The Lemonds Family

Christmas 2011

2012-01-18T10:43:00.000-08:00

This Year's Christmas Memories

Christmas decorating...and finding about four broken ornaments in the mornings from curious little hands always wanting to rearrange.

Some Christmas Dancing...

Watching The Spartanburg Christmas Parade. The kids loved it.

This is Blythe straddling the statue at the Christmas Parade.

Trying to capture a christmas card picture with three kids over the course of several days. These are a few of my favorites

Christmas singing...over and over and over and over again. There is actually still Christmas singing going on now in January. Between Hugh and Blythe it was all I could do not to lose my mind by the end of the days.

wii dance competitions

Christmas Eve

Being with Family...

Watching Blythe's excitement when she realized Elle was wearing matching Christmas Jammies.

Christmas Morning...

The Pledge of Allegiance

2011-11-28T11:04:00.001-08:00

I guess they say the Pledge of Allegiance every morning at Blythe's school because she surprised me with this today.

And this Pledge of Allegiance transitions into a prayer.

Sitting Up

2011-11-28T11:01:00.001-08:00

Elle is 7 months now and just started sitting up.

Funny things

2011-11-16T12:51:00.000-08:00

Hugh always seems to give us a chuckle when he talks about his day at school. He is learning a lot right now and taking so much in every day at school and we love to hear all about it when he gets home. They have "centers" in their room that they spend time in during the day and each day they are assigned to different ones. Today I asked Hugh which center he was in and with a roll of his eyes he told me "home living". I knew where this was going. When I asked him what was wrong with the home living center he told me he did not like it because it is "a center for girls. It has dolls, a kitchen and a dishwasher. It is the baddest center but the girls love it." Today he said one of the girls made him be the son and he had to wash the dishes and set the table. I just wish I could be a fly on the wall in his room.

And recently they had drug awareness week at their school which they made a big deal out of and all the kids had to wear a red ribbon on their clothes all week. I thought it was pretty sad that kindergarten students had to learn about drug awareness but felt a little better that their learning of drugs had to do with cigarettes and tobacco pipes. When we asked about what he learned at school that day he told us in a very serious manner that they learned about "shrugs" and how they are really bad for you. He continued with how mrs. Burchfield's brother smokes "shrugs" and it makes his lungs all black and dirty. when asked what his shrug is that he smokes he told us "he smokes a pipe like frosty the snowman smokes". Oh how sweet his little innocence is. And every chance Geoff and I had to ask Hugh to remind us what the red ribbon meant just so we could hear him say "don't do shrugs!", we did.

Videos

2011-11-10T11:37:00.000-08:00

Hugh has been taking Karate classes and loves to practice with dad. Blythe joins in as well.

And Elle had her first experience in the exersaucer.

Hugh shot this video of Elle who was half asleep on me but was talking in a dreamlike state.

Lately

2011-11-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

Blythe eating snow cones at Hugh's fall festival

Hugh & Hugh
His new golf clubs.
Some nude painting

Brother & Sister
Preciousness
Elle's new trick is to reach for anything close to her. She is going to come right out of that seat soon.

I could stare at this little face all day

Hugh said that he was one day going to marry Elle. When I asked him if he would marry Blythe he told me a definite no because she is "such a stinker". I would have to agree with that statement.

This is what happens when I leave Blythe alone with Elle.
Me and my munchkins
Elle was sitting outside on Sunday late afternoon and the light was so pretty on her face I had to snap away.

Halloween

2011-11-05T11:31:00.000-07:00

We had been told by many, many, many people to expect a crowd at our house for Halloween but Geoff and I never could have expected what they meant. Our neighborhood is the #1 spot for Halloween and our house in particular is right in the middle of it all. There were literally thousands of people in front of our house. We could barely walk down the sidewalk when we took the kids trick-or-treating. It was like a huge street party. We were blown away. But it was a lot of fun because the houses go all out with decorating so the kids loved it. I had bought a ton of candy over the last couple of months trying to prepare but it was gone in 30 minutes. We could not believe it. Now we know for next year.

Batman & Tinkerbell

Blythe is obsessed with Tinkerbell right now.
And a little bitty ladybug
On a mission for candy
Blythe patiently waiting

All Blythe wanted to do was check out her candy stash instead of watching where she was walking.
This was the #1 destination.

Apple Picking

2011-10-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

We are trying to explore all the fun places we have around us so we drove to Flat Rock, NC on Sunday to do some apple picking at an apple farm. So nice that we can get to the mountains in 45 minutes.

Elle was excited about it

Hugh had to climb the trees to pick apples so he was loving it

Elle was trying to eat the leaves
His first apple of very many. I made some apple bars yesterday and need to get going on something else because we have so many left. Thinking of making applesauce.

And they had a bamboo forest which was very cool. It was Hugh's favorite part of the day.

Going...
Going...
And gone was Blythe the second we got in the car.

We're back online

2011-09-17T14:36:00.001-07:00

Now blogging from a new location...Spartanburg, SC!

We have been here for 5 weeks now and needless to say life has been absolutely insane! A lot of big changes have taken place in our family in the last couple of months and we feel like we are finally starting to catch our breath and see light at the end of this tunnel.

Baby Elle is now 5 months old. She is a petite little thing! Only 12 pounds at 4 months. Just like her brother and certainly not like her sister. I love it because I feel like I get to enjoy the baby stage a little longer. And she just started sleeping through the night so Hallelujiah!

