Grandma and Granddad with Brighton and Will (Long Beach, MS)

 

Gulf Fun

One Year in NOLA

I don't have any new pictures to post, so I thought I'd walk down memory lane for this post. Speaking of lanes, it has been one year since we moved from our house on Gettysburg Lane in Fredericksburg. It's hard to believe that it's been a year since we've seen many of our friends from Fredericksburg and Richmond. Last year, at this time I was seven months pregnant and boarding a plane with my two-year-old son bound for New Orleans. Jon had driven down in our Envoy with his dad taking the items that the moving company refused to load in the truck (including Boo, our Shih Tzu). Unfortunately for Jon and Ed, they had to spend a little extra time in Mississippi due to Hurricane Gustav and contraflow (the roads out of LA were all being used to evacuate people, so there was no way to get in). I stayed back in VA while first the packers came and made the house a box maze and then the movers came and emptied our little house in a matter of hours. My parents stayed to help since I was pretty dead on my feet, and they knew I would be pretty emotional. Each "goodbye" was harder than the next, and pulling away from our first house for the last time was quite difficult. But I was also getting weary of being sad, so I was anxious to get down here and be reunited with my husband again. We had to stay in a hotel for a few days because our belongings were a little tardy because of the Hurricane, and there was no power in the house for a few days. It was almost impossible to find a hotel available, but thanks to my mother-in-law's powers of persuasion, she managed to get us a room until we could rest in our new house...

It was really quite an adventure getting down here, but things have settled down quite a bit now. We love our home and neighborhood. We love living on the Northshore, although Jon gets weary commuting across the Causeway everyday. We have found a great church, and we are making new friends. This week we have been taking advantage of our new YMCA membership, and we have been enjoying the pool there. We are hosting Jon's parents for the weekend, so I must stop the reminiscing and get some chores done. We have had an exciting first year here, and although it is still difficult to be far away from family and friends, we are happy and healthy and very very blessed in Louisiana!

Will and Mommy (and Brighton) standing in front of our old house one year ago :(

 

Two-year-old Will playing in the moving truck (Labor Day last year)

 

Our house in LA after finally getting settled last year

 

Our Little Man Turned Three!

We celebrated Will's third birthday this past Sunday. Although we had made big plans for the weekend including a trip to Gulfport and a little birthday party, the day turned out to be much more low-key. Will came down with a nasty virus that was still hanging on for his big day. I seemed to have the same virus, but mine turned into strep throat. We are all feeling better now, and Will is enjoying his new sandbox as well as the swimming lessons he got as a birthday gift from Nana and Papa. I managed to keep the tears to a minimum on the big day, but I did get a little choked up while I was reading him his annual "birthday book" from Mommy. It wasn't exactly the big day we had planned for him, but it was still a very special day for all of us, and we are very thankful for a happy and healthy three-year-old boy!

Will's new sandbox--so much for thinking he would stay cleaner with this type of sandbox!

 

Turning 3 with a Lightning McQueen cake

 

Brighton was eyeing Will's cake...just a few more months baby girl!!!

 

SchuSchus

This past week, we have been busy. Jon and I have been doing some things around the house to get ready for company. I decided to move all of the furniture and mop every inch of the floor after Brighton decided to eat a millipede she found crawling on the floor. The same day, Jon and I decided to throw out our old family room rug and bought a new one. Jon also revamped our old coffee table by removing the old legs, replacing them with taller ones and refinishing the whole thing. It looks great, and it functions very well for us! We have been printing pictures and hanging new ones all over the house too. Will has decided that he needs to redecorate too, so he will move furniture around or put his cars in some kind of pattern as "decoration." Brighton has been crawling very fast and is now starting to pull up and walk around the furniture. On friday, we went to our first field trip with the homeschool association that we joined. I rode down with my friend, Tiffany from church who has two little girls, Laurel (who is three) and Ava (who is 10 months). Will, in his own words, LOVES Laurel. It is so cute to see the two of them together! They had a great time with each other, and I really enjoyed talking with Tiffany--well, we probably never stopped talking, and it was really nice! I don't get to have too many adult conversations around here! We will be hosting Laurel, Ava, Tiffany and her husband, Scott on Sunday when we celebrate Will's third birthday. Each year, I am caught completely off guard by the sinking feeling that comes with his birthday. I am very thankful that he is a happy, growing, boy but I get sad thinking of his baby days. So this week, I am a little emotional, but I have a few things going on to keep my mind off of it. I am starting a little part-time job at the YMCA where I will be watching kids (Will and Brighton stay with me). I also get a free gym membership out of it, and Will is going to start swimming lessons there. I also have some birthday preparations to make, so I will be posting pics of the big day next week. For now, check out my little growing SchuSchus.

