Onto Charleston

After our overnight stops in Anderson & St. Matthews, we headed onto Charleston to visit Danny's Grandpa Charles, and Aunt Nancy & Uncle Al. We love going out to see them and to spend time in this beautiful part of the country. It was Britton's first time there, so we had to show him around.

And who better to do so than Uncle Al? Only the best tour guide in Charleston. He gives carriage & walking tours a couple days a week ... a great way to see the city.


Britton loved the horse (was even trying to kiss him) ...


... and the hat.

We walked around the town, the open air markets, and ate at some of our favorite places, as well as some new spots. The weather was beautiful all week, although we underpacked -- it was a little chilly there still.

When we were at home, Britton spent his time...

...tickling the ivories...


...asking for Grandpa Charles to pick him up (and then giving him sweet hugs) ...


...playing on the stairs...


... and kissing Grandpa Charles' "dog"!

He also attempted to take his first steps at the coaxing of his Great Aunt Nancy.



And had lots of sweet smiles for her.




He was rather taken with Nancy, can you tell?!


And here is Grandpa Charles and his mini-me making their March Madness tournament picks at $1/game. They've been doing this together for 19 years.


Here is Britton with his GiGi, who flew out from Dallas for the week, and then rode home with us.


Such a fun week we had with our little guy in Charleston.

Still more pictures to come...

Road Trippin'

We spent Britton's first "Spring Break" in South Carolina. Mother's Day Out was closed for the week, and since it's hard for us to get away on the weekends, we decided to load up the car and head East to visit friends and family for the week.

Our first stop was Anderson, SC, where we saw some of my friends from home (Jackson, Miss.). They live in Anderson now, and it was great to visit them and catch up.

Corinne, me, Britton, and David

Then, we headed onto St. Matthew's, SC, to visit our friends who just moved there from Birmingham. John Mark, who went to seminary with Danny, is the newest pastor of St. Matthew's Presbyterian. They have a little boy, Judah, who is three weeks older than Britton.

So fun to see the boys play together.




They pounded on the piano together -- Judah faithfully playing the bass line...


... while Britton would play a few notes and then stop to applaud.


We discovered they have a favorite game in common ... it's called opening and closing the doors ad nauseum.


The boys topped their morning off by watching Baby Einstein while the adults enjoyed a nice breakfast together.

Fun times! More pictures of the Charleston leg of the trip coming...

French Fried Out

Love this video of Britton force feeding french fries to Danny as we sat along the water one day in Charleston, SC last week:

It cracks me up how tickled Britton gets in between "bites." Pictures of our trip are coming soon.

Baby Stellan

This little boy needs your prayers ... now. He is in a very dire situation, and I feel burdened to spread the word to my praying friends ... for we know and trust that prayer moves the hand of God. Here is Stellan's blog, and the most up-to-date information is often found in the Twitter updates in the left-hand column.

Stepping Out

Gulp. I don't think I'm ready for this. But, ready or not, our little guy will soon be taking steps all on his own:

As you can see his "currency" is applause. I love that about him. He's not quite ready to let go and do it on his own, but I have a feeling that day is just around the corner. This week while we were in Charleston visiting Danny's family, Britton sure tried to take his first independent steps toward his Great Aunt Nancy.

Growing. Up. Too. Fast. We were ready for him to start crawling, but not sure about us being ready for this walking business.

Prayer for Stellan

I have been a faithful follower of MckMama's blog for nearly a year now. Last summer, she was told her unborn baby had heart failure and would not be long for this world. However, that little baby was born miraculously healthy with no heart problems at all. Now, Baby Stellan is five months old and is back in the hospital suddenly and unexpectedly dealing with the same heart issue he had in utero. I know first-hand how the power of prayer was instrumental in the miraculous healing of my own son, so I wanted to pass onto you Stellan's beautiful story -- that is, if you haven't already been privy to the fabulousness of MckMama's blog -- and ask you to pray for another miracle in his young, little life.

Edible

Our busy body still loves to put everything into his mouth.

Twinkies

Grumpy

I want to remember all of Britton's faces ... even this one:

Britton & The Weave

Britton & Weaver got their parents together for some fun fellowship the other night. These two guys are the sweetest little boys I know. I mean, look at their lil' faces ...



Awwww.




How bout that milk?

Everything's a Push Toy

Britton is quite a good push-walker these days. No independent steps yet, but that day will come soon enough. We are enjoying every phase of our little guy's mobility.

The Red Snowsuit

As we were gearing up for Britton's first ski trip, I won a snowsuit for him on ebay. Here he is trying it on for size the day it came in the mail.







The aftermath of a Piper kiss.






In Daddy's new ski helmet.

Our Ski Trip

We spent last week in beautiful Park City, Utah, skiing at our favorite place -- Deer Valley. It was unbelievably beautiful out there! A sweet family in our church owns a condo there so we took a group of friends. It is always risky to plan a March ski trip, but we couldn't have asked for better snow conditions. It started snowing the night we got there, and then, the last day it dumped 14 inches of snow. Crazy powder. I have lots of pictures of our fun times. It took me a while to download and organize them as they came from four different cameras -- our Nikon SLR, our point & shoot, and both of our camera phones. Technology these days. Sigh.


On our way ... about to take off. This was our first time flying with Britton since he has been mobile. It was tough, and our first taste of what it's going to be like to fly home from China with a one-year-old!


Our first day of skiing. We love to ski together! This was our fifth trip since we've been married. I have to say, I've gotten tons better, and now consider myself a solid blue/double blue skier. This will astound anyone who went with me on my first trip in high school.


Beautiful blue sky on a clear day.




On top of the mountain. Me (left) with Loren. It was mega windy this day, and the snow blowing off the top of the mountain felt like shards of glass hitting you. Fun times.




Snowy day on the lift.


Clayton and Loren.


Did I mention we got some good snow? ;o)




On a clearer day, Heidi, Loren and me. So much fun to ski with people at your level. The three of us skied well together.


On the days Danny & I both skied, Britton stayed in the child daycare at the bottom of the mountain. Only two more years and he'll be old enough for ski school! He is riding the rocking horse in this picture.


Lunch Break. On the days I didn't ski, Britton & I would meet Danny and the gang for lunch.


Heather, John & Heidi.




Clayton, Bryan, Mary Allison, Lucy & Loren


I have to include this picture of the really tall dude at the lodge. I am wondering where this guy finds ski clothes, and skis, for that matter, in his size.


Riding the Gondola.




Beautiful trees at Deer Valley.

Apres Ski

Danny, Bryan & me.


Me & Heather




Cool Dudes.




It was really cold and Britton was not a fan of all those layers. I think he was glad to get back to our warmer climate!