Here's a brief recap of this weekend's activities.
On Saturday, Michael and Amelia met up with his friend Mark and his daughter Hannah at the Museum of Life and Science. That place is amazing for kids and adults alike. Amelia really enjoyed the exhibits having to do with meteorology. The mist bowl kept her attention for quite a while.
On Saturday night, we had dinner and played games with the folks from our shepherding group from church. We forgot to bring our game so Leslie made up silly questions to ask one another. For example, "what was the last thing you said last night?" and "in what store could you spend unlimited time?" It turned out to be a great source of entertainment.
Finally, on Sunday, we all went to the birthday party of the son of a couple in our shepherding group and one of Amelia's friends. There were lots of kids and adults there with a big, inflatable pool for the kids. The afternoon thunderstorms only made the birthday all that more memorable. Happy birthday, Matthew!
Sadly, we had to wish our friend Stephanie goodbye today as she relocates to Charlotte tomorrow. She and Leslie taught kindergarten together for several years. Stephanie went to church with us today and then to lunch at the always excellent K&W Cafeteria. :-) Stephanie is excited about her move and this new phase in her life and we're excited for her and wish her all the best.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Beach Week 2008
Michael's side of the family all got together at Caswell Beach for the week. The group included 8 adults, 7 kids, 1 dog, and 2 boats. We were in two different houses; one was marsh side and the other was across the street on the beach side.
We took along our two-man, sit-on-top kayak. It's really easy to use and is big and stable for even large waves. In addition to the kayak, we also had access to my brother Brian's catamaran. Brian did a lot of sailing and was gracious enough to take along anyone who wanted to go sailing. His favorite route was sailing along the shore and then across the Cape Fear River and shipping channel, past the sand bars, and onto Bald Head Island's beaches.
Click on photo to see more...
Generally, the weather was great. There was one day, however that wasn't that great so we took the opportunity to take the ferry over to Fort Fisher and to visit one of the three NC Aquariums. It's really a nice destination. We visited and had lunch there and then caught the return ferry back to Southport.
Click on photo to see more...
The best non-beach activity was everyone getting together and jamming along with a video game called Rock Band. Everyone took turns on lead guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. We jammed to Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Boston, The Beastie Boys, and dozens of other bands. The kids really made it a lot of fun.
Click on photo to see more...
Every time Leslie and I go to the beach, one of our kids makes a big leap forward in development. In the past, Amelia had learned to roll back to front and then front to back. She also learned to walk there. This time was Thomas's turn as he learned to crawl.
Here are some miscellaneous pictures. Amelia and Campbell (both two years old) bunked together for the week.
Click on photo to see more...
We took along our two-man, sit-on-top kayak. It's really easy to use and is big and stable for even large waves. In addition to the kayak, we also had access to my brother Brian's catamaran. Brian did a lot of sailing and was gracious enough to take along anyone who wanted to go sailing. His favorite route was sailing along the shore and then across the Cape Fear River and shipping channel, past the sand bars, and onto Bald Head Island's beaches.
Click on photo to see more...Generally, the weather was great. There was one day, however that wasn't that great so we took the opportunity to take the ferry over to Fort Fisher and to visit one of the three NC Aquariums. It's really a nice destination. We visited and had lunch there and then caught the return ferry back to Southport.
Click on photo to see more...The best non-beach activity was everyone getting together and jamming along with a video game called Rock Band. Everyone took turns on lead guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. We jammed to Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Boston, The Beastie Boys, and dozens of other bands. The kids really made it a lot of fun.
Click on photo to see more...Every time Leslie and I go to the beach, one of our kids makes a big leap forward in development. In the past, Amelia had learned to roll back to front and then front to back. She also learned to walk there. This time was Thomas's turn as he learned to crawl.
Here are some miscellaneous pictures. Amelia and Campbell (both two years old) bunked together for the week.
Click on photo to see more...Friday, June 13, 2008
'Twas the Night Before Vacation
Michael always writes about the things that happen when we LEAVE our house. It seems like we should be sharing some of the fun events of our days when we STAY HOME. While I leave the rest of the packing up to him, I'm going to sit down and share...
Thomas is now 7 months old, and he's 27.5 inches tall. Well, he was 2 days ago. He appears to have grown another inch since waking up this morning. His legs are so skinny and long. They match his torso. His favorite activities are smiling and giggling and heading right for Amelia's nose with a wide-open mouth. She's pretty gentle when he's close up, so she doesn't realize he's trying to eat her nose. When he's sitting/rolling on the floor, however, she's been caught swatting at him with an arm, a shoe, a toy, a doll, a book, whatever she can find. It will come back to her.
