Hi.lar.ious. video of Ed....

Ed had his wisdom teeth taken out this morning. Check out this video of him in the recovery room immediately after. He was quite loopy and kept making faces at this little nurse behind me. He is now laying next to me, knocked out, sawing logs.

Winter Snow 2014

We had so much snow hit us in 24 hours that I have now seen enough to last me for the next couple of years. The snow is so fun for this first couple of hours and is so pretty when it is coming down. But when you live in the south where there is not enough city equipment to handle the amount of snow that we got, it is a huge burden. Fortunately, we all knew it was coming so I worked from home on Wednesday. Thank goodness I was not over an hour away from home because I  never would have made it. It started coming down a little after lunch time and I was assuming that Ed was going to leave work and scoop Deuce up on his way home. But no, he's goes by the book so when his work didn't officially dismiss anyone, he didn't leave. So I checked the cameras at school and saw that Deuce was in the middle of a nap. It had just started snowing so I thought I would let him sleep and then go get him. It would take a little while to stick to the roads because it wasn't sticking to the grass quite yet. After about an hour I kept looking outside and I could no longer see the road. I freaked and left immediately. My little civic is not made for snow and ice. Deuce's school is about 10 minutes away from the house. It took me 2 hours to get to him and get home. Some very kind strangers even pushed my car (and everyone else's) up an icy hill in the middle of a huge intersection because we couldn't get through. When we got home I swore I wasn't leaving. And I didn't for almost 3 days. We got about 10 inches at our house over the next 24 hours. By the end of the next day, I was over it. I was trying to work from home (as was Ed actually) and when you have a 3 year old who doesn't understand work and only understands sledding, it's super hard. Friday I decided to clear the driveway so we could attempt to get out. The main road in our neighborhood had been plowed but the front yard is blocked from the sun by our house so hardly any of the snow had melted. And of course when they plow, they pile up like 2 feet of snow in front of your driveway, like that helps at all. My little guy loves to help out so he got his little pink sand shovel and went to work.

123, ABC

We're getting there!

I thought this conversation was hilarious so I just had to share it.

This is my favorite part of this age so far.
The things he says make me giggle sometimes.

Ain't Too Proud to Beg.

Rebecca and I took Deuce and Chase to the NC State Fair last week. As we were walking along I heard a band playing some Motown hits. I asked Rebecca if we could swing by there since it's Deuce's favorite type of music. We kept the boys in their strollers for the first song. The second song was Ain't Too Proud to Beg and that is one of Deuce's absolute favorite songs. I had to let him out. And guess what, he took off down the aisle, by himself to the front of the stage where he put on a show. And then Chase decided to follow. I'm not sure that anyone was watching the band anymore. All eyes were on the dancing toddlers.

My boy has music in his bones.

Miss Lexi and the Fountain.

We had a play date at the mall last Friday with my girlfriend Erika. Erika was on the dance team at NC State while we were in school & I was coaching all stars and then she coached the team after graduation for a bit. She now coaches the team at UNCG so we have a lot of connections in the cheer world, which was my former life before marriage and baby. We ran into each other in the mall in Greensboro about a year ago at the play place and she has 3 little girls that are 3 years apart. We like to meet up at the mall and let the kids run around. Friday morning she sent me one of those last minute "hey we are going to the mall, come meet us." texts that are so awesome. She only had Lexi, the middle child who is only about 5 months older than Deuce, so he was all excited to go meet "Lesi" to "fide" {slide}. The kids had a great time playing and then we took them to Chick Fil-A for lunch. Is Lexi not the cutest thing??

Erika and I are already planning their wedding. They held hands as they walked through the mall. And after lunch when we were going our separate ways Deuce would not let go of Lexi's hand. It was pretty darn cute. After Lexi left I let Deuce walk around the mall a little more. We went by the Easter bunny and we waved but we also kept a very safe distance from the big-eyed rabbit. Like, really far away. Ed's parents told me they took him to the mall in Chapel Hill and he ran the opposite way when he saw the Easter bunny. LOL!!! We got a cookie from the Nestle Tollhouse store and then he saw IT. I always try to avoid it but I was unable to steer him away this time.

