We had a fun weekend with Justin, Kellee, Brianne and the Gatch Family. Little Dallas had a so much fun with Rowan(2) and Aidan(1). Brianne hung tough with all the boy's and looked precious as always in all her pink. Tom's birthday was on Friday and mine is this week so we had a joint birthday dinner on Friday night. On Saturday we loaded up the kids and strollers and went to the Biltmore House. Even though Dallas and I have lived here for over a year we had not yet made a visit there. It was a gorgeous day and the festival of flowers was going on so there were many beautiful tulips and azaleas to see. The house is something else and it is so hard to wrap your head around the fact that a family of 3 lived there. If you are ever visiting Asheville and have never been before, it should definitely be on your to-do list. Tom and Virginia--thanks for making the drive all the way down here--looks like it's our turn next!

Easter

We spent Easter in Little River this past weekend. We had fun going out on the boat and eating shrimp at Crab Catchers. The weather was nice and the Easter bunny was able to hide the eggs outside for Dallas and Brianne to find. This may be the last year I get him in knee socks and a jon jon. He really did not want to put it on and told me none of the other kids wear stuff like that and that it is not cool. All he wants to wear now are t-shirts with pirates, spiderman, or other superhero logos. I had to give in and buy a few because he wanted to wear the same shirt everyday to school because he only had one! This week is spring break for him so he is enjoying sleeping in. At 9:30 this morning, as I was attempting to wake him, I told him he was a sleeping machine. With his eyes still closed he said, "yes, I really like to sleep." We spent some time at the Fun Depot (an indoor play place for kids) and now he is watching Madagasgar eating a snack after not napping today. I suppose he didn't really need a nap since he slept so late!

Easter Snow????

How strange is this? Little Dallas took the pic of me with his camera. He is really enjoying taking pictures with it. Thanks again Poppy and Great Grandmamma!

We did it!

Saturday, Dallas and I competed in our first duathlon. It was held at Lake Junaluska, about 30 minutes outside of Asheville. We ran 2.2 miles around a lake, biked 18 miles through beautiful scenery, and then ran 2.2 miles around the lake again. At the start of the race the temperature outside was 33 degrees. I was standing there thinking about all the people in Charleston about to run the Cooper River Bridge Run and how we maybe should have been doing that. Aunt Kellee came to visit on Friday and we had fun shopping and then she stayed over and brought little Dallas and Brianne out to see us finish. It was great crossing the finish line and having our biggest fan right there to hug. The first thing he said to me was, "you beat Daddy!" And yes I did!!! It was only by 10 minutes but it still counts! Our next race is in May. We will be running 4 miles in a race here in Fletcher. I think we have both had enough of the bike for awhile! Thanks again Kellee--it was great of you to haul both kids out there and good practice for you:)

I could just eat him up! Love that precious face!!

Happy Birthday Brianne!

Hope you have a wonderful 1st Birthday! Can't wait to celebrate with you on Saturday!

First Attempt at Easter Pictures

For years I have admired the beautiful tulips that pop up at the beginning of spring at Trenholm Road United Methodist Church in Columbia. Last Friday, little Dallas and I headed to Columbia to pick up our dogs from my Mom's house and I packed him a special outfit hoping we could get by the church for some Easter pictures. It was a little chilly but the tulips did not disappoint and neither did my favorite model. Here are a few of the pictures from that day. The one where he has his legs open and his head back was his idea. It was his attempt to do exactly the opposite of what I had been asking! I didn't mind though, I just wanted to keep the model happy. Random moments of defiance during pictures are acceptable with a 3 year old!

While we were in Orlando, we learned the news that Dallas' Grandmother Reeves had passed away. We headed from Orlando to Americus, GA to remember and celebrate her life. MawMaw loved God and she loved her family. She was so proud of all of them and loved to brag about having 21 great grandchildren to the other residents at her assisted living facility. I certainly wish I had known her better but will always cherish the times we spent together. As I sat on the pew in the church she had attended for so long I cried and laughed with everyone else as family members got up to speak about her life. Bebe did an amazing job with her eulogy and it was so clear what a tremendous impact MawMaw had on everyone's life. As sad as we are that she is gone, we are so happy that she is right where she wanted to be--reunited with her Lord and with friends and family.

