Kids say the darndest things

One of the greatest things about being the parent of an almost 3-year old is being constantly amused by the words that come out of his mouth. Some days, we just look at each other and say "Where did he learn that??"

And, if you knew Jack as a young toddler you know that he was just a little on the shy side. Not anymore. He will talk to anyone and everyone. Anywhere. Anytime. It doesnt matter. And, for some reason, his voice these days is SO LOUD. So loud. So, so, so, so loud.

It is also adorable to hear his interpretation of how words are said. This is a video I shot of Jackson the other day while we were playing "shopping". He has a pretend grocery cart, pretend food, pretend money, his very own reusable shopping bag from Harris Teeter (we dont do plastic here) and his very own cash register or in Jackese cash regerregerreger. He likes to "see myself" in the camera so that is what he says each time I ask him a question.

Edited to add: I can't believe I forgot to add in the main part of this post!! I must have gotten distracted by something very important.

4th of July we had the opportunity to share our blanket with another family who did not have one. The kids (2 of them - ages 3 & 4) sat down on the grass next to us to watch the fireworks and ended up sitting in a small fireant hill. I heard the kids talking about ants and the mom trying to get the kids up and offered to share our blanket with the family. We ended up talking and having a wonderful evening. About 10 minutes before the fireworks started one of the little boys said "Wait - you're supposed to have 2 kids. Where's your other one?" So cute.

What I'll miss...

So far this has been a very blessed move. Thanks for all the prayers - we have definitely felt them! But - there are a few things we will miss.

We woke up this morning to a cool summer morning (cool summer - upper 60's), which reminded us of....an early fall Saturday watching college football. We are definitely NOT in college football country up (college basketball/professional hockey but not college football). I will miss running to Publix Saturday morning to pick up yummy football watching food (taco dip ingredients) and running into tons of people doing the same thing, having ESPN Gameday blaring in the background and seeing cars driving around town with their Carolina (or any other football team) flags waving in the breeze.

Right now, the thing I miss the most is Publix shopping. I used to look forward to the sales paper coming out on Wednesday and making my grocery list for the week. I could shop for the three of us for under $80/week and always have tons of fresh fruits and veggies. I loved Publix. I have resorted to Wal-Mart shopping once or twice here because I haven't found the grocery store that comes close to Publix. I DO NOT love Wal-Mart shopping and would avoid it at all costs in S.C.

So - just a little post about what we know will be different here. Not in a bad way (I'm sure I'll find my grocery store - went to Kroger this morning and was pretty impressed. I also visited our local Farmers Market, which happens every Saturday and LOVED that. Fresh, local breads, coffee, fruits, veggies, meat, eggs) but just different. And I'm sure Lee and I will still proudly (yes, even with those bad losses) sport our Carolina car flags around town on game days. Even if we are the only ones and up here Carolina means North Carolina.

Of course, we miss all our awesome friends and our church but know that God has great plans for us here.

Our first 4th...

We had a wonderful first 4th here in the triangle (as I'm learning it's called). We took Jackson for a quick run (ok, Lee and I ran while pushing Jack in the stroller), went swimming, took a nap (everybody napped - so nice when that happens) and then headed to the Koka Booth Ampitheatre in Cary for fireworks.

This was a very good idea on our part. We had no idea where to go or what to do for the 4th so I looked up the best place for fireworks in Cary and this is where it pointed us. It was amazing! The NC Symphony played patriotic music while we strolled along the pond filled with hungry geese (and little ones feeding them anything they could fine). There were probably 8,000 people there. The weather was beautiful and we really had a wonderful evening.

It all started with a free Chick-Fil-A cow for Jack (he didnt so much like the life-sized one that wanted to give him a hug but didnt let go of this little one all night. He would walk up to complete strangers to show them his cow)

Next, Jack and Lee enjoyed a blue (Lee's choice - not mine) sno-cone and then enjoyed their matching blue tongues.

Just a glimpse of the # of people that came for fireworks. They really started rolling in about 8:00, with the fireworks starting at 9:00.

And then the best part of all - the fireworks. Jackson LOVED them and hasn't stopped talking about them. He has asked to see more fireworks probably three times a day since Saturday. These fireworks were spectacular! All in all - it was a simple but unforgettable 4th for us.

How fun is that???

We are here! We left Lexington on June 4th and arrived in Cary on June 5th. We spent a not so restful night in Fayetville, NC on the way up from S.C. and left early the next morning to meet the movers. We have realized that using a moving service is definitely the way to go - we are renting an apartment on the 3rd floor and didn't have to carry one thing up. The boxes were packed oh-so-neatly (very unlike my packing jobs) and very easy to unpack. It also helped that my mom came (thanks, Mom. We miss you and cant wait for you to come back up!!) and unpacked basically our whole house in 1 day.

We are trying to get settled and are really enjoying the area. We can definitely feel all the prayers we had as this has been a pretty smooth (just a few bumps) transition. This is a beautiful area and Cary/Raleigh is sooo family friendly. We are within walking distance to a beautiful park (Jack and I have made that trek twice). I met another new to the area mom the other day at the park and even went for a playdate with several other new-to-the-area moms (mostly west coasters, I'm guessing the research triangle has something to do with all the computer engineering folks here).

We've tried 2 churches and really liked them both. We are realizing that churches here are just going to be HUGE but with small groups. Both services offered exactly what we needed to hear that day, which has been a blessing.