So we went to the fountain but I had a firm conversation with him that he was not to touch the water or try to get in. This water was only to look at. It was not a bath, there were no toys and we didn't have a towel to clean off with. Yeah, see how well that worked...

And when I stood up to make my presence known with a firm "DEUCE!" this is what I got...

Val & Davis call him the silent protester. He is peaceful and quiet but he lays down and straightens his arms & legs as if he cannot be moved. It's hard not to laugh.

In one year from now we will be getting Deuce ready to play his first season of basketball. At 3 he can play in the summer Y league on Saturdays where they practice for 30 minutes and then play a 30 minute game on a 6 foot goal. He is hard at work preparing already. He loves to go outside and "shoop." He hates me video taping though and sometimes he does his silent protesting when he realizes that he is being recorded.

We are headed to the beach today. With ALL of Sesame Street in tow. And they will be watching themselves on TV. Deuce will make sure that they are each positioned appropriately so that they can see the screen. Here's to a peaceful ride and a more peaceful 5 days!

March Madness!

Sorry I have been MIA for almost 2 whole weeks. We have had no shortage of busy days around here. Work is in.sane. I have picked up some extra hours and fortunately for me, I am being allowed to complete those hours from home. This makes for some late nights since I can't seem to get any work done with a toddler near my computer. If mommy is working, so is Deuce. So I have been up until the wee hours of the morning working. The work day is just slammed packed and we have been in training rooms for the past several weeks, away from our desks and piled around conference tables. I have had no time for much else.

With the 1st and 2nd rounds of the NCAA tournament being in Greensboro, I took Deuce over to the coliseum last Thursday to watch the Tarheels practice before their first game on Friday. He had a great time. I have been fortunate enough to see the Heels play in the NCAA tournament the past several years {twice in the Elite 8} and I want Deuce to have that experience also. We didn't go to the games but Ed & TJ went to the game on Sunday.

The practice was about 45 minutes, which was perfect for Deuce. I think he was ready to go by the time it was up. He really just wanted to walk up and down the stairs but after I got yelled at by some old man "guarding" the stairs because I was letting him walk to our seat on his own {he was holding the railing, mind you} I decided that wasn't going to work. These ladies in front of us were just so amused by Deuce and how excited he was every time he heard the fight song. One of them asked could she record Deuce on her iphone fist pumping to the fight song and saying "TAR...HEELS" during the practice so she could show her husband. Her mother was amazed at how early he had developed his love for the Heels. That's because we are Tarheels born and Tarheels bred and when we die, we'll be Tarheels dead. See for yourself!

Go Heels!

Sleepy Sleepy Boy

Not too much has been going on in our world lately. Deuce has gone almost a month sleeping in his big boy bed. Only twice has he gotten out of his bed and come out of his room. Both times were in the middle of the night and I'm not sure if he had a bad dream or what but both times he came out crying pretty hard, screaming "mama!" Nothing like a jolt to your heart when you are sound asleep from your baby screaming your name. Both times I was able to carry him right back to bed and lay him right back down and he would fall right back to sleep. A couple of times he has had a difficult time going to sleep initially. Actually, he just decides that he would rather stay up and play. He doesn't come out of his room but he gets up, turns on his light, and gets his books and reads. I've even caught him shooting hoops at like 11pm!! Other than that, we've done pretty well.

I've held off on posting about it for fear of jinxing myself but now that it's been almost a month I feel pretty confident. I do enjoy that if he wakes up before me he can get out of bed on his own and come to my room and get in the bed with me. I love snuggle time with him in the morning. He's calm and quiet and we usually watch Toodles (Mickey), Bob Bob (Spongebob), Elmo or Fub (Phineas & Ferb). And he's been taking really long naps too, which is great. I keep telling myself that I can get so much done during these 3 hour naps but I usually just end up napping with him, catching up on my DVRd shows or just watching him sleep.

Don't you wish you could sleep that good again?

And my child will not let sleep stop him from eating. Here he had to finish his fries before he would let himself fall asleep. And if you listen carefully you can hear him immediately start to snore.

