Because

We've officially entered the "WHY?" stage. I was not so prepared for this. And to think, this time last year I wanted to send my child to a speech therapist because I didn't think he was talking as much as the other children in his class. BOY, I was wrong! :)

I always said I wasn't going to answer a question with "Because I said so". It's tough to come up with so many reasons for trivial things when "why?" is asked so much though. I have to admit, I have slipped and "because I said so" has come out or even a "cause". Not the best answers, but Mommy gets tired too!

Tonight, Stryker went to WalMart with Daddy for a few things. When they got home, he came and proudly displayed the new toy that Daddy bought him.

Mommy: "Daddy bought you ANOTHER new toy?? Why on Earth?" (in a joking manner of course)
Stryker: (in a very dramatic throwing of the arms in a "I don't know" fashion) " CAUSE Mommy!"

(This picture is actually from vacation and not from tonight, but this face is cute not to go with a story like this!)

He keeps us rolling this child! He is talking so much now and so much more clear. He never fails to put a smile on Mommy & Daddy's faces with a comment he comes up with!

Mountain Vacation Day Two

Today was Day Two at our Mountain House. We woke up bright & early and had a yummy breakfast and enjoyed the cool morning on the porch in our jammies coloring, reading & talking.

After a relaxing morning and lunch, we all piled in the car and made our way to Asheville for some entertainment at the Fun Depot. This place was awesome! It had indoor laser tag, batting cages, putt putt, a soft playground, kiddie bowling, inflatables, go carts (indoor & outdoor), bumper cars & arcades. The boys didn't know where to start!

After lots of running around, fun & 3 hours, we called it a day. No nap for Stryker meant melt down was commencing :) We loaded up again and started back to the mountain. Back at the house, I cooked a Japanese style dinner while the boys helped Nana cut grass (well, they picked up sticks). After dinner, Poppa made homemade ice cream and the boys loved to help and then eat their creation. We all stayed up a little later than usual (we're on vacation!) and then hit the sack.

We had another early start Monday morning to head back to the Lowcountry. We were sad that we only had two days & two nights to spend with the family, but we were ready to see Daddy. And any vacation is better than none! Thank you Nana & Poppa for having fun with us!

Mountain Vacation

We woke up early this morning, had a quick breakfast, packed the car and headed up to the mountains! On our way to Hendersonville, we picked up Aunt Lorie & Peyton in Columbia. It was a fun ride to share with our most favorite aunt & cousin! The boys entertained themselves by watching movies, snacking and chatting. The next thing we knew, we were there! Nana & Poppa met us on the porch full of hugs & kisses (everyone was excited to see each other!).

We made some lunch & let the boys play together with some Whoopie Cushions Poppa bought them. Oh what fun they had!

Aunt Lorie got a super cool new camera for her upcoming birthday as well, so we were in hog heaven snapping away pictures of our boys! She also got an upgraded lens and I was dying to try it out. I am in love & promptly called Dan and told him what I wanted for my birthday :) Look at these pictures!

Next the boys wanted to go check out the creek behind the house. Beautiful!

We let them throw rocks and dip their toes in the cold freezing water. They loved every minute of it!

Next, we headed to the apple orchard to pick some fresh apples. The boys had lots of fun searching the trees for the perfect apples, running around the orchard, eating the apples and seeing the mountains.

There were many different kinds of apples and we had the pleasure of taking samples as we picked. Peyton found one almost as big as his head and commenced to eating. it. all. Stryker was not as impressed with the apples.

And of course we'll never pass up the opportunity to take pictures of our boys together!

After the apple picking, we enjoyed some boiled peanuts and started back home. Nana's directions we're not as good as Peyton's though but we luckily made it back up our mountain! After a delicious dinner prepared by Aunt Lorie, we went outside to play with some sparklers. They weren't too sure at first, but soon wanted to hold them all by themselves.



"Come on Irene"

Today was a very long, windy, wet day. Stryker & I had to drive up to Myrtle Beach to pick up Grandma out of the hospital and get her back to Charleston and out of Irene's way. Daddy had to be at the Co-op for mandatory Hurricane Preparedness (BOO!). So, off we went at 8:30 this morning. 3+ hours in the car (mostly back to back) certainly calls for some entertainment. Luckily, we had Poppa's portable DVD player on hand. This little guy was a trooper for the trip.

