He's 1!!!

Westie had several celebrations to celebrate his first birthday. The boys & I were in Hickory visiting my parents during the week so he got to celebrate with grandparents too. We spent the afternoon at the annual Old Soldier's Reunion Parade and both boys had a ball.












And again once we got home on Friday, with Daddy.




And we had a small un-official birthday party for him on the 18th, jointly with a neighbor who also turned one in August. It was just a few neighborhood families and everyone had fun celebrating Weston & Carson.
Kim outdid herself with the awesome cupcakes! And I made the boys matching birthday hats. We tried to keep it simple and just had a taco bar and let the big kids play in the sprinklers & waterslide outside.












Weston devoured his smash cake and was fairly happy to play in it for a while. But when he was done, he was DONE.












{Love this -- our little neighbor Anna is clearly telling Weston to keep his hands to himself. Here daddy would be proud!}
And here are the birthday boys with their big brothers. So glad these little guys get to grow up together!




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Bunk Beds

We told Jackson that after 14 consecutive days of no potty accidents, his reward would be bunk beds. He has been super excited the past several months and fuel was added to the fire when he saw Jay Brown's bunk beds the past several times we've been to Lexington. The idea of bunk beds went from "fun!" to "that's the bomb!" in about 3 seconds flat.
{This past week, we've done some bed swaps -- we bought a King, moved our Queen to the guest room, moved the double from guest room to Bebe's and moved twin from Bebe's to Jackson's top bunk.}
SO, Jackson now has bunk beds. He's kinda-sorta-accident-free for 14 days, but we didn't' have anywhere else to put that mattress so we rounded up to 14 :) The ladder is still in need of sanding and staining, so he doesn't exactly have access to his to bunk...but its up there, indeed!
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7 years of wedded bliss

On August 20, 2012, Ben & I celebrated 7 years of marriage. Two of the past three anniversaries have slipped by us with little-to-no acknowledgement due to newborn babies in '09 & '11. But this year, we have decided to get back on track & have a proper holiday to celebrate US. And sleep late. And order it. And not make one single sippy cup, change a single diaper or read one last bedtime story for an entire weekend.
Flashback to our very first anniversary, Ben surprised me with a trip to Savannah. It was awesome - stayed in a great B&B, ate wonderful meals, did the obligatory sight-seeing, laughed at the terrible B.O. coming from our rickshaw driver, giggled till we hurt, hit up an insane piano bar, road bikes, and more.
So we decided to start a tradition to alternate years planning the anniversary trip. Which has evolved even since then because the birth of both boys has fallen on my years...so I have stepped up and will be planning this years trip.
The Rules:
1) Must be to a destination that we have not yet been to together.
2) The destination must remain a surprise until we have departed for the trip. As the trip progresses, "surprisee" may guess final destination but the "surprisor" has full right to trick, deceive or even give hints as to the destination.
3)The annual Anniversary trip tradition must be continued throughout our marriage. Even if a financially tough season requires a simple camping trip, Rules 1 & 2 can still be relevant. Its not about the destination, its about the quality time and the memories. {Birth of babies is excusable).
Here's where we've been the past 6 trips:
2006: Savannah, GA
2007: New York City
2008: Lake Jocassee, SC @ cabins on the lake with boat
2009: Baby Jackson was born
2010: Whittier, NC @ Ben's Godparents mountian house
2011: Baby Weston was born
2012: Surprise planned by Missy!
So this year, I have planned a trip that I think we both will really enjoy. Bebe & PopPaw have generously offered to keep the boys for 2 nights while we are away.
We leave on Friday, August 31. The countdown is ON!!
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Location:Valley Fall Ct,Greer,United States

One year ago today...

we brought a chubby little newborn home from the hospital.




And one year later, we have a chubby little toddler who weighs 24.5 lbs, eats more than his big brother and still nurses several times a day:




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Jackson & Mommy Date

Last year, a few days prior to Weston's birth, J and I had one last super-special Mommy Date. We did all of our favorite things, including riding the train at the mall.




