Want a Good Laugh?

Check out this video of my Core 4 friend, Julie's little girl, Riley. Cracks me up every time!



Can you believe that Riley is almost 1 year old (well, a few months from it) and I have never seen her cute face live and in person? I'm trying to change that at the end of this month. More on that later. For now, watch that video again. It'll put a smile on your face. Again!

Go Heels!

First off, we are so excited that the UNC Tarheels are going to the Final Four!!! Go Heels! Kingston wore his nearly too small UNC T-shirt for one of it's final times. He is growing like a weed! I couldn't get over how cute he looked in his shorts and T-shirt. Bring on the warm weather!

We also like to play with parts of the vacuum. But that's another story.

------

Kingston got a new toy from one of our faithful blog readers, who happens to be one of Nana's really good friends. Thanks, Mrs. Kathy! Kingston has already cut the backyard! He at first thought it was a ride-on. . .

but he figured out how to make it work!

I like a man who isn't afraid of a lawnmower. Especially one who looks really cute using it!

5 Years, 2 Puddles and the 80's

Nigel and I have been married 5 years as of yesterday. Usually we don't do gifts or even cards but Nigel did both this year. He gave me a card first thing in the morning then sent me flowers at work. What a guy! I bought him a case of beer on the way home from work. Fair trade, I think!

Tonight we went out to dinner at Owen's-one of our favorite places. It was delicious, as usual. I actually managed to get out of there without eating so much I want to die. That is quite an accomplishment, I must say!!!

We had a great anniversary and I look forward to many more years with my favorite husband!

------

Puddle #1-

After dragging Kingston along with me to deliver some food today, it was time for a very late, overdue nap. Since it was much warmer outside than I first expected (I had dressed him in a T and corduroy pants) and Kingston was really hot and fussy, I changed his diaper quickly and put him in his crib in just a diaper and T-shirt. I kept periodically hearing him talking and making silly noises for quite some time so I'm not sure he ever even went to sleep. After a little over an hour I heard him start to fuss like he was awake and ready to get up.

I went in his room and found this: (Caution-the first picture contains full frontal nudity!)

First I saw the puddle and went to figure out where the major leak in the diaper came from. As I lifted the bottom of his T up, I realized that there was no diaper to even leak! The diaper was wedged between the bumper and the wall. See it in the second picture? The crazy kid had taken his diaper off and peed in his crib at some point in the past hour and a half. I must say he looked quite proud of himself. I couldn't even be mad at him because I was laughing so hard! I have learned my lesson and will always put him down with pants or shorts on!

------

Puddle #2-

When Nigel got home from surfing Kingston wanted to go outside and see him. It was fairly dry outside since the rain had subsided for a few minutes. Nigel was spraying off his wetsuit and booties and Kingston wanted to get down. I put him on the ground in one of the puddles and he loved splashing around in his bare feet. I was hoping he would stay standing and not actually fall in the puddles and get his shorts wet but of course that didn't happen. Kingston's new favorite game is to turn in circles until he gets dizzy and falls down and laughs. It's all fun and good until someone falls down and busts his lip (which he did inside earlier) or falls in a puddle and gets wet (which he did on this occasion)! He had a blast in the puddles! Good, clean fun. I can't wait to play in the rain with him in the summer!

One small problem. He thought he should lick the water from his hands. At least it was straight from the hose and not some funky water in a ditch. That makes it OK, right?

------

Oh. Does anyone remember these charm necklaces from the 80's? I went to an 80's party last night and rocked my very own charm necklace, circa 1986-ish. Yes, for some reason I still have it. Did you have one?

Oh, To Be a Baby

I wish I could sleep in the car. Under any circumstances. At the drop of a hat. And be out cold for hours on end. Not even knowing that I had been taken out of the car and moved to another location at some point.

This was Monday, after "helping" me at work for a few hours. He was hungry and fussy so I gave him a cracker. What inspired the picture taking was his little tongue almost sticking out of his mouth as if he fell asleep as the cracker was heading to his lips.

