The Enzor Family

Lillian's Dedication

2012-01-30T20:45:00.004-05:00

This past Sunday, January 29, 2012, was Lilly's dedication at church. The service was very nice and most of our family and friends were able to be there. It was a very special occasion for us as we dedicated our sweet little girl to the Lord. Afterward, we had a lunch at our house.

Brayden's 1st soccer game

2012-01-21T22:08:00.004-05:00

Brayden started playing soccer a few weeks ago. He is in a parent-child class along with about 10 other kids (one of which is his best friend, Aeden, from school). This class teachs the kids about stretching, basics of playing soccer, moving the ball around, and taking turns. I don't know if they will actually play a "game" during this session...maybe? Either way, I think it is a good way to start him out with team sports. Plus it is a special time for just Brayden and Daddy, although Mommy & Lilly went the 1st week and will probably go again at some point. Brayden seems to be having fun (which is the most important thing) and learning a bit along the way. Next session, we will probably sign him up for the next level up...actual team play.

*Sorry for the quality of some of these...I was either taking photos through a net or through a glass wall.

Brayden is the one in the red shirt...kicking the ball around the field.

Practicing stopping the ball with your foot.

Crazy busy schedules

2012-01-21T21:56:00.004-05:00

Since the beginning of the year, we have been super busy.

I started back to work, Lilly started daycare, and Brayden started playing soccer (1st organized, team activity). Plus we have had basketball games, a friends birthday party, BB's birthday party, Grace Miles for Mission 5K meetings & planning, and a trip to the ER mixed in!

Thankfully the work & daycare stuff is going pretty well (see previous post). Brayden's soccer is also going pretty well I hear (Matt goes with him...see next post).

The ER trip was a bit scary and did not involve the kids (other than to find someone quickly to take care of them). Matt gave us a bit of a scare last weekend and on/off throughout the week. I *think* everything is fine now, but he is seeing a specialist in a few days to confirm that there is nothing major wrong going on.

Lilly is also being dedicated next weekend at church so we have lots of family & friends coming into town to be with us. I have been trying to clean up the house a bit & plan for the lunch afterwards. My dad's birthday is also next weekend, so we will be celebrating a 3rd birthday of 2012!

I am also helping to organize the 1st Annual Grace Community Church Miles for Missions 5K that will be on February 11. We are getting into crunch time now & there are lots of things to get done, but we have LOTS of people signed up to participate are are still 3 weeks away!! All of the proceeds go to local Raleigh missions. If you are in the Raleigh/Durham area and are interested in helping or participating, please let me know!!

Hopefully, once we are into the middle of February, things will settle down a bit out our house! I need a break :)

And just because...here are a few pictures of Lilly taken this weekend.

Sitting in her highchair for the 1st time.

We aren't starting any foods yet, but wanted to get her used to sitting with us at the table and sitting in the chair before starting the foods in about 1 month probably.

Playtime at our house this afternoon

Back to work...and Lilly starts daycare

2012-01-21T21:41:00.003-05:00

Unfortunatly, I had to go back to work on January 3 (along with everyone else who had taken time off for Christmas/New Year's) and Lilly had to start daycare. Overall, things have gone really well.

I jumped right back in at work, like I hadn't ever been gone. I had tons of work to catch up on even through I had been working a bit while out on maternity leave, so I had lots to keep me busy (and my mind of where Lilly was!)

Lilly has adjusted better than I had expected to daycare life. Perhaps it is because we had gone to the building just about every day to get Brayden so the building itself was not unfamiliar. We also made several "mini" visits to her class during the month of December. The 1st visit, we stayed for about an hour & just played in her class and chatted with her teachers. The next 2 visits, I left her in the class for 30-45 minutes so that they could try giving her a bottle. I *thought* Lilly was going to take to the bottle easily, but at the beginning of December, she decided that she wanted NOTHING to do with a bottle (she had taken one multiple times prior to this). She continued to fight it during the 2 visits, but at least these days gave both Lilly & her teachers time to get to know each other. I REALLY like both of her teachers. They are both very sweet, soft-spoken ladies who love the babies in their class. Their happiness and desire to be there is evident in the way they act with the babies and with how they run the classroom. I am very comfortable with where she is and the care Lilly is receiving while I am at work.

The 1st week was a little rough with the whole bottle thing, but by Friday, Lilly had decided that the bottle was her friend! Whew! I knew that eventually she would give in, but she is a STUBBORN little thing (hmmm...wonder where she gets that from?) and I didn't want the misery to last too much longer.

Lilly ready for her 1st day of school

I think it also helped that I was able to work 1/2 days the first two weeks that I was back (thanks to working some on maternity leave). Not only was it nice for me not to have to work 8+ hours from the start, but it was nice to slowly transition Lilly into a full day at daycare. It was also nice for me to transition back into the full-time working mom status...trying to figure out how to get everything done to keep the house somewhat clean, laundry done, food on the table, etc. I think we have about figured out a schedule, but it would be helpful if Lilly would actually sleep at night :) Oh well...one day she will, right?!?!

Christmas/New Year's with the Swanners

2012-01-21T21:27:00.004-05:00

We spent New Year's Eve this year (like we have the previous 2 years) with my best friend from growing up. Julie & Steve have a son, Wesley, who is exactly 6 months younger than Brayden. We have also decided that we this will be our traditional Christmas get-together. It works out nicely for everyone and no one feels that we HAVE to fit in another gathering during the crazy pre-Christmas weeks.

They boys play really well together even through they don't get to see each other often. This year, we went to the Swanner's house & after the boys went to bed, we played Wii. This was my 1st time ever actually playing. I had watched other people play before, but never played myself. We played until well after midnight...Just Dance 3, Golf, Bowling, and the boys played Baseball. Even though I HATE to dance, I really enjoyed making a total fool of myself doing Just Dance :) Maybe it is because I have known Julie since I was a baby or maybe it was the glass of champagne, but whatever it was, I had a great time! Thanks for hosting this year Julie, Steve, and Wesley!

*Please excuse our attire...most of us had put on our PJs to get more comfy prior to playing Just Dance.

Brayden & football

2012-01-02T17:06:00.002-05:00

I am posting this just so that I don't forget it in the future...

Last Tuesday, Daddy, Nana & BB all went to the Belk Bowl game in Charlotte (NCSU vs Louisville). I let Brayden stay up a bit later than normal to watch the 1st quarter of the game with me. While we were watching, he said "D-D-Defense"! Then a few minutes later he said, "Mommy, he caught the ball!! And they didn't throw a flag! He got hit by that other guy!"

I love that he enjoys watching "his Wolfpack" play football and that he is starting to "get" the game a little bit :)

Also, if you ask Brayden what he is going to do when he grows up he will say "I am going to the big school and play football". The "big school" is NCSU!! THAT makes this mommy & daddy very happy!

Lilly's 1st Basketball Games

2011-12-30T11:14:00.006-05:00

Last week we took Lilly to her 1st NCSU Basketball game with my parents. Lilly enjoyed looking all around the arena, wasn't bothered by the loud sounds, cheering, or buzzers, and seemed to enjoy the entire experience. Brayden didn't go to this game with us...he stayed home with Aunt Dana & played.
Last night, we were able to get last minute (and I really do mean last minute) tickets to the NCSU vs Campbell game in Reynolds Coliseum (where the Wolfpack used to play). Matt's parents met us there and we all enjoyed a good Wolfpack win!

It was a sold out crowd at Reynolds last night!

Brayden was getting a lesson on fouls from BB.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-29T10:42:00.014-05:00

We started the Christmas weekend off by making homemade sugar cookies! This was the 1st year that Brayden really got to do a lot of the work with me. He had SO MUCH FUN! We rolled out the dough, made our own icing & decorated away!

Rolling out the cookie dough

Cutting out his cookies

Love this kid!Carefully adding icing to each cookieAdding LOTS of sprinkles!

Brayden's finished cookiesMommy's finished cookiesWe all went to the children's Christmas Eve service at our church. Matt had to run the sound so I sat towards the back with both kids. Brayden did really well during the service and at one point the band asked all of the kids to come down front & grab an instrument (ie shakers). Surprisingly, Brayden wanted to participate, so he, Lilly, & I made our way down front. Of course, when we got up there he just stood still & watched the band. At least he was willing to go...maybe next year! After church, Bryaden told me that it was Jesus' birthday! I am so glad that he is starting to understand the true meaning of Christmas!

At home after church, Brayden set out cookies & milk for Santa then headed off to bed.
On Christmas morning, we had to wake him up! Brayden was excited to see what Santa had brought & really enjoyed opening his presents up! Besides what Santa brought, Brayden also got the Cars 2 movie, new underwear (oh boy!), and a 100 piece Toy Story 3 puzzle (have I mentioned before how he LOVES puzzles and can zip through a 48 piece puzzle in 15 minutes or so?) illy also got more clothes, a new paci clip for daycare, shoes, and some new pacis for daycare.

Look what Santa left!

A new dump truck, Spencer, Mavis, and Cranky for Brayden!Lilly got her own suitcase and a new dress for the summer

Figuring out how Cranky worksDigging into his stockingHelping Daddy open his present from Brayden & Lilly. Brayden painted a coffee mug for daddy's gift!After a quick breakfast we packed up and drove to Albemarle to celebrate Christmas with my parents & grandmother.

Brayden got to be Santa's helper and handed out all of the gifts at my parents house.

Brayden got a portable DVD player, Toy Story 2, several puzzles, a Cars 2 game, 2 more trains, and an over-the-door basketball goal from my family (along with lots of other stuff)! Lilly got a Chatty Cathy phone, Glowworm, and activity table (for when she is a little older). The dvd player was a BIG hit on the car ride home Monday!! Thanks Grammy & Paw!

Buh (my grandmother) with her great-grandchildren

Silly boy!The following day, we loaded back up & drove back to Raleigh to celebrate Christmas with Matt's parents, Uncle John, and Aunt Dana. I didn't get many pictures, but Brayden had fun playing with BB, Uncle John, Nana, and Aunt Dana. Brayden got a race track/parking garage for his cars, lots more cars with a cars carrying case, Wolfpack wall clings, and Toy Story Potato Head toy with outfits for Woody, Jessie, Buzz, and Mr Potato Head. Lilly got lots more adorable clothes along with 2 bathing suits and a toy stacker .

Poor Lilly wore herself put!Brayden waiting impatiently for Uncle John & BB to put his race track together

Matt & I got lots of Lowes gift cards, a ceiling fan, new breakfast room light, vice grip, and shop vac. Pictures to come of the house updates :)

Christmas at the beach

2011-12-21T15:51:00.009-05:00

This past weekend, we all went to the beach to celebrate Christmas with Matt's extended family. It was a short trip because Matt's office party was on Friday night. Thankfully, Matt's parents agreed to take Brayden with them on Friday night & we got a sitter for Lilly. It worked out great for everyone!

