A Week Away . . .

. . . to visit the Aunties! Jan 1st - 3rd we spent with Aunt Jackie's group in Towson, MD. The drive up actually wasn't too bad - just under 6 hrs, and I-95 was a clear shot (no one out on New Year's morning!). And the boys were really good in the car. We arrived Saturday (1/1/11) afternoon, just in time to celebrate Noah's birthday. Pa (Carly's dad) also drove down from his Christmas visit in NY, just in time for the birthday party. After an extensively planned out treasure hunt, Noah finally found his super fun birthday present!
Sunday we went to the Baltimore aquarium, which was quite amazing. The dolphin show was fantastic - they are such smart creatures! Of course, Grey and Cam were a little too young to fully appreciate it. The only bummer was that strollers weren't allowed in the aquarium. Noah and Ian were, of course, able to walk through it, but our two had to be carried the whole time. Bummer!

Noah's birthday present . . .

More pictures from our time with the cousins . . .

Ian is so affectionate! He can melt your heart in a minute! and quite the little personality - such a happy-go-lucky kinda fella! I think it was so good for Grey to spend some time with Ian. Grey, the quiet reserved personality, is well balanced by Ian's outgoing and gregarious spirit! perfect match for best buds!

Aunt Jackie getting a litte love from Grey. . .

Lots of reading and story times . . . (always a favorite pasttime for Grey)

Jackie's boys . . .

Noah is doing soooo good in his Montessori school! Jackie and I picked him up from school on Monday, and he talked about all of his activities there on the way home. It sounds like such a positive experience for him and an outlet for all of his creative energies. We hope Grey's preschool will offer a similar positive outlet for him.
Noah and Uncle Matt - truly bonded spirits after this visit . . .

Our last evening with Jackie and Connor - fancy burgers in their huge kitchen! Even Noah fixed himself a whopper! Good times, good times!

Happy travels - back to Chapel Hill for a night and then onto visit Aunt Becca and Uncle David in Myrtle Beach.

Don't be fooled . . . everyone was NOT this happy the entire trip!

We stayed at David's grandmother's (his mom's mom's) beach house, right ON the beach (Jan 5th-8th). The house was awesome! Here are some views from out the back . . .

the neighbors to the left . . .

the pool and beach (morning sunrise) . . .

Becca's dog Jackson, was as you can see very thrilled to have company . . .

Aunt Becca and Cam . . .

Grey's sandy toes on the beach . . .

Grey felt very bonded to Jackson . . . (I don't know if the feeling was mutual!)

His tail!

We really don't get to see David and Becca enough, so this visit was a great time to catch up on everyone's happenings. We had great evenings & conversation with them (after the kids went to sleep of course!). Unfortunately, David's grandmother (on his dad's side) passed away while we were there, and we were sad to hear of this hardship.

Otherwise, we pretty much hung out around the beach house, playing with the boys and getting take-out for lunch. I cooked a meatloaf dinner one night, and David and I cooked a big breakfast with pancakes and sausage one of the mornings (yummy!). Sally and Shelton stayed at the beach house with us for the last night we were there. We did not want to come back home (and back to work :( ).

I have to apologize that it took me so long to post our adventures from a month ago! It is getting harder and harder to find time to get anything done - both boys have become very mobile and into everything! Grey just walking about a week ago (18 1/2 months old)! Cam is crawling everywhere - usually trying to keep up with big brother or the cat! With 2 bottom teeth, Cam now has a wide toothy grin that is easy to elicit! He is such a happy boy, well, they both are really. I can't complain! God has blessed me with two great children, and I love them with all of my heart!

Jan 19th was the doctor's appt for both of them. Grey weighed 23 lb 11 oz (21 st percentile) and Cam weighed 16 lb 2 oz (16th percentile). Very healthy, except for the runny noses we've had for the past month!