firsts and seconds

Sully had a big weekend of firsts (and seconds)...

He has transformed himself from a completely immobile baby to a little boy who locks his legs and stands when I go to pull him into a sitting position. Power legs! You can tell that he thinks it's just the coolest thing ever - he knows he's doing something big. He started doing this last week but I just captured the first pictures this weekend.




On Sunday he rolled over for the first time, completely on his own - he did it 4 times. Sadly I don't have a picture of this moment but I took these cute ones of him (lifting his head like a big boy) with John.


Also on Sunday, he got the opportunity to eat his first food - sweet potatoes (yum!). I think he was a little confused about what to do with his tongue and whether or not he should swallow the unknown substance being shoved in his mouth, but all in all I would say those 5/6 bites went pretty well.


After the stress of learning new things, we decided it was time to take a break so we headed to the pool (Sully's 2nd time in the pool water). He enjoyed it more the second time around and didn't seem too embarassed that mommy had on the same swimsuit as a little neighbor girl, also in the pool. Looks like it's time to go shopping. He was really getting into it until a big nasty storm blew in and blew us right on home.



After all that action, what baby wouldn't be pooped?

Wedding Bells

John and I hit the road this weekend bound towards Greenville, SC for his little sister's wedding. We dropped Sully off with my Mom & Dad and burned rubber early Saturday afternoon arriving just in time to enjoy a few pre-wedding cocktails and get ready. The wedding was flawless and his sister could not have looked more beautiful. She is a simple lady and the wedding was a perfect reflection of that. I stored away all the wedding ideas and savvy I possibly could in one brain to use for our big day next Spring.

There's much of John's family that I had still not met which made the occassion all the better. I was almost "over the moon" when John's Granny told someone that "John hit the lottery when he met Courtney." You've got to love a sweet Granny. After the cake was cut and the bubbles were blown to the departing newlyweds we headed back to the hotel to live it up with all of the aunts, uncles, cousins, my soon-to-be mother and brother in-law, etc. etc.. It was a great time. I've been looking forward to our baby-free adventure for a month now and, sadly, it was over in (what felt like) a heartbeat. Here are some pictures...

time marches on

Cari D, my bff since Mrs. Cauthen's 10th grade history class, remininded me yesterday that today, June 4th, marks 10 years since we walked the stage at our high school graduation. I can hardly believe it. In the past day I have been flooded with memories of cafeteria gossip, hanging out in the parking lot before the morning bell, painting the rock, and our most important high school objective - figuring out how to make the cute boys notice us. I have to be honest Soulshine, it's made me a little nostalgic. I've also been completely wrapped up in the typical questions "where am I going" & "where have I been". I mean did I honestly believe that after 10 years I would be highly successful with tons of money in my bank account and a Lexus in the driveway? Okay, so maybe I did but unfortunately that hasn't happened yet (I don't even have a driveway to park a Lexus in). So, feeling a little inadequate, I decided to make a list of my accomplishments since that fateful day to see exactly how far i've come. Here goes (not in chronological order), I:

● became a mommy on the day that Sully was born - January 30th, 2009 (the goal I hoped to achieve above all others)

● am engaged to marry a wonderful man in the Spring of 2010 (we did things the untraditional way)

● uprooted from the home I had known my whole life and ventured to Charleston, SC, making it my new home

● graduated from Charleston Southern University with an emphasis in Communications

● took a job as the Office Manager of HMY Yacht Sales and have been successfully employed with them for 3 years now

● became an aunt

● purchased my very own car in 2007 (I marked that as "the day I became a real woman")

● have successfully trained & raised my dog, a Boxer named Tucker, going on 7 years now

● learned how to strum the guitar

● am a Notary Public

● got to talk on the radio and work in the sound booth as the Intern for 95SX (a local Top 40's radio station)

● raised over $20,000 that went towards the building fund for the College of Charleston library

● volunteered in the Children's Hospital at MUSC

● traveled to Jamaica, NYC, Mexico, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, DC, & Chicago (I consider travels an accomplishment)

● learned that you can't take the ones you love for granted when one of my dear friends was killed in a bicycling accident

● learned how to cook like my mama - not to toot my own horn but I think i'm pretty darn good


I'm sure I could add some other accomplishments to this list if I gave enough thought, but I think this is enough to suffice for now. I guess all that's left to do is figure out my goal for the next 10 years. Hopefully this time I can make it a little more realistic - although owning a mansion on the beach is looking pretty good right about now. :)

sometimes you just have to laugh

I had a "moment" with John last night that I just HAVE to share.


me: the sheets in the dryer are done. will you make the bed and i'll take care of the rest?
john: sure.
me (thinking to myself): he better fold those towels (also in the dryer) without me having to ask him. wait a minute. what am i thinking? of course he won't. i just KNOW that i'm going to go in that bedroom to a pile of towels and then i'm going to be pissed.

I finished the dishes and went back into the bedroom, prepared for a catastrophy of towels. No towels. The bed was made. This was good stuff. Okay, so maybe the bed was a little sloppy but I could let that slide because the towels had been taken care of. The only question remaining was where were those gloriously folded towels? Not in their usual home!

me: babe, where did you put the towels that were in the dryer.
john: towels? you just asked me to make the bed. i was supposed to do the towels TOO?
me(thinking): oh my god. he just dug through the dryer for the sheets, obviously leaving the towels for someone else, aka. me, and half-assed the bed. grrrrrrrrr!
me: you've got to be kidding me!
john: but you didn't tell me to get the towels.