Halloween 2012

Another fun year of ghouls and goblins is behind us, and Branner had a blast! There was a Halloween parade at school yesterday morning that was just precious. We kicked off the evening festivities with pizza, goodies, spiked spiced cider/mulled wine, friends, and fun! We moved right on to trick-or-treating, and capped the night off with a visit to Aunt Jen and Uncle Trey's! Branner had a wonderful time, and so did we! Can't wait to do it again next year!

A while back, Branner had asked to be a shark for Halloween, so that is the first costume we ended up with. However, when we got to school yesterday for the big parade, he wasn't having any part of being a shark. So, he decided to be a fireman last minute instead. His teachers sent the costume home *just in case*, because they are the best, and that's what B ended up being. He held onto the hat all night long while walking from door-to-door (no wagon this year, we have a big boy on our hands), and was just too cute for words in general! Hope everyone had a safe, happy Halloween and got tons of good candy!
 

Dressed and ready to get some candy! 

Group shot!

...and another!

  

Trick or Treat!

Yay, candy!

Walking with Daddy!

The Perfect Weekend

Wow, we had an amazing weekend! I was just sitting down for the night, settling into all of my delicious Sunday night reality TV shows, and thought about what a great time we had! Our perfect weekend looks like this:

• A low-key Friday night with a simple meal and an early bedtime.
• A boat ride and lunch on the lake Saturday morning/afternoon.
• Date night on Saturday night.
• Sleeping in this morning (thanks, Branner)!!
• A movie date for me this afternoon with Ashley. We saw Mirror, Mirror. Loved it!
• Dinner with the Thompsons on the patio tonight.

Hope all of you had a great weekend, too!

Dinner with Drew!

Last night, the Thompsons joined us for dinner. Branner and Drew are so adorable together. It warms my heart to think that they will grow up together just like Lauren and I did! We were basically friends from birth!

Seriously, how cute are they? I can't stand it!

Branner's 2nd Birthday Party!

This year, this mama decided to make it easy on herself and booked Branner's second birthday party at Gymboree. The party involved lots of kids, lots of activities, lots of fun, lots of bubbles, lots of pizza, lots of cake and one happy birthday boy! He ran, climbed, jumped and played his way throughout the gym with his friends. He had a blast, and I'm pretty sure all of the other kids did, too! We left the party with a car full of presents, cupcakes, pizza and one worn out birthday boy! Happy, happy birthday to our amazingly energetic boy! 

Family

Friends can be family, too! Click here for my latest Modern Parent article. As always, comments on the site are much appreciated :)

Happy Birthday, Summer!

We had a great time earlier today at Summer's 2nd Birthday party! It was at her house and involved lots of playing, swinging, sliding, pizza and cake. Branner ate pizza and cake, so we considered the party a huge success :) Happy Birthday, Summer!

GNO--Painting with a Twist

Last night, I met up with some girlfriends at Painting with a Twist for some fun, food, wine and painting.

We had an absolute blast! Luckily, what we painted was very abstract. I'm giving mine to Barry to put in his office. Thanks to Stacey for setting up such a great night! Can't wait to see all of you girls again soon!

Lunch Date

I heart fries. And ketchup.

YUM!!!

We met Shana and Carter for lunch today at Five Guys, and man was it delicious! 

Discovery Kids

We are just in from a morning spent with our wonderful friends, Stacey, Nicole and James, at Discovery Kids in Huntersville and lunch at their Showmar's in Mooresville. Yes, their Showmar's. They recently opened it, and it is delicious! If you live in the area, go eat there :)

I cannot say enough about how great and fun Discovery Kids is if you have young children. Branner had an absolute blast. There are so many neat things to see and play with! They also have a storytime every hour. Not that I would know what it's like, because B can't sit still for two seconds, but Stacey mentioned that they have one. Branner's favorite things there were the firetruck, tractor (OF COURSE), train table and water table. He lasted about an hour before a meltdown occurred at the train table. So, we were off to lunch, and everything was fine the rest of our outing. Thanks for a fun time, Stacey, Nicole and James! Can't wait to hang again soon!

**I'll post pics when I'm back from my mountain vacay, y'all!

ImaginOn

We're just in from a morning spent at ImaginOn with Beth and her boys, and wow! What a cool place! If you live in the Charlotte area and have kids, you have to check it out! There are so many fun things to see and play with and it's free (parking, too, for 1 1/2 hours)! Branner's favorite things were the real SmartCar/gas station, the wooden truck to drive, climbing on the computer desks and the water fountains. He ran around and played, played, played. I chased, chased, chased. Thanks again, Beth, for another fun playdate! 

Play Date

Remember this article I wrote over at Modern Parent? Well, I have been trying hard to do better about making new mom friends lately. Particularly ones with children close to Branner's age. I have actually had a lot of success this summer! There are a few moms that we hang with at our pool. AND, I made two brand-new mom friends! One through Gymboree and one through blogging :)

This morning, Branner and I met Beth from momsie and her youngest son, Sullivan, for a "date." We took the boys to Toys & Co to play and then had lunch at Chick-fil-A. We had a great time! The boys had fun and we both actually got to eat lunch before any major craziness started. Even though we had to rush out because the boys were done, we still finished our meals. If you have kids around 2, you understand that this is actually a big deal!

Thanks, Beth, for reaching out and for coming up with a fun idea for a play date!!!

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!!!!

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!

Birthday Celebration Weekend!

{source}

Well, it's finally here...the weekend before my thirtieth birthday! I have so much going on this weekend, but I'm really excited! Here's what's on tap:

• Volunteering at Fish & Fiddles--a fish fry/bluegrass event tonight at our church.
• My great friend, Jamie's, baby shower tomorrow.
• Jason and Kendra coming in town tomorrow afternoon.
• My birthday dinner/celebration at Dandelion Market tomorrow night.
• A day at the lake with Lauren, Bennett and Drew on Sunday.
• Celebrity Apprentice finale on Sunday night (sorry, I'm obsessed with the show, I'm excited).

I'm sure come Monday, my actual birthday, I will be exhausted! What better way to recover than a long weekend at the beach to celebrate with my family next weekend?!?!?! Surprisingly, I'm looking forward to the next week/weekend! Turning thirty doesn't scare me...yet!!!!

Amanda's Baby Shower

Saturday afternoon, Brittany and I drove to Albemarle for a baby shower for our longtime friend, Amanda Muse. We had a great time celebrating Amanda and baby Clyde and catching up with some of our best friends! The food was delicious (especially the cupcakes!), the company was amazing and Amanda and Clyde got tons of great goodies! I can't wait until Clyde makes his debut!!!

Happy Birthday, Jen!

Before Georges Brasserie

Happy Belated Birthday to one of my BFFs, Jen! She is the best neighbor, mani/pedi partner and person to have a glass of wine with a girl could ask for! We celebrated by going to Georges for a delicious dinner and a few cocktails Saturday night. Love hanging with the Harrisons!!!!

Meadow's Birthday Party

Yesterday was our friend, Meadow's, third birthday party with a Fancy Nancy theme. There were tutus, tiaras and feather boas galore! We had so much fun! Branner played, played and played some more. He also went on his very first horse ride with Daddy! Mommy didn't think getting on the horse would be such a good idea in her "fancy" outfit, so she took pictures instead.

We can't believe Meadow is already three years old. We remember the day she came home from the hospital like it was yesterday. Now, she is a big sister to Summer (10 months) and we have our own sweet baby who is already growing up too fast. Being a parent sure makes time fly by.

Thanks to the DiProspero's for having us! Can't wait to do it again soon!