You Wanna Get One?

Aaron loves Toby.

Toby doesn't really know what to think of Aaron.

About once a week when Toby and I are out running errands and Sam is at school, Aaron looks forward to me bringing Toby by our house or his work (wherever he happens to be at 11am that day). Aaron thinks everything about Toby is cute: the way he walks, the funny faces he makes, the way he pushes Aaron's fingers away when he pokes Toby's belly...

And then my husband asks the anticipated (and very predictable) question: "You wanna get one?" By "one" he means a baby. Like we can just go to the store and pick one out...

I know Aaron is just being cute, but I know he's somewhat serious at the same time. If I told him tomorrow that I was pregnant, he'd be so happy. Don't get me wrong, I'd be really happy too...but I'm also happy just being a Nanny 50 hours each week and watching our friends' kids when they need me to. I enjoy the quiet time Aaron and I have from 6pm to 7am on the weekdays. I enjoy sleeping on the weekends. I love spontaneously going out with our friends. I just got married, bought a new house, and still have lots to learn about myself and my husband before we start our own family.

Lord willing, Aaron and I will have our own children in a few years. But until then...I hope Aaron keeps asking if I "wanna get one." You're so cute, Baby!

Easter Egg Hunt 2008

Sorry for the absence of new blogs in the past week. We've had some technical difficulties with the computer I usually blog from at work...so hopefully I'm back up and running now.

Sean e-mailed me some pictures this morning from the Easter egg hunt at the Lyon home on Good Friday. Check 'em out...




Check out more of the photos from "Easter Egg Hunt 2008" on Sean's website!

Oh, Brother...

If my muscles could scream, they would have done so this morning.

My brother decided he wanted to go for a "little run" yesterday morning. Like an idiot, I offered to go with him.

He's a Citadel Cadet.

I hate running, but I thought it would be fun for the two of us to run to the Dairy Barn and explore the Anne Springs Close Greenway that begins about a half-mile from my house. Bryn was trying to be nice and run at my pace...but I could tell he was itching to run faster than my short little legs could carry me. The freezing air in my lungs wasn't helping my pace, either. I gave Bryn directions to the Dairy Barn and told him I'd be right behind him.

Yeah, right. Evidently attending the Citadel has turned my brother into a gazelle.

We decided that walking through the Greenway would be much more enjoyable than running, so we walked and talked, enjoying the view along the way. We petted horses (and fed them long, green grass from our side of the fence), witnessed a crazy donkey attempting to kick a pregnant goat, saw a cute baby goat that couldn't have been more than a week old, and hiked through old Catawba Native land. Altogether, we spent two hours hiking about 5 miles.

Bryn and I got into a conversation about life at the Citadel...and I really enjoyed listening to funny stories about what he and his classmates do for fun. More than listening to his stories, I loved hearing him talk about leading by example and being the best Knob he can possibly be. He wants to be someone that everyone can depend on. He's a hard-worker and lives by the Citadel's honor code. He truly understands what it means to be a leader - and I'm so proud of him. Our little outdoor adventure made my day :)

Hey, Bryn - next time I see you, maybe I'll be able to run as fast as a gazelle (or at least as fast as Hobbes when he darts up the stairs). I love you!

Hoppy Easter!

"Happy friggin' Easter! Now leave me alone..."


Happy Easter, everyone!

Easter Egg Hunt

The Easter egg hunt at Sean and Tonia's this morning was lots of fun! Here were some of the highlights:

• When I told Sam we were going to Cooper's for an Easter egg hunt today, he said, "Yay! Cooper has a wonderful back yard for hiding Easter eggs!" Yes, he really does.
• In an effort to get the kids out of the yard long enough to hide the eggs, Tonia gave them some old bread to feed to the geese and catfish in the lake. I looked over to see Sam eating the bread - not throwing it. "Why are you eating the bread, Sam?" Cooper asked. Sam just looked confused. I don't think he understood that he was supposed to throw it into the water.
• Tonia made yummy banana bread and chocolate chip scones for snack! Sean made his famous "Mexican Mocha" coffee for everyone to enjoy. Mmmmm!
• When the Easter egg hunt began, I showed Toby that he was supposed to pick up the eggs and put them into his basket. He totally understood and began waddling around the yard, picked up every bright object he saw, and put it into his basket. After dropping each egg into his basket he would look up at me, grin from ear to ear, clap for himself, and continue on in search of the next egg. When there were no more eggs to be found, Toby took the eggs out of his basket, dropped them on the ground, picked them up, and put them back in his basket. This continued until I put his basket out of reach.
• Sean and Tyler took photos and shot video of the entire day. I can't wait to see them!

