3856 Forsyth Park Court

I have to get use to that new address...... b/c we are not homeless anymore!!!!!!!! Our offer was accepted on the house we wanted. I am so excited. We are on vacation right now but I was so excited about the house that I had to post. Below is a picture of the house. I will have more details later. For now, I need to enjoy my time at the beach.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Much like everyone, we have been extremely busy these days! First of all, we sold and moved out of our first home. It was a very bittersweet experience. We made so many good memories in 505 Huff Drive. We made lifelong friends with our neighbors: Dora, Gary, Don, Sue, Frank, Kathy, etc. We are now living at 4305 Wildwood with the best landlord: Pat Carman; aka Memaw. It has been great! Mom said "If you cook, I will do laundry." I was like "Heck yeah!" Poor thing, she hasn't eaten alot of my cooking. She might want to switch soon.

The weekend after we moved in with mom, we went to Tweetsie to see the "real" Thomas the Tank Engine. Alan and Sharon went with us and we had a great time. Luke did not understand why Thomas was pulling a green train and not Annie and Clarabell. They also saw Sir Topham Hat. Then the kids really enjoyed swimming in the pool at the hotel. I am not sure who enjoyed the trip more, the kids or the grandparents. Here are a few pictures of the trip.

Above, is a picture of Luke and Carman at the hotel.

Above is our family with a "Really Useful Engine"

Who is the happiest in this picture???

Above is our family with Sir Topham Hat!

Luke keeps asking to go back and see Thomas, the real Thomas. So I guess this will become an annual thing for us. Believe it or not... Carman loved it just as much as Luke!

I also had the privilege of being a bridesmaid in my girlfriend's wedding this past weekend. Ashley Gibson(now Cuesta) is one of my best friends since kindergarten. She was a beautiful bride and had a beautiful wedding. Her wedding was in Wilmington, NC and Alan and Sharon watched Luke and Carman for us so that we could attend. It was such a nice getaway for us. We stayed in the historic downtown area and it was absolutely my "cup of tea". I loved it! I didn't get many pictures, but here is one of us at the bridesmaids luncheon.

We ate so much good food this weekend, that I feel like I could go a week without food and be just fine. The best part was being able to catch up with my girls. Below is a picture of us at the spa where we got our hair done for the wedding.

I cannot forget to mention my husband, since this past weekend was Father's Day. We left Wilmington on Saturday night and travelled to Morhead for Father's Day on Sunday, plus we needed to pick up our kids. As fun as it was to get away, I cannot stay away from my kids too long. I get seperation anxiety. So we tried to let Christian know how much we love him. Because of the fact that I was blessed to have such a perfect daddy, I always knew that I would have high expectations for my husband to live up to. I am soooo very thankful that Christian is not only my husband and best friend but he is honestly the best father! That makes me love him even more. I love you babe!

Contract Pending

I have not posted for a while because we got a contract on our house last Monday. So I have been busy dealing with inspections, appraisals, packing, etc. I am glad that others are updating their blogs b/c on my breaks, I really enjoy reading them. We are suppose to close on May 28th and move the weekend before that on the 24th. So after all of this is over I will have a little more time to update. Hope everyone is well!

Strawberry Fields Forever!!!

This past Friday we joined the play group from church on a trip to the Strawberry Field. I was so excited because I inherited my Grandma Phoebe's love for the most fabulous fruit in the world.... strawberries. Heather Moss arranged the whole day and it was so much fun. Our group gathered and started with a tour of the animals. We saw chickens, goats (some w/ child), roosters, a peacock and bunnies (Luke's favorite). After that, we all got on a covered wagon and went for a ride around the cow pastures. We got within a few feet of the cows. After the ride, came the best part.... picking strawberries. Our picking went as follows: I was picking beautiful red strawberries and putting them in my basket, Luke was picking strawberries and putting them in his basket and then dumping them in my basket (he was a big helper) and Carman was picking strawberries and squeezing them in her hands and then trying to eat some of the mess in her hand. It was a lot of fun!

