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!

Baby Samurai

Hi, all! There has been a lot going on and between getting sick (we have been passing it back and forth) , working and chasing Little Dude, I have just had no time for an update! So, here is a long over due one.

The 7th was my 26th birthday, yay!!!! I suddenly feel more adult, which is fun. Don't worry though, I have tons of kid-like antics just waiting for the right time to cheerfully jump out! Heehee! The family all got together that weekend at the Cheesecake Factory in Raleigh. I LOVE cheesecake and I definitely got my fill over the weekend! You may be wondering about the picture above...yes, that is my little boy as a Samurai, Kung Fu extraordinaire! He was actually playing with two straws, crazily laughing, and standing on a table at the restaurant, but thanks to the amazing skills of my brother-in-law, Fab, Little Dude's funny facial expression has been put to good use by transforming the straws into crazy martial art gear. The head band adds a lot too. And the crazy animae background. Awesome, Fab! So, not only did I have a birthday party at the Cheesecake Factory, but Little Dude used his Kung Fu skills to fight off bad guys who tried to eat my cheesecake....I know, I live an amazing life. Hahahaha!!!!

I have not gotten the pictures from our NASCAR adventure off the laptop and onto my home computer, so I can't post those pictures like I promised, yet. Until I can, you will just have to trust me that it was super fun. I think Bill and I will go back to another one again-maybe next year. We will definitely have to go with our awesome friends Joey, Cat, Travis and Brandon because they made the whole event fabulous and informed us of what size coolers and what to bring in the coolers for the stadium! Having frosty refreshing beverages made everything nice, even in the heat. Next time we will have to sneak some sandwiches in, too! Also, we will have to go to a shorter race. The one we went to in Charlotte was the longest race of the year, and after about 400 miles I'd had my fill of race car fun. Also, at that point the beer ran out....maybe that is why....haha!

Our Friends, Sarge and Carma, are finally off of bed rest now (well, it was only Carma that had to be on bed rest) and just hoping everything keeps going well til their little princess arrives. She is due the end of July, so Carma, you are almost there! Yay! Also, our friends, Nance and Gabe had their little girl in April of this year and named her Ava. I just got pictures, but again, they are on the laptop, so you guys will just have to trust me that she is just the most beautiful little girl....and she looks a lot like Gabe right now, so Gabe, I guess that means you are beautiful! :)

Little Dude is trying to walk and keeps falling....I am amazed he has not gotten bruises all over his face and knees....I guess baby's are just made for the falls that come with walking, eh? He does super well if he can hold the wall or furniture and walk beside it. Anywhere else he falls right away. Earlier today he grabbed his dresser handle and started walking along the dresser. Then, silly me, I told him I was so proud of him practicing his walking, so he looked at me, let go of the dresser and turned to me.......then fell like a TREE. FLAT on his FACE. Ouch. So, now I have made a mental note to not distract him while he is trying to walk unless I am close enough to catch him before he flattens his nose. Amazingly, he didn't get a bruise or anything, even though I was so sure he was going to get a knot on his forehead from where it hit a toy.

I have been spending time trying to save my roses, since I let them go last summer and fall while we were in Oak Ridge, TN. I think I only lost one bush, three have come back strong, and 3 others are kinda struggling, so hopefully after all the work I have been putting out in the yard during these very hot days the 3 struggling ones will be able to bounce back. As a side note, I will just let you know that I love roses and taking care of them; however, I am allergic to their thorns. Yes, their thorns. Not the flowers, I can have them in the house, smell them all day and be fine. BUT, if I get even one scratch or a thorn prick the whole area turns red and itches like crazy. I have never heard of anyone allergic to rose THORNS, but since it happens to me every time, I have decided that I must be. This makes taking care of my roses a challenge which I usually address by just wearing long sleeves, but since it has been so hot lately, I have just put up with the short periods of itching. So there is an odd tid bit about me for you.

