Two Turkeys

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving break. Ours turned out great. The kids were into a good groove over the long weekend--playing and generally going along with whatever outing we planned. We also got the chance to break out of our home routine again to visit with friends in for the holiday break.

For the turkey dinner we ventured over the bridges again to Joel and Suzy's. Every year their neighbor, Christopher, takes Corinne under his wing. They only see each other once a year really, but you would think no time had passed. This year he helped Corinne find new uses for a half-pipe.

Hail Hitler!




Sam continues to grow leaps and bounds. He crawls to his destinations either army style or on all fours then pulls up on anything he can reach. He's even attempted to transfer between furniture. The world is his oyster right now.













Sam is getting the pincer grasp down, too. I don't know who enjoys the Cheerios more, Sam or Corinne. She gets the biggest kick out of feeding them to him (and helping herself to a handful, too). Then, of course, the sisterly love has to withhold the Cheerios while brother screams because he knows she has them. To Sam's delight she obviously went a little overboard here.

One of my favorite pictures when I was Corinne's age is one where I dressed Derek up in dress-up clothes. I guess the eldest child sees the younger as their play toy. Well, I've been trying to be creative with Corinne's hair lately, and she seemed all about the headband idea. Putting two and two together....

This is one for his high school yearbook.

Have a great week!

Just a Swingin'

This is the year of the pecan, and anyone with a pecan (pee-can or pi-caan take your 'pic') tree knows that the daily pecan picking must begin! Every other year the trees produce their bounty and this is our year. We worried early on that the trees were suffering because we were losing huge limbs every day. They would just split and hang their heavy heads, often knocking other limbs down on their descent. Then I noticed other trees in the neighborhood losing limbs just like ours. Evidently, when the limbs get so heavy the upper branches can't hold the weight and just crack. Not to worry. The pecan crop is still huge. As I type the backyard is covered with ripe nuts waiting to be picked up. There is a small blessing in the fact that they only produce every 2 years.

Our next challenge was to entertain 2 chill'uns while we played squirrel. Hello, swing. Sam gets to swing and Corinne gets to push. They love it. I don't know if Sam is as excited about going 'higher and faster' like Corinne, but he put up little fuss.

Wheeeee
Hey, do it again!

The little guy just got his first tooth. We'll post a toothy grin when you can see it better. It just pokes through the skin right now (and is razor sharp!). He gnaws pretty much anything right now.
Have a great week.

Fall Fun

I love this time of year. The cool weather, pumpkin patches, hayrides, and Halloween. Ok, maybe not necessarily cool down here in Charleston unless you count sitting in the air conditioning because it's 80+ in October! You know how it gets when you love your routine because it keeps everyone sane, yet the time comes when you need to break the rut to appreciate the routine? That's where we were mentally when we started off fall by venturing to the Bensons in Greenville for our first road trip in a while. The weather was perfect, cool days, cold nights, and the kids played great together. Sam and Lila hung in the background and simply watched the ruckus.

The Three Stooges

Back in Charleston we took the kids to Legare Farms to the pumpkin patch. Despite the intense heat, we pretended it was a fall day and enjoyed the festivities. Corinne fed the cows on a hayride and choose the family pumpkin. Roman stepped up to flaunt his carving capabilities.

Not your average Jack-O-Lantern

Corinne's imagination is beginning to bud as she shows more and more interest in her costumes. Between Craig's List and gj, she now has several stock piling in the new costume bin. Pappy and gj came down for a week. We had a nice mellow visit, trying hard to plan things that would tire the kids, not us. :-) One of our favorite pasttimes, dining out, was put on the backburner this visit because we're still experimenting with Corinne's allergies. We managed to dine at Lost Dog though. No trip to us is complete without it. Just as they left, the kids and I headed to our first Halloween party of the season.

Mickey and Minnie Tour Charleston

Halloween night wore both the little ones and the adults out! There's a lot of cute things in this world, and a neighborhood full of wee ones in costume is definitely in my top 10. For the finale the kids chose Teddy Bear and Tinkerbell. We had a blast living vicariously through Corinne as she trick, treated, and dashed to the next house. ("I said thank you, Mom!")

Pre-game

Half-time

Sam's personality continues to unfold and his mobility increases. We find it doesn't take a second for him to army crawl to his destination. The best are his belly-laughs. He chortles at Corinne's antics then the two of them get going into silly giggles. I love it! He's also very vocal with grunts and sighs. It doesn' take him long to convey his needs. We delight in trying new foods with him.

Ewwww. You can't beet this messy kid!