I also had to mention Luke's last soccer game. He did such a good job! He scored 4 out of the 6 goals that his team scored. He was on Fire!! (good thing, he plays for Team Fire)

This weekend was so busy because on Friday night, I had a much needed girl's night to the movies with Allison, Courtney, Jenny and Leah (we later saw Joy and Nikki). We went to see "Baby Mama". Very funny! Then on Saturday morning, we had Luke's soccer game. After that I rushed home to get food ready for Allison's baby shower. Then rushed to help set up for the shower. It went really well. The food was yummers! Kim Bloomfield did an AMAZING job on the cake. She put Your Perfect Cake to shame. I think Allison and Tommy got a lot of nice stuff for their twins that are on the way. I hate that I don't have any pictures to post but it was very nice!!! Then this weekend we have Ashley's wedding shower at Brook Valley. That should be fun too! Busy, busy, busy, but I wouldn't haven't any other way. Except maybe 1 weekend w/ nothing to do!

I almost forgot... the other day when Christian and I were cleaning the strawberries that we picked at the Strawberry field, Christian said "JoAnna, come and look at Carman". When I turned around I saw Carman talking to her baby and changing her diaper. It was such a sweet moment. She is such a mother wannabe! I love her to pieces!

Grandparents and Sunny Days!

Grandparents and Sunny Days are 2 of my favorite words!

Let me start with grandparents.... Luke and Carman are so lucky to have amazing grandparents in their lives. They have a sweet memaw, a kind grandma, a funny PopPop, a great-grandma Phoebe and a great-grandma MomMom. I envy them because as I was growing up, for the most part, I had just one grandma. Granted she had enough sweetness to make up the difference (that would be grandma Phoebe). My reason for all this talk on grandparents is because, not only do Luke and Carman have all these wonderful grandparents.... they have an adopted pair of grandparents. Our neighbors Dora and Gary are the absolute best to our kids. They treat them as if they were their own and our kids love them. They seriously would do anything for them. So I had to post these adorable picture of Luke and Carman with their "other" grandparents.

Next topic... Sunny Days. This past Friday in Eastern NC was absolutely beautiful. I decided to take full advantage of it and go outside with the kids. I put their bathing suits on them and filled the water table. Luke could not understand why our country club pool was not open yet, so he improvised and created his own. They took the legs off the water table and made that their pool. We had a really good time outside. We even washed Christian's car for him. In the process of washing cars, I let the kids hose down the car. Big mistake... Luke hosed me down instead. He couldn't stop laughing as he was squirting me w/ the hose and my squeals only egged him on. I think the whole neighborhood heard me. No pictures of that though. But here are some pictures from our fun sunny day!

10 Years Ago... This is going to be a stretch!!

I am so excited that I got tagged. Thanks Leah! Up until this week, I have never been tagged before. Granted, I enjoy reading others tags, but I am not so sure if I can remember 10 years ago. I have a hard time remembering yesterday. But here goes....


10 Years Ago:


It was April 1998. I was in my Senior year at ECU. I was about to complete my BSBA in Marketing that upcoming December. I lived on Moseley Drive with Ashley and Jody. We frequently ate at Bojangles by our duplex. (So how was I 20 lb.s lighter then???) I had very little, if no worries at this time. I think I was working at my mother's day care center. As I was approaching graduation, I had no clue what I wanted to do. My daddy suggested graduate school around this time. So I was preparing to take the GMAT. That's pretty much all I can remember right now!!


5 Things on my To-Do List today:


I love to-do lists, but rarely do I get to stick to them b/c something always comes up.


1) Finish some ECU work.


2) Clean the house. This is on my to-do list everyday!! Especially since our house is STILL on the market!


3) Take the kids to the park. The weather is suppose to be nice, so I better make some good use of it!


4) Finish writing Thank You notes for Carman. She is extremely smart, but cannot quite handle writing.


5) Spend some quality time with my husband. Man, I love him more and more these days! I think we are going to Nikki's play tonight.


Things that I would do if I was suddenly a billionaire:

• Build a beautiful house in Pitt County



• Build a beautiful house in Morehead City on the water!



• Pay off the mortgages of all my family.



• Donate to Idols Give Back



• Set up an Education Fund for my children and my nieces and nephews



• Set up an investment account for my children



• Go on a shopping spree!!!



• Donate some money to my church!



• Travel, travel, travel and travel some more!!



• I am sure that I could name some more!

3 Bad Habits:

1) Bite my nails

2) Bad Cook

3) Procrastinate

Places that I have lived:

• Ayden, NC



• Greenville, NC



• Orlando, FL



• Winterville, NC

Things that most people don't know about me:

• I inherited club thumbs from my grandma (I use to hate them and now I love them)



• I LOVE reality TV (Dancing w/ the stars, AI, Big Brother, etc.)



