The Powells Place

The Three Amigos

2012-02-10T17:59:00.000-05:00

Our Little Buddy

2012-02-06T14:08:00.001-05:00

Our friends Erica, Daniel & Baby Jacob are visiting this week. Here are the little boys playing on the floor together! The first one is a little blurry, but I loved that they grabbed each others hands while they were laying on the floor! Too sweet. Excited for these boys to grow up to be best buds!!!

Annual Tree Burning

2012-02-06T14:04:00.003-05:00

We burn our Christmas tree every year, mainly because it is fun and because my husband is a closet pyro (though I truly think every man is!). Our tree has been drying out for a month now, so we thought it was a good time. It was really windy, which of course made me a bit nervous, but we pressed on nonetheless! Because of the wind only half of the tree burned, but it was really cool!

Yes, that is our grass on fire!

Ryan coming to the rescue! The tree burned in less than a minute! It was awesome! Certainly makes you think twice about forgetting to water your tree!!!

Giving Mommy some Sugar

2012-02-06T14:02:00.002-05:00

Samuel "borrowed" my camera yesterday and took a few pictures. When I found him he gave me the camera and I told him I would take a few pictures of him. He decided that he would give me some "chisses" (kisses)

Look at My New Trick!

2012-02-05T09:03:00.001-05:00

"Feed da ducks"

2012-02-02T09:32:00.002-05:00

We have a retention pond at the front of our neighborhood. One of Samuel's new favorite things is to go feed the ducks with our stale bread, if only we could produce it every day!!! Each time we drive out of the neighborhood he yells "mommy, I want to go feed da ducks!" We walk up there at least twice a week. It is so sweet to hear him talk to the ducks and fish! He is a sweet boy!

Craft Project

2012-01-26T21:26:00.001-05:00

Today I embarked on a crafting endeavor. I am trying to decorate the house for each holiday, so for February and Valentine's day I decided to start with a new wreath. I think it turned out pretty well!

Talking with Charlie

2012-01-25T17:28:00.003-05:00

Charlie and I were "talking" today while Ryan and Samuel were playing outside. This is how it went...

Play Time

2012-01-24T19:42:00.002-05:00

We have started to really see a little of Charlie's personality. He still sleeps and eats a lot, but when he is awake he is starting to really interact with us! The last few days we have had some fun times as a family of 4!

Samuel showing Charlie the ball pit! It was very hard for Samuel not to jump but he spent a few seconds showing Charlie the balls and telling him what colors they were!

Samuel playing in the ball pit alone!

Saying hello

First time on our playmat, he was more interested in the camera than the toys, noise maker or the flashing lights!

Enjoying some tummy time! He is really starting to hold his head up!

Can't find the paci, the hand will have to do!

Catching a Smile

2012-01-16T11:30:00.001-05:00

Did you know Picasso lives at my house?

2012-01-13T09:44:00.002-05:00

We had a day at home today, no car to go anywhere. I figured I needed a few activities since I could feel the house move each time the wind blew (way too cold to go outside!). Samuel got a bunch of art supplies in his stocking so we decided today would be a great day for some painting! He made several different pieces that will be mailed out to the grandparents tomorrow and one for mommy and daddy! It was so fun to watch him paint, try to drink the water, paint his fingers and get excited about the "snake" he drew!

This reminds me so much of my older brother, Zach. He is such a great artist and I remember watching him as a kid and he always had his tongue sticking out whether he was coloring with a crayon, painting or creating a paper mache globe for school!

My boys

2012-01-13T09:41:00.003-05:00

Samuel is really loving on his brother a lot these days. Each day brings something new! Either a shared toy or Samuel telling Charlie "it's ok, no more crying". He really is taking his role of big brother very seriously!

Samuel is introducing Charlie to Veggie Tales. I had just finished feeding Charlie and Samuel asked me to put him on the couch next to him!

Poor Samuel had a fever here and Charlie started crying. Samuel told me "mommy hold Charlie" so we all cuddled on the couch! I feel so blessed!

iPhone

2012-01-05T20:45:00.001-05:00

We found Samuel like this tonight.

Brotherly Love

2012-01-02T11:25:00.004-05:00

We finally have a cold day here and so I decided it best for us to hang out inside, and I also decided to try my hand at potty training Samuel (more on that later). After Charlie got his 10 am feeding we decided to have some time on the floor together. Samuel is becoming more and more interested in what Charlie is doing, wanting to check out Charlie's booboo (his umbilical chord) and climbing up on his crib to say "good morning Charlie" after each nap. I am so excited to see these boys grow up together!

This is how Samuel holds Charlie. He says "knees mommy" and puts his legs out so Charlie can lay across them.

Teaching Charlie how to say "arrrrr" like a true pirate!

Sharing some "Chisses"

Very proud that he gave Charlie a hug

Bright eyed and trying to push his head up

Welcoming the New Year

2012-01-01T17:03:00.003-05:00

Last night at our crazy New Years party we decided to get together with our friends at our local Arboretum for some fun and a chance for the kids to run wild! We had a great time, and thanks to our wonderful husbands we (the women) got to sit and chat, and sip a delightful glass of wine! The kids had a great time and so did the parents! Something we decided we needed to do more often!

Samuel loves his lady friend

Cheesing it up for the camera

Samuel and Charlotte kept running into each other with these balls against their chests, laughing and then falling over!

At one point all the parents were hanging out around the blankets and decided to check in on the kiddos!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T17:00:00.001-05:00

The last couple weeks

2011-12-25T13:15:00.004-05:00

Spending some time on the floor

Samuel giving Charlie some kisses

And sharing a hug

Sweet dreaming

looking at mommy

Samuel was starting to show interest in Charlie. He starting to move his head around and grunted a couple times. Samuel quickly moved back and announced "Charlie scary"

Checking out the little brother and sharing a puzzle

Getting our first bath. Samuel wanted to participate too

Merry Christmas from the Powells

2011-12-25T13:07:00.003-05:00

RuRu and Grandaddy came to spend Christmas with us. Samuel and Charlie were quite the focus, to say the least. We all had a great time opening gifts, playing with our new toys, and passing the littlest guy around. Glad they were with us and look forward to many Christmas's to come!

Samuel helped Daddy open this book for Charlie. We asked him to give it to Charlie, and he kindly laid it over his head so he could read it! What a great big brother!

I am pretty sure that Samuel had a part in opening every gift under the tree regardless of whose it was!

Giving out sweet kisses

Someone woke up to participate

I got a roomba (thank you Phelps for the introduction to this little beauty!). Excited to try it out!!!

We got Samuel his first t-ball set. I'm not sure who is more excited, Ryan or Samuel!

I think Charlie is quite loved!

A few from our favorite photographer

2011-12-25T13:02:00.004-05:00

My dear friend, basically a sister, Nicki came to visit us while she was on the east coast. She has taken pictures of our family since I was in high school, so it was very special to have her take pictures of my growing family! We had several different photo shoots and here and there and got some great ones! Excited to have Nicki take pictures for us for years to come!

Christmas Picture 2011

2011-12-25T12:56:00.004-05:00

Mom did a great job snapping a few family pictures for our Christmas card this year. We knew we had limited time because we wanted to wait until Charlie was born, but also wanted to get our cards out in a timely fashion. Samuel was a little challenging, but what 2 year old isn't? We brought lots of bread along to feed the ducks, M&Ms to feed Samuel and a warm blanket to wrap Charlie up in between shots! I think we actually got some great pics, though we went in with somewhat low expectations!

Ryan loves to climb trees, and is excited to see that Samuel does too!

I just love watching Ryan and Samuel together. You can tell they love each other very much and enjoy all their fun activities together!

Feeding the ducks and fish

Sweet Charlie

Our new family of 4!

Samuel had a great time running from one side of the bridge to the other.

Merry Christmas Cowan Style

2011-12-25T12:49:00.004-05:00

BeBe, Pops and John were in town the week before Christmas. We had our own little Cowan Christmas here before they headed home. We all had a great time taking turns playing Santa, even Charlie got involved!

Samuel got his new wagon. I know the boys will have many hours of fun!

Showing BeBe how to get the wagon out of the box.

So excited about his new wagon! He could hardly stay out of it while Ryan tried to put it together!

