Pallet Side Bar

We had two plates that we cut down (just the top slat), and found 4 tiles in my garage to fit the top

we painted it Charleston Green 

we added 2x4's to make the pallet top wider to fit the tiles and used a heavy glue to secure it. 

This is what we saw on Pinterest that inspired us. 

Lake Tahoe

We just got back from Lake Tahoe, our first and only vacation of the year.  It was amazing, however had i known how hard it would be to get a 2 year old and a 4 year old from east coast time to pacific time and back again in a week, I might have made other plans.  It was a lot more work than i thought it was going to be.  I was like a zombie the first few days.  But it was really great.  The Lake water was unreal, this beautiful blue. We went on a train ride, a boat ride and 3,000 feet up a mountain on a gonadal.


Wow it's been a while, so a quick recap/update.... Emery will be in pre-K4 in August (WHAT?) and Vinny is home with our amazing nanny Miss Stephanie (we split her with two other families). Dave is good, still working for Greg and Tori. I'm working with my dad at Sideline Sports and just found a new hobbie (holistic oils, which my sisters calls my potions).  Been trying to get to the beach as much as possible, but you know how that goes.

Yeah Well....

Vince is talking like crazy! Full sentences....and yes I'm pretty sure more then just me and Dave can understand him.

He's also using the potty now. Big news. He's just so cute it's ridiculous. He does a little happy/excited dance. It's great.

Emery turns 4 this month.  She's amazing.  Super kind and so friendly.  She talks to everyone...yes she is my daughter.  She's loving her school and just started talking music lessons.  She seems to really take to it and her teacher says she's doing great.

The Change

Vin is going through "the change". Every mother of a toddler knows what i'm talking about.  That nice baby you had that would eat anything you put in front of them and didn't know the term attitude, becomes the picky eater that is raising their finger to you and saying "NO".  What? who the hell are you? and what happened here?

So yes, the change is upon us.  He's still my little love, don't get me wrong.  Poor guy is always shoving his hand in his mouth, so i know that's part of it.  But it's pretty cute when he get's his mad face on and points and you and says "NO".  you want to laugh right in his face, but you can't.

Vince is in his new class now, the Bears, and seems to be enjoying it. They will be working on potty training this winter so that's very exciting. He already poops on the potty but only if you catch him on the front end...this normally happens when you see him make the poop face and start to squat.  I have to move quick.

He's still not talking much, though NO is very clear.  I think he tried to say Emery the other day. he was so excited to see her when we picked her up from school one day. (this is rare b/c i usually pick up her first).  He has been very into trains lately.  We have a thomas one that goes on it's own and he LOVES it.

Emery is liking her new school and talking about her friends from class.  She is writing her own name now, CRAZY, and super cute.  She loves loves loves books, tinkerbell, and Jake and the Neverland pirates.  She has also been into barbies and as always princess stuff.

She's 3, He's signing

Yesterday Emery turned 3.  She walked into our room at about 7:30AM (both Dave and I were already up, but just laying there and talking).  As soon as we saw her we both said Happy Birthday! and she looked at us like "really people, i just got up".  

Her party was yesterday afternoon, my Aunt Carole got her a jump castle and all her friends came over.  We made wands and decorated crowns, and had cupcakes (that were decorated by Emery herself).   The party was a hit.  

Something else big happened this weekend. Vinny signed!! We have been working on "more" for some time now and he did it yesterday!  I'm super pumped.  I think he has "all done" kinda down too.  

When Vinny gets mad, he throws his paci to the ground, as if to say "F- this place, I'm out of here! I will never suck a paci in this place!" .... so dramatic! 

Growing up

It's amazing....i looked at the two of them this weekend and thought to myself, holy shit they are getting big.  I mean wow.  Emery wore a 3T dress to school that fit her perfectly.  Vince understands so much now.  I asked him to throw something out and he walked over to the trash put it in and came back.  So freaking cute!  He loves putting on my hats and sunglasses and is holding his ground on most of Emery's tackles lately.  He even claps his hands along with us now. Did i mention he eats like a football player.

Emery turns 3 this coming weekend.  She amazes me everyday.  She sings constantly, sometimes making up her own words.  Yesterday it was "Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, please shine down on me" over and over and over again.  It was pretty cute and quite catchy.  She can button her own clothes and gets dressed completely by herself (when she wants to). She loves leggings and dancing with her pants off.    She says her best friend is Lilah and she can't wait for her to come to her party.  Her face is changing.  I can actually see alot of myself in there now days.  But it's more of a little girl, a little person.

The return from Boston

Emery was a rockstar! You would have thought she had flown every day of her life.  She really did great.  The trip was a huge success and we had so much fun.  Natalie's party was great and it was so nice seeing everyone.

