Weekend in Pinehurst!

We went down to Pinehurst a week or so ago to visit with Mimi, Popeye and Ma! While we were there, we went to Pinehurst Lake, which has a great beach area. In addition to playing on the beach and swimming, we also took a pontoon boat out on the lake and had lunch. It was so relaxing, and the boys absolutely loved it! :)

The next day we went out for ice cream (as you can see from Grady's face!), and Popeye taught Grady how to play chess (at Grady's request). The preschool version is not as complicated! :)

New year of preschool & Landon turns 10 months old!

Preschool started back up after Labor Day, so Grady is now going three days a week from 9am-noon. While it's definitely nice to have a bit of a break and know that Grady is making friends and having fun, it is still bittersweet. Grady was happy about going the first day and didn't have any problem with me dropping him off. I was of course clutching on to him trying not to sob and look crazy! Here is a picture on his first day before we left the house.

In other news, Landon turned 10 months old last weekend. The next day (Sept. 12) he took his first steps all by himself! He's also starting to talk a a bit... his first official word was "ma-ma," which was then followed by "poop." Yep, no surprise there. With a 3-year-old brother who thinks it's hilarious to go around the house saying that, we knew we were doomed. He now also says "da-da" and we think "cat." Not sure how Brandon feels about "da-da" coming in third (especially to "poop"), but that's how it goes! :) On another note, we have also recently confirmed the fact that Landon has an allergy to dairy, so he can't have yogurt, cheese, etc. We're hoping it's something he eventually grows out of, but until then he will be on a dairy-free diet. Hard to imagine since it seems Grady lives on yogurt, cheese and milk, but we'll figure it out!

Here is a video of him taking some steps (not the first time, but the second time).

This same weekend Grady, Brandon and Gramps went down to Atlanta to wach a Braves game. This is a tradition that Brandon and his dad have shared for many years, so this was the first year (of many) that Grady joined the fun, and they had a great time! Grady did tell me that he "didn't like it when the people growled really loud." This is apparently what he called it when the crowd cheered really loud. :) Pictures will be coming soon....

A couple of weeks ago we randomly decided to go to Jordan Lake for an afternoon (well, for 30 minutes really). It took us 4 hours to prepare - or it felt like that anyway - and we stayed there about 30 minutes. Go figure. Grady and Landon seemed to enjoy themselves though, so that's what mattered. Here are some pictures from the day. You can tell Grady loves taking care of his little brother. :)

Here are some other recent pictures and videos just for fun! Maybe Landon has a future as a model for Levi's.... :)

Great spot for relaxing....Landon's carseat. :)

One thing Landon loves lately is having us chase him around the house (mostly when Grady does it, but he likes it when we do it too). He especially loves if we growl at him, which is so funny because he used to be really scared when Grady would make his dinosaurs growl. Now he loves it (as you can see)!

August!

T-ball officially ended a couple of weeks ago, and Granny came down to watch Grady's last game!

Kelly, Louis and Hannah were vacationing with some friends in NC, so we got to spend some time with them as well. This is the last time we'll see them until Christmas since the citrus season starts up in November, so it was nice to squeeze one more visit in. (Here is the web site for their citrus farm: http://www.schachtgroves.com/. They literally have the best oranges you'll ever taste!) Here are the little ones at Maple View Farm after getting some ice cream. :)


We went to campus (UNC) one day to meet Brandon for lunch. Since one of his offices is located under Lenoir Dining Hall, we decided to eat there. It was actually a great place for kids (since it was a buffet), but we definitely stood out! It was the day before classes started, so there were loads of students everywhere. It was definitely a little bizarre to be eating in the dining hall (with our kids) where we all ate when we were students 10+ years ago. Here is a picture of Hannah sitting in the window overlooking campus.

They are true UNC fans! (Landon of course tried to eat his blue hair!)