Our little Santa

Charlie and Daddy

Glad John was here too!

"The old married couple" as we call them. They had a great time.

Charlie is very excited about his Octopus and the cool socks it is wearing!

Samuel building his blocks.

Annual Gingerbread House Party

2011-12-25T12:39:00.004-05:00

I was asked if I was crazy several times the week of Charlie's birth. You see, we have had our Gingerbread House Party every year we have lived in Wilmington, and I was determined to do it again this year, regardless if I did happen to come home with a new baby the day before! We had a great time! My mom and I made all the houses the week of Thanksgiving and got everything ready and laid out just before Ryan and I left for the hospital. Fun was definitely had by all!

We have turned our little decorating party into quite the competition. The rules are that each family can bring one "extra secret" item but was left to share all the goodies/decorating items that were on the counter. We have one hour to decorate and then a chance to describe our masterpieces. This year we were amazed once again by the creativity of our friends. We, thanks to the craziness of our lives this year, didn't quite strategize and just created a "normal" house, but we are happy with it!

DJ and Sherry claimed the title of "Decorator Extraordinaire" once again this year with their incredible house. They let their boys decorate the outside and they created a family home on the inside, complete with iPhone fireplace! Way to go! Next year Ryan and I will have to bring our A-game!

Anthony and Shelley and their girls made a bus and in their explanation Caroline sand the "Wheels on the Bus" song. It was adorable!

Jacob may have eaten more candy than he put on the house, but that is part of the fun!

Samuel also had his share of candy, and daddy's share, and mommy's share and Charlie's share. He ate more candy that night than maybe all the days of his sweet little life! He had a blast!

Charlie even joined in!

The Carpenter girls convinced Parks to create a Pink Palace, complete with a beautiful ballerina! Good thing he is ok with PINK, he's going to be surrounded it for a LONG time!

Snatching some more candy! Pretty creative, he pushed his toy table over so he could reach the counter!

The Laniers creating their "love nest"

The winning house. Horrible picture, certainly doesn't do it justice!

LK holding Charlie. She is so sweet with the babies and is always wanting to hold one of them. She is a great big sister and I am sure will make a great babysitter and mom one day!

Charlie's Birth

2011-12-15T15:39:00.003-05:00

Charles "Charlie" Robert Powell was born on Wednesday, December 7 at 4:24 in the afternoon. To say this labor/delivery was much better than Samuel's is the understatement of the year! First of all my due date was the 4th, so I was already eagerly awaiting Charlie's arrival. We went to see our doctor on Monday and began talking about an induction. I was somewhat hesitant, but anxious at the same time. My induction with Samuel led to a 22 hour labor, an epidural that didn't work and lots of pain. Needless to say I wasn't super ready to jump at the opportunity for another induction. Our doctor assured us that second children come faster, even with an induction, and that it was probably best to induce sooner than later based on how big Samuel was at birth. So we set the date, I was to report at the hospital at 5am on Wednesday.

I got ready to go in and called the hospital but they told me to hold off until 8, so we rested a little more (and by we, I mean Ryan!) and then loaded up the van and headed out! They broke my water at 10 and my contractions started to get a little stronger and more consistent. Our friend from church, who happens to be an anesthesiologist, just happened to be working at the hospital that morning and came for a visit. He kindly offered to put in my epidural for me, which was so kind! Right after the epidural was in they started me on a little pitocen to get the contractions more regular and stronger, and man did it work! Within about 20 minutes they were VERY strong and coming closer together. The epidural kicked in and I was able to nap for about an hour and a half before it was time to push. Our awesome nurse came to check me and at first I was 7cm dilated, then moments later she said, "no, I think you're about 8" and then seconds later, "and now you're 9, let's have this baby!". Ryan happened to be out in the hall talking with one of our friends, so I texted him to make his way back here, that our little man was on his way!

A few pushes later and Charlie was here. Moments after he was born, before we could cut the chord, it broke, causing Charlie to loose some fluids/blood. He was quickly taken to the incubator and the Neonatal nurses came in to check on him. Because, though it was a "small" amount, Charlie lost fluids they took him down to the NICU to monitor him. We were certainly concerned, but knew he was in good hands. After 24 hours he was given the OK to leave the NICU and come up to the room with Ryan and me. We stayed another night in the hospital so Charlie could continue to be monitored, and then came home on Friday afternoon.

Charlie has been a wonderful addition and the best Christmas present to date! He is sleeping well, eating well, and overall very happy!

Samuel giving Charlie a "chiss"

BeBe meeting Charlie

Samuel telling us where Charlie is.

What a good big brother. Sharing Daddy's phone already! Let's see if this keeps up!

The very proud big brother

Just hanging out

Getting ready to come home from the hospital

We made it home

Just Melts my Heart

2011-12-15T11:00:00.000-05:00

Catching Sweet and not so Sweet Moments!

2011-12-15T10:52:00.003-05:00

Samuel's BeBe bought him some balls a while back and as a fun "big brother" gift she got another bag to make our little pool a little more full! Samuel and Daddy had a blast last night playing in the ball pit, throwing the balls so they hit the fan and fly across the room, and jumping off the side of the bed into the pool. Well fun was had by all...until Samuel fall in the balls and banged his head on the side of the bed. We have quite the cut and a BIG swollen eye. There were lots of tears and hugs last night, a fight to put a bandaid on the side and ice, but we made it through!

Today his eye is black and blue but doesn't seem to bother him! He even asked for the balls first thing when he woke up, so the memory of the pain must be gone!!! I walked towards his room this afternoon and I found this sweet picture of BeBe and Samuel doing a puzzle. He is learning to recognize his letters so well and even other words that start with those letters! I love my big "buddy" so much and it is so fun to see how he is developing!

Check out that bruiser! A story to tell for sure! He seems to be unfazed by it!

Introducing Charlie

2011-12-14T07:57:00.004-05:00

Our sweet "little man" was born Wednesday, December 7th at 4:24pm. I will write about his birth soon, but wanted to share a few pictures now. He is one week old today, smiles sometimes after he has a full belly and sleeps amazingly! We are so excited to have him here with us and are excited to get to know his little personality as he grows!

Monkey Joes

2011-12-05T16:04:00.003-05:00

Mom and I took Samuel to Monkey Joes today. We had never been there but it looked like a place that Samuel would LOVE! We were right. He ran from one thing to another, smiling and exclaiming "A-ha" with each new discover and challenge conquered. We had a great time...a new and fun place for rainy winter days!

A funny site I'm sure...crazy pregnant lady trying to climb the wall!

Going down the slide all by himself!

Taking a break from jumping to drive the fire truck.

He was excited!

One final slide before heading home! Fun was had by all!

Gingerbread Men

2011-12-01T17:56:00.005-05:00

Of course we had to go ahead with our annual Gingerbread House Decorating party/competition regardless of the fact that baby #2 still hasn't made his arrival! My mom has been here helping me decorate for Christmas, get the laundry done, making meals to put in the freezer, etc. She has really been a life saver! Well, she has been helping me make the houses and with the leftover dough we decided to make some gingerbread men. Samuel was very excited to help out!!!

Testing the dough. Quickly telling us it tasted "Yucky" and then ate another piece.

Showing me his rolling pin and mouthful of dough.

Making handprints

My cute little cheeseball

Can you tell which ones Samuel cut out?

The Arboretum

2011-11-25T17:36:00.002-05:00

We met our friends today at the Arboretum while our husbands braved the crazy shopping (Ryan behind the counter and DJ standing in the LONG lines at Best Buy!). We had fun watching the boys feed the fish, wish the could get in the water, run around and play in the "treehouse". We love our buddies and are so thankful for their friendship!

Getting as close to the water as possible!!!

Of course they would find some water to jump in. Boys will be boys, right?

Jacob, Ben and Samuel "cheese"ing it up!

Daddy's Little Helper

2011-11-25T17:33:00.004-05:00

Because of our pending birth of baby #2 we decided to hang our Christmas lights on Thanksgiving Day! Ryan was awesome and climbed on the roof (carefully I might add!) and on ladders galore to put up our beautiful lights. Samuel was more than happy to "help" by climbing the ladder and distracting Daddy for some play time each time he got down from a ladder!