Oma (Matt's grandmother) had fixed a feast for everyone on Saturday. We had ham, turkey, green beans, butter beans, rice, mac-n-cheese, mashed potatoes, salad, collard greens, deviled eggs (a family favorite), sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and green peppers, biscuits, apple pie, and red velvet cake!

While everyone was together, we also had family photos taken by some friends of Matt's grandparents. We don't have these back yet, but the ones I saw looked really good!

Matt's dad also played at a wine tasting in a local wine/coffee shop at Sunset Beach on Saturday night.

Benny/BB playing the night awaySid enjoyed listening to the musicAfterward, we all snacked on leftovers and then we opened gifts together.

Hanging out eating leftovers...this family likes to eat!

Oma getting some Lilly love!Sid & Brayden were watching Toy Story when I went down the stairs.

They really enjoyed playing together this time!When they realized I had the camera, both boys ran to hide! Sid is behind Brayden on the couch! The kids got lots of clothes, a new book, a bear that reads "Twas the night before Christmas" & Brayden got a really cool gear building set!

Will & CharityUncle John & Aunt DanaThe next morning, we all took it easy (except for BB...he had to play at church).

Lilly & Aunt Dana even took a nap together :)

Eventually, we got dressed & headed to Uncle Sandy & Aunt Lynn's house for lunch with Matt's grandfather (Papa).

Dana & Mamie fixing our yummy lunch of baked spaghetti.The guys hanging out & watched football.Brayden & Sid playing together again. I love that they can play together unsupervised now (for the most part!)Even Will enjoyed holding Lilly...and he put her to sleep!Uncle Sandy & Aunt Lynn with LillyPapa and Lilly Sid & Grandma NitaBrayden with his cool new truck form Papa & Grandma Nita

Even though it was a super busy, long weekend, it was worth it to see all of Matt's family! We always have so much fun when we are all together!

Pre-Christmas Festivities - 2

2011-12-21T09:01:00.006-05:00

Once again, the Toomey's hosted a Gingerbread House decorating party for the boys. All 3 boys were much more into decorating their houses this year & last a bit longer. Brayden made it about 15 minutes before running off to play :) Maybe next year will be a bit longer! Oh well, Lilly & I had fun finishing what Brayden started!!

Getting started by putting icing on the roof of each house.

Lilly watching closely so she will know what to do next year!Hi John!Brian got a little help from his daddy.

Grace also watched closely so that she would know what to do next year!

Brayden telling Lilly where he wanted to put the decorations.

Mommy & Lilly finishing off Brayden's creation!The 3 finished houses (Brayden, Brian, and John's from left to right)Brayden's house up close (front)
Side (note the trees on the roof...they slowly slid off & now remain how you see them).
Brayden insisted that his house needed trees on the roof!Other sideBack

Pre-Christmas festivities - 1

2011-12-14T15:55:00.008-05:00

This Christmas season has been very busy so far and we still have lots of stuff going on! We let Brayden help decorate the tree this year for the 1st time. His special request was to put on the star, so carefully Matt obliged :) Brayden also put on some of the ornaments. Ofcourse they were all lumped together on about 3 branches at the very bottom :)

Helping put the star on the tree!

Matt had to go out of town last week for work so my mom came & stayed a few days. We got lots of stuff done! Here are some picture that my mom & I took of the kids in front of our tree.

The 1st one of Brayden was the best. He is such a little stinker these days!

What a face!

Of course his cars had to get in on the scene!

Love this one!!

My little baby doll in her Christmas dress!

I am loving the mary jane style tights!My mom also made reindeer cookies with Brayden. They were so cute & yummy!!

Learning what to do from Grammy.

Giving the reindeer eye (mini M & Ms).

The finished product! Aren't they cute??

We have done several other things so O will post about them next.

Quick update

2011-12-14T15:50:00.004-05:00

Lilly has been having some tummy issues so I took her to the Dr yesterday. Looks like everything is OK, possibly some mild reflux. we got medicine to try & we go back in 3 weeks for her 4 MONTH check up. (Can you believe it?? Where has the time gone??)

Anyway, while we were at the Drs office they weighed Lilly. She weighed in at 11lb 1oz!! That is an increase of 2lbs 2oz in just 40 days!!! Incredible! She is definitly getting enough to eat...at thhis rate, she may pass Brayden's 4 month weight :)

Just wanted to post that so I will know 20 years down the road!

The Many Faces of Lilly

2011-12-14T15:38:00.004-05:00

Lilly's personality is really starting to come out!. She smiles and laughs a lot more now than she was a few weeks ago! I just LOVE her little laugh! One of her favorite things to do is watch football, either live, on TV, or Brayden. She is going to be a great little sister cheering on her big brother at all of his games!

Here are a few of her faces! She is still rather camera shy and doesn't like to smile for the camera much.

Get that camera out of my face Daddy!

Maybe just a little smile won't hurt...

Tummy time! Not very happy about it though!

Look at me! I am pushing myself up so well!

Finally a real smile!! Sitting in the bumbo for the 1st time and loving it!

Happy Halloween

2011-11-29T21:28:00.006-05:00

I know, I know. I am almost a month late with this, but give me a break. I have an almost 3 month old, a very active 3 year old, and am just trying to keep it together & enjoy my last few weeks at home!

Because of lack of time, we (or should I say "I") ended up carving out pumpkin at Nana & BB's house the day before Halloween. Brayden really could have cared less. This was as close as he got!
It rained this Halloween. Hard. Which stunk pretty badly :( Other than that, it was great! We enjoyed spending time with our small group and just hanging out!

We had everyone to our house for a little while & then the plan was to go to the Simpson's house/street to trick- or-treat. Their street goes ALL OUT at Halloween & everyone is SO into the decorations. It is incredible! Plus their neighborhood is super family/walking/kid friendly (not that ours isn't, but theirs is even more so!) When we got to the Simpson's it was raining so hard that everyone ended up in the house for a little while. Aunt Jill had made some yummy snacks & the men enjoyed chatting outside. Eventually the rain let up a little and Uncle Joe & Matt took the 3 big boys to 3-4 houses just so that say that they went trick or treating.

Batman (John)

Our 3 little ladies (Lilly, Grace, and Maddie)

This is as close as I got to a picture of Brayden. He is in a "not going to cooperate for pictures phase" these days.

Thanks to the Simpson's for letting all of us wet people come over for a little while! We enjoyed the company, even though the weather was awful!!

Grocery Store Conversation

2011-11-27T16:50:00.003-05:00

I took both kids to the grocery store this afternoon. Brayden & I had the following conversation before we ever got into the store:

"I want to ride in the green cart. Well, you are in luck. Our cart is green AND yellow! Lellow, Mommy? Yes, yellow. Let's go in the store Mommy. OK Brayden, but we need to watch for cars in the parking lot. Can you help me look for cars Brayden? I see a big cruck Mommy! Whose cruck is that? I don't know Brayden. Probably a man's truck, but I don't know for sure. Look out Mommy! That cruck is moving. Yes, Brayden, it is moving away from us. Thank you for helping me watch for cars through."

Once we were in the store, the conversation changed more to:

"Brayden, please stop messing with your sister's seat. And also don't mess with her feet. I want to hold something Mommy! OK Brayden. You may hold something once we get something that will be good for you to hold. Mommy! MOMMY! I really want to hold something! OK Brayden...please wait just a minute! Here Brayden, you may hold the box of mac-n-cheese. (insert constant box shaking for about 5 minutes). Brayden, please stop shaking the box. Why mommy? Because it is loud & starting to give mommy a headache. Headache mommy? Yes, Bryaden. Can you please hold this can instead? (insert switching mac-n-cheese for canned mushroom). Again, Brayden, PLEASE stop messing with your sister! I am not going to ask you again! I want that yogurt Mommy! OK Brayden, we will get yogurt, but it has to be this kind. Why Mommy? Because I only have coupons for this kind. Why mommy? Because that is what the coupon man gave me. Why mommy? Brayden, please sit still. Why mommy? So that you don't fall out & get hurt Brayden. Why Mommy? We only have 1 more thing to get. Why mommy? Because that is all that is on our list Bryaden. Why mommy? Brayden, can you please help me & hold these boxes of zip lock bags? OK Mommy. Why? So that I can see which one is cheaper. Please don't drop the boxes again Brayden. I have already picked them up twice. Why mommy? Because you keep dropping them on the floor! Why mommy? I don't know why Brayden...that is a very good question!" ---there was a whole bunch more but that is all I can remember at this point.

Whew!! I was exhausted just from the non-stop conversation/questions to the store, into the store, while in the store, and most of the way home! Luckily, he fell asleep in the neighborhood & stayed asleep when Matt took him out of the car! A little bit of peace & quiet finally! That kid can talk NON-STOP from the minute he wakes up to the minute he goes to sleep!

Meanwhile, Lilly was chilling in the carseat sucking on her hand & "talking". Thankfully, one of them was easy going in the store!!

3 year (Brayden) & 2 month (Lilly) Stats

2011-11-08T06:45:00.004-05:00

I took both kids to the Dr last week for routine check-ups. Overall, it went really well & both kids are doing great!

Here is an update on where Brayden is at 3 years of age:
-27.5 pounds
-36" tall
-wearing 3T/4T shirts (mainly 3T)
-wearing 2T pants (he has a tiny waist and short legs)
-size 7.5 to 8 shoes

He passed the vision test with no problems (identify simple photos from a distance). Brayden also had his pulse ox & blood pressure checked (a 1st) at this appointment. The Dr did recommend that we get Brayden seen for his stuttering, as it is a bit worse than the "normal" developmental stuttering and the fact that Matt stuttered as a child. We go for an evaluation today...

Brayden is talking up a storm in full sentences & is now able to carry on a conversation (when he chooses to :) He repeats lots of our "expressions" and it is so funny to hear him say them! Brayden recognizes all of the upper case letters, a few numbers, can count to 25 at least, knows all of the colors & shapes.

He got several puzzles for his birthday, one being a Cars 48 piece puzzle, which he is now able to do in about 10-15 minutes from start to finish. I got him 3 more 48 piece puzzles for Christmas, but ended up giving them to him over the weekend. He can do them pretty quickly now to! I think it is time to move on to 100 piece puzzles...maybe that will challenge him a little bit more :)

Brayden has now "banned" me from playing football with him. I apparently can not throw a football to his standards (ie I can't throw a spiral football)! He now only asks Matt or one of our guy friends to play with him! The kid can throw...that is for sure! He still is really into playing soccer as well depending on the day.

Brayden's current favorites shows/movies include: Toy Story 1-3, Cars, Thomas, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Chuggingon, Jake & the Neverland Piartes, and The Berestain Bears. Brayden really still enjoys playing with his trains & cars as well as doing puzzles.

Brayden was able to move up to the next class at school a few weeks early (they normally move up at their birthday). Three more of Brayden's friends from his 2 year old class have also recently moved up to the same class & he is loving being in the next class. They do a bit more of a structured class setting with more "lesson" time. Even only being at school 3 days a week, I can really tell that he is learning a lot quickly!

