Memphis Belle

We took the boys to see the Memphis Belle at the Concord Airport this afternoon. Well, not the Memphis Belle, but it was the B-17 that portrayed the Memphis Belle in the movie. In case you don’t know, the original Memphis Belle became famous in WWII because she was the first B-17 bomber to finish a tour of duty and she brought back all of her men without a scratch! The plane we saw today was painted to look like the original for the 1989 Memphis Belle movie. There are only around 13 B-17s that can still fly, so it was neat to be able to go inside this one. Too bad we didn’t have $450 a person to take a flight!

Alex was very excited to see the Memphis Belle and enjoyed his tour. He was a bit bummed afterwards that he only got to see 1 airplane. I think he thought we were going to the Aviation Museum again!

Mommy helping Alex up the ladder. Behind us you can see Tim’s coworker with his wife and one of his boys.

It was neat seeing the movie Memphis Belle, especially since Tim and I almost saw the original when we visited Mud Island in Memphis when we were first dating.

Alex is practicing his thumb’s up!

After being inside, I couldn’t imagine flying in one!

Peeking out at Daddy.

Such a funny action shot. He was supposed to be posing by the propeller!

Apple Picking

We went apple picking at Carrigan Farms with Tim’s boss and his family over the weekend. Alex had so much fun visiting the animals, seeing the quarry, and picking apples! This morning he even told me he was going to pick apples again today. Spencer was very good and slept in his carrier the whole time. I’m so excited for fall weather and all the fun festivals and events this time of year!

I actually captured the moment Tim was bitten by the pig. Alex pulled Tim’s hand back and wouldn’t let him pet the pig again. Tim thinks it’s payback for his love of all pork products!

Alex loved walking amongst all the trees! There were Red and Golden Delicious trees on this farm.

Alex was frustrated by how hard he had to pull the apples.

Apparently, pulling the bag was easier.

This is my favorite picture of Alex! The boy ate 3 apples yesterday!

Spencer was snug as a bug in his carrier and slept the whole time!

Hitching a ride back with Daddy.

Poor Daddy was loaded down with a backpack full of apples and Alex.

My boys and me!

Grocery Shopping

Alex insisted on carrying the basket in Harris Teeter over the weekend:

He made me carry the peanut butter because it made the basket “too big”.

After adding a few more items to the basket, he decided it was easier to push it. He actually pushed it all the way to the checkout!

Spencer is 2 months!

Well, this post is a little late. He was actually 2 months on the 11th, but I was waiting for his 2 month well visit on the 20th to write this post so I could share his newest stats. The pictures are from the 11th.

Height: 24 in … 77th %ile (he’s grown 2 in this month)

Weight: 13 lb, 5 oz … 60th %ile (he’s gained almost 3 lbs this month)

Head: 41.5 cm … 94th %ile (he’s added almost 2 cm to his head circumference)

Spencer loves his brother and almost always smiles when he sees him. He coos and smiles all the time and is a happy baby for the most part. He is very strong and can hold his head up for several minutes at a time. Spencer’s sleep schedule is still a little off, as he usually won’t go down for the night until 12:30 or 1:00 am. At least he will sleep anywhere fro 4-6 hours at that point. We are having lots of fun with our two crazy boys!

Alex, 2 months

Spencer, 2 months

5 Years!

Happy Anniversary to my sweet hubby! We’ve been married for 5 years and have been dating for 9 … our first date was September 21, 2004. I love you, Tim!

We looked like babies back then! One of our first road trips to the Blue Ridge Parkway – fall, 2004.

I loved getting married to you on the Charleston Harbor. Let’s have an anniversary party in a couple years on the same boat!

Aviation Museum & Airport Overlook

Since Spencer was healing so well last weekend, we decided to take Grandma and Grandpa to the Carolinas Aviation Museum and the CLT Airport Overlook. We had so much fun! Alex was super excited to go to the Aviation Museum, especially after we told him he would see an airplane that had crashed in the water. (Spend 10 minutes with Alex and you know that he is obsessed with everything crashing!) The “Miracle on the Hudson” is parked permanently in the Aviation Museum. It absolutely took my breath away to see the damage on the plane and to see the pictures of the rescue in the Hudson. Amazing. Can you believe I didn’t take any pictures of it? I was too busy chasing Alex around and trying to get him to sit still long enough to get a picture of him! Oh well, guess we’ll have to go back!

Alex loved playing with all the controls in an actual cockpit.

Daddy, this is how you kill engine # 1.

Cutest pilot ever! Would you let him fly your plane?

Sitting in the F4 Phantom

After the museum, we decided to check out the airport overlook. I’ve wanted to take Alex since we moved here, but didn’t want to go by ourselves without checking it out with Daddy. Now we know that it’s an awesome park, it feels safe, and you can definitely see lots of airplanes!

Spencer’s Surgery

On Friday the 13th, Spencer had minor surgery on his bottom to heal a small fistula which had gotten infected and formed a painful bump 3 times in 3 weeks. I guess Friday the 13th is lucky for us – the surgeon only worked on Spencer for 6 minutes. It took longer for the anesthesiologist to put Spencer to sleep than it did for the procedure! The surgeon was very happy and is confident Spencer’s problem should be solved.

The hardest part of the whole day was keeping Spencer happy even though he couldn’t eat 6 hours before the surgery. Spencer sure is a trooper! The nurses and hospital staff loved him and called him their little VIP.

Spencer has healed very well! His follow-up appointment is soon, then this whole episode should be all over!

We kept this cute hospital gown for dress-up.

Sleeping on Daddy and sucking his fingers like crazy.

Life With Two Boys

Remember the post I wrote in July about waiting for Spencer’s arrival? Well, now I want to give you a glimpse of life with two boys. We don’t get outside as much – it’s either too hot for Spencer, raining, or too buggy – but Alex has been able to find many new ways of entertaining himself. Over the past few weeks, his vocabulary and imagination have just exploded. We are amazed every day with new sentences and new imaginative play. He is definitely almost three years old!

Alex has a new found love of dressing up.

We found him using sidewalk chalk on the house while Tim was cutting the grass. (He didn’t wet his pants – he was playing in the water.)

He was hanging all his dinosaurs from the blinds.

Alex is really enthralled with building – he builds with any and all blocks, train tracks, and even cars.

Here’s a short video of Alex building cranes with his train tracks. It was all his idea and design. He clammed up for the camera – I wish he had explained more like he did for me!

Spencer spends all his time eating, sleeping, filling his diaper, practicing his smile, and staring at Alex’s toys. He loves when Alex hugs him and seems to really enjoy hanging out on the floor with us while we play.