The Thompson's World

Snapshots

2012-01-19T10:07:00.002-05:00

Wanted to share these two cute photos.

This is Ruthie wearing her elephant bib that the Lundy family gave her. They are big Alabama fans (and Alyssa will be going there in the fall!), so Ruthie wore this on the day of the National Championship game for them. And it must have been good luck, because the Tide won!

We've had a few (but not many!) chilly days lately. Here is Wyatt on his way to gymnastics one morning.

Ruthie's First Rice Cereal Experience

2012-01-19T09:59:00.002-05:00

After the holidays I decided it was time to start feeding my "hungry, hungry hippo" some solid foods. So, we started with some rice cereal. She wasn't sure about it (even the first few times), but she's getting the hang of this eating thing now. She keeps trying to eat like she's nursing, so she's pushing everything out of her mouth with her tongue! Its a mess process, but she is highly amused by it. Lots of smiles!!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-31T19:30:00.011-05:00

Whew... this is going to be a long post!

This year was our year to do Christmas with my parents. The original plan was to do Christmas here at the beach, with my Dad's parents flying down to meet Ruthie for the first time. Well, since we no longer have a store that we need to stick around town for, we decided to go down to my parents' house in Summerville so that we could all stay under one roof. And why not get as much of each other as possible and stay for a whole week?!? We can bring Laurel with us and my parents have plenty of room, so that's exactly what we did!!

We got down there on the 22nd, and my parents kindly provided free babysitting so Will and I could go out to dinner to celebrate our 8th anniversary.

On the 23rd, Wyatt and I picked up Uncle Robbie from the airport (he flew in from Dallas) and went to West Ashley to meet Granddad at the dealership, see thew new MINI racecar, and then go to Mellow Mushroom for lunch. Then we went back home while Grandma picked up Gammy (Ruth) and Granda Bob from the airport (they flew in from Maryland). It was great to see everyone; we hadn't seen Gammy and Granda Bob since last summer (18 months ago) and we hadn't seen Uncle Robbie since August when he flew out to meet Ruthie.

The next day was Christmas Eve. We started the day by going to my friend Shara's house for a Christmas Eve breakfast. Shara and I have known each other since 1st grade and after a couple of years of visiting us from Maryland she decided to move to Summerville. It was here that she met her husband, Dave, and now they have two beautiful girls who are similar in age to Wyatt and Ruthie (Amelia is 3 days younger than Ruthie, to be exact!). They had just moved into a new house and were excited to share it with everyone. While we were there, a special guest showed up! (Doesn't Dave make a great Santa??)

Ruthie had a great time too.

It was not easy, but we finally got Wyatt and Jayna to sit still on one step so we could get a picture.

I know it's blurry, but isn't this totally adorable?

Grandma insisted that I get on the OTHER side of a camera for a change.

Through all of the years, my mom and Shara's mom have remained friends as well, and Robbie and Shara's little sister Lindsey were in the same grade. So, we had a chance for a neat picture! (Dave was prepping the turkey that he was going to fry, and Will had already run off with my dad for a Christmas Eve round of golf when this picture was taken!)

When we got back, Gammy took advantage to two kiddos in good moods to get some loving in! This was the first time that "Big Ruthie" got to meet "Little Ruthie"!!

I wanted a picture of Wyatt with his great-grandmother. Of course I first had to take this...

To get this...

And then I got this!

Wyatt really liked cuddling with Granda Bob.

Finally, it was time to start getting ready for Santa. Here's Wyatt counting out 9 carrots for the reindeer.

The suspense was killing him, so we let him choose one present from under the tree to open before going to bed.

Then we turned on the computer to track Santa. He was in Ireland and heading in our direction!

Leaving out milk and cookies for Santa and the carrots for the reindeer!

My munchkins, ready to go to bed so they can see what Santa was going to bring... (Obviously Ruthie was READY for bed!)

He actually slept until about 8 the next morning. Here he is waiting on the stairs before opening presents. We made him wait until everyone was downstairs... why?

Because he had already seen THIS from up above!!

Oh my... Santa must have thought Wyatt was a REAL good boy this year!!!

Not wanting Ruthie to feel left out, Santa brought Ruthie a MINI Cooper of her own!

But Santa left a note that Wyatt was able to drive Ruthie's MINI until she was big enough, as long as he takes care of it. It's going to live at Grandma and Granddad's for awhile...

Ruthie and Grandma on Christmas morning.

Wyatt got lots of great toys. He got Candyland from Santa and Sesame Street Chutes and Ladders from Grndma and Granddad. They both have already gotten good use!

Ruthie enjoyed looking at the presents this year, particularly the bows.

It seems she enjoyed wearing the bows, too (in true Davis family tradition).

My mom always talks about how she loves leaving all of the wrapping paper everywhere while we open presents. So, that's exactly what we did this year. We all thought it was great... well, except maybe Laurel.

And here we are, after all of the presents had been opened.
What a goofy family. Oh, how I love them.

While Grandma and Mommy started working on Christmas dinner and Daddy was heating up the oil for the turkey, Wyatt decided to try out his new toy. He actually was afraid of it at first and would only drive the MINI, but he soon got brave enough to try. And he loved it.

Ruthie decided to check out her MINI, too.

Ruthie and Grandma.

Ruthie and Uncle Robbie.

Ruthie and Gammy.

Gammy and her two great-grandchildren.

On our last day in town, Grandma took us to "Bee City" which is a honey bee farm that has also become an amazing petting zoo. Wyatt had a BLAST.

Here he is feeding a lemur. Those were his favorite.

He got in the rabbit pen and got to pet all of the bunnies.

Here he is feeding Fred the monkey. Fred was Mommy's favorite.

He also got to feed a fallow deer. This was especially cool for Wyatt because EVERY night that we spend at my parents' house either Grandma or Granddad takes Wyatt driving around their neighborhood "looking for deer." They see a bunch of them every night (I can't remember a night in the last two years that he hasn't gone looking for deer with them). So, this was particularly cool for Wyatt to get to feed a deer and see it so close up.

On our last night, we had a big dinner and invited over my friend Kathy. Kathy and I became friends in early high school when we started riding horses together. Through all the horse shows and hanging out, our parents have become friends too. So, it was super fun to have Kathy, her husband Donnie, and Kathy's parents over for a cookout. Kathy has three kids. Between the two of us, we had kids ages 4 (Carter), 3 (Wyatt), 2 (Hunter), 1 (Addison), and newborn (Ruthie)!! CRAZY!

Here are the kiddos at their very own table.

And here with our with all of our kiddos. Oh, man... I don't even have the words.

So, now we're home and celebrating New Years' Eve by attempting to stay awake until midnight (and hoping our neighbors quit shooting off fireworks before Wyatt gets in bed!). A year ago tomorrow was our car accident. I think, except to drive (CAREFULLY!) to church -- we're staying home.

Ruthie is 4 Months Old

2011-12-22T13:50:00.002-05:00

Not a whole lot of time, so this'll be short and sweet! Ruthie turned 4 months old on the 17th while we were in Waynesville, and she had her 4 month well baby visit on the 20th. She is 24 inches long (50th percentile) and weighs 11 lbs 7 oz (10th percentile). She is doing well!

Still refusing to nap, although that is getting a little better, but she's still sleeping through the night most nights (or only waking up for 20 min or so), so I won't complain. She's been a fussy infant, but that seems to be getting a little better every day as well! Her eyes are still blue, so I think that means they're going to stay that way! Still no hair, but mine was very thin and fine until I became a teenager.

Well, I have to run; we're getting ready to load the car and head over the river and through the woods (quite literally) to Grandma's house for Christmas!

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!

Wyatt's School Christmas Party

2011-12-21T17:03:00.002-05:00

The day after we got back from Waynesville was Wyatt's last day of school before Christmas break, and his class Christmas party.

Wyatt and I worked on Ms. Vesna's Christmas present for a few days... here it is!

I hot glued brand new crayons on a wooden letter from A.C. Moore. The hardest part was cutting the crayons without them breaking into a million pieces. Then we hot glued a ribbon and tied it at the top so she could hang it. I'm not the craftiest person in the world, so I won't lie... I was quite proud!

When I got there, they were reviewing their letters "A" through "I" that they had learned so far this year. So cute!

We were able to get all 8 three year-olds to hold still for a picture! Yes, you're seeing that right... six boys and two girls. God bless those girls!

Llama Llama Holiday Drama... Wyatt loves those Llama Llama books.

Wyatt and his buddy Ajay, who is also in his gymnastics class. According to Wyatt, they are "best buddies."

Zeigler Family Christmas in Waynesville

2011-12-21T16:28:00.008-05:00

For the Zeigler (Will's mom's family) family Christmas this year, we planned many months ago to go to Waynesville, where John Michael and Stacey live. We, despite all that they've been through, they very graciously decorated their house and invited us all in to celebrate Christmas for the weekend. Most of the family stayed at the Herren House, a fabulous bed and breakfast one block from downtown Waynesville (HIGHLY recommend!!) and the male cousins and significant others stayed with JM and Stacey. It was a bittersweet weekend. Sweet in that it was Ruthie's first Christmas with the Zeiglers and it is always fun to get the big family together, especially as we are now all spread out (Walker is the only student left!). But it was also a difficult weekend, as it has been less than two months since JM and Stacey lost their son John Henry. I think that made it a little sad for all of us, and showed us our need to have grace and patience with each other as we all grieve in our own ways and timelines. We are thankful for JM and Stacey, as it took a lot of courage to allow such a large group to invade a place that has been a very safe haven for them in this time of mourning and readjusting. Particularly us, with our baby girl.

Wyatt was super excited to come see Uncle John Michael and Aunt Stacey, as well as their animals. He was also excited about staying at the Herren House. We stayed there a few weeks back when we came up for John Henry's funeral, and Wyatt made friends with Jack, the owner's 5 year old son. Wyatt was thrilled to stay at "Jack's House" again!

Saturday morning, Wyatt and Will went and met JM, Stacey, and the guys to get out and do a little hiking. Wyatt had a BLAST and hanging out with his Aunt Stacey. I think he provided some much needed comic relief as well as lots of hugs and unconditional love.

She also taught him how to eat the frost of off the trees, something that a three year old thinks is AWESOME.

Ruthie definitely got her share of being held by everyone in the family, particularly Granny. Here she is with Tate, who she just got to meet for the first time this weekend (he lives and works in D.C.). She's wearing an adorable sweater that Stacey (incredibly kindly) knitted for her for Christmas.

She got to sit and cuddle with Gigi during present opening time.

And of course she got lots of love and cuddles from Granny and Ziggy.
Isn't this just precious??

We took a few pictures at the Herren House on Sunday morning before everyone left. Unfortunately Stacey and JM weren't able to be there because they had to take two of their sheep to church that morning (not nearly as strange as it sounds... promise.)
Here is the family... four generations!

Before leaving town, we went by and visited John Henry's grave. Trying to explain that to Wyatt was tough, especially when he got super excited when I mentioned Aunt Stacey having a baby. I don't think he really understood, but that's okay. He was mostly concerned about how much I was crying!

After that, we went back by John Michael and Stacey's to see the animals, since it has been raining when we got there Friday and was too muddy to go in the pasture.

He investigated the shed...

Helped Daddy hold a chicken...

Petted McGregor the sheep...

Checked the coop for eggs...
(Don't worry JM & Stacey, we didn't touch it and left it there!!)
And visited with Secret the llama!

Thanks for a great time, John Michael and Stacey! Thanks for opening up your home to us, putting up with any shenanigans we may have created, and for loving us back!!

Santa Comes to Gymnastics

2011-12-21T16:19:00.003-05:00

So last Thursday, parents were invited to come in and watch gymnastics, which is a rare treat, so it's very exciting. I forgot to put the memory card in my camera, so all of these pictures are taken with my phone. Not as good, but good enough.

Lining up for "cycle." (And there are two other boys in Wyatt's class, they were just further back in the line.