Here are the stats on Lilly:
-8 pounds 15 ounces
-21 3/4" long
-size 1 diapers
-wearing newborn & some 3 month clothes

Lilly is healthy, growing well, and thriving! She has gained 3 pounds since birth which is great! Lilly is getting more into an eat - play - sleep routine most days. Of course, if we are out running errands she is almost always asleep! Lilly now LOVES to play on her floor mat & can easily hit the toys to make the music play. She is also starting to like the bouncy seat more & more.

I finally moved Lilly up to size 1 diapers last Monday (Oct 31)! She is also starting to wear more 3 month clothes. Most of the newborn footed clothes are to small in the feet, but still fit otherwise :) She certainly does have big feet right now :) Just like Brayden did at this age :)

We are so blessed to have happy, healthy, babies & kids!

Professional photos

2011-11-07T21:50:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago we had professional photos taken by Amy Hathaway. We got Lilly's newborn photos, Brayden's 3 year photos, and some family photos all done at the same time.

Amy came to our house & we went to a park in the neighborhood. It was a beautiful fall day & the temperature was perfect! Check out the photos on the Shutterfly site...see link on the right side of the page.

Swim Lessons

2011-11-07T21:42:00.004-05:00

Since Brayden is at home with me part time while I am out on maternity leave, we decided that this would be a perfect time to sign him up for swim lessons. The Kerr YMCA (they have been GREAT) is right down the road from our house & my amazing friend Catherine said that she could watch Lilly while I take Brayden to swim lessons so it worked out perfectly!

The 1st day, Brayden was a bit anxious & didn't want to participate too much. Since then, he has really started to get involved in the class & has shown lots of improvement! I hope that this time at the pool will help him come the summer!

Waiting for class to start

Practicing his kicking (he should be good at this as much as he likes to kick the soccer ball!)

Wearing a life-jacket for the 1st time

Brayden's Birthday Party - Part 2

2011-11-07T21:19:00.009-05:00

Everyone at the party got to pick out a pumpkin...then it was time to take the hayride back to the park & have some more fun!

Sweet Grace (and her mommy) on her 1st hayride.

John being silly :)

Brayden enjoyed feeding the goats & fish (even though the fish weren't hungry).
Uncle John bought Brayden a duck that he could race over & over! He had a blast!!

Lilly's 1st hayride

Maddie enjoyed seeing the animals (I love her wild & crazy hair!!)

Everyone had a great time at Brayden's party at Hillridge Farms (at least I think & hope that they did)! We couldn't have asked for a better day...the weather was PERFECT for an outside party!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Brayden!

2011-11-01T21:11:00.008-04:00

Wow!! Where have the past 3 years gone? Seems like just yesterday I was holding Brayden for the 1st time!

Brayden started out his birthday celebrations by running a fever on his actual birthday and earning himself a trip to the doctors office. Ends up he had an ear infection (1st one in ~ 6 months). We spent the rest of the day playing at home & watching movies on the couch. When Daddy got home, we opened presents! He is so much more into opening gifts now...it is so fun to see him get excited about his gifts!

Giant Firetruck puzzle (which he can do in about 3 minutes!)

Annie & Clalibel (Claribel) - he was very excited to get these trainsFirst time doing the firetruck puzzle & getting a little help from Daddy

My parents came up for Brayden's party on Saturday & brought more presents. He got a Cars puzzle, ball shaped hat hangers for his room, a new Cars t-shirt, a Pillow Pet dog from Ms Elaine, and lots of other goodies!

Pillow Pet dog (Spot) from Ms Elaine

Then after the party, Nana, BB, Uncle John, and Aunt Dana came over for dinner & to open even more presents! Nana got Brayden a NCSU basketball jersey & BB got Brayden a Hot Wheels truck (tractor trailer style) which he LOVES!

Truck from BB

My 2 best friends from high school also got Brayden a Mater bubble machine (like the lawn mower bubble machines except it is Mater from Cars) which he also LOVES!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy! Mommy & Daddy love you so much & are so very proud of all that you are!

Brayden's Birthday Party - Part 1

2011-11-01T09:19:00.017-04:00

Because I have SO many pictures to post, I am going to split this post into 2...

We had planned a BIG party with about 45 people at Hillridge Farms on Saturday. My parents came up for the day & spent a little time with Brayden before we went to the party. Brayden opened his gifts from my parents & grandmother before going to the party.

The party was SO MUCH FUN! Hillridge Farms really does cater to the birthday parties...1st in line for the train ride, your own hayride, gifts delivered to your picnic area, free pumpkins for everyone in your group and so much more! We had 11 kids (+6 babies) and LOTS of adults so the first class service made things run so much more smoothly!

Brayden had a blast on the train ride, racing his duck, going down the giant slide, and feeding the animals!

Waiting in line for the train...

Train ride with Mommy, Daddy, & Lilly Hayride around the farmThis is [art of our party group...the rest are out of the cameras view!

The cakes...yes, I made 2 cakes because we had so many people.
We only had about 1/4 of 1 cake left over so I am glad I made 2!

Brayden was a little embarrassed when everyone started singing Happy Birthday to him!Blowing out the candles
Running around with John after cake...

eventually most of the kids joined in & started tackling Aunt Dana To be continued...

Halloween Party

2011-10-28T09:14:00.007-04:00

A couple of weekends ago, our friends from church threw a Halloween Party for all of the kids! We have not been able to go in the past because the party has always been the same day as Brayden's birthday party, but this year the party was the weekend before! Susan and Kelly did an awesome job with the party and had LOTS of fun activities for the kids.

For the most part, Brayden clammed up & didn't want to participate in the activities, but he did decide to decorate a cookie (and then wear at least 1/2 of it!!)

This is what you get when a 3 year old decorates a cookie with black sprinkles!

All of the kids from our Small group were able to attend the party, so of course, we attempted a group shot of the kids but Brayden didn't really want to cooperate with that either :(

Attempting to get everyone to sit on the couch at this point...
It takes a lot of work to wrangle 6 kids that are all under the age of 4!

From left to right: Grace, Brian, John, & Maddie

We finally got Brayden on the couch, but he wouldn't hold Lilly

(of course when we got home, he was ready to hold her!)15 minutes later, we finally get a group shot (and the parents were all exhausted!!)

From left to right again: Lilly, me, Brayden, Grace, Brian, John, Maddie

1 month update & photos

2011-10-20T14:51:00.005-04:00

It is amazing how quickly babies change! Lilly is really growing these days & seems MUCH longer. She finally fills out her newborn sized clothes and we are phasing out the newborn diapers (at least I am going to see how the size 1's fit this weekend)! At 1 month, Lilly weighed in at 7 pounds 6 ounces and 20 3/4" long. I am guessing that at almost 7 weeks now, she is 8 pounds & 21-22" long!

Every day, Lilly is more & more alert and for longer stretches. She does still sleep quite a bit during the day with no set nap times yet. Naps during the daytime are still mostly with me holding her or in the carseat (thankfully, she likes to ride & doesn't mind the carseat at all). We are working on sleeping in her bed during the day time right now (she is there now!) and it is SLOWLY getting better.
As much as I love holding her & cuddling with her, I can't get stuff done around the house that I need to as easily while I am holding her & lets face it...she isn't going to be held all day at daycare, so I would rather her get used to this fact with me rather than in a strange place with strangers!For the most part, she is going to bed around 10pm & sleeping until 2:30-3:30. She eats & goes back to sleep until about 5:30-6. Most days, she goes back to sleep & doesn't get up for the day until about 8-8:30!

Big yawn!

About 1 week ago, Lilly started smiling. She is doesn't like to give out smiles too easily, but boy when she does, they light up the room!! A lot of times, you can tell that she wants to smile but much like Brayden is just going to be stubborn & not do it...just because you want her to! Because of this, I still haven't gotten a picture of Lilly's adorable, toothless smile!

Sort of a smile

Lilly is also really starting to enjoy her play mat. She will sometimes be content to lay on it & play for 20-30 minutes, batting at the toys & cooing when she makes the music start!
Unlike Brayden, Lilly LOVES her paci!!
Lilly enjoys sitting in the bouncy seat while we eat dinner.

Another Football Game

2011-10-20T14:30:00.006-04:00

We took Lilly to her 2nd football game. This time, the weather was almost too hot (the 1st game it was pretty chilly & very windy!) Lilly got to enjoy more of the tailgating at the 2nd game

Tailgating with Mawmaw Rachel

& Brayden got to play some cupcakes & football as well!

Taking a juice break after playing football with Paw.
It isn't a very good picture of Lilly, but this photo shows her NCSU outfit that my mom made, complete with a little bow.
Please excuse me in this photo, I had Lilly strapped to me & was trying to hold Brayden in my lap at the same time and he was squirming all over the place!
The best part of the game is that WE WON!!!

Fun times with Mommy

2011-10-20T14:09:00.006-04:00

I am keeping Brayden at home 2 days a week until I go back to work. I have been trying to do some fun things with him that we often don't get time to do when both Matt & I are working (plus it saves us a decent amount of money each week!) Although we have had a few "difficult" days, overall it is going really well!

The first day I kept Brayden at home, I took him (and Lilly of course) to Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh. Of course, like normal, I had the camera with me, but only took a few photos the entire time we were there! Brayden had a blast playing at the big train table.
He wasn't as into the "pretend play" area as I thought he would be. Maybe it was because there was SO MANY people there that it was overwhelming to him. Maybe it would be better if he had a friend to play with while we were there. I did snap a quick picture of him in the ambulance & playing on the slide though!

While Brayden played, Lilly enjoyed a nice long morning nap!
After a while downstairs, we went upstairs to the sports area where Brayden enjoyed playing soccer. We also checked out the "Make your own car" area. He loved racing his car down the track & seeing it crash of the end!

He also really enjoyed the "bank" area. Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend much time in that space because it was lunch time & we were all getting hungry. Next time, I will know to start upstairs & then work our way back downstairs!

We also got together with a friend from high school & her 2 girls. As soon as Stacy picked up Lilly, Brayden ran over (he was being very protective!) and sat with Stacy.
They came over last week for a play date. Brayden enjoyed showing Megan & Sarah his slime that he made at school! They also colored, rode on the tricycle, played with the trains & train table!

Megan wanted in on the baby holding action too!

Thanks for coming to visit Stacy, Megan, and Sarah! We will have to get together again soon!

Next week, Brayden starts swim lessons at the Y!! He is old enough to be in a class without me! I can't believe that he is already 3!! After swim lessons are over, I am not sure what we will do. I am trying to do a little lesson with him each day, mainly to work on the stuff he is missing at school. His teacher is even sending home "homework" (at my request). This week, he is working on writing the letter "E"!

Lilly's 1st football game

2011-10-04T16:16:00.008-04:00

This past weekend, we took Lilly to her 1st NCSU football game. She did great!! It did get rather cold & windy towards the end of the game, but Lilly was snuggled up next to me in the Baby K'Tan & wrapped in a blanket so she was nice & toasty!

