Weekend Wrap-Up

What a fantastic weekend we had! Thanksgiving was amazing - great food and good times with the family. After dinner, we threw everyone out and Jackie started planning her Black Friday excursion. She was in line to shop by 10 o'clock pm. She didn't return home until 7 am Friday morning. Got some super deals and DT's shopping is covered!
We got a tree and lazed around on Friday, ignoring much of the cleanup that went un-cleaned-up from our turkey (and ham!) feast. Friday night DT spent the night at Camp Gramps, and as rumor has it, he actually slept in there! More lazing and more Christmas prep took over the remainder of our lovely long weekend.

By the way, THIS is what that Howard photo SHOULD have looked like:

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend we had our floors replaced on the bottom level. The work was done for us, and we are still left EXHAUSTED. Our greatest accomplishment of the weekend was that we survived. No productivity, no fun.

I've never been so happy to see Monday.
And I've never been so happy to see it go.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Another work weekend. We went to the old house to get some stuff done there so we can work towards getting it on the market as we're fairly certain we do not need two houses. That took up most of our day. We came home and all took naps. Saturday night Daniel went out while Jackie kept Dane and caught up on sleep.
Sunday, Jackie was sick from dust allergies that flared up from the time spent at the abandoned house. Danny took care of some honeydo projects, while singlehandedly taking care of Jackie and keeping an eye on Dane.
And DANE spent his weekend as he spends most of his time: playing, eating, throwing fits.

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend was another 3 day one in our house. On Friday, we took Dane to the zoo for the first time. I know you saw a bit about that in the last post, so we won't bore you with more camera complaints. We went to the Riverbanks Zoo, and we highly recommend this zoo over others in the area. There were many animals and no displays were closed. The place is clean and big. We bought an Icee cup for $8 and got free refills for the day (a deal in this age!). Parking was free, admission was $9.75 for each adult and Dane was free. There were ramps all over for strollers or wheel-chairs. The diaper bag and Dane's sippy were allowed in. The walks were paved nicely and the foliage was beautiful. The little statues set up in front of each animal section were lots of fun for Dane to play with. He had a such a great time seeing all the animals. He would wave really big, maybe trying to get them to wave back. He wasn't afraid of any of them, despite the fact that many of them were hundreds of times his size and could eat him.

Yes, the camera went out, but all that Dan or Jackie made out of that was that we would just have to come back. The camera was fixed before we left the zoo. We were finishing up as the place was starting to close and the camera begins taking pictures again. Mommy's Law.

Friday night we met with some family to celebrate the birthday of Dane's Uncle Jeff. We had dinner and cake and fun. Happy birthday, Jeff!

Saturday, Dane went to spend some time with GrannyK and Gramps, so that Danny and Jackie could spend some Daneless time together. About a month ago we dropped Dane off for his first overnighter and Jackie thought "I don't know if I'm ready for this!". This time we dropped Dane off for his second overnighter and Jackie thought "Oh my gosh, I am so overdue for this!". We went to dinner and came home to an empty house and a movie rental. We didn't sleep in out of habit of having to be up, but maybe when Dane's in high school...

Lots of outside playing, grilling, errands. Aside from the highlights, it was a typical pleasant weekend.

Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a lovely long weekend. We got some things around the house taken care of and squeezed some play time in as well. Our grill broke so we got a new one this weekend, and of course we had to cook out to break it in. So on Labor Day Monday we had over Gramps and Granny K, Aunt Linda and Uncle Joe, and Great Grandma, and feasted on the meat of many species with all the works. Dane ate a ton of watermelon, chips, ice cream and cake, but he's on a "real food" fast right now (driving us CRAZY!). He showed off very little of all the cool things he's been up to lately, but he was very talkative and mobile.
The rest of our weekend we made outings to the mall and stores and of course, played at the pool. We're starting to really get settled in the new house and really enjoying it.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Daniel had been on "vacation" since Wednesday. Only that meant more moving and taking care of a bunch of things around the new place. Packing, unpacking, painting, mowing, mounting, installing, connecting, and so on and so on. That was our weekend.

On Friday night though, we dropped Dane off with his Gramps for their first overnighter. That's him waving bye to us from the front door as we were leaving in the last post. Dane had not stayed the night away from us before, but it was much less scary than we anticipated. When we've left him with family to sit in the past, we always ask each other "Do you miss him yet?" and "How about now?" every 15 minutes. This time we didn't ask. This time, we went out to dinner and a movie and came home to have the house to ourselves. We slept in (8:00 is the new sleeping in) and enjoyed a much needed leisurely morning. We were however thrilled to see Dane when we went to pick him up. He did well; went to bed a little earlier than usual and slept in a little later. And when we got him home, he took the mother of all naps - 3.5 hours!!! There was evidence that Dane Thomas and Gramps had enjoyed their time together snacking and playing, so we all had a great time!

