We were fortunate enough to meet up with my family in Charleston a few weeks back. We stayed only about 24 hours, but were able to go out to dinner, go to the beach (albeit cold and windy), open presents, take a carriage ride around Charleston, and then do some browsing around the city’s shops and market.

But all that paled in comparison to seeing family I haven’t seen in far too long!

Grandma came down to visit and help out while Tom had a two week full time internship at a local elementary school. On the weekends we took little trips. Here she is in Southport, with a potted flower that Harper put together at the town’s children’s festival. The flower is currently blooming magenta and red flowers on our porch.

I am not a naturally photogenic person, so when I find a picture I really like, I REALLY like it. On our way to Southport with the boys and Tom’s mom, she snapped this photo of us on the ferry ride. We had a lovely day of window shopping, ferry rides and delicious seafood. Southport is lovely!

St Patrick’s Day is normally a well celebrated holiday in our household, but Tom often goes to visit his family, so I was happy to finally have him in town. We went to Wilmington’s St Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday, which will include anything, include a hip hop dance group and the NY Jets Club. Then we enjoyed the “festival” which had some live music and beer, and one tent selling kitsch. 

The most enjoyable part, at least for the parent of two small children, was dropping them off at playcare, getting some food and drink at the Irish pub, then hopping to another Irish pub. The most surreal moment was when an older gentleman invited himself to sit with us and tried to open a tab with a Sam’s Club card.

On St Paddy’s Day proper, we celebrated the birthday of one of Harper’s best friends, and came home to corned beef and cabbage stew and soda bread.

Over the month of August, we moved from our two bedroom apartment to a new three bedroom house. The square footage was approximately the same, but having a separate room for the boys to play in has been fantastic. Toys are not taking over my living room or my life, and that is a blessing in itself. Additionally, we have a large backyard. Until recently the mosquitoes were too forceful to enjoy it, but now that the weather is cooler, the boys love digging in the dirt!

We did our fair share of painting/decorating. Here are some good pics:

As Harper gets older, we are slowly assigning him chores. I typically don’t say “chores” though, I typically tell him that he is “helping the family.” This is his first attempt at setting the table. He’s actually getting quite good now, but only if I give him specifics (ie. “Get the forks out” “Put the plates on the table”). He also puts the silverware away (except the sharp knives). I feel that it is important for Harper to learn that we all help the family!

Is there anything sweeter than a fresh picked strawberry on a gentle spring day? My Harper is a pro – can you believe he’s not even three, and this is his 3rd year picking strawberries? He’s very good at it. Corbin will learn next year, although he’s already learned how tasty the outcome is!.

Harper loves to have his picture taken. I was using the camera, and he climbed over the couch and onto my back “Take my picture, Momma, take my picture.” So I did.

Harper loves the camera and will jump in front of it at any time. Corbin on the other hand, is so startled by it that all his pictures look like this:

I have recently discovered that I need more pictures of me, tom, and general life because I have mostly picture of just the boys! I’ll work on it, I promise!

Dad came for a visit in early December (yes, I know, it’s January and I’ll try harder to blog more frequently) and we had a wonderful time. Dad hadn’t been to Wilmington ever (we’ve been here for almost 4 years) and since he didn’t get to come when Harper was born, he came when Corbin was born. We had a GREAT time. We, of course, went to beach (yay for unseasonably warm weather), we went to dinner at Front Street, and Dad introduced me to the wonder that is the rutabaga! Seriously, how have I gone 28 years without rutabagas?

Having Dad here was a reminder of how nice it can be to have family locally. He had to leave after a week, but I hope he and the family can visit again soon…

Sometimes the best family photos are the the candid ones, not the studio-portrait–everyone-smile–and-look-slightly-to-the-left ones. Here, Harper is furious that we are attempting to get him to hold still for just one family photo during a trip to a downtown festival. But this is the first all-4-of-us family photo, and we were going to take the picture, gosh darn it!!

Here are all my men, both big and little. By the time we had gotten home from the hospital, Corbin’s uncles had sent him Notre Dame gear, and the following Saturday, all the guys in the house dressed up for game day. Tom credits the spectacular Notre Dame win that day on the overwhelming support radiating from our small apartment in Coastal Carolina.