Also, in a bit of news I heard on the radio last week, some scientists in Britain (I think, I might be wrong) have found a way to create stem cells from SKIN cells. Isn't that awesome? They have not tested on human skin cells, but it was working on the rats, so it could be a very good possibility.That is very exciting! It would be very cool if that worked out! Also as a side note, anyone who is pregnant can donate their baby's cord blood (which contains stem cells) to research or to helping other children. The one in Raleigh is Carolina Cord Blood and you can also tell your OBGY-N or check at your hospital of choice to see how to go about donating. I donated my little guy's cord blood and it is nice to know that so many stem cells can be salvaged and used to help others while bringing a life into the world-it's like a double gift!

A huge congrats go out to our brother and sister, Fab and Leigh Anne on becoming home owners! Yay!!! They got a super cute, awesome house too....guys, I'm going to be coming over to use the pool...just letting you know....hahah :) Our friends, Alan and Adrea, are actually moving into our neighborhood and they close on their house the end of this month! YAY! We can just walk over and hang out now! Now with two of our college buddies(Alan and Mike) and their awesome wives living in our neighborhood, we have decided to try to talk our other friends into buying here as well....think of how fun it would be!!


Well, I think that is all the update for now. I will work hard to get on more often, but honestly, as long as I have no voice (yes, I am that sick) I think I will just be drinking hot soup and watching Little Dude play.

Our 3rd Anniversary!

Happy 3rd Anniversary to us! I can't believe that today is our 3rd year married! WOW! Each year just seems to get better!

We had a super fun weekend. I will have an update and pictures of our NASCAR adventure later. Let me just say, I have never been a fan of NASCAR; in fact, I would have told you it was pretty boring and stupid. HOWEVER, we had SO MUCH FUN at the race.

Standing!

Here is an update within my post: I have lost my cell phone. I know, I know, I have looked EVERYWHERE. I really hoped Eddie (our dog) would turn up with it, but alas, I think it is gone. Thank goodness I am able to get a new phone for free from Verizon on the 8th of June (you get a new phone upgrade every 2 years with a full cost rebate; Verizon rocks) BUT I will not have one til then AND I don't have anyone's numbers anymore. So guys, if you could, please call the house or email me to leave me your number. Or call Bill on his cell. Or write a letter to the house with your phone number, haha! At any rate, I need your numbers again! Thanks.

Little Dude is now able to stand up all by himself! WOW. There is now a whole new level of baby proofing to be done! I have no idea where I am going to put all the stuff we have on the coffee table right now....haha! Does anyone have tips for how to keep him from pulling the phone cord and knocking the phone off the wall? I am so scared he is going to hit himself in the head with the receiver!! It has gotten to the point that I just don't let him play on the kitchen floor anymore, but I know once he is walking it will be harder to keep him away.Now I wonder how long it will take him to walk? I am excited he is getting close, but very sad too...he's is not really a baby anymore now that he is standing every chance he gets. I guess I am on my way to mothering toddler hood!

On another note, congrats to Connie and her family at Smockity Frocks! They are expecting a little one! She has a cool little count down going that tells you where the baby is developmentally and how many days til it is due! I can't wait to find out what she is having; shopping for baby gifts is so fun!

Another congrats goes out to my friend, Stephanie from Disney World. She and her husband are expecting a baby too! Yay! Man, I am going to get to do a lot of fun baby shopping here soon!! heehee!

Also, everyone keep their fingers crossed for Sam and Dave over at The Road to Maya, they are next to be matched at their agency and are waiting to hear if Maya is coming home soon! Yay!