Thanks again, Gramps!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Yeah, I know - long weekend! But with the beautiful summer weather, I think we feel like sitting in front of the computer to post about as much as you feel like sitting inside to read our posts. We're spending a lot of time outdoors lately, enjoying the sunshine and all the lovely gifts Dane got for his birthday.

This weekend was fun. We overly prided ourselves on taking care of too few chores around the house. On Saturday, we went to an ice cream social at Gramps and GrannyK's church. Dane was quickly passed off (or rather scooped up) by Gramps, shown off to many admirers, and stuffed with all the ice cream he could eat. It was there that Dane first met his Nana B and Opa, Karen's parents from out of state, who have never missed an excuse to send Dane cards and gifts, and who have been faithfully following the blog. After the social, we went back to Bobby & Karen's, where Dane's Great-Grandma, Uncle Eli and cousin Ben came to join us. We played a lot and ate a lot - a recipe for a good day for Dane.

And on Sunday, Dane moved up at church to the One Year Olds room. He didn't do very well. But a room worker gave him a little extra attention (and snacks!), and the constant calling for Mama and Dada finally subsided. He's going through his separation anxiety and thrown into a new room, so it was a lot on him. Considering that, he did well.

Monday and Tuesday were a blur as we've been taking care of house things. We're about to get really busy soon, so if we go missing from the blogosphere for a while, do not fret. We will be back... with pictures of course. =)

Weekend Wrap-Up

We were getting ready to settle into our weekend Friday night when Dan got called in to work. Until 2:30am!!! Despite the lack of sleep, we got up early on Saturday and made the long drive back to the beach to pick Danny's bike up from the shop that repaired it. We stopped to let loose at the park long enough to spare Jackie from a 4 hour drive home with a cranky, crammed, unhappy baby. Dane, again, did wonderfully in the car. Sunday was dedicated to errands and miscellaneous chores. Of which few were actually accomplished.

During this time, Dane's Aunt Trina had surgery, Dane's Nana made a visit to the E.R., and some neighbor friends delivered their baby.

We were glad to wrap up our boring weekend and we're braced for the busy week ahead. Dane has his 12 month well-visit tomorrow. Jackie's calling for an ear infection. He's also getting shots. This means... keep us in your prayers!

Weekend Wrap-Up

After the past few sucky weekends, we were treated to a wonderful one. We ditched the stresses we've been dealing with lately, and hit the beach. We went to Wilmington and soaked up the sea and sunshine. Dane had a blast, and consequently so did we. We played in the ocean, splashed in the pool, meandered in the aquarium, and feasted on seafood... and sand. =)

This was Dane's first road trip, his first time swimming, and his first time at the beach. Dane was a trooper on the long car rides to and fro, he ate like a champ, slept beautifully, and took to the water like a fish takes to... well, water. He was so much fun to be around and we are so proud of the little person he is becoming.

Here's proof of our great time.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Our weekend was pretty rough, but all is well that ends well, so we are not complaining. On Friday, Jackie took Dane to the doctor for his first "sick visit". Last week was really weird for him; he was whiny and fussy. He is normally a very happy, smiley, giggly baby.

Dane has a double ear infection. His little baby ears are pretty bad, and the doctor said he bets Dane was carrying on about it! He's on a ten day round of Amoxicillin. We were told he should start feeling better through the weekend and he has improved some, according to his demeanor.

He weighed 17lb 13oz with clothes on. He hasn't been eating well and he's lost half a pound in the past week and slipped below the 5th percentile. This combined with our nursing less led the doctor to recommend starting Dane on whole milk. He said he'd like us to get Dane on 3 sippies of milk a day for the calories. A few days in, and we've discovered Dane hates milk! We'll add chocolate to it for a while to get him to take it and when we've hooked him, we'll gradually decrease the chocolate.

And on Saturday, we took Danny in to Urgent Care. He stubbed his toe. No, I'm not kidding. Daniel unsuccessfully tried to maneuver through the obstacle course of toys, a wild infant, and furniture we call a living room, and stubbed his toe on the coffee table. His big toe nail was barely hanging on by a little skin and it hurt (as you might imagine). They numbed him up, scalpelled it off and gave him pain medicine. The doctor told him to expect it to hurt and said that he had not seem that much damage to the toe nail bed before. 1 of 3 things will happen: a normal nail will grow, a funky looking nail will grow, or it will not grow back at all. No sandal season for Danny!