The holidays are coming upon us. Keep healthy and safe

More milestones

Weighing in at 20lb 7oz, in the cute corner is...Sam the man! He went in for his 6 month checkup (yikes!) today. He's a few days shy of the actual 6mo marker but close enough. He's still a really big baby at >97% height; 95% weight (compared to other male babies his age). With that much cushion it's no wonder he hardly batted an eye when they stuck him with vaccinations and a flu shot. Seriously, we was chuckling away with the nurse (or was he flirting?!).

Our next Sam battle is sleeping through the night. Corinne was always the champ in this department, hardly making us blurry-eyed during her infancy. Sam on the other hand, has never really 'slept through the night.' I always felt for his size that he should be capable of it, so why isn't he? My doctor pointed out that as long as he wakes and we feed him, he's going to continue to wake. Yummy. Who wouldn't? Soooooo, Roman and I are prepared to start playing the crying game. Why not, we aren't really sleeping anyway. Sigh.

We also mentioned Sam's coughing. We are concerned that if Corinne has a milk allergy chances are he may, too. The doctor suggested trying a soy formula for those needed supplemental bottles. Unfortunately, we tried that months ago, and he hated it. Ahhh, we'll see!

On a fun note, Sam just started sitting up in a seated position. He is thrilled by his new independence and will sit and grunt, giggle, and grab at anything within reach.


Big sister had her first trip to the salon. Noel wooed her into the booster chair and shaped her up for the first time. She was awestruck by the experience and loved the hair dryer. We didn't take much off, it just needed to be styled. We lova the Lava!

It's almost 8:30...getting past my bedtime (sadly). Have a great week.

Our Crew

Where have we been? I think Roman and I can safely say that we got our sea legs with the children/daycare/work schedule. The last few weeks have been filled with simply keeping up with house and home while lingering at the park and the beach as the days cool off to wonderful Charleston weather. Sam has taken well to daycare and is often found shrieking in laughter at all of the children in his class. He continues to grow at a rapid rate, too. We started feeding him cereal a little earlier than the suggested 6mo marker. He still stirs several times a night to eat and just seemed eager to hang with us at the table, so we went for it. I forgot what an interesting journey it is introducing food and teaching an infant how to eat. Once we convince Sam that he doesn't have to eat the spoon, too, he'll do just fine.

Here he proudly displays the remnants of his first taste of peas. Ymmmmm

We've been battling coughing fits from Corinne almost her entire life. Over the summer we decided it was past time to get to the bottom of it. No longer would a "daycare-virus diagnosis" satisfy us. Off to the allergist she goes only to find out that she's allergic to either milk, egg whites, or both. So, in addition to starting school, we've had to restock the house and mind with supplements for a non-dairy diet. We have been slowly eliminating dairy and have seen great results. Because she cleared right up with the dairy first, we feel fairly confident that the cow is the culprit. We'll give her another week without Zyrtec and slowly introduce an egg, then milk to see exactly with which one she reacts. Luckily, we live in an area that supports alternative foods. It's really forced us to bump up our cooking (which we like to do anyway) and toss the cheese. I've had to shed a few tears over the cheese, but we've all acclimated well to the rest of it.

Corinne is now the #1 fan of her tricycle. She rides everyday in and out of the house. Fall is near as the breeze keeps the heat from daytime play. Splash Zone might be closed, but the rest of the park has plenty to offer kids. Corinne now motors through the park, trike cruising at 2 mph. We spread the blanket, toss the soccer ball, and picnic all morning.

Corinne and Hendrix refuel.

This is a mac daddy tricycle. Corinne was eyeballing his ride all morning.

Michelle and Ceily gearing up.

Ceily drives a big wheel. Long live the big wheel.

Roman has been itching to practice with his new fly rod, so until the tides fit his schedule he resorted to some casts landlocked.


The great weather has everybody grilling. Meeting up with friends after a vacation-filled summer has been great. We've had a grand time catching up with everyone. Ava had lots to tell Roman about her first visits anywhere!

How 'bout that bonnet?!

Chrissy and Isabella take a break. Bella and Corinne ran like two 2 year olds should...run off that energy! :-)

Handling both children becomes easier as we all learn each other, new schedules, new milestones. So, Roman and I have begun to swap out nights of independence. Now that the weather has cooled, the evenings are a great time to get in a walk. Corinne especially loves the house "with the red door" where there are actually 3 red doors on the front of the house. It's a great time for Roman to unwind from the day, exercise for me, and best of all, the end result is this...