Dressed in her Wolfpack gear & ready for the game!

Tailgating with Paw before the game

Brayden also enjoyed playing cornhole during the tailgate

Lilly #1 (she is almost 1 now!) was at her 1st game as well!

The stands were full to start the game...and quickly empied in the 4th quarter when it was apparent we were going to lose :(

Nice & warm next to Mommy

Wide awake after a 3rd quarter snack!

Overall. it was a good day even though the Pack lost. Maybe the next game will be better!!

Sweet photos of Lilly

2011-10-04T16:01:00.002-04:00

My mom found these butterfly wings & we decided to take a few photos of Lilly wearing them. I am obviously not a photographer, but I still think they came out pretty well!

I really wanted to take a few without the paci in her mouth, but she was having NO PART in that! Oh well!

Visit to Albemarle

2011-10-04T15:37:00.007-04:00

Since we were at my parents house, the kids and I stayed for a few extra days to see more family & friends.

We went to my grandmother's house one day to visit. She was VERY excited to meet Lilly & to see Brayden again.

Ms Elaine really wanted to hear Lilly cry (she is just a tiny bit crazy :)

Brayden & Lilly's great-great Aunt Peggy came to visit Shelly (Ms Elaine's daughter) was in town from California, so she also got to meet Lilly!
Brayden also got to spend a good bit to time with Paw playing when it wasn't raining.

They played baseball & soccer outside,

went for walks in the little red car,

rode Paw's 4 wheeler around the yard,

played with the cats (my parents have 5 cats & Brayden knows all of their names & where they sleep), and played at Brayden's new tool bench. My dad bought this tool bench for Taylor in 2006 & has hung on to it all this time waiting for Brayden to be big enough to enjoy it. He really enjoyed the drill!!

We had a great trip & enjoyed staying with Grammy & Paw for a few days. Unfortunately, my dad got sick the day we were supposed to leave & ended up in the hospital for 2 days. We are still not really sure what was/is wrong with him :( but thankfully, he is feeling better now.

Siblings

2011-10-04T15:19:00.002-04:00

Big brother Taylor is always watching out from above...

Thomas the Train!

2011-10-03T21:13:00.008-04:00

Last weekend, we surprised Brayden with a trip to see/meet Thomas the Train in Spencer, NC!
We went to my parents & spent the night since they were going with us & they live about 1.5hrs closer than we do. I am so glad we did that because it was raining cats & dogs the day we went!!! Thankfully, the rain eased up in the afternoon, but it was nasty during our train ride.

We even met up with your good friends the Toomey's there for a fun filled day of trains! Our first adventure was to ride on Thomas for about 30 minutes. The boys both enjoyed this & asked to ride Thomas again! Maybe next year boys!
Then we found the museum store & the boys played at some really cool train tables.
Eventually, we were able to get Brayden & John away from the train tables to meet Sir Topham Hatt.
The NC Transportation Museum also had a Roundhouse & turntable with LOTS of train cars of all different types. There was also a building with old cars & trucks that were need to look at. The other really cool thing to do was to play with the model trains that had been set up. There were buttons to push that made the trains & other parts of the models do stuff. It was really cool to see!After exploring all of the museum, it was time to go to the Thomas Store & play area. Unfortunately, because of all of the rain earlier in the day, the play area was very wet & Brayden didn't want to play in the wet mud (thankfully!) Brayden loaded up at the store thanks to Grammy & Paw. He came home with a new truck (Madge who can haul train cars), a placemat, and a Thomas poncho. We also bought him a t-shirt.

Thanks Jane for sending us the photos you took in the nice weather and thank you Patrice for letting me steal a few photos from your blog!!

Even though I didn't get any pictures of it (I think my mom and/or Amy might have) Lilly was along for the ride & enjoyed her 1st train ride as well at only 3 weeks old! She is such a trooper & just goes with the flow so well!

Go Wolfpack!!

2011-10-03T21:03:00.004-04:00

Since Lilly & I were still in the hospital for the Wolfpack's 1st football game of the season, I told Matt that he & Brayden should go to the game. Of course, we had to dress Lilly for the event as well even though she didn't get to go to the game.

Cheering on the Pack from the hospital (and only 24hrs old)!

These next photos were before the 2nd home game. I was trying to get Brayden to make a "normal" face!

Week 3 update

2011-10-03T20:49:00.004-04:00

Brayden continues to do really well with his sister. He loves to hold her & kiss on her. In general, he is very gentle with Lilly. Sometimes though, he gets a bit excited & just doesn't know is own strength & tries to hug her a bit too tight!

Brayden also likes to share is cars, trucks, and trains with Lilly. He often puts one in her car seat or right next to her when we are holding her on the couch. It is so sweet that he wants to share his toys with her & play with her! I just hope it continues as she grows & really does want to play with his toys!
Also, Oma & Opa came up from the beach for a visit this weekend . It was great to see them & for them to meet Lilly! Brayden enjoyed playing with Opa's iPhone and looking t all of the photos on there!!

Week 2 in Pictures

2011-10-02T15:03:00.005-04:00

Spending time with Paw

One of Matt's parents friends made both Brayden & Lilly NCSU bears.
Here is Brayden opening his bear!

This is how we travel these days! I am LOVING the Baby K'Tan!! Sorry the photo is so blurry.

Mommy photo shoot (I am NOT a photographer)

Love this one!

Playtime on the floor mat

Lillian and Family

2011-10-02T14:51:00.004-04:00

I was finally able to get some of the photos my mom & Matt's mom took at Lilly's birth.

Lilly with Nana

Lilly with BBLilly with Grammy

Lilly with PawLilly with Aunt Dana

Lilly with Uncle John

Brayden...the Big Brother

2011-09-13T15:19:00.004-04:00

So far, Brayden has adjusted to Lilly's arrival in our lives pretty well. He loves to hold her & give her kisses. The first thing he asks everyday when he gets home from schools is "where is my baby?"

We have had a few challenging days in regards to acting out, but I am not certain if that is because of Lilly's arrival or just his age (almost 3 years old now)! Hopefully, the worst is behind us...HA! What am I thinking!

I will leave you with a few photos of Brayden holding Lilly. It is so sweet!!

First time holding her

and a few days later

LOVES to giver her kisses

Lilly's first Bath

2011-09-06T16:41:00.006-04:00

Today, Lilly got her first bath at home. Overall, it went MUCH better than Brayden's 1st bath!! She was definitely not happy about the situation, but was quickly soothed & calmed once it was over.

Sleeping peacefully just before bathtime

Comforted slightly by the paciAll clean in her kitty cat towel.

Going home!!

2011-09-06T16:28:00.007-04:00

After several nights in the hospital, Lilly & I were both discharged. Everyone was doing well & VERY ready to get home!!

Getting dressed to go home

Lilly had to get dressed up in her NCSU going home attire just like Brayden did when he came home from the hospital. My mom made the onsie...isn't it adorable!!! There is a bow on the left side, but Lilly's arm is covering it up. She also has a hair bow, but we couldn't get it to stay in place.

Dressed & ready to go!

It was really hot outside, so we didn't stop to take a picture in the carseat & then when we got home Lilly was ready to eat so again, we didn't get a picture! Lilly did excellent in the car & didn't make a peep! Hopefully, she will be a good rider like Brayden because we are on the go quite a bit!!

Nana, BB & Brayden were waiting for us when we got home! Uncle John & Aunt Dana also come over for a while. Nana cooked a yummy dinner everyone & everyone helped out with Brayden so that Mommy & Daddy could both get showers & relax a little bit.
Brayden also decided that he was ready to hold Lilly for the 1st time. The only problem is that he didn't want to wash his hands! Finally, after a little convincing, he washed his hands & held Lilly for about 1.2 seconds (and he refused to look at the camera!!) Maybe next time!
Overall, our first night home went really well! Brayden slept good, Lilly slept & ate well, and Mommy & Daddy both got some much needed sleep in our own bed! Hopefully, tonight will go just as well...

Lillian's Arrival - September 2, 2011

2011-09-06T16:06:00.006-04:00

Lillian Grace arrived on Friday, September 2, 2011 at 10:34am. She is absolutely perfect & beautiful! She weighed in at a petite 5lbs 15oz and was 19" long.

After an uneventful, c-section Lilly, Daddy, and Mommy got to hang out in the recovery room for a few hours until they had a room available for us. We had some nice bonding time together and Lilly got to eat her first meal. She was a champ at eating from the start!

Snuggling with Mommy in the recovery room.

I love this one...she was SO alert the entire time. This sweetie didn't sleep for several hours after she was born & then it was only little cat naps!Lilly also got her 1st bath while we were in the recovery room. She was not a fan!

Big feet & long toes for such a tiny thing...

Lilly found her thumb pretty quickly & continues to suck her thumb/fingers sometimes now when she is hungry.

Once we got to the room, Lilly got to meet the rest of her family: Grammy, Paw, Nana, BB, Aunt Dana & Uncle John.

Big Brother Brayden come a bit later in the afternoon after a MUCH needed nap!! (Thanks again to Uncle Joe & Aunt Amy for keeping Brayden for us!!) It took Brayden a while to warm up to his new sister, and it probably didn't help that Mommy was stuck in a bed, attached to all sorts of things (IV, etc). However, Lilly was smart enough to bring Brayden a few gifts (Buzz Lightyear toy & Toy Story 3 movie), which made Brayden warm up a little bit more. Eventually, Brayden came up on the bed with me & met his new baby sister :)

Sleeping angel at the hospital

Waiting...

2011-08-31T07:56:00.003-04:00

Only 48 more hours before we check into the hospital & prepare for the arrival of Lillian Grace! So excited to meet her!!

Today is my last day of work for 2011! I can't believe the time is here already, but I am so thankful that I have a job that "gives" me so much vacation, sick, etc time to use with my babies.

Belly Shots

2011-08-21T20:18:00.003-04:00

I have been getting lots of people asking to see my belly at this point so here you go. This was just taken a few minutes ago. I am 37 weeks 4 days (11 days to go!!!) Please excuse the frizzy hair...Brayden & I had been outside playing baseball after dinner & it was HOT & humid!

As a comparison, here I was at 36 weeks 4 days with Brayden.

Lillian's Nursery

2011-08-09T20:54:00.006-04:00

Well, with the exception for straightening things up a little more, Lilly's nursery is completed! I had a vision in my head of what I wanted, but had no idea how to make that happen. My mom has worked SO hard the past few months to make the room beautiful & girlie! My AMAZING mom totally transformed the room from a baby boy nursery to a sweet little girl nursery just like I had envisioned!!

I LOVE the way it turned out!
My mom recovered the chair & ottoman (not shown), made the curtains and bed skirt, painted the letters over the crib, painted the light switch cover, made the hair bow holder, trimmed the lamp shade with fabric to match the bed skirt & curtain, and made the pillow in the chair.

