Pumpkin Patch Photos...

We did a quick trip to a pumpkin patch to purchase a pumpkin and take some photos with Lilly in her "costume." Lilly is like a good witch/spirit of halloween/halloween ballerina, but in any case she is SUPER cute!! Our friends Missy, Wes, and their little boy John Lincoln met us there so we could take photos of each other. Fitz, of course, had to buy a pumpkin and he just HAD to pick out the wartie-est pumpkin to buy. We are hoping to take some more photos tomorrow morning while Lilly is happy first thing in the morning, and then carve our pumpkins and leave them at my folks house (since we will not be here for halloween). Hopefully, everyone is enjoying getting ready for the festivities!!

Anniversary come and gone...

My Mom sent me an email this morning reminding me that two years ago today I was competing in the race of all races (for me at least)....The Hawaii Ironman. I know that the 2008 IM has come and gone but this is my two year anniversary. It's around 9am EST, which means it's 3am in Hawaii, and I think I was already up two years ago. Boy, has life changed....I was in the best shape of my life, trying to break 11 hours...and this morning I awoke to a hungry baby with a poopie diaper. I can say that both days are equally as rewarding, from pushing myself to what I thought was the limit of my capabilities (before child birth of course) to having more influence then anyone else on another human being. I can remember bits and pieces of the race that day; starting with a rainbow while waiting in line for the port-o-john, to babbling about needing to pump up my tires (but not knowing how), to having a volunteer help me figure out where the swim start was (I was a bit nervous),to treading water for what seemed like forever, to the bike turn around, to the wind that no one else felt on the way back, to loosing myself around mile 70, to finding myself again at mile 85, to feeling every emotion possible on the run, to wondering how there were that many people named "Becky" around me (I did not know people were looking up my number to find my name), to loosing myself again at mile 14, to seeing Peter Reid in the NEL (for real I did), to watching 11 hours pass on my watch with 2.4 miles left to run, to the final push to the finish line and feeling no greater amount of accomplishment in the world!! I don't think I can ever thank my family and friends who supported me all that time ago....I don't think I could have done as well without the encouragement, training partners, and all that my family did!! I hope to go back someday and break my 11 hour mark. This might even give me the "fire under my butt" to start really training again. I think I'll go look at the photos from St. Croix, and Hawaii and maybe go for a run with Lilly!!

Da-dunt, Da-dunt, Da-dunt...

(that's suppose to be the sound from JAWS). Have you ever had a fear that is unconfounded? Or known that something COULD be there, but never actually seen it, so it could not actually be real? Well, yesterday my Dad and Fitz got a rude awake up to what we share the ocean with...SHARKS. We (me, Fitz, Lilly, my Mom, and my Dad) headed to the beach yesterday mid-day to drive on the beach abit, get our toes in the sand and let the men-folk do some surfing. On our way to the water we ran in to some friends were running on the beach, and the lady mentioned that due to the menhaden running there were an abundance of bull sharks in the water so be careful. Covered in neoprene, the men hit the water. While Lilly was having fun "dancing" with her toes in the sand, we occasionally looked up to check on Fitz and my Dad. Suddenly, they were paddling in at pretty quick pace (and with their feet out of the water), but then when they got out they were heading away from us down the beach, so I thought they were looking for a better spot. But....oh..no...was I ever wrong. They had a shark sighting, in one of the waves they had been trying to catch. It is about a 5 footer, and scared the crap out of them. My Dad who has been surfing since he was young had never seen a shark up close and personal in all his years of surfing, and this gave him the willies. After they had calmed down a bit, they recounted that the shark had been less then 20ft from them and was in kill mode for the fish that were running. I think they both had nightmares last night. So although there is surf/swell today due to the storm off shore and the NE winds...no surfing for this family...we like all of our body parts just where they are. Here's to not being confused for a fishy!

Tutu Photo Session Take Two

Since Lilly is 6 months old, I thought it was around time to do another tutu photo session. Lilly is doing so much better sitting up and so I could get some really good shots. We of course had to start the photo shoot at 7:30am, right after the first morning feeding ended. I was able to look at some of these in black and white and they are awesome, now I just need to be able to do that on the computer. The next step is photos after this is to take photos of Lilly standing, I think we have sometime until that happens.

North Carolina Seafood Festival!!