On Sunday, we were as still as we could be, purposing to not get hurt! Mission accomplished.

Weekend Wrap-Up

This was a weekend we were glad to see end. Rather than bore you with the details, we're going to give you a high/low rundown.

Low's up first:

The power went out in our neighborhood... And it stayed out... for 20 hours. So the hottest day so far that year, we had no air. We had no light. We had no video monitor for Dane's room. And Dane's room had no noise maker. It was the very first day in Dane's life that he had not napped at ALL! Everything from our fridge and freezer had spoiled from mayonnaise to breast milk (you can't buy that at the store), so we spent a day emptying the unit out, scrubbing melted chocolate ice cream and whatnot from every crack and crevice, and doing our best to rebuild our fridge/freezer stash. A wasted day. Thanks Duke Power!

And the high:

Our adorable niece Katie danced in her very first ballet recital. And she kicked some little ballerina butt! It was absolutely precious and we could not be the slightest bit more proud of her and her accomplishments. This was her first year dancing and she did such a fabulous job. No flash photography was allowed, so you'll have to settle for a few less professional shots Kit-Kat was kind enough to grace us with at her after-party.

Tell me you have ever seen a more beautiful ballerina...

And I'll call you a liar.

Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a terrific weekend, despite all the rain!!! Danny and Dane got some great together time, while Jackie had some great "me time". Dane banged his mouth on the coffee table due to a dancing misstep, and we discovered he popped his third tooth. We were lazy, ran errands, and barbecued (garagecued?) with the Howard family in celebration of Memorial Day and Karen's birthday. Dane feasted on ribs, watermelon, chicken, and fruit salad. It's really entertaining how amazed people are by how much he eats. He put on a show of waving, clapping and he even walked a little for a special few. He was super excited, and loud, and hyper when we got home and we kept him up a while worried that he would not sleep all night. But he went down without a problem.

Hanging on to that rib bone!

Dane's GrannyK's birthday is today! And although she is sweet enough to have, she was wise enough to NOT have shared her chocolate cake with Dane. Happy Birthday GrannyK!It's traditional to "yay" after someone blows out their birthday candles. Upon the blowing, and the yaying, Dane began to "do yay" himself. He was amused by all the clapping. So cute.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Our weekend was fantastic. We had our walk for March of Dimes on Saturday, where we marched along with more than 7500 walkers, committed to see all babies be born healthy. Dane was an absolute angel, napping and enjoying the long walk in the fresh air. After the 3.5 mile walk, center city broke out into a party. There were refreshments, children's cartoon celebrities, and dancing in the streets. Dane was offered (and quickly rejected) a frozen treat. Hmmm... Did someone tell him it was 100% fruit?...And on Sunday we played hooky from church and spent the majority of daylight at Nana and Papaw's. We had a nice supper with them, Uncle Marcus and Aunt Trina, Heather, Uncle Brian, Aunt Jeannie and Sophie. We brought toys expecting that Dane and Sophie would play, and play they did! They are so stinkin' cute together, but sooo mobile! I believe they sufficiently blew off steam and once home, Dane went straight to bed and slept perfectly through the night. We dumdums didn't think to take pictures of them playing but if Heather would graciously send pics our way, we would post them. For now, these horse pictures of the babes will have to settle your photo-fix. Yes, the horses are Nana's, whose house has become something of a petting zoo. =)

Weekend Wrap-Up

What a weekend on our end! We tried to take it easy Friday, knowing the madness the rest of the rest of the weekend promised. Saturday we ran errands and went to Cole's 2nd birthday party. It was pretty much how you would imagine celebrating a nephew's second birthday. We're glad to be out of the Spicer kid's "birthday season" (January - April a kid a month has a birthday (Emily is the oddball, born way in September)). Sunday afternoon we spent at Brian, Jeannie's to celebrate Easter and Sophie's first birthday. She got a slew of terrific gifts but her spirits were a little dampened by the seemingly nonstop buckets of sickness pouring from her. We all enjoyed the festivities and Dane was a champ for having had such an exhausting day. We discovered how severe his little baby seasonal allergies can be and he was a dripping mess. It was great to spend time with Brian, Jeannie, her parents, Sophie, Cindy, Larry, Marcus, Trina, Mike, Joanne, and Heather among a few other guests of Sophie's.

The highlight indeed was church. Sunday morning we resisted the urge to sleep in and hurriedly got ready for the 10 o'clock Easter service (one of 10 services!) at Elevation. We had to sit in the overflow section because the auditorium was full. We worshipped with 7800 of our closest friends and family and we rejoice that 740 lives were given to the Lord. Hallelujah! The sermon is up to view online already, so if you didn't catch it check it out.

