Maine

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After devouring and thoroughly enjoying The Book Thief, I decided on something fun. My choice was inspired by Maine being my husband's birthplace and where he used to vacation as a child. Watch out, Branner, a trip or two to Maine will be in your future!

"Thank You, Uh-Oh!"

Branner has two favorite words of the moment! About a month ago, he started saying, "thank you." He doesn't necessarily know how to use it correctly. Mostly, he says it when giving you something or after he does something he thinks is thank you worthy :) It's almost like he's prompting us to tell him thanks!

The other word getting a lot of use these days? "Uh oh!" He has been saying it forever, but now he really likes it and enjoys using it. So much, in fact, that he makes reasons to use it. Like throwing his juice or food on the floor from his highchair just to say it and dropping things on purpose.

Uh oh, Branner, it looks like you're growing up! Thank you for keeping us entertained and on our toes!

HBB

As of about 12:00 today, Branner and I are Holden Beach Bound for the next 8 days. I may or may not update from vacay. Hope everyone has a great week!

June 20 Modern Parent!

My latest article, Amazing Accessories, is up! Please check it out and comment if you can. You know I just love feedback on the site!

17 Months

How are we here again already?? How is Branner already another month older?? We have been so busy having lots of fun at Gymboree, our pool and with friends that the past month just flew by! In addition to our morning excursions to the Y, doing errands and finding fun things to entertain B, we spend every afternoon that it isn't raining poolside. What a good way to kill the hour before dinner! We've been having an awesome time splashing around, swinging, playing and making new friends. Here's what B is into at 17 months...

Likes: TRACTORS, bubbles (or "duddles" as B calls them), sidewalk chalk, coloring everything in sight including walls and windows, "driving" Daddy's car, Yo Gabba Gabba, playing with Bailey, "helping" load and unload the dishwasher, Gymboree, the pool, the park, neighborhood walks, being outside, visiting Jake, visiting Aunt Jen's dogs, spending time with Gigi and Big Papa, helping Daddy vacuum, books, bath time, his scooter and bike.

Dislikes: Being told no, not being able to stick his fingers in sockets, not being able to play in Bailey's bowls and having to come inside after playing outdoors.

New Foods B is Into: Chicken pie, homemade meatballs, Crockpot BBQ pork, pot roast, mac and cheese (finally!), graham crackers, whole wheat cheese puffs and he has a renewed love of applesauce. I am working on giving him more of what we eat, which I should have been doing more of a long time ago, but it's hard to get dinner ready by 6 when you are constantly chasing someone!

We are off to the beach on Tuesday for a week of fun, family and sun! We can't wait!

Daddy's Day

Happy Father's Day! Hope everyone had a wonderful day celebrating with their amazing dads! Unfortunately, my own amazing dad was in Miami on a business trip, so we were unable to celebrate with him today. However, Branner and I are trekking to Holden Beach for a little vacay tomorrow, so we will spoil dad/Big Papa when we get there. Today, we focused on making Barry's day super fun and special. 

We let him sleep in while B colored a special message in his card and played the early morning away. We snuggled and read a book when he woke up. We let him open his gifts and took him out to breakfast at IHOP. We were going to go to the park, but the weather was a little iffy, so we did what Barry loves doing these days--a little neighborhood scouting. He made a trip to Home Depot while B napped. I had scheduled a sitter so we could get out when B went down and do something adult. So, we went to the Epicenter Theatre and saw Hangover 2 complete with a yummy dinner and cocktails. Happy, happy Father's Day, Bar! We love you; you are the best daddy in the world!!!

Driveway Diaries

We recently discovered that Branner has a love of driving. He likes to play in Daddy's car whenever he gets the chance and think he is SO BIG turning the steering wheel and pushing any buttons he can get his little hands on. A glimpse of all the fun:

I don't think I'll ever be ready for the day he is actually old enough to drive. These are the images I'll conjure up when the time comes!