The cross-stitch hanging between the doors was made by my nanny, Mary, when I was a baby. It is a picture of my favorite toy "O-Bunny". The colors were almost perfect for Lilly's room so we thought it would be fitting to hang O-Bunny in Lilly's room. Mary passed away last summer at age 101. She was an amazing, sweet woman, so I am very glad that a part of her is in Lilly's room. I think Mary would be pleased too!
The photo frame over the changing table has ultrasound photos in it for now. Of course, as Lilly grows, we will change out the photos of our sweet little girl.Thank you Mom for making Lilly's room perfect! I know that Lilly is going to love her room as much as I do! I love you!! You are amazing!

Brayden's Big Boy Room!!

2011-07-24T15:47:00.005-04:00

We started working on Brayden's "Big Boy Room" back in early March, but we just finished putting the final touches on the room this afternoon! Partly because we have been so busy & partly because I have been lazy! We went with a sports/ball theme for now because the boy is CRAZY about sports right now! He loves to play baseball & soccer so it just made sense & it is a theme that will last a few years at least.

My mom made the dust ruffle, curtains, and throw pillows for the bed (which I am currently LOVING at story time)! I picked a comforter that is navy/red so that it will grow with Brayden...I didn't want something that he was going to outgrow in just a few years. Currently, he has "Cars" sheets on the bed but he also has a set of sports/ball sheets that match the lamp and wall clings. Again, something that we could fairly easily (and cheaply) change out as he grows older. The lamp was really the starting spot for the room! I saw it at Target & immediatly knew that was what we needed for Brayden's big boy room!

Aunt Dana painted the letters and did an incredible job! I was blown away by how they turned out!The animals on the shelf (rhino, lion, and elephant) are all hand made of beads. They are incredible pieces of art! One of the Drs that I work with at Duke brought them back for Brayden from South Africa and Brayden really likes them a lot!

A HUGE THANK YOU to my mom & Aunt Dana for helping make Brayden's room so special & awesome! We definitely couldn't have done it with out your help & talent!

Quick update on Mis Lilly

2011-07-13T16:37:00.003-04:00

I had another U/S today to check Miss Lilly's growth. She was still right on track, just under the 50% percentile. The estimated weight as of today (31 weeks 6 days) is 4 pounds 1 ounce! What a blessing & relief that she continues to grow big & healthy! I still have only gained ~13 pounds so I was a little worried that Lilly's growth had slowed as well, but so far it hasn't.

Next week I will start going 2x per week for non-stress tests. That just means I get to sit in a comfy chair for about 20-30 minutes each afternoon & relax, read a book, etc while they monitor Lilly's HB, movements, & any contractions that I might be having.

In other news, we had our first baby shower this past weekend & got lots of great things...adorable clothes in all sizes, diapers, and some "girly" baby toys! Both Matt's mom & my mom had crocheted blankets and my mom had also made 3 sweaters. We brought back lots of the "big ticket baby items" that had been in storage at my parents house. Now we can actually start putting everything together & really getting ready for Lilly's arrival in just over 7 weeks!!! I have officially been scheduled for a c-section on Sept 2!!!

July 4th at Sunset Beach

2011-07-06T20:53:00.008-04:00

We spent July 4th at Sunset Beach this year. We have been going for the holiday ever since Matt & I have been together. It is so much fun to spend time with his family! They are all just a little crazy! This is the view from Matt's grandparents house...how can you beat this?

Brayden's cousin, Sid, is 1 year older and this is the 1st time that they really spent any time together & interacted. The boys played for hours together with very minimal interference from the adults. It was so nice to see them playing together! I hope it continues for many years!

This year we packed in lots of fun activities including a baseball game, putt putt, fishing, swimming, and time on the beach.

Learning to swim with Aunt Dana. After a few minutes, Brayden really loved the pool! By the 2nd day, he was starting to stick his face in the water & blow bubbles. I think swimming lessons are in store for us this fall :)

Enjoying the baseball game and goofing off with SidCousins

It is not the best picture of either one of them, but Brayden enjoyed spending some quality time at the baseball game with his Papa (Matt's grandfather).Playing on the beach with Sid. They buried ALL of their toys under PILES & PILES of sand...it took us a while to dig eveything out when it was time to go home for the day!
I think this is Sid going for his Hole in One! I just like John's expression in this photo.

Brayden was also really scared of the big volcano at the putt putt that went off every 15 minutes or so. He would totally freeze and then freak out so he didn't play the entire course, but I think he enjoyed the parts that he actually played on. Maybe next year will be a little better.

Getting some help from Aunt Dana
We were "inside" the volcano at the point. He couldn't see it and so he wasn't scared of it!He also got really upset on the last hole when his ball disappeared...Where did it go??
so I let him putt my ball in on the last hole as well. He was amazed that it just "went away".After 4 straight days of playing hard all day and no nap, this is what happens...He was TOTALLY passed out on Aunt Dana at 6pm Monday evening! It didn't last long though! As soon as we started changing him into PJs, he was up and off to the races again!
Learning the delicate process of "preparing to fish" from BBHelping Daddy fish

Brayden's new sleeping arrangements and Father's Day

2011-06-26T21:22:00.002-04:00

Last Saturday, this is where I found Brayden napping. He had taken his pillow and all of his "animals" (i.e. stuffed animals) under the bed with him. He did the same thing on Sunday and again yesterday. Maybe is room is too bright during the daytime to nap. I don't know & I really don't care...as long as he is napping!

We didn't do much for Father's Day this year. Matt requested Char-Grill for dinner so that was our big Father's Day "feast".

My two silly boys!

28 Week Ultrasound

2011-06-26T21:10:00.005-04:00

Wow!! Only 9.5 weeks to go!!! We still have SO MUCH to do!! I know it will get done though, and if it doesn't, oh well!

About a week & a half ago, we had another ultrasound done to check on Miss Lilly's growth. She continues to be right at 50% and to measure right on track!! This is such a huge blessing! Because she is still breech (or was at the time), we got some really good photos of her face!!

When you look at her face next to Brayden's at about the same age (this is at 30 weeks for him), I think they look a lot alike. Especially their noses which is great...Brayden has a cute little nose now! I do think that Lilly's mouth is shaped differently that Brayden's though.

Otherwise, the pregnancy is going well. I get tired more easily these days, but I have also been working more hours so that could be a big part of the problem! I am definitely carrying Lilly a lot lower than I did Brayden which is causing different aches & pains this time around. Nothing too bad though thankfully! Also, at the 28 week appt, I had only gained about 9 pounds. With Brayden at the same point, I had already gained 19 pounds. Makes me wonder if she is going to be smaller than Brayden or if I am just all baby. Either way, as long as she is healthy, I don't really care...less for me to lose afterward! I have another appt this Thursday and we will hopefully get the official c-section date then!

Recent School photos

2011-06-26T21:06:00.003-04:00

I don't know how they do it, but Brayden's school photos always turn out good!! He refuses to smile at the camera for us anymore but at least he cooperates at school! These are from about 2 weeks ago.

This is such a classic Brayden face! I love it!!

Belly shot

2011-06-23T20:20:00.003-04:00

I have had several requests for some updated belly shots, so here you go. Please excuse the extremely tired look on my face. I am exhausted today!

29 weeks...only 10 weeks to go!!!

For comparison sake, here I am at 28 weeks with Brayden. I think I look bigger with Brayden at 28 weeks than I do with Lilly now at 29 weeks. What do you think??

We got some really good ultrasound photos last week. I will try to get them uploaded in the next few days along with Brayden's most recent school photos.

Proud of my Boy!!

2011-06-14T21:13:00.003-04:00

Maybe I am just a proud momma, but I was rather impressed with Brayden's coloring ability when I saw this picture on Friday. I asked his teacher & she confirmed that he actually colored the bubbles all on his own. He is also really into drawing circles & loops these days which is what most of the rest of the drawings are :)

Brayden's Tree House

2011-06-13T21:28:00.004-04:00

When I was little, my dad built me a tree house. It wasn't actually in a tree, but rather a fort type structure that was up in the trees. I spent hours up there as a kid "cooking for the governor" and just playing. We made "monkey grass" berry juice, fermented the corn growing in the field behind the house, and mud pie cakes served on red bud leaves. It was great!

The biggest problem with the tree house was the steps. They were really steep (think ladder) & it was not very safe to climb up/down especially if you were carrying something. Enter Brayden into the picture...

My dad decided to redo the tree house & make it safer to get into, but to also add to it. He replaced all of the railings, completely redid the steps going up/down & added a slide & swing. Here is the finished product. It looks AMAZING & Brayden LOVES it!! He can spend hours going the stairs & down the slide!

As Brayden & Lilly grow up, I hope that they enjoy the tree house as much as I did when they visit Grammy & Paw!

New Favorite Activity

2011-06-13T21:17:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago my parents bought Brayden a sand & water table and I finally got it put together last Saturday. I had been looking for a cheap used one, but hadn't found one yet so I am really glad that they got this for him. He LOVES it!!! I can actually move the table on the deck so that it is in front of the kitchen door & see him from the entire kitchen. It is really nice because he can play outside and I can still cook, wash dishes, etc in the cool comfort of the house :)

Just some photos

2011-05-25T20:57:00.008-04:00

I had another ultrasound last week at (23 weeks 6 days). Lilly measured right on track or slightly ahead this time around! Here are a few shots of her sweet little face :)

Belly shot @ 20 weeks 3 days...I think I am MUCH bigger now at 24 weeks!

This week, 2 of our good friends from church have had their little girls! I went & met both girls last night...they are so sweet! I think Lilly must have known that her future BFFs were being born because she was moving ALL day on Monday & Tuesday! She was excited too!

I am the "bad" mom & never seems to remember to take photos of Brayden any more. Maybe it is the pregnancy, but I don't think so. I even remember to take my camera with me most of the time, but I forget to pull it out! I did ask Matt to take a few photos of Brayden & I together a few weeks ago before church. Brayden was not in the mood to smile.

We held a HUGE yard sale at our house 2 weekends ago to raise money for our missionary friends in Papua New Guinea. We asked our church for items to sale & boy did they respond!! It was amazing! It took about 3 weeks to sort, price and organize everything and then about 2 hours to set everything out on the day of the sale. Of course, being me, I forgot to get my camera out during all of the yard sale prep so I don't have any photos of everything. Overall, it was a big success but exhausting for everyone involved!

Lillian Grace update

2011-04-30T21:40:00.003-04:00

Everything is going great with the pregnancy these days! I feel great most of the time, other than some minor back aches which I probably wouldn't have if I would stay on my sides when I sleep!

I still have not gained a lot of weight, but slowly I am inching upwards. I guess, the less I gain now, the less I have to loose afterward! As long as Lilly is growing like she should be it is all good!

I promise that one day I will remember to take a photo of my growing belly. We were so good about doing that when I was pregnant with Brayden. That is what happens when you have another child(ren) to chase after all the time!