About halfway through cycle, Santa showed up! He let each kid sit on his lap and tell him what he wanted. Wyatt was insistent that he didn't need to do this, because he had already seen Santa a few days prior. Finally I was able to convince him.

Here's how the conversation went:
Santa: Well, Wyatt, have you been a good boy?
Wyatt: Well, yeah, maybe a little bit.

Too bad I wasn't video taping THAT. I couldn't have said it better myself.

After Santa, they continued with cycle and I was able get a few pictures.

This Ms. Deborah, one of the teachers. Wyatt loves her, Mr. Chris, Ms. Sarah, and Ms. Kristen.

Seeing Santa Claus

2011-12-21T16:15:00.003-05:00

We had a free evening the other night, so we drove up to North Myrtle Beach to Bass Pro Shop to see Santa (this Santa is free, and waaay better than the mall Santa... worth the drive). Wyatt loves Santa, and Ruthie had no clue, so we got a good picture this year. Wyatt didn't have a whole lot of specific requests for Santa, but he was sure to tell Santa that we were going to be at Grandma and Granddad's for Christmas this year. He'd hate for Santa to miss him!

Will's First MARATHON

2011-12-21T15:47:00.003-05:00

A few months ago, Will decided he wanted to run a full marathon. He actually wanted to run the Savannah Marathon in Sept, but we knew Ruthie would only be about a month old and that Will would be having to do some really long training runs in the heat of the summer at the beach. So, he instead set his sights on the Kiawah Island Marathon in Charleston in December. Well, despite the birth of a daughter, the loss of a nephew, the loss of Chick-fil-A, and five weekends of traveling to Clemson for football games, Will kept at his training with very few breaks. So, on December 9, all four of us went to Kiawah for the weekend. We ate dinner at the provided pasta buffet (which was delicious, although I felt a bit guilty eating all that pasta when I was NOT running anywhere the next day... but that didn't stop me) and went to sleep in our nice little oceanfront condo. The next morning Will got up and headed down to the race start (it was within walking distance), while the kids and I hung out at the condo. After having breakfast and watching Ice Age on TV, we got dressed and headed down to the finish line to cheer Daddy on.

Ruthie turned lots of heads with her new hat.

And finally, after 3 hours and 52 minutes of running, Will completed his first full marathon! (26.2 miles, if you were wondering...)

2011 Christmas Card

2011-12-15T09:13:00.003-05:00

World Of Joy Christmas

To view our unique Christmas card designs, click here.

View the entire collection of cards.

Dear Santa... Define "Good"

2011-12-14T18:44:00.003-05:00

Wyatt's Christmas jammies say, "Dear Santa, Define GOOD." (Which could not be more appropriate, because Wyatt seems to struggle with the definition of that word these days...)

So, I just wanted to get a good picture of him in these jammies for the blog. I finally got a decent one:

But not without first having to take all of these first (pardon the poor quality of some of the pictures; but I'm posting these so you can get a "taste" of Wyatt...):

Ruthie is 16 Weeks Old

2011-12-07T15:48:00.003-05:00

Our little girl is growing by leaps and bounds it seems these days!

She is officially 16 weeks old today!

She's holding her head up better and better. In fact, this is the third day that I've been able to put her in her Pod and she has enjoyed it.

She weighs about 12 lbs, I think (4 month dr. appt. is on the 20th of this month). Her biggest and most exciting accomplishment? SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT. She has done it five times in the last seven days!!! We're talking 9 pm to 7 am. Of course, she doesn't really nap during the day, but most days I'm okay with that trade-off...

A Short Visit with Ziggy

2011-12-07T15:38:00.002-05:00

Will's grandfather called the other day to say he was in town with a tour group for two nights and would love to see us. So, we hopping in the car yesterday and drove (not very far at all!) to the hotel up in Myrtle Beach where he was staying to visit for a few minutes.

While we were waiting, Ruthie was being awfully cute and perfectly happy laying down on a chair in the lobby. She attracted the attention of EVERYONE who walked by.

When Ziggy arrived, Wyatt was super excited to see him.
The only way, however, that I could get a sweet smile like this one out of him was to promise him that after I took this picture...

He would be allowed to do this...

I know Ziggy was happy to see them, and I bet there was one jealous Granny sitting in North August last night! But, she'll get her fix in 9 days when we all gather in Waynesville for the Zeigler family Christmas!

Ruthie, who can sometimes be a little finicky about who is holding her (a lot of times it's just Mommy... Will calls me the "off switch" because she can be screaming enraged crying, and then he'll hand her off to me and she'll immediately be bright eyed and bushy tailed!), LOVED sitting with Ziggy!

Ruthie Meets Amelia

2011-12-07T15:30:00.002-05:00

I have known my friend Shara since 1st grade. You've seen lots of pictures of Wyatt and her daughter Jayna. Well, she had a little girl three days after I had Ruthie! We were in Charleston last weekend, so Ruthie and I were able to go visit Shara at her new house and meet Amelia. If we end up moving back to Summerville, it'll be neat to see these two grow up together!

Amelia had no problem smiling for all of the pictures. Ruthie, on the other hand, is a bit more serious. But, we finally got one...

About 30 minutes later we got another chance to get a cute picture of them.

And as I was going through my pictures to edit them, I found this one and HAD to post it. Ruthie has discovered her tongue, and she isn't afraid to use it. Hilarious.

By the way, you can visit Shara at her blog, Palmettos and Pigtails.

Wyatt's Christmas Program at School

2011-12-07T15:21:00.004-05:00

This past Sunday, Wyatt's preschool put on a Christmas program. It was Wyatt's first performance!

In the past he's been SO shy about performing in front of people, even just one or two (as evidenced by his last two class parties where he just stood there while all of the other kids performed). So, when they started practicing for this program, I told his teacher to give it a try, but I didn't have high expectations for his participation. The week before the program, he came home from school every day talking about getting up on stage to practice and wearing a costume. So, Sunday rolled around and we went to the church. I dropped him off in the choir room for him to meet his class and get dressed. He seemed to be doing just fine...

So we left him with his class and went and got seats in the sanctuary it. Was already packed, so Will and Ruthie sat in back and I went and stood in the side aisle of the church, as close as I could get.

Here's all the kiddos on the stage... can you find Wyatt?

There he is, far right of the stage!

Of course, he didn't do ANYTHING except stand there... but he didn't even react to the 100+ people in the sanctuary. I am such a proud Mommy!!

Go Tigers!

2011-12-07T15:16:00.004-05:00

Saturday, December 3, the Clemson Tigers football team beat the Virginia Tech Hokies by a score of 38-10 to win the ACC Championship!

We were wearing our colors proud the next day!

P.S. The bow was made for Ruthie by my friend Jessica at Princess and Pup Bows. Check her out here.

Our Little Entrepreneur

2011-12-07T15:11:00.003-05:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we had a HUGE yard sale with my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Don. Wyatt is learning about work and making money, so we helped him set up his own table to sell hot chocolate at the yard sale. He made $12! A lot of that was tips for being cute (why couldn't that have worked for ME??), but everyone loved the hot chocolate (we even had two men come back about two hours later for another cup!). He gave Mommy $1 for the marshmellows (we already had the rest on hand), putting $1 in his "Give" bank, and $1 in his "Save" bank, he had $8 to spend. We went to Target and he picked out a new car that he was VERY excited that he worked to earn! We're proud of him!

O Christmas Tree (and Ruthie at 15 Weeks Old)

2011-12-07T15:05:00.003-05:00

A few days after Thanksgiving, we went and got our Christmas tree. Wyatt had a lot of fun (hmm... maybe too much?) helping decorate the tree.

After we got the decorating done, I got some cute pictures of Wyatt and Ruthie, since this was Nov 30 and Ruthie was 15 weeks old.

No doubt, Wyatt still LOVES his little sister!

This picture captures them both perfectly.

After some bribing, I was able to get Wyatt to get out of the picture so I could get a few of Ruthie by herself in the chair.

Mr. Pat and his Mailbox Truck

2011-12-07T14:45:00.002-05:00

Wyatt loves all types of vehicles. One of his favorites is the "Mailbox Truck" of our mailman, Mr. Pat. Wyatt loves to go out and see Mr. Pat just about every day. He waves to him when he sees him around town, and Mr. Pat will always stop and talk to us if he sees us driving or walking around the neighborhood. He has even let Wyatt sit in the drivers' seat of his truck. When Wyatt was a little younger, all USPS trucks were "Mr. Pat." Now he knows and looks for him everywhere!

Thanks for being so awesome, Mr. Pat!

Thanksgiving with Gigi and Papa

2011-12-07T14:38:00.003-05:00

For Thanksgiving this year, we went to Gigi and Papa's house in Fort Mill. We had a great few days relaxing and spending time with them. Nan and I even got away for a few hours to get some Christmas shopping done and have lunch at Dean & Delcua (YUM!). I also was able to help John set up his new computer.

Wyatt and Ruthie had fun spending time with their grandparents. Wyatt got to ride on the tractor with Papa and climb on the rocks. Will fried a turkey and Nan cooked up a delicious meal. And then, for the first time in many years, we slept past 3 am on the day after Thanksgiving! (Will and I always were at Chick-fil-A to open the store at 4 am on Black Friday). THAT was a nice change!

Gigi with her kiddos.

Papa got out his Indian headress Boy Scout camp and let Wyatt try it on.

Perfect for Thanksgiving!

On Thanksgiving Day, after our wonderful meal, we went for a walk on the Alice Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill. We saw lots of horses and sheep, and even two donkeys.

Wyatt's favorite part of the Greenway was the swinging suspension bridge over the creek!

Wyatt's Class Thanksgiving Party

2011-12-07T14:09:00.003-05:00

You saw the pictures of us making cookies for Wyatt's class Thanksgiving party... here's the party!

The class getting ready to sing for us. Of course, all of the kids tried to sing. Except for Wyatt, who just stood there. Oh well.

My Pilgrim.

Chowing down!

Everyone LOVED Wyatt's turkey and Pilgrim hat cookies, kids and adults included!

Getting Ready for Class Thanksgiving Party

2011-11-21T16:39:00.003-05:00

Wyatt's class Thanksgiving party was today. I have a few pictures from that, but before I put those up, I need to show you what he helped me do FOR the party yesterday. Before you think I'm too creative and amazing, I will tell you that I completely stole both of these ideas from another source. No originality involved, promise.

We made turkeys AND Pilgrim hats. And Wyatt had a blast helping me make both!!

And Ruthie spectated... from the "Magic Highchair." She has been super fussy lately, but I put her in Wyatt's highchair for a moment and reclined it back a little (it is made to do that, for when they start eating rice cereal at an early age). She immediately stopped crying and happily sat there for over 30 min. Same again today. Might be getting her one of her own for Christmas.

I. Am. In. Trouble.

2011-11-21T08:03:00.002-05:00

I've been talking to my riding instructor, Shary, a few times in the last few weeks about coming back since having Ruthie. Well, as soon as Wyatt heard me talking about it, he immediately started saying, "I want to go to the barn, Mommy! Can we? Can I go ride Amelia?" (Amelia is the little pony he's sat on before.) So, we finally planned to go this past Wednesday. All four of us went so that everyone could meet Ruthie, too. (And I didn't get a picture of her first time seeing horses! Shame on me!) After I rode, we got Amelia tacked up and Wyatt got to sit on her and walk around the ring a few times. He even walked over a pole, by his request. He asked to go faster, but he's not quite ready for that yet!

So, I had the opportunity to ride again on Saturday, so I took Wyatt back up there with me. As soon as we get out of the car, Lindsey, a friend of mine and the barn owner's daughter, asked Wyatt if he wants to ride Goose, her horse. Wyatt loves Goose, mainly because of his name, and even though Goose is significantly larger than Amelia, Wyatt didn't hesitate to say yes!

