Summer's almost over

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Anna has been sleeping well through the night, up to 11 hours straight! We are soooo thankful for that. We've had a few events recently. We went to a Greensboro Grasshoppers baseball game this past week. We went to a family reunion in little Washington 2 weekends ago and spent the night in Rocky Mount. Granny & Granpa came for a visit this past weekend. We were at a wedding/rehearsal dinner this weekend, in which Amy was the wedding director. We got to celbrate MaryBeth's 25th birthday. I'm sure I'm leaving out other events, but the pictures are what you're really here for anyways. :) My first ever Grasshoppers game.

TARHEELS!- now that's what I call a cake. Up past my bed-time, partying at the wedding
Meghan's wedding (L to R- Laura, Elissa, Liza, Meghan, Mommy, Me, Anna B., Kaitlyn, Anna H.)
Happy 25th B-day Aunt MB

Grandpa
Granny

Playtime is always better with a little drool.
Showing my arm strength with a few pushups
Charlie Potts
Cousin Anna Carol

Cousin SimmonsCousin Rachel
Cousin Jimmy (We were not able to include pics of all the family members I got to see. Sorry, blame mommy & daddy. Those not shown in pics Great Uncle Jesse, Great Aunt Carol, Cousins Sharon Grace, Seth, Mary, Jessica, Elizabeth, Rebekah, Kim, Kevin C., Paige, James, Nicholas)

Davis Bryant

How sweet it is...

All smiles in her nightgown.
All snuggled up in her sleep sack, which we've just started using.
She'd be smiling even bigger if she didn't have her diaper on. She loves to be naked.

We have certainly learned to appreciate sleep since Anna's birth. Thankfully, we have regained full nights of sleep starting about 3 weeks ago. Sweet Anna has consistently been sleeping from 10PM to 7AM. It is sooooo nice not having to wake up in the middle of the night. Prior to that we had over a week of her not sleeping at all during the night. Now she is doing very well though. She has started cooing, making lots of noises when she gets excited. She has also learned to roll from her stomach to her back, which she did twice this weekend. This past week we did get a bit concerned after she had discharge for several days. The doctor recommended we do an ultrasound, which we did last week. Everything turned out fine. We're still not sure what caused it, but she seems to be fine. It always makes you a bit nervous, especially with your first child.

She's learned to soothe herself by sucking her hands. She hasn't quite figured out just the thumb yet.

Plumbing 101

Who ever thought replacing a shower could be so time consuming? Over 2 months ago my dad & I began the demolition process of our shower, which we found out had been leaking for some time. It was finally completed last week with the installation of the shower door. My dad & I spent a full day knocking out all of the tile, etc. We had to call in the hired guns for the tile work and plumbing. I'm not as skilled as I like to think I am. In the midst of replacing the shower, the water heater decided to go out on us.

Showing off a little sweat during the second day of work. We looked MUCH worse on day 1.

The finished product.

Back To Work

Amy started back to work this week, working half-days on Monday, Wednesday, & Friday. She was a bit sad to leave Anna behind, but I think it has been good for her to be back. Anna is in good hands with her grandmommy.

Shameless Plug

In less than 2 weeks I will once again be shooting in the annual sporting clays tournament for Young Life. This tournament has been named in honor of Daniel, a high school kid who died in a car accident about 2 years ago. He was a neat kid that I had the privilege of taking to Mexico on a Young Life trip. Our team is responsible for raising $3,000. If you are interested in sponsoring us, your donation is greatly appreciated. If so, you can click on the following link to donate by credit card, or you can mail it to 1840 Pembroke Rd., Greensboro, NC 27408 (all donations are tax deductible).


http://sites.younglife.org/sites/greensboro/Open%20Content%20Pages/Sporting%20Clays%202006.aspx

12 Weeks

Our precious daughter reached the age of 12 weeks on Thursday. It is amazing how quickly she is growing up. She becomes more interactive every day. She can really focus on objects and people. She is also starting to develop a little bit of a laugh to go along with her gorgeous smile. At our last visit to the doctor she was 10 lbs 8oz & 23" long. She has gone back to nursing completely, which is a huge relief. Amy just has to avoid all lactose, but it's worth it to not be mixing up formula. Anna continues to keep her mommy & daddy on their toes. She does not like to have lack of entertainment or attention. To get her down to sleep is a process and also involves MANY trips back to soothe her to sleep often because of gas pains. :) She is not the biggest fan of her carseat (thankfully if she is in the car she will tolerate it as long as we are moving) , and doesn't like to allow Mom to take her for walks in her stroller but does lover her Baby Bjorn. You can't rock sweet Anna fast enough or hard enough. The more she is bounced the better. It has been a learning experience as well as a big change. We cannot take her out to dinner or even to the grocery store because she doesn't like to sit still in her carseat . She prefers to be held. She does love to snuggle or neslte on her mommy and daddy's shoulder. Despite the challenges it is all worth it. She is a wonderful little girl and so full of life. We're ready for her to start speaking her first words...."Go Heels" (See picture below)