{And yes, somebody gave us a pink sippy cup for a baby shower gift, even though everyone knew he was a boy, and yes I still use it. Only not in public. Just the house or the car. Because I'm not good at doing the dishes and you gotta use what you got when you have NO clean dishes!!}

He's a Dancin' Machine

This child loves to dance. I mean really loves to dance.

 

Every Sunday after church we meet all of our friends in the sanctuary after the service. Ed and I alternate taking Deuce to the nursery and TJ is finally going to children's church. One of Ed's best friends from college, Will, plays the bass guitar in the church band and they usually play for a little while as people are gathering their things and socializing before leaving. We always go up to the first pew and listen to the band play while Deuce dances. No joke. People love to stand and watch him. He goes through periods where he gets really into it and then he's mesmerized and he just stares.

If you listen hard you can hear him saying, "TJ! Wat, Wat" which means TJ, watch!! 

He's not shy or anything.... 

Tim is his favorite person in the band. Tim in maybe 20-something and plays the drums. Deuce loves the drums so he loves Tim. One Sunday Tim was trying to be sweet and gave Deuce his drum sticks. I had to promptly trick my child into giving them to me so I could proceed to slip them back to Tim. {I thanked him for being so generous but explained that I would like to keep my walls hole-free and my window panes in tact. I know my boy. And he is rough.} Every Sunday we have to wait for Tim so Deuce can give him a fist bump. Who knows, maybe we'll have a future rocker in the family.

I didn't have my camera in church this time...

Ballin'

This video is a few weeks late but I still wanted to post it. The Saturday after Thanksgiving was the 2nd Chapel Hill HS Alumni 80s v. 90s basketball game. Ed and his brother played against each other again and I had a great time seeing old friends.

After the game was over, all of the kids took to the basketball court to shoot around.

There was a DJ and Deuce couldn't decide if he wanted to play ball with Chanler and Jalen, or dance...

And I'm not sure who the kid in the skinny jeans are but I would have walked away from him too for having those pants on if I was Deuce. He ought to be ashamed of himself for cutting off his circulation like that!

PS. HAPPY 33rd BIRTHDAY TO MY HONEY TODAY!!

Down, Set, Hut!

we like to make faces in our family. apparently.

like lots of faces all at one time.

someone has picked them up. and makes them all day long. because he knows it's going to make us laugh.

and i have also decided that i will not clean the kitchen until he is 18.

there is no point.

only kidding.

kinda sorta...

wawa is my sister. she used to call herself that when she was little and couldn't say the "l" in laura.

and we also like to get kiddos training for the league at a very early age.

like from before they can actually walk. because then when they can walk, they go straight to up-downs and tackles. only we don't have lineman bags. just a big black couch. it seems to work just fine.

and a VERY enthusiastic daddy helps a lot.

and we also like to spill drinks and food on our carpet and leave big stains for the world to see.

we would like new hardwoods one day to eliminate this issue.

but then again, up-downs wouldn't be as much fun.

i could watch these two play all day.

Baby's Black Eye.

My baby got his first black eye last week. How? I have no clue. It was a little red when I picked him up on Wednesday and by Thursday morning it had turned into a nice big ol' shiner. Oh well. We went to the mall to get out some energy. I walk laps around the mall until he gets ancy and then we head to the play area and he runs wild. Now that all of the kids are back in school, the play land is pretty empty at 11am. Just the way we like it.

He has a blast running around and climbing over and through all of the obstacles. I let him run until he wears himself out. There is usually a brief kicking and screaming event that occurs when I decide that it's time to go. This usually takes place when he discovers the entrance/exit to play land and decides that he wants to run free in the mall, forcing me to chase after him like a crazy fool while pushing an empty stroller. He thinks this game of "catch me if you can" is hilarious as he giggles while trying to run away. Yeah, mommy don't think it's too funny.

Here is some video footage of the day. Ed has taught him how to "Down, Set, Hut" for football season.
My little linebacker, he is! You think maybe he was "tackling" something at Grandma's when he got his black eye? I wouldn't be surprised...

Yeah, we left soon after this as he was only interested in roaming the mall at this point. I have another video of him playing and giggling but it's not letting me upload it for some reason. I'll keep trying!