We go back in about 2.5 weeks for another ultrasound so I will try to post new photos of Lilly then :)

March of Dimes

2011-04-30T21:30:00.004-04:00

This morning, my parents and Matt's parents joined us for the March of Dimes walk. We have walked for the past 3 years in memory of Taylor (Team TBE). This year our team was much smaller than last year, but we still had a great time & raised a good bit of money for a wonderful cause!

Here are a few photos from the morning:

Brayden getting ready to drive his car in the walk

Just getting started

At the end of the walk

One day, I will learn never to stand beside my FIL in a photo!
Do you see the rabbit ears he is giving me? Ha Ha!

Afterward, we all went to lunch and then to the farmers market! Brayden ate lots of fresh strawberries and we came home with local honey, lots of strawberries, and fresh asparagus (my favorite)!

We had a great day and I can't wait for next year's walk!

It's a....

2011-04-11T20:16:00.008-04:00

We had our big ultrasound last Wednesday and found out that we are having a....

GIRL!!!!
Her name will be Lillian Grace (Lilly).

I am totally trusting the U/S tech on the sex...I really can't tell much of anything myself. The good news is that we get to have another ultrasound this Wednesday, so hopefully, we can better see everything! This girl would NOT cooperate for the tech to get all of the photos that were required for a Level 2 ultrasound, so we get more photos done!! Let's just hope that she will cooperate a bit more this time around :)

Here are a few of Lilly's first photos.

I think this one looks a lot like Brayden at his 18week ultrasound.

She was waving at us (and poking me the entire time!)

All of Lilly's measurements were exactly on track for where they were supposed to be. I was 17 weeks 6 days when the ultrasound was done & she measured right at 18 weeks!

In Brayden news, he has started potty training and is doing OK. I don't know that he really '"gets" it, but maybe he does & he just doesn't care one way or another. The other big change in Brayden's life is that he suddenly (almost 2 weeks ago) decided on his own that he wanted to sleep in his big boy room. It was a Wednesday night & I figured it couldn't hurt, so I moved his radio, "friends", and humidifier to his new room and put him in bed figuring he would be out in a few minutes. Nope...he slept all night like a rock! He has been sleeping in his bed ever since & has only gotten out of bed once during naptime (that we know of) and made a mess!

Some of our friends were looking at the ultrasound photos the other night at small group. Brayden saw the photos & immediately ran over and said "that's my baby"! Someone asked him what his baby was going to be & he said "baby sistah" with a big grin on his face! I really don't think he understands the difference yet about sister & brother, but he is happy either way at this point! It is so cute!!

Brayden and John's Music video

2011-03-12T08:52:00.002-05:00

Long overdue update

2011-03-11T20:47:00.007-05:00

Sorry that I have vanished for the past few months.

Being pregnant, working 40+ hours a week, having a very active 2 year old, and trying to keep a house semi-clean apparently is harder work than I thought! Luckily, I seem to be over the cruddy feeling stage and the extreme fatigue has eased off. Now, I am still upright on Friday afternoon instead of passed out on the couch the minute I get home from work. Things are starting to look up!

What all has been going on around here?

Well, Brayden's vocabulary has exploded over the past few months! It has been amazing to watch him learn & take in new things! We are getting full sentences and thoughts now instead of pharses and single words. I can actually have a real conversation about school, our friends, etc!

He has discovered a love for his Uncle John's music (the band Silver) and is constantly asking to hear "John's music"! Brayden also enjoys playing his guitar along with Uncle John's music! I have a video of this uploading, but it is taking way to long tonight. I will post it later this weekend!

Brayden also loves to play with his trains and cars and can spend a good deal of time moving them throughout the downstairs. One of his favorite "games" is to hide as many of his trains, matchbox cars, and whatever else will fit in the cracks between the couch cushions. You never know what you might find in there these days! Brayden ALWAYS know exactly where each car, train, etc is at though...it is amazing at his memory!

Brayden also loves to ride his tricycle around the house. He hasn't quite figured out the pedals yet, but can get around very well pushing with his feet. As he is riding around, he likes to pretend that he is going to see his two best buddies from church, Brian and John. He will say "bye bye...see you later...going to see Brian and John". Then when he comes back in the room, he will say "I'm back from Brian and John's"!

"Riding" the 4-wheeler with Paw.

At school, Brayden is thriving and apparently he has finally started talking at school as well as at home! Just the other day, his Spanish teacher sent home a Spanish report card. The report card listed several words that the kids had recently been taught. I "quizzed" Brayden in the car on the way home and he knew several of the Spanish words. I was so impressed! When we got home, I asked Brayden to tell Daddy how to say "fruit" in Spanish. Brayden looked at Daddy and said "fruit in Spanish"!! He is SUCH an Enzor!

Brayden's daycare also did some really cute photos a few weeks ago with bunny rabbits. The photos turned out so good, that we had to get some! He looks like a little boy now! I just can't believe how quickly he has grown up and changed!

Last week, Brayden had strep throat and a really bad ear infection. Luckily, Matt nor I got the strep throat! While we were at home, I thought he might enjoy a Popsicle to ease his throat. This was the 1st time Brayden had had a Popsicle that I knew of. He seemed to enjoy it, although it got very messy!

We also had ice cream cupcakes for my birthday on Wednesday night. Brayden seemed to enjoy his...don't you think?

Last weekend Brayden stayed with Nana & BB so that Mommy and Daddy could paint his big boy room (and get a much needed sleep in weekend)! We almost have his new room ready to go and once we put all of the finishing touches on the room, I will post some photos (I promise)! Nana & BB even took Brayden to the aquarium for the day!

On the new baby front, I am 14 weeks. The Drs confirmed a c-section date of Sept 1, 2011. We will hopefully (pending on the baby's cooperation) find out the sex on April 6!! Just today, I started feeling the first tiny little butterfly like flutters in my belly! I am so excited to be feeling a little bit of movement! My belly has definitely popped out this 3rd pregnancy a little earlier than it did with either Taylor or Brayden, but that is OK with me! Everything is looking/sounding good on the 2 ultrasounds we have had so far. So far, one of the hardest things for me has been not being able to drink water. Every time I drink plain water, I end up feeling REALLY sick to my stomach. I lived on ginger ale (yuck!!!) for a few weeks. Now I can drink the aquafina flavored water, but I CRAVE a big, tall glass of ice cold water!

Here is baby #3 at 6 weeks 5 days.

and again at 9 weeks 1 day.

That is all that has been going on in around here! I promise to do better in the coming months!

Brayden's BIG Announcement

2011-01-21T08:16:00.004-05:00

Yes...Brayden is going to be a big brother in September 2011!!! As you can see, he is very excited about this news!

More to come later when I am not so stinking tired all the time (and after I finish the Christmas posts!)

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T21:36:00.008-05:00

Merry Christmas (a day late) everyone!! We had a wonderful Christmas even though we didn't get to see all of the family that we had hoped because of possible snow.

We started out celebrating Christmas with our small group on Wednesday night. We had lots of good food and enjoyed spending time together. We have the most AMAZING group of friends! Matt, Brayden, and I are incredibly blessed to be part of this group!

The boys (Brayden, John, and Brian) watching a movie together.

Thursday was spent doing things around the house and getting last minute gifts. Matt & I also went to Brayden's class party at school.

Friday, we all slept in and hung out together. I even took a nap while Brayden was napping!! I haven't done this in a LONG time! It felt so nice!! We all went to church together for Christmas Eve service then Matt's parents arrived. We had a nice dinner together and Brayden put out cookies for Santa and carrots for Rudolph before going to bed.

Brayden carried Santa's cookies to the fireplace all by himself! He was so proud!

Christmas morning, we all got up to see what Santa brought Brayden. Brayden got a new train (Percy), play dough, Color Wonder paint, and The Letter Factory movie.

Of course, he was most excited about the train!! After Uncle John and Aunt Dana arrived, we had Christmas breakfast then opened gifts! Brayden got 2 new train sets, a soccer goal, a Elmo Potty book, big boy underware, several cars, and Sir Topham Hatt's car (from Thomas).

My parents & grandmother were supposed to come after lunch, but because no one knew if/when it was going to snow, they opted to stay at home. After Brayden's nap, we opened the gifts from my parents. Brayden got a tricylce and another train set!

About 9pm it started to snow and didn't stop until after lunch today!! We got a total of about 6". It was a great packing snow so we made a snowman this afternoon! Brayden also helped Matt clear the sidewalk and driveway today.

Our house in the snow. The tree in the front yard had at least 50 robins in it before we came outside. They were LOVING all of the berries left on the tree!
Brayden did not enjoy the snow while the snow was still falling.
Can't say I really blame him though...it was COLD!!

Helping clear the sidewalk with Daddy!

Our snowman :)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Fun

2010-12-20T21:28:00.007-05:00

I figured I should go ahead & post about some of our pre-Christmas activities before it is spring!

Our first Christmas activity (after the Christmas parade and decorating the house) was to decorate gingerbread houses! Brayden really enjoyed this task and ate about as much candy as he put on the house!

Just getting started decorating the house

John had to stop for a M & M break :)

Brian got a little help from Caroline

John jumping off the kangaroo climber. Brayden was the first one to scale to this height and jump. Of course, everyone else had to follow suit! It is actually sort of high...about 3 feet! Sorry Amy!!

Matt & I ready to go to the BE &K Christmas Party. Thanks to my friend Jill, I had a great dress and jewelry to wear!

This past weekend we hosted Matt's extended family for our annual Christmas celebration. We always have a great time hanging out with the family. They are all CRAZY and make things so much fun! Plus the food is always great!

Sid and Brayden playing with the trains. Overall, they played very well together and got along great! Sid just turned 3 in early November, so the boys are right at 1 year apart in age.

Oma & Opa watching the boys do something.

Brayden, Ron, and Sid

Matt, Ron, and Sandy - getting ready to eat dinner

Opening gifts! Brayden and Sid both got Leapfrog readers and books!!

Benny & Teresa (BB and Nana) I never get a photo of them together,
so I figured I would take the opportunity while I could!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I will return after Christmas...hopefully!

Four Years

2010-12-11T17:44:00.002-05:00

Four years ago today we welcomed our first son into this world as an angel. Four years ago today my world changed forever. Four years ago today I began grieving for the son that I would never get to see grow into a joyful little boy that his little brother is now.

I am thankful every day that God chose me to be Taylor's mother.

Taylor Benjamin, I will love you forever.
Love ,
Mommy

Catching Up

2010-12-05T21:59:00.011-05:00

It seems like November flew by in the blink of an eye! We have been super busy this past month. Here is an update of what we have been up to.

Early in November, we went to the last NCSU home football game of the season!

Tailgating at the last home NCSU football game of 2010!

Playing beanbags (cornhole) with Miss Emma at the tailgate!

Possibly the coolest 2 year old in the world! Notice how often
the hat & glasses show up in the photos.

The following weekend, we went to the Raleigh Christmas parade with Amy & John!

The boys had a blast!!

John was all bundled up waiting on the parade to start!