As nervous as we were (or I was) about leaving the big city and moving to a small town, the change has been a welcomed one. We already feel the many positives to living life in a smaller town. So many people we have met have told us how wonderful a place this is to raise a family and we already see it. Now don't get me wrong...there is a lot we miss about Atlanta, #1 being the restaurants! Boy do we miss those restaurants. But we are trying to focus on the positives:) and we are looking forward to this new adventure. And Hugh has not looked back. While he talks about missing friends he says that he loves living in Spartanburg and is happy this is our new home. Whew...thank goodness for that because it would be difficult if he was asking to move back to Atlanta!!!

Hugh started kindergarten a week after the move. We love, love his school. That was one huge issue we were about to face had we stayed in Atlanta so we feel really lucky to be in a great school system. And it is right down the street so Geoff walks him in the morning and the girls and I walk to pick him up in the afternoons. That has been fun. He was a little nervous on the first day, clutching my hand very tightly on the walk into school and not saying a word. That put a little lump in my throat. But we met his teachers and his class and felt so good when we left him there. That was a great feeling.

That's Mrs. Burchfield

And Miss Blythe still keeps us on our toes. She was in heaven the first few weeks we were here because there were so many boxes and stuff everywhere for her to get into. She started preschool a few weeks ago and is liking it. I warned her teachers on the first day, as we were watching her fight to the death with a little boy over the kitchen, that she has a very strong personality and holds her own against her 5-year old brother and to keep their eyes on her.

Insanity

2011-06-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

In preparation for the 2011 Beach Body Challenge Geoff has been doing the insanity videos that Aunt Casey so kindly lent to him. And sometimes his exercise partners join in.

Caught red-handed again

2011-06-06T09:06:00.001-07:00

But this time she has come up with a new strategy. I moved the suckers and cookies on the top shelf thinking that would help to keep the snacks out of reach. But Blythe still found a way. The battle is never-ending with this child.

She dragged that stool all the way to the pantry by herself and climbed up. And she only seems to do it when I am feeding Elle. I wish I could have captured the look on her face when she turned around and saw me standing there.

pictures

2011-05-31T07:18:00.000-07:00

More catch up

2011-05-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day we were at the duck pond for a picnic lunch with the kids and mom.

She has to do EVERYTHING her big brother does. The child has no fear.

A meltdown

Blythe had her fingernails painted for the first time.

And the kids have loved staying close to Elle. The first thing Blythe says in the morning when she wakes up is "Where's baby sister?".

This picture reminds me of Kristen and me when Casey was an infant. Mom would put her on a blanket on the floor and we were not allowed to touch her. So we have pictures of us sitting on the floor on the very edge of the blanket and just watching her and patiently waiting for mom to let us play with her again. I think I need to enforce that rule as well so Elle can get some time where no one is touching her or fighting over her.

And I am having fun taking pictures of her. I'm trying to ensure that the third child has documentation of her childhood as well.

Hugh Graduates

2011-05-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

I never would have imagined that pre-school graduation would have put me over the edge as it did last week when we had to watch Hugh graduate. It made me feel better though that they were passing out tissues in the church before the ceremony began. I was thinking I was going to be the only one, but obviously not. And Geoff told me at the end that he was proud of how I held myself together bc the mom sitting next to him was losing it he said. What am I going to do when he graduates High School. I pretty much cried all day that day. I had a crying headache that night that is how many tears I shed. I am blaming it all on my crazy hormones but really I think it would have happened without them. It was hard to say goodbye to teachers, friends and hard watching Hugh up on stage looking so big. whew!

His wonderful teacher Mrs. Barbara. I really lost it when Mrs. Barbara came up to us crying after the ceremony telling us how much she loved Hugh and how special he was to her. I had to console her! They had a very sweet relationship. Hugh told her that we would come and pick her up from school on our way to the beach this summer and she could sit in the way backseat. She loved that.

Catch up

2011-05-22T14:28:00.001-07:00

I will try and play catch up.

First...

Hugh had a karate birthday party for his Fifth. It was a hit!

This is the face he kept for most of the party. Very, very serious.

And our little snack monster was right there in the middle for cake time

Kristen, Emma and Alyse came for Easter and for Baby Elle's arrival...

Our last picture as a family of four

A munchkin meeting taking place

The wild child

We had a lot of performances. Hugh on guitar, Alyse on drums and Emma on vocals

Hugh had a speaking part in his Easter play for school.

He completely forgot his lines once he got to the microphone and stood like this the entire time, with hands behind head. Very funny.

And then we quickly went from this...

to this...

Elle is the wonderful and very cute new addition to the family.

Tonight's prayer

2011-04-11T20:21:00.001-07:00

Hugh's prayer tonight... Lord please give me patience with Blythe.

2011-04-02T14:34:00.001-07:00

I had to take the kids to the doctor with me, which is always fun, and Hugh wanted to try out the "cool chair".

And Miss Blythe is quite the little lady. She wants her bag, accessories and baby when we leave the house.

The Big 5

2011-03-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

Hugh's 5th birthday was last week and he was super excited about it whereas I was super sad. I was kind of surprised at how emotional it was for me. I cried on the playground with Hugh's teacher talking about it. I kept asking him last week to please stay 4 and he would start laughing and tell me "but this is how God made me Mom. To grow." Can't argue with that. He had a busy, busy day that lasted well until the late night. Big time for a 5 year old. They had pajama day at school and I helped in the classroom while the assistant teacher was out for the day. We made pancakes and then the kids had birthday cupcakes a little later. After school we had a little date while Blythe was in drop-off to Hugh's choice which of course was pizza. Then we all came home and napped, dad came home a little early, we opened presents, brought home Hugh's choice for dinner which was Nuevo Laredo (we have created a mexican food snob) and then Mom and Dad took him to see the Peter Pan show (awesome!) and Blythe stayed home with the babysitter. Hugh thought this was very cool. And then we got home at 10:30 and the fun day was over. Now we have a 5-year old little boy!