• My family use to pick on me when I was little for how tacky I dressed myself.



• I love to squeeze ( it is an impulse that I cannot control )



• I don't like cats (they scare me plus I am allergic)

Jobs that I have had:

• Worked at Burger King in Ayden (for 1 month)


• Worked at my mother's day care center


• Lifeguard at Walt DisneyWorld's Contempary Resort


• Worked on campus at ECU in Continuing Studies


• Worked w/ ECU Telefund


• Graduate Assistant for Marketing and Professional Programs


• Marketing Representative for Online Information Services


• Marketing Analyst for Overton's


• Real Estate Broker for Aldridge and Southerland


• Teaching Instructor at ECU


• Mommy (get the best kisses w/ this one)

I think that does it!! So now I get to tag someone... the only people that I know of that look at my blog are Leah(who tagged me), Regina and Alisha. So Regina and Alisha you are tagged!!!

Carman is 2!!

Yes, my children's birthdays are less than 1 week apart. So this past weekend, we celebrated my sweet little baby girl's birthday. Carman was born on April Fool's day and I definitely felt this year like the joke was on me (as far as her party is concerned). To start off, we planned a lovely party at the park in Ayden which would allow the kids to run, run, run! If you have forgotten the weather this past weekend.... let me remind you.....Rain, Rain, Rain!! So Friday night I called everyone to let them know it would be relocating to the day care center. Joy was very kind to let us use the "Joyful Beginnings" day care for Carman's party. Secondly, when we get to the party I was running late (surprise, surprise) and I had to scurry to get some decorations up as guests arrived. Third, I totally forgot the drinks and candle (so Christian had to run to the store and get some). Fourth, roughly 15 children and their parents were stuffed into a small space = noise and chaos. With all this in mind..... Carman had the time of her life. We had a karoke machine, which Carman made use of. Her song of choice was "Who let the dogs out". Her verse was "who, who, who, who". She also danced along to others singing on the karoke machine. So I must say, despite all the craziness Carman had a ball at her party and that is all that matters to me!!! One quick side note: next year Luke and Carman will have a combined party at a facility that allows me to simply show up and enjoy their party!!

I cannot close this post without noting how very very lucky I am to have Carman in my life. Before having Carman I was worried that I would not be able to love another baby as much as I did Luke. But it totally amazes me how I cannot only love Carman just as much but I cannot imagine my life without her. She is such a happy, beautiful, loving child. I cannot help but smile every time I look at her. I also love the fact that she is "momma's girl". Carman, I love you, I love you, I love you!!

Luke is 4!

This past week we celebrated Luke's 4th birthday. It is so hard for me to believe that my sweet little boy is now 4 years old. I must say the past four years have been priceless. For Luke's birthday, he told me as early as January that he wanted to have his party at Memaw's beach place. So we planned a small pool party at Emerald Isle. His actual birthday was on Wednesday, March 26th, but we celebrated it on Saturday, March 29th. Luke had his first soceer game that same Saturday morning. His team won 5 to 2 and Luke scored 2 goals for his team and assisted in another goal. He is my little David Beckham. After the game, Christian and Luke rushed down to Emerald Isle where Luke's party was set up. He wanted a Lightning McQueen cake which his daddy did a fabulous job on. I baked the cake and Christian decorated it. We had access to an indoor heated pool at mom's condo and the kids LOVED it. Luke invited his cousins; Jack, Allie, Josh, Phoebe and one of his friends Spencer to the party. Of course memaw, grandma and Poppop were there as well. We had a really good time! Around Luke's birthday, he loves for me to recount the days before having him, how he cried when he came out, how I use to snuggle w/ him when he was a baby, etc. As a walk down memory lane with him I cannot help but think about how much I truly love him and how thankful I am that Heavenly Father blessed me with such a sweet little boy. I love you Luke!

