This and That...

Thankfully, there hasn't been too much to report lately. I guess that's good and bad in a way. Mom and Dad moved this past Saturday, August 15th to their new home in Lexington, SC. Dad is not retiring but they decided to plan for the future and since the market is good for buyers right now, they decided to take advantage of the situation. They are now about 15 minutes from our house which I know is not far but makes me a little homesick ;) I got used to having them really close(within walking distance) but I am glad that they didn't move too far away. I don't think they would be able to be too far away from Blake anyway :)

Brent is doing fine. Same old stuff, just working himself to death in a hot shop and concrete floor everyday. I am working as well and trying to keep up with each day as best as possible. I have been having an increased heart rate for the past few weeks and have an appointment with the cardiologist next Monday to see if they can figure out the problem. I was sitting at my desk the other day doing paperwork and my heart started beating really fast. I went out to the nurses desk and got the pulse/ox (heart rate and oxygen detector) and my heart rate was an incredible 153bpm! Crazy! My doctor's office did an EKG which turned out okay. My Dr. said he could put me on blood pressure meds that would bring my heart rate down but wants me to go to the cardiologist to "make sure your heart isn't trying to tell us something." So please keep me in your prayers. Hopefully it will be nothing or if it is something hopefully easily treatable.

That's about all I have to report. Blake is walking all over the place and being a typical 14 month old. I love him more than I ever thought possible and look forward to seeing him each day after work. Take care and I will report more soon and hopefully some new pictures!

Blake's first haircut!

Aw, I put it off as long as possible but the day finally came! I had to take Blake to get his hair cut. We went this past Thursday, July 9th to Styles in Lexington for the big cut. I made an appointment with my stylist, Shalon, because she has kids and she's used to cutting their hair. Blake did really well until she got to the front to cut his bangs. At this point Grandpa had to hold him so Shalon could get the front. The whole thing went well and yes, I saved his first little curls. Shalon said she thinks he will have curly hair due to it's texture already. He does have a lot of body in his hair and when it's wet it's really curly. Poor thing :) Guess he gets that honest! I really like his new hair cut but a little sad because he looks like a little boy now and not so much a baby anymore :( 

Sandpit

     On the fourth of July, there is always the parade for the Peach Festival which starts about 9:30 a.m. and they close some of the streets between my house and my parents so I have to leave extra early so I can get through. I know I've already posted the 4th news but this is about Friday, the 3rd. I left work last Friday (July 3rd) and went to my parents house to pick up Blake. After I left their house I decided that I would continue down their street to find an alternate route in case the main road was already closed for the parade in the morning. 

Now let me start out by saying this "road" isn't what you would normally think of as a road. The part mom and dad live on is paved but then it turns into dirt. I went down this road a few years back (when it was first cleared out) in my Escort with no problem so I was just going to ride down it to make sure everything was still okay. Dumb, dumb move. 

     As I started down the dirt part, life was good. I then noticed that the "road" pretty much turned into a trail. Too late to turn around at this point but still thinking things were good, I plowed on. If you know much about living on dirt roads, you pretty know what to avoid and what you can and can't drive through. I know these things, I really do. I drove through some sand and fishtailed a bit but didn't get stuck. Life was still good. Next thing I know, I'm just driving and going absolutely nowhere! I'm stuck in the sand :(  Uh-oh.

     Trying not to panic I almost just have to laugh because of this stupid situation. My mind goes into overtime and I'm trying to find a solution to this dilemma. I went into the woods and hauled out these logs to put under my front tires for some leverage. No luck so I called up some friends from church who live across from mom and dad. I know they have trucks so I'm thinking they can possibly pull me out. Randy comes down the "trail" in his truck and then speeds up considerably and flies around my car narrowly avoiding getting stuck! After evaluating the situation we realize there is no way he can pull me out without getting stuck himself. Unfortunately he didn't have the tractor at the house or it would've been a piece of cake. Time to call in reinforcements!

Donna and Franky are two of our best friends and Franky recently got a Ford F-250 4x4. They come out to our house almost every Friday so I called them up and asked them to come early! Brent is probably leaving work headed for home at this point and I know there is NO WAY I am calling him because I don't want to hear his mouth :) Randy takes Blake and I back to their house to wait for Donna and Franky to get there. Randy's family is throwing a big party so Blake and I just partied along.

