Santa Claus Came!!!

This year for Christmas, we all went to the Day's house for Christmas Eve and Day. The entire family had a great trip - we went to Christmas Eve service at the church that Daniel grew up in. It was then back to Nanny and Poppa's for dinner.

The next morning, we all woke up to see that Santa had visited and brought Smith and Addison some great new toys!


It was a great holiday all around, and we're lucky to have been able to spend it with family. (And for those of you keeping count at home, we spent the previous weekend with the Rollings family and celebrated Christmas there - unfortunately, there weren't too many picutres from that event - but we enjoyed that weekend just as much!)

Addison crawling through the tunnel!

Smith being Smith. 'Nuff Said.

This is what we walked into Christmas Morning - Santa had come and brought with him some fun fun stuff!

He even organized into sections - here is Smith's stuff.

...and Addison's stuff.

And finally - the stuff they have to share!!!

Scary Ghost Stories

It looks like someone was telling one of those scary ghost stories of Christmases long long ago!! I'm not sure who looks the most frightened - Smith, Addison, or Santa???

New Favorites

This is Addison's (and Dad's, especially) favorite new YouTube video.

Really y'all - around the 1:40 mark, my little girl gets to bouncing and grinning.

"now you know what Ms. Patti's gonna do? She's going to do it again!"

Welcome Cousin

Smith and Addison's first younger cousin arrived today - Winston Bruce Rollings arrived at 7:47 AM weighing 6 lbs 12oz.

Welcome Winn! Smith and Addison have lots to teach you.

Fall Festival

Today, we went to the fall festival at Brookgreen Gardens. It was a great day to be outside and play.


Addison...always flirting with someone.

Smith really enjoyed the wide open spaces to run around and play in.

A rare family photo, and we're all basically looking at the camera!

Lost in thought.

sorry buddy

i call this one, "sorry buddy."

Yes, that's Smith on the left and Dad on the right.

little things

I know, I know. You don't have to say anything. Slack blogger. Dad's been busy and Mom doesn't blog. We've also misplaced the camera's cord, so getting pictures off is not possible now (although we've got a workaround solution en-route, so hopefully we'll get some pics on here soon enough!)

I have been thinking lately though, with the awesome twosome getting more and more personality every day, that one of the unsung joys of parenthood isn't the BIG picture worthy moments. While those are certainly important (You know, birthdays, firsts, cuteness to the nth degree, etc), the real joys are the tiny moments:

• The peakaboo games that Smith now plays with you when he has his hands on a blanket.
• The sight of Addison running into the room holding "my first purse" like a 90 year old grandma (you know, the purse sitting on her forearm).
• The Sunday mornings where mom and dad can put smith and addison in the bed, and they move all over the place and have the time of their lives.

These are just some of the small moments of the past few weeks that make us, as parents, just sit back and be thankful for.

We are one year old!!!

Okay okay okay, Dad's done a piss poor job on getting this entry out in a timely manner. BUT, there is a perfect excuse...since we knew that we'd have our hands full with the awesome twosome, we had a friend of a friend come in and photograph the event for us. It took us a couple of weeks to get the photos in. In fact, the CD containing the photos just arrived a few hours ago, and here I am posting them now.



Anyways - the big one year old party came and went, it was a success in our eyes!

Krissee made party hats for all the children there, so you'll see some of those in these photos. At the end, I've also posted a link to ALL the photos that were taken, since I thought they all turned out so great.

To see all the photos , check it out here!

11 Months

Y'all - it is becoming increasingly difficult to get two almost-toddlers to sit still and have a picture taken. And forget about the laying down beside the stuffed animals. So, we're officially discontinuing those pictures, and we have just one more of them together (I CANNOT believe my babies are almost a year).

In lieu of the photos with the rabbits - here are some candids of Smith and Addison.

The Condo to beat all Condos

So those of you who keep up with Krissee and Daniel via facebook may know that we recently bought a condo in Pawleys Island, SC. This is part of the aforementioned move.

As of today, our house in Columbia hasn't sold yet. We started weighing the pros and cons and the stress the travel was putting on both of us, and decided that it'd be smart to go ahead and buy something in Pawleys. Obviously, two mortgages ain't fun, so we opted for a condo that we found for a STEAL. Its never been lived in, and the owner just wanted out.

Here's the place from the back "yard."



This is the view from the front hallway. Behind this are two bedrooms, a bathroom, and the laundry room.

Dining/Kitchen area.

Yes, its much smaller than our current home. Yes, we will not be able to fit everything we own into this space. We know that. We're excited about that. We're simplifying. We don't plan on this being the end all be all home for us. But we're going to be here for a while. Its in the school district we want, the payments are a steal, and I think both Krissee and I are looking forward to a new place and no yard work. And a pool for the twins. And Dad home every night. And our family together in a fun and exciting new place. These are the important things.

As of now, we're hoping to close the week of July 15th, and move that weekend. If that doesn't work out, it will be mid-August before we move, due to other commitments and plans.

Now, if you know anyone who would want a great house in Columbia, SC.......

Millions of Peaches

Last weekend, we went to Daniel's home, the metropolis of Trenton, SC, for the 39th annual Ridge Peach Festival.

Smith loved the parade, but not nearly as much as his Pappa did. Here is his auntie Ame with him at the parade. I thought this was a great picture of her (and of course of my lil' guy!)

Nanny and Pappa have a great pool, and the Daybies LOVE to swim. Here is Addison, being Addison. I'm sure she'll hate me for this in the future.

Ten Months at the Beach!

Yeah...we've been busy. Really busy. So busy that its now the middle of the month and we never shared out beach trip, nor have we even taken our ten month pictures.

