Happy 3rd Birthday Eleanor!

On Saturday, we joined Eleanor at Lake Murray Gymnastics to celebrate her 3rd birthday. We had fun playing with the parachute, in the foam pit and on the trampoline. The theme was dinosuars, which was very cute!

Eleanor blowing out the candle on her cake

Coleman and David in the foam pit

A Day With Thomas

We went with our neighbors to Bryson City, NC for the weekend to see Thomas the Tank. We drove up Friday night to spend the night in a cabin, which was super nice! On Saturday, we went downtown to take our train ride with Thomas pulling our car. Coleman was a little startled initially, but by the end of the day, he loved watching Thomas. We spent our day playing at the train tables, shopping for Thomas accessories and visting various exhibits that were set up.

On Sunday morning we went back to downtown Bryson City, to tell Thomas goodbye. Coleman kept repeating, "Bye, bye Thomas."

Thomas taking off from the station

Bradley, Riley and Coleman

Coleman, me, Riley, David, Bradley, Danny and Misty aboard our passenger car

Happy 2nd Birthday Conner!

Conner celebrated his 2nd birthday on July 15. We met them at Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate. On the 18th was his actual birthday party at their house. The theme was farm animals, and the cake was super cute...it was a cow!

Conner, his mom and his cousin

Conner, Coleman and Andrew having fun at their new train table

Happy Birthday Conner! Thanks for including us in your special day!

The Fourth of July

We spent Friday night at the Echerer's house. We ate hotdogs, watched fireworks and hung out. My brother, Justin, joined us, and I think he had a good time too.

Kim, Coleman and I watching fireworks from afar

Kaitlyn, Zachary and their cousin watching fireworks

On Saturday, we went to my parent's house to eat barbeque and lots of other good food. While we were there, Coleman played with the kittens next door.

After leaving my parents, we went to the Davis' house to watch fireworks. Coleman was a bit scared because the fireworks were much closer than they had been the previous night.

Barbra, Eason and Coleman (Eason thought the fireworks were loud too!)

New York City - Days 4 & 5

We spent Saturday at the Bronx Zoo. We took the Subway to the zoo, and we had a wonderful day. Later that day, we went to FAO Schwarz and Coleman and I played on the large piano.

On Sunday, I flew to Chicago, and David and Coleman flew to Charlotte. We hated to leave our favorite city!

New York City - Day 3

We started our day at the Children's Museum of Manhattan, which was awesome. The museum had 2 whole floors dedicated to children under 3 years old. Coleman loved storytime, play dough time, and all of the cool exhibits.

Daddy is helping Coleman down the fireman's pole

After the museum we ate at Homer's World Favorite Malt Shop. After lunch, we walked around the Upper East & Upper West sides. We then visited Dylan's Candy Bar (Ralph Lauren's daughter's shop). We had a blast eating all of the candy!

Coleman shared an ice cream with mommy at Dylan's

After Dylan's we visited the FDNY (Fire Department New York) Fire Zone at Rockefellar Plaza. Coleman loved the firetruck, and we were able to buy cool t-shirts.

Mommy and Coleman "driving" the firetruck

We had pizza for dinner and visited Toys R Us. We finally called it a day!

New York City - Day 2

We started our morning by getting a little breakfast at the grocery next door to our hotel. We then headed straight for Central Park. The first thing we came to in Central Park was the carousel. Coleman loved the carousel because it moved faster than the other carousels that we have ridden in the past. After the carousel, we went to the Central Park Zoo. Coleman had the best time feeding the goats at the petting zoo.

After leaving the zoo, we went straight to the Boathouse to eat lunch. Coleman actually took a little nap in his stroller while we ate, so it worked out nicely. As soon as David and I took our last bites, Coleman woke up. We decided to get him a hotdog and fries from the Express Cafe, which was located on the back side of the Boathouse. After our lunch, we took a row boat ride.

After our boat ride, we explored Central Park some more. We then found a playground, and Coleman was very happy.

