Ready for Santa

Everything is getting back to normal (somewhat) after Kelsey's arrival. Kyle is ready for Santa to arrive. He can spot Santa "anywhere"--on cards, billboards, books, in store windows!!

He got to see Santa at the Santa Train over at the museum a few weeks ago (postponed due to tornadoes!!). He asked Santa for a guitar and a police car. I think Santa can probably handle that.

I will add a few more pics of the Santa Train and our post Christmas "mess" soon.

Christmas Tree Trip

I know, strange pics for finding a Christmas tree. Well, we started going to a local fire station near Chapel Hill a few years ago. There are very few places to "cut" your own tree around here unless you head to the mountains. So, you are left to hit tree lots with pre-cut trees delivered daily.

This lot is at a small "country" fire station. The firemen are super nice to Kyle. They always help with the tree and then start playing with the kids. Kyle gets to sit in the trucks, turn on the lights and sirens, and climb all over! Really, he could care less that we are also there to buy a tree. As you can see in the pic, they also give the kids a fireman hat and a small coloring book. Kind of a neat little "tradition" we have started I guess.

We still always talk of going to the mountains near Ashville with another family for the weekend and cut trees while we are there.... maybe when the kids are older??

Family Visits

Well, with Thanksgiving here and gone, we had our first round of family visits. My mom was here to help with Kyle when Kelsey was born but left before the holiday. Never fear, the in-laws arrived the same day and celebrated Thanksgiving with us and the kids.

They enjoyed visiting with the kids for a few days before heading back to Ohio. Hopefully we will see them again around Christmas.

We probably won't be traveling until well after the Holidays. I think a lot of the family will be making trips to NC to check on us until Kelsey is a little older and we are able to travel north. It won't be long!!

Kyle is 3!

Kyle celebrated his 3rd birthday last night. He opened all his gifts after dinner and then we had "racecar"cake. His favorite gift is the leaf blower my mom bought for him. I bet we will go through a ton of batteries with that thing!

All in all, a good birthday. It was Mimi's last night in NC, she went back to the snow of WV this morning. She enjoyed her stay and Kyle really like having her to pick on.

Kelsey is home!

Holy Cow! Now we have 2.
Well, it is an exciting time in the house. Kelsey is home and Kyle is "officially" a big brother now.

He is handling is well, so far. He is the "baby police"--telling us to be quiet, shhhing us, making sure we don't wake her up---you get the point. He is still a little heavy handed, but I am sure he will ease up after a few days.

"Thank You" to all that stopped by the hospital to visit and for the wonderful gifts. It is great to have awesome friends.
Until next time...

Baby Girl Thomas is here!

Welcome Kelsey Morgan Thomas to our family. She joined us at 3:01pm, Wednesday, November 19th. She was 19 inches and weighed 6lbs 15oz.

Mom is doing fine. She ended up with a C-section (planned) so she will be a little sore for a few days but may actually come home from the Duke Hospital tomorrow!

Wish us well. We are in room 5808 if you plan to stop by--just call me first.

Let the work begin...

Well, I guess fall is finally arriving around here. I can no longer mow through the leaves, they are simply getting too deep too fast. Soon enough I will have to start up the leaf blower and find my lawn again. Ahh, home ownership!@

I guess the only good thing about the leaves is it gives Kyle another "toy" to play with. Maybe Santa will bring him a Snapper riding mower so he can help his dad with the leaves.

If I can ever get Kyle to actually rake and not just make a pile and jump, things may go a little quicker.

Trick or Treat

So... It all started with the pre-school party. Kristy took some treats and juice for the kids. Kyle seemed to have a good time. He ended up with a bag full of candy from JUST stinkin' pre-school!

Then came the real fun. I got home from work a little late (not on purpose) and Kristy already had Kyle ready to hit the streets. They visited a friend's house where they ended up with a small "herd" of candy beggers. Kyle enjoyed being a monkey again, who knows what next year will bring. Kyle was a little more brave this year. He actually rang the door bells and said "trick or treat" at most houses. Once again--a whole pile of loot!

I hope the cat likes candy!?

Monster Dash Weekend

This past Sunday, we hosted the Raleigh Monster Dash at the store. The event was a fundraiser for the WakeMed Foundations Just for Kids Kampaign (building a new children's hospital in Raleigh). We started with Operation Pumpkin--carving pumpkins with the Pediatric Surgeons, then moved on to the Monster Dash races. There was a Tot Trot for Kyle, a 1 mile run, and a 5k complete with a costume contest.

Kyle dressed as a monkey and had a good time. We ran the "tot trot" together after the official race had ended. It was a long day for me (setting up and breaking down the event), but all the kids had a blast. We also raised a few thousand dollars for WakeMed.

Zoo Time

We finally ventured to the NC Zoo in Ashboro a few weeks ago. It was only a little over an hour away. Our friends Greg and Michelle joined us with their 2 girls, Madison & Claire. We started on the African side of the zoo then had a picnic before touring the North American side. It was a long day, but everyone had fun so...

Kyle liked all the animals, but REALLY liked riding on the "train" (the tram). He even let Madison help him fly the zoo helicopter.
Good trip, but I wouldn't want to do it in the middle of summer. The place is super spread out. The guides said it would take over 1.5 hours just to walk from end to end!
It was nice to spend the day with the Anysz family as well. We hadn't spent much time with them since our beach trip in June. Hopefully we can visit again after the baby is born.

Bulls season is over

If only this weather would last. The good news--It was 85 degrees today, supposed to be 88 tomorrow.

Bad news? It will be 65 Friday and 55 on Saturday, talk about a shock!

No Durham Bulls games until Spring.

Noobie blogger

So, an old friend sent me her "blog" so I could see her family. She asked if I had one...uhhhh, no.
Well now I do. Thanks, Shannan.

So here we go.