Being rocked to sleep by Grandmommy

Playtime on her Baby Einstein play mat
Her inquisitive look at her very first picnic (thanks uncle Todd for my new outfit)
Being rocked to sleep by Granny

Getting to meet Great Aunt Hannah
Meeting cousin Allison for the first time
Hannah, Allison, & Jeff on the porch
Watching TV with Grandpa
Go Tarheels, down with those Wolfpuppies

All smiles (Doesn't my Uncle Todd have great taste, another polo outfit he sent me)
Madison, Ollie, & Anna basking in the sun...OK actually the shade

It's Hard To Say Goodbye

We have been trying to find new homes for our cats since before Anna was born. They have been GREAT pets, but we knew they would get into everything of hers, which they have. We had called about every organization that exists:
SPCA, Feral Cat Assistance Program, Happy Hills Animal Foundation, Animal Rescue & Foster, Cat Clinic of Greensboro, Lawndale Vet, Cobb Vet, University Animal Hospital, Snowflakes Animal Rescue, Willow Run, CARE for Animals, Chatham Animal Rescue, Feral Cat Friends, SAFE Haven for Cats, Second Chance, Friends Forever, Best Friend, Project Smiley, All Pets Considered, Petsmart, Petland, Freecycle, Craigslist, Greensboro News & Record. Not to mention Sharon (Amy's mom) asking people at Food Lion, Harris Teeter, & Starbucks. We weren't sure we would ever find a home for them. Finally we were able to get each of them a new home this past weekend. We had received several calls from the advertisement placed in the newspaper and we called them all back when we returned home from the lake. Only one of the families interested actually came over and immediately fell in love with Tucker. They wanted to take him then and there, but we wanted to be able to say our goodbye's, so I took him over later that afternoon. That same day Katharine (an old Young Life friend of Amy's), who lives in Charleston, called wanting Tyson. She is only off on Sun & Mon so we arranged to have Dionne (another one of Amy's Young Life girls) drive him down on Monday to Charlotte to meet up and make the exchange. We were very sad about them departing and have shed a few tears. We have not received a phone call from the family wanting to send Tucker back. However, Katharine had to quickly find a temporary home for Tyson when her roomate threatened to kick her out. It has been a bit crazy, but we know that they will have good homes.

R&R

This past week Amy and I enjoyed our first full week of vacation in almost 4 years. We decided to just take it easy up at Smith Mountain Lake. We were able to get some much needed rest and relaxation.

Here we are resting....

and resting....and relaxing...and relaxing some more. Feeling much better after getting on a regular sleeping schedule of 10:30PM to 5:30AM.

Happy Fourth of July!!! Look how patriotic I am. Mommy & Anna enjoying some QT together.
Grandpa Alvin showing off his skills at washers.
Grandmommy & Anna rocking on the porch.Auntie MB and her friend Katie.
Uncle Todd down from NY. (check out his UNC shirt- who new he was a Tarheel fan)
Soon to be Uncle Carlos.

Alvin & Carlos fighting to knock each other off of the tubes.
Todd the reigning "Tube War" champ with his friend Elam.

Fredericksburg Here We Come

This past weekend we made our first long road trip, heading to Fredericksburg. The trip typically takes 4 hours, but this time it took us 5 1/2. It's funny how much your schedule and frame of mind change when travelling with a baby. Taking a nap in the cradle.

The next door neighbors, McKenzie & Emma who were EXTREMELY excited to meet Anna. They even helped change her diaper.
My highschool buddy Ray and his wife Amy stopped by to visit. This is their youngest daughter Eva.Ray's other daughter Ana, helping Granny feed Anna.
Taking a snooze with Grandpa.

This past week we went with our small group to play putt-putt at Celebration Station.

Charlie Potts & I hanging out between holes.

Amy showing off her skills with the putter while holding Anna.

We also had a visit with our friends the May's. Unfortunately Emily was not home to meet Anna and Anna became too hungry for Joseph to get a chance to hold her.
Our future babysitter Kate holding Anna. Seth May showing he has the touch with kids.