Taking a nice break after lights and dinner! I LOVE my two boys!!!

Happy Birthday Ben

2011-11-16T13:44:00.005-05:00

We went to the park yesterday for Ben's 3rd birthday! It was a great way to let the kids play and celebrate our little buddy! Sherry was very creative and made some super cute Froggie cupcakes that also were surrounded by some blue cupcakes (for the water!) Isn't she so clever!!!

Our two peas in a pod! They had so much fun swinging together! I was shocked to get a good picture of them both, aren't they just so happy!!!

Ben snacking on his doritos! He would lick all the cheese off each chip before he ate it! SO cute!

Happy Birthday Ben! Thanks for letting us celebrate with you!

June and Caroline certainly weren't going to miss out on those yummy cupcakes!

Cute little Pirate

2011-11-08T11:18:00.002-05:00

Samuel's Grandaddy and RuRu are here this week visiting. They stayed at our house on Sunday evening for Ryan and I to go to our small group. Here is one of the cute pictures they got of Samuel after dinner. He was trying to wink and I think it's just so cute. Every time we ask him what a pirate says he says "arrrrrr" and closes one of his eyes. I just love how spunky this little guy is!

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-31T10:30:00.005-04:00

We decided that Sunday was the perfect day to carve our pumpkin! It was a breezy fall day and just great to be outside. Ryan designed it this year and we both love it's simplicity! Samuel LOVED sticking his hand in and scooping out the goop inside! He also enjoyed eating the seeds. Samuel even decided the best way to end the event was with a popsicle while we lit our little pumpkin, and we figured why not!?

Deep in thought designing our pumpkin

Samuel has been very into pushing the button. Here is the result of his handiwork!

Getting messy. He liked pulling out the yucky stuff, and then quickly wanted a towel to wash off his dirty hand!

My 2 favorite men!

Samuel was a good scooper!

I just LOVE this smile!!!

I decided to help too!

While I was carving Samuel pulled his basketball goal down on himself!

Admiring our handiwork, popsicle in hand!

Fall Festival

2011-10-24T11:58:00.006-04:00

Last night was our fall festival at church. Samuel had a great time dressed as a pirate. Of course he wore his hat all around our house before we left, and refused to wear it at all the whole night, but life goes on! He LOVED the "jump house" and spent most of his time there. Samuel also went up and down the bouncy slide lots with our neighbor that was there, thank you Maddie for playing with Samuel!!!

Ryan and I entered the Corn Hole tournament, and quickly realized we hadn't practiced quite enough! We lost in the first round 24-3, but we did have fun!

We also have a "trunk or treat" and it was great. Each of the participants decorate their cars and pass out candy to the kids! It was so much fun. One of the cars was a cow and they borrowed our cow costume to make it a little more realistic, another car was a truck full of goats and chickens (real ones!). There was even one where you had to actually fish for your candy!

He would have stayed in here for hours!!!

Having fun on the big bouncy slide

Charlotte was an Indian princess, but decided she also wanted to wear Samuel's pirate hat!

"Samuel, I'll hold you and keep you safe". It was so precious (unfortunately the picture is aweful!)

Trying to keep Samuel safe.

Charlotte trying to help Samuel sit up on the hay! She was glad to be helpful!

Are they loving on each other, or just playing hard. Sometimes it's hard to tell, but this time Charlotte seems to be enjoying it!

So excited about his "pitate candy" (at our house most candy is considered "daddy's snack", so Samuel was super excited to be getting his own candy).

Checking out the chicken and giggling at how it moved!

Samuel got to feed the goats

Shaunna (the pumpkin) and I are due just 2 days apart, her with her first son, Gus, and me with #2, still no name!

Proof that I was there. Check out that bag, Samuel's RuRu sent that to him when she heard he was going to be a pirate. It's SOOOOOOO cute!!!

Samuel sharing his dog with the cow!

Baking with BeBe

2011-10-21T15:59:00.005-04:00

My mom (BeBe) and grandmother (Grandmommie) are here for the weekend. We have already enjoyed an excursion to the park this morning and were busy this afternoon cooking and cleaning around the house. Samuel was so excited about our visitors that he didn't take a nap, so we let him help us with out task!

He was excited to see the box of pumpkin "fuffin" (muffin) mix on the counter this morning, so he was happy to help pour, measure and stir the mixture. He loves to cook in his cooking class, but really hasn't been able to help me in the kitchen, so maybe this will be a start to a new activity for the two of us!

Checking out the measuring cup

Big Smiles

filling the muffin tin

oops, we got a little on our measuring cup

getting a true taste test

BeBe even taught Samuel how to lick the spoon!

As Samuel would say "fuffin nummy" (translation muffin yummy)

Samuel's New Ball Pit

2011-10-17T18:45:00.004-04:00

Thanks to my great and creative friend, Stephanie, I have found a great way to use or kiddie pool in the "off season". Samuel spent the evening with his buddy Oliver the other night while Ryan and I went on a much needed date! When we got back she said that Samuel LOVED the ball pit she had made! All she did was fill up a kiddie pool with balls. Well fortunately (I guess) I had both at home!

My wonderful mother bought Samuel a bag of 150 balls (yes, I said 150) when she stayed with him in February. Needless to say that bag of balls has been sitting nicely tucked away in the closet since she left! Samuel found it a few weeks ago, and I have spent many an afternoon picking up all 150 of those balls (I did have a little helper that picked up maybe 5 or 6).

Well this afternoon we had LOTS of fun dumping out the balls and jumping, falling, "swimming, and throwing the balls in our new ball pit. I can't believe I am saying this, but the pit is a bit empty, so I am thinking about getting another bag! It's all in the name of fun, right!?

I thought this totally captured the essence of Samuel's fall (blurry and all!)

The Pumpkin Church

2011-10-08T12:05:00.006-04:00

We met up with some friends today for some fun at the Pumpkin Church. We went last year and it was fun and CRAZY. Well, I can't say it was much different this time around! We tried hard to get a picture of all the kids, but it wasn't the greatest attempt! Samuel had a great time climbing on the pumpkins and saying "cheese" with every move, though often he wouldn't look at the camera and smile! Nonetheless, fun was had by all!!!

Another photo filled post!

Isn't she just beautiful! And LOVES to pose for the camera!

LK and Samuel stopping their climbing to take a picture! Can't believe they are actually both smiling!

Samuel and Charlotte love each other and push each others buttons ALL THE TIME! Sweet Char was just laying on the ground and Samuel felt it was a good time for a tackle! Charlotte just giggled each time he plopped down on her!

Telling me with great enthusiasm that he is sitting on PUNKINS!!!

Samuel and Charlotte chased each other all over the pumpkins!

The big kids! I loved this picture because of how excited Charlotte was!

The only picture of Samuel and I together. Obviously he was ready to move on to the next pile of pumpkins!

Playing Outside

2011-10-06T13:02:00.007-04:00

Warning, this is a picture heavy post...mainly because I couldn't decide which ones to weed out...and also for the sake of the grandparents!!!

We have been spending almost every evening in our front yard for the past couple weeks! The weather is LOVELY and Samuel is always asking "the car the road, mommy?" Meaning he wants to play with the cozy coup! So we get our shoes on every night after dinner and play until it is Samuel's bedtime! It has been a great way to be outside, say hello to the neighbors, and for Samuel to get the rest of his energy out! Ryan and Samuel run up and down the street in the coup, Samuel pushes it up the driveway to me and I push him back down to Ryan in the road. He is AWESOME at getting out of the road immediately when he hears a car, I think we passed in putting the fear of God in him when he sees a car in the road, he steers clear, THANK GOODNESS!!!

The boys also pulled out the frisbee and football last night. Samuel LOVED watching Ryan punt the ball "really high up" again and again. Samuel is quite the frisbee expert, I'd almost say he can throw better than I can (though that's not saying too much, but come on-he's 2).

I am so very thankful for my 2 handsome guys and the joy they bring to my life!!!

You can really see the joy in his face as he pushes the car up to the top of the driveway. He will either ask me to push him back down or will just turn the car around and push it himself.

Running to say hi to mommy.

I know this is blurry (I had my shutter speed on auto) but I just love how happy he is!

not sure if Samuel spends more time riding or pushing, but he does love them both equally!

