Blogging is hard :-)

Enough with the excuses.... but obviously I have fallen behind on blogging, again! We've had a BUSY month since Jason got home - wow, I can't believe it has been a month already! We had Easton's birthday celebration, have made a few trips to see family & friends in Virginia and in the Raleigh area, and then of course there is the usual preschool, playgroup and gym routine. On top of all of that, I taught 2 classes during the first winter session (I usually teach just one at a time) so that was quite time consuming as well.

Bare with me as I catch up on the past months worth of events - there will be a bunch of posts to follow! :-)

October was a whirlwind!

Oh my goodness - I think this is the first time in years I went a complete month and did not update my blog. Shame on me! But in my defense, Jason has been gone for a 3 week training in Arizona so I've been flying solo here. Plus Easton & I went on a 10 day road trip, then we had a week's worth of guests, so things have been quite busy to say the least. All that, plus I still have to find time to coupon - we all know how much time that takes. And oh yeah, I have a job too! Whew, I am just exhausted thinking about it all! But it was a great month for us, we had tons of fun and spent a lot of time with our friends and family. Here are the highlights:

Gammy & Pappy Visit - my parents visited October 1st through 3rd. The highlight of the weekend was the construction of our pirate ship! Easton and his friend Sophie dressed as pirates so we decided to turn a wagon into a pirate ship :-) Here's a pic of my Dad and Easton hanging out:


Martha & Anne Rylee Visit - Martha & AR were in for a visit the weekend of October 8th through 10th. We spent time at the park, did a lot of "playing" (well, the kids did anyway) and just relaxed and caught up on things. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures .... oops!

Bathtime w/ Daddy (before he left for training) - Jason was in Arizona for training October 15th through November 2nd .... before Jason left I got some photos of Easton and him together at bathtime.

October Roadtrip (10/15 through 10/25) - Easton & I packed up the car and headed to Danville on Oct 15th. While in town Martha treated me to a pedicure (thanks!), we had a Bday lunch for my friend Steph, celebrated my Dad's birthday and spent a lot of time with friends and family. We also took Easton's 9 month photos with my friend Chrystal. You can check them out by visiting http://www.chrystalsimpson.smugmug.com/and clicking on the "Easton 9 month" album.

On Friday 10/22 we loaded up the car, headed to Burlington and spent the night w/ Mayhan. The next morning we packed up again and drove to Asheboro where my college friend Kat was getting married. On Sunday we dropped off Mayhan at home and drove to Durham where we saw Bryce, Jake, Ashley and Prul. Monday it was time to load up (yet again - are you getting tired yet?) and we headed home to get ready for a week's worth of guests! Here are some pics of our Roadtrip adventures.

Celebrating Pappy's Birthday!

At the wedding .... what a face!

My handsome little man in the suit Gammy got him!

Dancing w/ the bride

Getting smooches from "Aunt" Mayhan

Hanging out w/ Uncle Jake & Auntie AshPlaying "Spin, Spin a Letter!" w/ Uncle Bryce

Easton loves his "Aunt" Prul!

Taking a nap w/ Uncle Bryce before we head home ...

Steph & Brayden visit - My friend Stephenie and her son Brayden visited us 10/26 through 10/28. We had a few playdates and the kids even had a chance to get in the kiddie pool because it was so warm! On Thursday, we had a Halloween playdate @ my friend Amy's house & the kids all wore their Halloween costumes. Here is a pic of Steph & Brayden in his adorable Mickey Mouse costume:

Gammy & Pappy visit again, this time w/ Vickie & Keith - On Halloween weekend my parents headed back to our house ... they brought their friends Vickie & Keith as well. The guys tried to have a fishing trip on Saturday; however, the boat was not cooperating so they ended up hanging out and watching TV instead. The girls headed out for lunch and shopping. On Saturday night we had a yummy crab leg dinner. Sunday was Halloween and I thought everyone had to head home to work the next day .... but my parents surprised us and stayed an extra night. This was really special, especially since Jason could not be here for Easton's 1st Halloween. I'll do a separate post with Halloween pics - there are just so many cute ones to share of Easton's 1st Halloween!!!!