We were in & out of Myrtle Beach in a jiffy thanks to Hurricane Irene looming on the coast. The wind was pretty gusty and the rain (thankfully at only one point) was hard and made it hard to drive. We got back safely though and very glad that G-ma was feeling better.

Our afternoon didn't end there. We had laundry to do, food to prep & packing to do. Our vacation that cancelled first in Gatlinburg, then cancelled again in Hendersonville, is now back on... just one day later. Good thing! Stryker is VERY excited and even piped up from the backseat today with a "2 more days til 'cation, Mommy?" "No buddy, we get to go to the mountains tomorrow!" I'm glad it all worked out in the end for his sake :) My little helper was right there helping me pack out suitcase.

We're very sad that Daddy & Uncle Bubba won't be joining  us (more hurricane preparedness on both their jobs) but we're excited to pick up Aunt Lorie and Peyton in the morning to go to the mountains to meet Nana & Poppa. I know the boys are going to have a great time together!

As this storm nips us here in Charleston, we're very grateful for the mercy Mother Nature has shown us. It's hard not to think about riding out Hurricane Hugo now 22 years ago. What a frightful night. I was just 10 years old and can remember the event vividly. We've been very lucky the past few years here and don't take hurricanes lightly! We pray that everyone in Irene's path is safe.

One Crazy Day

What a whirlwind day this has been. Due to a hurricane scare, our family vacation to Gatlinburg has been cancelled :(. We made plan B to go to our mountain house in Hendersonville, NC instead. Dan's mom had an emergency medical procedure this morning, so the trip to Hendersonville is now delayed as well. We're not sure what's going to happen in the next few days with the weather and Grandma's health, but the show must go on.

Stryker was overdue for a hair cut and Mommy forgot to schedule an appointment with Mrs. Brie. So after school we stopped by the nearest "All About Hair" salon. The girl was SUPER nice that cut Stryker's hair and he was a STAR during the whole thing. Stryker has never minded sitting for a hair cut, but it has always been with Mrs. Brie. Good thing he rocked it on his best behavior today because he's handsome once again :)

Before: The shaggy look

Such a good boy sitting nicely and doing as the nice lady says. 

Almost all done! And it looks ten times better!



After Daddy got home from work, we decided it had been such a stressful day that nothing cures stress like SUSHI! Can you imagine that our little guy LOVES sushi? Like, REALLY loves sushi! This boy ate a whole GMC roll on his own! Yummy & fun!

And what's better after sushi then a bubble bath? Um, nothing! Daddy was in charge tonight and made bath time fun!

Not too shabby for a Thursday night!

Soccer Boys

Daddy just joined a co-ed soccer league and we're very excited! Tonight was his first practice and we couldn't wait for him to get home and tell us how it was! Stryker talked not stop about Daddy & his soccer "game" the whole time we were grocery shopping while Daddy was at practice. I'm pretty sure this little guy is going to grow up to follow in his Daddy's footsteps all the way! I can't wait to take Stryker to the first soccer game to let him watch Daddy. And I certainly can't wait until next spring when Stryker can start playing soccer!

My Lil' Lineman

So Daddy was on call this weekend and had his service truck at the house. We took this oppourtunity to let Stryker try on my rubber gloves. Even though Stryker will be an Electrical Engineer when he grows up, field expierence is always crucial. 



Daddy's so proud,  this is gonna be one tough cookie!

WaterPark Fun!

Daddy got off call a day early this week and decided to take the fam to the waterpark for some fun! Stryker and Daddy had such an awesome time a couple weeks ago (when Mommy wasn't feeling so hot), another fun day was sure to be had. Stryker was beyond excited all week and didn't stop talking about today once it was planned.

We got to the park right at 10 am, opening time. It wasn't crowded so we found a couple good chairs in the kiddie area so Stryker could have a run of the place. It didn't take long before he jumped right in and was splashing around. His new favorite thing to do is go under the water. He makes sure his goggles are in place and down he goes. He really has no fear these days!

Another favorite is the slides... Must be Daddy's too!

Over & over, up & down... Daddy took him slide after slide. Daddy even taught him a new trick. If you lay down, you go faster!





He is so in LOVE with his goggles. They are the cutest things on him and he takes swimming with them VERY serious.