Hugh's cute class friends on Pajama Day

Blythe was upset because she could not open presents. Little princess.

Geoff giving out clues for Hugh to find his two big presents.

Found the first one in the laundry room

His first pet. Hugh named him Charlie. But little does Hugh know that this was actually his second fish. Mom bought the first one on Monday and hid it in the closet. Geoff was out of town for the week and Wednesday night when he got home he asked me if I had been feeding the fish. I kind of forgot about the fish in the closet. When we went to check on him he was not looking his best. We were going to surprise him with his fish first thing Thursday morning but luckily I made it downstairs first and the fish was no longer. Only had it for three days and I killed it. I had to quickly run out and purchase the replacement. So I guess this is really Charlie #2. Let's hope we have better luck with this one. If Hugh is in charge of him we will.

But he loves his fish. He has it in his bedroom. Poor guy asked for a dog for his 5th birthday and he gets a goldfish. But it's obviously not too hard to please a 5-year old. He did tell me the next day that he would still like the dog but when he turns 6.

And the big present...his bike.

Blythe really contemplating getting into Hugh's cupcake.

Checks outside to see if Hugh is watching her.

Then looks to me.

Heading into the Peter Pan Show

The belly

2011-03-16T10:40:00.001-07:00

Geoff trying to capture the belly at 33 weeks.

I had to post these next two pictures because they crack me up. Once the belly got bare Hugh did not want to get close to it. The extended belly button completely freaks him out. And these pictures show his discomfort.

That face is struggling.

Not too happy.

And then Blythe wanted pictures taken after watching Hugh.

Day at the park

2011-03-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

Two Years

2011-03-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

Can't believe it. Blythe had her 2nd birthday a couple of weeks ago. We had to cancel her birthday party because the flu hit our house. And while she was better on the actual birthday, Geoff and I were not. So good thing she is still clueless about it all because we celebrated her special day the next night. She is one sweet and funny little girl and has become this little "person", no longer a baby. Where has the time gone? We definitely feel like it was just yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital. It scares me a bit but as they say...Time flies when you are having fun. And there is definitely a lot of fun taking place in our house with these two little ones.

Started the day with Dad's Birthday Waffles

Loves her crayon bag from Aunt Mindy!

Geoff introducing her to whip-its.
She liked them!

Drama after we took her new playdough away

33 with a big belly

2011-01-25T10:38:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of the belly on my first day as a 33 year old.

And I will go ahead and say that I am about 85% sure that this is a boy. And then I went to see my doctor yesterday and after she listened to the heartbeat she now predicts it's a boy. If we can just come up with a name! Only 3 months to go.

I enjoyed a nice dinner out with Mom and Geoff to celebrate the bday.

Over the Snow

2011-01-13T14:55:00.000-08:00

This is our 4th day of being stuck in the house. We got snow Sunday night that quickly turned into ice. So we have had a 2-3 inch layer of solid ice in our yard and the roads have been a mess. School was cancelled all week and we are having cabin fever. We got out a few times but it was not much fun for the kids because it was so icy. Hopefully, tomorrow it is supposed to begin melting. A very crazy week. Trying to keep the kids entertained and me from eating every morsel of food in the house has been very challenging. We are very much looking forward to hopefully getting out of the house tomorrow!

Blythe was trying to keep us entertained today by rocking out to the Veggietales

Please check out the bottom of Hugh's jeans. We have no snow gear for our kids so we put target bags over his socks and then Geoff taped them with the blue painters tape. Poor guy was so embarrassed. He said "everyone is going to see that I have baggies and tape on my legs." He was ok with it though after I convinced him it just looked like cool blue socks.

Blythe loved throwing snowballs.

Christmas

2010-12-29T15:28:00.001-08:00

A wonderful Christmas we had in Atlanta with Dad and the Lemonds. It was a fun and action-packed December and Hugh enjoyed every second of the Christmas season. Blythe still had no clue but she was very happy with what Santa brought her!

We had a lot of baking projects during Blythe's naptimes.

A trip to the Pink Pig

A visit to the Lights of Life where Hugh went for a pony ride.

I made many pound cakes so there was a lot of batter licking.

Blythe eating batter droppings off the floor. Of course she would not let anything go to waste.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve Dinner

Leaving Santa his milk and cookies

Working to get Blythe's Santa gift put together

And she was very thankful for it.

Hugh's air hockey table

Blythe got a new baby

Grocery cart that has a little seat in the front for Baby

Bottles and a bed for the baby

Hugh confused on what his gift was

It was a Christmas full of ties for Geoff

Showing off his spiderman light-up shoes

David and Susan opening their Shake Weights

Dynamite

2010-12-29T15:18:00.000-08:00

I have to be very careful these days with what we're listening to on the radio. Hugh picks up on every word now. Last week a John Mayer song came on and Hugh asked, "Mom, what does 'your body is a wonderland mean'?". He said that that was a weird thing to say.

And then when I went in for his parent/teacher conference his teachers told me how Hugh asked to sing "Dynamite" in front of his class one day and then proceeded to do so. How embarrassing. Luckily that song is very clean.

So now we are listening only to the iphone when in the car.

Caught him singing his favorite on the way to Target.

