Feeding the New Bern Ducks

New Bern is a really cute town on the water -- and when we're there visiting Mike's parents the boys love to feed the birds. Miles always loves to chase them (while yelling, stomping and bursting with laughter) and this time Griffin just sat back and watched the spectacle. Noah was a little unnerved by it all, and instead stuck to his special spot in Mike's arms. After hanging with the birds, we spent some time climbing on the bear statues and climbing trees. A great winter day activity!

Workin' Up Our Holiday Appetites!

We spent Thanksgiving morning at a fun playground. It was very cold; but by the time we left, the boys had shed their coats and hats -- always a sign of some great playtime!








(Couldn't resist including this sad-sad picture....somehow I birthed 3 boys that all hate to swing!)

Thankful For All My Cuties

Triple the Fun

Miles, Noah and I spent 24 hours in Summerville at Gram and Pop's house. Its always fun to hang out there -- but it was triple the fun this time, as Great Grandma T was there, too. (Griffin was recovering from pneumonia, so he and Mike stayed home.)

As always, there were cool instruments to play.


Miles came up with a fun "marble game". Basically, he would load your shirt up with marbles and then yell "go", instructing you to raise you arm and let the marbles roll. Gram was a good sport and we all got a lot of laughs out of it.







Grandma T indulged the boys in many rounds of "elefun". Wish we lived closer to her so that we could hang out more often!

Girl's Trip to Atlanta

A quick girls' getaway does wonders to recharge a weary battery! I spent 24 hours on a road trip to Altanta with 3 amazing friends. We went to see Madonna in concert. The concert was iffy, but the quality time rocked. I am so thankful for these special friendships (and for an amazing husband that stayed home with the boys and still managed to squeeze in a few conference calls!).


As we were leaving town, Tracy's husband, Allan, noticed that my tires were low on air. (I think he noticed from the kitchen...that's how perceptive he is!) He personally hooked us up.





Here's a picture of us from our trip to the mountains this summer. I love these getaways!

Visit with the Larsons

The Larsons came for a quick visit (from Cary, NC) this weekend. They are such a fun family and we're already looking forward to our next visit!




We hung around outside on Saturday. Sydney (in the car, age 3 as of today!) and JuJu (in the wagon, age 6) are such sweet girls. The boys loved their instant playmates. Poor Griffin was not feeling well (as of today, he's on his 3rd day of 101-103 degree temps). He chilled out and watched most of the excitement over the weekend.




Mike and Rob were childhood friends, groomsmen in each others' wedding -- and both enjoy this signature smile. I recently found some of Mike's HS pictures with this pose. Can't wait to snap the same one when they're 80.






We spent Sunday afternoon tailgating before the Panther game (though none of us ended up going to the game). It was a beautiful day, perfect for throwing the ball and playing endless rounds of "base". My favorite picture of the weekend is definitely this one of our god-daughter, Sydney, on a serious hunt. We love you guys!

Can't Quite Get It Right

Today I asked Griffin to point to his nose. He grabbed both ears and stuck out his tongue.

Miles and Noah constantly say, "that happened last day" or "we did that yester-night". Each time we correct them, they give us a confused, glazed-over look (as if to say, aren't you keeping up with the new catch phrases on Wikipedia?)

Miles described a friend in his class as having "flat hair like me". I tried to introduce the concept of "straight hair." He wasn't into it...must not have the same zip for him.

Earlier today I heard Noah scream from the bathroom. I ran in to find him IN the potty (looking kind of like an upside down turtle). I couldn't help but laugh as I helped him out. After it was over Noah said, "Mommy, I fell way into the potty!" I said, "I know...it was kind of funny, wasn't it?" Noah said, "Mommy, it was NOT funny. It was very dangerous!" Somehow that made it even funnier.

Makin' Big Decisions

Brooke: Noah, if you finish your milk, you can join the Batman Club!
Noah: That's ok. I'll just take one sip and join the Spiderman Club, instead.

Griff's 1st Shiner

This is Day 6 of Griffin's first black eye. He fell out of his little chair at church (and in the fall he managed to pull the chair down on top of him). Everyday it looks better...so I figured I'd better document it before its gone. He's been a trooper and I expect may more in his future!

Fun Talkin' to Ya!

I'll take a nibble any day....
I gave Noah a kiss the other day and our noses touched. He said, "mom, that kind of a kiss is a nibble." The same thing happened today while we waited for the bus...and again, he called it a nibble. I hope it sticks.

Thank goodness the cast came off.... :)
While Mike was in his cast, there were a lot of things that he couldn't do. On the bright side, he could still talk, so it was easy for him to remind me of all of the things that had to be done. :) On Sunday, he suggested that I do a certain chore and I jokingly said, 'easy...off my back!' I came down the stairs laughing and Miles immediately said, "Mom, who is on your back?!" (Daddy) "How did he get there? Did you lay on the floor and he climbed on?!"

Stay on the lookout....
Miles matter-of-factly described a person on tv as being "fat" (still not sure where he learned that description). I said, "well, people come in all shapes and sizes." He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "I have NEVER seen a triangle or square person before!"

Apples must mean extra-crazy....
I told Miles that all of the boys' arguing was 'driving me bananas'. Miles quickly responded by saying, "well, its really driving me apples!"

They must exchange notes at school....
On Friday night I said to Miles, "Its 7pm! We need to head to bed soon." He quickly said, "mom! I do not go to bed at 7 o'clock on the weekends....only on school nights!"

Fall Leaves

As soon as a few leaves fell to the ground, Miles was ready to rake them into a pile and jump in. The raking was harder than he thought, but he made the effort and then I finished the job. He jumped in a couple of times, announced that the leaves were "smelly" and then quickly departed for something else.




Noah didn't really catch on that he had to throw his body into the leaves. He kept jumping in, but would always end up in the same position -- standing. He eventually had the most fun walking through the leaves, mixing them all up.





All the while, Griffin slept. Next time, little buddy!