewan and wrapped him in his blankie and grabbed Jack. We went down the stairs (from the 5th floor) and stayed in the lobby with everyone else. Jack was happy to spend more time with his Opa, enjoyed the firetrucks and firemen. Ewan slept through it all!! I made a comment about there not being a space in their baby books for "first" fire alarm....everything thought that was funny!!!

So by midnight we were back in the room. Jack managed to fall back asleep relatively quickly, Ewan never even woke up!!

AND THEN at 1:30 the alarm went off again!!! Couldn't bloody well believe it!! This time Jack didn't even wake up. He was exhausted. Luckily the fire department got it off in less than 5 minutes so we never left the room.

It was an exhausting night but we survived. The boys were absolute angels given the situation. They napped well in the car on the way to Columbus. We'll hope to sleep well tonight.

Super Saturday

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny 80 degree day and wee took full advantage of it! Josh, the boys and I started the day going out to breakfast at Le Peep. We ran into one of the little girls from out playgroup there out with her Daddy. Jack enjoyed his french toast and we enjoyed breakfast as well.

Then it was off to the zoo. We were hoping to see the new baby giraffe, Lewis, but he wasn't out to play. We did run into some of our neighbors though. Jack enjoyed the bears, monkeys, elephants, giraffes....but his favorite is still the penguins!! He also enjoyed playing on the playground at the zoo. Ewan took a good nap in the stroller through the zoo but eventually woke up to check out a couple animals before we left.

After lunch at home and a nap for the boys we headed out again. This time it was a hike at Sesqui. It was Ewan's first official hike. He enjoyed himself and was awake the whole time, facing out in his Baby Bjorn. Jack enjoyed the hike on Daddy's back in the Kelty. It was a lovely, somewhat short hike around the lake but we had fun. We ran into another Mommy and her kids from the playgroup. She was out with the new baby for his first outing...so cute and small. My boys started out so big that newborns look like preemies to me!! After the hike Jack enjoyed the slides at Sesqui.

And to finish off our busy day we had some friends over for dinner. Jack enjoyed playing with his buddy...took a while for them to play together but eventually they did! At that age they tend to do their own thing.

What a busy day!!! The boys slept well that night!

Connected again!!!

Yeah, we have internet again!!! Life is just not the same when you don't have a reliable internet connection. We're back!! So where to begin with all our updates.....

Family Outing: Last week the boys went to their first sporting event. Josh, Jack, Ewan and I all went to the UK vs. USC basketball game. We had fun, despite UK looking horrible. One of Josh's college friends was there too. Josh nearly gave me a heart attach though...he took Jack to the concessions and when he came back he was carrying Jack on his shoulders with a pretzel in one hand and a diet coke in the other...one wiggle and Jack could fall (and we were at nearly the top row)!!! We all survived though and Jack loved the halftime show and flirting with some college girls behind us. Even showed them his belly. Ewan was happy sitting upright in my lap facing out watching the game (not that he could really see it)!

Jack: Jack continues to grow like a weed. He is hungry ALL the time. Just after he finishes a meal he is already snacking again. He loves granola bars and fruit. Oma brought some leftover beef stroganoff...Jack loved that and he usually won't eat noodles. Luckily he usually asks for fruit so that is always good. He also now loves to dip his food...anything with ketchup is YUMMY!! Today he licked the ketchup/spicy bbq sauce off his plate!!

Jack is also a super big boy now. He got rid of his pacis. He had two that he kept in his crib for naps and sleeping at night. We took them away one night and he never complained once!! Yeah big boy Jack!!!

Yesterday Jack had fun on the Fun Bus. Our playgroup had the bus at somebody's house and it was great. Jack's favorite was going down the slide...just not waiting his turn. Ewan just hung out in the BabyHawk.

Ewan: Ewan is also growing. He is such a big boy when I look at him. It's hard to remember that he is only slightly over 3 months old!! He is getting too heavy to hold in just one arm and will have to change car seats soon. He kicks off the cover on his infant seat so it came off. Once he can sit in a seat I'll switch him to his next car seat.

We all enjoyed another snow day....once again no snow!!! Only in the South would they cancel school and work well over 12 hours in advance. Last Sunday around 5PM or so they were already cancelling because we MIGHT get snow. Well by 10PM they knew we wouldn't, but it was too late since they already announced all the cancellations! How insane is that! So notice the snowflakes on Ewan's shirt because that is the only snow we saw!!!!