And this was Wednesday, after his 15 month check-up (which he aced!) and a shot. The appointment was at 11:30 and I had planned to meet a friend for lunch after. I figured it would be pushing it but I chose to follow through anyway. He was asleep before we even got out of the Dr.'s office parking lot. Again with the cracker. He tried to put it in his mouth without taking his paci (which he now only uses for naps, bedtime and apparently shots) out. I reached back and removed said paci while I was waiting for the light to turn green. By the time the light turned and I looked back again, he had found the paci beside his leg and had put it in his mouth and had fallen asleep. I carried him in the restaurant, ordered at the counter, put my things down in the booth, got a highchair and he didn't budge until I tried to lay him on the booth seat. Perhaps if I had been a bit smoother with the transition it would have worked but I jostled him pretty good and he woke up.

Oh, to be a baby. Life is so good!

------

Big thanks to Eden for re-doing my blog! I think it is the best look yet! Thanks, friend. You are really neat.

------

Please keep praying for Baby Stellan. He is still in the hospital and in serious condition. His poor little heart is beating way too fast.

Not Stellan Monday

Please go to MckMama's blog and read up on poor little Stellan and his poor mama. I feel so bad for them right now, and I pray for a positive solution to their problems soon.

Stellan does NOT deserve the pain and discomfort he is in. He is a sick baby.

MckMama has NOT slept in a really long time. Can you imagine her worry?

I CANNOT even fathom what they are going through.

My thoughts are with them today.

Manual Labor

While I was slaving away at a fundraiser yesterday, Kingston was hard at work with Uncle Mark.

Uncle Mark claims that once Kingston reaches 50 pounds he is going to take him into the backyard and roll him around in the dirt. I have a feeling Kingston will think that is the greatest thing ever! He is pretty fascinated by Uncle Mark. And I mean, if he is anything like his dad, he will be in middle school when he reaches 50 pounds! If he is more like his mom, he might make that by the time Kindergarten rolls around!

The Hunter Presgrave Fund

Just so you know, we raised a TON of money today at our BarbeCURE fundraiser for Holly's little boy, Hunter! And in the process of raising a TON of money, we served up a TON of BBQ! Things got a little stressful a couple of times, but we managed to pull it off. Big thanks to John and Sarah White who put this whole thing together. And big thanks to all of our friends who came out and helped pull it off, as well as the staff of Stan White Realty and Construction who went above and beyond a day's work. Also, big thanks to all of the restaurants who donated or deeply discounted food or other necessary items to make allow us to give all of the proceeds to the Presgrave family (some in our desperate time of need today!). Big Al's, Mama Kwan's, Pigman's BBQ, High Cotton BBQ, US Foods, just to name a few.

Word on the street is that the Hunter Presgrave Fund at the OBX Bank will soon have THOUSANDS of dollars in it. You know, as of Monday, when someone can actually get there and fill out the deposit slip. Wow. I am so impressed with our community. People came from near and far and gave what they had to this special family. We heard a bunch of fun stories of people who travelled from Virginia just for this event, who came representing other families with children who are dealing with this same cancer, and who just heard the announcements on the radio and felt called to come. Amazing.

Holly and her family were there for most of the day. It was so great to see them. Hunter looked really good and seemed to be feeling good. When the event was over Hunter started to get a little tired but he was definitely not the only one who needed to go home and take a nap! I think he had a good day. He even got to talk live on the radio-what more could you ask for?!

I took my camera but didn't take any pictures. Darn. Hopefully I can get a picture when we all gather together once the final check is written and it is "officially" handed over. We hope to get to do that soon. I'll keep you posted on our final total. I can't wait to hear!

Thanks again to everyone who came out and to those who bought tickets or simply donated. You have helped make a family's difficult time just that much more bearable.

We love you Holly, Ben and Hunter! (Just found out that Holly reads my blog so feel free to leave a comment on this post for her!) We are with you every step of the way!