Official

This last week the final step in our cross country move was finalized...

That's right, we are officially NC residents.  North Carolina is our new "home sweet home" and will probably be the only place Neal will ever remember living.  We are having a great time settling in here as a family, and even though it's a big change from AK we seem to be adjusting just fine.

The Beach!!

We had an early Father's Day and Birthday celebration for Tyler on Saturday and took a family trip to the Carolina coast.   It was amazing!

We had the perfect weather, the beach wasn't very crowded and the water was so warm.

Saturday morning when Neal woke up I took him into the bedroom to snuggle with Tyler.  As he was sitting on the bed I told him that we were going to go to the beach.  Neal stood up and woke Tyler up saying "Daddy get up, go see boom water".   The entire day at the beach all Neal wanted to do was play in the "boom water".  

We had a ton of fun building sand castles (so Neal could knock them down), throwing shells into the water, jumping over waves and watching Neal laugh and swim in the water all day.  It was a relaxing day and a fun way to enjoy time together as a family.   We will be making lots more trips to the coast for sure.

Hard at work

It has been great living somewhere with sunny weather pretty much all the time.  It is great being able to be outside a lot and play or sit in the sun.  With all the sun and having a house with a yard sitting around isn't the only thing we do.  Our weekends seem to consist of yard work (I know this is no surprise to those of you who have had a house and yard for years).

Neal is a great help in the yard.  He helps me weed and his favorite is helping Tyler mow the lawn on the "tractor".

Finally, after a hard days work in the yard what is better then a well deserved cup of ice cold sweet tea.

Fuquay 5K

A few weeks ago we got to join with our church and reach out to our community at the "Run the Quay 5K."   Our church set-up a tent at the finish line and handed out snacks and drinks to the runners as they finished.  

Tyler brought the camera with him and did some filming of the event and of those from the church who were there.  It was a great day getting to know some of the families of our church and helping get the churches name out to our community.  

Neal was a big help that day too.  His favorite thing was to stand along the sideline and clap for the runners as they came by.  He also helped hand out drinks and snacks and even helped Tyler do some filming.  

Watching the race was a lot of fun but Tyler and I decided that next year we would like to participate in the actual race instead of just cheering from the sidelines.

A Story of Success

Well last week was a success!   Neal did great!  He far surpassed my expectations in the potty training, so he was ready.  (Here he is playing with a few of his prizes)

We were out from the house several times this weekend and he did great.  You would think we were parents of a newborn though if you look at the diaper bag I carry with me (haven't carried a diaper bag around in awhile).  It is filled with all the things we may need for any unexpected accidents so it is packed full.  

If you had been at my house this week you probably would have found it quite comical at how quickly I would run across the house with Neal when he said he had to go.   Though I think Neal may have taken advantage of this a bit 'cause a few days into the week he would say "chase me mama" as we would run to the bathroom.  By the end of this week I was ready for a treat from the busy week and Neal was well deserving of something special for doing so well (no accidents!) so we got some ice cream.

Now you will find this in our kitchen...

That's right a "big boy chart" (aka: potty chart).   Whenever Neal tells me he has to go potty and is successful he gets to put a sticker on the chart.  He LOVES it!  It's amazing how somethings as simple as a few fun stickers can motivate a child so much.

So this week, back to more normal activities and NO DIAPERS!

My week...

Look what fun we are going to have this week:

That's right we are potty training!  We started yesterday and so far so good (I think Neal was ready).  So our week this week consists of staying at home, Neal running around in his "big boy underwear", lots of sweet tea drinking, book reading and M&M's for rewards.

I won't really be blogging much this week (especially since this small post has taken me over 2 hours to finish) but next time I blog we should have a boy who is out of diapers!

Saying Goodbye

Monday was a big day for Neal, he got his big boy bed!

Along with this fun new transition into growing up we told Neal that since he was a "big boy" now he had to say goodbye to his binky.

The first night was not so fun, he had a hard time falling asleep and was awake for about 2 hours until he finally fell asleep.  His nap the next day was similar, taking him over a half hour to fall asleep.  Also, he wasn't sleeping as long as usual (waking up early and only taking a 1 hour nap).  But like always he adjusts quickly and last night he did great!

This morning I walked into his room and told him he could get up and he said to me "Mama, Neal big boy sleeping, no binky"  He was so proud of himself and I was proud of him.

Neal teaches me a lot in how well he adjusts to change.  I'm not always so good with change in my life (especially unexpected changes) but seeing Neal trust Tyler and I and accept change, with little hesitation, reminds me that I need to continue to trust God without hesitation when change comes.