The Book Thief

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I just downloaded The Book Thief to my Kindle, and I can't wait to start reading it!

No-Nap Kirby

Every few weeks, we have a visitor come calling at our house. Unfortunately, this visitor is NOT welcome here. His name is No-Nap Kirby. He sneaks up on me; usually on the worst possible days. He takes my sweet, good sleeping boy and turns him into a crazy person. How does he always know when I have a million things to do or when I am the most tired and might like a nap myself? Why can't he just leave me alone?!

You have probably already guessed this, but he's dropped by two days in a row now. This mommy can get no peace. I can't relax even though I enforce "quiet hours" like a prison warden. It stresses me out, which is not good for anyone because Mommy needs her downtime. No-Nap Kirby is loud and wild and throws things and kicks his crib. He makes me want to act the same way!

What I don't understand is how he makes his calendar. There is no rhyme or reason to the days he picks to stop by. Our daily and weekly routines are pretty set in stone. We do certain things at certain times on certain days. These activities are designed for the release of B's energy. So, why, some days does he not want to nap? I know he needs to. I need him to! I have no other way to get things done around here! One of life's mysteries, I guess. I know I shouldn't complain, because some kids don't nap at all, but I enjoy the fact that mine does and (usually) seems to enjoy it. Does this happen to anyone else? How do you deal with it? My remedy today is Open Gym at Gymboree. I also know someone who will be enjoying a huge glass (or two) of wine tonight: this girl!!!!

Happy Birthday, Bailey!

Happy 8th Birthday to our beloved Bailey! He is truly the best, most loyal friend anyone could ever ask for! We all love him more than words can express!

My Latest on Modern Parent!

My articles for Modern Parent post on Mondays, and this week's is up! Click here to check out, "Making Mom Friends (Or In My Case, Not)." As always, would LOVE for y'all to comment on the website if you read!

The Dry Grass of August

I just downloaded this book to my Kindle, and I am SO EXCITED to start reading it! Thanks to Lauren Thompson for the suggestion!!!!

The Perfect Weekend

Who had an amazing weekend? I know this girl sure did! Here's what went down:

• Girl's Night Out at Cowfish to listen to Bennett play Friday night.
• Chick-fil-A breakfast Saturday morning.
• AM nap while Barry took Branner to the Y and Home Depot.
• Mani/pedi and Pinkberry with Jen Saturday afternoon.
• PM nap since B was still sleeping when I got back!
• Kirby/Riney date night Saturday night.
• Free play at Gymboree for B followed up with lunch at Qdoba Sunday.
• Neighborhood hunting while out and about.
• Pool time yesterday evening.
• Grilled out and enjoyed a glass of wine last night.
• All capped off with the RHOC Reunion Part I and a new RHNJ.

Weekends, oh how I love thee!!!!

Movin' On Up (Eventually)

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Lately, we have been doing a lot of pre-emptive planning in the Kirby house. Barry and I have known since before Branner was born that we need a larger home. We even contemplated having our house appraised and pulling the trigger last spring on selling/moving. But, we had a newborn, things were so new and crazy and we decided our house was livable for a little while longer.

Fast forward a year, and we were itching to have a plan to (literally) move on to bigger and better things. So, about a month ago, we consulted with our realtor. She and Barry went to check out a comparable house in our neighborhood. She came over to assess our house and tell us what work we need to do to get it market ready. Luckily, the list of to-dos is very small and can easily and affordably be accomplished by our handyman. We have decided on our list price and date. So, it looks like our house will be on the market come February 2012!

Being the control freak and planner that I am, this put my mind at ease a little bit. I now have a loose timeline for a move. That's all fine and good, but what we didn't-until-this-week have was any clue where we wanted to move. This decision was to be based solely on schools. I decided to find a school that I love, and that we would move around that. So, I started doing my research. I actually ended up finding two wonderful elementary schools and have focused my search around them. The best part about this whole deal is that Barry and I have found that we have several amazing neighborhoods to choose from in our price range! We drove around a few today, and I could visualize us in each of them. Now, we'll just have to wait it out and see what happens in February. EEEEEEKKKK, fingers crossed!