Strike A Pose

2011-11-21T08:01:00.001-05:00

Caught Ruthie napping like this the other day...

Ruthie's First Trip to the Beach

2011-11-21T07:57:00.002-05:00

What do we do here in Surfside when it hits 80 degrees in the middle of November? Go to the beach, of course!

Wyatt's First Dentist Appointment

2011-11-14T20:37:00.002-05:00

At 3 1/2 years old, Wyatt was due for his first dentist appointment. I debated for a few months between taking him to a pediatric dentist (designed and decorated for kids) or the dentist where Will and I go, where our pastor's wife works (someone Wyatt knows well). Finally, I decided to take him to our dentist to see Ms. Gail. First, he came with me for my appointment a few weeks ago and watched the entire appointment. Then, it was time for his appointment! He started out pretty unsure, but he never cried, and actually did significantly better than I thought he would. Here are some pictures!

Getting his "bib" on. ("Like when I eat, Mommy!")

Ms. Gail showing Wyatt the little mirror.

Counting Wyatt's teeth. He has 20!

Getting his teeth brushed. He had five flavors of toothpaste to choose from. What did he choose? CHOCOLATE (?!?!?). My child.

He was especially good for Dr. Butler. No, Ms. Gail is just holding his hands, not having to physically restrain him!

All in all, he came out with a clean bill of health, a new toothbrush, a toy motorcycle, and some money from Mommy to spend at Target (which he used to get a new truck). Success!

Cuteness

2011-11-14T19:50:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to share a few photos that I've recently taken with my phone and hadn't had a chance to share on here yet!

A week and a half ago in Clemson we were in town for my former college roommate Sabrina's wedding. I was trying to just get a picture of Ruthie with her adorable bow... of course, Wyatt couldn't let her have ALL of the attention. But, this picture captures them both perfectly.

Playing in Uncle John Michael's kayak in Asheville.

All bundled up for our weekend in Asheville (it SNOWED that weekend!).

An Afternoon Doze

2011-11-09T14:18:00.002-05:00

While our lack of employment isn't ideal, it is nice to have moments like these every once in awhile... such sweetness.

Ruthie: 11 weeks old

2011-11-09T14:05:00.001-05:00

Well, she's actually 12 weeks old today, but I haven't taken any pictures of her yet.

These were taken last Wednesday the 2nd, when she was 11 weeks old!

Halloween

2011-11-09T13:48:00.006-05:00

Sorry I'm a little behind. The last two weeks have been totally crazy, to say the least. We lost John Henry on Monday the 24th. Tuesday the 25th we had our annual Trunk or Treat at Chick-fil-A, which was a smashing success (over 350 kids). Wyatt and Ruthie had a blast. I didn't get to take any pictures; my hands were full!! Will got called to a meeting with Chick-fil-A corporate employees on Thursday the 27th, where he was then let go from Chick-fil-A (craziness... and totally unexpected). Saturday the 29th we were in Asheville for John Henry's funeral and burial. Sunday the 30th we spent the entire day cleaning all of our stuff out of the store, and Monday the 31st was Will's last day as Operator of Chick-fil-A of Surfside. Needless to say, we've been working on redefining "normal" these last two weeks, but we're in a really good place right now. God is good, ALL THE TIME.

So... to catch up... Halloween was Monday, October 31st. It started with Wyatt's party at school. I was the room mom for this party, so I was there a little early (I feel like I didn't do much. Was still totally in a teary daze at this moment) and got to snap some great pictures. Wyatt is LOVING his school this year.

The kids got to wear their costumes to school. Wyatt has had lots of fun having so many excuses to wear it!

Finishing up with the lesson for the day before the partying began.

Wyatt and his buddy Dylan.

Showing the parents how they sit on their spots on the floor.

Singing some songs for us.

Wyatt and Dylan, enjoying their goodies.

Wyatt and his teacher, Mrs. Vesna.

Even Ruthie had lots of fun! (She was a ladybug. Her outfit was kindly made for her by my friend Jessica, who is Dylan's mom. She also made the bow for her.)

This summer, Wyatt had a little girl named Emma in his gymnastics class with him. Emma mom, Pam, and I became friends while waiting for our kiddos during gymnastics. She was pregnant and due about the same time as I was with Ruthie. Well, she had a little boy, Kyler, at 3:30 am on the same day that I had Ruthie at 1:38 pm (Aug 17). We have fun seeing them three days a week when dropping the kids off for school. Kyler was at the Halloween party, too, and had a GREAT outfit!

That evening, Will was able to take a break from all the busyness of his last day at the store to come home and go Trick or Treating with us. Wyatt is still young enough that we don't go to every house, we just go to the neighbors that know us and love to see Wyatt.

Here he is, ready to go get some candy!

I tried... and tried... and tried. But Ruthie was NOT in the mood to pose for a Halloween picture. This was the best I could get.

Luckily, Mr. Chris from gymnastics was at the Trunk or Treat at Chick-fil-A the week before and snapped this picture of Ruthie, which he kindly gave me to put on the blog so you could see a happier Ruthie with her wings on!!

But wait! I just found these on my phone!

Gymnastics (in Costume)

2011-10-31T22:29:00.005-04:00

Last fall, Wyatt started taking gymnastics at Terry & Don's, a local gymnastics center for kids 8 months through 18 years old. Last fall and spring we did the "Mommy & Me" class, then this summer he began the Pre-School classes. Starting in September, he now goes twice a week, for an hour. He LOVES it. Last Thursday, they allowed the kids to dress up in their Halloween costumes for gymnastics AND they let the parents come in and watch (now that he goes in without, they won't let the parents watch so that the kids will pay attention. Makes sense.). So, be prepared for LOTS of pictures... of a Wyatt in a SWAT costume doing gymnastics!!

This is Wyatt and Ajay, who is also in Wyatt's Pre-School class at WeeSchool.

Sitting on their dots, getting ready to do stretches.

Straddle

Pike

Table

Lining up with Mr. Chris to begin Cycle, where they go around the gymnasium to the different stations and apparatuses.

My little ham.

Walking on the Crayon balance beam.

Swinging on the rope swing. We've come a long way on this one. At the very beginning he couldn't stay on, and pretty much refused to even try. Now he swings as high as the teachers can get him!

The "Hotdog" balance beam (About 24" high, a little wider than the competition beams)

Spider Hang

Getting ready for Mr. Chris to lift him up on the "Magic Belt." Another one that we've come a long way on. The first time they offered this to the kids, Wyatt would have NOTHING to do with it. Now...

No problem.

Ruthie was there too... she loved stretching out when I put her down to take pictures. She was ready for Halloween too!

Doing a cartwheel

Forward rolls

Wyatt's very favorite thing to do in gymnastics is to play in the "blocks." These are foam blocks that the competition kids use to practice landing their dismounts. You can run and jump into this pit as fast and hard as you like and you land super softly. Wyatt has a blast jumping in.

The best we could do to get all of the kids together for a photo op.

Heavy Hearts

2011-10-24T21:28:00.004-04:00

"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"
I Corinthians 15:55

"God Himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain..."
Revelation 21:3b-4a

There is no easy way to say this, but it has been a heart-aching day for the Thompson family. Will's brother, John Michael, and his wife Stacey lost their baby this morning during labor and delivery. It was a baby boy, John Henry Lester Thompson. There is no need for details, but there are many heavy, heavy hearts as we grieve the loss of a sweet, precious boy, who was also a son, grandson, great-grandson, nephew, and cousin. We don't know the reasons, but he has gone straight from the wonderful, loving comfort of his mother's womb, listening to her heart beat for 9 months, to the wonderful, loving comfort of the arms of Jesus, his head on His chest, listening to the heartbeat of our Savior.

John Michael and Stacey, we love you, we grieve for you and with you, and we pray that God will use your precious John Henry to glorify Him.

Ruthie's 2 Month "Stats" and Another Weekend in Clemson

2011-10-24T11:21:00.003-04:00

Ruthie went in last week for her 2 Month check-up. She is 10 lbs exactly (25%) and 22 1/2" long (50%). She is doing great! She went to Clemson again this weekend while Wyatt spent the weekend with Grandma and Granddad. It had been a few months since we had been down to Charleston and he was BEGGING to go to Grandma and Granddad's house. They took him to a high school game, watched the Clemson game with him on TV, rode bikes around the neighborhood, took him to Dad's dealership, took him to church, and outright spoiled him (which he loved).

Ruthie has a good time in Clemson with us, attending her 3rd football game, where the Tigers beat UNC 59-38. So far the Tigers are 8-0. I think Ruthie is good luck!!

We stayed with our best friends Erik and Amanda. Here's Ruthie and their daughter Rebekah (who LOVED Ruthie... and was much more gentle with her than Wyatt is!!) before the game. Aren't our Tiger girls adorable??

Ruthie is 2 Months Old

2011-10-19T15:19:00.003-04:00

Ruthie had some surprise visitors for her 2 month birthday... Grandma and Granddad! Granddad had a dealer's conference up at Grande Dunes, and they had a little free time in the morning and came by to see us. Wyatt was in school, but we kept Grandma for the day while Granddad played golf, then we took her back to the hotel, so he got to see them, too.

Ruthie is about 10 pounds now (according to the old "get on the scale with her, get on the scale without her, do the math" method). Her 2 month doctor's appointment is tomorrow; I'll post more accurate "stats" soon. She is regularly sleeping 7 hours each night, but unfortunately those 7 hours are regularly from 9 pm to 4 am and at 4 am is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, giving me the sweetest, biggest smiles (that I can barely see through my bleary eyes at 4 am). We'll get there though. She has totally grown out of all newborn clothes and is in 0-3 and some 3 month clothes. I've been given and bought so many clothes that I hope she'll get a chance to wear them all! She is in size 1 diapers now, and thanks to Nan and Granny, I don't think we'll be purchasing any diapers any time soon (YAY... you both are WONDERFUL!). Her infant hair is falling out, so a lot of people think she is a boy (even when wearing pink... people, this is the SOUTH, not California), but I never mind because she looks almost exactly like her big brother. She is smiling at us more and more, although she's the most predictably smiley during diaper changes.

Wyatt and Ruthie are looking forward to getting their first cousin soon, too. Stacey and John Michael (Will's brother and sister-in-law) are due any day now (well, technically they were due 11 days AGO, which makes it "any day now"). We can't wait to find out if Will and I are going to have a little niece or nephew. I'm going to an AUNT... woohoo!!!

Starbucks

2011-10-16T19:32:00.002-04:00

Wyatt LOVES Starbucks. All summer I would get a mocha coconut frappacino and get the baristas to put the leftover in a small cup for Wyatt. He would then proceed to drink it ALL (I made sure to get decaf, both for his sake and because I was pregnant with Ruthie at the time!). Well, now that it's cooler outside (although it was 80 degrees today!), I want a hot latte instead. So, I just asked the barista if she would pour a little of mine into a small cup and then add a few ice cubes to help cool it off. Instead (because he's so cute, or maybe because she knew us), she made him his own little "steamer" which is just steamed milk and the pumpkin spice syrup. Then she put it in a kids cup, which is really cute and tiny ("Wyatt-sized" as he calls it). He was in LOVE, both with the drink and the barista! Thanks, Miss Olivia, for making Wyatt's night (and Mommy's too... didn't have to share AND could get the caffeinated version!!!).

Now when Ruthie's ready to start drinking Starbucks... I'm going to be in BIG trouble.

Family Photo Session

2011-10-14T21:29:00.003-04:00

Last weekend when we were in Clemson, we met up with Sabrina Lewis (who will be MRS. Sabrina Fields in three weeks!), who has been my roommate for my senior year and a half at Clemson. You've seen her work on here before... click below to see the latest!!

http://sabrinalewis.blogspot.com/2011/10/thompsons.html

Thanks Sabrina! They're amazing, as always!
(And Wyatt looks so grown up... my heart can't take it!)