Today I started sanding and painting the downstairs area we are finishing in our home. Yes, many of you know we started the whole project 2 years ago, and thankfully got the den side done before Little Dude was born, now we are just working on adding a bathroom, laying down wood flooring and painting...yay! So much to do, but we are almost done! I am quite proud of all the work that has been done. If I find a picture of our our first floor used to look (it is a split entry house) I will put it up here with an "after" pic to show the progress we have made! It looks super nice! After it is done we are throwing a huge party! Super Yay! Also, I am getting ready, after I finish painting down stairs (should be done in a few weeks) to paint the upstairs and the dinning room! YAY! I LOVE working on the house and yard...there is always something crafty I can find to do somewhere! I will work on getting pictures and sharing some of my cost effective home decorating and gardening tips soon. If any of you have tips for around the house, drop a line or share them for "Works for me Wednesdays"! You can see cool "Works for me Wednesdays" tips hosted by Rocks In My Dryer!

I got my info packet from Adoption Ark today too! I was super excited to go through it and read everything about what we would have to do to adopt from Lithuania. I have realized though that there are many children who are 4 -17 that really need homes and that there is virtually no one wanting to adopt them...so I really feel that adoption is something we should do someday, but perhaps do it like 7 or 8 years from now and then adopt an older child, say one that is 6-8 years old. What do you guys think? I know the older children often have been through a lot and have had some sort of abuse done to them...but I think that makes it all the more important to adopt them and try to help. We will see though, I am talking about the future and all of us know that life never quite follows our well laid plans.

My job at Dakno is going very well! I am learning a lot about computer code and how real estate web site hosting works...all very exciting since each site is unique! It is quite fun to learn so much new stuff, get paid and still get to stay home for Little Dude. This morning I worked for 2 hours, played with finger paint and sidewalk chalk with Little Dude, and later, while he took a nap, I worked 2 more hours....what an awesome schedule!

Well, I hope everyone has a super fun memorial holiday weekend! Keep prayers and best wishes for all our soldiers and their families, past and present.

New pictures!

Here is Little Dude playing in his baby pool! Our friends, Craig and Melissa, got it for him. He LOVES it!

Here we are having dinner with our dear friends. Left to right: Little Dude's head at bottom, Bill, Casper, Joe, Andrea, Justin, Briggs, and Dave. I am behind the camera. :)
I found the wonderful little table and two chairs for Little Dude and he loves it! Now he can have a friend over for snack time! (in the future) Doesn't he look big sitting there?


Here is the fam celebrating John's birthday. Left to right: Bil, John, Granny Patty, Little Dude (in Patty's lap), Abuelo Ed, Fab, Leighanne, Julie, and Me. Happy Birthday, John!!!
Here is Little Dude, Bill, and John at the Red and White football game for NC STATE. Little Dude loved it! We can't wait to have him at the games next season! We already have a small jersey and football for him.
Here is Little Dude wearing a retired NC State football helmet. Doesn't he look great in his sunglasses and helmet? We have a real jersey for him at home too....in a few years I will get another picture of him in the full uniform! Perhaps one day he will be running out onto the field at NC State in uniform!
Here is my angel in our yard.

Here we are at the Science museum in Raleigh. There are a bunch of cool looking fish in the tank behind us, but you can't really see them. The sling I have is awesome for saving my back and arms whenever Little Dude gets tried of being in the stroller; I highly recommend slings over other carriers.

Here is my friend Jessica and her son, Kip. You can see the fish better in their picture. We have play dates every Friday, but since it was raining we spent this Friday at the Science museum. I think the kids loved it; esp. watching all the other bigger kids on school trips. Also, I want to add the museum had an AWESOME nursing room that was very comfortable and private; that was so nice since I am way to modest to try breastfeeding in public.

A Beautiful Day!

