It's Fun to be ONE!!!

Well, a ton of stuff has been going on lately! In recent news, Little Dude turned ONE on the 4th! Crazy! This has been the fastest year of my life! I will have pictures of the awesome birthday celebration posted soon!

Little Dude is starting to walk everywhere and is suddenly becoming very independent...we had a melt down at breakfast when I tried to feed him applesauce....he wanted to do it himself. So, I decided to let him. He had SOOOO MUCH FUN using his spoon. He also made the BIGGEST MESS I have very seen. It took forever to clean, but seeing him feed himself was priceless and well worth it.

My brother in law, Fab, won the Raleigh art contest (I don't know if that was actually the name of the contest) for designing a mural to be on a city bus. So, on the 22nd of this month we get to go downtown to see the unveiling of his design, and if you guys see any buses with murals on them, then you know it was by my now semi famous brother in law, Fab! Cool, eh?

We spent a fun week at the beach with the whole family and some friends and Little Dude LOVED the water..he became even braver than last time and would try to get in the waves.....he just laughed when they crashed around him! I think I have a future swimmer! Our beach house had a pool too, so on days the waves were to rough, we would swim with him in the pool. He loved it.

Our friends, Joey and Cat, got married last week. Yay! Joey and I used to be college roommates, and now Joey and Bill work together (and they have been great friends for a super long time through college too!) Their wedding was so pretty and super fun too! Again, I will work on getting pictures posted soon. I know, I am horrible at getting pictures off my camera and onto the home computer.

And in GREAT news, NC STATE won a game! YAY! I was getting worried for a bit. We took Little Dude to the game and he had so much fun! The couple that have lifetime rights in front of us have an 18 month old girl, so we had fun talking about the kids and letting them "talk" to each other. Little Dude loved the entire game and he was so well behaved that we stayed the whole game. He got so excited and clapped when we would clap....so cute! AGAIN....pictures to come.....

Well, I guess that is all the update I have for now! Take care!

Alan and Andrea's Wedding!!

Our awesome friends, Alan and Andrea became Mr. and Mrs. on Aug. 11th!! I finally have a picture I can share with you thanks to our friend and photographer, Karen! Here it is:




The happy couple had a beautiful outdoor wedding in their new back yard (which, lucky for us, is in our neighborhood!!) with all of us friends and family there to celebrate. I'm telling you, it was the most lovely, intimate wedding I have ever been to (and I have been to a lot). Way to go guys!

Alan and Andrea met online back when they were in high school....10 years ago! Isn't that just the most adorable story ever? Andrea moved out here from Oklahoma about 3 years ago and they are the GREATEST couple. We are sooo glad you came out here, because Andrea, you have become one of my best friends! Congratulations!!!

Little Dude is Walking All By Himself!!

Well we had our friends, Mike and Beth (who are also expecting their first baby in April!!) over for dinner last night and Little Dude decided it was the perfect time to show off how he has been taking steps. For weeks now he has been taking a step here, a step there, but last night, with Mike, Beth, Bill and me cheering him on he got all the way to 6 steps in a row!! YAYAYAYAY! It was so much fun to watch him working at balancing. My little baby isn't so little anymore.

As of this morning he refuses to hold on to anything and just keeps trying to take steps. His "walking" has slowed him down for a short bit, but I know once he has it down he will start running again, only now I won't be able to count on him stopping when the furniture or wall stops...uh oh! hahah!

On the teeth frontier, Little Dude now has 6! I think the two side lower ones (nice description, I know) are coming in, so we will see! I am now having lots of fun brushing his teeth at night and he really does seem to like it. It probably feels good against his gums where he is cutting teeth still. Bill says I am a little obsessive about brushing his teeth; however, I am a child that had baby bottle tooth decay and trust me it is not fun. I have nursed Little Dude up until he bit me again last week....his second offense was the third strike...lol...so he is now done nursing (which we were down to just one nursing at night anyway.) So now at night before bed he gets a bath, a bottle, teeth brushed, story time and put him to bed. So far the routine is working OK, he cries for a bit, but for the most part will go to bed pretty quickly.

Little Dude has also gotten very curious about how things work and work together...he has a blast putting the cap on a water bottle and it will entertain him for a LOOOONNNNGGG time. Which is nice, but I also have to sit and watch him to make sure he doesn't start putting the cap in his mouth. I need to find something that works the same way but with a slightly bigger cap, so he can still hold it easily, but not get it in his mouth. If you guys think of anything, let me know.