I just can't believe how big he is getting. I feel like he is such the "big" little boy. He really does melt my heart on a daily basis!

Samuel LOVES to go "faster faster" as he says with his arms raised high. The funny thing is that Ryan is often more dizzy than Samuel after each turn!

Samuel is so happy, he squeals with each turn and laughs and giggles as he comes to the ground.

A little tickle after landing never hurt, right?

Asking to go "faster faster again daddy"

He has quite the arm

Watching for the football to come back down after daddy punted it "really high up"

He's certainly got the game face here!

Daddy teaching Samuel how to hold the ball for daddy to kick, I was a little nervous, but I think Samuel was more scared when daddy started to advance!

So they decided to reverse rolls. As you can see, Samuel is much happier about this setup!

Horrible picture of both of us, but proof that I was there too!

Just a Normal Saturday

2011-10-01T11:20:00.005-04:00

Since Ryan works on Saturdays Samuel and I get to spend our mornings together. Today we played outside in the crisp fall air and then headed inside for some puzzles and choo choos. We had a great time together, as always! I am loving watching Samuel explore and find new things, and even enjoy the old things too! He really is coming into his own these days, always wanting to do something new.

Putting together his "B C" puzzle. He loves to dump this one out, put a few letters on and then say "Mommy fix it", which means I'm done, you put it away!

Excited that he found the right letter on the first try.

Pushing Thomas around the new track mommy just made.

He just finished saying "oh no, apart mommy" but quickly figured out how to put them back together, and obviously very proud of himself as he said "Samul got it"

Cheesing it up for the camera just before he made the basket!

Throwing the bean bag to mommy for her to throw back. We could do this for about an hour.

Who made you?

2011-09-30T17:04:00.003-04:00

What a sweet sound it is to hear your little one talking about God. I sing to Samuel at nap time and bed time each day. He is often asking for "the Grace Song" which translates to "Amazing Grace". Today as I was singing it he tried to sing along with me. He certainly didn't get it word for word, but many of the words/sounds were spot on! Of course I choked up and started crying as I was singing and he just looked up and smiled at me! Here is a fun video of what Samuel knows already about God!

Happy Birthday Crawford

2011-09-24T11:00:00.003-04:00

Today we met at the park to celebrate Crawford's 5th birthday. We had a great time forming a parade with all our fun musical instruments. We walked the loop at the park and then read some parade books, ate some yummy cupcakes and played on the playground! Crawford, we are happy you were born and thank you for letting us celebrate with you!

In the car on the way over I told Samuel we were going to Crawford's birthday party. He quickly said "Birthday, CAKE!!!" Glad this kid has his priorities!

I asked Charlotte to smile for me and she gave me this sweet little pose! She's is so fun!

Climbing on the ropes! Samuel had so much fun exploring a new playground!

Anna had so much fun with the shakers, she smiled the whole time! Isn't she precious?

Caroline eating the icing first, the best way to do it!

Cooking Class

2011-09-23T15:14:00.003-04:00

We go to the Children's Museum of Wilmington on Thursday mornings. Our little group is growing and we have so much fun! We start in cooking class and then find our way around playing with many different things. Today I only took pics in cooking class, but I'll try to get some more on another day!

Cooking class is so much fun. We start by washing our hands then finding a place on the floor for story time. We always cook something that coordinates with what we read about. We got there late this time, so we missed the story, but we made homemade applesauce! They had already cooked the apples, so we mashed them, added apple juice, maple syrup and cinnamon!

I was asking Samuel what he was making, and unfortunately this was the best pic of the bunch! Oh well!

LK testing to make sure she got the right amount of cinnamon!

Caroline mashing her apples.

Charlotte doing an early taste test!

One more trip to Savannah

2011-09-14T16:54:00.005-04:00

The whole fam went this time to see Erica and Daniel (and Toby the dog) in Savannah. We had a great, relaxing weekend at the beach, Oatland Island (a wildlife reserve), downtown and just resting at home. We love our friends dearly and are so thankful that we get to continue to live life together after college!

The alligator that Samuel decided we should bring home as a pet!

Admiring the alligator from afar, the best place for us to be!!!

Time out for a snack!

Of course he wouldn't even stop to smile for the camera until he was way too close! The best I got!

Enjoying Tybee Island and an afternoon at the beach!

He entertained himself with this cup and the lifeguard stand for at least 30 minutes!

Uncle Stephen & Aunt Tiffy visit

2011-09-14T16:49:00.003-04:00

Stephen and Tiffany (Tiffy as Samuel calls her) came for Labor Day. We had a great time relaxing, going to the beach, shopping for the girls and golf for the boys! Stephen and Tiffany even got to go downtown for brunch on the river! We love them so much and were so glad to have them here!!!

Tiffany is an AMAZING photographer and took some great pics of Samuel playing in the yard!

We went for a walk on Front Street after some delicious frozen yogurt!

Samuel LOVES his Uncle John

2011-08-30T08:19:00.002-04:00

A couple weeks ago while I was in Savannah with my college friends Samuel and Ryan played the bachelor role! On Saturday, while Ryan was at work, John and his friend Melissa cover to hang out with Samuel. Melissa took some fun pictures of their time together!

Every time John walks in the door Samuel runs up to him saying "John hug". This is the usual result! John is so great with Samuel, we love seeing the two together!

Having a very serious conversation!

Samuel LOVES to put together puzzles!

his Grandaddy and RuRu gave him this puzzle his first Christmas.

Playing cornhole! Very talented!

I just love this sweet boy!

Playing at the Park

2011-08-23T18:42:00.003-04:00

After Ryan got off work today we headed to the park. It was EXTREMELY comfortable, given our recent hot weather! We had a great time following Samuel around, realizing what the dare devil he really is and just laughing a lot together! Looking forward to fall and enjoying some more afternoons as a family of 3! We do love our time together! I know this is a picture overload, but it was hard to choose just one!

Samuel climbing the big kid ladder! Probably in the midst of saying "Mommy help"

He was a little unsure at the beginning, but after daddy's help realized he could do it on his own! We certainly have a little monkey on our hands!

So sweet!

Posing with mommy! After I sat down I realized it's hard to climb on playground equipment when pregnant!

He LOVES to say cheese, but doesn't always look at the camera! This was after he said cheese while looking away!

He would get to the top and then look at me and say "Mommy Jump!". Ryan got a few good mid-air pics!

My two sweet boys! They play so well together! I just love it!

Samuel wanted to climb the wall...Ryan tried to help him and this is what happened! I think Samuel really just wanted to be at the top with daddy!

Our buddy Oliver

2011-08-23T12:08:00.003-04:00

Our dear friends, the Laniers, have a son named Oliver that is just a few months older than Samuel. He was diagnosed with a genetic disorder about a year ago that also causes seizures. We have seen Oliver go through a lot in the past year. This sweet 2 year old is having brain surgery today and we would love for you to join us in prayer for his surgeons, his body throughout the surgery, and for Andrew and Stephanie as they wait to hear how their beautiful boy is doing. This is the first of 2 surgeries over the next 2 weeks. We will let you know how he is doing throughout this time! Here are a few pictures of him with Samuel over the past couple years!

At Samuel's 2nd Birthday Party in the bouncy house

January 2010. They were so little and chubby! So sweet!

Fall Festival 2010 at church! I just love watching these boys together!

Girls Trip to Savannah

2011-08-22T19:44:00.003-04:00

I had a great week last week with some dear college friends! We all headed down to Savannah for a couple days of relaxation, lots of laughter and some quality time! I miss seeing these wonderful women and will miss them even more as we continue to spread across the globe! Whitney finally found her way to this side of the pond and Anne is moving to Colorado in just a few short weeks! One last hoorah was definitely in order!

Whitney and Hannah creating "bellies" of their own! I just love Whitty's pose!

Up close, and a little too personal! I love this sweet girl! Glad to have you back in the states!

The group! We missed you Becca!

Of course we had to take a crazy picture! Whitney and Hannah added a bowl and a soccer ball to fit in the rest of us with babies in our bellies! We had so much fun!