A Hoppy Easter

I must start out this post with saying..."How in the world do others have such elaborate and pretty blogs????" I am such a novice at this stuff! I seriously need tutoring on blogging! Ok.. now that I have vented... I can go on about our Easter! Easter 2008 was spent in Morehead City. We went down on Friday (Christian took the day off, yippy) after a very hectic packing and getting the house presentable for showings over the weekend while we were gone. On Saturday morning Sharon and Lisa helped Luke and Carman dye Easter eggs while I tried to get pictures. Then we took the kids to Shevon's Park. They love to go there and I must admit I do too. Then after naps, we had Ethan Guthrie over for an Easter Egg hunt. I was surprised how everyone was into the hunt and there were no big meltdowns b/c of someone feeling they had an inadequate supply of eggs! Overall that was a success. That night we ate a homemade soup that Sharon worked hard on all day. It was VERY yummy. As Carman would say "Yummy to Tummy". The next morning, Luke woke up first(no surprise there) and after finding Carman's basket (that is my tradition, where the Easter Bunny hides the baskets) he quickly found his. He was very excited about his basket full of surprises. After waking up Carman, we directed her towards her basket and she loved hers as well. Then we had to rush to get ready for church. But I must say.... they were some "purty youngins" on Sunday! Last week during our FHE, we tried to explain the reason that we celebrate Easter to Luke. He asked a lot of questions about why they put nails in Jesus' hands. Luke's reaction to that was "I am going to get those mean people so they cannot do that again". I liked that Luke was trying to defend Jesus. Overall, we had a fabulous Easter and enjoyed being together with family.

First 2008 Post

I have got to get better about posting blogs more frequently. So let me try to remember all that has happened since my last post. Christmas.... It was very enjoyable for us this year. Luke was VERY much into the season and presents and Carman just enjoyed playing with all the boxes. We spent the entire Christmas this year in Greenville. On Christmas Eve day we went to Jill's house for Christmas with mom's side of the family. On Christmas Eve night we went to Joy's for my immediate family's festivities. Then on Christmas Day, Alan and Sharon came to our house. It was a holiday filled with love and many memories. We rocked in the new year at mom's beach place. It was a very wild celebration. We barely stayed awake long enough to welcome in 2008. But it was very fun! Luke joined the Sunbeams class at church in January. It was an adjustment for him because there is more structure in Sunbeams. He was confused about why things weren't done like they were in nursery. He curiously raised his hand and asked "When do we eat snack?" Since then he has adjusted very well and gives the most thoughtful prayers. I enjoy listening to them. One Sunday his teacher told me that in his prayer he said "I am thankful for my new Duke shirt". He has his priorities right!! Carman enjoys singing these days. Her song of choice is "Rock a bye baby". She is too cute. She also got her first hair cut on February 16th. She was great. She just sat there and ate her sucker while her hair was trimmed. Luke and Carman's birthdays are quickly approaching. I cannot believe that my Luke will be 4 and Carman will be 2. Christian has been travelling quite a bit lately with work. Last week he was in Winston-Salem on Tuesday, Raleigh on Thursday and Winston-Salem on Friday. He continues to be a "star performer" at BB&T. I always joke with him about becoming the CEO one day. (which isn't too far fetched with how hard he works) Needless to say, I am proud of my sweetie! We have also put our house on the market. I know... what bad timing, but we have had a lot of traffic coming through, so we are hopeful. Maybe by my next post, we will have the house sold. I have started another semester at ECU. I am enjoying teaching alot more this semester. I also look forward to having the summer off. Hey... that means more time for blogging!!!

December 2, 2007 Update

Merry Christmas!!! I cannot believe the holiday season is upon us. We like everyone else have been so busy lately. So many things have happened since my last post, so I will try to give updates on everyone in the family.
Carman is now 19 months old. She keeps a smile on everyone's face with her sweet spirit. She is constantly trying to keep up with her brother Luke. She started nursery at church and has added the word "mine" to her vocabulary. She sounds like the pelicans off of the movie Finding Nemo when she says "mine, mine, mine". Thank goodness she has discovered other words as well. She is quite the talker (like mother, like daughter). She has discovered fits as well. I hope she says my sweet little girl just a little bit longer.
Luke is now 3 years and will be 4 years old this March. He just finished his season for Fall Soceer. Luke absolutely loved soceer. He would ask me every day "Is my soceer game tommorrow?" What a relief.... since Christian would have been heartbroken if Luke hated it. By the way... Christian coached Luke's team and did a great job. We started a tradition, every goal he scored he would get a Krispy Creme doughnut. It worked well, because we had to go to KK after every game. Luke and Carman both love their cousins so much. He constantly talks about Josh, Phoebe, Jack and Allie. I am glad that they are close.
Luke and Carman both enjoyed Halloween. Luke was Spider-Man and Carman was a ballerina. They went to Kathy's 50th birthday and then went trick or treating with all of their cousins. Christian dressed up as a redneck(very funny) and I was an angel(definitely a costume).
Christian has just finished his 2nd semester in graduate school. He has done very well again. He also recently got another promotion at BB&T. I am so proud of him. I don't know how he juggles work, school, church and family. He is "my man"!
I am wrapping up my first semester of teaching at ECU. It has definitely been a learning experience. I very excited about next semester now that I know the "tricks of the trade". I work with alot of great professors that I am learning alot from. I have also enjoyed being at home with my children during the week (MWF). I have so much to be thankful for... kids, husband, job, etc.
We have decorated our house for Christmas and it has helped to get me in the mood for the holidays. We also took the kids to visit Santa and Luke went right up to him and told him exactly what he wanted. On the other hand, Carman's experience wasn't quite the same. Let's just say... the people accross the mall could probably hear her.
We hope everyone has the best Christmas ever and enjoy all that comes along with the season!!