Air Deuce & Daddy

This is how we have been spending our Saturday's.  Usually, I go to Zumba during TJ's swim lesson and when I come back to pick them up, I find them all in the gym.  And just in case any of you were wondering...Ed is preparing to make an appearance in the NBA this season as a free agent. 
Can't you tell?

{Keep in mind that the goal is at about 8 feet.}

I just love the way Deuce kicks his little legs like he is pushing off and trying to climb the air to the goal...

When Life Gives You Lemons...

...well, when daddy gives them to you.....you eat them.  And continue to eat them. Until there is nothing left and the entire restaurant is bent over at the waist laughing at you.  My little guy {who now weighs 27 pounds 11 ounces, after a quick trip to the doctor to check for a suspected ear infection} doesn't ever turn away food.  And as demonstrated by this video, even if the food makes him cringe, he will still eat it.  He's quite the ham.

And as for the doctor's visit on Monday.  He had been sticking his fingers in his ears for a couple of days but was not fussy or anything and he wasn't pulling on them either.  He seemed normal and full of energy, per the usual.  But when we were on the way to Chapel Hill on Monday morning he just seemed out of it.  He looked sleepy {even after just waking up from sleeping for 12 hours} and his eyes looked weak.  So I dropped him off with my mom and told her to keep an eye on him.  She called me around lunch time and said that she felt I should check in at the doctor's office and see what they thought.  So I made the call to Dr. Davis.  And I must tell you, it's the first time I've had to call the doctor in his short 14 months of life.  We have only been to the doctor for previously scheduled well visits.  We have been very fortunate.  After speaking to the nurse, she suggested we come in.  So I closed up my computer and headed back to mom's and then back to Greensboro to meet Dr. Davis.

Turns out there was no ear infection.  Whew!  But he does have eczema.  He has a little spot on his neck and on both of his elbows. {You can kind of see it in the picture below.}  A little cortizone has cleared it right up.  So why did he have his fingers in his ears?  Well, he woke up Tuesday with an awful cold.  Snotty nose and all.  So I am guessing that his head feels like mine {like it's about to explode because now I have said cold} and his ears feel clogged up.  So we've been getting a lot of use out of that green hospital suction thingy.  Totally gross if you ask me, but it works since he can't really blow his nose yet.

So now that I've grossed you out.... he also got his first "real" boo-boo on Tuesday.  I think it gives him character.  He has learned how to sit and slide down the stairs to the basement at Grandma's house.  He goes up and down them all day {with supervision, of course}.  But one time he slid about half way down and then decided he was going to stand up and run down the rest before Grandma or Grandpa could grab him.  Enter carpet burn to forehead.  As soon as I got to Grandma's he smiled really big and then grabbed my hand and put it on my forehead where his boo-boo is.  Too funny!  There is now a baby gate at the top of the stairs and he is not a fan...   

Bath Time

We know Deuce loves the water.  He loves it anyway he can get it.  Last week TJ asked if he could give Deuce his bath so I let him have at it.  He washed his hair and lathered up the washcloth.  Then he made sure to get under his neck and armpants really well.  {Yes, you read that right.  TJ called them armpants until he was about 6.}  He also washed off his "goods" but definitely couldn't do it without laughing.  And as most 9 year olds would do, he attempted to sneak a pour in his mouth and in his ears.

Daddy was excited too {and super loud}.  You can see that when he is in he room, Deuce rarely takes his eyes off of him.  He loves water so much that when I got home from Zumba on Tuesday night, I found Deuce with daddy & the water hose... this 100+ degree weather has made for great water play in the evenings.

{Decorative Birth Stats}
I had quite a lot of people contact me after yesterday's post about wanting a print of their own.  I am more than happy to customize an 8x10 one for you for $10 each.  If you are interested, send me an email at rach36293@hotmail.com with all of the information that you want to include {full name, date of birth, weight, time, length, place of birth}.  Don't forget to include color scheme and/or theme {for example: her room has ladybugs or his has boats or no graphics is great too!}.  I'll send you a proof and the final product will be delivered via .jpg image for you to print.  It will center on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper, perfect for framing.  I would recommend you print it on a high quality color printer on 100lb matte paper.  If you want me to print it & mail it to you, I'd be happy to for an extra $5 to cover paper, ink & shipping.