Ruthie is 8 Weeks Old

2011-10-12T15:30:00.002-04:00

Ruthie is 8 weeks old today! She is growing up a little every week; and still doing great. In fact, she treated me last night by sleeping from 11:00 pm until 5:30. It was also the second night that she slept upstairs in her room and in her crib. I still have the pack 'n play bassinet set up next to my bed, but she hasn't slept in it in two days.

She has started smiling at us and interacting with us a little more. I was even able to get her to smile for this picture. She has the most BEAUTIFUL smile!

Ruthie: 7 Weeks

2011-10-04T10:30:00.002-04:00

Ruthie is 7 weeks old today. She has turned into a total rockstar; the fussiness is much diminished, she's sleeping well (like 5-7 hours!), and eating well, too. Although she's still on what I've been calling the "super model diet" of lots of small meals often. It's all good.

We've had our first cold snap, and because she was so small when she was born I have so many cute warm-weather clothes that she hasn't gotten to wear. Unfortunately some of them will have to be passed on to someone else, but some of them I've been able to "force" into winter with a little creative layering (thank goodness leggings are "in" right now!).

Will took the youth from our church whitewater rafting this weekend, so it was my first 48 hours with just the two kiddos. We went to the Surfside Beach Fall Festival (successfully), watched Clemson beat Virginia Tech, went to church (only 10 min late; Ruthie had a little meltdown on the way so I had to stop and console her for a few minutes), and even went grocery shopping. I was exhausted, but rather proud of myself too!

At the festival, Wyatt and I found an adorable hat that I HAD to get for Ruthie. It's a little big, so I'm on a mission to find another one just like it that fits a little better at the moment.

She doesn't have enough hair for bows, and her head is so small that she looks kind of ridiculous with a lot of the flowers and things people put on hats and headbands for little girls. But we have to make sure people know she's a girl... she's been called a "he" quite a bit (it seems in this day and age that wearing pink does not make her a girl, I guess?), but I'm not insulted, seeing as that she still looks just like her big brother...

100% Clemson Tiger

2011-10-01T08:42:00.001-04:00

Will's out of town again for two days taking our church youth group to the Whitewater Center in Charlotte. That means Wyatt, Ruthie, and I are home to watch football all day. Thanks to my sweet high school/college friend Angela, Ruthie is READY to watch the Tigers take on the VA Tech Hokies this evening!

Ruthie is 6 Weeks Old!

2011-10-01T08:26:00.002-04:00

Ruthie turned 6 weeks old on Wednesday. My mom was in town for a few days helping me while Will was out of town on a business retreat for three days. Wyatt and Ruthie both loved having Grandma in town!

Time sure is flying by! Ruthie is almost completely out of newborn sized clothes and pretty much out of newborn diapers (but I'm making them last until I run out!!). She is eating and sleeping so well too! She doesn't mind a bottle, although I rarely have occasion to give her one. She is going to sleep every night between 10-11 pm and sleeping until about 4 am (although yesterday she slept until 6:45 am and this morning until 5 am! I'll TAKE it!!). She's awake a little more often and starting to smile, particularly first thing in the morning. She's still sleeping in our room, but will probably move upstairs into her room before too long. She's been napping in her crib upstairs most days. She is significantly less fussy than she was at the beginning; we hardly ever have crying/fussy spells anymore. For the first few weeks they were happening every day. And most importantly, Wyatt still LOVES his baby sister! He refers to himself as "Big Brother" when talking to her. So precious...

Clemson Football Season is in Full Swing!

2011-10-01T08:22:00.003-04:00

Forgive me for not updating much the last few weeks! We spent last weekend in Clemson again for the Florida State game (VICTORY! 35-30 Tigers!). This time Wyatt got to come to the game and Ruthie spent a couple of hours with Gigi. After the game, Nan had invited most of the Zeigler clan (we missed you Tate, Granny, Ziggy, Stacey, and John Michael!) over to the house. Ruthie got to meet LOTS of extended family that night! Forgive me for not taking any pictures; it was pretty late in the evening and we were all tired and sunburned (and voiceless) from the game. However, Ruthie loved getting to meet Jane, Eddie, Walker, Corbin, Hank, Ebbie, Susan, Claire, and Jerad! Can't wait to see everyone again at Christmastime!

Here are my two wonderful boys enjoying some Clemson football.

Ruthie is a Month Old (And Lots of Other Excitment!)

2011-09-23T09:13:00.005-04:00

On Wednesday, Sept 13, Ruthie was 4 weeks old. But on Saturday, Sept 17, she was officially one month! To celebrate (well, not really, this trip would have happened anyway), we took our first road trip to Clemson as a family of four. What normally takes about 4-4 1/2 hours took almost 6, but we made it! Will's parents are living in Clemson full time now, so of course we stayed with them. Then on Saturday... GAME DAY! We had missed the first two games, so Will and I were super ready to get our "fix" of Clemson football. Because Ruthie is still nursing, she got to go with us.

Here she is with Papa John shortly before we left.

Clemson played Auburn (the defending National Champions), so we had some very special visitors! My Aunt Marla married an Auburn grad, so we had planned MONTHS ago for them to come up to the game. Marla and Melinda made it, but Barco had (poor thing) to go to England for a business trip, so his daughter Stephanie got to come instead. It was GREAT to see them (they live in Atlanta and we are lucky if we see them once a year, though lately it's been twice) and they were super excited to get to meet Ruthie (Marla is my dad's sister, so Ruthie is named after her mother).

Everyone enjoyed cuddling with Ruthie and getting their "baby fix."

Then it was time to go to the game. It started out questionable for Clemson, but we came alive just before the half and BEAT Auburn to break the nation's longest current winning streak (17 wins). It was a GREAT game, and Ruthie pretty much slept through the whole thing. Everyone who sits around us loved seeing her (and she came out of no where to them; we didn't know we were pregnant until after last football season!) and said she was our good luck charm.

Stretched out at halftime.

Ruthie's first Clemson game, a Tiger victory over Auburn, 38-24!

After the game, we went back to Nan and John's to rest and relax. Marla, Melinda, and Stephanie had to get back, but we played in the front yard (football, of course).

I know this picture is blurry, but the expression on his face HAD to be shared...

Then our best friends who live in Clemson, Erik and Amanda Smith came over and brought their little girl Rebekah with them. Wyatt is head over heels in love with Rebekah. She tolerates him (good girl -- boys are nothing but trouble!). We always joke about setting up and arranged marriage; don't worry, it's just a joke (for the most part). So, here are some pictures for the rehearsal dinner slideshow!

Isn't He So Handsome?

2011-09-23T08:11:00.003-04:00

After much convincing (and I won't lie, maybe a little bribing), we got Wyatt to try on his Tiger Paw belt last Friday. He's tried it on before, but then immediately ripped it off. This time, he not only kept it on, but wore it to school and for the rest of the day! I even got him to pose for a few pictures... so grown up! (Pardon the high-water jeans. This was the first cold day, and it was this day that Mommy panicked, realizing that he had outgrown, in length, ALL of his 3T pants... I've been shopping since!!)

Bye Bye "B's"!!!

2011-09-17T09:28:00.002-04:00

Well, after almost 3 1/2 years, the moment has arrived. Wyatt gave up his pacifiers. He took one starting at 2 weeks old, and was totally addicted. Somehow started calling it a "bee," and the name stuck. At one year, the pediatrician said that Wyatt could keep them, but only for sleeping purposes. As Mommy, I was perfectly fine with this. At two, and even at three, so many of my friends were talking about how their children were refusing to nap. Not mine. All I had to do was mention bee and blankey, and ZOOM! Wyatt was RACING to get in bed. I continued to use them to my advantage. When he went through a hitting stage, the rule became that when he hit, a bee got thrown away. I only ever had to throw away two, and it was traumatic enough that we didn't deal much with hitting after that.

A few months ago (with Ruthie on the way), a friend of mine gave me an idea about a "Bee Fairy" where you leave the pacifiers out before bed and the next morning the fairy has taken them and turned them into toys. So, we started talking to Wyatt about this. He kept saying that it sounded good, and yes, he wanted the Bee Fairy to come bring him toys (a pit stop/garage for his Matchbox cars was his request). So, I went shopping, but he kept saying, "I want the Bee Fairy to come, but in three days (or sometimes it was five). We didn't press the issue, because with a little sister on the horizon we knew there would be enough adjustments in the near future. Then all discussion was dropped for awhile.

Well, last Wednesday, during dinner, Wyatt announced that he was ready for the Bee Fairy to come. So, we collected all of the the bee's in the house, put them in a container to leave for the Fairy. At first the container was in his room, then he decided he didn't want the Fairy to come in his room ("She might wake me up."). Then he got nervous about a stranger coming into his house at all, so we decided that Mommy would use her magic Mommy skills and turn the bees into toys herself. So, Wyatt got in bed, I told him how proud I was of him, and he bravely went to sleep. Well, he stayed awake for another hour, calling me in and asking me questions every five minutes, but eventually he fell asleep. And slept all night without a bee. I took the bees and set up all of the toys I got for him. Here's our "before" picture:

The next morning he woke up around 7 am, came running into our rooming yelling, "I did it! I did it! I slept without a bee!!!" and then ran out to play with his toys. They were the only toys he played with all day! He got a Matchbox service garage, a blue off-roading pickup truck, a big rig with a tractor on it, a Dale Jr. race car (he already has Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Mark Martin; had to complete the team!), and a Matchbox red BMW M3.

He, of course, refused to take a nap the next day (I knew there would be some repercussions to this adventure), and had a hard time going to bed the next night ("I want my bee's back!!!!!"), but he did it. Then we drove to Clemson and he slept the third night (last night) without a bee as well... I think we've arrived!

Mommy confession: I haven't thrown the bees away yet. I've hidden them in the top drawer of my dresser. Am I emotionally attached? I guess so. Geez.

Wyatt's Halloween Sneak Peek

2011-09-16T11:31:00.002-04:00

I'll be honest, I hadn't even give Halloween a thought yet (well, for the kids... I'm signed up to help with the Halloween party at school, so I've thought of it in that respect). The other day we were in Costco and we saw a bunch of costumes for the kiddos. We looked through them, and Will found one that Wyatt immediately fell in love with... and here it is...

It says SWAT, but he doesn't know what that is, so he calls it a policeman (close enough). You can't really tell the details, but it has a vest with a walkie talkie, handcuffs, binoculars, a baton, and a badge. He is totally in love.

We actually had to put it up and hide it in the top of his closet because he wanted to wear it.... everyday... all.day.

A Visit with the Greats

2011-09-16T11:11:00.004-04:00

At the end of August, Will's parents came back to spend some more time with Ruthie and Wyatt and brought Nan's parents, Granny and Ziggy, with them. It is always a treat for us to see our grandparents and even more special for Wyatt, and now Ruthie, to spend time with their GREAT-grandparents (who have always been great, now they're Great with a capital "G"!!).

Here's Ruthie with quite a few of the wonderful men in her life...

Getting loved on by her Great-Grandfather.

So sweet. According to Ziggy, Ruthie is his favorite oldest great-granddaughter (Oooo, its getting tougher now, isn't it Ziggy?)

Poor Granny... I don't think she enjoyed this trip at all. *wink*

Ruthie is 3 weeks old

2011-09-08T17:16:00.003-04:00

Not a whole lot of news to report this week; just still trying to establish some sort of predictability! Ruthie is much more opinionated than Wyatt was at this age; she (well, that word kind of explains it right there...) can go from zero to outright MAD in about 3.5 seconds, but usually just holding her and walking around can help. At first I thought it was what I was eating, so I cut out dairy for a few days and didn't really get different results, so I've slowly added it back into my diet and she's been fine (whew... Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Lattes just came back out!). We're still not getting out of the house too much, although yesterday after dropping Wyatt off at school I did take her for her first ever trip to Wal-Mart.

