Greenbrier Resort

Brad has been intrigued with the Greenbrier ever since the PGA started hosting a golf tournament there every summer. He had researched everything about it and has been begging me to go since last fall. Now that Craw is older and we are sooo very fortunate to have grandparents who love keeping him we decided to take a trip to West Virginia. A little history on the Greenbrier--it was founded by Native Americans in the 1700s  due to this spring that they thought produced all of these healing powers. The spring left a white residue. People began gathering here to use this "healing spring water" and they decided to build a resort. It is now a very proper resort. You must wear coats/dresses when leaving your room after 7 and there are strict dress codes in the restaurants and casino.

Outside the resort before dinner.

We brought our Frogs Leap wine that we bought on our first anniversary trip to Napa and enjoyed drinking our wine that we had saved for a "special weekend getaway ocassion."

The first night we had dinner at the steak restaurant Prime 44 that is Jerry West's (a famous basketball player's) restaurant. We spent the evening walking the large resort. It basically reminded us exactly of the Biltmore house except that we were staying in the house. There were lots of older couples and a Girl Scout convention when we were there.

Dinner

On Saturday we signed up for a bunker tour. I didn't really know what a bunker was before our trip. However, this was built back after World War II during the Cold War Years. President Eisenhower met with the president of this resort and the federal government offered the resort $11 million to add on a wing to the resort. The catch was that they would be building a bunker to hold the legislative branch (~434 people) in the case of an emergency or terror attack. So from 1962-1992 the hotel was able to keep this "bunker" hidden from the public. They had to have enough food to feed all of the members of congress for 2 months. They had bunk beds for everyone, a way to create their own water and electricity. It was crazy to think that a couple of goverment agents were constantly updating the bunker and making sure it was ready to operate at any given time. They had blast doors that weighed in at 30+ tons that would keep air from getting in in case it was contaminated. Below is a picture of a blast door that was hidden behind the wallpaper for 30+ years. The funny part is is that they used part of this wing throughout those years so people really couldn't suspect anything. It was used to host conventions and they also have 88 guest rooms in the wing. Anyways, it was very interesting and I learned a lot of great information. It's crazy to think that there are certainly bunkers located in the US right now that would be ready to operated if needed.

The parlor where they host "tea time" every afternoon

Our delicious dinner--obviously we don't get out much anymore we were soo excited about our dinner

Took a walk and toured the grounds--checked out the golf club, workout facitlities, etc.

I enjoyed my Saturday  by relaxing in the spa--reading, getting a massage while Brad toured some more of the resort and watched some basketball. We had a great weekend!

15 Months

Another fun and entertaining month with our little nugget! He brings so many smiles and laughs to our home every single day. I love that every time I give you your blankey you stick your 2 fingers in your mouth and you are so content.

You just adore your cozy coupe. You will push it around the house. You will get in and out of it 100 times a day and it's so fun to watch you enjoy your mini car.

With the weather warming up we have been venturing downtown to dinner and most of the time you have behaved quite nicely. You love looking around and watching kids in strollers pass by and of course dogs are your favorite. Here we are leaving Smoke on the Water after a Sunday evening walk/dinner downtown.

While mommy and daddy were away Grandpa finally got some golf clubs in your hands. Look like you were enjoying your time and Grandpa helping you to be the next Phil.

You just love your little cousins and we miss them tons.

This is you at home with daddy while mommy was at work. You slept so late that I didn't get to see you. However, this was a text I got and it was great to see you so happy in the morning.

You also attended cousin Carter's first birthday party while I was at work and here you are playing outside.

15 Month Stats:

• Weight--22 pounds (15%)
• Height-- 32 inches (75%)
• Diapers -size 4
• Clothing -- size 12-18, 18 months.
• We just had a 15 month well visit and you look perfectly healthy. That is how we got your % stats this month. You got 2 shots and other than that the doctor just looked in your ears, eyes, mouth, etc and everything looked great
• You are a way pickier eater this days. Something we are not too excited about. You now are picky about when you want to eat as well. You usually eat great at breakfast and then sometimes you want nothing for lunch or nothing for dinner but usually sometime during the day you will have a hungry period of time and we can get you to eat a ton
• You love love clementines. You will eat every fruit and really would live on fruit if you could. You like french toast sticks for breakfast and other than that we try to give you what we are eating it just depends if you will eat it or not. You love love pizza. Protein and veggies can be tricky. Usually you will eat some turkey or chicken at some point during the day. Love your milk as always. I don't really give you juice but Grandpa and Nana give you enough to make up for mommy not giving you any ; )
• You got a bottom tooth and two top molars while we were on a weekend getaway. You didn't show any signs of pain so I felt so silly when I was tickling you and I saw 3 new teeth. I am not quite sure when they came in exactly but we are thinking right around when you turned 15 months (March 18ish) That brings your teeth total to 9. You actually just got your bottom molar within the past fews days as well but I am a few weeks late writing this post but I guess now you have 10 teeth!
• You take 1 nap around 10:30ish to 1ish depending when you go down, then  you take anouther from 4ish to 6ish. You go down by 9:30 and sleep from 8-9.
• You can say ma-ma and I try really hard to get you to say it. When I got you from the gym today you were crying and saying ma-ma-ma-ma and it totally melted my heart.
• You refer to everything as "daaaww" I am not sure if you really think everything is a dog or not. You can find the dog on your puzzle and in the animal book and it is very impressive!
• You loveee your animal book and can flip through it all day long. You also love the little engine that could and you flip through it and always point to the different trains and call them "daawwws"
• You can say Braaad and daaaad.
• I can bribe you with the remote for a kiss and I can't believe how smart you are to figure that out.
• You are now reaching on high surfaces for any and everything. Today you pulled the 5 lb bag of apples off of the counter onto your head--ha poor guy!
• You always want to go bye-bye and whenever we say we are going bye-bye you walk to the door and wave. You also can go get your shoes when we tell you we are going bye-bye
• You can bring mommy/daddy just about anything we ask for
• If we say touchdown you throw your hands up in the touchdown pose
• You make messes wherever you go--with your food (as you throw it on the ground when you are done), throw your toys all over, brings books and puzzle pieces from room to room