The Splash Pad

2011-08-15T12:02:00.003-04:00

We went to the Splash Pad today for the first time this summer! It is hard for us to get out there and sometimes we're the only ones and others there are 50+ kids...so it's always a gamble! We had a great time and as more kids showed up Samuel had more fun trying to escape! I love watching him explore new things! Samuel certainly does love water and his friends! A great time was had by all!

At first there was a little trickle and Samuel was letting it fall into his mouth...all of a sudden the water blasted out and got him! He recovered quickly and was on to the next thing!

Letting the water drip down on his hands

Caroline and June catching water! They had so much fun running around and under the water! It was so cute to watch!

Getting more bold grabbing for and running under the water

Samuel and Charlotte catching water in their buckets

I didn't have any swim diapers, so this poor kid's diaper was HUGE by the time we left...check out those saggy britches!

Getting an Oil Change

2011-08-15T11:59:00.002-04:00

Uncle John came over today to borrow a few tools to change his friend's oil in her car. We were heading out for a play date and Samuel decided that John needed a little help! Before I knew it Samuel was actually lying on the ground under the car with John. I couldn't get my camera out fast enough! Samuel sure does love his Uncle John. The rest of the morning he kept asking for John and wanting to give him a hug!

Play Date

2011-08-12T13:27:00.003-04:00

Since it has been blazing hot we decided to have some of Samuel's buddies over for a water play date! We filled up the pools, water tables and hooked up the sprinkler! All together we had 13 kids, which was a bit crazy, but super fun! Samuel was mostly interested in the snack table and the swing set, he often gets a little weird when we have lots of people over (even though our backyard is HUGE). He stayed away from anything with water and mostly stuck to himself! We all still had a great time, and by the end of it all there was a lovely breeze and it wasn't unbearable out there!

Samuel going down the slide. If you look closely you will see his mouth is full of snack!

June was hanging out in the car, and Caroline decided she wanted to join her!

She was eventually somewhat successful, and as you can tell June wasn't to excited to have less space

Swings, slides, and toys galore! There was something for EVERYONE!

Ben and Anna playing with the pirate table

Is there a difference?

2011-08-11T11:03:00.004-04:00

Several people have been asking me if this pregnancy has been different. Am I smaller or larger than last time? Are my cravings the same? All those wonderful questions that we get asked as we go through pregnancy! So here it goes!

This pregnancy had DEFINITELY been very different. I was sick ALL DAY with this little guy during the first trimester and even more so the first few weeks of the second trimester. I am definitely feeling better now! I am not 100% (you be the judge) but by looking at the two pictures below, I feel like I was a little bigger with Samuel at this point...strange because usually the 2nd is bigger! I am measuring right on target though, so I'm definitely not complaining! With Samuel I didn't want strawberries, wanted greasy/nasty fast food (thank goodness that is over...ate more McDonalds in those months than I did probably in my whole life!). This time I haven't craved the greasy food (except for breakfast) but can't stand corn on the cob, and struggle sometimes to eat a salad, but otherwise everything tastes good! Weight gain is about the same. I have gained 4 pounds as of now and at this point with Samuel I was about 6...nothing to complain about!

I am definitely not paying as close attention to everything about this pregnancy as I did with Samuel...something about chasing a 2 year old around all day makes me forget sometimes that I am pregnant! I have a sweet friend here that is pregnant and due 2 days before me, so she is often my calendar (I always ask her "Shaunna, how far along are we?"). She informed me just the other night that we are coming up on 6 months this weekend, so that's good to know!!! It does seem to fly by faster the second time around, I guess I just have other things to focus on as well as this baby!

We still haven't settled on a name, but don't you worry...we are keeping it a secret! You'll just have to wait til this little guy arrives to know who he'll be! Just a little something for Ryan and I to be excited about and that is just "ours".

Samuel at 6 months

Baby 2 at 6 months!

Water Fun

2011-08-08T16:42:00.002-04:00

While Daddy and Pops play some golf Samuel and I decided to have some fun of our own! I filled up his pirate water table, baby pool and plugged up the water ring. We ran around and played for a while until Samuel decided it was still just too hot. We got all dried off and he said "water mommy". I decided we could go for round 2 when the guys come home!

Samuel needing a turn filling up the pool! He just waved the hose around, but was really excited to help!

Throwing the "bees" (frisbee) into the sprinkler! He was very proud of himself!

It took some coaxing and mommy doing it first to get Samuel to jump into the water, but he had a blast going in and out for a long time!

Nursery basically complete

2011-08-08T10:02:00.004-04:00

Well the nursery is basically complete. We will probably transition Samuel into the twin bed first and then over to his bunk beds. Most likely this will happen once we get back from visiting friends in September. Then we'll change the crib back to the higher level to get ready for baby #2! I think this brings my projects to an end...now to organize the stuff in the attic!

The original view of the thrift store bed I found.

Painted and ready to go into the room.

The artwork on the wall was an old pallet that our kitchen manager saved for me! I saw a friend do this and LOVED the idea...just glad I found a place to do it myself!

View of the room from the door. The twin bed just needs a bed skirt and we're good! The side table belonged to my grandfather's great aunt and uncle. The artwork is the pallet that I salvaged and the blanket on the rocker is one that my grandmother made for Samuel.

View in front of the closet at the foot of the bed.

Bedroom complete

2011-07-25T14:03:00.002-04:00

We did a lot of furniture moving the past few weeks! And, of course, by we I mean Ryan and John! We brought the 3 pieces of Ryan's old bedroom furniture together to make up our new bedroom furniture and dispersed the couple pieces that were in our room throughout the house! His furniture was a light oak color, so I sanded it down and painted them all white! I am pretty happy with how it turned out!

When we have some extra cash sitting around I will change this hardware to match the other two pieces! The rocker came from Ryan's family and I think it fits perfectly there! It will get reupholstered eventually!

We lowered the headboard and moved it over a little to make room for the dresser! I really do love how it has turned out, and feels like a whole new bedroom!

Playing in the rain

2011-07-25T13:58:00.002-04:00

Samuel's buddies, Ben, Jacob & Matthew, came over today for a play date. They were in and out all day, but after lunch headed back outside for a little more fun. After about 5 minutes I realized it had started raining again. I opened the sliding door t0 3 very happy little boys! They were running around, opening their mouths to try to catch the rain and just soaking up the water, literally! Samuel continued to say "I wet mommy" which was just so funny! They played for at least 30 minutes!

Saying "cheese" for mommy...unfortunately his eyes are closed!

Ben was so happy to be running around!

Trying to play soccer in the rain is a bit difficult!

Ben and Jacob discussing the rain and how much fun it is!

Changes to the Nursery part 1

2011-07-25T13:55:00.002-04:00

We have some big plans for the nursery, really just moving a few things around and adding a few pieces of furniture. Since baby #2 is a boy, we didn't feel the need to do a complete overhaul, just adding a few things that we like now that we are adjusted to life in our house! This weekend we started working on shelves to go into the second closet in the room! Check it out below!

This is the old changing table.

Here are the shelves in! This area is so great! Awesome, organized storage and a place for the changing table that can be hidden when the closet door is closed! I am very happy!

Just another Sunday morning

2011-07-24T09:09:00.002-04:00

We love our peaceful Sunday mornings, and today is no exception! Samuel slept until 8:15 which has been a great treat since he has been getting up between 6:30 and 7:30 lately! Ryan got up and went out to get a paper, Samuel enjoyed a nice bowl of "cece & bok, two pease mommy" "beberries mommy" (translation: Cereal and milk, two kinds of cereal please mommy, blueberries mommy". He certainly has an idea of what he wants!

I made eggs, biscuits and sausage and we sat down for a nice breakfast! Ryan reading the paper and Samuel deciding he needed to read too! What a blessing these boys are to me!

Projects in full bloom

2011-07-20T15:12:00.002-04:00

I feel like Ryan and I have been in project mode for several months now! With bunk beds, upholstery and painting furniture we have had our fair share of work around the house! We have been looking for a twin bed to go in the nursery and today we found it! Here is the before look of the headboard and footboard! Hopefully we'll have the nursery together and can let you see what we have done!

Introducing...

2011-07-18T14:16:00.003-04:00

I am 20 weeks along, seems like it took a long time to get to the halfway point, but now I want to hold on to the sweet time I have left with Samuel as my only child! This pregnancy has been COMPLETELY different than my first, but we made it to the halfway mark and I am thankful to FINALLY be feeling better!