For the holiday weekend, the family traveled to Erin’s for a bit of fun and celebration. We had a fantastic weekend – filled with a fun, but odd, museum (The Museum of York County). They had a walk through story book, African animal collections, a planetarium, local geography and more. We had a splendid time. Afterwards, we picked our own peaches at a South Carolina farm and enjoyed fresh ice cream after our time in the sweltering 100 degree heat. And lastly, we enjoyed time at Erin’s new place, including the development’s large, kid friendly pool.

We didn’t catch fireworks this year, but all the other wonderful memories more than made up for it!

Harper is soon to be a big brother. I’m not quite sure to what extent he understands that. We point to my lower abdomen and say “Baby,” to which he responds by patting his belly and saying “baby.” However, he’s also, with his father’s encouragement, began talking to baby. Does he know why? I don’t know. I’m not even sure if he’ll understand if we can get baby to kick him in the next few months. But either way, it is adorable! And come September, he’ll definitely know!

A lazy day in the house, with some of the most adorable father son bonding I’ve ever seen.

After much trouble with our Lincoln, which has served us well in the last two years, but was definitely starting to show its age, we went car shopping. We found this 2004 Mercury Monterey. While I am sad it isn’t blue, like my last three cars, I was pleased to find a car on which we don’t have to make a single payment – we bought it outright!

And I couldn’t have been more proud as I sat down to do paper work and the salesman immediately set out credit applications. I looked at him, said “I don’t think we need these. We’ll be paying cash.” He looked at me, confused, and replied “For the whole thing?” When I confirmed, he stopped and paused. He didn’t know what to do next because I had thrown him off his grove.

Now don’t get me wrong – this isn’t a fancy car. It’s got a few cosmetic defects and we found out the following week at the key shop that the antenna doesn’t receive the signal needed to have door lock remotes (we haven’t seen how much/if it can be repaired) – both reasons we got a reasonable deal on the vehicle.

But I don’t mind. As Erin and I used to say “It’s defective, and that’s okay, because so am I.”

After a nice, sunny almost 80 degree day, we decided to head to the beach in the late afternoon. We couldn’t resist. Wrightsville Beach starts charging in March, and we wanted to enjoy the sand and the sun on a glorious February day.

But by the time we actually got the shore, the sun had started to set and the chilly nighttime air started to set in. We only stayed for about 20 minutes, but we still had a nice time.

Tom, Harper and I celebrated Christmas at home this year.

On Christmas Eve, we celebrated the true spirit of the season at Pine Valley UMC in the afternoon, after which I started Christmas dinner preparations. That was followed by more rejoicing at St Mark’s Catholic church, with a beautiful mass. Once at home, we got into our new flannel Christmas Eve jammies and read A Night Before Christmas with Harper. Tom and I cuddled and watched all the Doctor Who Christmas specials to date and then snuggled into bed.

The next morning, we gathered presents and stockings by the tree (no mantle place). Christmas morning was full of lovely surprises, a wonderful breakfast, watching Harper open presents, lazing around, Christmas Dinner, naps, cleaning up, Christmas movies, and phone calls with families.

All in all, we’re setting up some great Christmas traditions for our little family.

I made my first full Christmas Dinner this year for Tom, Harper and I. I made garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, Swiss cheese green beans, stuffing, and a roast chicken (a 5-8 pound chicken made more sense for our family). I also made cranberry sauce, but whoever said you could do it in the Crockpot overnight was full of lies. But, the burned cranberry sauce was the only mistake in otherwise a delicious meal (I have this on a reliable source).

I looked for some recipes that were similar to old family recipes I had in a cookbook that I forget to get back before the holidays. Others, I tried brand new – a cornbread sausage stuffing with apples and bacon, and a tasty quiche and roasted potatoes for breakfast.

I have to thank the good cooks in my life, and those who passed down deliciousness like never before!!

We spent the weekend visiting Mom and family at their new home at Otter Springs, a county park in Florida, as a sort of Thanksgiving/Christmas celebration. We stayed in the park’s cabins (which were wonderful, with a full kitchen, beds for all of us, and plenty of room).Though we had a short time together, we managed tons of fun:

• Corralling a cow off the road
• Mini donuts at the flea market
• Party at the Rec Center
• Geckos on the windowsill
• Christmas open house in Trenton
• Boys versus girls at Guesstures
• Magician at Fenning State Park Fair
• Awesome new clock (among other wonderful Christmas gifts)
• Stroganoff
• Pig tagging and worming