Rather than cheat and give you 10.5 month pictures, I'm gonna do a little double duty and repurpose a couple of beach pics as month pictures - just this once!

Crawlers

Thats right, friends and family, Smith and Addison are official members of the crawling club.

Addison is just doing the army crawl - but smith has mastered the full on big boy crawl.

Regardless, they're both mobile, and into everything they shouldn't be and have no interest in anything that is clearly for them.

Please excuse the jerkiness of the camera at the beginning - i had to bribe them with an electrical cord (which appears later in the video), and Smith was on his way before I could get back and pick the camera back up.



We'll be spending the next week on a family vacation at Edisto Island. Nanny and Poppa, Ame, Woody, and this Day family are renting a place and we should have some awesome stories and photos to regale you with after the fact.

Create a breakdown in your child in 4 easy steps!

1) Step 1 - Create interest in an object that I will want to touch. In this case....the camera. (But it really can be anything - camera, remote control, pine cone...really, the list is endless)

2) Step 2 - Watch as subject makes a break for the object.

3) Step 3 - Observe Subject make a play for object

4) Step 4 - Deny object, and watch the fireworks.

New fun

Its been a busy week 'round here. Mom introuduced Smith and Addison to the tupperware cabinet.

On Saturday afternoon, we pulled the pool out that Dad brought home from Eagles at the beach. A good time was had by all.

9 months old

Yes, our pictures are a few days late this go round. We've been really busy with two nine month olds. At some point in the past month or so, these two extra people in our home have transformed from lethargic babies to energetic pre-toddlers. They're both on the cusp of crawling. In fact, I think Smith may be days away from it, but knowing Addison, she probably already can crawl (and walk and talk and do her hair, but she just doesn't want to!)

The picture of Smith attacking the sign was the best one of the bunch, and is a pretty good summation of life in our home these days. If it exists, it must be touched, patted, and inserted in the mouth if possible.

We got the all clear at our nine month appointment last week. They're both 18 lbs 2 oz, which puts him in the 25th percentile and her in the 50th for weight. They're both off the charts in height (he's 29.75 inches, and she's right at 29 if my memory serves me correctly). We're venturing into table food and we were told that they can pretty much have anything (Other than honey). We're still keeping some things from them, but they've both had a french fry, some vanilla soft serve, and some yogurt.

Wishing a happy mother's day to our mom Krissee!

Dad's Big Day

So this one is a little different, as its mostly about Dad, but involves us too!

Anyone who really know's Daniel all that well knows that he his a crazy stupid Dave Matthews Band fan. He's been to like twenty-plus concerts, listens to them more than he should, and so one and so forth. Some might even call him obsessed.

He's been a member of the fan club for many, many years, and as such gets pretty awesome tickets to the shows he wants to go to. Last year, he and Uncle Chap went to a concert together..with 5th or 6th row seats. Since Daniel only had two tickets, it wasn't anything personal against Aunt Heather, but lets just say Daniel has yet to live it down.

Fast Forward to this year, and when tickets went on sale to the fan club, members were able to purchase four tickets each. Future Crisis Averted.

Mom had a bachelorette party to attend this weekend, so uncle-in-law Norm (heather's brother) is attending along with Daniel, Chap, and Heather on Friday night. We are pretty sure that we may have front row seats (row D, but the seating chart shows this is the first row..regardless, even if its not, its no worse than 4th row!!)

So, Tuesday of this week, Daniel gets a call from the fan club. He and one guest have been invited to a meet and greet with the band prior to the show Friday night. Dad tried and tried and tried but they were firm in their one guest only rule. Crap. Potential crisis!! Oh well, I was going!

Uncle Chap won the "who's going" lottery. Then came the big question - what to take to have the band sign?

Iwent through a number of ideas - but finally, settled on something for Smith and Addison. Their entire life, I've sang them a DMB song that was written in regards to Dave's children...its name is "Where are you Going?" and its lyrics are listed at the end of the post. Since I want it to be something that they can have for a long time - I decided to take some pictures of them in some custom made clothing. Clothes were bought. Embroidering was completed. And below are the pictures of Smith and Addison that the band will be signing tonight. H

Where are you Going Lyrics
Where are you going?
With your long face
Pulling down
Don't hide away
Like an ocean
That you can't see but you can smell
And the sound of the waves crash down

I am no Superman
I have no reasons for you
I am no hero
Oh, that's for sure
But I do know one thing
Is where you are is where I belong
I do know where you go
Is where I want to be

Where are you going?
Where do you go?

Are you looking for answers
To questions under the stars?
Well, if along the way
You are grown weary
You can rest with me until
A brighter day and you're okay

I am no Superman
I have no answers for you
I am no hero
Oh, that's for sure
But I do know one thing
Is where you are is where I belong
I do know where you go
Is where I want to be

Where are you going?
Where do you go?

Where do you go?
Where are you going?

Where do you go?

I am no Superman
I have no answers for you
I am no hero
Oh, that's for sure
But I do know one thing
Is here you are is where I belong
I do know where you go
Is where I want to be

Where are you going?
Where do you go?
Tell me, where are you going?
Where?
Well, let's go

Easter Photo Shoot

After this fun photo shoot today, as I was going through the pictures, I told Krissee "We have some ridiculously photogenic children."

I don't need you to agree to me....I know its true!! :)

The cuteness really should speak for itself. We've had a great day - family came to our house for lunch, and it was great to sit around the dining room table with everyone (Smith and Addison included) and enjoy the delicious Easter lunch that Krissee prepared.

After the meal - it was time for the photo shoot!