Well to the exciting part! Last Tuesday Ryan and I went to the doctor for the big ultrasound! Baby 2 is doing very well, growing well, moving well, and looks very healthy. I had been told that I would feel it move earlier this time around, mainly because I would know what to "feel for". They were right! I have been feeling a lot of movement inside and just recently have been able to feel the moves by touching my stomach! Ryan hasn't felt it yet, but he will soon enough!

Finally, we did find out what we were having! Many people had lots of thoughts:

1. this is a different pregnancy, it must be a girl!

2. Surely you won't break the mold (almost all of our friends have 3 girls, or 3 boys), so same gender it had to be!

3. Others were hoping for one or the other: boy/girl

And the verdict....Samuel is going to have a little BROTHER!!! We are excited to add to our "basketball team", which Ryan concluded (since the women's world cup has been going on) it should be our "soccer team"...I quickly reminded him I didn't plan to have 11 children! We will just see!

Samuel's Playroom Complete

2011-07-09T17:48:00.005-04:00

Samuel's new room/playroom is finally complete! Thanks to my mom's amazing sewing skills I was able to get the curtains made and hanging a few weeks ago! I finally was able to get a few pictures once the room was mostly clean! I am really happy with the results, and Samuel seems to really love it!

Samuel really loves his bed, he climbs into it often!

We just hope he loves sleeping in it come August!

The curtains closed! I LOVE THEM!!!

For those that didn't know, Ryan made the bunk beds!

My chair that I re-upholstered!

Samuel welcoming me inside!

The cabinet used to be in our bedroom and houses all of my photos, crafty stuff, and gift wrapping. The painting is one that my grandmother did of Samuel at the beach last year! Maybe my most favorite parts of the whole room!

Anniversary Trip

2011-07-09T17:32:00.004-04:00

Ryan and I celebrated our 5th anniversary this year, and what an amazing 5 years it has been. First of all, I thought I had created this post, but when going back through pictures I realized that I, in fact, had not! So here you go, a few months delayed. Thanks to are WONDERFUL friends, the Thomas's, we were able to leave Samuel in Wilmington for a long weekend and head south to Charleston! We stayed in a beautiful hotel, ate DELICIOUS food, and walked A LOT! We took a carriage ride, but mostly just wound our way through the streets and admired lots of the beautiful homes, walked through several beautiful parks and even took the ferry out to Fort Sumpter! It was a great weekend overall!

When we checked into the hotel there was a bottle of champagne there, Ryan had told them it was our anniversary. Unfortunately I was already pregnant (not that it is unfortunate that I am pregnant) and Ryan doesn't like champagne...so we kept the bottle to enjoy when baby #2 arrives!

There were many beautiful fountains throughout the parks and we came to this sign that just made us laugh! You can't read it too well, but it was all pertaining to fountain just below!

Wade at your own risk, no lifeguard on duty! As you can see, it barely covered our ankles!

Of course, Ryan climbed numerous trees, and was so happy sitting on the long, beautiful branches!

Erica and Daniel came up on Sunday to spend the day at Fort Sumpter. We had a great time and it was good to see Erica, Daniel, and little baby Ramsay (in her tummy)

Our two great guys!

It was so very windy, but we managed to get a pic of the two of us!

Rainy Day Activities

2011-07-08T13:36:00.002-04:00

Today was supposed to be a pool day, but of course we got our 2nd rain of the whole summer today! Thus we quickly changed our plans! Our friends, Lilly Kate and Charlotte, came over this morning to play and we then decided that there was no outside fun to be had! Since today is Chick-fil-A's annual Cow Appreciation Day we decided to head out to get some FREE FOOD! We had a wild and crazy and FUN time! We are so thankful for our buddies! We really do love them a lot!

Lilly Kate came to me in the kitchen and said "me and Char want you to take our picture!" I thought it turned out pretty great...both girls looking and smiling at the same time!

Not so happy that everyone else got cow spots and he didn't!

Plus he wanted his "hunch" (lunch)

The Carpenter herd got some great costumes and looked great in their cow spots! Thanks friends for dressing up and supporting CFA!!!

Celebrating the 4th

2011-07-05T08:39:00.004-04:00

Our amazing neighbors have generously let us use their pool this summer, it has been so great! While they are out of town we had a couple families over to swim and then grill out after! We had a great time as you can see!!!

Samuel got this bathing suit from his BeBe and we just love it!!!

Samuel kept saying "I cheese mommy" he just wanted to smile for the camera! This was the crazy result!

Ben just giggled and giggled the whole time in the pool!

There were so many cute ones of them playing in the sprinkler I couldn't choose just one! here is Samuel and his sweet girl "Char Char". They are so fun to watch!

A little blurry, but you get the gist of his excitement and joy running through the sprinkler!

Garden

2011-07-05T08:37:00.003-04:00

We have LOVED having our garden this summer. We've harvested TONS of great tasting cucumbers and lots of tomatoes! These are so small, they stand up to their name of grape tomatoes! We've also had a great share of blue berries and black berries! Hopefully our corn will be ready soon!

Happy Birthday Samuel

2011-06-27T12:06:00.004-04:00

We celebrated Samuel's 2nd birthday this past weekend. We had a great time with almost all of the grandparents, many little buddies and lots of fun memories!!! Samuel was all over the place, entertaining his friends, making sure all of the toys were in working condition, smiling for the camera, and just having an overall great time! We love our little man and are so thankful that these first 2 years have been so wonderful. Can't wait for many more!!!

The pirate ship cake in the making

Completed and thanks to gravity a little shipwrecked! It looked awful but it tasted great!

Lilly Kate, Charlotte, Anna and Samuel checking out the pirate ship water table!

June looked so cute in her outfit, she thought it would look better in the swimming pool! This sweet girl has NO FEAR when it comes to exploration!

Samuel and daddy in the bouncy house!

Mom was so very helpful in cleaning, cake making and cooking for the big day! I couldn't have done it without her!

Good friends of mine and their boys are great buddies with Samuel. I am enjoying watching them grow up together.

Samuel tasted the cake just to make sure it was delicious. Smiling as we sang happy birthday!

who needs a fork when hands work just as nicely?

Happy Father's day!

2011-06-19T17:19:00.003-04:00

I got this cute golf outfit for Samuel about a year ago with great anticipation of him playing golf with his daddy! Ryan loves the leisurely game and tries to play as much as he can (which is less than I think he would like!). Today Samuel and I took him to the driving range for some practice! We had a great time, though it was hard to get Samuel to understand that he couldn't run the whole field!

Setting up daddy's tee.

Checking out daddy's form.

Literally saying "dere daddy, dere"

Samuel getting his lesson

As Ryan hit the ball I tried to get Samuel to say "fore" which he quickly responded "two" because, of course, that is his favorite number!

A stop in Raleigh

2011-06-17T08:46:00.002-04:00

We stopped in Raleigh for a couple days on our way back from the mountains. Our dear friends live there and Ryan had a food safety class for CFA, so we decided to make another mini-vacay out of it! Thanks Joe and Abby for being so hospitable! Samuel misses his "sizzy and osh" (Lizzy and Josh) and asks for them about 10 times a day!

Samuel's new favorite thing in the pool. We put him up on the side and before we know it he is jumping in the water! So fun to see him get more and more excited about the water!

We went to a children's science museum which was really cool, and REALLY crowded. We sped through the exhibits, but I did get a few pictures outside at the drums. Samuel had a BLAST!

Mountain Getaway

2011-06-17T08:28:00.004-04:00

Last week we had an amazing getaway with some great friends. We, and 3 other families, headed west to my families house in Cashiers, NC. It was a full house but fun was had by all! Lots of laughter, some fun little side trips, and some much desired quiet time (though these times were few and far between!). We can't wait to do it again!!!

Ryan let Samuel drive the boat, he was so excited! Samuel also found the horn and periodically ran over to push it until we made him stop! He was LOVING it!

Beautiful view of the waterfall at the bottom of our mountain. The boys loved seeing all of the waterfalls!

Sweet Charlotte a little worn out on our way back to the marina.

The kids so excited about being on the boat and feeling the fresh wind in their faces!