Finally my backup arrives and after busting a tow rope and a tow strap, and possibly getting stuck, Franky was able to pull me out of the sand far enough to get it in reverse and back up the trail. Whew! It's really funny now to think about and was actually pretty humorous when it happened but I won't be going down that "road" anytime soon! 

Word to the wise: if it looks like the sand at the beach, don't even try to drive through it, hahahaha!

4th of July

Independence Day is always fun for me and I was glad that Blake could enjoy it this year as well. Of course the Peach Festival is always a big deal around our neck of the woods and we were sure to be in attendance. As most of you know, Blake and I ran up there last year to win the "youngest at the festival" award and then went back home. He slept the whole time and has no recollection of the festival last year :)

     This year I was pretty sure that he would like that parade and music. He did! Dad parked our truck out under the big shade tree at the church on Thursday morning to ensure a good spot to watch the parade. Yes it sounds early but these people start parking their vehicles at least by Thursday night on the parade route. Our friends, the Crofts, came early that morning and we headed to the truck with our chair in tow. Since we had a good spot we were very popular with friends and our truck was full by the time the parade started. Blake enjoyed watching the parade and listening to the music. He started to get a little agitated by the end but overall did well. After the parade we walked up to look at the crafts and see what kind of entertainment they had. 

Mom and Dad always work a booth at the festival so we stopped by to say hi. We didn't stay for too long because it was hot and Blake was ready for lunch. Some friends from church let us borrow their huge inflatable water slide so Brent and Franky set that up and it was a wet and wild afternoon! The kids had a blast on it and yes, even Blake went down the slide. He was squealing with excitement and splashing around. 

Nothing ends the night like a good fireworks display. While it's not the most elaborate, it's a very good show and is a big deal in our community. Blake seemed to like them as he was pointing and wanting Grandmomma to look! I'm glad to say our 4th was a wonderful one filled with friends and family and I hope yours was too!

BLAKE IS WALKING!!!!!!!!

Yep, It is now official- Blake is walking! When we were at the beach, Blake started taking a lot of consecutive steps which boosted his confidence. Now he walks everywhere, picks up everything and of course puts it in his mouth. He is so cute and walks like a little drunk man. I hadn't really put him in shoes since he had not been walking but I thought it was odd that every time I would try shoes on him in the store, they wouldn't fit. I was telling a friend of mine about it at Bible School and she told me her son has wide feet. She looked at Blake's feet and said, "yeah, he might be an extra wide." So, this past Saturday I took him to "Goody 2 Shoes" in Lexington to get fitted for some shoes. Come to find out, he has a 5.5 EXTRA WIDE foot, hahahaha! He must get that from me as I have wide feet. I think they're cute and definitely help him keep his balance. Who knows, maybe he'll be the next Michael Phelps with "paddles" to help him swim, hahaha! We also went to a wedding last Saturday for a family friend so I put his new shoes on him which had gotten for him that morning. He drug his feet and flailed around because he wasn't used to them. It was hilarious to me even though he's already severely scuffed up the brand new sandals which were not so cheap! I am posting this little video of him walking and picture of him in his outfit and new shoes from the wedding. Hope everybody is doing well!

Isle of Palms

I am blogging today from the Coastal Retreat center looking at the ocean. It doesn't get much better than this. We go every year with our church group. Unfortunately nobody was able to come with us except a family from out community this year. We are still having fun though! Blake has really started to get brave while we've been here. He is taking a lot of steps and even walking a short little distance by himself. He's made a couple of dive-bombs but is doing well overall. He's babbling all the time and pointing at everything. 

     The weather here has been good for the most part. Monday was fantastic, yesterday was beautiful in the am but rainy in the afternoon and today the weather has been sunny and hot. We took Blake down to the ocean on Monday and he had a blast! He didn't want to get out. I may try to take him back down there today but have to have time to shop, hahaha! Hope everybody is doing well!

Blake's First Birthday

Blake's first birthday fell on a Saturday so it was perfect timing for a party! We rented out a picnic shelter and the pool at Camp Kinard and had a little cookout. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and the food was great. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends! Blake got so many nice gifts and he was having a blast in the pool. He was asleep before we got in the car to go home. 

Lake Norman Birthdays

My cousin Alisa and her family are home from China for several months. Her son turned one at the end of April, and her daughter turns 3 just several days after Blake turns one. Since they were home, we decided to do a birthday party for the three of them up at the Beam lake house on Lake Norman. We got there around lunchtime and had a great meal. Then we did the boat rides and jet skiing. After Zeb and Kayleigh took their naps, we did cake, ice cream and gifts. 

