The Beast

The other day, I asked Carson, "What is your favorite color?" He replied, "Blue, like Daddy's Corvette!" That kid is hooked (just like his Daddy) on the fast and the furious. I realized then that I forgot to post pictures of the corvette's most recent makeover. Flamed out on the outside and amped up under the hood (hopefully 724 hp is now fast enough?) Presenting the new and improved beast...
Click here for a video: http://www.photoshow.com/watch/wX8Wz4hM

Postcards From the Pier

Carson and I had a great day with Grandpa Fred and Grandma Dorothy at the St. Pete Pier. Carson was so excited to take his first trolley ride with Grandpa. It was a gorgeous day for sightseeing from the observation deck with views of Tampa Bay, downtown, airplanes and helicopters at the airport and the HMS Bounty. We checked out the fish and chased Carson around the aquarium and visited some of the touristy gift shops. Then of course we enjoyed great cuban sandwiches and black bean soup at the Columbia Restaurant. When the waiter served our lunch, Carson said, "Oh, chocolate soup!"

All aboard!

Clang, clang, clang went the trolley...

What a view~I see pirates!

Click here for more pictures from the Pier:
http://www.photoshow.com/watch/Wy8tb5Iw

New Baby!

We got exciting news from our friends Keith and Lisa in Kentucky just in time for Mother's Day...our horse Paris foaled a big colt on April 22.

In their words:
I happened to be at the barn with the girls at 5 pm when I noticed she was pacing in her stall. I tried giving her hay but when she wasn't interested. I realized she was in labor. So I hung out while the girls rode their bikes and at 6 or 6:30 her water broke. I told the girls, "Well Paris is having her baby so stand here and be real quiet." They watched the whole thing very quietly. I tried to narrate what was happening. Then, when he was born, both girls went in with towels and rubbed him off. It was so precious. Kayla (our oldest) started to ask me a question and then said, "Nevermind mom, I will find out when I am older." Whoosh...that was close! No tough questions to answer!! Anyway, here are some pictures I took today of baby turned outside for the first time. He has the funniest personality!! He loves to show off!

Earth Week 2009

This Earth Week was spent mostly appreciating the great outdoors right outside our own doors. In our butterfly garden, Carson discovered a beautiful plump black and yellow stiped caterpillar chomping on the milkweed plants.

I'm hungry! I will soon turn into a bright yellow butterfly.

Awesome!

Save the Earth for me!

Carson and I went to see the new Disney Nature movie: Earth. It was a beautifully done portrayal of the earth, its creatures and the fragile state we are in. The photography was stunning and for every ticket sold this week, Disney will plant a tree for earth day.

The movie was good, the popcorn was better and I have this cute girl checking me out! This is too cool.

Walking out the the theater, we saw a school bus waiting for children to get out of the Earth movie. The driver agreed to let Carson and his new little friend to take a seat. I think this was the highlight of the day for sure. Moms can make a field trip out of anything!

I love Spring!!! Every day, we stroll through the garden and find something new blooming. This is one of my favorites. It's a shell ginger bloom ~ a tropical treat!

In the category of very weird...the pitcher plant. The little "pitchers" hanging down are filled with water. When an unsuspecting insect goes in for a drink...he may never make his way out. This carnivorous plant shuts the trap and digests its prey.
Another strange one is the Dutchman's Pipe. Before it blooms, it looks like a Dutchman's anatomical part. But the next day...

Sure enough, it does look like a pipe (kind of.)

Busy, Busy April

Wow! The month of April has been super busy. Mia has been a very active three month old, Carson turned three years old, we celebrated Easter with a big open house and Greg and I had our fifth wedding anniversary. I have been on a picture taking frenzy the whole time, so I'll include some super cute snapshots and photoshows of our last month...starting from the top:

All About Mia: Month 3!