My little sailor!

The guys (plus Caroline!)

The ladies (plus Charlotte)

Driving under the waterfall was a highlight! Of course stopping to take a family picture proved to be a little difficult!

The group (minus two, poor Sherry wasn't feeling well so she and Matthew stayed home). And of course Ryan was taking the picture across the street, so we'll just pretend he was there!

Samuel reaching out for the water! He kept saying "wet, dere (there)"

Lilly Kate, always ready to pose for the camera!

June loved reaching out for the water!

Samuel and Charlotte are like two peas in a pod, always together, most of the time giggling and happy with the occasional spat! They are so fun to watch, but have to keep an eye on them at all times!

June and Caroline both were very upset when the ice cream ran out, and didn't quite understand why dad wouldn't just go and get them some more!!!

Sliding Rock

2011-06-16T16:39:00.003-04:00

While in the mountains we went to a fun place called Sliding rock. Parks was awesome and took all the kids down the rock that wanted to! Here's our little dare devil!

Going to the "boooool"

2011-05-29T09:20:00.002-04:00

Our AMAZING neighbors have a pool and have asked us numerous times this spring to please come and use their pool anytime we want. We took Samuel last week and he was a bit freaked out by the water, but we knew after a few times he'd fall in love! I asked him yesterday if he wanted to go to the pool and he constantly said "booooool" until we got into the pool about 20 minutes later. He had a blast (most of the time). Excited about this summer!!!

Samuel's little secret

2011-05-17T12:42:00.003-04:00

Yep, you read that right! Samuel is going to be a big brother! We are expecting little Powell #2 December 4! I am just now 11 weeks and feeling a little better, it has been a rough 5-6 weeks thus far! Samuel seems unfazed by the news as of right now, but I also don't look too much different! We'll see as I grow and he learns more how he does!

Trip to the Mountains

2011-05-12T12:04:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we went to the mountains to celebrate my grandmother's 85th birthday. Somehow we didnt take too many pictures, but we had a great time. The guys spent Saturday morning clearing the hill next to the house so that we could see below a little better, we ate LOTS of great food and played games. It was great to be with the whole family plus my uncle and one of our cousins! Thanks Grandmommie for having a birthday! We love you!!!

CHEEEEEEEEESE!

He tried to eat a couple petals and then decided he wanted nothing of the flowers!

Climbing on the big rock!

Christ the Lord had risen TODAY!

2011-04-24T13:31:00.003-04:00

We had a wonderful morning today as a family and then headed to church for the sermon, potluck and annual Easter Egg hunt! John joined us and we couldn't have been happier!

Trying to get Samuel and Charlotte to take a picture together!

Samuel walked around with the bucket on his head for a while, he would take it off and have the biggest smile on his face, he was so proud of himself!

Every egg he would open, take out the candy and then throw the egg back on the ground! It was hilarious!

Family photo, almost everyone looking at the camera!

We had a wonderful morning today as a family and then headed to church for the sermon, potluck and annual Easter Egg hunt! John joined us and we couldn't have been happier!

Breaking in the Beach 2011

2011-04-23T19:57:00.002-04:00

We absolutely LOVE living at the beach and tonight we decided to head out there after dinner for a little bit. The temperature was fabulous, the water freezing (thank you Samuel for dipping your little feet in to let us know!) And what better way to bring in the 2011 beach season than with Britts donuts! It was delicious!

Children's Museum

2011-04-23T19:54:00.002-04:00

Friday we went to the Children's museum with our friends for their Easter Egg Hunt Extravaganza. There were TONS of kids and it was a little crazy, but fun was definitely had by all. Samuel and I go to the Children's Museum every week and often play out side. There are tons of balls and things to play with, so he was more interested in finding a ball to throw than picking up eggs, but he did get a few!

Air Show

2011-04-18T11:49:00.004-04:00

We went to the Coastal Carolina Air Show yesterday with our friends Joe and Abby and their kids! We had a great time. The weather was beautiful and the kids did great (that is until the jet flew past!). Excited to go again next year!

Samuel and daddy had a great time together!

Lizzie and her princess shades! She was the only of the kids that kept here ear phones on!

Watching the planes. He kept pointing and saying "apane" (airplane)

Josh and Samuel playing. They were born 3 days apart, I think they will be lifelong buddies!

The only one I could get with them both looking and mostly smiling!

Bath Time

2011-04-10T19:00:00.002-04:00

Samuel is really loving bath time lately! When it is time to get out he will lay, face down, arms and legs spread wide hoping that will deter us from taking him out (even though the water is already long gone!). Moments ago we asked Samuel if he wanted to take a bath and he quickly replied "yeah". 1 minute later when Ryan went to start the water this is what we found!!!

The good thing is he is unable to turn on the water, for now! So that at least makes me feel better about the fact that he knows how to climb into the tub!

Bob Villa's Work

2011-04-08T09:43:00.004-04:00

The bunk beds are complete! I am so proud of Ryan. He worked really hard to find the best plan for creating his masterpiece! He became a carpenter as of January this year, building his first work bench, and decided to take on quite the challenge of making Samuel's bunk beds! They are AWESOME! I am so proud of him!

All the wood laid out waiting to be sanded and stained!

the frame put together in the room because it wouldn't fit through the door! I hope we don't plan to move it anytime soon!

Samuel had a lot of fun weaving in and out of the planks of wood!

Standing up waiting for the mattresses. Samuel was so excited to climb all over them!

I was vacuuming up all the dust from Ryan's drilling and Samuel decided he wanted to help!

Final product! Still need a comforter for the top bunk, but here they are in all their glory!!!

Now I know...

2011-03-26T15:44:00.003-04:00

Yes, that's right! Now I know why it cost $$$ to reupholster a chair, but it is definitely so very satisfying. I finished the last stitch just moments ago and the final product is ready for viewing/sitting pleasure!

I forgot to take a complete "before" picture, so here is the chair upside down and the seat cushion piece to the left ready to be traced.

This was the fabric we found under the current look. There was yet another fabric under this one (definitely a sign of the decades-60s, 70's (below) and 80's the fabric we just removed!)

The final product!

Another view of the final product!

picnic at the park

2011-03-21T11:54:00.002-04:00

We have had some beautiful days here and now with the sun being up for a few more hours at night we decided to meet our friends at the park for a picnic. We went to the playground first and then picniced by the pond so the kids could feed the fish/ducks afterwards!

Samuel is SO BIG! This picture isn't great, but it just reminded me of about this time last year when he could barely see over the rim of the swing!

He just melts my heart!

Going backwards down the slide...apparently this is the best way to do it!

feeding the ducks!

Parks with is girls, soon to have another! It will be fun to see him this time next year with his sweet little ladies!

Introducing Martha & Bob

2011-03-16T13:34:00.003-04:00

That's right! Ryan and I have dawned new names this week. Martha Stewart and Bob Vila have officially moved into the Powell house! Ryan has been working on his "work bench" in preparation for building bunk beds and various other items around the house. I have been working on transforming John's old room into Samuel's new playroom/eventual room! Here are some beginning pics to let you see what we're doing!

Ryan's work bench and shelves he put up!

Wood sanded and cut waiting to be stained for bunk beds

Stain for the wood

In the process of taking apart the chair and re-upholstering it!

My AWESOME friend, Trista, just finished reupholstering a chair at her house, so she has graciously decided to help me transform this old chair! So very excited!

I need your help!

2011-03-07T14:50:00.004-05:00

Samuel has a new playroom (it will eventually become his bedroom once he is out of his crib-hopefully not anytime soon!). It is a nautical theme and we're working on getting curtains for the room. Below are some of my fabric choices and I need your help in choosing the best one!

I LOVE this fabric, but of course I waited too long and the discount fabric store I found it in no longer has it and cannot get it! I have exhausted all of my options in trying to find it anywhere else!

Some of the fabrics up against the bedspread. The curtains will be on the opposite side of the room, so the patterns won't compete with each other!

A few things to keep in mind: All of the stripe fabrics will be vertical (all hanging horizontally right now). The walls are painted a light grey/blue and the bedspread is also blue (I like the blue stripes, but want to introduce something else in the room but BLUE!)

