Pumpkin Patch!

Favorite Aunt Cori and Airlie



The fam





Airlie and her sea of pumpkins

Yummy, pumpkins!

Hiya!

Too cute for words!

We went to the pumpkin patch this weekend! Wes's sister Cori is here visiting us this week and we had a fun weekend hanging out with her. We went downtown and walked around, had some yummy cinnamon lattes at PCJ and then headed over to the pumpkin patch to get a pumpkin. It's really nice having Cori here and we wish she lived closer than Pittsburgh! She adores Airlie and it is so sweet to see them together. She brought Airlie some super cute gifts; some personalized onesies, some fat little books, and the most adorable pumpkin hat ever shown in the photos above that she knitted for Airlie! It was definitely fall like weather this weekend here and that little wool hat came in handy. Airlie was a champ at the pumpkin patch and we managed to take a ridiculous amount of photos. We also had a photo shoot with my friend Tiffany who is a photographer. You can see a sample of the photos here, http://tcophotography.blogspot.com/.

A good time was had by all. :) Can't wait to visit Aunt Cori in Pittsburgh when Airlie is big enough to enjoy the museums, etc. and of course go to Fuel and Fuddle!

Changes in latitudes, Changes in attitudes..

"If I wasn't crazy I would go insane."

Jimmy Buffett had it right when he wrote that lyric. Lately I feel as soon as I get my life in order, I get used to something, my life begins to feel routine, then poof, everything changes! That is exactly what recently happened and I'm trying hard not to let it throw me off course! The big change in our life is Wes's schedule at work. The ever dreaded 2nd shift. Yes he did get a promotion and yes I am very grateful for that, but yes I am also very bummed that his schedule is now 230-1130 pm, Tuesday through Saturday, which means I really only see him on Saturday for half a day, Sunday and Monday evening. Boo to this! I mean seriously who needs to talk to someone on a Saturday night at 11 pm about their cell phone? And for that matter why the heck can't it wait till Monday....but I have decided that I will be ok! Airlie and I made it through week one of being home alone all night without Daddy and we'll make it through many more. And actually where Airlie is concerned this is an optimal schedule that gives her much more time with her Mommy and Daddy than anyone else, so that is a great thing, but we sure do miss Daddy at night! I've found that cooking dinner, cleaning up dinner and then attempting to get Airlie a bath and book before she gets cranky is just virtually impossible and totally not worth it. I believe I may resort to just eating Lean Pockets or tuna salad for the rest of this schedule. Besides cooking for one and eating dinner alone is no fun anyway, but it does mean that our grocery bills may go down, which would be nice because as of late we have realized we spend an uncanny amount of money on groceries. Wow, seriously, it's ridiculous. Anyway that is off track. Back to this whole change and scheduling thing. Um, yeah, right when I thought I had it all in order, baby is sleeping through the night, Mama is rested, we had managed a routine at night where I cook and Wes hangs with Airlie and so on, then bam, no more of that, here's a whole new schedule, get used to it! I think this is a good lesson for me because everyone that has children is always telling me not to get used to anything because once you do it will change, afterall children are always growing and changing and we must keep up. This is so true and is Airlie changing fast and it's so fun. A couple blogs back I said I was going to slow down and worry less about cleaning and more about enjoying my baby girl and this schedule forces me to do so even more. This is good! I think God is testing me and helping me grow at the same time. So with that I've decided to look on the positive side of this yucky schedule and see the glass as half full, something my lovely husband is always helping me to do. However I will say yesterday was great, Wes was off all day and it was nice spending the whole day with him; we went to Riverfest, did a little shopping, bought a new DSLR camera to take some real pics of Airlie with and just relaxed at home. I also enjoyed listening to Wes sing to Airlie while bathing her and getting a little time to myself during the day to start Airlie's baby book. Life is still good even with a crappy schedule thrown in the mix. ;)

It's our anniversary and I love our wedding song.

Baby I've been searching like everybody else
Can't say nothing different about myself
Sometimes I'm an angel
And sometimes I'm cruel
And when it comes to love
I'm just another fool
Yes, I'll climb a mountain
I'm gonna swim the sea
There ain't no act of God girl
Could keep you safe from me
My arms are reaching out
Out across this canyon
I'm asking you to be my true companion
True companion True companion

So don't you dare and try to walk away
I've got my heart set on our wedding day
I've got this vision of a girl in white
Made my decision that it's you allright
And when I take your hand
I'll watch my heart set sail
I'll take my trembling fingers
And I'll lift up your veil
Then I'll take you homeA
nd with wild abandon
Make love to you just like a true companion
You are my true companion
I got a true companion
True companion

When the years have done irreparable harm
I can see us walking slowly arm in arm
Just like the couple on the corner do
'Cause girl I will always be in love with you
And when I look in your eyes
I'll still see that spark
Until the shadows fall
Until the room grows dark
Then when I leave this Earth
I'll be with the angels standin'
I'll be out there waiting for my true companion
Just for my true companion
True companion True companion

My life in 8 minutes, LOST style, an anniversary, a baby that sleeps through the night, and a happy Mommy!