Fast forward August 15, 2012, Jackson and I found ourselves again at the mall, this time looking for a birthday present for Baby Westie. And treated ourselves to our annual train ride, yet again in the caboose.








After our ride, we went to Build-A-Bear, where I got Jackson uber excited about the bear-building possibilities that he'd get as his reward for when he could finally write his name independently. Such a good incentive, if I may say so myself :)
We went to half a dozen stores in search of soccer shoes for Jackson, since he starts Happy Feet this fall. Who know that Adidas' in size Toddler 8 are SO hard to find? We finally found & settled on a bright blue pair that is he super proud of.
I treasured that four hours of uninterrupted time I got to spend with my older son and it was fun to just focus on him, his interests, his thoughts and give him my undivided attention.
Thanks, BeBe for watching little Westie for us!
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Goodbye Friends!

Our good friends, the Reeds, are moving at the end of this month, so last Friday night, we had a playdate-style family get together as on last hurrah before they move. Pizza, sprinklers, waterslides, popsicles, Blue
Moon...what else do you need {other than the Whites, Griffiths, Hensons, Smiths, Pasquarellas who all couldn't make it??}




As a little backstory, we all first met in August of 2010. Each of us had babies who had pretty much just turned one. We all got invited to join a playgroup, none of us really knowing more than one or two other moms in the playgroup. We all attended Grace Church and were eager to connect with other young moms, so our Friday morning playgroup was started. The first year, our playgroup was pretty consistent about getting together weekly and quickly, we became close friends, as did our kiddos. Now, two years later, sadly our standing playdate has fizzled due to schedules, new siblings (...our headcount has increased by 7 babies in the past year or so) and the busyness of life. But we do try to get together as much as possible and will still mourn the loss of the Reeds living in Greenville.




So Friday night was a fun way to celebrate our fun friendships and let the kids have a blast playing with each other before Emerson & Evan move away.
Bryson, Jackson & Slade, noshing on pizza.




Exactly how many tots can ride on the tire swing?




Fudgesicles were an excellent bribe to get them all to cooperate for pics








Weston dropped his fudgesicle and was very resourceful in licking up. He's not one to let any food go to waste.




The aftermath...




Jackson & Emmy have always had a special friendship. Even back at our very first playdate, we caught these two hiding behind the couch feeding each other goldfish. And then there was the time that Jackson taught Emmy how to pee standing up {in her neighbors yard}. Not to mention we caught them hugging under the mistletoe at the crazy Christmas house last Christmas. I know he will certainly miss his favorite girly.








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Weekend in Wrightsville Beach

We unofficially had our 2nd Annual Talbert Reunion this past weekend in Wrightsville. It was a blast and we thoroughly enjoyed catching up with cousins, second-cousins and watching the next generation of Talbert offspring playing together.

We spent the first day on the beach, then moved to the inland side in the late morning. From there, we could chill in the "kiddie jacuzzi", play on the waterway beach, ride jet skis, go boating, you name it!


Jackson was our little fearless adventurer. Not only did he hop right on the tube, but he also went wake surfing behind the boat with Ben...standing up and actually holding the rope himself. (We are waiting to get those pictures)















Uncle Jon & Opa arrived shortly after lunch and the boys were excited to see them.





Aunt Judy aka Meme rocking the water belt :)


And Westie enjoyed playing in the fresh water sources -- hoses, kiddie pool, tub.

















Ben's cousin Jay & his wife Jenni have 3-year-old twins that Jackson became fast friends with. It was precious seeming them play together and Jackson & Jack have some very definite resemblance!











The jet skis were also a hit, and Jackson could not get enough of it. After Jackson's turn, Ben and I took off for a ride. He knew better than to try to throw me off or flip us over, but we did get it up to 55 miles per hour with our cheeks flapping in the wind.






And the second-cousins (maybe...or first cousins half-removed?) all had a blast playing on Meme & Buddy's beach.


And in the hammock...


Aren't these Jack & Eliza absolutely beautiful?


The three 3-year-olds stuck together!


Our last night in Wrightsville, we put the kids down and Bud & Judy offered to babysit while we went out to dinner. What a treat!

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