Once the parade started coming by, Brayden was very into it. Especially when the fire truck came by at the end!

Giant shopping cart...Goodness Grows in NC! This thing was HUGE!!

Giant balloon that they had trouble controlling right in front of us.
Brayden LOVES for us to clear out the garage and get the cornhole boards out. He loves to play "beanbag" and it will keep him occupied for a pretty long time! When the weather was chilly, but not cold, the garage was pretty warm, so it wasn't bad to hang out there for a while....now however, it is COLD in the garage! No more beanbags for a while!!

Concentrating on the "game"

Classic Brayden lookChilling with Uncle John and Aunt Dana (wearing Uncle John's glasses) at Thanksgiving

My little Indian

So as you can see, we have been very busy! Brayden is growing so quickly and talking so much more these days (when the mood strikes). He loves to play with his friends and for the most part, they all share toys well.

One funny story is that Brayden can't (won't) say "Thomas" as in Thomas the Tank Engine. He says "Bodis". I have been working with him when we are riding in the car about saying words correctly. I will say "T-T-Thomas" and Brayden will repeat "T-T-Bodis". I think he CAN say the word correctly, but just doesn't WANT to! He can clearly say the "T" sound though!

Happy Halloween 2010

2010-11-02T20:10:00.008-04:00

On Saturday, we spent some time playing baseball...I am scared of what type of athlete he will turn into one day. The kid can throw a ball (baseball or football) better than I can and he can kick a football & soccer ball VERY well! We are working on swinging & hitting a baseball as well as catching!

Then we carved a pumpkin with Brayden. He had already done this a few weeks ago with Grammie & Paw, but that pumpkin had since gone bad so we carved another one. Brayden enjoyed helping to get all of the "guts" out and then played in the driveway while I did the rest of the carving.

Running & jumping was a great entertainment during the boring phase of pumpkin carving!

On Sunday, our small group came over & we all (even the couples without kids) went trick or treating in the neighborhood.

My little elephant! Luckily, he loves the costume so we didn't have a fight about putting it on!

Monkey (Brian), Buzz Lightyear (John), and Elephant (Brayden)Our first house...Corey & Jill from our small group along with Corey's parents & another couple from church who live next to Corey & Jill. Jill had made special age appropriate goody bags for the boys...so sweet of her to day that for them!This was not a planned photo...the kids did this on their own! SO CUTE!Some of the houses that we went to had gone ALL out with their decorations & Brayden got a bit scared. Can't say I blame him at some of the houses!

We all just enjoyed hanging out & watching the kids have fun! Then we came back to our house for pizza and football.

The kids eating dinner after trick or treating

We had planned on Skyping our friends, Caleb, Adrienne, and Ben, who are in PNG, during the game but things didn't work out :(

The kids were super cute in their costumes and were all really well behaved!

Happy Halloween!

Brayden's 2nd Birthday Party!!

2010-11-01T20:48:00.007-04:00

Last Sunday we had our family over to celebrate Brayden's 2nd birthday!

My grandmother (Buh), parents, Matt's parents, Uncle John, and Aunt Dana all joined in for the party! After last year's HUGE party, having to cancel at the last minute because Brayden was sick, and the reschedule everything...I decided that something small & simple would be perfect for this year. We had a cookout and the opened presents and watched Brayden play.

Brayden got a train table (borrowed hand me down) from Matt & I plus a few trains. He also got some track, more trains, and other train accessories. Nana & BB gave him an official NC State Jersey. He also received an Elmo backpack, several packs of crayons and coloring books. This kid is set for a while!!

Opening presents (Round 1)

Playing Trains with GrammyPatiently waiting for his Elmo Cake

The Elmo Cake

Opening presents (Round 2)NCSU Jersey from Nana & BB

I wasn't really sure if he would like the trains yet or not, but almost immediately, he started playing with them. Now that we have the train table, I can often find Brayden happily playing at the table talking to the trains & other cars. SO CUTE!!

He LOVES the balloons! He carted them around all week long until 1 of them finally gave out & popped!

Happy Birthday Sweet Brayden!!! We love you!

Hillridge Farms

2010-10-25T22:02:00.006-04:00

This past Saturday, we headed out to a local pumpkin farm. Hillridge Farms has a LOT of activities for kids & Brayden had a blast!!

He enjoyed his 1st train ride, went down a giant slide, saw chickens, horses, ducks, turkeys, bunnies, and goats. Brayden also enjoyed playing in a corn pit, in the jay jump, and walk through a hay tunnel!

Coming down the giant slide!! Wheee!!!

Very excited to be on his first train ride!

Hay tunnel

Playing in the corn pit

Hay jump---literally a building full of hay that the kids can climb on & jump of off!

At the end of our trip, we went on a hayride around the farm to the pumpkin patch where we got to pick out 2 pumpkins. Brayden had a great time picking out the pumpkins & spending time with Mommy & Daddy! It was a great day & we can't wait to go back next year!

Wagon ride...I think he wanted to be back on the train!

Birthday Boy!!

2010-10-20T22:17:00.009-04:00

Today is Brayden's 2nd birthday!! Where has the time gone? Seems like just yesterday we were at the hospital getting ready to bring him home.

October 20, 2008 - 2 days old

October 20, 2009 - 1 year old

October 20, 2010 - 2 years old

We let Brayden open his gifts from us last night, which he enjoyed a lot this year. He was SO serious & careful when opening his gifts. It was sort of cute :)

Opening his first gift

A train!!

So serious!

Loving his new trains!

Brayden had a small party at daycare today during afternoon snack. The kids enjoyed a special Jello treat that we took in & then tonight I made his favorite dinner, spaghetti. After dinner, we went to small group & enjoyed Elmo cupcakes. Our small group also sang to him, which Brayden wasn't so sure about.

Elmo cupcake decorations that I made

Not so sure what to think of the singing...

Blowing out the candles

We will celebrate this weekend with family & a trip to Hillridge Farms (photos to come next week)

Happy Birthday Brayden!! Mommy & Daddy are SO very proud of you & the little boy that you have become. May God continue to bless you! We love you!

Wolfpack Football

2010-10-20T21:57:00.005-04:00

We have enjoyed Wolfpack tailgating this year! Brayden has enjoyed tailgating & watching the games as much as the rest of us. At the last game, he met 2 little boys who were about his age while we were tailgating. Their parking space was directly behind ours so it was easy to keep an eye on all 3 boys.

Brayden enjoys playing cornhole and football while we are tailgating.
Since Matt's parents, brother, & sister-in-law also go to the football games, we try to split Brayden's game time between our seats & their seats. It is also nice because their seats tend to be a bit more shaded than our seats, so it keeps Brayden out of the hot sun. He really gets into the games & loves watching the action!

We look forward to a few more football games this season & hopefully the Wolfpack will pull out some big wins!! Go Pack!!

Last beach trip of the summer

2010-10-11T21:44:00.008-04:00

About a month ago we went on our last beach trip of the summer with our great friends from church. The Ertel's have a family beach house & invited us and another couple in our small group down for the weekend. All three couples have boys 3 and under so it was a crazy full house!

The weather was perfect and the boys had a great time playing together on the beach & at the house! Thanks Ertel's for a wonderful weekend getaway!!

Road construction on the beach

John & Brayden
Brian (white), John (orange) and Brayden (red) -
I couldn't get a shot of all 3 boys facing front to save my life!!I LOVE these next 3 shots!!

John & Brayden loved sitting on the frogs!All three boys looking - Brayden, Brian, and John

Girls Weekend in the Mountains

2010-09-27T20:42:00.007-04:00

Last weekend my two best friends from hight school & I went to the mountains for a MUCH needed weekend away! We rented a cabin between Boone & Blowing Rock and just hung out together. We played lots of cards & watched a few movies. We went to Grandfather Mountain, the Daniel Boone Inn and to a Heritage Festival in Blowing Rock. It was a great time to be together again!

Our cute little cabin

Renee & I at Grandfather Mountain

View from top of Grandfather Mountain

Renee, Susan, and I at Grandfather Mountain

Love you guys!

Future Soccer Player?

2010-09-10T10:58:00.005-04:00

Check out Brayden's soccer skills in the video below!

Untitled from Jennifer Enzor on Vimeo.

He started out very early wanting to kick around the soccer ball. Of course, Matt jumped on this opportunity, but we really haven't pushed any one sport over another. He also really likes baseball and has a pretty good arm for an almost 2 year old! He loves to watch baseball on TV (which I find incredibly boring)!

New House - We are finally moved in!!

2010-09-09T15:11:00.008-04:00

The past 3 weeks have been just a little crazy around here! We moved into our new house on Saturday August 28, with the help of our wonderful friends and family! They had moved everything from the old house & into the new house by 12:30pm! Crazy!!

Matt & I spent the next few days arranging furniture, making updates, unpacking, and just generally settling in. We have a few boxes left, but pretty much everything is in its place. We also still have some updates to do, but nothing super urgent. I have been spending a good bit of my time painting all of the trim...I don't think this is a very good thing though because it is not looking very good :( I am calling a truce with the paint for today & doing some other things (blogging) instead!

So far, we are very happy to be in the new house. There is an awesome neighborhood park about 2 blocks away that we have been to a few times. Brayden loves that he can run between the living room, kitchen, and dining room making a big circle. He also loves going to the park and playing.

Brayden seems to have settled in rather well and enjoys being at the new house. He will start a new daycare that is MUCH closer just after his birthday. That should make our commutes a bit better :)

Here are some photos of the house mostly unpacked! Please excuse the rest of the boxes, etc that are still sitting around waiting to find a home.

View from front door

Playroom/living roomView from family room looking towards front door

Family RoomDining RoomKitchenNew breakfast room tableLaundry Room
Hall off kitchen looking towards laundry roomUpstairs hallGuest Room/OfficeExtra guest room right now (will eventually become Brayden's room)
Currently Brayden's roomBrayden's/Guest bathroom

Master BedroomMaster Bathroom/Closet

Cowboy Brayden

2010-08-23T20:48:00.003-04:00

These were taken at daycare a few weeks ago. I can't believe that he actually sat on a horse!

Braydenisms

2010-08-16T21:12:00.005-04:00

Brayden's vocabulary has really exploded this summer! He comes home everyday with a new word(s)!

Some of his favorite sayings right now are:

-I sit (sort of sounds like something else though and there is a funny story that goes along with this phrase)
-I throw (balls that is)
-I kick (again balls)
-guck (truck)
-Monies (mommy)
-Daays (daddy)
-My daay's guck (my daddy's truck)
-Airpain (airplane)
-bor (more)
-fuit (fruit)
-nacks (snacks)
-Apo (Elmo)

Brayden LOVES anything with balls and can really kick/throw the ball well! He tells everyone that he sees, wether he knows them or not, that "I throw" and "I kick" all the while demonstrating his throwing and kicking. He has mastered dropping and kicking the ball (much like a punter would do in football). We have had several people comment on his kicking skills especially! Do we have another soccer player on our hands?? We are planning on taking Brayden to most/all of the football games this season and I think he is really going to enjoy it! He is fascinated by watching all sports on TV, so it can only be better in person, right?