After our adventures in Central Park, we took the Subway down to the World Trade Center area, and did a little bit of shopping in Century 21. We then walked up to Chinatown and Little Italy. We ate dinner in Little Italy, and it was delicious! We then took the subway back up to Times Square and did our nightly visit of Toys R Us. We then left and went to bed...we were so tired!

New York City - Day 1

David, Coleman and I left out of Charlotte on Wednesday morning. David left around 10 a.m. and Coleman and I left at 11:40 a.m. We took different flights to keep costs low. As soon as we arrived in Queens, we took a bus and then the subway to Manhattan. We went straight to Times Square, where our hotel was located. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that our hotel was nice. We bid on it from Priceline. We ate dinner at the Barking Dog, and after dinner we went to Toys R Us in Times Square. At Toys R Us, we road the enourmous ferris wheel in a firetruck cart. Then, Coleman had his first encounter with Spider Man. Coleman now loves him!

Elmo was working the streets in Time Square

Coleman is preparing to give Spider Man knuckles

A Wedding in Jamaica

We spent last weekend in Jamaica celebrating David's cousin Matt's and Jenn's wedding. We flew out of Charlotte on a Friday and we returned the following Monday. We spent our first night celebrating at the rehearsal dinner. It was gorgeous because it was out on the beach with a steel drum band, a bondfire and a wonderful dinner.

We spent Saturday playing on the beach and swimming in the pool. We also took the pedal boat out, which put Coleman asleep. Saturday night was the wedding, which was on the lawn overlooking the ocean. Jenn was absolutely stunning, and the ceremony was beautiful. We then had dinner and dancing for the reception.

On Sunday we played at the beach and in the pool. David took a ride on the banana boat, which he really enjoyed. On Sunday night, we ate a a local flavor restaurant, Scotchie's, which served authentic Jamaican food. It was really good.

On Monday, we packed our bags and returned home. It was so hard to leave such a beautiful place! Congratulations Matt and Jen...we enjoyed sharing your special day with you.

Matt and Jenn

The authenic Jamaican restaurant

Coleman playing in the water/sand with his cousin Lauren

Mommy and Coleman at the pool

Our Weekend

We started off our weekend by going to Greenville to get Coleman's haircut (Mommy is now hooked on Jellybeans for haircuts...I wish Columbia had one.) We were also was able to visit Whole Foods and eat lunch at P.F. Changs.

Saturday night, we went to dinner with the Echerers. It was good to hang out with our old neighbors!




On Sunday we went to church and then went to the neighborhood pool party. We ate pizza and lots of dessert food. It was so much fun to watch Coleman with all of the kids!

Happy 2nd Birthday Breelan!

Breelan had her second birthday party in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is where her parents grew up. We celebrated Breelan's birthday on the actual day that she turned two. We went to the Funzone to play, and then we went to Carolina Wings to eat afterwards. Thank you for including us in your special day Breelan!

Breelan and Coleman

Breelan and Coleman playing a game of basketball

Happy Birthday Deuce and Jeb

We went to Bennettsville to celebrate Deuce's 5th birthday and Jeb's 3rd birthday. I cannot believe how fast they are growing. The birthday was at the town park (which is better than any park in Columbia...it is amazing) and we ate hotdogs and cake. At the end of the party Coleman was able to help hit the pinata. Thanks for inviting us to celebrate your special days!

Jeb is preparing to blow out his candles

Deuce is opening his gifts

Holly is helping Coleman hit the pinata

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I had a wonderful Mother's day. I began the day by going to church. Once we left church Coleman gave me a Sony Cybershot camera to keep in my purse. This will be great because everytime I need a camera, mine is at home. We then went to the Captial City Club with David's family and the Davis family for lunch. When we got home my parents came over, and we ate dinner together. This was such a wonderful day!

Coleman and Mommy

Coleman and GJ

Lunch with the Fryers and Davises

Coleman's 18 Month Birthday

Coleman turned 18 months on the 30, and we celebrated with him by giving him cake and a basketball goal. He loves his basketball goad so much that he cries when we take it away from him. Our little baby is quickly becoming a toddler!