Luke Directing FHE Music

We always knew that Luke would be a great leader but we never knew that it would be music that he would lead. We got a kick out of watching him direct us in "I am a Child of God". Notice how he didn't like sharing his job with Carman who quickly let her brother take over. They are so much fun!

July 8, 2007

Summer is here!!! We just finished celebrating mom's 62nd birthday at her new beach place. It was very nice. We had all of my family there and Christian's mom and dad as well. It was alot of fun. We played in the pool and on the beach, had a 4th of July parade, ate good food, watched the fireworks on the beach. I suggest that everyone at sometime in their life watch fireworks from the beach. I loved it!!!
Christian is very busy these days with graduate school, work, church and helping me with the kids. Might I add... he is kicking butt in his graduate classes. He is doing much better than I did.
Luke is enjoying the summer because he loves the water!! He is swimming quite well, with his jacket on. Hopefully by the end of the summer we will be able to take it off. Mom sold her house (and along with it... the pool) so we joined the Country Club to help with the pool situation plus Christian enjoys golf (but seldom gets to play). Luke starts his first soccer camp next week. I don't know who is more excited... Luke or Christian. Luke also gets his tonsils removed on July 31st. We hope this will help his snoring and sore throats. He continues to look like his daddy "spit him out". Cute as a button.
Carman is so very active and entertaining these days. Her contagious smile can light up a room. Now that she is walking, running, climbing, etc. I am very busy. Her new favorite trick is to climb up and stand on the kitchen table. It is amazing how quickly she can do it. She is now 15 months and continuing to grow like a weed. She is an eating machine. Her vocabulary consists of momma, dada(her fav), bye bye, uh oh, and night night. She loves to give open mouth kisses as well. She is a very good sleeper.(like her momma) She also loves to entertain people when they come over by putting on a show. Carman is such a cute priss pot.
I am working 40 hours a week these days at the day care. I am very ready to start teaching at ECU this fall. Working 2 days will be much better than 4 for me. I am excited yet scared about this new adventure for me. We will see how it goes.
Well that's it for now.
JoAnna

3/27/07 Update

So much has happened since the last blog that I posted. I will begin with the kids. We just celebrated Luke's 3rd birthday this past Saturday. We had a small party at McDonald's with mainly family. It was fabulous because I didn't have to do anything but show up and enjoy watching Luke having fun at his party. I cannot believe my little boy is 3 years old. Time flies too quickly. I just found out today that he needs to have his tonsils removed. He had tubes put in last year, so hopefully after all of this he will feel better. He is alot of fun these days!
Carman turns 1 on April 1st. She is "Miss Personality" these days. She keeps a beautiful smile on her face all the time (by the way her top 4 teeth are coming in). She loves to say bye bye and wave while doing so. Her vocabulary also includes: momma, dada, quack quack and squeeeaaallllll!!! She is standing and taking a few steps. She wants so badly to keep up with her brother. Another update on Carman is.... She loves food! Don't try to eat around her and not share, because she will let you know what she thinks about that. I also found out today that she needs to get tubes in her ears due to consistent ear infections (so much for breastfeeding). She is an absolute joy to have around.
Our family just returned from Walt Disney World during the week of March 15th. We went with mom, John and his family and Joy and her family. We stayed at the Bonnet Creek resort on Disney property and it was very nice. We went down on Thursday and returned on Sunday, so it was a short trip, but so worth it. Luke absolutely LOVED it. At first he was a little overwhelmed all there was to see. It was pretty hard to get him off of the Buzz Lightyear ride. Everyday since we have returned Luke says "Mommy, I want to go back to Disneyworld". After working at Disney for the summer, I loved Disney. After going back to Disney as a guest, I loved it even more. After going to Disney with my children, there is nothing better!!
On to Christian, he is continuing to do well in graduate school. (Mr. Disappointed when he gets a 99) He stays busy with working full time, school at night plus his calling at church. I am very proud of him! He also got a new Toyota Tundra truck. We all love it!
As for me, I just got a teaching instructor position at East Carolina University. In August of this year, I will be teaching "Fundamentals of Management" on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I feel so blessed to get this job because I have always wanted to do this and it will allow me to be at home with the kids for the majority of the week. Plus I love ECU!! I am continuing to work part time at the day care until I start in August.
JoAnna