Caught yet again

2010-12-28T10:57:00.001-08:00

The pantry is a constant battle with Blythe. We are in trouble if someone forgets to close it. Blythe was awfully quiet so when I went to look for her and heard some noises coming from the pantry I had to grab the camera.

I'm back

2010-11-08T12:08:00.000-08:00

We have been busy, busy with life and travels since my last post so to get up to speed here's a quick recap of what we've been up to...

A trip to Memphis to visit good friends...

John Logan and Hugh showing their muscles

Found out we were pregnant with baby #3, due in April.

A trip to Kiawah for Labor Day weekend

Hugh started playing soccer for the Tigers

A fun trip to Hawaii to visit the Lemonds

Halloween

My Ninja and Little Flower

Hugh and Geoff competing in the eyeball toss contest

Hugh quotes

2010-09-08T18:59:00.001-07:00

Hugh asked me yesterday "mom, does God wear underwear?"

Today we were having some make-believe time where Hugh was the grocery store owner and I was a friend stopping by for a visit. Hugh asked me "Johnny, can I get you an ice cold beer?"

They're always listening...

Here is my man on his way to his first day of pre-school.

Pigtails finally

2010-08-24T12:01:00.001-07:00

I am in heaven. Blythe is not.

17 months

2010-08-06T20:11:00.001-07:00

The Baby Girl turned 17 months today. Hugh sang happy birthday to her over breakfast. At 17 months she is full of personality, into everything!!!, and a strong-willed little girl who can definitely hold her own. The majority of my day is spent telling Blythe to stop hitting, pushing or pulling on her brother while Hugh is whining for my help. Granted, he usually starts it all, but she doesn't take it for one second from him. She is so darn cute and we could literally sit and just watch her for hours.

The kids have discovered our karaoke machine, after it may have been left out from a previous late night adult karaoke session.

Please notice the massive amount of drool on blythe's shirt. She is cutting her molars so she is drenched all day.

Geoff and his friend recently took the sons, Hugh and Reid, to a Braves game, and when they came home Hugh was all about singing the braves song. Blythe quickly caught on.

Snacker

2010-08-05T08:36:00.001-07:00

Found Blythe hiding behind the breakfast table this morning. Caught yet again...

Water baby

2010-07-24T18:07:00.001-07:00

Pantry Raider

2010-07-22T20:21:00.001-07:00

Blythe would truly eat all day if we let her. She has an enormous appetite and eats so much more than her 4 year old brother. All I hear during the day is "nack, nack". Our pantry doors are really tough to close so are usually cracked, giving a good opportunity for my little pantry raider. I guess she figured out she was getting caught too easily, So now her new thing is to sneak into the pantry, grab a treat and quietly walk over to her bouncy seat that is tucked in a corner behind a chair. And she does it all the time! I finally caught her on video today.

Video

2010-07-18T14:18:00.001-07:00

My little bandaid

2010-07-17T17:52:00.001-07:00

We woke up at 4 thursday morning to a screaming little boy. Hugh rolled out of his bed and hit the corner of his trunk. It punctured a hole into the side of his forehead right next to his eyebrow. And when i say it was deep...it was deep. Geoff was the first to see it and had a very hard time containing himself. We were pretty calm though compared to our last experience with Hugh injuring his head. Long story short, we ended up patching him up ourselves with sterry strips that geoff found somewhere at 4:30 am bc we knew, again from our last experience, that since it was a nice straight cut stitches could leave more of a scar. I of course confirmed this the next morning with our doctor and sister Kristen. So thankfully no stitches for Hugh. Just another scar to add to his many already. He is such an accident proned child. He has five bandaids on his body right now and one huge black bruise on his upper thigh. So we were very tired Thursday bc of course Blythe decided to be awake during the whole incident. And to have made that day even better geoff called me from work later in the morning to let me know he had my car keys in his pocket (about the fifth time he has done that) which meant the kids and I were stranded at the house for the day. But we found ways to have fun.

Hugh and two of his bandaids.

Swing

2010-07-11T15:12:00.001-07:00

Just installed Blythe's swing on the new deck and pergola that geoff built with his own two hands. I can't believe what a master builder my husband is.

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Baby Girl

2010-04-29T12:23:00.001-07:00

So fun to take pictures of her

Even better

2010-04-26T14:06:00.001-07:00

Amazing progress in just one day! And even when little girl has a fever.

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Lemonds eating lemons

2010-04-25T17:46:00.001-07:00

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So close

2010-04-24T14:36:00.001-07:00

She is getting closer and closer each day to walking.

So sorry for my annoying shrieking voice and baby talk in these videos. Just turn the volume down please.

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Found something new

2010-04-24T14:32:00.001-07:00

Blythe has discovered something new in which she constantly likes to stick her finger in. It was hilarious watching her discover it for the first time while eating dinner. She was moving her little finger all over her face and in it went. And the look on her seemed to say...hmmm this is pretty cool, so I am going to do it over and over and over again. It is pretty painful to watch bc she sticks it up there so far.

In this video you can hear Hugh yelling "melt down" which is what he does now whenever Blythe throws a tantrum. Unfortunately, that's been happening a lot lately!

Easter Weekend

2010-04-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

As part of Hugh's 4th birthday present we took him to see Curious George Live at the Fox Theater on Good Friday and treated him to a special dinner beforehand with just Mom & Dad. What a treat it was for him to be out with just us and leaving Blythe at home with the babysitter. All night he would say "this is so cool" and "i just can't believe it". He loved the show and it kept his attention the entire time which is pretty amazing. It was very fun to watch his excitement throughout the night. Easter was a beautiful day and we spent the morning at church and then the rest of the day with best friends, eating, easter egg hunting and enjoying the day together.