Thanks for inviting us over, Lyons. The boys and I had a great time!

"Even When You Don't Wear Makeup"

I took the boys to Target today to get some goodies to make for Cooper's Easter egg hunt tomorrow. We got to the register and put our groceries on the counter. My keys fell out of my purse and I asked Sam to hand them to me. This is the conversation that followed:

Sam: I was lookin' at your keys 'cause they're pretty, Mrs. Allison.
Me: Thank you.
Sam: You're pretty, too, Mrs. Allison.
Me: Awww. Thank you, Sam.
Sam: You're pretty when you wear makeup...and you're pretty even when you don't wear makeup.

Already a charmer at the age of four. I'm not sure if Sam was telling the truth, but it doesn't matter. He made me feel good. I think he's been taking lessons from my husband :)

Family and Friends

This weekend is going to be tons of fun! Not only is Easter the best holiday EVER, but my family is coming to Charlotte to celebrate with us. My parents and brother should arrive at our house on Saturday morning and they'll stay until Tuesday afternoon.

I love that my family will be at Elevation for Easter. They've been to Elevation four times before, but I have a feeling the Easter service on Sunday will blow the socks off of any other service they've attended. I can't wait!

Our college friend, Orte, is also coming (from New York!) to stay with us for a week. He should arrive Friday afternoon and he'll stay until the following Friday. Orte and Aaron are leaving sometime on Sunday to go backpacking in the foothills until Wednesday. It'll be good "guy time" for them :)

Now that Aaron and I have living room and bedroom furniture, our house feels more like a home. Our furniture is gorgeous (I promise to post pictures as soon as we get everything situated for my family to visit this weekend) and it looks better in our house than I could have ever imagined. Our goal for this week (deadline: FRIDAY) is to set up the guest rooms so my parents will have a place to sleep. One room is pretty much done. The other one still needs some work.

I'll post pictures soon.

Hooray for Wonderful Friends!

Even though they would never want the recognition, I just wanted to take a moment to thank 2 of our best friends in the whole world: Tonia Bendickson and Sean Lyon.

Aaron and I met Sean and Tonia at Elevation almost 2 years ago. Sean and I became instant friends because of our common love for photography (I won't lie...I was extremely jealous of his insane skills with a camera). When I fell in love with their brilliant son Cooper, Tonia and I got to know each other better. It wasn't long before I was babysitting Cooper and Aaron was helping Sean put wood floors into their new house. The more time Aaron and I spent with the Lyon family, the deeper our friendships became. Sean helped us paint our new house. Aaron and I were at the hospital visiting Tonia and Asher 12 hours after he was born. Sean and Tonia have given me the "Right of First Refusal" when it comes to watching their children. Sean and I help each other with photo shoots. Aaron and Sean can talk for hours about nothing and everything.

Aaron and I don't have family here in Charlotte, but we feel like Sean and Tonia are our family away from our families. They take care of us. We help each other out. We keep up with what's going on in each other's lives.

This past weekend, Sean and Tonia saved us $1000 by giving us their old washer and dryer. They needed to buy a larger set so Tonia wouldn't be doing 7 loads of laundry a day...and Aaron and I needed a set so we could stop paying to do our laundry. On top of the gift of a washer and dryer, Sean and Tonia brought back a gift certificate for Aaron and me to a Bed and Breakfast in Blowing Rock, NC. I told Tonia she wasn't allowed to pay me for watching Cooper while they were away last week, so she cheated and brought back a gift certificate. Aaron and I don't deserve such wonderful friends...but we're so glad God has blessed us with them.

We love you Tonia, Sean, Ciara, Cooper, and Asher! Aaron and I pray that we'll be able to share a lifetime of friendship with you! Thanks for everything. You're the most generous and genuine people we know.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I introduced the boys to one of my favorite cereals: Lucky Charms! I made Sam promise me he'd be good at school today before I gave him sugar-coated cereal with marshmallows in it. At least it's made from whole grain, right?