During their visit, we took a trip to Kidzu one day, which is a children's museum in Chapel Hill. The kitchen area was a big hit! :)

We randomly decided to take a day trip to Mt. Airy (or "Mayberry") where Andy Griffith grew up. It was a really cute town, and the people were extremely friendly! :) Here is a picture of Brandon and Grady with Andy and Opie. :)

Opie's Candy Store! (They actually had squad car tours, but we decided not to do it. Couldn't really picture three carseats in a squad car!

It was a long day in Mayberry. :)

More of Summer!

We have really been enjoying the summer so far! Landon is approaching the 9-month mark and is getting cuter everyday! He has been crawling for almost two months now and is now cruising along everything! He's even starting to let go and gets super excited when we take his hand and walk with him. He's a very happy little guy - always smiling and laughing - and VERY active! :) He absolutely adores Grady and will laugh at absolutely anything he does! (Oh- and he already has 6 teeth!)

Grady is still playing t-ball with his good friend Grant (pictured together above)! Despite the fact that Grady and Grant like to wander in and out of the game when they feel like it (he he), Grady tells us each week that he has lots of fun and wants to keep playing. This past weekend was the best game yet...he really had a lot of fun! :)

Aside from that, we've really been enjoying watching Grady turning into a little person! The new thing these days is "Why?" Our most recent conversations include, "Why do penguins not wear shoes?" and "Why do mens not have to wear shirts when they extercise?" (The answer is more complicated than you might realize!) Just tonight as I was telling him goodnight, he said, "I don't want to sleep in my bed. I want to sleep in the washing machine." He just cracks us up! He also says really sweet things. Just last weekend we went to City Park in Burlington, which is a neat park that has amusement type rides. While I was riding the carousel with Grady, I said to him, "I'm kind of scared...this is going really fast!" He gave me a huge hug and kiss and said, "Don't worry Mommy. I'll always save you." It was so incredibly sweet....I wouldn't trade those moments for anything.

Since Landon has lately seemed interested in walking (or trying to at least), we decided we'd put shoes on him for the first time so he could explore a little outside.

In other news, the exersaucer will be going into the attic this weekend. You can see it is no longer being used for what it's intended for! :)

Back to Florida for Hannah's 1st Birthday!

In mid July we went back to Vero Beach, FL to celebrate little Hannah's 1st birthday! Since Brandon couldn't take off more time from work, Grady, Landon and I rode down with my parents and grandmother. Despite the 10+ hour ride, the boys did great! Special thanks to them for allowing us to catch a ride! Kelly and Louis invited a lot of family and friends over to celebrate her special day. Given the circumstances of how she came into this world last July, there was definitely a reason to celebrate! Here is a picture of Hannah enjoying her special duck cupcake!

Hannah opened presents the following day (with a smaller group of people). Grady was very excited to give her the gift from him - her very own Monchichi! I'm sure some of you had one of those when you were little (Grady has mine from when I was little) - we couldn't believe it when we saw it in the store!

The day following Hannah's birthday party, Kelly and Louis arranged for Hannah to be blessed. She was baptized in the NICU when she was just two days old, so this was a more formal blessing/baptism. It was also a memorial for Cora and Quinn, Hannah's brother and sister. It was a really nice way to remember them as we all celebrated Hannah's special day.

Here are some other pictures from our week in Florida...

Since Landon started crawling a few weeks ago, he quickly learned to pull himself to standing, which he gets very excited about! He now pulls himself up on everything, and his newest trick is standing in his crib.

Here are a couple videos of him in action:

Landon's favorite things lately are:

• Chewing on wires (well, trying anyway)
• Chewing on anything (He has 4 top teeth that broke through at the same time!)
• Chasing our cat and pulling her tail
• Beating the laptop
• Pears and carrots
• Eating puzzle pieces

In other news, Grady started playing T-ball for the YMCA on the 3-4 year old team. He just made the cut, as he had to be 3 by the end of June, so he's really the youngest one on the team! His team (now called the "Green Monsters") had their first practice last weekend, and it was honestly pretty hilarious! Luckily, one of his best friends - Grant - is on the team too!