The creepy-crud has entered our house (most likely via Wyatt... thanks, pre-school) and everyone has had a stuffy/runny nose, including poor little Ruthie. We've elevated the head side of her bassinet, given her saline nose spray, a little vapor bath, and "sucked" out a much as we can from her nose. She's not loving it all, but she's being a trooper.

Wyatt is still LOVING pre-school and he started back up with gymnastics this week, too. He'll be going two days a week and is super excited about that. We also spent last Saturday watching college football, including our Clemson Tigers. It's the first home opener game that I have missed in 12 years, but its for a good reason. We'll watch this week's home game from home again too (also the first time I've missed more than one home game in 12 years too), but then we'll head to Clemson for the Auburn game on the 17th. Should be an adventure...

I haven't taken any pictures this week, but I snapped a quick one for you with my phone before writing this blog. Resting up and trying to get rid of this stuffy nose!

Ruthie is 2 weeks old (and newborn photos sneak peek!)

2011-09-01T15:22:00.002-04:00

We took Ruthie in for her two week appointment today; she is up to 7 lb 12 oz (she's gained 15 oz in 10 days!), putting her just below the 50th percentile. She's also 20 1/2 in long now, putting her right smack in the 50th percentile. She has been a great baby so far; a little fussier than Wyatt was, but still nothing to complain about. Definitely still a newborn; nothing is "regular" or "predictable!" But, we're getting there...

I'll leave you with a few sneak peeks of Ruthie's newborn photo session that Lauren Hawley did for us...

Lauren did a great job, both in taking the pictures and not getting annoyed with my "suggestions" that I already had in mind... There was NO WAY I was going to be able to re-create Wyatt's birth announcement picture where he was dressing a Clemson onesie and was holding the two Clemson/Chick-fil-A cows (wasn't even going to try!), so we did a little spin on it.

Wyatt's First Day of School

2011-08-29T09:17:00.002-04:00

Well, I just got home from dropping Wyatt off at his first day of 3K Pre-School. Is going three days a week (MWF) to the "WeeSchool" at First Baptist Surfside; his teacher is Mrs. Vesna. We went to the Open House last week, and he had a lot of fun seeing the classroom and checking out all of the toys. He even has two other kids from his summer gymnastics class in his school class too! (Take away the tourists, Myrtle Beach is a SMALL town!)

We've been talking about it a lot these last few days, and he's mostly been excited. That is, until this morning. He didn't cry, but as we were getting ready, he kept saying, "No, Mommy, I don't want to go to school!" and then he'd say, "I'll go, but will you come with me, Mommy?"

All four of us drove over there, but then Will and Ruthie stayed in the car while I took him in (trying to keep a brave face... ME, that is!). He went in and started playing with the toys ("Look, Mommy, a John Deere COMBINE!!" <--- Daddy's boy, right there). I said, "Okay, Bug, I'm leaving now." He said, "Wait, Mommy, I need a hug first." And then he came over, hugged me, and said, "Okay, I'm going back to work now, Mommy, I'll see you when you pick me up!" and off he went!!! Who knows if he had a meltdown after I left (not my problem then!), but he was happily playing as I walked out... Whew!!! I'll hop back on and update this afternoon after I pick him up, but until then, enjoy these "First Day of School" photos that I insisted on taking...

This was the first pose he gave me.

But then it got better...

My little boy is so grown up!!

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-29T09:09:00.004-04:00

Hurricane Irene headed our way this past weekend. At first, it looked like it was going to cause lots of trouble for us, as Myrtle Beach was in the center of the "cone of uncertainty" for a few days AND we had a week old baby! However, she ended up turning north and just side swiping us. We got to experience what amounted to about a Category 1 hurricane, which we've been through a few times since moving here. The storm started to roll in late morning on Friday, and was gone by mid-afternoon on Saturday. Overall, the biggest wind gusts probably hit around 50 mph. We didn't have any damage other than a few small limbs down and lots of debris. We didn't even lose power!

When the storm started to roll in on Friday, we drove down to the beach to check out the surf. It was pouring pretty good, so we didn't get out. This was the best picture I could get from the car. Wyatt enjoyed seeing some seagulls attempting to fly, but the wind was bad enough that they were flying in reverse!

Friday night was the worst of it; with lots of heavy rains and some pretty strong sustained winds. The big window in Wyatt's room makes a howling noise when it's really windy, so for the one night we moved his bed in with us so he would sleep. Not only did he sleep well, he slept right through TWO Ruthie feedings and thought it was awesome to "camp" in Mommy and Daddy's room!

Ruthie is 1 week old!

2011-08-25T14:43:00.003-04:00

I can't believe that my little girl has been with us for a week now! She has been (for the most part) a super sweet, easy baby. I told my mom I feel like I'm holding by breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. But I'll be okay if it doesn't! She's been sleeping really well, giving us 3-4 hour stretches of sleep at night. This week we've been watching Hurricane Irene, which for a little while looked like it was going to hit us directly. Thank goodness it has turned some, and we're only expecting Cat 1 type hurricane conditions here Friday and Sat. We'll stick around for that. I would have, but I was NOT looking forward to evacuating with a dog, a 3 yr old and a 1 week old!! Whew! She also experienced her first earthquake this week, which was in VA, but Will felt it here. Grandma came stayed with us all week; Wyatt probably enjoyed this more than anyone else (he would wake up and go cuddle with her every morning), but we definitely enjoyed and appreciated having her around. We had our newborn photo session with Lauren yesterday; I'll get some preview shots up as soon as I get them from her. Until then, I'll leave you with these:

After her first sponge bath at home.

Wyatt is still head over heels in love with his baby sister. All he wants to do is hold her, kiss her, and touch her. She seems to love him too, because every time he holds her she just stares up at his face. He talked to her a lot in the womb, so she probably recognizes his voice already too. He asked the other day if she could sleep in his bed with him. If I could teach him how to change diapers and feed her, I might take him up on it...

Ruth Evelyn Has Arrived!

2011-08-21T21:31:00.006-04:00

My actual due date wasn't until August 24, but I had been having contractions off and on for a few days and we were worried about Ruthie being as large as Wyatt was, so when I went to the doctor at the beginning of the week they decided to go ahead and induce me at 39 weeks. They scheduled the induction for Wednesday, August 17 (exactly one week before my due date).

So... here we go!

My mom came up Tuesday night so that she could be here Wednesday morning for Wyatt. She came by that evening to say hi and get one last picture with "the belly."

We took this picture the morning of the induction (at 5 am, no less). We have one just like it for Wyatt.

And now she's here!! Ruth Evelyn Thompson was born on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 1:38 pm. She weighed 6 lbs 13.9 ounces and was 19 inches long. Not only was she much smaller than Wyatt (who was 8 lbs 6.5 oz), but instead of pushing for 2 hours and 49 minutes we pushed TWICE! Mommy was QUITE happy about that!

Here she is when they brought her to our room after labor and delivery.

Wyatt is absolutely head over heels in love with his little sister. He immediately wanted to hold her and couldn't stop giving her kisses and touching her "cute nose." He loves to talk to her too. The very first time he held her he said, "Hello Ruthie, I'm your big brother. Don't be scared, I'll take good care of you." It was so precious!

All four grandparents were there too by this point, so of course she got passed around and loved on by everyone!

Ruthie also had a gift for Wyatt. A convertible MINI Cooper and a BMW Z4. He's into both of those types of cars (Granddad sells both), so he thought they were pretty awesome.

After two days at the hospital, we got to go home (on Granddad's birthday, no less!).

She's wearing a onesie that says "Baby Tiger" with a Clemson paw on it. This is the same thing that Wyatt wore going home as well.

Once home, of course big brother Wyatt was the first to want to cuddle with her.

Swinging in the swing already. She loves it as much as Wyatt did.

Uncle Robbie was able to fly in from Dallas for the weekend to visit with the family and meet Ruthie. It was great to see him and super sweet of him to spend the time and money to come visit!

And so our new life as a family of four begins...

A Fun Play Date

2011-08-12T21:18:00.003-04:00

I met Amber first through my BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) small group, which I joined last January. We immediately realized that Wyatt and her daughter, Izzy, were in the same gymnastics class too. This summer we made sure to sign them up for the same class, which is now an hour long and WITHOUT the mommies, giving Amber and I some great bonding time every week. (Oh, and did I mention that she was pregnant too?) So, four weeks ago Amber had her son, Logan and she invited us over the other day to meet Logan and let Wyatt and Izzy play.

This is the first time Wyatt has gone over to a girl's house to play. He knows Izzy well from gymnastics and was very excited about going to her house. When we arrived, though, we had the following conversation:

W: "Mommy, does Izzy have cool toys that I can play with?"

Me: "I'm sure she does."

W: "I bet she has really cool toys, maybe ones that pick up trash (trash trucks) and have sirens and stuff."

Me: "Um... probably not."

And she didn't, but he did find plenty to play with, including the awesome pool in her back yard!

Ms. Amber even let Wyatt hold Logan, and Wyatt thought that was WAY cool. (He is totally infatuated with babies... let's hope he stays that way!)

Baby Shower

2011-08-12T20:19:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, my mom, Nan, and Will's aunt Jane planned a surprise baby shower for me. It was super sweet, and a lot of my local friends were able to make it (for those of you that didn't get invited, sorry, it was a surprise, so I had no input on the guest list... my sweet husband did his best, but definitely missed a few important ones... c'est la vie with surprises... you know I love you!!).

Thank you Mom, Nan, and Jane so much!

Adorable decorations

Jane, Nan, and Mom

Wyatt having fun with his friend Jayna, who was able to make it up from Summerville with her mommy, Shara.

The kiddos having fun with balloons.

Opening gifts, all of which came with sweet "advice" cards for a little girl.

Shara and Jayna came up from Summerville... Shara is due the day after I am, also with a little girl! We've been friends since 1st grade in Maryland, so this has been quite fun!

Maternity Photos

2011-08-10T14:11:00.005-04:00

While Sabrina is usually our "family photographer," because she wasn't coming to visit until so late in pregnancy, we decided to do a maternity photo session with Lauren Hawley, whose husband is in Rotary with Will here at the beach. We met Lauren at Caldonia Golf Club in Pawley's Island and enjoyed a nice breeze (until the end!) while we did our photos. She did a great job, and we're looking forward to having her do Ruthie's newborn photos too! Thanks, Lauren!

But wait! Sabrina was able to visit before we had Ruthie, so she got a few snapshots for us too in the little park in our neighborhood. We're looking forward to doing our annual family shoot with her this fall in Clemson with all four of us! (And by the way, these photos were taken at least two weeks apart. It wasn't until after Sabrina did hers that I realized that Wyatt is pretty much wearing the same thing in both sessions. Whoops! Didn't do that on purpose, I promise!)

Visitors

2011-08-10T14:04:00.002-04:00

One of the things we love about living at the beach is how many different visitors we get each summer! It's always nice to see friends that we haven't been able to see to spend time with in awhile. Here are just a few...

In July, my former college roommate, Tina (Davis) Gronewald and her husband Todd came to visit the beach for a whole week with their kids, Valerie and Austin, whom they just adopted from Ukraine back in December. It was Valeria and Austin's first trip to the beach, so we made sure to pack it full of fun things! One evening we went to the beach and rode on the new Skywheel. Wyatt LOVED it!

We also had them over to our house for dinner one night, and Wyatt had a grand time playing with Valerie and Austin, who were very kind to play along.

One Sunday afternoon, my friend Shara drove up from Summerville for the day with her daughter Jayna. Jayna is just under a year younger than Wyatt, but Shara is pregnant again too and pretty much due on the same day as I am, also with a little girl. Wyatt and Jayna had a lot of fun playing. While two toddlers are almost impossible to photograph, I did manage to get one cute shot.

The first weekend in August, another college roommate of mine, Sabrina, and her future husband Ben, came and spent a few days with us. It was great to spend some time getting to know Ben (who we LOVE... good job, Sabrina!) and spending time with Sabrina again. It's been tooooo long! Wyatt, of course, enjoyed entertaining the company too. As usual. Can't wait for their wedding in November!