Here are some photos from the NC Seafood fest and the beach trip on Saturday. We started the day cheering on the road race and then watching people enjoy the beer wagon post race (you can see even Lilly wanted in on the action). Then we met up with Tara and Matt, who were here to celebrate their 5th wedding Anniversary, to head downtown to enjoy the sights, sounds, and flavors of the festival. We had a GREAT time...we enjoyed the people watching, coconut shrimp, cajun shrimp pita, and of course "sea spud." The lines were too long at the sweet corn, but I'll be sure to get some next year. Lilly got her first time of feeding solid foods outside of the home, and it got MESSY! But all in all a great time on the waterfront. Then we come back to the house to meet up with our other good buddies Katie and Dugan to hit the beach in the "bruzer" bronco and got to get our toes wet while Lilly napped in the car. Fun times! We capped off the night with dinner away from the babies and a few drinks (well for 5 of the 6 of us.....and I WAS one of the 5) at one of the local favorites the Beaufort Grocery. Although, it did not live up to the prior meals we have had there, we had a great time with great friends. Can't beat that....and there is no price I would not pay for fun time with those friends in particular!! Hopefully, everyone had as good of a time as I did!! (please note the photos are out of order due to having to load them in two batches...oh well!)

4x4 and sweet potato wars!

We got to test out our new Ford Bronco on the beach yesterday (Oct 1 the beaches open for driving). It sure is nice not to have to walk all that way carrying a baby, I am looking forward to spending lots of evenings on the beach in our new ride. I think Fitz is really enjoying his "man car." We don't have enough money at this time to create a whole man cave for Fitz to go and relax in, but we could find the funds to buy a nice man car for him to hang out in. He takes it whenever he can (like on his ice cream run this evening)...I think he's starting to get embarrassed at driving "irongirl."

In Lilly news, we tried some home made sweet potatoes this evening and she seemed to really like them. At the end of the meal she looked like the sweet potato and joined forces with the apples to attack her. I think she enjoys "solid foods," we are taking them slow to make sure she is not allergic to any thing, but so far so good. I have made a ton of foods for Lilly to try and they are frozen away for testing. We also think Lilly might be a lefty, she grabs much more often with her left hand. While eating, she is always trying to feed herself using....you guessed it....her left hand. I know my dad is a lefty, and my uncle mark is a lefty...but we are not sure of anyone else. It's so exciting to watch and be a part of Lilly's development.

Quick RANT...

So if I dress her in pink....put bowes in her hair (or at least on her head).... and freakin' call her LILLY!! WHY, tell me WHY do you ask me ...."So how old is the little fella?" FREAKIN' PINK....PINK....what mother in her right mind would put a boy in PINK. It's a SHE....gosh darn it...a SHE!!

Just had to get that off my chest!

Busy week and weekend.

We spent much of last week trying to make decisions...should we get this bronco in Raleigh, should we start feeding Lilly solids foods, and such. So we found a 96 Ford Bronco XLT with manual windows and doors, and no carpet and vinyl seats. It was a state vehicle and it is great condition. We started our trek to Raleigh on Friday after work with the idea that we would be back on the road Saturday afternoon. Well that did not happen, but we did get to do alot; starting with Lilly's pizza for dinner on Friday with Katie and Dugan. Then we headed to see the bronco early on Saturday morning, then we stopped in to see Scot, Stephanie, and Camryn (and give them a tutu for Camryn). Then Katie and I got to visit with Diana and Jason, and chat about the babies. It was so nice to get to sit and chat (rather then run and chat). Then we headed to the NCSU track and field tail gate for some beers and visiting with the boys. We ended up staying over Saturday night, and then I got to run with Tara, Katie, and Catherine on Sunday morning before heading back to Morehead City in our two different cars. After winding down at home it was time to start "solid foods" with Lilly, and it was a MESS!! She could open her mouth, but kept spitting the food back out. Guess we will just need to keep trying!! Yesterday, was Lilly's 6 month appointment; she is 17 lb 2 oz and 25 inches tall. The doctor was very impressed that I had only nursed her for the past 6 months, but said it was time to start on foods. Fine by me!! At least I can start going through the baby food that's frozen away!! On to new baby adventures, and buying a pass for driving on the beach starting tomorrow!! YEAH!!