December with the Robinson Rugrats

December 2007 Copy

January 16, 2007 Post

2007 is here!! I hope 2007 is just as rewarding as 2006 was. During the year 2006, we received the most precious gift ever, when we added Carman to our family, Christian was released from the G3 Singles Branch Presidency and we reunited with the G2 ward, Christian was accepted to the MBA program at ECU, Christian also recieved a promotion at BB&T, I recieved my Broker's license and worked briefly for Aldridge and Southerland, Realtors, After realizing it wasn't the right time for real estate I started working part time at Tenderly Teaching, which allowed me to take the kids to work with me, Luke conquered the potty and I am sure I have forgotten something that we were blessed with in 2006.
Quite a bit has happened since I last blogged. Christmas was great. Luke woke up Christmas morning, went straight into the family room, turned on the tv and never saw what Santa had brought. We quickly called him into our room and coaxed him into waking up a little more then we walked him back into the family room and he soon discovered how much he loved presents. Buzz and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse being his two favorites. Luke also conquered the potty. Happy Days are HERE!! These days Luke also enjoys his Power Wheels that he got last Christmas from Geemaw and PopPop. He has discovered his need..... his need for speed. When I get on the Power Wheel, Luke tells me "#2 Mommy". #2 is the top speed. As for Carman, she has gotten her first 2 teeth at 9 months. She also crawls sporadically. She definitely has started showing us some of her personality. She is such a happy, sweet and beautiful baby. I often wonder how did I get so lucky. She has also started Stage 3 foods and some table foods. I cannot believe she is less than 3 months away from her first birthday. Christian also was called to serve as the Executive Secretary in the G2 Ward. I am excited for him. Although I will probaly not see much of him this year due to work, school and church I admire and appreciate all that he is doing for his family.
I really don't understand why Heavenly Father has blessed me with so much, but I enjoy and am thankful for every bit of it.

December 17th Update

Hi! It's me JoAnna. I cannot believe it has almost been a month since my last blog. Since then we had a very nice Thanksgiving. This year for the first time ever, we didn't eat our lunch at Grandma Phoebe's. She had lunch with Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Lois, so we had our lunch at mom's house with Joy and John's families. Christian deep fried a turkey and it was yummers. Everyone else brought side dishes that made for a very delicious Thanksgiving. Luke enjoyed being with his cousins, as did Carman. Carman enjoyed her yummy jar of apples and bananas. Then on Thanksgiving night we had Joy and John's families over to our house for an oyster roast. Our neighbor, Don came over as well. Once again another delicious meal. Needless to say, we ate too much.
So now we are busy preparing for the upcoming Christmas holiday. I told Luke that Christmas was coming and he quickly ran to the window and looked out asking, "Where is it, Mommy?". He is definitely into Christmas this year. He is constantly singing Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman or Santa Claus is coming to town. He isn't too picky about where he does it either, in the car, in the store, in the middle of church. He is a equal opportunity singer! When we ask him what he wants for Christmas, we get new things all the time (with the exception of the consistent request for Thomas). He has mentioned Mickey Mouse, Buzz, Woody, Power Rangers, etc. He also enjoyed decorating the tree. It was obvious where Luke had put ornaments on the tree. They were all in the same spot. Luke continues to test us. His new test is talking back, which drives me crazy and he knows exactly how to push my buttons. Hopefully this phase will end soon. He also continues to struggle with pooing in the potty. I don't know what to do about that. Nonetheless, Luke is a good boy and is very much looking forward to Christmas.
Carman continues to be such a pleasure to have around. She makes me laugh how she likes to kick her feet when she gets excited these days, which usually is the result of watching her brother do something that she wants to do. She loves watching Luke so much. They are both very loving towards each other and are a joy to watch. Carman still has not gotten a tooth and has not started to crawl. She moves all over the floor but doesn't crawl. This of course is not bad news to me, b/c I don't want to have 2 to chase. She doesn't have a clue about the Christmas holiday but enjoys the lights. I enjoy shopping for her. Girls are fun!!
Christian and I recently had the opportunity to go to a Duke basketball game in Cameron Indoor Stadium. It was awesome. They played George Mason and won. It was so much fun and the students were a lot of fun to watch as well. We will have pictures of that up as soon as I get them developed (we forgot the digital camera). Alan and Sharon watched the kids for us that weekend so Christian and I felt like we were on a vacation. We spent the night in Durham and did some Christmas shopping. It was a very enjoyable weekend.
Presently our entire family is fighting this nasty cold bug that is going around. Poor Carman has an ear infection in both ears. Luke has the nasty cough/cold. Christian has a sinus infection. I have a minor cough/cold. Hopefully we will all be well by Christmas. We anxiously await the holidays and all that it has to bring.

