Summer Shootout

On Tuesday nights during the summer there are races at Lowe's Motor Speedway. I'm not sure exactly what type of cars race (I haven't gone - Chris takes Cass and goes with some of his friends and their kids), but I think some older kids race little cars, and then they have races where principals from the different area schools race school buses. Last week a couple of the buses wrecked and flipped! It's a good father-son outing.

Flower

Today we went to my latest favorite store - it's called Bradford Farms. It has produce, eggs, milk, baked goods, etc. that is all grown or made locally (I feel old now that something like this excites me). There was a lady selling flowers there, and she gave Cass one. It didn't last long though, the dogs got a hold of it shortly after we got home.

By the way, yes, I realize Cass was in desperate need of a haircut - he got one a few hours after this picture was taken!

My little model

This morning I went shopping for headbands for Celena, since she doesn't have enough hair to hold a bow yet. I bought several (so look for many more pictures to come) - this one is my favorite. While Cass napped this afternoon we had a little modeling session. :) I'm trying to get better at taking pictures - these need to have some editing done, but I haven't had enough time yet to learn Photoshop. I hope to "pretty them up" at some point after I learn! I'm still determined to take some halfway decent pictures myself so I don't spend so much money on professional photographers (and that's how I've convinced Chris to let me buy my camera, lenses, etc., so the pressure is on!).

Happy Birthday Cass

I can't believe our little boy turned 2! The past 2 years have gone so fast. We have been surprised lately at the things he remembers - for example, Chris took him to the races a couple weeks ago, and Cass fell in the parking lot and skinned up his knees. They went back to the races the following week, and when they walked by the EXACT spot where Cass had fallen the previous week, he pointed to the ground and said "ow-ee". He's also becoming very helpful around the house - he even lets the dogs inside when they need to come in! He starts preschool in a few weeks. I'm not sure I'm quite ready for that, but it will be really good for him.


We got Cass a Thomas the Train cake. It came with a Thomas figurine that Cass has played with every day since he got the cake. He wasn't quite sure about blowing out the candles - Daddy had to show him how it is done.

The "big" birthday gift that we got Cass was a little kitchen. Chris initially was reluctant to agree to buy him a kitchen, but after he realized that all of Cass's little buddies had kitchens he gave in. Notice that we got him a "manly" one with a grill. He loves it - for some reason his favorite pieces from the kitchen are the coffee pot and a cup, he carries them all over the house and pours "drinks" for us and his toy animals.

First trip to church

The doctor told us to keep Celena away from crowds until she was a month old, so we didn't take her to church until this week. Here she is, all dolled up for her first trip to church! She was very good during the service . . . slept the whole time (or course, it's daytime, right?). Actually, our nights have gotten much better. She has only been waking up for feedings twice per night, once around 1 am and again around 5 am. We're making progress! Cass slept 12 hours per night starting at 3 months old, so I'm hoping for the same with Celena . . . just 7 1/2 more weeks . . .

Night owl

I have to apologize to our loyal blog readers - I haven't posted much recently. We've had our hands full with the kids. Celena is definitely a night owl, she has been keeping me up quite a bit at night so I have been taking any opportunity that I get during the day to nap. Here's a typical picture of her during the day. Sleeping. All day long. Waking just long enough to eat, then back to sleep. BUT, once night comes, she's wide awake - I think she takes after her daddy in that way. We've had a couple good nights when she sleeps most of the night and only wakes a couple of times to eat, but typically she keeps me up for a few hours in the middle of the night. I can't complain though, she doesn't cry, she just wants to eat and hang out. Overall, she is a very easy baby!

Dan Nicholas Park

Even though we've lived in North Carolina for 3 years now, we are still learning about fun new local places to visit. We recently learned that there was a great park for kids in Salisbury, NC, which is only about a 30 minute drive from where we live. We took a family trip to check it out on Friday. It was great - there was SO much to do there. Cass rode a carousel, rode a train, played in a playground, went to a zoo and saw all kinds of animals, including bears, bobcats, and a woodchuck. We also walked around the lake and looked at paddle boats, then visited a petting zoo. They also had a splash pad that Cass would have enjoyed, but it was getting close to nap time so we had to call it a day and head home.

Here's Cass and Chris on a "boat" in the playground.

Cass is a timid little boy, and until recently hasn't really enjoyed slides much - he's finally becoming more brave, and loves them now.

Here's Cass checking out the donkey in the petting zoo.