Here he is living the high life.

Sunday Easter Egg Hunt

Playgroup Easter Egg Hunt

We found these two boys hiding behind the house quietly eating their finds together. Trouble.

Hugh is...

2010-03-26T08:18:00.001-07:00

Hugh turned the big "4" on Wednesday. We had a small little Construction party last weekend for him and a few of his buddies. Dad helped them build a firehouse bank with "weal" hammers and "weal" nails. They loved it. It was a small party with his best buds. We knew it would be chaos with a building project so we were so happy we kept it small but even with four boys Geoff and I had to hop into bed to take naps with the kids after everyone left. We were exhausted! But overall it was a success and Hugh had a ball.

Wednesday Hugh was treated to breakfast in bed while watching a curious george show. Talk about the high life. He thought it was way cool. We then spent the morning at the Botanical gardens with some friends, had lunch, took naps, went to the park with Dad and then had a birthday dinner at Mellow Mushroom (hugh's request). It was a full day of birthday celebrating for the little guy. Thank you to everyone who called and left messages. He was on the phone all day with people who wanted to wish him birthday love and I can't tell you how much he loved it. The boy loves the attention.

The birthday party

Building time
So proud he was
The boys with their finished products
The dads took to some baseball...
While the boys cheered on

Even though it was a construction themed party Hugh made it very clear he wanted a spider man cake. So that's what he got.

Had to include these pictures

Blythe fell asleep while eating her snack

Birthday breakfast in bed
Hugh and Blythe trying out his new sleepingbag. Poor Blythe. She was not game.

Action shots

And Geoff had to get one as well

I love this picture. Would you please just look at the fat?? Love all of it!

Cheers to 4!
Mom visited Hugh's class for a birthday celebration with his school friends.

Hugh quote

2010-03-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

This morning Hugh was pretending he was calling an "emergency" in to "99991" and he told them " I have a 339 emergency at pbskids.org".

Hugh Quote

2010-03-25T16:58:00.001-07:00

Tonight Hugh was asking me if I could help him put bullets into his new nerf gun (thank you JLG) but I said no because I was feeding Blythe. He told me "mom, just let a child have some fun."

Aunt Mindy and GIII

2010-03-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

Mindy and GIII came for a much-anticipated visit last week and their original planned stay of 5 days turned into 8. Long story short, GIII ended up getting double ear infections, so we had to let him get better before they flew back to NYC. I must admit that I loved the extra days because we were having so much fun. I'm sure Geoff was feeling a bit ignored with all of our girl time and girl conversations but he hung in there. It brought back old memories of when Mindy lived with us before Hugh arrived to be here for his birth. We took about 1,000 pictures between the two of us and loved watching the babies together. We kept saying that Blythe and George have to get married (how fabulous that would be) because we would have a darn good slideshow for their wedding. Mindy and I have a plan in place to help that along. Little George is one cute and sweet little boy! We miss you both so much!

Pantry explorer

2010-03-14T10:06:00.001-07:00

The pantry is a new discovery for Blythe. She loves exploring and this is where she is most nights while I am cooking dinner.

New seat

2010-03-14T09:55:00.001-07:00

Blythe loves her new seat and facing forward.

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Happy Birthday Miss Blythe!

2010-03-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

Blythe turned 1 yesterday and we just can't believe it. We threw her a little party while the cousins were here last week and then yesterday Mom, Dad and Hugh took her to the park for a little picnic lunch on a gorgeous Saturday. It was a special day for us.

Cousins and Aunt Kristen and Uncle John came for a nice long visit last week. We had a blast and were so happy to have them in Atlanta with us! Here's a trip to the park...
Jaikob and Hugh
Inside Smores
Blythe's Birthday Party. She surprisingly did not like her cupcake at all.
This is the same little birthday shirt I made Hugh when he turned 1. It was definitely much snugger on Miss Blythe.
She did not know what to think with all the singing...

The birthday party
Officially 1 year old

Ready for her nap

Baby in the belly

2010-03-05T11:28:00.001-08:00

Walked into the living room and found Blythe with a questionable bump in her belly. Hugh said "nurse, Blythe has a baby in her belly. Let's lay her on the table and help her push it out".

Actually looks more like she hit puberty about 18 years too early.

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That's what guys do

2010-03-05T08:37:00.001-08:00

I was doing some weights in the living room and Hugh asked if he could do some with me. He grabbed the light ones and said he was going to work on his "shoulder muskles. But first I have to take my shirt off because that's what guys do".

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Hugh quotes

2010-03-02T14:16:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we saw a Muslim woman completely covered (except for her eyes) in the black dress pushing her child on the swing. Later after the park Hugh says "mom I saw a black ghost pushing a kid on the swings".

This morning he told me "girls have boobies and boys have nipples". Great.

Hugh quotes

2010-02-19T17:49:00.001-08:00

The things coming out of Hugh's mouth these days are so classic and i tell myself over and over I need to write this stuff down. So I am going to attempt to share them although you won't get the full effect without hearing them directly from this cute little guy.

Yesterday out of no where he says "mom, some feet are stinky and some smell nice"

Also... "mom, when i turn five I am going to skateboard"

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The walker

2010-02-09T17:54:00.001-08:00

Blythe loves the walker and follows Hugh around the house. It gives her such independence. She often runs into walls and gets pushed by Hugh but it doesn't stop her.