Michael noted that Thomas seems to have an increase in TESTOSTERONE this week. He has become more vocal and aggressive. His sweet cat-like squeal was replaced with a louder yell. When we try to feed him and he doesn't want it, he squirms away and basically hits whatever you're forcing into his mouth. His favorite pastime is carpet-swimming. If you put him on his belly on one side of the room, he kicks, lunges, and rolls to get to interesting toys and cords on the other side. He's so long that 12 mo. shirts barely reach his belly button. He's so skinny that 12 mo. shorts slide off. This is a problem. He's nearly weaned, and he's eating 3 meals/day.
Here is a picture of them with their friend Hannah who was here one evening...
Amelia now has full control (when awake) of her bladder. We thought she had control of other systems over the past couple weeks, but we had a minor setback. It seems she now associates dirty underwear with taking a bath. She loves baths, so she has decided bringing me her dirty undies will get her what she wants. Ughh...
Her language skills are growing at an unbelievable rate. She's watched Signing Time a bit on TiVo and uses signs/words nonstop. Her grandparents drill her with educational books when they're around, so she says stuff all the time that amazes us. This week we heard:
"Tell Papa I'm Okay!" and "My toe hurts. It has a circle on it." and "Mama, I want more milk please." The "I'm okay!" sentence is the funniest because she senses when someone is hurt or sad or mad. She wrinkles her forehead, tilts her head and with great empathy asks, "Are you okay?" It is absolutely precious. I want to get a video of it, but she's having a "No camera, Mommy!" month. She's been way into taking care of baby dolls and crayons lately.
All of us are looking forward to fun at the beach with the Kelley clan! Guess I better go supervise the packing :)
Thomas is now 7 months old, and he's 27.5 inches tall. Well, he was 2 days ago. He appears to have grown another inch since waking up this morning. His legs are so skinny and long. They match his torso. His favorite activities are smiling and giggling and heading right for Amelia's nose with a wide-open mouth. She's pretty gentle when he's close up, so she doesn't realize he's trying to eat her nose. When he's sitting/rolling on the floor, however, she's been caught swatting at him with an arm, a shoe, a toy, a doll, a book, whatever she can find. It will come back to her.
Michael noted that Thomas seems to have an increase in TESTOSTERONE this week. He has become more vocal and aggressive. His sweet cat-like squeal was replaced with a louder yell. When we try to feed him and he doesn't want it, he squirms away and basically hits whatever you're forcing into his mouth. His favorite pastime is carpet-swimming. If you put him on his belly on one side of the room, he kicks, lunges, and rolls to get to interesting toys and cords on the other side. He's so long that 12 mo. shirts barely reach his belly button. He's so skinny that 12 mo. shorts slide off. This is a problem. He's nearly weaned, and he's eating 3 meals/day.
Here is a picture of them with their friend Hannah who was here one evening...
Amelia now has full control (when awake) of her bladder. We thought she had control of other systems over the past couple weeks, but we had a minor setback. It seems she now associates dirty underwear with taking a bath. She loves baths, so she has decided bringing me her dirty undies will get her what she wants. Ughh...
Her language skills are growing at an unbelievable rate. She's watched Signing Time a bit on TiVo and uses signs/words nonstop. Her grandparents drill her with educational books when they're around, so she says stuff all the time that amazes us. This week we heard:
"Tell Papa I'm Okay!" and "My toe hurts. It has a circle on it." and "Mama, I want more milk please." The "I'm okay!" sentence is the funniest because she senses when someone is hurt or sad or mad. She wrinkles her forehead, tilts her head and with great empathy asks, "Are you okay?" It is absolutely precious. I want to get a video of it, but she's having a "No camera, Mommy!" month. She's been way into taking care of baby dolls and crayons lately.
All of us are looking forward to fun at the beach with the Kelley clan! Guess I better go supervise the packing :)
Friday, June 6, 2008
Locopops and Estes Hills Playground
Leslie's brother, Caleb, and his girlfriend, Michelle, came on over for dinner tonight. They live in Raleigh which is about 30 minutes away. After dinner we all went down the street to Locopops for dessert. Amelia had bites from everyone's popsicles. I had the Creamy Lime, Leslie had the Spearmint Lemonade, Michelle had the Mighty Mojito, and Caleb had the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip (I think).
We mentioned to the Locopops employee that we were headed over to Ephesus Elementary to play on the new playground. He said that the Estes Hills playground was much better. It turns out that he was right! That place was awesome -- much better than the the ones I remember as a kid.
We mentioned to the Locopops employee that we were headed over to Ephesus Elementary to play on the new playground. He said that the Estes Hills playground was much better. It turns out that he was right! That place was awesome -- much better than the the ones I remember as a kid.
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