I think we can safely say the Mia is sleeping through the night...hallelujah! She now goes down at around 7pm and sleeps until about 5am for a feeding then sleeps again till about 8 in the morning. This new routine has changed our lives in the Wilbur house! Most of all, evenings are now a breeze ~ yipppeeee! Mia likes to spend a lot of time outdoors enjoying the beautiful springtime weather. I find it hard to believe that our three year old still naps more in the daytime than our three month old. I think she is going to be a real go-getter of a girl.
She had her first LOL moment ~ cracking up at her silly Mommy. She has also started to play with her toys and snuggle her blankie up with her fingers. She also had her first real massage from Auntie Andi, which she LOVED until the lavender scent got the better of her. She is such a little spa baby!

Ready for my spa day... Ooohh, that feels good!

She also had a fun play date with her little friend Abigail.

Easter at the Wilburs

We celebrated Easter Sunday at our home again this year with an open house and since Carson's birthday was just a few days later, we had a party for him as well. It is always so awesome to get both sides of our family together. For the kids, the highlight of the day was the Easter egg hunt.

I couldn't resist the opportunity to have some photography fun with my kiddos in the spirit of springtime.

A tisket, a tasket

A sweetie in a basket!

Our friend Linda brought over her bunny Penelope for a photo session...this sweet rabbit actually weighs more than Mia!


Click below for a photo slideshow of Easter this year:
http://www.photoshow.com/watch/ys4Xt8ZW

All About Carson: Happy Third Birthday!

Our son, Carson. Thirty five pounds of pure boy. Sweet and smart, funny and lovable. An absolute joy of a kid.
Big accomplishments this year: starting school, learning to swim, becoming a big brother and utilizing an ever expanding and expressive vocabulary.
Favorite things to do: playing at the park and beach, driving cars and riding on Daddy's motorcycle, playing ball, reading books and watching his shows (Little Einsteins, Wonder Pets and Wow Wow Wubzy.)
Loves: going to the airport to pick up Daddy, bedtime books with Mommy, being surrounded by a houseful of extended family.
Favorite toys: Matchbox racecar, Mickey Mouse Racetrack, squirt guns, lawn mower, Magna Doodle, and building blocks. Favorite foods: Meatloaf, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, french fries, cornbread, fruit, waffles and of course anything with sugar as the main ingredient.

We had a great time celebrating Carson's birthday at Disney World. To relive a highlight of our childhood through our own child's eyes was truly magical ~ I teared up countless times! He loved everything about it...the rides, the characters, the parade. God bless Greg for toting Carson around on his shoulders pretty much the whole day (I love my big strong husband!)

Click below for a slideshow of memories from Carson's birthday party and day at Disney:
http://www.photoshow.com/watch/Xu6bQ7eg

A very happy Anniversary...five years and counting!!!

We celebrated at one of our favorite getaway spots close to home ~ The Sand Pearl Resort on Clearwater Beach. A big thanks to Grandma Judy for staying with the kiddos while we spent three relaxing days away.

A toast on our wedding day

A toast to our fifth! A perfect sunset and a great bottle of champagne. Oooh, so romantic :-)

Sweet!

All About Mia ~ Month Two

We are well into month two and Mia is doing great. At her last check up she weighed in at 12 pounds 5 oz and is now 23 1/2 inches long. We're amazed that she has gained five pounds and two inches in two months. So with her Michelin tire thighs and dimpled elbows comes better sleep ~ Yay! We can make it through the night with only one feeding which is so sweet.

She loves to be rocked and held and loved on. Between Mommy, Daddy, Grandmas and Ella, she hardly gets put down. She is holding her little head up so strong and loves to go for rides in the car and for walks in her stroller or carrier. The biggest challenge right now is her "evening colic" or unexplained fussiness from 6-9 every night. Rocking her helps, but this is prime time in our house as I get dinner ready, feed and bathe Carson and get him ready for bed. So, Sunday through Wednesday nights are sometimes a little stressful while Daddy is away. Fortunately, the doctor says she should outgrow this by three months :-)

Snuggle time with Ella.