Getting Cultured

2011-08-10T14:01:00.002-04:00

We don't usually go out to eat very often, but my mom was in town for a few days so we went to P.F. Chang's for lunch. Wyatt LOVES Chinese, and this particular day he became enamored with the "kiddie" chopsticks they gave him. He got to be quite good with them, and I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures...

Singing (or Maybe Just Playing) in the Rain

2011-08-09T17:11:00.002-04:00

When Wyatt was first born, Gigi gave him a pair of frog rain boots and when he got big enough to wear them she taught him how to splash in puddles and play in the rain. I did this a lot when I was younger, but honestly, I just forget about it now (and a lot of time when it rains here its thunderstorms, which we DON'T play in). But the other evening it was raining when Will came home. Wyatt loves to run to the garage and greet Daddy when he hears the door opening. This time he saw that it was raining, grabbed his rain boots (now cowboy rain boots that I got at Once Upon a Child for $4!) and rain outside. Will was able to snap a few cute pictures (notice all of the stickers on his shirt, as well, from an earlier "project" Wyatt and I had done earlier that day).

But we still have the frog umbrella that came with the boots, and he loves that too!

Little Surfer Boy

2011-08-09T17:04:00.002-04:00

We have been trying very hard this summer to make sure that we are "appreciating" life, and where we live. This means many (short, but sweet) trips to the beach. For the most part we've been going for only an hour or two at a time, usually in the evening. We have to all go, because Wyatt can't just walk on the beach. He has to get in the water, IN the sand... and Mommy is now waaaay too pregnant to keep up with him! Most of the time Wyatt and Daddy just play in the sand, swim a little, and hunt for sharks teeth (we've probably found at least 100 this summer!) while Mommy sits on her chair and reads or watches her boys. One day Will brought his surfboard when the wave were good. Afterword Wyatt had fun "surfing" too!

Like Father, Like Son

2011-08-08T12:36:00.002-04:00

Will loves Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Whenever we drive by one (there are three near us in Myrtle Beach) and the red "Hot Now" sign is on, Will refers to it as "the North Star." Well, he has taught Wyatt well and Wyatt too loves doughnuts. It is a special treat that he enjoys very much ("I want one hot one, Mommy, but not too hot, and one with sprinkles please.").

Vacation Bible School

2011-08-08T11:53:00.002-04:00

In the middle of July, I enrolled Wyatt in VBS at Surfside First Baptist Church. This was an important milestone for a few reasons: 1) This is the church where he will be attending Pre-School this coming fall, so I wanted him to get used to the building and some of the people and kids AND 2) VBS was from 9-noon for FIVE straight days. This was NOT an easy transition for him, but he made it! This is first time he's been away from me in a new place for three full hours, and five straight days was not easy! The first day he was fine when I left him (I think because he was overwhelmed), but then apparently started crying when he realized I left. The next two days he cried and cried and was clinging to my leg until the sweet girl teaching his class (a high school student named Meredith) pried him off of me. The last two days he didn't cry at all (whew!). They said that even on the days he cried when I left that as soon as I was gone and they started singing songs he was just fine. He made lots of cool crafts, got to play on the playground there, learned lots of fun songs, and learned some great Bible stories that he loved to share with me everyday when I picked him up. Overall, a success!

Here's Wyatt and Miss Meredith

This is a picture I stole from the VBS director of Wyatt and Meredith during craft time on the first day.

On the last day they invited all of the kids to come up on stage and perform a song they had learned for all of the parents. This was as brave as Wyatt got... I'm okay with that. Look at his parents... the shyness WILL wear off.

"Look Mom, ARMY MEN!"

2011-07-23T11:11:00.002-04:00

We had some friends come visit us for a few days, and on their way out of town we decided to meet for lunch. I took them to Toffino's, a little hole-in-the-wall Italian deli at Market Common (the old Myrtle Beach Air Force Base). We walked into the deli, and immediately Wyatt spotted about 10 men in their Army uniforms, pointed, and said, "Look Mommy, ARMY MEN!!!" He's been really into that right now. In fact, he even had with him that day a Matchbox helicopter that he loves.

Well, as soon as he said that, one of the "Army men" turned around and said, "Diana! Wyatt!" It was Eric, Will's best friend from growing up in Easley! Then we realized that his father was there too! Both Eric and his father ("Big Eric") are in the National Guard Reserves and they fly helicopters. It was Big Eric's last flight before getting a promoting to a desk job and they were all out celebrating. Wyatt was super excited to see them, and so was I!!

Will happened to be finishing up a meeting in the area when we were all finished eating lunch, so both Erics invited us to come to the airport and see them take off. Not only did they get us in the airport, but they brought us out onto the tarmac to let Wyatt see the helicopters. Needless to say, Wyatt was in HEAVEN!!

Wyatt really enjoyed getting to see the helicopters up close (and sitting in them!) and then watching them take off from close up as well. Thank you, Eric, and congrats on your promotion, Big Eric!!! Wyatt is super proud to know such great "Army men"!!

Waterpark

2011-07-23T11:07:00.002-04:00

Wyatt has enjoyed going to one of the local waterparks on a VERY regular basis this summer. It's been nice, since we don't have a neighborhood pool to enjoy. This is the third summer we've been going to the park and he likes it more and more every year. He goes down all of the slides and loves the lazy river and wave pool. Pregnant Mommy has enjoyed spending a lot of time there too!

I'm not brave enough to bring my camera with, but did get one picture of Wyatt and another boy. This is Connor, who lives in New Jersey, but was down visiting with his mommy for six weeks this summer. Amy and Chris were friends of ours when we first moved to the beach. It was great to get to see her and meet Connor!

On a side note, Wyatt refused to wear sunglasses last summer... now he won't go outside without them. He wears them the entire time we are at the waterpark, too. Proud of him!

Bugs

2011-07-23T11:03:00.002-04:00

Will mother used to teach 1st grade and kindergarten, so she is constantly bringing a whole different dimension into Wyatt's life... especially when it comes to bugs (she also is married to one and raised two "outdoorsy" men, so she gets it honestly). Multiple times now she has collected various specimens of dead bugs and mailed them to Wyatt to look at and answer questions about. So now, he looks for bugs himself.

Here's one he found in the backyard and was incredibly proud of...

Huntington Beach

2011-07-06T21:49:00.002-04:00

On one of Will's days off at the beginning of the summer, we decided to take a family outing to go explore the jetty in Murrells Inlet. We had heard that it had a paved path the whole way down it, so we wanted to go check it out. We knew it was a mile and a half walk from the parking area to the jetty, so we went out early one morning and brought our bicycles with us. We hadn't made it 100 yards down the beach before realizing that the tide was NOT right and the sand was way too deep for our mountain bikes to ride on (especially with a 30 pound child on the back of one!). So, we kept on, and WALKED our bikes the mile or so out to the jetty. Once we got there, we were able to ride them to the end, way out in the ocean. It was totally worth it. We saw lots of jellyfish and found some amazing shells. Will even found the biggest shark's tooth he'd ever found (and he's found a LOT).

My boys on the jetty, way out in the ocean. Playing on rocks (where they are both incredibly comfortable!).

My handsome beach boy...

Catching Up

2011-07-06T21:39:00.002-04:00

I finally took the time to download some photos from my phone onto my computer for sharing and editing. Here are a few I thought everyone might enjoy...

Wyatt is VERY into rescue vehicles of all kinds right now. He doesn't care if their lights and sirens are going or not. He has rescue toys of all kinds, plays with them constantly, and loves to see them around town. He even knows exactly where all of the fire stations are in the area and when we'll be passing them. He used to call them all "woo woos," but now he's a little more discerning. He still says "woo woo" a lot, but he can recognize ambulances, fire trucks, rescue squads, "chief men," police cars, etc.

One day we were at the store and an Horry County fire truck came by with four firemen on a break for some milkshakes. They got their milkshakes and stood outside talking to Will while allowing Wyatt to have a GREAT time in the driver's seat!!!

Of course, his Daddy is teaching him all about tractors and other fun vehicles too. He was super excited to see this "John Deer Gator Woo Woo" at the Flowertown Festival in Summerville in April. Thank goodness the paramedics humored him and let him climb up for a picture (which he probably would have done had they not suggested it anyway!)

In that same vein, Wyatt LOVES it when we have to go to Lowes. He immediately says, "Lowes? And see TRACTORS?" If he's good while we get what we need, his reward is to sit on the display tractors and pretend to drive them for a few minutes. He's had about 6 landscaping job offers to date! These awesome hats were on sale right next to the tractors the day I took this shot, so I couldn't resist getting him to pose.

Wyatt is still loving his gymnastics class. This summer he moved up to "big boy gymnastics" now that he's potty trained; he goes in for an hour without Mommy at all!
His favorite part is definitely the "pit" of blocks. He loves jumping in there as far as he can.

We've been taking advantage of the nice weather and our proximity to the beach and doing a lot of fun things outdoors. One day we went to Huntington Beach state park to see alligators. Wyatt had to go potty, so we went into the nature center where he discovered all kinds of cool displays, and even animals! We were the only ones in there at the time, so the woman working took this corn snake out just for Wyatt to pet. He was quite excited about that opportunity. Mommy and Daddy? Not so much...

I f

Wyatt-isms

2011-07-03T21:29:00.002-04:00

I may have to come back and add to this post, in case I don't think of everything, but I wanted to take a moment and "write down" some of the cute and funny things Wyatt has been saying lately...

Ever since he was a baby, we've called his toes "piggies." But I guess we also have called them toes. He called them "togies." Constantly.

He loves feeling Ruthie move in my belly. He'll have me place his hands on my belly, but then when she moves (which is ALL the time!), he jerks his hands back and grins.

Because he's been feeling Ruthie move in my belly, he has started telling me that he is feeling God move in his heart (thanks, BSF!). He'll say, "Wait, Mommy, God just move!" and he'll place my hand on his heart and make his chest jump a little bit. So precious.

Just today I was talking to him about being a good boy, and he was quiet for a moment, then from the back seat of the car said, "I think we can arrange that."

When he's done something naughty, I ask him to tell me what he's in trouble for. I usually get one of two reactions. One, he purses his lips, places one index finger on his lips and says, "Hmmm... let me think..." Or, two, he throws up his hands, exasperated, and says, "What did I do THIS time?!"

He's fully potty trained now, but when he's going Number 2, he calls for me and asks me to "Please turn the fan on, Mommy, because it STINKS in here!" He's also got a sensitive gag reflex, so we have taught him how to "courtesy flush," or he'll ask to smell a good smelling candle that I keep in his bathroom.

We've already lost two fish (it only took a month), but he handled it pretty well. (We lost both in one day!). Other than being a little upset and just asking for them to "come back," he's been okay with it.

We've been working on teaching him about money. We got him Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Junior. He loves the books, and he's really into his "Give, Save, and Spend" banks. He cleans up his toys every night for a commission, and he helps unload the dishes, feed the dog, pick up sticks from the yard, etc. The other day he saw a toy he really wanted at the store. We came home, counted out his money, got the amount that we needed ($11), went back to the store, and let him purchase the car on his own. He takes better car of that car than any toy we've ever bought him!

He's super-into his kiddie music now. "The Wheels On the Bus" is his favorite, by far. It's driving us crazy... :)

One Fish, Four Fish

2011-07-03T21:11:00.002-04:00

This summer has been full of adjustments for Wyatt (and it's all ONLY just beginning!). Up until this point, everything has pretty much been "Mommy and Me," such as gymnastics and swim lessons. Well, now that he's three and potty trained, he's on his own!!