Here are a few pics from our time here...


Jack at the pool - our apartment has a beautiful pool. During the day it is mostly moms and kids Jackson's age. Lee also takes him most evenings to the pool. Jackson is becoming quite a little fish.

Jack's new room (and his new house). Mimi built him a house out of moving boxes - Jackson insisted it have blinds on the windows (hence the paper hanging from the box).

Our trip up - we stopped about 447 times in the 4 hour trip for Jackson to use the potty. One time was a a truck stop (not such a hot choice) and one stop was at the N.C. welcome center (where Jack "used the potty" on a tree). Welcome to N.C.

Last Saturday we went to the park in the morning and then headed to Southpointe Mall for shopping in the evening. Jack asked his infamous "Where are we going, Daddy?" on the way to the mall to which I replied "a new mall". Jackson's reply was "a new park!! AND a new mall!! How fun is that!!??!!"

I wuv you, Mommy

It was the sweetest thing ever the first time Jackson said this to me - without me saying it to him first or hinting to him that he should say it.

I was helping him put his shorts back on after a potty break (we now officially have a fully potty trained little guy) so he was standing next to me with his hand on my shoulder while I helped him with his shorts. He patted me on the shoulder and said "Oh, Mommy, I wuv you" and gave me a big hug. I still get teary eyed thinking about it - it makes everything I do as a parent totally worth it just to hear those words.

Of course that was about 2 weeks ago and since then it has progressed into "I wuv you, Denise." No more mommy here - I am now Denise to my 2 1/2 year old son. I honestly dont know where he got that. Lee calls me D when we are together so Jack doesn't hear a lot of Denise around the house. I gently remind him that I am Mommy, not Denise, but the first time he said it I just cracked up. "I wuv you, Denise."

So, this morning Jack and I went to Lee's work to have lunch with a few friends, celebrate his last day there and most importantly (in Jack's world) see the semi trucks. As we were heading out the door, Jackson asked me (for the hundredth time) "Where are we going?" to which I replied "to Daddy's work" to which he replied "Fredrick's work?" I had to stop and ask him to repeat himself. Fredrick is Lee's first name (he is actually Fredrick Lee Woodham, II). This boy picks up on everything we say. I call Lee Fredrick in a joking way every once in a while.

Guess we better be sure to watch what we say. Even when he is not listening.

Jack Jack's Dance Party

Lee and Jack love to watch Madagascar together - their favorite part is where the lemurs (I think they're lemurs) are dancing to "I like to move it move it" They both jump out of their chairs and start dancing. It's so cute to watch but Jackson will not dance like this in front of a camera so Lee had to hide the camera to get him to dance (pretty sneaky, huh?). Lee filmed him dancing one nigth before bed when I wasn't here. Funny thing is the first thing Jack said when he woke up the next morning was "I dance with Daddy to move it move it" Wonder how many times Jackson had to dance to the song?

This was part of my (early) super sweet Mother's Day present. There's no music to it (but if you listen real close you can hear Lee dancing in the background.) I also got another super sweet early present - a mold of Jack's tiny little hand. I sat in my room and listened to Lee try to keep Jack still and keep him from eating the plaster while making the mold and knew the whole time what he was doing. It also didnt help that Jackson came running back to me afterwards and said "I made you a present Mommy!! It's not food, no. I not eat it, no. It's just my hand. Yeah."

Where Raleigh go, Daddy??

First things first....
Lee accepted an amazing promotion in Raleigh, NC. He will be the VP of Fresh Point - a produce company in Raleigh. We should be up there around the first of June sometime. This is a wonderful opportunity for him and we are super excited about it. It literally came out of the blue - his boss-to-be called his current boss and basically said that Fresh Point wanted Lee for this position. Lee interviewed in Raleigh and Orlando and both interviews went really well. Fresh Point, which is actually owned by Sysco, made him an offer that couldn't be passed up and is making this move as easy as possible. Please pray for a smooth transition for us and that our house sells.

We (minus Jackson) traveled to Raleigh this past week while Jack stayed with Mimi and Papa in Lexington. Jack had an awesome time as did me and Lee. The morning that we were leaving for Raleigh Lee was talking to Jackson about us leaving and told him we were going to Raleigh. Jackson's response was "Where Raleigh go, Daddy?" to which Lee said "North Carolina". Jackson's response to that was "Where North Carolina go, Daddy?"

Now for some pictures...
Mom and Dad (aka Mimi and Papa) went camping a few weeks ago at Dreher Island. Since it was just a 45 minute drive Jack and I headed up to spend the day with them (well, the day minus the 2 hours it took to replace my dead battery but that's another story). Jackson loved it and really enjoyed fishing with Papa (I'll post those pictures soon, they are soo cute) and eating the treats Mimi brought.

Here is Jackson with Papa and Mimi - it was nearly impossible to get a picture where all three of them were looking at me and smiling.



A camper at heart - Jackson with his fishing pole (notice the real bobber Papa attached) and coffee (it's really water in the coffee cup but was so cute I couldnt pass it up). We are planning on taking Jackson camping this fall - he loved it that much!

A budding artist - look at how he holds that pencil!! He will sit and draw and draw and draw!! He really focuses so intently, draws pretty well for a 2 year old and we are just amazed at how good he is at holding his pencil.