He also has started to enjoy coloring with his markers and when in the mood, can be VERY serious with his art work. He also loves to play with his block table and enjoys building towers and then knocking them down. Another recent love is trucks. Brayden was handed down a large plastic dump truck that is great for the beach! We kept is under his bed all winter and he would pull it out and play with it sometimes when we were in his room. Now, ever since the 4th of July when we took the truck to the beach, the truck has to be in bed with him as well!

Brayden also has learned how to climb into the car/truck on his own and then into his car seat. He insists most times of helping to buckle himself in as well. We allow him to do the top (chest) clip and then we do the rest. He is VERY independent and has a very stubborn attitude (wonder where he gets that from??)

Fruit of ALL kinds is by far his favorite food, followed closely by cheese. We watch a lot of Sesame Street these days, which really isn't such a bad thing I don't think. It teaches letters, numbers, and good morals. How bad can 1 episode of Sesame Street a day be?

Brayden is growing up way too fast and we are enjoying every minute of it! Most of the time, he is a laid back, easy going toddler who likes to flirt and play ball!

Busy Weekend

2010-08-15T21:35:00.006-04:00

Whew!!! We have had a super busy weekend and I don't think it is going to settle down anytime soon between moving, football, and the beach!

Saturday started with swimming lessons at 8:40 - 9:15. Then we headed over to daycare for Water Festival. They had a water filled bounce house, water play tables, bubbles, soccer, food, and several crafts. Brayden wanted to go in the bounce house (his first time ever) and so in we went with me fully dressed in jeans and a tank top. To get out, you had to go down a water slide and into a pool of water. Needless to say, I ended up completely soaked! Oh well! Out in the parking lot a fire truck was also out for kids to climb in. Brayden got a fire hat, got to meet a few real firemen, and got to sit up in the fire truck!

On Saturday afternoon, Matt & I took Brayden to "Meet the Pack" at Carter-Finely. Brayden got an autograph book with lots of players signatures and also got to have his picture taken with several players! We also got his little NCSU football signed by 2 players!

On Sunday, I took Brayden to the Dr because he just hadn't been quite himself the past few days. Turns out that my "mommy radar" was spot on. He has another ear infection in the right ear. Nothing too bad, but the Doc. said he definitely needed antibiotics.

Sunday afternoon, our small group got together for the 1st time all summer! The boys played in a little pool and then we all ate way too much yummy food! It was great to see everyone again and to hang out!

Funny side story: A while back our friend, Greg, was on his way to our other the Simpson's house. The houses all look similar & so you really have to know which house you are going to. Anyway, Greg walked up to the next door neighbor's house & rang the bell. They came to the door & Greg went in. At first he didn't think too much about it because the next door neighbors also go to our church and so Greg just thought that they were visiting the Simpsons....until he realized that the entire family was sitting the dining room having a family dinner. The Crenshaws will not let the story die & it is always a joke that comes up when we go to the Simpson's house. This afternoon at our small group gathering, the Crenshaw's had put out the below sign to ensure that Greg knew which house he was supposed to be going to. We got a bug kick out of it!

Beach Trip

2010-08-08T20:52:00.003-04:00

We just returned from a beach trip with my family from Nashville (Uncle Jeff and Aunt Betsy) and Chicago (David, Mij, Morgan, and Mark). We haven't seen them since last year's beach trip so we were really excited to visit! Sadly, I forgot to take the camera out of the car every day so I have NO photos of the entire weekend :(

Brayden only took a few moments on Friday morning to warm up to everyone and he had a blast playing with Mark (8) and Morgan (11). They were both awesome with him and they all enjoyed playing together in the pool and on the beach.

I also got to play Wii for the 1st time ever! Mark, Matt, and I played tennis, bowling, and golf. I was pretty bad at tennis and golf, but decent at bowling. Brayden enjoyed watching all of the balls on the tv!

Hopefully, we will be able to see them all again next year at the beach (or before)!

New house!!!

2010-07-28T20:59:00.006-04:00

After about 4 months on the market, we finally got an offer last Friday. We countered and they accepted our counter.
On Saturday, we turned around and made an offer on a new house! Again, they countered and we accepted. Today was our home inspection for both houses. Hopefully, not much was found on our current home.

The new house is empty and so the current owners are allowing us to rent from them for a few days so that we can move in over a weekend instead of during the week when we close.

During the 2 hour inspection today, I walked around & took a lot of photos of the new house. It is ~2200 square feet with a 2 car garage, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, family room, 4 pantry off the kitchen, living room, and dining room! The house is on 0.25 acre lot, which we are super excited about and is in a GREAT neighborhood! We are ready to get moved & start getting settled into our new house!

Untitled from Jennifer Enzor on Vimeo.

Day at the park

2010-07-19T21:38:00.003-04:00

Last weekend we went to the park on Saturday afternoon. Matt found a great little park that isn't too far from our house that had several play areas for different ages. It also had a big sand play area. Since it was about 95º and 100% humidity, we didn't stay but for about 30 minutes, but Brayden had a great time sliding, swinging, and playing in the sand!
This past Friday night we had a showing for our house so we went to dinner & then to waste some more time took Brayden to another playground to run off some energy. He had a great time running around & following these twin girls who were about 8 or 10 months older than him. He kept trying to do everything that they did -- it was so cute!

July 4th at the Beach

2010-07-06T21:14:00.011-04:00

Like always, we headed off to Sunset Beach for our annual 4th of July family gathering. Matt's entire family was there & we always have lots of fun with them. Uncle Sandy's birthday was Friday and Oma & Opa's Anniverary was on Sunday so we also had lots of celebrating to do!

We went to the beach for 2 days and to the pool one day. It took a little while for Brayden to warm up to the sand & water, but he eventually (with the help of cousin Sid, Aunt Lynn & Aunt Dana) decided that the water & sand were pretty fun!

Playing with his dump truck which was a HUGE hit!

Playing in the sand with Sid, Nana, and Aunt DanaBuilding a sandcastle with Aunt Dana and SidThe pool was just OK. Brayden wasn't a big fan...

Uncle Sandy's birthday present from Opa & Oma was fresh salmon for dinner.
They had it shipped from Pike Place Market in Seattle!!
Before dinner, they gave him the empty box & said that was his gift :)

We also went to a Myrtle Beach Pelicans baseball game as a group of 16! Brayden LOVED watching the baseball game & kept showing us how they pitch the ball! Sadly, the Pelican's team was not very good. I think the family could have done about as good a job playing as the team did. We all still had a great time together at the game!

Will, Charity, and Sid

Aunt Lynn had Opa & Oma's anniversary printed on the tickets!
How cool is that!?!?!
Brayden with Aunt Dana & Uncle John...possibly the coolest aunt & uncle around!Brayden & Aunt Dana dancing to the music during the game.Charity, Will & Brayden (Ron is also in the background).
Will and Charity are probably the 2nd coolest aunt & uncle around :)Brayden & BB - Brayden spent about 10 minutes putting a ticket in and out of BB's shirt pocket. Cousins -- they are about 2 weeks shy of being 1 year apart. The familyOma & Mamiebaseball field

On Sunday night, July 4th, we went to the Calabash 2nd Annual 4th of July Festival! The Embers played for almost 3 hours and we had hotdogs, pizza, and BBQ sandwiches for dinner!

Hanging out before the fireworks

Dancing with Charity and Sid

The EmbersBrayden entertaining himself with Chrarity's cup & straw.What else do you need for a July 4th festival?? Oh yeah...FIREWORKS!! Lots and lots of fireworks!! The town of Calabash went all out & had a great fireworks show! Brayden seemed to enjoy the fireworks after get got into Daddy's lap and kept clapping & saying "Yea!!" each time they stopped for a second.

I am so glad that Brayden is getting to know his extended family. I never really got to spend much time with my dad's family growing up because they all lived so far away so I love the tight-knit family feel. It is always just one big party when these folks get together! We are so blessed that we get to see Matt's family as much as we do. They are all amazing people and we love spending time with them!

Favorite photo right now...

2010-06-29T21:58:00.002-04:00

A day at the Zoo

2010-06-07T21:10:00.009-04:00

This past Saturday we went to the zoo! We meet my parents, my best friend Julie and her family, and Julie's parents there and had a great day!

We started out in Africa and say lots of giraffes, zebra, elephants, ostrich, rhinos, baboons, gorillas, and lions! Most of the animals were out were they could easily be seen.

After walking all over Africa, we stopped for a picnic lunch and then headed to North America for the afternoon. In North America we saw alligators, cougars, polar bears, sea lions, puffins, lots of birds, and a few snakes (which I stayed away from)!

My mom bought the boys these really cute lion and tiger sunglasses for our zoo trip!

Giraffes...they were walking and running all over the place

Elephants!The big baboon was propped up with his arm on the window ledge like a little old man!

Brayden and Wesley playing. Brayden would give the bag of snacks to Wesley and then take the bag away from Wesley! Wesley thought this was super funny!Brayden, Grammy, and Paw looking at the frogsWesley enjoying the cool air inside the reptile area

Lions. ROAR!!!Sea Lion or Seal? I really don't know which this is.Brayden passed out for about an hour. He missed the polar bear, sea lion/seal, and puffins but the nap was VERY much needed.I have no idea what they are looking at, but I thought the picture was cute.

Memorial Day Weekend at the Beach

2010-06-07T20:42:00.005-04:00

Last weekend we went to Sunset Beach for our annual Memorial Day weekend trip. Since Matt's grandparents, aunt, and uncle all live down there, we always have a place to stay & plenty of people to hang out with! Matt parents, Uncle John, and Aunt Dana also to the beach went for the long weekend!

We went to the beach on Saturday and Sunday. It was beautiful weather but the water was still a bit chilly for swimming. Brayden was not too fond of the water this year...hopefully this is just because it was still chilly.

On Saturday night, we decided to go play putt-putt. Brayden went along and although he didn't really play, he got in on the putt-putt action towards the end of the night.

Having a conversation with BBBB and Brayden playing putt-putt
Working on a hole in one!

NCSU Baseball Game

2010-06-01T21:01:00.005-04:00

A few weeks ago we went to an NCSU baseball game with the family to celebrate Uncle John's birthday! State was playing Duke and luckily State is pretty good at baseball...we won the game 8-1!!

Brayden had a great time watching the game and even meeting Ms Wuf! He has figured out how to "play" baseball and how to call a runner safe!

Paw's Little Red Car

2010-05-12T07:44:00.003-04:00

Last weekend we were in Albemarle & Paw got out his "Little Red Car". I think it is a 1964 Corvair Convertible. Brayden & I got to go for a short ride around the neighborhood which Brayden really enjoyed. He just sat in my lap & let the wind blow his hair!

Sorry for the bad photo...it was a spur of the moment ride & Matt only had his phone to take photos with!