Our first adventure was for swim lessons. He hadn't taken them since last May, so it had been awhile. Last year, Will or I got in the pool with him. This year, we dropped him off at the side of pool, then went all the way up in the balcony to watch. The first day he was NOT down with that; I had to walk to the other side of the pool (where the class was meeting) and sit by the glass for the entire class. The second day was better; I walked him out to the opposite side of the pool, then he let me walk back across to watch the class. About halfway through I left the pool deck and went up in the balcony to watch. After that he was a much better (except for spending half of the lesson looking up at us in the balcony and giving us thumbs up when he was supposed to be listening to his instructors, Mr. Ben and Mr. Craig... but hey, he's 3!).

He attached himself to Mr. Ben, but then wasn't at all interested in Mr. Craig. He would only get in the water with Mr. Ben. During the second week, we convinced him that Mr. Craig was very sad that Wyatt wouldn't swim with him. He finally gave Mr. Craig a chance and had a great time swimming with him too. Good thing, because the last two days of lessons (during which time I took these pictures), Mr. Ben was sick and Miss Karen was the substitute. The first day she was there, Wyatt would only swim with Mr. Craig!

Wyatt worked on a lot of different things, from floating on his back (which he is still not too fond of), to kicking with his feet and paddling with his arms. He's even started putting his face (but not quite his whole head) underwater on his own!

As a reward for being such a good boy for three weeks of swimming lessons, we took him to Wal-Mart and got him his first pets... some fish! He picked out the tiger fish, of course, so we got three of those and one algae eater fish with a little one gallon tank. He loves watching them and feeding them. We asked him if he wanted to name them, and he named them "Tiger Fish and Friend." The names have stuck... :)

Camping with Daddy

2011-06-08T16:59:00.002-04:00

Now that Wyatt is potty trained, Will has been talking about taking him camping. Before they actually hit the wilderness, Will decided to do a "test run" of camping in the backyard. Wyatt was SO EXCITED! He talked about it the entire day and for days and days afterword!

Helping Daddy set up the tent.

Ready to head outside to sleep! Super excited!

Getting ready to get in. Check out the stars, Mommy...

Tucked in, with a few comforts of home.

Mommy, that flash is BRIGHT!

They stayed out all night. I don't know how much sleep Will got, having to share a tent with a thrashing 3 year old, but Wyatt slept all night! They enjoyed listening to the frogs and crickets from the pond, and even think they heard a raccoon (according to Wyatt), but didn't see it. They didn't come back inside until almost 8 am!

Wyatt had so much fun, he told everyone he could about camping with Daddy. For days he was constantly says, "Thank you, Daddy, for taking me camping. I love you, Daddy."

Easter

2011-06-08T16:56:00.002-04:00

We had a great Easter this year, AT HOME! The "Easter Bunny visited Wyatt and brought him a basket full of fun stuff and goodies (that Mommy and Daddy helped eat, of course!).

He had most enjoyed searching through the basket and opening up all of the eggs.

But he got plenty of loot!

Uncle Robbie

2011-05-04T19:53:00.002-04:00

This past week, Diana's brother, "Uncle Robbie" moved from Charlotte to Dallas to start a new job. We are super excited for him, but we are definitely going to miss seeing him so often! Wyatt has especially become attached to Uncle Robbie as he's gotten older, particularly because he drives a MINI (which he gives Wyatt rides in around the neighborhood) and loves to play cars with Wyatt.

We love you, Uncle Robbie, and wish you all the best! Once Ruthie is here and old enough, we'll all come visit you in Texas!!!!

(Not the best picture of Wyatt, but the only one I could get... Wyatt was much more interested in playing cars with Uncle Robbie than taking pictures with him...)

He's been right all along...

2011-04-28T11:20:00.002-04:00

Ever since we came home from the ER on the day of the accident and showed Wyatt the ultrasound of his little brother or sister (who, at the time, was only 6 1/2 weeks along!), he immediately looked at the picture and stated, "That's my little SISTER!" We all laughed, and humored him. Well, he continued to state this "fact" pretty much all the way up until our 20 week ultrasound. Turns out, he knew EXACTLY what he was talking about!!

So, Wyatt is having a little sister! We are going to name her Ruth Evelyn, after our two paternal grandmothers (Ruth, my dad's mom, and Evelyn, Will's dad's mom), both of whom are still living and super excited about our name choice! My grandmother burst into tears with excitement, and called me a few days later to inform me that the only thing that she was upset about now was that she had run out of people to share the news with!

Wyatt is also very excited about his little sister. He loves to tell everyone that his baby sister is in Mommy's belly, and he is currently calling her "Roofie," which, we will have to work on. Some nicknames can stick... not that one. :)

Both Grandma and Gigi are super excited about a little girl. I'm a little more excited every day (I was really going to be okay with re-using all of Wyatt's stuff... a lot of it will still get reused, though), and Will is slowly coming to terms with it. He is excited, but I think a little freaked out. His grandfather, father, and he all had only brothers. Ruthie has already proven to be a strong woman, since she beat out all of those dominant Thompson Y chromosomes!

Wyatt is Three

2011-04-14T11:24:00.002-04:00

I cannot believe that my "baby" is three years old now! For his birthday this year, we traveled to Clemson to stay with Will's parents for a few days and celebrate with family up there. We did a little party for Wyatt's 1st birthday, but we kept his 2nd birthday casual, so he was really excited about the idea of having a party. When I asked him what kind of party he wanted, he immediately declared, "A DIGGER party!" So, that's (roughly) what we gave him!

Grandma and Granddad were on a trip, so they weren't able to make it. So, they sent the next best thing... lots of balloons, tied to two small "digggers." They were quite a hit.

And this year was his first year of having a real cake. He helped pick it out!

Blowing out his candles.

Daddy teaching him the joys of birthday cakes with decorations on them!

He received entirely too many presents, and loved opening every single one of them. He couldn't get though them fast enough.

There were about 20 people there total, mostly just family that lives in the upstate, along with a few close friends. Of course Erik, Amanda, and Rebekah were there. When they drove up, Wyatt dropped what he was doing and RAN to their car to see Rebekah. He is so in love with her! This picture was taken at HIS request...

Circus

2011-04-14T11:02:00.002-04:00

The circus came to town for a few days, so while Will was out of town on business for a few days, Wyatt and I met up with some friends and checked it out. Wyatt LOVED seeing the elephant, Viola. Here he is with his buddy Charles.

Since it was only three days before his birthday, I decided to splurge and pay for Wyatt and I to RIDE the elephant (I mean, how often do we get that kind of opportunity?)
So, here are a few pictures of our adventure, and a big thanks to Charles' dad, Chris, for playing photographer for us!

I was worried that Wyatt would be scared, but he just hopped right on, and didn't even want to me hold onto him!

After riding the elephant, we went under the tent, and of course Wyatt wanted to do the pony rides, too. Mommy said no to that, because he can come to the barn with me and ride ponies all he wants for FREE...

Wyatt enjoyed the circus thoroughly, although next time we'll spend the extra money for the better seats. We only stayed through half of it, but Wyatt didn't know any different, and we got to see the tigers (11 of them!) perform, so it was a perfect trip.

Kicking off 2011

2011-04-05T14:25:00.003-04:00

Well, first off, I apologize for the three month delay since my last post. 2011 started out in a wild way for us, to say the least! On New Year's Day the three of us were headed to North Myrtle Beach to run an errand for the store when a women turned across traffic to make a left turn, and ran right into us! We were going about 45 mph, so we were lucky the impact wasn't even worse. Will was driving and did a fabulous job of keep the car under control. She sent us all the way across three lanes of the road, and this is where the car came to a halt.

Will was quite sore, Wyatt was unhurt but hysterical (that is, until he heard and saw all of the rescue vehicles reporting to the scene... it then became an exciting adventure for him!). I, however, was not quite so lucky! The side curtain airbags deployed through the entire car, and because of the direction of the force of the impact, I was leaning toward my window when the airbag deployed and broke my right hand, just below the knuckle of my pointer finger. We spent the rest of New Year's Day in the ER, where we got the diagnosis for my hand as well as found out that we were 6 1/2 weeks pregnant! We had suspected, but hadn't had a doctor's appointment. We weren't planning on telling people quite yet, but the mothers wanted to know why I had a broken hand and no pain meds... So, Wyatt is going to be a big brother! We are due August 24. We had two different ultrasounds in the ER and the baby was given a clean bill of health after being in the accident. I had a soft cast on for 5 weeks, so needless to say, I wasn't doing much picture taking or typing! Those were HORRIBLE weeks for our family, and we are so so SO appreciative of all of our FABULOUS friends and family who took time out to cook meals, help around the house, and babysit Wyatt and I (there was a LOT that I couldn't do with only one hand; diapers included!).

Our car was totaled (the impact tore a hole in the firewall of the frame of the car at the driver's feet), so my wonderful father did some research and found us a new (to us) car. The Explorer was paid for, so we were able to get another '08 Explorer almost identical to ours (except black) with 10,000 less miles on it for CASH. Hooray!

January ended with sicknesses for us all, including a wicked sinus infection for the pregnant one... February did not start out too much better, with the passing of my (Diana's) grandmother, Glenna June Webb. She had been sick pretty much since Wyatt was born, but we were able to get some really great pictures of Wyatt and his great-grandmother that he'll always have.

In the middle of February, Will ran the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon. He had been training for weeks (he actually trained for last's years, but it got SNOWED out!) and ran the 13.1 miles under his goal of 1:45:00. Wyatt and I woke up bright and early that morning and went out to cheer him on. We first went to the half-way point (which was the closest point to our house) to pump him up, then we jumped in the car and sped up into the beach to cheer him across the finish line. We were so proud of him!!!

Also in February we were able to meet up and have lunch with Jenny, who was down visiting from New York (and enjoying a break from all of the snow up there!). She was staying with her cousin Kyle, so we got to see him too! Wyatt really loves Jenny and we have been so thankful to see her TWICE in the last year.

March was a super exciting month, not just because I turned 30, but because Wyatt became POTTY TRAINED!!! I never thought it would happen, but within two weeks time, he was doing everything on the big potty and wearing underwear all day long! He's still sleeping in Pull-Ups, but almost every morning they're totally dry. Now I get a five month break from diapers before we start all over again!

Tour of Christmases, 2010 Edition

2010-12-31T11:11:00.007-05:00

We are so blessed that Wyatt had four fabulous grandparents and EIGHT living great-grands, however it all gets a little busy around the holidays, when EVERYONE wants to see and spend time with him!

So, in an attempt to please all the best that we could, we celebrated FIVE (yes, you read that correctly, five) Christmases this year!

Our first was the weekend immediately after Thanksgiving, when my grandparents from Maryland came down to my parents house in Summerville. We went ahead and celebrated Christmas with them, my parents, and my brother.

Wyatt had a some great quality time with his great-grandmother.

My mom gave WYATT a Starbucks gift card in his stocking. But she told him to share with his Mommy, so she was forgiven... :)

The biggest hit (possibly of all Christmases) was his Matchbox trash truck. Wyatt is so enamored with trash trucks. We have to go outside and wave to it every Monday and Thursday. And, this trash truck looks exactly like the one that actually comes to our house.

Two weeks later, we travelled to Clemson and stayed with Will's parents in the house they are renting. Will's brother and sister-in-law came as well, and we celebrated Christmas #2 with the four of them.

Wyatt had a great time playing cars with his Aunt Stacey.

Wyatt definitely understood Christmas better this year than any other year, and he loved opening presents.

It was a very Thomas Christmas!

Aunt Stacey made Wyatt some awesome jammies, and a matching robe.

The next day, we celebrated Christmas #3 with Will's father's extended family and another of Wyatt's great-grandmothers. It was a little crazy, so unfortunately I wasn't able to get any pictures.

Christmas #4 was in North Augusta at Will's mom's parents' house. Wyatt had a lot of fun with all of his cousins and aunts and uncles!

As soon as we arrived, Wyatt started getting sugar from all directions.