Haircut

2010-01-22T09:50:00.001-08:00

Sick

2010-01-20T14:05:00.001-08:00

We have all been sick (minus geoff) with whatever crud is going around. I just freed myself from the sofa after three hours of having this little monkey sleeping on me. The only way I have been able to get her to take a nap these last few days has been on me because she has not been feeling well. Not a good practice to start I know. She is still passed out on the sofa while Hugh and I are sitting here playing next to her.

Big Day

2010-01-16T09:35:00.000-08:00

Blythe finally started crawling this morning and now she is all over the place. Time to babyproof!

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Vistors

2010-01-12T12:04:00.000-08:00

My good friend from college, Alston, came to pay us a visit last week while they were in town with her 2 of 3 kiddos. It's crazy to sit there with a friend with whom you share a lot of funny, silly and serious college memories and watch your two boys playing together and then see your little girls checking each other out. Who would have thunk it 10 years ago (holy moly, can't believe that's how long it's been). Hugh and Spencer had such a good time together and Hugh keeps asking if we can go to his "new friend, Spensher's house" . Thank you for coming to see us Alston! It was wonderful catching up and I loved meeting Maggie and watching Hugh and Spencer have so much fun with each other!!

Christmas '09

2010-01-11T06:58:00.001-08:00

Our house was filled this Christmas with family in and out over the course of 2 weeks. It was wonderful having everyone here and we loved every second of it!

Christmas with the Lemonds before they flew out to Hawaii...

And then came my family for Christmas. We took visit to the park.

DonDon and PawPaw with Blythe on the swing.
Geoff & Chris...swing jumpers

Little girl loves to swing Hugh always looks forward to baking time...
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve Dinner
Leaving milk and cookies for Santa
Rushing down the stairs Christmas morning

The umbrella was a hit
Blythe's first tutu
Present from Mom.

Then my dad came into town for New Years. He finally convinced Geoff to participate in his nightly Manhatten cocktail
Dad babysat for us on New Years Eve so Geoff and I could go out and enjoy some festivities. Our first picture of 2010...

Sleeping?

2010-01-09T11:36:00.001-08:00

Went to check in on Blythe yesterday and could not decide if she was sleeping or not. But she was...

Snow

2010-01-09T11:33:00.001-08:00

Morning surprise

2010-01-08T09:30:00.001-08:00

We were very excited to wake up to snow this morning.

Prayers

2010-01-04T19:04:00.001-08:00

Hugh's prayers at night are starting to get much more detailed. Usually he just says thank u God for my hallelujah heart (which is the song they have the kids sing at church) but tonight his prayer went something like this..."thank u God for the Lord.And I hope that I won't push David (boy in his class) anymore and I will follow the rule (we had just read the berenstein bears book on the golden rule). Thank You God for the Lord (again)". There was alot more rambling but I really can't remember it all. It was all very sweet! My little man.

2010-01-03T13:21:00.001-08:00

Leonardo's horse

Do not touch

2010-01-03T13:19:00.001-08:00

And after telling Hugh about one thousand times to not touch anything, while we were in the contemporary section we catch him in the knick of time about to pick off a big glob of paint off of one of the big paintings. We about had a heartattack as did the poor guy working there who saw it all.he could not even get the words out to say stop he was so nervous and shocked. Other than that it was a fun outing.

The high

2010-01-03T13:12:00.001-08:00

We made a trip to the high museum today to see the Leonardo exhibition and to escape the painful temps outside.

Naptime

2009-12-28T06:16:00.001-08:00

Just went and checked in on Blythe who is fast asleep...

Peek-a-boo

2009-12-26T17:54:00.001-08:00

Blythe loves this game with her dad

9 months old

2009-12-14T19:31:00.000-08:00

Our little Blythe is 9 months old. I cannot believe in only 3 months she will be a year old. Talk about time flying. I truly feel like I just had her. While this year has been one of the hardest for our family, she made it to also be one of the most special. God has been very good to us, which we sometimes forget! She loves her brother and is always smiling. She weighs 22 pounds and my right arm muscle proves it. She's so close to crawling but just has not gotten it yet, which frankly I am fine with. The longer she's immobile the easier my life is:) We love her dearly and could not imagine life without her!

Christmas show that almost did not happen...

2009-12-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

Hugh had his first big performance of his short little life in our church's Christmas show last night. However, it almost did not happen, because as Hugh said in tears (30 minutes before the show was to begin) "I don't want to be an angel", stripping off his wings and halo. And so I then pulled the threaten my child tactic with... "Ok, then we are going to leave all of your friends and go home right now" (as I'm pulling all of my stuff together, acting like I'm ready to walk out) and Hugh says "OK, let's go home". So my first strategy was a complete failure. My next tactic was the bribing method with..."Hugh, if you put your angel wings and halo back on and be in the Christmas show then we will go out to a special dinner with your friends." After a couple seconds thought my angel was rallying, putting the wings back on but still refusing the halo, which we compromised on. Wonderful parenting technique, huh? I then hid from him until the start of the show and let the teachers handle him, just in case he changed his mind. And he walked right up on that stage in front of a lot of people and sang very, very softly and tried not to smile when he spotted us and his best little buddy in the audience smiling happily at him, while dad proudly filmed and mom cried (of course). It was such a precious little show and so sweet to see all of his special friends singing. Here's a little snippit... I love the end of the video where he tells Eli, who is proudly waving to his parents, that he needs to sit down and pushes him to sit.