Big Thank Yous to Daddy for a great idea and a wonderful family day at the waterpark!

A Day of Parties

Let Birthday Season begin! Around here, every weekend is F-U-L-L! Today we had two birthday parties to attend.

First up, Miss Cecilia turns 6! She is our friend as well as our neighbor. Her Mommy & Daddy were super cool and rented a 2 STORY WATERSLIDE! Of course, our little dare devil had no problem hanging with the big kids and going down the slide time after time. Granted, the first time was a little scary!

I have to admit, Mommy was a little skeptical at first about him being half the age and size of everyone else and trying this... but the end result was nothing but laughs and smiles!

This little man was getting some serious air! His face was priceless going down, but he'd hit the little pool at the bottom, scream with laughter and want to do it again!

He soon had his fill of sliding and then it was off to play on Cecila's playset, watch her open gifts and of course eat cake & ice cream. We had to say goodbye and go to Daddy's work for a surprise party for his boss. After such an exciting party in the afternoon, is it any wonder what Stryker was doing waiting to scream "SURPRISE"....

Sweet boy fell asleep sitting straight up. Nothing like a water party to wear you out! But this Momma couldn't help but scoop him up to snuggle him in my arms while he slept. It's been far too long since he let me do that.







"I dress myself!"

Stryker INSISTS on dressing himself these days... And I couldn't be more proud of my Big Boy. I had to grab my camera once this morning's dressing started b/c it was the cutest thing!

He got his shirt on successfully. He tried to put his underwear on, but it turns out they were on backwards! No matter, you still are the cutest little super hero underwear model there is!

The Pants: Two holes, two legs to go in. That's what we practice. It's easier to sit than stand to start!

The next part is a little tricky. You have to do a sweet little hop to your feet (pants around your ankles), pull your pants up, do a shimmy and a couple turns to make sure your pants get up around your hips! All the while, making those cute little concentrated faces!

And then you celebrate! It's quite the accomplishment when "I DRESS MYSELF!!"

My little helper

My dearest Stryker:

I really hope that in 10 years you'll love to be Mommy's helper like you are now! Any time I have to vaccum, sweep or dust, you're Johnny on the Spot with a "I do it myself!"

(Look at that form! Just like Mom!)

I hope we never have trouble teaching you the importance of chores, responsibilites and helping out around the house. You are such a blessing little man!

Love,

Mommy



The First Day of School



Technically, Stryker has been going to his preschool all summer... actually, since April 2010. But, during the summer, his "learning" ceases and the fun commences. Once the fall sets in and school is back in session, so is his 2-3 Pre-K class. We're VERY excited to see all the great things he will learn this year!

What does every student need on the first day of school? A new back pack of course! Especially when it has your very own initals monogrammed on it and it's your favorite color - 'Uncle Bubba camouflage'!



Granted, his back pack really doesn't have any school essentials in it, just a change of clothes in case of any accidents during the day and whatever toys he puts in the front pocket (usually his Hot Wheel cars), our big boy finds it essential to wear it everyday to and from school. And with a face like this, I give in!

We hope you have a fun year in your new 2-3 Pre-K class little Buggy! Miss Kendall will be sure to have her hands full teaching you! 

"Show me your muscles"

So cute my little guy! Daddy let Stryker play in the hose and with water guns Sunday afternoon and this is the result. He LOVES his little swimming goggles and it just cracks me up everytime he puts them on!

Can I see your license?

Riding along in my automobile
My Nana beside me at the wheel

crusin' and playin' the radio
with no particular place to go

Sunday drivers are the cutest!

Vacation Countdown

We are SO excited to be joining Nana, Poppa, Uncle Bubba, Aunt Lorie & Peyton on vacation in the mountains August 25-29th. Stryker can't STOP talking about it! To help him understand how many more days til " 'cation", we made a project!

Well actually, since I'm so OCD, it was more like I made the project and Stryker watched :) He still thought it was pretty cool to be doing an art project at home though (I'm super slack when it comes to making a mess in my house - again, the OCD).

Every night after his bath, we go into his room and he gets to take one ring off the countdown to signify the end of another day and another day closer to 'cation! We count the rest of the rings left, practice what colors they are & dance around the room in excitement. See? I do teach him something (even if it's not art!)