Recent Photos of Miss Lilly.

I have been trying to be more regular in taken photos of Lilly in hopes of getting that perfect shot that need to be blown up to an 8x10 or at least a 5x7 and go up on the wall in the house. We managed to get some really cute ones last week, when I was sitting outside enjoying the sunshine, and a photos session at the beach. I think I might have some winners in this set. I am hoping to make a trip out of the EI bridge and get some photos in the wild flowers that are planted there. Lilly is doing better at sitting up on her own for a few seconds at a time, and she is getting close to starting on solid foods. Should be exciting?!

And lots of it too!

I think the image is self explanatory, so there is no title for this post, but to tell my story anyhow... Yesterday around 2:45pm, a very nice, young, good looking FedEx driver made a stop at the house to pick up what he may have thought to be some type of NORMAL package for overnight delivery to Raleigh. So he begins scanning the package (which just happens to be a blue cooler-like the ones you would store fish in on a boat) maybe a little strange, but still fairly normal. Then he reads the BIG, RED label affixed next to the FedEx label...stating....CONTAINS HUMAN BREAST MILK, FRAGILE, PERISHABLE, CALL MILK BANK AT ###-#### upon arrival. And he looks up, with a questionable look on his face and merely states..."Gosh, nice weather we are having." I'm not sure he knew what to make of the blue cooler full of of breast milk (522.5oz to be exact), with the person who obviously made the milk standing right in front of him. I bet he got a good laugh when he told the story to his friends, family and or co-workers later on. To make the rest of the story short, instead of giving money or volunteering my time (which are both hard to come by these days), I found where I can donate my milk for a good cause. They will pasteurize the milk and give it to preemie babies, and very young children who are going through chemo or radiation. When I called yesterday to let the milk bank know my package was on the way, they told me they were completely out of milk. So, I was glad to be able to help. If anyone is interested in donating milk, check out the website at http://www.wakemed.com/body.cfm?id=135

I hope this did not gross anyone out, at least I'm not selling it on ebay! :)

Milestones for Miss Lilly.

Lilly is achieving new milestones each day...most recently she has started rolling over. She will only roll from her stomach to her back and only to the left side (does this mean she will be a lefty?). Although, she has only rolled over twice, I know she could do it more if she wanted to. Today she rolled over right away when I put her on her belly for some tummy time, and then when I put her back on her belly for a repeat show...she wined. (I think she was saying, I did it once, but this is not a show). Then this afternoon she found her toes, and had a great time playing with them while on her back during afternoon play time an then again during bath time. She still loves her bath time and mostly anytime she is in the water; I think she would stay in there all day if I could let her.

In other news, Fitz is getting scuba certified over the next two weekends (merry christmas-courtesy of my dad). My little bro, my Mom and Dad, two neighbors, and friends for high school are all certified also, so hopefully they can find time to go out together and check out what's "under the sea." I, on the other hand, am holding down the home front (with the help of my folks), and trying to find time to workout and get back into shape. We recently got a cleaning of our water softener system, and got a sulfur eliminator system installed. So for all those who have -I visited and made a comment about the smell....it's gone!!! (at least according to Fitz-I could not really notice it so I could not tell you).

Gonna give it a shot...
After my good buddy Meg, let me borrow her kiddo's for a photo shoot with the aforementioned tutu's; I think I might really start to sell them. Grace (2 yrs), was so much fun to shoot...she was like a little model; hitting different poses, and just having a ball. She really seemed to like to twirl around in circles with the tutu on. Grace is modeling a hot pink, light pink and white combo long tutu. And Ella (9months) was unfazed by having the tutu around her waist and she just went about her usual business of crawling, pulling up on things, and just being super cute. Ella is testing out the basic tutu in sage green with a pink and green bow on the back.

I am going to start by word of mouth (and blog comments) for getting things going. So, if your interested in a tutu for your little one, a niece, friend's beautiful little girl, or just as a cute shower gift. Let me know the approximate waist size you will need, or just age and weight of the child and color(s) that would would like and I will get started. For your basic tutu-similar to what Ella has on, we'll say $17 (including shipping and handling) and for something like Grace is modeling $32. The color options are light pink, white, hot pink, light purple, dark purple, sparkly purple, sage green (these are the colors I have played with thus far), and I have seen gold, silver, mauve, dusty pink, yellow, and different shades of blue. I have also started making head bands and hair bows to coordinate with the tutu's or any outfit. I will post those photos soon, and if let me if you would like a cute hair bow to match. Thanks for reading, and happy tutu designing.