While we were gone, Vinny had a bad reaction to his meds (ear infection) and had really bad diarrhea. His poor little bum was raw and it made for a very painful weekend.  Dave did an amazing job with him though.  He's much better now.

He's walking all over the place and Dave even put shoes on him over the weekend. (said it was pretty funny).  He's doing pretty good at night now days....and Emery is sleeping in our room and still getting up b/c she's cold, or bored I can't really tell.  Hopefully we can get her back into her bed before the summer.  We finally did our taxes last night and got everything together for the application for Meeting Street.  We turn it all in today and find out in April if we get in.

BOSTON!

About 2 months ago we decided to go to Boston for Nat's 30th birthday party.  I debated on when to tell Emery...could feel like an eternity to her.  But I told her and it totally worked out.  For 2 months she has been telling everyone we know (and don't know) "i'm going on an airplane with my mommy". and when you ask her who we're going to see, she lists off all her aunts, uncles and cousins.  SUPER cute.

Dave is playing softball for a church league .... haha....and we keep asking him when he's going to convert. :)  His first game is Monday night, and his practices have been on Saturday's.

Vince is walking more and more every day. He jumped on Emery's zebra the other day and started to bounce....we were pretty surprised it knew what to do...and how to get his little body all the way on that thing.  

walking...not really

So Vince can walk....it just chooses not to.  However he can get up and down the stairs by himself...and speaking of by their-selves. this was day 2 that Emery got her self dressed. I mean completely.  Went into her room, got her underwear  sock, her pants and a shirt and came back into our room and got dressed. It's pretty much the cutest thing ever.  She can even do buttons now.

Vince had his one year photo shoot last weekend but was not digging the icing...so we put chicken and carrots on the cake to make it look like he was reaching for the cake. Go fugue  my kid likes chicken more then icing....maybe they switched him at birth! He's doing so much more now. He gives kisses and i saw him wave bye-bye just this past weekend for the first time.  This morning he was putting all his toys into one of Emery's purses. I was pretty impressed.

Emery and I leave next week for Boston! Nat's 30th Birthday Party should be a great time.  Emery tells everyone she's going on a plane with her mommy.

On the adult front, Dave and I are exploring schools for Emery.  She starts kindergarten the fall of 2015 and we aren't thrilled with the school in our district.  We are thinking of moving or going private   I'll keep ya posted.

Little man is ONE

Yes, i know, I can't believe it either. He took his first steps last night, made it a whole 3 feet. It was pretty amazing.. and yes i cried.

What a year! OMG! First a horrible birth, a stay in the NICU, a terrible recovery (i wouldn't wish a c-section on my worst enemy), a trip to MUSC's ER for Emery, 6 months of crying/screaming for 21 hours a day with 2-hour sleeping increments, Dave's 5 month illness and 14 hour work days, an 8 month old who refused to take a bottle....for 2 months....moving us right into full time pumping (yuck).   YES, i am VERY relieved we're on to the next faze of our household.  We made it! and we're all stronger for it.

So Happy Birthday to my lovey boy. i'm so glad you're here, I love you so so much. and you make it all worth it.

Almost Christmas

Vinny's first Christmas is almost here....but this won't be the one he remembers. In the great words of my husband (as he looked over to Vinny) "Sorry buddy, it's not your year". This was off of a conversation about the extreme amount of gifts Emery is going to get.

Vinny is moving and grooving these days. His crawling is now super fast and we caught him free standing for a few seconds here and there as he moves from the ottoman to the couch. He is just getting over RSV (which of course happened while Dave was home with both kids and I was in Nashville for the Baseball Winter Meetings). He's feeling better now, though he did wake up with a nasty cough yesterday morning. He's been eating like a mad man. The kid eats pretty much anything you put in front of him. at one point Dave said to me "should i stop feeding him?" this was after 2 pieces of bread and an entire apple.

Emery was sick as well but is handling it much better. (The difference between 2 years and 10 months.) Ever since Halloween (when she received two princess costumes from Aunt Carole) she has been snow white or Cinderella at least once a week. This morning she went to school as snow white .... with a pink tu-tu under the dress. oh yes, that's my kid. her speech is so much clearer these days, it's simply amazing to watch her grow. I am loving it!

Dave and I are doing good. I think he's fighting something, but seemed to feel better today. He's been up in North Caroline for a few days working on a job site. We're doing holiday shopping this weekend and having friends over for dinner. I am super excited because Natalie, Liv, Trace and Hunt will all be here for Christmas! So cool!

9 months??? ALREADY!?