With Easter coming up this Sunday, I started thinking about fun stuff the boys and I could do this week to celebrate. After 5 seconds of thinking, the obvious came to mind: an Easter egg hunt!

I haven't dyed hard-boiled eggs in years...so that might be something fun for Sam and me to do together one day this week. I also want to buy some brightly-colored plastic eggs and put candy inside. I think we'll plan our Easter egg hunt for Thursday or Friday afternoon!

What special activities are you doing with your kids this week?

Brothers

Sam and Toby have been doing so many cute things lately! Toby is finally old enough to play and interact with Sam...and it makes for some really sweet moments on a daily basis.

• Toby insists on holding Sam's hand in the car. Right after I buckle them both into their car seats, I look back to see their hands clasped. It's so sweet!
• The boys have lots of toys that play music. I sneak up on them sometimes just so I can watch them dance and squeal their little hearts out.
• Sometimes Sam and Toby just walk around the house holding hands. They don't want to play with toys. They just want to hold hands and "asplore" (that's 'explore' for those of you who need to brush up on your kid words).
• When the boys wake up in the morning, Toby usually starts crying because he wants someone to get him out of his crib. As soon as Toby starts crying, I hear Sam (through the baby monitor) trying to calm him. Sometimes Sam will play his piano horn for Toby. Sometimes he'll do a silly dance in front of Toby's crib. This morning Sam was doing a puppet show with his stuffed animals.
• As we were driving home from the park today, Sam started singing the "Patty Cake" song. Toby grinned from ear to ear and did the hand motions with Sam.

Sam and Toby are such great brothers. Sam doesn't seem to mind that Toby wants everything Sam is playing with. Sam is great at sharing toys with Toby. Toby is sad when Sam is sad. Sam watches out for Toby. Toby wants to do everything Sam does.

It's wonderful to be a nanny for children who don't fight all the time (like my brother and I did when we were little). I know they're only 1 and 4, but I'm enjoying the love for now.

Hurry Home, Liz!

It's been a rough week for the boys and me...and I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Liz being out of town since Saturday. She's away at a conference in Florida learning about eyes and stuff (she's a Neuro-Ophthalmologist) and Sam is here in Charlotte using her as his every excuse as to why he can't possibly seem to be good.

Liz called this afternoon and this is how the conversation went:

Sam: Hi Mommy!
Liz: Hi Sam. I hear you haven't been a very good boy while I've been away.
Sam: Yeah. I'm watching the Backyardigans! The "Quest for the Flying Rock" one! (I pause the TV in an attempt to get him to focus on what she's saying)
Liz: Why weren't you a good boy at school today?
Sam: (squirming all over the place) Ummmmmmm...I don't know. I just wasn't...
Liz: I don't like to hear that you're causing trouble for everyone. I'll be home tomorrow but I need you to be good...
Sam: Ok. Bye bye Mommy. (He hands the phone back to Mike)
Liz: Sam, I love you very much and I really need you to be good...
Sam: I love you, Mommy. Bye bye.

In one ear and out the other, I'm sure.

Then, it was Toby's turn to "talk":

Liz: Hi Tober Dober!
Toby: (grinning from ear to ear) Mmmmmwah! (He blows her a kiss)
Liz: Oh! Thank you! Have you been a good boy?
Toby: Uh-huh!
Liz: Oh, good. I'll see you tomorrow! Bye bye!
Toby: (waving and blowing kisses at the same time)

That was one of the cutest things I've seen in a long time.

Hurry home, Liz! We all miss you very much! There's no love like Mommy's love...and no matter how hard I try to fill your shoes for a few days, you're still a bazillion times better than me :)

Three-Boy Tuesday

That title would sound better if it was "Three-Boy Thursday"...but it's not. It's Three-Boy Tuesday.

Cooper is with hanging out with Sam, Toby, and me all day. Tonia planned a trip to Blowing Rock, North Carolina for Sean's birthday and asked if I would keep watch over Cooper and Ciara while they're gone (they took Asher along on their little adventure). I stayed with the kids at their house last night and brought Cooper with me to work this morning. Hopefully Ciara caught the bus to school.