Last, but not least, we'd like to send out a big hug to Mimi, Pappy and GJ. Happy Grandparent's Day guys, we love you and miss you. Thank you for all of your love and support :-)

I saw mushrooms

Corinne's imagination is starting to kick in overdrive. We love it! You never know what zany something she might be thinking or want to play. I have to say that Corinne is original in that she will pick up and eat a raw mushroom. My girl loves to eat! She was helping assemble our pizza for dinner and got a little sidetracked with the mushrooms. When I asked her what she was doing, she replied, "It's a choo-choo train, Mommy!"

I don't know what I love more about this picture:
the mushroom train or the proud grin on her face.

NC crew

The Rutledge crew from Raleigh came to vacation with us last week. Derek found a rental that was a mere minute from our house. We enjoyed happy hours and dinners with everyone all week.

Gus willingly shared bear hugs with us all. Sam included!

I expect one of these in the Christmas stocking, Dad. --Tess (Derek's ipod)

Ever observant, Owen could spot the fiddler crabs, cranes and other marsh birds with his keen eyes. You don't get anything past this guy!

One of our favorite parts of the week was Splash Zone. The boys showed off their swimming skills by touching the bottom, swimming underwater, and zooming down the big slides with Dad. I'm hoping Corinne was watching closely and tries to mimic their swimming habits. They've obviously grown confident in the water. Tess held her own in the shallow pools, also. Sorry I didn't photodocument, but I'm not adept enough to watch Hurricane Corinne and snap the camera at this point.

Thanks for trekking to Folly for your vacation, guys. We enjoyed seeing you!

Michigan Reunion

Greetings from Charleston!


The culminating event of our summer was the anticipated Michigan family reunion. Roman and I packed everything but the kitchen sink to fly to Detroit and rent a car for the week's excursions. All in all the kids did great considering each day brought a different schedule and sometimes a different home for sleeping. Sam blossomed into a social butterfly this week, giggling and chatting with everybody he met. We started our trip in Detroit with the Crumpton side of the family. Debbie and Mike opened up their home (and grill!) to us coming and going to the airport.

Brooke played with Corinne. Corinne called her Leigh Ann all week!?

Joking with Jennifer (Roman's cousin)

On to Mimi's house where 'AA' (Aunt Angela) has been residing before her permanent departure to Bangkok. Mimi lost both of her Yorkies this year and have two new additions, Poppy & Posey. Corinne couldn't leave Poppy alone. Poppy is a saint to tolerate Corinne the way she did.

Mimi's backyard was so cozy. Where better to catch a cool Michigan breeze?

AA, Posey, and Corinne (pointing at her brain).

"Draw this, AA!"

The trip wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Binder Park Zoo. I don't know who was more excited about this trip: Mom&Dad or Corinne. I love this zoo! Their African safari is so authentic and the tram ride to the exhibit is as fun as feeding the giraffes.

Red panda

Prarie dogs

Many of Roman's family live on one of Michigan's finest lakes. These little lakes seem to pop up around the corner when you're out in the country. The kids just loved the open space. The two hottest toys on the market this week were the Barbie car and the trampoline. Corinne and cousins bopped from one to the next.

Belle and Mireyah take a round while Liv, Corinne and Kaleb patiently wait their turn. According to Kaleb, "Corinne's a terrible driver!" Hope she doesn't take after her mom. :-)

While were there, Roman took advantage of the time to catch up with some old high school friends at a mini class reunion at Blossom Lake.


Congratulations goes to cousin Aaron and his wife Yvonne on their newest addition, Amaya. Amaya is three weeks younger than Sam. They had a lot of notes to compare this week. Amaya is welcomed at home by 3 older brothers!


We had a wonderful time with everyone and appreciate all of the hospitality. I must admit, though, that I was clicking my ruby red slippers by the end of the week claiming, "there's no place like home, there's no place like home!" The return flight had us deboard the plane for an hour due to a leaky air conditioner. Try explaining that to a wired 2 1/2 year old who's excited to ride the airplane! After her meltdown and the drive from Myrtle Beach, we all relished in our own beds, our own space.

Happy Birthday...

...dear Roman, Happy Birthday to you! Our friends from Charlotte, Ben & Dana with young Brayden, are vacationing at Folly this weekend. We were able to host a little get together with them on their last night out. Ben brought some yummy Chimay beer and played some guitar and banjo with Roman, so topped with some cupcakes and the outdoor pool, the evening was a blast!

Cupcakes are serious business!

...so are swimming pools.

Decked out in my party duds

Playing some tunes

Birthday Boy

Speaks for itself

Thank you for all that you do.