The Fall Out from Hanna

Hanna made land fall early in the morning, and we started hearing the wind blowing around 5:30-6:00am here in MHC. We managed to get out of bed around 6:45am and looked out the windows to check things out and we saw lots of wind but strangely no rain. Checking the weather channel and our local news station and see that is rain is west of us (more towards Goldsboro/Raleigh) but we were getting gusts of nearly 60mph. After Lilly woke up around 7:30am we call my folks to make sure they were ok....and sure enough they had a story. The large Oak tree they had near the road had up rooted and landed on the house (causing some roof damage) and broke a window and window frame. After the wind subsided we headed over to check things out for ourselves, and boy was it a mess. You can see in the photos above (and the video) that professional help is needed to clean everything up, luckily there was a tree removal company cruising around and stopped off to see in my folks wanted his help. I wanted to get a picture of me standing on top of the tree before it was removed, so we forged through the brush to try and get a photo. BUT we found a very large yellow-jackets nest instead. My Dad was the only one to get stung, and we sent Fitz out to get some commercial grade bee spray. I think the bees have been annihilated, and when we left for home the tree guy was back to help. All in all we weathered the storm just fine, and the only real damage in the whole town was my folks house so they will be on the 6 o-clock news this evening, and perhaps in the paper tomorrow. Such celebrities!!

5 months and fabulous!!

Today, Lilly is 5 months old and she is just a blast. She can be very vocal when she is in a good mood and now will do both super loud and a more normal decibel level of sounds. Just today we tried her again in the walker, and she fits. (FINALLY!) For the longest time she was to short for her feet to touch the ground and I don't think she liked being suspended in the air. But, not today....she even managed to move around just the smallest bit. Please forgive the change in direction of the camera, I am still a student when it comes to video.

In other news, we are prepping for Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hanna, which is suppose to make land fall tomorrow evening and stay through Saturday morning. Although, I hate hurricanes, they do create some great swell for surfing. Yesterday after work, we did a short trip to the beach so Fitz could itch they surfing bug, and Lilly and I could play in the water. Of course I did not bring a camera, so there were plenty of photo opportunities. Oh well, next time!

And Lilly meets Uncle Bobby!

At 5:45pm on Thursday August 28th we started our 820 mile trek to Panama City Beach, FL to visit with my little bro Bobby and for him to meet Lilly for the first time. We drove from MHC to Wilmington, NC to pick up a minivan we rented for the trip (I can see why people have minivans-they are roomie!!) Then started our all night drive to FL, Fitz drove for 2.5 hours, and at 11pm I took over and drove until 1:30am, then my Dad drove until 4:30am and we all took a nap at a rest stop past Jacksonville, FL. I woke up around 5:30am, and kept my mom awake until Lilly woke up around 7am and needed to be fed. So we stopped at a rest stop for a break from the car (see first photos). We had not showered or anything so there were some interesting smells going around. We then finished the drive in to PCB, but not before realizing that the van we were in, had an expired inspection sticker. My folks said the guards at the base might be in very picky moods and make a big deal about the sticker, so we made a small detour to the PCB airport to get another van (not nearly as comfortable as the Toyota Sienna, but the Chrysler Town and Country). Then we had to get on base, check in to the officers quarters (my Dad was in the Navy for a few years), and get Bobby. We all took showers, met up with Bobby and then headed to Hooters for a bite to eat. After the food and some naps, we headed behind our officers hotel to take a dip in the bay with Lilly. Then we had a early evening to try and catch up on some of the missed sleep from the trip down. We spent the rest of the weekend, just hanging out and visiting with Bobby. We got a tour of PCB, of the base, of Bobby's school house, of his run courses for PT, and ate at all sorts of places. Then we left on Sunday evening and drove to Savannah, GA and stayed in a Days Inn and then finished the drive on Monday morning to afternoon. All in all it was a great trip, the long drive was worth spending some time with Bobby and letting Bobby meet Lilly. I think he is in love with her....she really flirted with him (see photo three), he is much less scary when he is clean shaven-required by the Army. Bobby has less then 3 months of AIT Dive training to go, and is doing GREAT!! I am so proud of my baby bro...and I can't wait to see him again at the end of November. Until then, he will be working hard and making us all so proud. Here's to you little bro...stay tough!!