The boys are having so much fun playing together. I'm curious to see if they'll get tired of each other by 5:30 this afternoon...

I'm looking forward to American Idol tonight! Hopefully I can convince Aaron to hold off on playing his new Mario Smash Brothers game long enough for me to watch it.

Aaron and I successfully finished painting ALL of the trim by Saturday before the guys arrived to get ready for the wedding! I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to look up and see finished paint on the walls. It's Tuesday and the entire downstairs area is still spotless (and empty)! We're officially ready for you, furniture :) I never want to paint anything ever again for as long as I live. I don't care if we have to hire someone to paint the remaining 3 rooms, 2 bathrooms, and 1 complicated hallway in our house. I'm not doing it.

Benjamin and Jessica's wedding was beautiful this past Saturday! Jess was an absolutely gorgeous bride and Ben was an ecstatic groom. Congratulations again, Ben and Jess!

Saturday marked exactly 6 months that Aaron and I have been married and I can't think of a better way to have celebrated than going to our best friends' wedding :) I can't believe Aaron and I have been married for half a year already! I guess time flies when you're having fun, right? I love you, Baby! I'm so glad I get to spend the rest of my life with you :)

Oh...and check out this cute video made by a few of my favorite Elevators. It's a spoof on the new Mac commercial. Look out, world! We're takin' over...

The Mystery Bonsai Tree

When I walked through the front door of my home last Wednesday evening, the first thing I saw was a small bonsai tree in the middle of our empty living room floor. Evidently it had come in the mail and Aaron had opened it on his lunch break.

I inspected the papers that had come in the box with the bonsai tree:

• A gift invoice for one bonsai tree from a company called "Red Envelope".
• A red envelope with a card enclosed. The card read: "Welcome Home". And that's it. No name. No clue as to who could have sent us the cute little tree.
• A list of 73 instructions on how to care for the finicky bonsai tree. OK, maybe the list only had 8 instructions on it, but it might as well have been 73. Am I caring for a tree or a child?

I don't know much about trees and plants, but I do know that bonsai trees are some of the hardest trees to keep alive. I hope we don't kill it.

When I started thinking about who could have sent us the tree, the stylish, thoughtful, and trendy Tonia Bendickson was the first to pop into my mind. Surely she had sent it to us as our first housewarming gift. When I asked her about it, she said she wished that she could take credit for the idea...but, no, she hadn't sent it to us.

So who is the mystery bonsai tree from? I've been racking my brain all weekend. Any clues (or revelations) would be warmly welcomed :)

Lots To Do...

It's been a busy week for Aaron and me!

Our friends Ben and Jessica are getting married this Saturday! Yay! Aaron is Ben's best man and he's very excited to help Ben in the same way Ben helped him on our wedding day. Ben and his groomsmen are coming to our house to get ready for the wedding on Saturday and we want to make sure our place is organized for the big day. I made Aaron a "honey-do" list (I even made a to-do list for myself!) and we've gotten a lot done around the house after work this week:

• We finished painting our bedroom! Aaron and I moved our bed out of the bonus room and into our beautiful blue bedroom on Tuesday night. The only thing that could make it more perfect is the furniture we have coming in a week!
• While watching American Idol on the past 2 nights, I managed to unpack a lot of boxes and put stuff in its proper place. Unpacking boxes is almost like Christmas for me because I never know what I'll find. Last night I found Aaron's cologne, my perfume, and some gift cards from Christmas.
• I cleaned all of our bathrooms last night. Can someone please tell me how so much dust manages to accumulate in just a few weeks?
• I bought new hanging file folders and put away all of the bills and other important paperwork from the past few months.
• Aaron washed the funky smell out of our stainless steel trashcan yesterday. Thanks, Baby!

We still have lots to do before this weekend.

In addition to everything else I have going on right now, I'm dealing with a Cold that Toby seems to have shared with me. Perfect timing, huh?

Blah

I've started 9 blog entries in the past 2 days but have erased all of them. If only my fingers and brain could work together to put my thoughts into cyberspace...

We'll try again tomorrow. Blah.

P.S. - Toby has a cold. He ate breakfast at 8am, went back to sleep at 9am, and is still sleeping. That's right, he's been sleeping for 4-and-a-half-hours.