Greenville Christmas Parade

On Saturday we took Luke, Carman and Phoebe (cousin) to see the Greenvile Christmas Parade. We have gone to the Ayden and Winterville parades a few times, but going to the Greenville parade was a first for us. The kids really enjoyed it, especially seeing Santa at the end. Carman was a good little girl during the parade. She was actually able to take a nap during all of the commotion.

I've added some of the pictures from the parade to our website. I've included the link and hope you enjoy.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ckr1001

Notice: Pictures on a New Site

Well, I have had major issues trying to get all of my pictures to upload to this site. For some reason I just can't get them all on here. Luckily, I came across a new service that Google is offering with its photo editing software called Picasa. This application allows you to upload your pics to the web. I've had no problem getting the pictures out there.

This being said, we are going to start putting our pics on that site. Whenever we have new pics loaded I'll make sure to put some comments on our blog with a link to the site. In the meantime, enjoy the pics that have been put out there now. I have the past 3 months or more out there.

The link is http://picasaweb.google.com/ckr1001

Enjoy,
CR

November 20th Update

Hi! It's me JoAnna. I just wanted to record an update on what the rugrats are up to now. Starting with my baby, Carman. She is currently 7 months old. Carman loves to drink her milk and enjoys her jar food.(mainly fruits) We enjoy hearing her say "ba ba ba ba" while she blows raspberries. Luke likes to imitate her only words... ba ba ba. I can already tell that she is going to be a talker. Carman is sitting on her own and is very anxious to become mobile. She watches everything going on around her and makes it apparent that she wants to get involved in it all. The other night while she was playing on the floor with Christian she made attempts at crawling but didn't quite do it. I would have called what she was doing "scooting". She also has started a new nap schedule. She likes to take a morning nap and then an afternoon nap. I kinda enjoyed the sleeping all the time thing. I do not get many breaks now. I cannot complain though, because she still sleeps through the night (knock on wood). Carman is truly a blessing to have around. She is so happy, beautiful and sweet. I love her to pieces.
Now, on to Luke. Luke is 2 years old (turning 3 in March). He is trying master the potty. Or should I say we are trying to motivate him to master the potty by any means possible. He is thrilled to pee in the potty and seldom has accidents, but the pooing is another story. He has a little more work to do in that area but I think it will happen soon. He is sleeping with his big boy underwear on at night and doesn't wet the bed (knock on wood). I must say.... I LOVE not buying diapers for 2. Luke's vocabulary and behavior have seemed to improve since his tubes and adenoid surgery a few months ago. We definitely have to watch what we say around him because it will get repeated, no doubt. He also amazes us with his knowledge of songs, books and whatever bit of information he gets his hands on because he soaks it up like a sponge. We frequently hearing him singing songs that we have no idea how, who, when, where he discovered it. Luke is still obsessed with trains preferrably Thomas. He also knows that Christmas is coming and keeps looking out the window to see if Christmas was at our house yet. I also love my Lukey Moe to pieces.
Both the kids favor their daddy. Thank goodness. I guess the Robinson genes are pretty strong.
Enough for now, I will update some more after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Love you!!!