     I really didn't think Blake would dig into his cake, and I was right. He touched it a couple times and ended up just painting his whole body with icing. Zeb however, dominated his cake and ice cream and would've eaten the whole big cake if it would've been within his reach. It was hilarious and I got the best laugh watching him eat his cake. He was truly having a good time. Kayleigh used a fork and ate her cake like a lady. After the boys (whom we called Shrek and Smurf because of the color of their icing) finished eating/painting, we threw (not literally) them into the lake to wash off. They both absolutely loved the water and like the little floats we had them in. 

     I hated to leave because I was having a really good time. My family is very important to me and I think sometimes I get a little too sentimental. I wish we lived closer to our NC family but 2 and a half hours isn't too bad. Could be way worse I suppose. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pics of our little birthday group!

Music Recital

I've been teaching piano lessons at Gilbert Music Vault since 2006. We currently offer piano, guitar, drum, violin and pretty much anything with strings lessons. Since all of the other teachers are guys, I decided last year that we needed to hold an annual recital. Last year it went well although I didn't get to go because I was 9 months prego and got put on bedrest 2 days before the recital. This year we had it at our church on Friday, May 29th and it was amazing. Our teachers are truly blessed with gifts of musical talent and it shows through our students. They did a fantastic job and a good time was had by all. We had at least 100 people and the fellowship hall was packed! If you want to come see a good concert, come join us next year!

Pickin' Strawberries

Mom, Dad and Aunt Mouse took Blake to the strawberry farm today to pick strawberries. Unfortunately some of us had to WORK so we could not go, hahaha! I am told that he had a really good time and even Grandaddy let him have some strawberry...

Mother's Day

I finally had my first Mother's Day! Yea! I missed it by a few weeks last year so I was really excited about it this year. After church, we ate at mom and dad's and then pretty much relaxed the rest of the day. It was really nice and Brent and I are truly blessed to have such a wonderful little boy!

Brent's Family Pictures

Brent's Dad's side of the family hasn't had formal family pictures made since about 1994 I'm told. Brent's dad Jeff and I decided that we would try to get family pictures done around May so that it would also be close to Blake's 1 year pictures. We went to Picture People at Columbiana Center this past Saturday and had them done. They turned out excellent and I was very pleased. I thought they looked really good and the photographer did a nice job. Of course Blake did really well at first but then he got irritated and mad that he was having to sit still so long! There were 8 of us total: Brent, me, Blake, Jeff Sr., Debbie (Brent's step-mom), Jay (Brent's step-brother), Jeff Jr. (Brent's brother) and Brik (our nephew.) If you need pics done, I highly recommend Picture People!

Easter

Yesterday was Blake's first Easter. The Easter bunny visited him at Grandmamma and Grandpa's house and brought him a lot of goodies. He had on his cute little suit and was really good all day. After church we ate lunch at the country club and it was a beautiful day! 

Easter Egg Hunt

On Palm Sunday, our church had it's annual Easter Egg Hunt after church. The turn out was pretty good and the kids had a blast. We ate lunch in the fellowship hall then dyed eggs while some of the adults hid plastic eggs. Then the hunt was on. If we would've let Blake down on the ground no doubt he would've found something to put in his basket but it probably wouldn't have been eggs. I take that back- it would've made it to his mouth before the basket so scratch that. Grandpa carried him around and they hunted for eggs. I think Grandpa was getting a little aggressive trying to outrun other kids to get Blake an egg. Just Kidding but it was pretty funny!

St. Patrick's Day

I almost forgot to do my St. Patrick's Day post! Any holiday is really fun at my work. This year my co-worker Linnea and I decided to dress up extra special for St. Patty's day. We both had on green pants, wigs, jewelry, etc. We threw a "St. Patrick's Day Shindig" for our Residents complete with green cupcakes, green pudding and green punch. They had a blast and so did we. Have I mentioned how much I love my job? Also is a picture of Blake in his green onesie!

Giddyup cowboy!

Twice a year Columbia and Lexington have their own respective children's consignment sales. Belles and Beaus is the Lexington sale and  Tot Trade in Columbia. They have everything you can imagine from clothing and shoes to toys, yard toys, formula, etc. Mom and I went to both this year and got some really cute things. When we were at B&B, there was this really cute little bouncy horse we thought Blake would like. He is getting used to it but he will sit in it, grab it's mane and bounce. It's really quite funny and especially when he gets bouncing to music.