Carson is really warming up to Mia more and more. He sings to her when she is crying and loves to share his beloved blanket with her while I'm feeding her. He often asks to hold her too. He says, "She's sooooo cute!"

It's official...Mia is definitely a daddy's girl. She loves hangin' out with her daddy and he has a way of consoling her crying when no one else can. She loves his made up silly songs and smiles alot for him. She even watches Nascar with him. Well, sort of...

Go, Jeff Gordon!

Enjoying a gorgeous day at the park.

I love my new doll...thank you Erica & Colin!

Keeping Up With Carson

It's been a busy month in our house with Mia growing so fast and Carson hitting three big milestones. Carson decided that he no longer needs his booster seat at the dining room table. This is great except for the part where he hops out of his chair after every bite to take a lap around the house or grab a different toy. Getting through a meal can be quite a lengthy process.

The second milestone happened during our bedtime prayers. Normally Greg and I say prayers for him and he ends with it for us with a very dramatic "Amen." One night, when I started it off, he interrupted me saying, "I want to talk to God." He proceeded to give thanks for Mommy, Daddy, Mia, Grandmas and Grandpas and Uncle Keevie and Uncle's dog Pippin. Every night since, he has shortened his prayer to, "Thank you God for Uncle Mark and everybody."

He has really taken a shine to his Uncle Mark. It took me a little while to realize that instead of saying, "On your mark, get set, go! he says, Uncle Mark, get set, go!" So cute.

We have been working on potty training for a while now, but he really seems to be ready suddenly. His new trick is to sit down, pee pee two drops, jump up and scream, "I peeeeeed!" Then he empties the potty in the toilet and flushes. High fives all around. Then the process starts over and over and over and over. Our water bill will reflect this routine I'm sure, but well worth it. Be sure to check the video clip of the victory...the end is hilarious when he accidentally puts the pee in the wrong place.

Deep concentration...

Success!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We hope you have fun this Valentine's Day. Greg and I are hoping for a nice sunset champagne picnic on the beach. Grandma Judy is still staying with us until sometime next week while her kitchen remodel is finishing up and she offered to watch the kiddos (thanks Grandma!) As a gift for Daddy, the kids and I had some portraits done...click below to see more:

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/dP6qi4Na

Poor Little Buddy

While getting Carson ready for bed the other night, I noticed a perfect little toddler sized bite on his right shoulder. I guess this is sort of a pre-school right of passage, but Greg and I were a little concerned that we didn't know about it when it happened at school. Actually, Greg was ready to send in a forensic team in to take dental impressions of every tot within a mile of the playground. I asked Carson what happened and all he would say was "I got boo boo." Still unwilling to rat out the half-pint Hannibal Lecter, he blamed the bite on a mosquito. I would hate to see THAT mosquito! We talked to the teacher the next day and she said he did cry that day on the playground but he wouldn't tell her what was wrong. We're working on teaching him to tell somebody when he gets hurt and hopefully he hasn't learned a new self-defense skill.

Happy Birthday Dads!

February 5th...a great day in history. Both of our fathers share the same birthday, so Greg and I took them out for a nice dinner at Flemmings Steakhouse last Saturday. Mom missed out on the fun due to a bad cold, but we had a fun time sharing good food and conversation. Greg is known for asking questions that bring about a deeper knowledge of people, so he asked, "What is the greatest memory of your life so far?" Greg's dad answered, "I took the girls (Ruth and Cheryl) out to the store one day and came home with a camper that was clearly not in the financial plan for the family and I got a LOT of heat from Judy at the time, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. That camper created so many good memories and brought our family together."

My dad said, "I was playing a gig at a private party and saw a gorgeous woman from across the room...sparks flew and it was all over. I told my buddy who brought my future wife there on a date to forget about Dorothy." Too bad Mom was sick at home and missed this great romantic moment!

We love you Dad and Pops...here's to a happy and healthy year ahead for you both.