Dakno is going great and I am learning tons about the Real Estate field and Web Design. You guys should check out our website Some of it is still under construction, but I think you will enjoy seeing what I do! And the new look is really sophisticated! I had originally been thinking I would go back to teaching pre-school once Little Dude got into school himself, but now I am reconsidering. I am learning so much by working at Dakno and it is really fun work too! We do web design and hosting for all kinds of websites, but our program is geared towards making a REALTOR'S life easy. Honestly, too, I don't know how any real estate REALTOR can afford to not have a website set up by Dakno Marketing. Our program is amazingly easy for updating and as a REALTOR you could have us do all the busy work updating your listings.

Also, I am just LOVING working from home, making my own hours, and still making enough to buy cool birthday presents for Bill! ( I got him a Wii and a ton of accessories and games with the money I have saved. Let me just say the only way to play a Wii is on our projector!) Now I am saving up for a cool dishwasher. Ours is crazy old and doesn't work so well. I found a great one at Home Depot. The info on it says not to pre-rinse because it wastes water...the dishwasher has its own disposal/food trap and will get all the food off...amazing. No pre-rinsing? It is the Frigidaire FDB2000RFC and I am in love with it. I'm still in love with the Dyson vacuums too, but since they are far more expensive, and I keep finding other items for the house to buy first, it may be a few more months before I get one. Besides, the one I want is the newest Animal model, so if I wait til the 08 model comes out, then perhaps the price will go down? Maybe? We will see.....

Our Trip to Texas

Here is my cousin Erika and her new husband, Jim, right after their beautiful ceremony. they have been together 5 years now and just a most wonderful couple. Isn't her dress georgeous?

Her new in laws fell in love with Little Dude so now she is under pressure to have some grand babies. Maybe I'll be going back down for a baby shower soon!







My little sis, Lisa, caught the bouquet!!! She looks so beautiful holding the flowers....kinda like a bride! One of my cousin Kurt's friends caught the garter...his girlfriend was not amused when my Aunt joked he and Lisa had to get married. The two of them thought it was funny though and even shared a dance. Fun times!




Here is Little Dude having "ABC" pancakes I made for him! Aren't they cute? This was the morning we left for our trip to Texas to see my family.




This is my Grandma and me! She is 89 years old and still gets around just fine. I am so proud of her! Also, isn't she just so beautiful? She is 1/2 Navaho Indian and Mexican. None of my friends would ever guess I had any of those genes in me! Haha! I got all the lilly white genes from my Dad's Irish family.

Below is a group picture of my Texas family having fun at Applebees before my cousin's wedding. It was a great way to relax and talk before all the wedding craziness.


Left to right: Grandma (Little Dude's Great-Grandma!!) My cousin Kurt, my sister Lisa, Bill, Me, My Aunt Marla, and my Uncle Bruce. Little Dude is asleep in the carrier at the bottom of the pic, you can see the top of his head. It was soooo wonderful to spend time with everyone and catch up with my cousins. I am hoping I get to go back down soon and do some site seeing with them.











Here is a family pic at the pool of our hotel in Texas. It came out very well even though I was holding the camera! See how Little Dude is pointing at the camer? That is his new favorite thing to do. He loves to point at everything he sees and have us explain it to him. CUTE!!! Also, guys, he is saying Dada and Mama!!! YAY!! I think he also says Yay! But I am not sure if it is Yay, or just a sound like it, but he does use it correctly! SOOOOO exciting! As of Saturday the 11th, he is now standing all by himself! He has been walking/running all around so long as he can hold the wall or furniture, but Saturday he stood up all by himself and didn't have to hold anything to balance! AWESOME!!!


Here is a beautiful picture of Bill and Little Dude playing in the pool at our hotel. In character, Little Dude is about to eat the pool side. Aren't their eyes lovely?

My, time has flown

Well, it is the countdown to Little Dude's first birthday! I can't believe it will be here so soon...this has been the fastest year of my life. Every moment I look at him I am just amazed that I helped bring such a wonderful spirit into the world. So, in 3 weeks my little baby will be a big toddler; the big 1 YEAR. WOW.

In other news, our trip to Texas was wonderful! Little Dude met his great-grandma, who is 89 this year! What a blessing they got to meet and I hope they have many more to come! Erika and Jim's wedding was so much fun and very beautiful as well. I will post pictures as soon as I get them off the laptop.

We have the prospect of moving again....I know, AGAIN....I want to pull my hair out. However, this move comes as a permanent one that includes a huge promotion for Bill and a lovely raise. So, we are debating and might possibly be moving the Orlando, Florida area. It will be sad to leave all our friends and family here in NC, but, of places to move, Orlando is not a terrible choice. We can pretty much live anywhere in central FL since Bill's job involves travel anyway, so as long as the drive to the office isn't to crazy, where ever I choose is cool with him. Nice, eh? We will see though, as I said, it is still up in the air. Though the thought of a house with a pool and season passes to Disney World really is appealing...and the best part is that I can continue my editing job for Dakno! Isn't the internet just amazing?