Tomorrow Wes and I will be married for 4 years! I think I grow to love him more each year. Although we've only been married for 4 years we have been together for a little over 7. My, how things change in 7 years. I feel like meeting Wes was such a lifetime ago. We have grown so much both individually and together as a couple during these last 7 years. We have accomplished a lot in 7 years. A rundown of those last seven years in 8 minutes, you know like that Lost trailer or like the spoof of it that PC 3 did. Here goes: Kristen lives with Karen, Karen is dating Derek, Derek is Wes's roomate from college. Wes comes to visit Derek, Derek and Karen introduce Wes to Kristen. Wes likes Kristen, Kristen likes Wes. Wes and Kristen start dating. Kristen talks Wes into moving to Erie, PA. Kristen tells Wes she wants to move from Erie, PA to the beach. Wes finds them an apartment in Wilmington, North Carolina. The couple has never been to Wilmington, North Carolina. They move anyway. They love Wilmington, North Carolina. They decide to stay. They get jobs. Kristen takes Wes to look at a puppy. They get a puppy. They name the puppy Eva. Wes asks Kristen to marry him. Kristen says yes. Wes says they should buy a house. They look for a house. They can't find a house they like. They decide to build a house. They get another puppy. The puppy's name is Brollie. Brolile is a crazy dog, but they love him anyway. They move into the new house. They get married. Kristen finds a church she likes. Wes is reluctant. Kristen talks Wes into going to church. Wes goes to church. Wes actually likes this church. Kristen is excited. They decide to try to have a baby. They try, one time, Kristen gets pregnant. They have a baby, Airlie Mae on May 12, 2009, life will never be the same. haha! Life is so amazing.

Things around us are definitely getting interesting lately! Airlie Mae is eating cereal, which is really fun. The pediatrician told me she was definitely ready at her 4 month check up so I went ahead and bought some boring rice cereal. She seems to like it and does really well with the spoon, most of the food actually makes it into her mouth. Impressive. She also slept through the night last night! Yay! Thank you Dr. Ferber! I remember when I started breastfeeding Airlie people telilng me that some day I would actually be thinking that I might miss feeding the babe and me thinking they were nuts because at first breastfeeding is very intimidating and overwhelming, or at least it was for me. Now that Airlie is getting older and I am not feeding her in the middle of the night I really look forward to feeding her in the early morning and in the evening at bed time. At those times it's just her and I in her cozy room cuddled up the rocker close to one another. It's an amazing feeling to have her so close to me and a great way to start and end my day. She is changing everyday and I miss her so much while I'm at work. This weekend Wes's parents are coming to visit and I am excited for them to see Airlie and her progress. They have not seen her since she was about 2 months old and a lot has changed since then. She is beginning to make more noises and recognizes her name. She also notices when you come in and out of the room and sure likes it more when you're in the room. She is now noticing the dogs much more and recently reached out to pet Eva. So sweet! She is all smiles! She is able to hold her head up well and if you prop her up she sits up very nicely. My baby girl is a happy girl, laughing and talking a lot! Fun times are definitely ahead!

In other news Wes finally got a long awaited position change and promotion at work! This is awesome. I am so proud of him for working hard and patiently waiting for this opportunity. It has been a long time in the making. His new schedule is less than preferable, but we will make it work. I believe God has a plan for us and I am just a part of that plan, so therefore I will not be upset with the schedule, but instead grateful for this new position for Wes.

Here are some pictures of the recent cereal adventure, my sleepy babe and Wes and Airlie together while Wes is decked out in his work attire.

Oops here's four months!

such a happy baby!

Happy 4 months Airlie Mae!!!

3 months old!


Two Months old!

One month old!

Three weeks old

Two weeks old

One week old

I can't believe it, Airlie Mae is 4 months old already! Where has the time gone? Here are some pictures of her progression! She is rolling over and getting two teeth, biting on everything in site and loves her changing table and mirrors the most. What fun this is!

Labor Daze

So it was labor day this past weekend which for me meant a three day weekend with no laboring!!!! Wahoo. My boss actually let us leave early on Friday so I got 3.5 days off! I was loving it. My Mom, Airlie and I went to the beach on Friday and because it was a bit overcast it was not half as packed as I expected it to be. I took the Baby Bjorn and took Airlie for a nice long walk in it. She fell asleep of course! We also had a couple of cook outs over the weekend to go to and we went to the Myrtle Beach outlets to hit up the sales. Oh my goodness, what a mad house it was. Airlie was a perfect angel and despite the overcast, rainy day, we had a fun time. It was a last minute decision to go and a bit of a whirlwind trip, but it was fun. We got Airlie a ton of clothes, both for now and for next summer. All the kids stores were 50% off! Can't beat that!!! I really enjoyed having the extra day with Airile and Wes and just hanging out. Here are some pics!