Today Vinny is 9 months old. WOW. He's crawling like crazy, and boy is he fast. He puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. Over the weekend we went to Orlando for Tim's daughter's baptism and stayed at a hotel - where Vinny tried to put the door stop (the one attached to the floor) in his mouth. When he realized he couldn't pick it up, he put himself in a push-up position and put his mouth over it. it was gross & very amusing. The trip to FL went well, the kids did amazing. Poor Emery threw up her entire breakfast on Sunday as we pulled up to the church. I'm pretty sure it was bad yogurt. She was so upset and just kept crying and saying "my dress... it's yucky...take it off" she was COVERED in puke. As was the car seat. Did i mention this was about 5 minutes before we were walking into church with very nice clothes on. I think Vinny is going through a growth spurt. He's nursing around the clock....which is amazing for my waist line... but not so much for my sleep. He's taking a little bit of a bottle here and there but not much.

Two and a Half

Yesterday Emery turned 2 and 1/2! wow. she's got all her top teeth and she has a bottom tooth coming in now. She loves disney princesses! she went to her first princess party last weekend. It was Zoe Hayes a girl from her class. they all were super cute together. Right before sleep tonight she was hiding in the closet. She started counting...to 20! and then came running out after saying "ready or not here i come". then proceed to do it again, but this time she counted in spanish! WHAT?? i didn't know she could do that. it was super cute. She has been losseing it a little more lately, but it seems pretty normal for her age. Vince is crawling like crazy and he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. He climbed into the dishwasher today while dave was doing the dishes. He was soaked! He loves his bowling pins, they go everywhere with us. He's been sleeping a little better these days. he was sick last week and was up every hour - sometimes more. That sucked. He just started taking a bottle last week at school, so that's excitng. He's smiling a lot moire lately and he loves to feed himeself. So we keep giving him puffs and peas. they keep him pretty busy. We put him on the potty a few times so far, but i don't think he gets it. He's pulling himself up all over the house, and keeps flipping over when you try and change his diaper. we are headed down to Flordia this weekend for Victora's baptism. more to come on that.

It's September, and no i didn't forget i had a blog, but it does seem that way. Someone said to me the other day "well if you get board, stop in to that little art store off colman" I couldn't stop myself from laughing in their face. Board? You have got to be kidding me?? I could keep a staff of 10 busy with my daily schedule. I get the kids up and ready for the day, take them to school, go to work, eat lunch at my desk, leave, pick them up, prepare dinner (last week Dave started cooking dinner) feed the kids, clean the kitchen, do bath time, put vinny to bed and then at 9:00PM i play on the ipad for about 30 minutes till I pass out, only to get up 3-5 time with Mr. Vinny. yes, that's my daily schedule. and no i'm actually not complaining. It's been a tough summer. Dave has been sick since May and was working 12-14 hour days all of June and July (and the first 2 weeks of August) on some schools. It was like being a single mom there for a while. They still don't know what's wrong with him health wise, but at least we now have a doctor that is helpful. He's been tested for eveything from limes to ALS. so far nothing big has come up positive. He's on sleeping pills now and they are really helping him rest. So that's good. Vinny started army crawling about 4 weeks ago and did a full on crawl yesterday. Kid has some speed. He's eating some solid foods now and really starting to get a personality. He thinks Emery is the funniest person on the earth. Emery is amazing. She's so bright now. her speech and comprehension is amazing. She can sing her ABC's and at least 2 other full songs. it's so fun.

post wedding

Natalie is married! We spent 4 days in DC/VA for wedding .... and we are all now sick. I think it started with the lack of sleep and has moved into a wide spread sick house. Dave has been sick on and off for a month now, still not sure what it is, but he feels like he has the flu. Vince was only sick for 2 days - Thank God - and is now feeling better. Emery is going on 7 days of being sick - nasty cold - saw the doc nothing they can do. I just got sick 2 days ago, yesterday was worst than today, but i'm hoping tomorrow will be better. My throat hurts and my nose is running non stop running. It's not easy when you're down a parent - even worst when you're down two. But my mother has been here every day last week and super helpful. I really don't know what we would do without her. 4 nights last week Emery slept with me and Vince and Dave slept downstairs on the couch....needless to say this is how i got sick. (sick toddler + no sleep) There was one night i got 2 hours of sleep....not in a row.... in other news Vince can roll over and is starting to cover some ground on the blanket on the floor. Emery is talking up a storm and we're starting underwear soon. We got a new stoll with Elmo on it and she seems to like that. She's testing us a little more lately - big fan of the word NO. She's as cute as ever and has been dancing all over the place. Vince is getting cuter by the day. He is laughing now and smiling when Dave or I talk and smile at him. He can grab his feet now and can almost sit up by himself. He's becoming more interactive which is very fun. Emery talks to him and dances for him and he laughs so much - it's the best. it's amazing how much children change your life. but when you're tired with spit up down your shirt and you look around your house and it seems as if you had a HUGE party and no one cleaned up after it.....you catch a little smile and a "i love you mommy" and you realize this is the best place in the world to be.