Coleman shooting the ball at his new toy

Happy 2nd Birthday Charles!

On Sunday, we celebrated Charles' birthday at Citadel Park. The theme was so cute because it was all about bugs. On top of the the cupcakes was chocolate icing, crumbled Oreos and gummy worms. Coleman had the best time playing in the park. Any chance he gets to slide, he loves. Thank you for including us in your special day Charles!

Charles prepares to blow out his candle

Charles and Coelman crawl to the slide

Go Gwinnett Braves!!!

On Friday night, we went to Atlanta to visit Aunt Temple and Uncle Jonathan. The main reason for our visit was to celebrate with Uncle Jonathan on the opening game for the Gwinnett Braves. Uncle Jonathan built the field for the Gwinnett Braves, which is the 3A minor league baseball team that feeds into the Atlanta Braves. This team moved this year from Richmond, Virginia to Gwinnett County Georgia, so that players could easily step up and down from the minor league to the major league team without having to relocate. Uncle Justin and Jason, Aunt Temple's family, and Uncle Jonathan's employees were also at the game. The field looked great!

On Saturday, we went shopping, we got Coleman's hair cut and we ate dinner at Ted's Montana Grill, which serves buffalo burgers. We left early Sunday morning, so that we could get back to Columbia at a reasonable hour.

Uncle Jonathan, Coleman and Aunt Temple

Uncle Justin, Coleman and Uncle Jason

Coleman and Mommy cheering for the Braves

Coleman getting his hair cut at Pigtails and Crewcuts

Christ the Lord Has Risen Today!

We woke up pretty early Easter morning because I played handbells during both church services. After church we went to the Capital City Club with the Fryer and the Davis families. At the Capital City Club we ate a great buffet meal, and then Coleman joined the other kids for an Easter egg hunt. Davis won the golden egg, but he gave half of his prize (a giant Easter bunny) to Coleman.

After lunch, my parents came to Columbia to visit. Coleman had a great time playing with his Easter toys, as well as blowing bubbles with GJ and Granddaddy.

The Davis and Fryer Families

Coleman is grabbing all of the Easter eggs that he can

GJ and Coleman are playing with Coleman's new Thomas the Tank set

Coleman shows everyone how to blow bubbles

Our Church Easter Egg Hunt

We invited Conner to join us at our church Easter egg hunt. We were also excited that Uncle Jason was able to hang out with us. The toddler playground had so many eggs that most of the kids grabbed eggs for about five minutes, and then they started playing on the toys.
After the Easter egg hunt, Coleman, Uncle Jason and I went to DiPrato's for lunch. We then ran errands, and went home to play outside. That night we met Conner and his parents at Hudson's Barbeque. We had a wonderful day! We were so tired!

Conner and Coleman before the hunt

The Hunt

Coleman posing with Uncle Jason

Easter Egg Hunt in Bennettsville

We met the Swanns at the community park in Bennettsville in order to hunt eggs, visit the Easter bunny and play. Coleman had a great time playing on the playground as well as playing with the toys at the Swanns' house. Coleman is always entertained to play with the big kids.

Coleman and Jeb after a long day of playing

Our Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

I helped another lady in the neighborhood plan an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids in the neighborhood. We started off by letting the kids color Easter pictures while some of the parents were hiding the Easter eggs. We also had an Easter Bunny that the kids could sit on his lap. Coleman was scared to be around the Bunny, unless I was holding him.

Then, the kids all went to hunt eggs, which was so exciting to watch. After the hunt the kids came inside the clubhouse to socialize and to eat lots of junkfood. The Easter Egg Hunt was a huge success, and I look forward to helping with it next year!

Coleman, me and the Easter Bunny

Eleanor, Lilly-Margaret, Bradley and Coleman were taken a break from the long hunt for eggs

Bradley and Riley were a huge help in watching Coleman