Proud Mommy Moment

2011-03-05T20:54:00.002-05:00

Samuel is really talking up a storm these days. He blabs on at the table while eating his food (most of which makes no sense, but he talks, laughs, points and laughs some more!). He is constantly pointing to things he knows and says "dog" "ball" "eggie" (for Veggie Tales) and is 24/7 saying "mommy" "dada" or "mada" if he doesn't know which parent he would prefer, so he puts us into one entity! His vocabulary is ALWAYS growing and sometimes I am amazed at the words he knows.

Case in point!

As many of you know I love my couponing (Definitely not anywhere as extreme as the women on TLC's Extreme Shoppers). Tonight we were pulling into the parking lot of our local grocery store. Mind you we visit at least 2 times a week, and sometimes more if we're having a HUGE coupon event. Every time I point to the sign and say "Teeter, Samuel this is where we buy our food". He will point and say "da" (for that). Tonight, Ryan was with me and as we are pulling into a parking spot Samuel points to the sign and very clearly says "Teeter". He proceeds to say it about 15 times before we walk in the front door!

Now is when I am not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed! I have decided that it is best to be the proud momma of a sweet boy who knows a great place when he sees it!

Fun outside

2011-03-01T17:37:00.003-05:00

We have had some beautiful days here lately and Samuel and I have taken full advantage of our opportunities to go outside! Here are just a few fun photos of our adventures!

Samuel holding out his hands to catch the frisbee!

Still holding out his hands, it is SOOOO funny to watch him "hold out his hands"

Another shot of Samuel holding out his hands

Samuel LOVES blowing bubbles, not so much interested in catching them or letting mommy blow bubbles! He's so cute!

He loves his car, and his favorite part is that it has a piece in the floor that lets him rest his feet while mommy runs all over the yard pushing him!

Sorry abut the lack of pants...the first chance he got to "blow bubbles" he thought he'd dump out the container to make sure there were bubbles inside!!!

The last week

2011-02-28T20:43:00.001-05:00

We have had quite a lot happen in the last week. Our last post was about the AWESOME swing set that we put together just before Ryan and I left for San Antonio. We had a great time at Chick-fil-A seminar and missed our little man so much. When we came home we found a few "new" things that have added a little newness to our lives! First, Samuel somehow picked up his very favorite phrase "I want dat" while point who knows where. It is a little cute but mostly very whiney, but it is a step in the right direction of talking. He says "Dada" SUPER loud anytime my phone rings, he hears a car outside, or anyone walks in the front door regardless of who it is. It is so cute!

I think my favorite thing that Samuel did this week was to order HBO and Cinemax on our TV. We happened to notice the letters HBO on the TV the other day when he was sitting on the couch (mind you he turned the TV on himself and somehow found himself ordering these wonderful chanels for us). We received our bill on Saturday, and low and behold we are now the proud owners of those $20 each/month chanels! I went down to Charter today and thankfully they removed them, and quickly asked me (a little condescending) "do you know how to put child locks on your TV?"

Anyway, just wanted to give you a little update on the comings and goings of our crazy little household!!!

Hours of Entertainment

2011-02-19T15:58:00.003-05:00

Samuel's RuRu and Granddaddy (Ryan's parents) came for a visit and surprised us with a sweet and amazing gift! Samuel's first swing set. We had been looking at some and decided we'd wait until next year, but they found this one and we just couldn't say no!

Hard work!

The only battle wound, and of course I got it!

Yeah, he reads directions!!! THANK GOODNESS!

Having too much fun!

I just love this little guy! He went up the stairs and down the slide over and over!

Loving having Granddaddy pushing him!

Happy Heart Day

2011-02-11T10:16:00.003-05:00

Ryan and I celebrated our Valentine's Day early due to the fact that Ryan has to close that night. We also sent our families a sweet little collage of pictures of Samuel. Just thought we'd share it with you too! Some of the pictures are fuzzy, still can't fix my stupid camera! Hope you enjoy!

Love my buddy

2011-02-08T08:31:00.002-05:00

BeBe

2011-01-31T18:29:00.002-05:00

Samuel is constantly learning new words. I was on the phone with my mom the other day and Ryan said to Samuel "Say BeBe" and Samuel quickly repeated "hi BeBe". Of course he wouldn't say it when I put mom on speaker, but I did capture it tonight!

we got a new toy today

2011-01-31T18:20:00.003-05:00

Samuel got a "choo choo" train today from his RuRu in the mail. He likes it a lot.

digging up old photos

2011-01-29T12:46:00.001-05:00

So I was trying to get some stuff off our computer and came across these two pictures. I am pretty sure that we were very bored this night, not sure when it was, but obviously the only thing we had to entertain ourselves was taking funny pics on our computer! Hope it makes you laugh!

a little gymnastics

2011-01-23T21:18:00.002-05:00

Our sweet girl friends Lily Kate and Charlotte had their birthday party at a gymnastics center. It was soooooo much fun! I am not sure who had more fun-Samuel or Ryan (and all the other dads).

Hanging onto the bar

Samuel wasn't so patient or good at waiting his turn. Thankfully dad's hand was right there to slow him down

Lily Kate. She smiled, and before I could capture the sweet smile I got this face! LOVE HER!

He's pretty strong!

Pajama Friday

2011-01-21T19:26:00.003-05:00

Since I knew we weren't going anywhere today, and since Samuel so graceously decided to sleep until 8:20 this morning I dubbed today Pajama Day. We had a great time playing peek-a-boo around his chair, games, reading and even some cleaning. Samuel found a Praise Baby DVD in the cabinet and asked for it to be played. I LOVE THIS THING! I was able to sweep and mop my entire house while he watched it. He did stop for the occasional check-in to make sure I was still around, but he was AWESOME! I am constantly reminded of how much fun he is!

He sat like this the whole show.

Gotta have pizza on pajama friday!

Since I got to sweep/mop the floor while he was awake, I got to catch up on some reading while Samuel napped!

Dad came home early and he and Samuel played with the TV remote

had to finish pajama day with a fun bath, of course!

My two amazing men!

A fun day outside

2011-01-20T14:10:00.003-05:00

Well as many of you are probably experiencing the weather is less than desirable! We did have a warm(er) afternoon earlier this week and decided to take full advantage of it!

Ryan got this golf thing for Christmas, I think it will be easier for Samuel, especially when Ryan is trying to use the little clubs!

Check out that concentration, tongue out and everything!

I love my little shark!

What do boys do outside? They play in the dirt, of course!!!

LET IT SNOW!

2011-01-10T08:54:00.004-05:00

So the GREAT blizzard of 2011 hit Wilmington with full force today. In reality it has been snowing for about 15 minutes and probably won't last much longer, but for us here in Wilmington that's quite a lot! We can hope that it will keep snowing and maybe enough to build a snowman!

Samuel watching Daddy out in the snow and wanting so badly to be out there with him.

Our house. If you look closely you can see the snow flurries.

Samuel and Daddy watching the snow fall in the backyard.

My two handsome men!

White Christmas

2010-12-27T12:50:00.003-05:00

We got a beautiful White Christmas this year. It began to snow as we drove from downtown Atlanta to Alpharetta. As the afternoon continued the snow fell harder and began to stick. We decided to go outside just before it got too dark. Samuel wasn't too sure about it, but he did run around in the grass quite a bit!

Mom got Samuel the cutest hat for Christmas. it's so cozy and is a shark with teeth, fin and eyes on both sides of his head. He was too cute running around in it! I hope we get a lot of use out of it here!

The Pickle

2010-12-27T12:46:00.002-05:00

About 5 years ago my aunt started the pickle ornament tradition on Christmas eve. Somehow Ryan finds it every year! It often yields a $20, so he starts looking the moment he walks in the door. Again this year he found it and everyone whined that it was because of his height that he found it, really it's because the rest of us are too busy eating yummy appetizers to bother with searching.

This year my mom got one for her tree. As we were just sitting around talking I noticed a long green ornament on the tree. I simply said, "mom, did you get a pickle ornament too?" She was excited that someone had seen it. Stephen quickly jumped up, looked and grabbed it off the tree! Of course I fought that I had actually found it, though he retrieved it! Mom determined that I was the true winner! Sweet, I am not the proud owner of a beautiful $10...now how quickly can I get to Starbucks to spend it???