Will's new friend :)

 

Brighton has started "cruising!"

 

Will lined up his cars while I was in the shower...he likes to "decorate" with them :)

 

Miles and Milestones

Below you will find the pictures from the second half of our vacation. After returning from Williamsburg, I spent a little while at the lake visiting with Mom and Dad, Amanda and Callie, Granny Roo, and a couple of long lost friends. I did not get to do nearly as much as I was hoping, but we had a relaxing time remembering old times and making new memories. It was very hard to drive away from the lake, and it took two days to return to LA. It is almost 1000 miles from my parent's door to ours. On the Tuesday before we left, Brighton decided it was time to move-literally. Mom watched her crawl across the kitchen floor in the morning, and she crawled a few times in the afternoon. By the evening, I was able to capture the crawling on video, but I needed the right motivation--hence, the empty beer bottle on the floor. (Don't judge me, I tried everything!!!!)
Brighton turned 9 months yesterday, and she is crawling and pulling up to a stand. She is eating solid food very well now. I will be taking her back to the doctor soon, and I know she has put on some pounds! She is still very tan from her vacation, and her hair is coming in thicker and lighter. She is getting her top teeth (it seems all of them at once). She is still not a good sleeper at night, but I'm hoping once the teething subsides a bit, she will sleep for longer periods. I have been planning lessons for my co-op classes which begin in Sept. and also Will's homeschooling which we will begin next week! Will is going to be three years old in a few weeks, and I can't believe what a big boy he has become. Keep us in your prayers as we begin the school year and continue to cope with the extreme Louisiana heat!!!!

Brighton's first day crawling.

Will spent some time begging snacks from Nana. We did a lot of eating under the picnic shelter.

 

Callie sleeping on the job--she had taken over as Captain of the boat :)

 

Papa working to get both babies to sleep.

 

Sleeping babies are a beautiful sight!

 

Williamsburg Leg

Since Jon only got to come to VA for a week, we spent part of the week with the Taylors and part of the week with the Schumachers in Williamsburg. Grandma and Granddad rented a room at a hotel right on VA beach for a night, so that we could have a little mini-beach trip. Cousin Zach joined us for two days full of beach fun. Will had a ball doing whatever Zach was doing, and Brighton enjoyed her first dip into the ocean. We had a fantastic dinner at Mahi Mah's and even got to watch some fireworks from the boardwalk. We returned to Williamsburg for the rest of the vacation, and we spent some time at Aunt Wendy's pool with cousins, Brady, Zach, and Jake. We got to visit with family and do a little outlet shopping. Grandma and Aunt Wendy cooked some fantastic meals, and Grandma bought Brighton and Sophia thier own "girl toys" to play with (although Jake and Will seemed to like them just as much). The time went so quickly, and pretty soon Will, Brighton and I were dropping Daddy off at the Richmond airport to fly home. We had a tearful goodbye at the airport, and I returned to the lake for the rest of my VA vacation.

Grandma and Granddad holding two non-cooperative children.

 

Hopefully, this will be the only time Will puts on Brighton's lipstick.

 

Jake and Will are best buds!!!!

 

Zach taking a beating from Will and Jake

 

Will and Zach--he's a great cousin :)

 

She's a rock star!

 

The beach is another great place to nap!

 

Brighton was not as happy to be in the sand :(

 

Brighton and Grandma chillin in the surf

 

Brighton loved her first dip into the ocean!

 

Will has no fear of the ocean! (This makes mommy very very nervous!)