Oh Christmas Tree

2009-12-01T12:31:00.000-08:00

Oooh, how I love Christmas time! And I know that this year is going to be even more special for us as Hugh is totally into it. I thought that last x-mas he was into it but I can already tell on the 1st day of December that he completely gets it this year. So far he has asked me every day since Thanksgiving, "Is it Christmas yet Mom?" As soon as we get into the car he tells me to turn the Christmas music on. Sounds like he is going to be a sucker for the holidays like his momma. He was so excited to decorate the Christmas tree so we let him do most every ornament, which meant our tree was very bottom-heavy. I had to wait until after he went to bed to rearrange everything. Blythe gnawed on some ornaments and watched us decorate.

Hugh putting on the angel...

Thanksgiving

2009-12-01T12:23:00.001-08:00

Pictures from our wonderful Thanksgiving in Charlotte...

Visit to Grandma Reba's

2009-11-21T06:53:00.000-08:00

We took a visit to visit to see Grandma Reba and Aunt Becky last week and DonDon met us there. It was a quick but fun visit.

Hugh & Geoff enjoying the sunset.

Uncle Ben and Hugh pushing out the push-ups.

Halloween

2009-11-21T06:49:00.000-08:00

Spiderman and the Spider...

Halloween Parade

2009-10-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

Here's Hugh in his school Halloween Parade. He's the spiderman in the almost inappropriately too tight costume with mask.

Thrashers

2009-10-29T07:41:00.000-07:00

Hugh & Geoff had a night out on the town last weekend for Hugh's first hockey game.

Pumpkin Picking

2009-10-22T06:43:00.001-07:00

We took Hugh and Blythe to a pumpkin patch so Hugh could have the whole experience of riding the hay ride out to the field to pick out his pumpkin. It was a fun night.

Pictures

2009-10-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

Hugh, Kendall and William eating lunch together. Bethany was in town so she and Jenn came over for a visit and we let the kids have some play time together.

7 1/2 months old now

Hugh with his best "buddy" Hill.

They're both obsessed with power tools so when they're together there's always one in hand.

Hugh's Black Eyed Peas Rendition

2009-10-12T18:31:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately Hugh likes the two songs out now by the Black Eyed Peas (not particularly the most toddler friendly band but at least we only listen to the "good" versions) and he likes to perform them for us with his ukulailai. He broke into song this weekend and we tried to get some of it on film, although he shut us down when we asked him to keep singing for the camera.

2nd Soccer Game

2009-10-12T18:06:00.000-07:00

Was not much better than the first. Here's a little clip of what Hugh did for part of the game while Geoff was trying to coach...

The rest of the soccer game Hugh wanted to hang out with Elizabeth and eat snacks. All of these pictures were taken while the soccer game was in play...

Blythe and Mary Margaret were the cheerleaders

Long Time, No Blog

2009-10-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

The summer is over and we are ready for Fall. We have been on the road a lot the last couple of months as well as a move into a new home just 3 weeks ago, so it's been craziness around here. But here are some pictures from the last couple of months to try and get up to date. I don't have pictures of the new house but will soon.

Blythes's first girl's beach weekend...

Kiawah Island for Labor Day weekend...

There are actually two kids asleep on the beach in this picture.

Look who is sitting up now...

Hugh's first soccer game, and what a pitiful display of soccer it was. Our team had to forfeit the game because all of our team players were having meltdowns on the sidelines and refused to go on the field to play. It was pure entertainment!

This is Blythe's favorite seat in the new house. She can keep up with everything that's going in the house from right there.

Her first hair bow. You can tell how little hair she actually has but I was determined to get that little bow in.

George Alfred Webster III

2009-08-09T18:29:00.001-07:00

What a cute little man he is. I love you guys!

The proud new momma

Momma & Pappa

Backyard swimming

2009-08-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

Brought the pool out this afternoon because it was sooo hot today.

Doughnut Thief

2009-08-09T17:52:00.001-07:00

Geoff surprised me and Hugh with hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts Saturday morning. After Hugh's second doughnut, he asked me for one more and I told him no. Well, a few minutes later I'm in my bedroom doing something and kind of wonder what Hugh is doing in the living room because it is awfully quiet. A little later he comes to me to ask a question, looking very innocent with Krispy Kreme remnants all over his little face. When I ask him if he had another doughnut after I had told him he could not, he of course said no. Oh goodness, the sneakiness has begun. So I grabbed his hand and walked to the kitchen and here's what I found...

Please notice that the stool in the kitchen is from my bedroom. He carried it from my bedroom in the back of the house to the kitchen to allow himself to reach the doughnuts. Could not believe it. The next thing I found was a chair in the guest bathroom in front of the sink where he quickly tried to wash off the evidence from his hands.

Here's the evidence.. And yes, he brought us home a dozen doughnuts and there were only 2 left. Although I do have to say we shared 4 with our neighbors... but still.

I hated to discipline him because the whole thing was so darn cute but I had to do it. It was a very hard parenting moment.

Teacup Turbulence

2009-08-09T17:07:00.001-07:00

Aunt Kristen and Alyse came for a little visit last week and we took the kids to a children's amusement park one day, which is the cutest little place ever. The last ride they rode were the teacups. Alyse had it cranking so fast in the beginning, they were the definitely the fastest teacups going. Well, Hugh was helping in the beginning (1st video) but then as their teacup kept spinning Hugh stretched out his arms to hold on to the sides (2nd video) and literally could not hold his head up. You have to watch the whole thing through. It is hilarious. We thought he was going to throw up.

Munchkin meeting.

Tickle Time...

