Aunt Becky

My Aunt Becky passed away this morning. From what I understand, she went peacefully in her sleep. She had been fighting ovarian cancer for the past year. It was already in stage 4 when it was discovered, so we all knew she wouldn't recover from it. We were lucky enough to celebrate her 72nd birthday with her last weekend. I'm just so glad she was able to meet my children and that we were able to spend lots of time with her in the end.

Adam's sister, Amy, came with us to Hospice about a month ago. She took some wonderful pictures of Becky with the kids. You can check out her other work here: Simple Moments Photography.

Becky's Portrait

She loved stuffed animals!

I'm in LOVE with this picture!

Talking to Grayson

Kissing Rogan

Thanksgiving 2010

Meeting Grayson for the first time.

Meeting Rogan for the first time.

Christmas 2009

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving 2008

Meeting Arden for the first time.

I know my kids won't remember her, but I hope these pictures are a testament to them of her love.

We love you, Becky! Give grandma and grandpa a hug for me. Rest in peace.

Christmas in the Manger

I went a little crazy and got a bunch of Christmas books this year. As a child, I remember being so excited as my parents unpacked our Christmas books from the Christmas storage boxes. I loved reading those books every year! I want my kids to feel the same way. I want them to look forward to reading these special Christmas books each Christmas.

Every day, since the day after Thanksgiving, I read Arden Christmas books. She became so familiar with them that she knew the stories...knew the words. One day, we were reading Christmas in the Manger, and I realized she could finish each rhyming line. I showed this talent off to the grandparents when they came over. They loved it!

I realized I needed to record it for cuteness' sake...plus, I figured she'd like to watch herself in the future. I waited a little long to do the recording...it was probably a week after Christmas, and we hadn't read the book in awhile. She was a little rusty. Ah well...still cute.

Enjoy!

Arden's First Birthday

I can't believe my Baby Girl is 1! At 14lbs 4.4oz and 27" tall, she's still a little thing. She still doesn't have a single tooth, and it'll probably be another month or so before she starts walking. She loves cruising along the furniture, though. She gets into EVERYTHING. However, when she hears the intro song to "Gilmore Girls," she stops everything she's doing and stares at the tv. She's very social and has no fear of crawling up to anyone. She loves story time at the library and hanging out with little kids. Her favorite food is still Cheez-Its, but she also enjoys chicken enchiladas, pasta, and rice. She HATES wearing a bib and will rip it off the second she gets a chance. She nurses a couple times a day but takes formula (soon to be whole milk) in a sippy cup during lunch and dinner. She hasn't had a bottle in nearly two weeks! She's such a "big" girl. She loves following mommy and daddy all around the house...whether that be via crawling or her walker. Her favorite places are the bathroom and the kitchen. She loves peering into the dryer. If I tell her to clap her hands, she will. If I ask her to "Gimme 5!" she will. She says "uh oh" all the time. She'll even say it BEFORE she drops something on the floor...as if to warn me. I haven't heard her say "kitty" again. She says "ma ma," "num," and "ya ya," but she usually calls everything "da da." She also says "Amen" after we bless the food. She points at everything and loves waving to herself in the mirror. Bathtime is her favorite time of day. She loves splashing and getting mommy all wet! She's such a big helper in that she puts her squeezy toys back on the edge of the tub. She loves books, her ballerina bear, her yodelling chipmunk, and any toy that makes noise. She also loves cuddling up on the rocker with mommy, her ballerina bear, and her pink blanket just before naptime or bedtime. If anyone can make her smile, it's her Dadoo! Arden's definitely a joy to have in our home. We love her so much!

Below are just a few of the many pics I took of her in the birthday tutu and bow I made. I think they turned out great!

Being silly at breakfast time.

We went to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner, and Arden devoured several saltine crackers.

Just being cute.

Birthday Presents!

Auntie Catie came over to celebrate! She gave Arden this cool piggy bank toy.

I bought this cute birthday hat on eBay. My plan is to use it every year.

I got these mini cupcakes from Walmart with the intention to take them to church for the nursery kids. Once there, I decided it wasn't a good idea to give them to the little kids. So, I used them for Arden's actual birthday. I'll make her a cake for her Greensboro party this Saturday.

Happy Birthday!

She wasn't sure what to do with the cupcake at first, but she soon made a pretty good mess of it.

Arden with all of her birthday loot!

Six Down, One to Go!

On Monday we set out to check the last two NC lighthouses off our list: Oak Island and Bald Head. So we headed down in the rain through Wilmington to catch the Fort Fisher ferry. Little did we know they only took cash. The fare was $5. Not much, I know, but we had to scrape together all of our change to reach that amount. We were so lucky!

Arden was so happy during the ferry ride! She loves being "free" in the car.

Here we are at the Oak Island lighthouse! Yes, I'm pretty sure it's a bit crooked. And yes, I'm definitely sure it's unattractive!

It was cold and windy, but luckily the rain stopped just enough for us to get out of the car. We even saw dolphins swimming in the water!

If you look closely, you can see Bald Head lighthouse in the distance. We were going to stop there first, but we didn't do our research. Apparently you have to take a passenger ferry (no cars), and it's $16 a person. You might even have to pay for parking. We also discovered the lighthouse museum is closed on Mondays. We were thinking of going on Tuesday since we were staying at a hotel in Wilmington, but Adam had to work that night and didn't want to feel rushed. So, we didn't get to check Old Baldy off our list, but we will eventually...when the weather's nicer and we have a full day.

We stayed at the TownPlace Suites in Wilmington. It was out of the touristy coastal area, so it was less expensive. It was also about an hour from the lighthouses. Arden actually stood unsupported for a few seconds. She was already standing and just let go of me. Adam got to see it, too. I was pretty proud. Anywho, the cool thing about the hotel is it had a little kitchen area and a walkthrough closet. We put Arden's cosleeper in the closet, leaving the doors open. She was down by 9:15 p.m., but she woke up crying at 10:30 p.m. and every two hours after that. She was just starting to get a cold, and I think she hates sleeping in the cosleeper...it's a bit small, and she likes to move around. After getting up with her several times, Adam tried to get her to sleep on the other bed surrounded by pillows. She fell asleep at 4 a.m. and slept until 7 a.m. I guess we should've put her there first. Needless to say, we were all exhausted in the morning.

Instead of visiting Old Baldy, we stayed in Wilmington and checked out the USS North Carolina Battleship. It's was $12 per person. It was sprinkling when we got there, but it stopped by the time we went through the museum and got onto the ship.

I didn't realize there was so much to see until we got into the belly of the ship. We just followed the "Tour" signs, and it seemed to go on forever.

In case you're wondering, this tour is not for the claustrophobic! Toward the end, I was itching to get out.

Arden eventually fell asleep. Adam was great at carrying her around. He's such a great Dadoo!

She woke up as we loaded her into the stroller.

My little sailor baby! We had a great time!