Britt's Birthday

Last Saturday, I went to Raleigh to attend a surprise 30th birthday party for my life-long best friend! Brittany's birthday was June 2, but Jamie and her awesome neighbors planned an amazing party for Saturday night. It was very low-key with great food, cold drinks and wonderful company. Some people (including Britt) went swimming--if you count being thrown in for your birthday swimming! So glad I got to be there for my BFF's big day! Shout out to Gigi and Big Papa for watching B so I could go. Welcome to your 30's, Britt. This is sure to be our best decade yet!

Sunshine and Summertime

Ahhh, my favorite time of year is upon us. To celebrate what is, in my opinion, the best season, Branner and I will be packing our bags and heading to Holden on the first official day of summer! How fitting! So, other than our extended June stay at the beach, here are a few other things on our list to accomplish this summer:

• Make homemade ice cream.
• Train for a 5K.
• Lose the 7.5 pounds keeping me from my goal weight.
• Read. A lot.
• Make trips to the pool. We've already been every day this week, so we've got a head start on that!
• Shop at the Farmer's Market as much as possible.
• Eat more fruits and veggies! Find a way to get Branner to do this as well.
• Spend a few weekends at Beech and the beach with friends.
• Enjoy Music on the Green with B.
• Go to an outdoor movie.
• Pack a scrumptious gourmet picnic and go to POPS in the Park. Drink wine there with friends.
• Make a trip to Discovery Place.
• Go to storytime on occasion.
• Take B to the NC Zoo.
• Go strawberry picking and make homemade strawberry shortcake.
• Make a homemade blueberry pie. Kendra, I'm going to need Lee's recipe!
• Take boat rides and spend time at the lake.
• Have lots of cookouts with friends. We'll need help eating all the fabulous desserts I plan to make!
• Make an awesome summer soundtrack for my iphone.
• Set up a party for my girlfriends at Painting With A Twist.

That should about do it for now. I'll keep you all posted on my progress. Any big plans for summer? Leave a comment, would love to hear what fun things are on your to-do lists!!!

Drumroll, Please!!!

Modern Parent is live! My column, Highchairs and High Heels, can be accessed here. Please, take a minute to read my articles! Pretty, pretty please with sugar on top, comment on them! Hope you enjoy it; more to come!

Project:BABY Guest Blog #2

So getting one of these! Want one?

Remember a while back when I did a guest blog for the gorgeous Kristin from Project:BABY? Well, she is now a mommy!! Her gorgeous daughter, Tinsley, made her much-anticipated grand debut on May 27! While Kristin is enjoying getting to know Tinsley and soaking up every minute of being a mom, she is having several guest bloggers. I am proud to be one of them! You can find my blog on being a SAHM here. I love her blog, so check it out while you're over there. It almost makes me want to have another baby. Almost but not quite yet!

Welcome, June!

I cannot believe it is already June! We welcomed the new month and the promise of sweet summertime (my FAVORITE season) by:

• Going to the gym/Childwatch.
• Making a Target run.
• Taking our first trip (of many) to Sardis Swim and Racquet of the season and "swimming" in the pool. This mostly consisted of Branner playing with the fountain in the baby pool and running in between the two pools designated for those 3 and under.
• Serving B chicken pie for lunch for the first time, and realizing that he loves it!
• Playing outside after an extra-long afternoon nap for B. This has been our ritual for a couple of months now when the weather is nice. We pass the time by blowing bubbles, riding in the wagon or cozy coupe, visiting Jake--the dog across the street, creating beautiful sidewalk chalk drawings and exploring the yard.

Looking forward to all this summer has to offer!!!