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As I was just writing the previous post, this is where my Hampton sat. I know he is naked, but he just spit up all over his outfit....and well he loves to be naked!

Flowers and Showers

Today while Hampton was taking his morning nap, Everett and I decided to spend some time outside. It was so nice and sunny...not a cloud in the sky! I am trying to take advantage of the many nice days because I long for them during the winter.

Everett exploring in our forest of a backyard. Everett loves to collect sticks (it's apparently a boy thing). He was very proud of this one that he found and dragged it all around the yard.

Maggie enjoys the outdoors as well. She finally now has a yard of her own!

We then wandered up to the front yard where I showed Everett these red lilies that blossomed almost overnight.

Aren't they lovely?

Here are the beginnings of the ivy Eric recently planted that is strategically placed to eventually climb the wall of the front of our house. I can't wait until it does!

I would love to have something like this in our front yard like our neighbors across the street. I just love those planters!

Or something like this......

Everett decided to dine al fresco today. It was quite comical, me trying to wedge myself into this very kid-size picnic table.

Well my plan was to take full advantage of today and have Everett play with his water table after nap, but alas I hear the rumbling of thunder. At least the rain will water all my plants. We'll do that another day/another post!

My Guy

Have I mentioned yet how much I love my big boy Everett? Well if I haven't, I am completely over the moon about this boy! Yesterday Everett had his 2 year wellness visit. He did AMAZING! He completely blew my socks off and I kept thinking, "Is this really my child?" He let the doctor do what he needed to do and never showed any fear or apprehension. He had to have two vaccines and did not even cry! All he said was ouch and then smiled. What!?! He was funny because he was more excited that the nurse put "stickers" (band-aids) on his legs. Part of the appointment was the developmental screening. Out of all the domains, Everett scored the highest on communication. Yeah! Just recently Everett has been putting together 2-3 word utterances. His vocab has also exploded! The only thing we need to work on is jumping. Ha! Something I have not even thought of having him try. Everett is about 29 pounds and in the 50th percentile for weight and about 3 feet tall and in the 90th percentile for his height.

I am just so proud of Everett in so many ways. Just over the past two weeks Everett has adjusted to the church nursery. This has taken about 2 years. Last Sunday when we picked him up we caught him talking to another little boy in the room. He was dragging around a naked baby doll, tapped the boy on the shoulder and asked "What's this?" That completely cracked us up!

Everett is a passionate little boy. He loves life and lives it big. He can be really, really high energy and all over the place, yet he can melt-down within a moment and be Mr.Dramatic. I think one of his favorite things to do is make me laugh.

Everett's debut. What sweet newborn he was.

Everett at about 6 months.

Everett turns 1.

Everett at 2.

Two for Two

Get ready for a picture overload because a lot of fun things have been going on in our home lately. First off-about a week ago Hampton had his 2 month check-up. He is 11 weeks now, but here were his 2 month stats. He is about 13 pounds (probably more now) and in the 75th percentile for his weight. He is in the 50th percentile for his height and head. Hampton has really "come alive" in the last few days. He is smiling, cooing, squealing, and starting to reach. He also has such great head control. I love getting to know this little guy. He is so snuggly and just wants to be held all the time. Very different from how Everett was! While we were at the doctor's office, Everett caught up on some reading!

Last Sunday Everett turned two! I cannot believe how fast the time goes. My mom and sister were in town, and Everett's Gigi, Uncle Jason and Aunt Becky, and cousins Zeke and Daniel came to celebrate. The party was a farm theme cookout. It was so much fun!

Playing with his new water table from Nonny.

He got a picnic bench from Gigi.

Everett and his Aunt Mary.

The food table.

Yum!

Everett's cake. It was a red velvet and cake batter ice-cream cake from Coldstone. Sooo good!

Everett loved it!

Hampton and me.

The Williamson men.

The Williamsons

My big boy!

A Very Special Date

Last weekend while my family was visiting Eric and I went on a very special date at the Grove Park Inn. This place is sentimental to us because it is where we honeymooned. The restuarant we ate at is called the Sunset Terrace and it overlooks incredible, and I mean incredible, mountain views. When I called to make the reservation the woman asked me what the special occassion was and all I could say in reply was, "Getting out of the house!" Eric and I have made an effort in the past few months to go on a date at least once a month. It is such valued time together. My filet looked so good that I had to take a picture.

One very happy girl.

One very happy guy.

Arboretum

My mom and sister came to visit last week. One of the "adventures" we had during their visit was going to the NC Arboretum. I am so thrilled we discovered this place just minutes down the road from us because we had so much fun! It was the perfect place to take pictures as well. Here are some shots from our visit.Everett ran up to this native statue and said, "Wow! Big toe!"

Aunt Mary, Ev, and Hampton.

Everett and his Nonny

Everett taking the time to smell the flowers.

Everett kind of looking like a little fisherman (or fisherboy :)

My baby boys and I.

Everett's Special Day

Since Hampton has joined our family, Everett has had to share the attention with his young brother.....which is a good thing. But I must say, sometimes I long for more one-on-one time with him. So, for his birthday (a week early) we decided to take him somewhere special and let the day be all about him. This is a tradition we decided long ago that we would do for our children. We want to make a huge deal out of birthdays. It is a day all about them and they can choose what they want to do for that day. Since Everett is still too young to vocalize this, we decided for him. We left Hampton behind with his Gigi and went to Greenville, SC to the zoo. I think we all had a great time!

Everett pointing to an elephant. It was the first animal we saw as we walked in. Everett was so excited.
He may be approaching age two, but he is still hanging on to his sweet baby face. He still has his chipmunk cheeks that I love to kiss and squeeze!

Gazing at the turtles.

I didn't really think it was that warm, but Everett was so red in the cheeks. He must be hot-natured like his Dada.

He had only one "time-out" while we were there. Other than that, he listened very well and held my hand when we let him walk.

After the zoo we went and had lunch at Red Robin. This blue balloon entertained Everett the entire time.

Everett with all his paraphernalia.

It was so fun for Eric and I to take Everett on a special trip. This one-on-one time with him is now harder to come by, so it is even more special. I loved that I wasn't distracted and could hear all of what he had to say and could give him my undivided attention. We had a sweet reunion with Hampton when we got home. Everett that evening hugged "Hanton" and said "I wuv you." Oh Everett! You do know how to melt your Mama's heart!

Waiting for Dada

This is where Everett runs every afternoon when I announce that his "Dada" is on his way home. We usually snack while we wait!

Morning Excursion

Today I got brave again and took the boys out. I always debate if it is worth it, but Everett usually enjoys going out and the alternative would be to stay inside on another gorgeous day. So I decided to go for it. Here was our mood right before we left...... Hampton is just along for the ride. Although, he doesn't ever seem to enjoy the ride. I thought most babies like the car, but this one usually screams!

So we went to Biltmore Park to this really amazing new toy store. Everett in awe of these toy soldiers in front. What I liked about this kind of toy store was that there was mostly educational and high quality (hard to find) toys. We then made one more stop at a posh, upscale baby store called Bon Bebe (way too expensive for me....consignment please?) and then headed home. On the way home I stopped and got Everett and I McDonalds for lunch. We don't usually do fast food, so this was a special, non-healthy (except for the apple slices) kind of treat.

Everett with his new ball-take note of his mood again. We are working on this diligently. It's rough being an almost 2 year old!