2009-08-09T16:18:00.000-07:00

Hugh tickling Blythe. He's the only one who can really get her to laugh.

Morning Surprise...

2009-08-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

Went to get Blythe in the morning and here's what I found...

she had a little visitor

Cashiers weekend

2009-08-04T17:44:00.000-07:00

We had a good little last minute trip to Cashiers last weekend with some of our good friends. Tudi and PawPaw offered to take Hugh to Charlotte so we could have a Hugh-free weekend and we of course took them up on it. Thank you Tudi and PawPaw. Neither Geoff nor I had ever been to Cashiers so we were excited to see it. We stayed in a beautiful home of one of Geoff's golfing buddies. IThe boys played golf (minus Geoff who was still hurting from a wrist injury resulting from a drunken beach paddle ball game with cuncle john) while the girls just ate and hung around the house, all taking turns holding litle Blythe. And of course there is a wonderful story to tell of our first night there, which could only be expected from us.

It was such a beautiful and cool night that I told Geoff we should open our windows (only because I knew there were sreens in them) to sleep. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am deathly afraid of palmetto bugs (scares me to even say their real name, cockr******) and other similar dirty creatures. And when I say deathly afraid, I mean deathly afraid. You can only guess now where this story is heading. Well, I wake up at around 2 in the morning to a knocking sound coming from the window. I'm lying there, already starting to sweat and not feeling movement in my legs, because I think someone is breaking into our window. I hear it a couple more times and then see something fly over my head once, and then once again. So my first thought is this...I really don't think birds fly at 2am, do they? What does?? So I wake up Geoff in a frantic, still not able to move my body parts due to temporary paralysis, and tell him there is a bat in our room. Geoff's first response to me was annoyance and a "Sam you're just dreaming". Well a couple of explitaves later Geoff gets out of bed and turns the bathroom light on and says "Sam there's a bat in our room". Holy sh** is all that would come out of my mouth for several seconds. I got under the covers and pulled them tight around me. "How in the world were we going to get a bat out of our room???" is what we were both thinking, all the while I can hear the dirty little vampire flapping it's wings over my head. At one point I start shrieking because I know I just felt it land on the bed next to me. But Geoff, in annoyance again, reassures me the bat is no where near me. Well, my very brave and courageous husband takes a bath towel and starts swatting at the bat until he actually throws the bat to the bathroom floor, wraps it up in a towel and throws it over the balcony of our bedroom. My hero!!

So we get back into bed, closing the window first, and try to fall asleep. But Geoff first has to tell me, "Sam remember when you asked me if that bat had landed on the bed next to you? Well it pretty much took a nose dive into the bed and was inches from your head." Eeeehhhhh. Geoff was asleep minutes later while I was awake until the sun came up.

Of course the running joke the rest of the weekend was "Don't let Sam try to kiss you on the neck or keep the garlic around your neck."

Thankfully the rest of the weekend was bat free and I caught up on my sleep the next night.

The sunset view from our bed. It was so beautiful.

Kermit very nervously holding Blythe.

Blythe taking a little morning snooze in our bed. Look at the cheeks!

Ruthy holding the baby.

Hiking

And notice the only one who had to bring a beer along his nature hike.

Geoff was drooling over their fire pit. It was a little grander than the one he built us.

We're back

2009-07-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

We are back from our NC summer trip! And what a trip it was. The kids and I drove to Wilson and stayed at Kristen's house for a week. Geoff then flew to raleigh and we all drove to the beach for two weeks. After the beach Geoff dropped us off in New Bern where we stayed for a week and he drove back to Atlanta to work for a week. Kristen then drove us to Charlotte for the July 4th weekend and Geoff met us there. Whew!! Hard to keep up I know. It was a lot of packing and unpacking and repacking and unpacking but, it was well worth it. We had a wonderful time with family and loved introducing Blythe to family who had not yet met her. And definitely the best part of the trip was having was having Kristen back at the beach with us, cancer-free and celebrating life!

Blythe is now a little over 4 months and has changed so much. She weighed 15 1/2 pds at her 4month appt and was 90% weight and 90% height. So she's a big girl and keeping my arms toned, which is always a positive of having a chunky baby. Hugh at 4 months was only 13 pds and 45% weight and 45% height. She's in that really sweet stage where as long as she is well-fed and well-rested she just smiles and laughs and talks to you. She has finally taking a liking to Hugh. In the beginning Hugh totally frightened her (as anyone would be frightened with a very loud three-year old boy getting right in your face constantly) and she would smile at everyone else, except Hugh. And boy did Hugh try to get her to smile at him. Now that Hugh has finally learned about personal space she is in total awe of him.

Once I get my pictures organized from the trip I will be sure to post. I'm off to Raleigh tomorrow morning for Mindy's baby shower. I cannot wait to see her pregnant!

Hugh and Blythe enjoying a little morning time together

Hugh loves to feed her.

Look at that chunker! Her neck is non-existent.

Hugh met Cinderella at Elizabeth's birthday and was in awe.

He asked her for a dinosaur painting.

She loves the bumbo seat now!

Where the Wild Things Are

2009-05-16T06:19:00.001-07:00

Hugh's favorite book to read is Where the Wild Things Are. He and Geoff read it together most every night before bed and they've read it so much that Hugh literally knows every word of the book. I had to get it on video because it's pretty cute.

Easter

2009-04-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter this year. My dad came for a nice visit and we did church and brunch at the Godwin's house. Jenn cooked such a good lunch for us and then we had an easter egg hunt for the kids. They were precious to watch. Here are some pictures...