We just adore you and love watching your fun, high energy personality grow. You are always smiling and having a good time. You just like to be on the go so as long as you are not sitting still at the table you are having a great time. You still love your naps and sleep so well! We just love seeing how much you change from month to month. You are constantly learning something new. You love to play alone and a lot of the time you just want to play with your toys by yourself and be left alone. It is too funny you are very independent. I love hearing your laugh and the adorbale words that have begun to pour out of your mouth. Stay sweet little man we love you dearly!!!



March 2012

Well I have been talking about running a 10K for I can't even remember how long. I have always been able to run 3-4 miles but beyond that I thought there is NO way that I can physically make it 6.2 miles. I pulled up some training manuals but every morning when I thought about going to run I dreaded it. I enjoy going to the gym soo much but running is a whole other ballgame. I would instead go to my spin class or cicuit class. I kept thinking oh man this 10k is coming up soon and I am totally not going to be able to run it. Well I finally pushed myself about a month ago on the treadmill and made it 6 miles. Well the other thing is that while I felt so accomplished I hate running outside. So about once a week for the past month I would run 6 miles on the treadmill. As the race grew closer I knew there was no way I would make it 6 miles outside. I had not run outside in forever. I kept telling myself I would just run the 5k. and then the night before I was like what the heck I will do the 10k. I am sooo glad I did. It really was a great run. It didn't feel bad until about mile 5 and a couple of hills but hey I knew it was less than 10 more minutes and I could push myself. I finished in 57:40 and I really think if I had not started at the very back I could have improved my time more than that. My goal was just to run the whole way and I did and it was an amazing feeling. I can't wait to sign up for another one! Brad did the 5K again with no training and he did great. We both enjoyed our morning workouts and had a great day getting ready for our dinner party.

Brad's favorite thing to do on the weekend is host people at our house. He just loves it and I truthfully let him run with it because all the cooking and prep work is totally not my thing. I instead kept C entertained and even got a post run massage. Everyone got over about 6:30 and we had a few glasses of wine and chatted before eating Brad's BBQ sliders and hamburger sliders, corn and potatoes. We ate and the girls helped me get C ready for bed and then we played a game before going out downtown for the evening. Brad and the guys stayed back to make sure C was okay.

A day in the life of a 14 month old

 Life with Crawford gets better everyday. He is at a great age and we love watching his excitement as he explores the world! He loves when he realizes the cabinet door is cracked open and this is him getting caught. He knows he is not supposed to get in there but yet he loooves when he succeeds!

 C trying out his new cozy coupe--he loves cruising around in it!

 Family time after work--the best!

Craw and daddy hanging out.

 Britt and Hailey stopped in for a visit on their way back to Charlotte. It was so great seeing little Hailey. We were able to chat for quite a few hours and Hailey just played on her blanket and was such an angel. Crawford slept for most of our visit but he was very interested in checking Hailey out when he got up.

 It was so cute to watch them do the "stare down" I can't wait for us to spend time this summer on the lake and at the pool with our little munchkins!

Daddy finally got out one of your Christmas presents and you just had to see what he was doing. I would try to distract you and take you upstairs but you knew daddy was downstairs with tools and a toy and there was no stopping you from getting down there to see all the action.

You tried to pick up each tool he was using and wanted to help put together your cozy coupe

You took a nap while daddy finished the last touches and you were sooo excited to explore your new car. It was really like a true Christmas morning experience watching your excitement as you saw the cozy coupe put together for the first time

You spent all night getting in and out of the car

Then it was time to play with the box the car came in

Some days you are great when we take you out to eat and other times we wish we would have stayed home-ha. But on this particular day a Brixx you were an angel. You loved eating lemons and you ate almost all of your pizza.

We have been trying to get you to drink out of a straw but in the past you could only blow bubbles into the straw. Well after mommy and daddy acting like fools making sucking noises you finally figured it out and there were your 2 proud parents shrieking with excitement watching you sip from your big boy straw.

We also visited the park this month. I was a wreck running from one side of the playground to the other making sure you didn't fall through the big openings. Next time I will be getting up there with you to ensure your safety. Again you loved it and kept following all the kids that were at least twice your size.

Fun Day at Grandparents House

Crawford spent a day at Grandparents house and with the weather being in the mid-70's, they decided to play in the back yard.  He just loves being outside.  Check out a few of the things he did:

Crawford helping Grandpa mow the lawn

Chillin' on the turtle sandbox

Enjoying a nice day in the swing

Happy as a clam

Looks like we need a hammock at our house.  He apparently loves them.

Pulling the wagon

Playing in the sandbox