What's been happening with Easton in September....

We've had a busy month, which might explain why it's been a while since my last post. :-) Here's a recap of some of the highlights:

Labor Day 2010 - Jason, Easton & I spent Labor Day in Danville. Unfortunately, I was pretty sick the majority of the time that we were in town. However, by Monday I was feeling much better, so my Mom, Dad, Popey & Aunt Lois & I all took Easton to the park. Easton experienced the swing for the first time and LOVED it!

1st time in a swing & all smiles!

Pappy does the release!

So sweet!

Uh-oh... looks like someone is losing steam....

Whew - swinging must make you tired! :-)

He also spent a lot of time with family - here are a few pics of him with his Great Grandma Francis, Gammy & Uncle Jake:

Hanging out with Great-Grandma

"Talking" up a storm! :-)

Easton & his Gammy

Driving with Uncle Jake - he had quite a grip on the steering wheel!

Playtime - Easton has made tons of friends .... we meet with the babies and Moms from our Yoga class every Thursday for a playgroup. We have some new neighbors that we often walk around the neighborhood & play with. We also make frequent trips to nearby parks - here are some pics of Easton and his "girlfriend" Sophie at the park on 9/18:

Easton & Sophie playing

Fighting over a toy :-)

Finally, both of them looking toward the camera!

Cute boy!!!

We couldn't keep them from playing with the grass! :-)

Library Story Time - The library hosts a story time for ages 6 months to 2 years on Wednesdays at 10:15am. Easton & I went last week, and he really enjoyed it! His favorite part was the "Welcome Song" where we passed a ball around the room and when each child held it, we sung "Welcome" to them using their name. Easton really seemed to like to hear the whole room sing his name :-) We'll definitely go back soon, it was a fun time!

Swim Class - Easton started swim classes at Camp Lejeune last week. His classes run for three weeks and are held on Wednesdays and Fridays from 5pm to 6pm. Easton really impressed us at his first class ... he hasn't been in water much at all (other than taking a bath and a few attempts at the ocean) but he really seemed to love the pool. He splashed, kicked and drank his fair share of pool water :-) We're hoping this class will make him comfortable in water - so far, so good! I'll get some pics soon to post!

Easton turned 8 months old yesterday (Sunday 9/19). Time truly is flying by - it is amazing to watch his developments. Easton is still doing his army crawl and has gotten quite fast. He "talks" all of the time and has begun to pull up to standing while holding my hands. He's still very laid back and mild-mannered, but can get quite a temper if we take too long to feed him - the boy LOVES to eat! Speaking of eating, he has mastered finger foods and can feed himself puffs, yogurt melts and pieces of banana. He eats 2nd and 3rd foods, yogurt and some table food pureed (such as carrots, lima beans, peas, fruit, etc).

We're still working on mastering the sippy cup - we've tried several different brands but we think the ones with harder spouts are irritating his 4 TEETH! (two on top, two on the bottom). We're so proud of Easton's progress and he makes us laugh each day with his babbling, bouncing in the jumperoo and giving us his big, toothy grin. We fall more in love with him each day!

Our Danville Visit 7/12 through 7/17

Jason had some time off, so we decided to spend last week in Danville. We made the drive on Monday and arrived in time for a tasty dinner that my Mom prepared for us.


Tuesday was a super busy day ... we met Stacy for lunch at Tokyo Grill, made a quick stop by Martha's work to deliver her some lunch, visited Mr. Archer (Easton's middle namesake), then visited my Grandma and aunts Bettie & Lois. We then headed home, and my friend Jonathan's mom, Carol, came by to visit and meet Easton for the first time. It was a long & busy day, but it was great to see so many people that we care about.


On Wednesday I had some "me" time ... I went to see my friend Chrystal to get my hair cut, highlighted and my eyebrows waxed. After my hair appointment, I met my Mom out for some shopping. On Wednesday night, we met up with Martha, Roger & Anne Rylee for some Mexican food.