OK, Little Dude has figured out how to get up stairs...so I am going to go stop him. Talk to you guys later!

I have finally posted pictures!

Here is Little Dude eating a lemon...oddly enough, he LOVES lemons and limes...so I guess we will never have to worry about scurvy.
Here is Little Dude standing up all by himself (well, he is holding onto the coffee table, but he did get there all by himself!)
Here is a pic of our tailgate when we went to NASCAR back in May. From left to right, Travis, Joey, Cat, Me, Brandon, and Bill is taking the picture.
Here is Little Dude playing at the park by our house. Little Dude loves playing outside; on this day Bill came home early so he was able to go play with us!
Little Dude is watching some older children play; he LOVES other kids; I think he will be a great big brother.

Here is another NASCAR pic. The race was so fun, esp because of the great friends we went with. We got Little Dude a cute t-shirt from the track, but he will have to grow a little before he can wear it.
We gave Little Dude a haircut back in June, here is the before of his shaggy hair. You can't see it in this pic, but he had big ringlets around the side and back; I just couldn't get him to hold still long enough to get a clear shot, so I gave up and just took this one. I was sad to cut his hair, it suddenly made him seem like a little boy instead of a baby, but Bill was correct, he did look like a girl.
Here is the after! I did quite a good job, don't you think? Now he looks like a little boy, esp with him walking/cruising along the furniture.
Here is my most favorite teacher in the whole world, Dr. Linda Holley. She taught Chaucer and Medieval studies at NC State University. I have the most fun hanging out with her and discussing good books and life in general. Someday I hope I am as intelligent, learned and clever as she is. She is retired and lives on a fabulous farm; Little Dude really enjoyed watching the horses!
We took Little Dude to the beach and he had the most wonderful time! I forgot his hat at home, so Grandpa Ed made one out of a handkerchief...awesome! Doesn't my little guy look like a pirate? Hahah!

Here is a pic of Me and Bill in the stadium at the NASCAR race.

Everything has been going great for us. We are going to Texas for my cousin's wedding this weekend and I can't wait to see everyone! This will be Little Dude's first time meeting his great-grandma so I am all ready with the camera to get great shots! Also, while in Texas, I am going to get to catch up with one of my old Walt Disney World College Program buddies, Frances! I am soooo happy to see her, she was the coolest roomie and we had the most fun making magic at The Walt Disney World Resort and doing crazy stuff around Florida!

Our friends, Sarge and Carma, welcomed their little girl, Nykita Allyn into the world on July 1st! She is the cutest, tiniest baby I have ever seen!! I wish we lived close enough to go visit! Here is a pic of the happy new family:

Aren't they beautiful? This was taken only a week after Nykita was born; she is so adorable! Carma, you look radiant!

Beach Fun

Hi! Well, everything is going very well for us! Little Dude is growing like a weed and doing more and more cool stuff everyday. His latest trick is pointing and things he likes. Esp. overhead fans and lights..he LOVES them! He is also eating all kinds of foods, among his favorites are Thai and Mexican! The only thing we can't get him to eat is corn...I think that is only because he can't chew it so well yet. Other than corn, he will eat anything put in front of him! I'm very proud of my little eater!

This past week I visited my teacher, Dr. Linda Holley, for a fun filled day! Little Dude loved seeing her farm (she has horses!) and her puppy was a big hit! Dr. Holley was my Medieval British Lit teacher, and I tried my hardest to take every class she had before she retired! She is the GREATEST teacher ever and I think her passion for Chaucer rubbed off on me because of how wonderful of a teacher she was! Anyways, I am now going to read Troylis and Cresede (by Chaucer, and no, I don't have to go buy it/check it out because I still have my AWESOME The Riverside Chaucer from college) and go back in a few weeks to discuss the story with her....I am soooo excited! I guess that means I am a dork. I still can't wait to be done reading so I can hear her ideas and thoughts and talk about mine as well.....it is just so fun!! I have pictures, but they are still on the camera...sorry! I know, I will post pictures soon, I am behind.

We also had a fun filled weekend with my in-laws, and again Little Dude LOVED every minute. We all took him to the beach and it was such a blast! We forgot his hat, so Ed made a little bandanna for Little Dude with a handkerchief. The pictures look awesome; Little Dude looks like a pirate! He had the best time at the beach and was not scared of the waves at all! We would sit with him and let the waves come up on the shore and hit his legs; it was like Christmas! Little Dude got SOOOO excited!

My job is going very well and I am loving having the shopping money! I am learning a lot about computer code and website development as well, which is very exciting!

Well, that is all the update for now. I will try to have pictures all uploaded by my next post. Bye!