Well, as you guys may know, I have been trying out American Sign Language with my son. Finally, I have some progress to report! After months of endless signing to him, he finally has started to return signs; letting me know what he needs or wants. We started with "more", "eat", "water" and "finished". About 3 weeks ago Little Guy started to do "more" but we were not quite certain he was doing it to receive more food/drink/etc or if it was just him mimicking us and not understanding that he was making a request. Well today I gave him a little of my ice cream and he did "more". So I gave him more. Then he did it again. And again. And then, out of the blue, he requested water! I thought I was going to faint. So I gave him the water and then he did "eat". I was so shocked I just looked at him....and then he made a grunt, and did "more eat" TOGETHER. TO-GETH-ER. Whoa. I now feel a whole new dynamic to our relationship...he suddenly is intelligent enough to let me know what he wants....and when he wants it....now I have to be diligent enough to keep learning more signs myself. You can find out more information about Baby Signs here! There are also tons of great books I have used from your local libraries. One I highly recommend is called Sign With Your Baby by Joseph Garcia. I have been doing signs with Little Dude since he was 3 months old....so anyone that starts, just have patience. I have heard that if you wait til a little later (like 7-9 months) the children have the motor skills in place to quickly pick up the signs so you don't feel like you have been endlessly signing with no results; however, I have had a blast signing. Also, any of you concerned about signing delaying speech, the book I recommend covers that concern. In my experience, signing makes me speak even more to my child, as I describe everything orally while signing. I am having great fun with it all!



Also, I have found the perfect stay at home mom job! Some of you know I was trying to find something to give me an extra hobby to keep me busy, as well as extra shopping money. I tried getting into some kind of editing, but none of my efforts panned out (its hard to prove you could do at home editing worthy of pay when your only post graduation work experiences are teaching preschool and managing for Starbucks). But wait! My brother in law, John, called and said his website company, DAKNO, needed a VA (virtual assistant). So, now I get to work with maintaining websites by updating and inserting computer code where needed and get paid for doing it in my own free time! Also, the pay is AWESOME and my hours are whatever I want them to be. My plan for now is to just work while Little Dude is napping, which will give me a solid 15 hours a week to work...that will be a nice little shopping nest egg!! Heehee! My first item I want to by is a Dyson. I am in love with the one make for picking up animal hair.....I am planning on getting it with my first two paychecks. YIPPEEEE! Though, if anyone has had a bad experience with their Dyson and recommend a different vacuum, let me know. So far from my research, I think the Dyson rocks. Hmm...What does being excited about buying a high power vacuum say about me? That I am suddenly old *gasp* and that I am a clean freak taking on the wonderfully dirty job of MOM. :)

I'm Back!

Yay! I have Internet and cable again! For those that don't know, while Bill and I were in Oak Ridge, TN for his work, we canceled unnecessary things (like cable and Internet) back here in Raleigh, NC. So, I just now got around to having it all hooked up again. I am super excited to watch Oprah again. I LOVE Oprah! And I am super excited to get back to all my blogging friends!

Well, new news for us is that I have finally picked out a paint color for the living room and hallway, so that project will be getting underway soon! We are also getting a new roof, so I have been spending time interviewing potential roofers...I think we finally found someone we like, trust, and who has a decent price, so that project will start soon as well! Now my next project is to interview people to replace our windows with those nifty vinyl ones....can you imagine how much easier it will be to clean all the windows in my house? They fold in for easy access to the outside of the window! YAY! I love light and all the windows in our house are huge and great, but SUCH a PAIN to clean....am I too excited to get "easier to clean" windows? I wonder if that means I am old now....hahah!

Little Dude is starting to pull up on stuff, but no steps without help yet. Also, he has figured out how to go from on his tummy to sitting up, a feat he had not mastered til yesterday! Very cool!!


I have been reading some great books lately (I have not updated my reading list yet, I will do that later) on child rearing and adoption. I want to suggest a great one that I just finished and now I have Bill reading. It is called Siblings Without Rivalry I can't think of the authors right now (it's by two women) and Bill has the book in his car, so I will just have to let you guys know about the authors names, but I'm sure you could find the book without their names. Anyways, the book is great for bringing up conflicts that children AND parents create, leading to rivalry. There are great pointers on how to have the children figure out disputes without making one or the other resentful. Wonderful ideas and very quick to read; I highly recommend it. Bill and I are thinking of trying for a second this fall, so we will let you know in a few years if it is working for us. I think it will.

Well, that is all the time I have for today to update, I will do more later.