Thursday, Easton and I spent the day with my aunt Bettie while Jason took care of some projects. We started by visiting Kathy, a friend of Bettie's, at the bank so she could meet Easton. We then had lunch at the Coffee Emporium. After lunch we visited the DAV & the Nestle Company Store. Finally, we met up with my mom to check out a new consignment shop out in Brosville. It was a really cute shop called Victoria Catherine's, if you live in the Danville area you should definitely check it out. On Thursday night we had dinner at the new Kickback Jack's with Jason's grandma, Agnes & his mom Kathy.

My mom was off of work on Friday, so we headed out with my aunt Lois for some more coupon shopping. We grabbed some deals at Food Lion, CVS and Target. We tried to have dinner at the new Fender's restaurant but the wait was too long (we had Easton with us - no way he'd make it through an hour wait) :-) We decided to go to Tokyo grill again ... Jason's friend Randall also met us there.

On Saturday it was time to pack up the car and head home. On our way back home we stopped in at Longhorn to visit Bryce. We also swung by Jacob & Ashley's house for a quick visit as well. It was a great trip .... we stayed so busy that I forgot to take many pictures. Here are a few that I did manage to get:

My Dad feeding Easton:

Check out Gammy & GAL (Great Aunt Lois) in the background :-)

My Dad grabbed a last minute nap with Easton on Saturday morning before we left ....

Awe ..... so sweet!!!

Our trip home April 20 through April 26

Easton and I made a trip to VA last week to visit family & friends. On Wednesday, we took Easton's 3 month photos with my friend Chrystal (who also did my hair earlier that day - she is multi-talented!) :-) Here's a link to see Easton's photos - there are only a few there right now because Chrystal is still working on editing them, so check back soon. He is such a cute little man, don't you think? (I am possibly a bit biased) ....

http://chrystalsimpson.smugmug.com/Other/Easton-Three-Months/11991053_hjpiK#850167468_yQczU

On Thursday, we spent some time with Easton's GAB ("Great Aunt Bettie") .... we had lunch, shopped at the Nestle Company Store and then hung out at Bettie's house. Below are some photos that Bettie captured during our visit:

On Friday, I met my friend Mandy for a late lunch at San Marcos. Mandy & I were both in town visiting family at the same time, and since we both had boys a few weeks apart (she had Chase a few weeks before Easton arrived) we wanted to get them together. They mostly slept in their carriers while we ate and caught up, so no pictures to show of them together yet. But Mandy and her family are heading down my way for a beach trip in August, so we'll definitely get a lot of photos of Easton & Chase together then.

Throughout the week, my Mom & I did TONS of bargain shopping at Food Lion, CVS and Walgreens. As you know, I am really getting into coupons so my Mom and I found some awesome deals. Our best trip was at Walgreens - here are the details:

2 - Cottonelle TP 12 pk
2 - Cottonelle Wipes
1 - Huggies Wipes
5 - Kotex Tampons/Pads
4 - Nature's Bounty Vitamins
1 - ScotchBrite Sponges
1 - Nursing Pads
1 - Print Cartridge Refill

Retail price of these items was approx $108
We paid $4.42!!!!

Needless to say, I came back with a trunk full of purchases! Enough about shopping, let's get back to Easton :-)

Easton hit a milestone during our trip .... he ate rice cereal for the first time! I know some people may think it's a bit early for that since he's 3 months old - but keep in mind, he's a HUGE kid! He was not satisfied with just breast milk and was wanting to eat every 2 hours (which was wearing me down!) so we mixed some rice cereal with breast milk and he loved it! Check him out - he's actually a pretty neat eater for a first-timer!

Easton looks like "Mom, what are you about to give me?" :-)

The first bite!

I think he likes it!

Not too messy, huh?

Easton's Uncle Jake was in town for the weekend and spend a lot of time hanging out with Easton. Here are a couple of pics of them together ....