Hope you got your card. Happy Easter to you and yours.

"Sho 'nuff He is risen."

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend Dane had his first taste of ice cream. The most sweets he's ever had has been one Nilla Wafer, so this was exciting for us all. I think we would have held out a little longer if it wasn't for all the peer pressure Gramps was throwing at us. ;)

Weekend Wrap-Up

A weekend like most. We did hit the fantastic IKEA. If you haven't checked it out yet, do. Props to them for their exceptional level of kid-friendliness. That means... private baby care rooms complete with a nursing chair, changing table, toilet, and sink; FREE childcare for potty trained kiddos; delicious kids meals at their in-store restaurant; stroller buggies and free locker rentals in case you brought too much to carry (what, is this a new mom's thing?).

We hung out at the homestead and finally got around to hanging some pics of our handsome baby (only took us 8 months!). We were visited by an old (And now married) friend - Congrats, Mike! And Danny was lucky enough to sneak out for a movie. Dane and Jackie joined Jen, Cole, Katie and TJ for elementary school pizza - a Monday tradition long overdue. Many "ooooh"ed and several "aawwww"ed at Dane's undeniable adorableness. Somehow that never gets old. =)

The highlight of my weekend (and I do apologize if you've already heard it) was on Sunday. When I picked Dane up from our church's E-Kidz, I asked as parents always do how he was. "Oh, he was great. And so much fun...". This is the part when you go "Really? He wasn't any trouble?", knowing full well that had he been, they would lie to your face and say your toad was a prince, but enabling them to continue the compliment parade for your child. "No, no, he's a doll. I don't want to let him go. blahdy blahdy blah. He's just really rolly". Now, I keep Dane 24 hours a day with very few breaks. He goes for the toilet, the bookshelf, the fireplace, the dogs; in fact my day is spent in large part by pulling him off of things. I knew exactly what she meant by rolly. Or at least I thought I did. When I got him home I fed him and put him to nap. He was sporting a "Changed with Love" sticker, so I knew he had a fresh diaper. When I later go to change him I was hugely surprised at what I saw. Several moments of confusion preceded the realization that... his diaper was on backwards.

Ahhh. He is indeed very rolly.

Weekend Wrap-Up

A smorgasbord of fun.

• Dinner with Gramps and Granny K: all-we-could-eat chicken and barbecue for the biggins and all Mommy-would-let-him-eat cornbread for Baby Dane (and man, can he eat it!).
• Daddy and Me story time at the library.
• A leisurely trip to the park for a long walk and a fast swing.
• A fabulous church service that Dane almost sat through peacefully (but he did great in E-Kidz and made a new best friend who fed him Cheerios on command).
• And a belated birthday bash with Sophie, Uncle Brian, Aunt Jeannie, Uncle Marcus, Aunt Trina, and Nana.

Here's a few pics just because.

Weekend Wrap-Up

A weekend full of family fun for the Howards. The highlight was Saturday when we went to the library so Dan and Dane could participate in a "Daddy, Donuts and Me" program (minus the donuts, I saw no donuts). There were songs, coffee can bongos and girls who made Dane cry. It was a fun experience for Big D and Little D to get together with other fathers and kids. No moms allowed! Afterwards, the three of us joined up with some other families and went to lunch. Dane sat in his highchair the whole time and ate like a big boy. We're loving the time we spend with him.

Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a fine Valentine's weekend. Dane's cousins Katie and Cole spent the night on Friday, and the three kiddies had much fun keeping us up all night. On Saturday, we took Dane out for our family date and then went on one all our own.

Dane really came alive this weekend. All of a sudden he is in full force in... everything! He's doing laps around the living room and driving the dogs nuts. And when I check the video monitor during his nap I see our little baby STANDING IN HIS CRIB. The mamarazzi was hot on it; grabbed the camera and got a few shots of Dane pulling to standing in his crib. He was just holding onto the rail like he'd done this a thousand times before. He even hammed up for the camera, playing a daredevil and dropping to one hand. We promptly lowered the crib level so he can't jump out. He's so big!

Before

After

In jail in his crib

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend was full of fun for us.
Dane had a very fun (very big) play date,
We took Dane to a family bowling event,
We dropped Dane off with his Gramps and went on a date,
We pulled out some toys we packed away before Dane was born,
Dane had his two youngest Spicer cousins, Tyler and Cole, over and the three boys left no toy untouched.

Just a few pictures for you.

It is crazy to watch Dane play with other kids. He actually interacts with kids and plays with toys. He is getting so so big so so fast. We're hoping Dane's first words aren't "He's so big", because it seems like that's all we say these days!