Christmas in Charleston

A few pictures from our days in Charleston. We had a great time with all of John's family. Filson & Ian were showered with attention! Filson began to get into all the Santa excitement this year, however after opening 1 or 2 gifts he was ready to call it quits & just play with those new things. It took a few hours, but he eventually made his way through everything. I'm sure there won't be many more years when we actually have to beg him to open presents : )

Jensen, Riley, Reece, & Filson playing at the Mt. Pleasant Park under the Cooper River Bridge

The park opened this year & is near Neil & Kim's house. It is in a great location along the water & I think it is neat that they made the playground equipment a replica of the bridge.

ReeceRiley & Filson
Riley

Filson & Jensen

Reece, Garrett, Filson, Holden

The cousins playing Duck, Duck, Goose

Filson, Riley, Reece, Jensen, Garrett

Ian & John on Christmas Eve

The gift he picked to open on Christmas Eve....new drumsticks from the Clark's!

Christmas morning

Happy with his racetrack, not interested in any more packages under the tree!

Ian cuddling with Ju-Ju-B

Holden (7), Garrett (9), Reece (5), Filson (2), Jensen (11), Riley (13), Ian (6mth)

Life at the Beach

Like everyone, we've been on the go this month & suddenly we're leaving tomorrow for Christmas wondering where the time has gone! The boys & I went to a birthday party on Sunday for a boy from our playgroup. It was at a drop in childcare center that we have used before & Filson loves it. It was a little kid's dream with all things "Firemen" related...including a visit from a real firefighter. That evening we packed our bags & headed to Wrightsville Beach for two nights. We had some rooms that needed to be used by next week, so we decided to just use them here & enjoy the oceanfront views for a couple of mornings. Last night we toured Airlie Gardens which is decorated for Christmas & this morning Filson was able to go swimming before we had to check out. We had a great time & are now anxious to hit the road tomorrow & see all the family in Charleston!

Fire Chief Filson
The Crew

Borden (Birthday Boy), Ian, & Maggie (Borden's sister who was born the day after Ian)

Filson & Ian cuddling with Dad

Fire Chief Ian

Beautiful evening at Wrightsville Beach

John, Ian, & John D

Thanks to a neat gift from Ella, he's ready to help Dad with his next project

Filson on the motel playground

John & Ian on the beach

Beach Boys

Ella & Filson riding in style at Enchanted Airlie

Our Little 'Boo'

Swimming Buddies

The Filson Toss

6 Months

It was 6 months ago today when Ian joined the family. He's quickly getting taller than sock monkey! He's had a fun month, getting out a lot and being able to spend time with all the family at Thanksgiving. He has discovered how to make 'rasberry' sounds with his mouth & can be quite vocal. He's really rocking & trying hard to get to toys that are out of his reach, any day now he'll figure it out & be off on all fours. He adores his big brother & flashes a big grin when he first hears his voice in the morning!

Good Times

We had a great dinner with John D, Robin, Jen & Starr last night at the Riggs'. These 4 kids spend a lot of time together & it's always fun to get them together.

Ella (22 mths), Finn (4 mths), Ian & Filson

Ian & John
Filson performing for Starr, Finn, Robin, Ian, Ella & John

After playing outside for a few minutes tonight

Slumber Party

The boys & I road-tripped to Raleigh Tuesday for a night at a motel with Anna Leigh & Vada. We did a little shopping & then attempted to go out for dinner. The moms were barely able to get through one cocktail before we had to box up the food & move on! The little ones were not too excited about being strapped into chairs at a restaurant when they knew there was a pool back at the motel! Filson & Vada had fun swimming together. Vada is 18 mths & it is great to get the boys & her together! Everyone went to bed well & slept soundly through the night, which I found pretty amazing considering their ages & the fact that they were all in the same room in a strange place!

We spent yesterday afternoon at the Children's Museum downtown. Raleigh has a great one & Filson & Vada could have spent all day there. We had a great trip & can't wait to do it again!

Clear the roads, Vada's behind the wheel!

Hard at work

Taking care of the turtle

Check out those Pirates!

Will not be long before this one will be off exploring with the big kids!

Three Amigos

All the way from Mt. Ayr, IA......

The treehouse exhibit in the museum had a few WOODLINK birdhouses!