After eating his first sliver of brownie that Gigi gave him, he apparently asked for more, and a cousin (that obviously doesn't have kids) gave him a huge second piece! He didn't go to sleep for awhile that night...

Playing trains with Gigi.

Putting his change in his bank; a Zeigler family tradition.
We ask him, "Wyatt, when you put your money in the bank, what does that make you?"
He responds, "RICH!"
Dave Ramsey would be proud.

Flying high with Tate.

Spending some quality time with Corbin.

All the cousins heading down to get their presents.

Opening his stocking from Granny and Ziggy.

Watching Sesame Street with Ziggy and teaching him with ways of Elmo's World and Super Grover.

Four generations.

The Tuesday before Christmas, we had pictures with the Santa Cow and his elf! Wyatt loves "his" cows!!

Christmas #5 was spent at our house. It was wonderful to be home!

Checking out the cookies we left for Santa before bed.

Gigi and Papa John came to Wyatt's house for Christmas and got to see him open his presents from us and Santa.

Grandma, Granddad, and Uncle Robbie came up just for the afternoon and had Christmas dinner with us all.

Four happy grandparents = one spoiled grandson.

Wyatt's loves his Uncle Robbie, too. They talk MINIs.

Too Much Turkey for the Turkey

2010-12-31T11:09:00.000-05:00

We had a nice, unusually quiet Thanksgiving at home with my parents and brother (that I didn't get any pictures of, sorry). Wyatt refused to take a nap with Grandma and Granddad here, but it didn't take long for him to rethink that idea. He just zonked out in the recliner watching football!

Catching up with 2010: October

2010-12-31T11:03:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the time lag in posts; our fall is ALWAYS crazy and this one was no exception! So, here is a brief overview of October!

Visiting the Pumpkin Patch

We got to spend two different weekends at our friends house in Clemson. Erik and Amanda have a baby girl, Rebekah, who Wyatt is completely smitten with. All he wants to do is hug and kiss her!!

The Tuesday before Halloween, we had a "Trunk or Treat" in the parking lot of the store. Wyatt got to test drive his monkey costume before Halloween.

Double-fisting the lollipops...

Then, of course, we had to carve pumpkins.

And Wyatt was a big help (or at least, HE thought so...)

Ready to go Trick-or-Treating!
(And he scored LOTS of loot.)

Gymnastics

2010-12-31T10:59:00.003-05:00

I decided to sign Wyatt up for gymnastics for the fall semester. He has LOVED it! In fact, I think we're going to do the winter session too.

He did all kinds of neat things, like walking on the balance beams, jumping on trampolines, swinging on a rope swing, jumping into the "pit" (a 10'x20'x10' hole in the floor, filled with foam blocks that the bigger kids practice their flips into), and learning how to do knee scales, straddles, pikes, straddle jumps, forward rolls, v-seats, etc.

And of course, the end of the class when the kids were given cookies was the only time every child was in the same spot!

I decided to sign Wyatt up for gymnastics for the fall semester. He has LOVED it! In fact, I think we're going to do the winter session too.

Oh no!! Buy him a soccer ball! QUICK!

2010-11-08T22:15:00.003-05:00

The other day my horseback riding instructor called me and asked me to ride a horse for her at the last minute. Of course, she knew the only reason I would say no (I had Wyatt with me), and she said that if I could come ride, she'd not only watch Wyatt while I was riding, but then she'd let him ride a pony for a few minutes. Well, that didn't take much convincing!

Ready to ride! (And super excited about it).

He didn't even want me holding on to him. We walked all over the property, and wasn't ready to get off when it was time.

Quick, please! Somebody buy this boy a soccer ball or something!! I'm trying to save up to buy MYSELF a nice horse, not buy my son a pony....

A Few Days in Summerville

2010-11-08T22:08:00.002-05:00

After the football game, Wyatt and I rode down to Summerville with my dad and Will went backpacking for a few days with his father and brother. While in Summerville, Wyatt and I got to visit with some of my friends from growing up and do some fun things with Grandma!

The first person we visited was my friend Kathy. This was the first time I got to meet Addison, Kathy's little girl, who at the time was already six months (I am a BAD friend!) Wyatt loooooves babies, and Addison was no exception. Here she it getting a sweet kiss from him.

Wyatt also had a lot of fun playing with Kathy's oldest boy, Carter, who is only 6 months older than Wyatt. Someone else's toys are ALWAYS more fun! (And only Kathy knows how hard I had to work and how slick I had to be to get this photo of both of them looking.)

Of course, while at my parents' house, Granddad had to mow the lawn. It didn't take much convincing for him to let Wyatt ride along for a bit.

One afternoon, my mom and I took Wyatt to Chuck E. Cheese. This was his FAVORITE ride (no surprise there!)

We turned our back for one moment, and where did Wyatt end up? IN the game!

No doubt about it, Wyatt loves his Grandma!

First Clemson Game of the Season

2010-11-07T20:47:00.002-05:00

For the second game of the season, Will and I took Wyatt to the game. We drove to Greenville the night before and went to the opening night of my college roomie Sabrina's photo show. It was amazing! (To see how amazing, visit her website).

The next morning we woke up, got breakfast with Granddad (who arrived late the night before) and then headed to Clemson for the game. Wyatt was so excited, the entire walk to the stadium he was yelling, "Go Tigers!" and "Touchdown Tigers!"

We got there a little early, so we took him to the amphitheater to see the Tiger band play for the pre-game pep rally. He thought the drums, and of course the Tiger, were the best.

He was a great sport for the game, until the end of the 1st half. Luckily, we were playing Presbyterian College and had a good lead at the half. This cleared out a lot of seats and left lots of room for a much needed nap!

Visiting with Family

2010-11-07T20:22:00.003-05:00

Early in the fall, my mom's step-sister Jenny (technically my aunt, but since she's only 3 years old than me, we call each other cousins...) was down in Myrtle Beach for a few days. We were lucky to get in touch and get to visit with her for an entire day. Wyatt warmed up to Aunt Jenny almost immediately and had a great time with her.

Later that afternoon, my Uncle Don and Aunt Kathy (who were at their house in Myrtle Beach for the week from Maryland) came over and we had a big dinner on the back porch. Wyatt loves seeing and playing with them too.

Tractors

2010-11-07T20:19:00.004-05:00

I know I've been behind, it's been a busy fall! So, bear with me, and in the next few days I should have lots of pictures edited and posted!

Will has been very faithful in teaching Wyatt how to love tractors, particularly John Deere tractors (which Wyatt can identify by color without any prompting now!). He LOVES to ride on the lawn mower with Daddy! He's been very into tractors and construction equipment of all kinds. They have been building a new gas station at the entrance to our neighborhood which has kept Wyatt very entertained!

Coffee Addict

2010-09-19T20:35:00.002-04:00

Yes, you read that correctly. *sigh* Wyatt has decided that he LOVES Starbucks frappucinos. When he sees the Starbucks symbols, he says, "Coffee, Mommy!" and when he goes in a store, he starts saying (loudly), "I NEED coffee, Mommy, I NEED coffee!!" I've never let him have more than a sip or more at a time, but apparently he thinks its delicious. So now, I pay for a medium and get them to fill one small cup and then put the little extra in a second cup for my son, so he can have his coffee fix. Oh, and I get DECAF, by the way. :)

Into D.C.

2010-09-19T20:23:00.002-04:00

While in Maryland, we took Wyatt on his first METRO ride into the city to see Will's cousin Tate, who had just started a new job working for SC Senator Lindsey Graham.

Wyatt LOVED the Metro (he's really into trains right now). Here he was excited because we were in a tunnel.

Once we met up with Tate, he gave us a tour of Sen. Graham's office (Sen. Graham himself was in Iraq for the weekend on Reserve duty). Wyatt immediately ran to his desk and started playing with the BMW "plaque." (Wyatt says, "W, Mommy!!" Mommy says, "WYATT! Put that BACK!!")

With Tate at Sen. Graham's desk.

Tate was able to take us for a quick visit into the Capitol building. We had lunch in the basement of the Senate building, and then took the Senators' underground tram into the Capitol.

We obviously wore him out!

Family Reunion

2010-09-19T20:10:00.003-04:00

In the middle of August, Will, Wyatt, my mom and I took a nice, long 8 hour road trip to Maryland to meet up with the rest of my father's mother's family for a big, extended family reunion. The last time this part of the family got together, I think I was somewhere between 10 and 12! Wyatt was great for the trip (thanks to some friends who loaned us their portable DVD player!). We got up there on a Thursday night, nice and late. We had Friday to hang out some, then Saturday was the reunion.

Here is the "Ruth and Bob Davis" family. (L to R: Me, Wyatt, Will, mom, dad, Granda Bob, Uncle Phil, Gammy Ruth, Aunt Barbara, Melinda, Aunt Marla and Uncle Barco)

There were lots of fun activities for the munchkins (and not-so-munchkins). Wyatt had fun playing with Melinda in the bounce house.

Wyatt, with his third cousin, once removed (my third cousin), Carl.

Wyatt giving another cousin, Kate, a goodbye hug.

After the reunion, we all went to Phil and Barbara's house and saw the birds. Wyatt loves "boy-dees."

Back at Ruth and Bob's, Wyatt had fun coloring with Melinda.

Where are Wyatt and Grandma? Has anyone seen them?

There they are!!

Wyatt definitely had fun seeing his cousin Melinda twice in two months. Wish we could do it more often!!

Our family, minus Grandad, who had to go back to Charleston early. Glad Wyatt could spend some good time with his great-grandparents.

Family in Town

2010-08-19T20:23:00.003-04:00

For the week of 4th of July, my (one and only!) cousin Melinda had her national dance competition and this year it was in Myrtle Beach! Of course, us Davis' will use ANY excuse to get together, so we did! Marla found a fabulous condo on the north side of Myrtle Beach; she, Melinda, and Barco drove over on Saturday and my grandparents from Maryland flew down that day, too! Marla and Melinda were busy with lots of clinics, classes, and competitions, but we got to spend some good time with them, too. We got to see Melinda dance in LOTS of different numbers (she is absolutely AMAZING, by the way) on Tuesday during the national competition. Wyatt sat through SIX HOURS of dance competition (mostly in Grandma's lap, of course) and he enjoyed seeing "Mina" in all of her numbers. She did a great job that day, too!

Every other day was spent hanging out at the condo with Barco, Great-Gammy, and Great-Granda Bob. Grandma was there most of the week, and Granddad was around for a few of the days as well. Of course, Wyatt loved the pool!

Because my parents drove up, of course they had a MINI, which Wyatt is practically obsessed with. It didn't take much convincing to get him to pose for this picture.

He also enjoyed hanging out on the 3rd story oceanfront balcony. He loved watching the fireworks on the beach on the 4th, too!

One of the last mornings that everyone was together, we decided to go to a local pancake house for breakfast. Of course, keeping Wyatt entertained for an entire meal at restaurant these days is no small feat. But can the Davis family handle it? OF COURSE.

Wyatt loves to see the picture right after you take it. He'll say "cheese" for the picture, but his immediate next words are "Wyatt see it!"

We brought his matchbox-car bus (one of his current loves), and had fun sending it all the way down the table (Granddad and Aunt Marla were definitely the instigators on this one, by the way... see the creamers being used to create a finish line? And notice on the next picture the creamers became a slalom course for the bus, too, again courtesy of my road race driver father and auto-crossing aunt...)

The whole gang! (Minus Will, who was golfing that morning)

A Visit with Uncle JM

2010-08-02T21:18:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, Will's brother, John Michael, was in town for an event with his business. He was able to get away for a few hours on Saturday morning and come have breakfast and hang out with us! Wyatt wasn't sure about him at very first (the beard, maybe?), but it didn't take but 10 minutes and suddenly everything was "Michael" this and "Michael" that. He sometimes would say "Ja Michael", but mostly he was just "Michael." I don't think JM minded one bit. Wyatt had a blast playing with him, and we can't wait to see him again soon!!!