Disney World

Bebe, Little Dallas, and I left last Wednesday for Disney World. Little Dallas did great on the plane and enjoyed playing with the games Noah gave him and watching Scooby-doo. The flight was only an hour so it went by pretty quick anyway. Big Dallas was already there for the World of Asphalt Trade Show. We spent Thursday at the pool while Dallas finished working and he was able to take little Dallas to the convention center to climb on all of the equipment. Friday morning as we were eating breakfast we learned the news that Dallas' Grandmother Reeves had passed away. We decided to head to the Magic Kingdom for the day as planned as that is what she would have wanted us to do anyway. Little Dallas had a great time. It took him awhile to "warm up" to the rides but soon he was asking to ride everything. Pirates of the Caribbean was his favorite and we did that one twice. He still LOVES pirates and wears his Halloween costume alot at home. We met Mickey and Minnie Mouse as well as Peter Pan and Pluto. The lines were not too bad and we were able to use the Fast Pass feature for the more popular ones. As we sat down to lunch right in the middle of the park behind the Castle, little Dallas stood up on this ledge he was sitting on that surrounded a flower garden and announced that he needed to use the bathroom. I started looking for the closest one and before I know it he has pulled his pants down and was about to go right there! I heard a woman shriek, "Oh my God" in her northern accent and I jumped up to block everyone's view knowing I may be about to get wet. I grabbed his pants and pulled them up and Dallas scooped him off to the bathroom. Bebe and I sat there laughing the whole time they were gone. I am sure if you are reading this and have boys you can relate to this story! We are so happy that Bebe was able to join us and share in little Dallas' first Disney trip. I know it won't be the last!

Sweet and Funny Dallas

Dallas has said some really sweet things lately that I thought I would share. Also, today he did something that I thought was really funny and I wanted to share.

Today, he kept asking me for juice and I told him no and that he could have water or chocolate milk. He kept asking over and over and I finally I just ignored his constant asking. I ran upstairs to get something and I heard a chair being moved across the kitchen floor. I thought he was going to get himself juice but once I got to the kitchen he told me I was in time out for not getting him juice and he had moved the chair up against the wall and told me to sit down. He said I had 3 minutes. This is exactly what we do when he has a time out. At first I thought I would tell him he couldn't put me in time out but I wanted to vaildate his feelings as I had ignored his plea's for several minutes. I went along with it and told him I was sorry for not answering him. He still didn't get any juice but I am glad he understands there are consequences for bad behavior and they don't just apply to him!

Also today: We were laying in his bed before his nap and he asked me where God lives. I told him God is everywhere and that he lives in Heaven. He said he wanted to go there and I told him he would get to go there someday. He then asked how we get there (as in physically, not spiritually) and I told him I didn't know. He said, "maybe and airplane, let's go after my nap!"
I smiled to myself at the wonder of a child's mind and remembered when I was young and asked my Mom if we could get to Heaven in a hot air balloon!

The other day Dallas and big Dallas were playing on our bed while I was getting ready in the bathroom. Little Dallas got sad and said that he didn't have anybody to play with. We told him that we love to play with him and that we do play with him all the time. In the sweetest, whiniest voice with tears in his eyes he said, "Maybe God can put a boy baby in Mommy's tummy and then I can have someone to play with." With tears in my eyes, I said, "That's a good idea Dallas, maybe he will."

Update

We got back on Sunday from our trip to Palm Springs. We had a great time. Little Dallas stayed with Bebe and PawPaw and they had a great time too. He shopped on Ebay some more with Bebe and his package came today. He was sqealing with delight as he pulled the toys out of the box. Thank you both for taking such good care of little D while we were gone! We are really looking forward to our Disneyworld trip and glad you are both coming with us! Little Dallas is really enjoying being back at school. They are learning to spell their name and we have been practicing that alot. They are also learning to use scissors and to color in the lines. All of this is to prepare them for the 4 year old classroom. I forgot how quickly time goes by when you are on a school year schedule. It seems like the year goes by quicker for some reason. I am already having nightmares of leaving him on his first day of 1st grade. I am not much of a cryer but I am already anticipating that one! He is so much fun and he is so funny! I just love this age because they still have a baby face but they can do so much for themselves. One minute he is begging for Mommy and the next he is telling me "I do it myself Mommy!" Yesterday he said, "I getting old Mommy" and I said "what do mean you are getting old?" He said "my knee hurts!" He also informed me that "money" is his favorite "toy." Although I laughed, I made a mental note to work on that one. I don't want him placing too much importance on money and not enough on what is really important. He is still a picky eater. He has 5 silver dollar size pancakes EVERY morning for breakfast. Then we rotate between hot dogs, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and turkey or ham sandwiches for lunch. His favorite dinner is Chicken Picatta (which is ours too). Other than that, he loves yogurt, some fruit, and snack foods. He tried a green bean last night all by himself but gagged as he was chewing and spit it out. I was just proud of him for putting it in his mouth without us bribing him. Despite his dietary habits, he is growing and thriving and the light of our lives. He is just the sweetest thing and tells us "I love you so lot" all through the day. We love you "so lot" too angel baby!!

Riverbanks Zoo

We went to the Riverbanks Zoo today to get outside and continue to enjoy this great weather. We made it in time to watch the sea lions eat and do tricks and see the alligator sunbathing. We rode the tram to the Botanical Gardens and although there weren't many flowers out yet, it was still a pretty place to take some pictures. I have not been there since our rehearsal dinner, over 7 years ago! Little Dallas had fun riding the tram there and I was telling him how Mommy and Daddy had a party there and all the people that came got to ride the tram too! He wasn't very interested but I had fun reminiscing anyway! Here are a few pics from today.