Florida bound...

Tomorrow we begin our trek down to FL to visit Private First Class Hoover...it's only 13+ hours in the car with 4 adults, 1 baby, and all the $h!t that we carry with us. We will be stopping in Wilmington, NC to rent a minivan (cause we need more space then we have in any of our cars). The trip should be great, I have not seen Bob-O since Christmas break, and he has not met Lilly so that will be an adventure. We are planning to do most of the driving at night while Lilly is sleeping, but that means the adults will not have sleep like the should. Can't wait to post photos of all the shenanigans that occur while we are there. Wish us luck.....

Tutu's for you-you's!

I have found a new hobby, well at least a craft to pass sometime. I have taken up making tutu's (and hair bows to match). It all started when I wanted Lilly to be a ballerina for Halloween, and soon found out how to make tutu's on the internet. So I thought, maybe I have found something here. Now my house is full of tutu's, tulle, ribbon, and decoration. I only have one really model, and she is unable to sit or stand alone, so I am waiting for my good buddy Meg to bring her girls down for a modeling session (as one can sit and crawl, and the other can stand and walk). Above are a few shots of Lilly modeling, three different ones (she is such a good sport). Let me know what you think?!

Is it really possible?

So, we made the trek up to Raleigh this weekend for a baby shower for a good friend of mine who is 27 weeks preggers with twins (a boy and a girl). We had fun, and made the trek back home, only to find out this good friend of mine went in to labor is and currently battling the dregs of pre-term labor stopping drugs. We joked that when I went in to preterm labor at 33 weeks, that my baby shower in Raleigh caused it. BUT WE WERE ONLY JOKING! Now friend #2 has had the same problem. I think it is all just a coincidence, but still....kinda weird don't ya think?! We are only going to have showers at the end (REAL end of the pregnancy from now on).

On a serious note....send some "keep those babies in" vibes to my girl Diana....she could use all of the help she can get. They are pumping her full of Mag and from experience I can tell you that's some wicked stuff. Hopefully, they can stop the contractions and keep those babies in for a few more weeks, and if nothing else until tomorrow.

Water Baby!

So, I know babies like baths and such, but let me tell you Lilly LOVES the water with a capital L! Well, as long as it's not cold...has to be at least 85 degrees. On Sunday, we wanted to get some photos of us with Lilly by the water, so we went over to the sound (less wind), but there was a dead fish floating near by in the water and Fitz was not so keen on getting in there. So we took some photos (see first two) and then headed to the pool instead. In Lilly went and she loved it yet again. Fitz taught her how to blow bubbles, doggie paddle and how to jump in off the side. He as really cute and for his sake I am looking forward to her actually understanding what he is saying. But for now, we will just let her love the water.....Water Baby!

Happy 5th Wedding Anniversary!

Yesterday, was our 5th wedding anniversary and how times have changed. We spent the day thinking of where we were during the different times of the day.

We managed to 'sleep in' until 7am then we spent a lazy morning around the house, then we got to run some errands without Lilly (it was much quicker that way), then we did the unthinkable....we did dinner out ALONE, at 5:30pm-the time at which our wedding started. How romantic!! As for the gift, we looked up what the 5th year was and it's "wood" so we got a wooden porch swing. Now, Fitz gets to spend the day trying to put it up. He's so handy! As for news, just watching the Olympics. (Ironically, the Olympics started on our 5th anniversary...and I LOVE watching the Olympics). GO USA!!

She got an A+ from the doctor

Lilly had her 4 month check up today, and she did great! She showed the doctor all of her tricks ... cooing, babbling, grabbing fingers, bringing hands together, smiling, laughing, and of course crying! She is 23.5 inches long, with a 16 inch head, and weights 14.5 lbs....go mommy! The doctor is very impressed with her growth since she was so small at the start, but he is not at all concerned with her weight. He says that she will thin out once she starts moving...which will happen soon!! He was very happy with all of her "social skills" and says she is "right on track!" Thank goodness...for all those parents out there who worry about anything and everything having to do with their kids...here's to chubby, healthy babies...and all the things they will become!!