Easton likes to sit w/ Uncle Jake

Uncle Jake reading Easton a story

Easton is so fortunate to have so many people that love him and want to spend time with him. We look forward to our next trip home! Let's end things with some adorable photos of Easton's second time eating rice cereal - but this time, he's falling asleep while eating! Enjoy :-)

Our weekend in Raleigh, NC

We spent the weekend at my brother & sister-in-law's house in Apex. Saturday began with a birthday get together for my Mom at Jacob and Ashley's place. Several family members attended and we enjoyed a delicious lunch of steaks, baked potatoes, salad & cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. Mama received several nice gifts & seemed to really enjoy her birthday celebration with the family.

Easton with his Gammy on her birthday

Mama opens her gifts - her kids & Easton gave her a GPS!

On Saturday evening, several of my NC friends came over for a visit, including Megan (aka Mayhan), Susan (aka Denny) & her boyfriend Ryan, and Lesley & Edward. I just realized I have a lot of nicknames for my friends! :-) It was great to have a chance to catch up with good friends and everyone was excited to meet Easton. Below are a few photos of my friends meeting Easton for the 1st time.

Easton meets my friend Denny....

....and Lesley & Edward drive in from the Roxboro area to visit Easton

On Sunday, we had lunch with April at Firehouse Subs, one of my favorite places in the Raleigh area. After lunch we loaded up the car and headed home ... we also made a quick stop in Smithfield at the outlet stores to pick up some cute clothes for Easton. We were so happy to arrive at our house & have no plans for traveling for at least 2 weeks. That will be a record for us since Easton was born!!! :-) We are looking forward to "staying put" for a while so people can actually come to visit us in our new home.

Easton's 1st St Patrick's Day

Easton celebrated his 1st holiday yesterday ... St Patty's Day! Technically his 1st holiday was Valentine's, but since we were making the drive from Michigan to Virginia that day we really couldn't celebrate properly. But St Patty's was a different story - Easton got dressed up in his finest green duds and we took tons of photos. We went to dinner @ a restaurant in Holly Ridge called "The Smokehouse" and all the waitresses commented on Easton's green St Patty's spirit. After dinner we made the drive to Danville, so his Gammy & Pappy got to see him dressed up too!

All decked out in green

Easton's bib says "Kiss me I'm Irish" .... so I did :-)

A close-up of his shamrock outfit

And a rear view ... it says "My 1st St Patrick's Day" :-)

Am I a slacker???

WOW - it's been WEEKS since my last post, how unlike me! I feel like quite the blogging slacker, or am I? The past several weeks have been extremely busy .....

We spent two weeks at my Mom & Dad's house in Virginia and those weeks were packed with people wanting to meet Easton, birthday parties, eating out and finalizing our move details. We drove down to the Topsail area twice while staying with my parents; once for our home inspection & once for closing. We made the drive a third time on March 1st so we could be at our new house for our furniture delivery. My Dad joined us so he could help us with the move - which was a HUGE help!

After several days of unpacking boxes, we headed back to Virginia to see family & friends again for a few days. On Monday of this week we went to High Point, NC to purchase some new furniture for the master bedroom & breakfast nook in our home. We got back late Monday night & have still be working on settling in. All of this, plus we have been caring for a newborn!!! I don't feel too bad for falling behind on my blogging duties after reading all of this :-)

In more exciting news, Easton has grown and developed SO much over the past month or so. He seems to change each day - some important milestones are he is gaining a lot of head strength and can pull his head up quite well during "tummy time", he is smiling a lot now & we recently moved him up to size 3 to 6 month clothing. Did I mention he's only 7 weeks old??? Easton is a wonderful traveler and seems to love rides in the car to his Gammy & Pappy's house. He's a really laid-back and content baby - we are quite lucky! Easton is growing into a big, strong boy and we all love him so much!!!

Here are a few photos from the past several weeks - now that we are *almost* settled into our new home and have internet access I'll be much better about posting updates, I promise :-)

Moving day (Feb 12th) ... what a CUTE expression on his face!

Easton's 1st time in a hotel (Feb 13th) - seems he can sleep anywhere (which is a good thing)!

With his Memaw at her birthday party on Feb 18th

And with Great-Grandma Francis, at her 90th birthday party (Feb 19th)

Our first family photo