Vince is HUGE

At his 4 month apt he weighted in at 16lbs. He's been rolling over from his stomach to his back...but can't make it the other way. Poor guy gets frustrated every time. He can almost sit up by himself and is a laughing and smiling fool. He is just so damn heavy! :) Emery is still doing great with him, she laid down next to him this morning and just held his hand. Emery is talking up a storm, and wishing everyone happy birthday every chance she gets. She is so cute it's insane.

Emery is 2

There are so many moments where you think to yourself "This is the cutest kid ever" I have a lot of them, but this one is worth noting. Yesterday Dave and I were sitting on my parents couch. Vince was with Nana and Emery was playing with her new turtle pillow. She brought her pillow over to us and in trying to get on top of it, while it was on top of Dave and I's laps, she headed me in the mouth.... Dave says "are you ok?" followed by a little voice saying "sorry mommy". I almost started to cry it was so cute and sweet. Her birthday party was a hit! Go River!! (he planed a treasure hunt with identifying trees and getting ribbons when you found them.) We had everyone playing from 2 years old to 8 years old. They all loved it. Emery had a blast with all her friends. We had a weather scare, but it only rained a little at the very beginning. Natalie was here as well as the whole Wood's clan, and that was great. We even went to monkey joe's yesterday.

Finally!

.... Vince is not screaming every time we put him down. The last week or so he has made a major change. Up until this point there were three choices, 1) screaming 2) being held 3) sleeping. That was pretty much it. Now he can actually just sit there and hang out, it's amazing. He's smiling and coo'ing (such a weird word). He is 14lbs and 24" (as of this past Tuesday). He is super cute and I just love him so much!

Emery is going to be 2 this weekend...wait what?? we have been parents for 2 years, kinda hard to believe. She has had a rough week. I think it's a combo of things. her molders are coming in, Miss Shalya (her favorite teacher) left the nook, Vince is here, and the household has a bit more stress in it. Last night Dave was giving her a bath and I walked in holding Vince. Dave said Emery is that Vinny? she said "NO, baby". Dave said "Vinny", and again Emery said "NO baby". It was so funny. (and of course this went on for a while)

She has been kind of loosing it more lately. We have cousins in this week and she has been off her normal schedule, that might have something to do with it...then again she is 2 now.

Her go to meals are scrambled eggs, pb&J (either on bread or a spoon), and life cereal. She's still obsessed with cereal bars from whole foods so we keep them with us everywhere we go. She likes fish which is great, and she is pretty good about chicken. She went through a blueberry faze and now is back on bananas and cheese.

BFF

Erin and Travis were in town over the weekend. It went WAY to fast. When i'm with Erin it just seems natural, like we're always together, not like the best friend i haven't seen in over a year. It was so great having them here. We went to the beach and downtown the first two days and then went to the Daniel Island Easter egg hunt (which sucked compared to the Boone Hall one) Coast for dinner and the family circle cup. It was a really great time. I can't wait to see them in June for Nat's wedding.

Vinny is getting fun....i know that sounds bad, but babies aren't that exciting until they can smile. He has been smiling now and looking up at the lights. It's pretty cool. He's finally just chillin sometimes..... before it was either screaming or sleeping, now there are times he just sits there and hangs out. Last night we put both of them in the tube together. Emery was cleaning vinny with a washcloth and holding up the letter V and yelling VINNY! It was super cute.

Em has been having some pain with her teeth lately, and has had this wicked cough for weeks. when we went to the doc they gave us antibiotics but the cough has stuck around. Time to go back to the doc.

2 kids = no time to blog

Vinny is almost 7 weeks old! What? kid gained 3 lbs in 4 weeks and is creeping up on 11 lbs.....Emery is 22 lbs. he's going to catch her in no time.

last week Vinny smiled at me for the first time. It was awesome! He's such a cutie. He took a bath with me and Emery tonight. It was pretty funny. Emery is doing great with him, wanted to pick him up and walk away with him the other day. Her words are growing daily and she said Prisha on Thursday. It was really cute and made Prisha's week.

Today Dave and I took the boat out and the kids went to my parents for a few hours. I got burnt, so that part sucks. But it was really nice to be on the water and with dave for a little bit. I miss him. two kids is really amazing but very busy. I am getting over bronchitis but i'm feeling really great. I was really productive this week, cleaned the kitchen and did the MASSIVE amount of laundry that our small family creates every week.

Em is amazing me daily with what she is capable of. it's been really fun to watch.

ok back to the craziness....