Bec's wedding weekend

My little sister is married!!!! Congrats to Bec & Mike!!! (Right now they are off basking in the Mexico sun, and hopefully Bec has put down her Blackberry & laptop long enough to enjoy herself)
This past weekend in Charlotte was such a blur...not sure if that’s b/c it was NON-STOP, or b/c I was so sleep deprived since my daughter has decided she doesn’t like to sleep in pack-n-plays, only king-sized beds (DIVA)! Bec & Mike thought of every little detail and went to great lengths to make sure everyone had such a great time this weekend. From the LARGEST welcome bags known to man (thanks to Poppy!), to the 5K race the day of the wedding, and the little touches like flip-flops, donuts, photo booth, and custom koozies at the reception, it was such a fun time for everyone involved. I felt honored to be a co-maid of honor and stand beside my little sis on her big day.

Thursday, I dropped Greg & the kids in Johnson City with the Givens, and then forged on to Charlotte to help Bec, Mom, and Lora with some last minute wedding projects. They had most of them done by the time I got there, but I did get to help with some wrapping of gifts, and making tags for the welcome bags. We had an AMAZING dinner at Big Daddy’s Burger Bar, home of the best tater tots ever! Then I got to have a sleepover with Bec & Mom (plus a very large, unwelcome ladybug)!



Friday was busy/crazy too! We started off doing some more errands, and before heading to the bridal luncheon we discovered that Bec had lost her car keys. Let me just tell you, there were 6 of us looking and those keys were NO WHERE to be found in the hotel room. So frustrating!! Especially for an OCD, stressed-out bride. We promised her it would be ok, and we moved on with our day to have the most delicious bridal luncheon at Pewter Rose. Good girlfriends, food, and mimosas! My saiad was delish but why they thought they needed to put 2 large sardines on top baffles me. Seriously, nasty.



And to top it off, Bec gave us the most comfy, monogrammed robes from Victoria Secret as our bridesmaid gift. So fun! From there we moved onto manis & pedis, and Greg and the Givens arrived from Johnson City in time for Nate’s fitting. Let me just tell you...there is NOTHING cuter than my 3 yr old son in a navy suit with suspenders and a bowtie!! (pictures to come)

The rehearsal went pretty smooth, minus the fact that Nate kept stomping on the ring bearer’s pillow or throwing it against the pews instead of holding it. We decided that he was most likely NOT going to cooperate for the wedding, so Bec got her head around that and was fine. Hey folks, he’s cute, but he’s not perfect! Both kids fell asleep in the car on the way to the rehearsal dinner at Byron’s. My sweet hubbie stayed in the car with them while I went inside to mix & mingle. They both woke up grumpy after about 30 minutes, but luckily, Becky saved the day and picked that time to give Nate his present for being a ring bearer...a monogrammed LL Bean bag for travelling (SO cute), and a Slinky Dog toy (character from Toy Story). His mood instantly changed once he got the toy, as well as the arrival of my little cousin Anna.

The sweet Ervins - Julie, Will (10 yrs old) and Anna (8 yrs old)

And then, of course, there was the cake! Mike’s mom (who hosted the rehearsal dinner) had gotten a cake made that was a replica of Mike standing in front of the Old Well at UNC. Nate called it the “man” cake b/c there was a little fondant figurine of Mike. The cake was delicious too!

All in all, the rehearsal was a blast...it included lots of childhood pics of Bec & Mike, teary speeches from me & Lora, and lots of good food & drink! It turned into a “Welcome Party” later that night, and before it got too late, Greg left with Abby and the Givens rode home with Nate on the tram. I got to stay and mingle with my relatives...so good to get a chance to catch up!




Abby had a rough night that night – see aforementioned “diva” reference – so I was unable to wake up at the crack of dawn and participate in the 5K race on Saturday morning. I truly was bummed, b/c I had planned on pushing Abby in the jogger with about 40 of Bec’s closest friends! Bec & Mike even had the cutest t-shirts made up for everyone to wear, as they “raced to the altar.”


Then, it was time to get beautiful! All the bridesmaids had so much fun in Bec's suite being pampered. Robes, treats, catering by Jason's Deli, mimosas, getting glammed up by the hair & makeup ladies...it was great! And surprisingly, Bec didn't seem stressed at all. We even all got fake eyelashes put on!! They took a while to get used to, but I do think we all looked super glamorous in the pictures b/c of them. We loaded up into the "tux bus" at 3 pm and headed for the church to get Bec dressed and get ready for the ceremony!



No one started crying until Bec put on her beautiful veil....that just took it to a whole different level. I have never seen my little sis look SO gorgeous!!!
Family (including Greg with the kids) arrived at 4 pm and it was quite the task getting Nate into his suit. Let's just say we were ready with multiple bribes...new toys, gummy bears, and a dvd player seemed to do the trick.



Abby fell asleep in the church nursery 30 minutes before the ceremony. Perfect time for a catnap!

The ceremony was beautiful and so many things stick out in my mind...
-Dad's face as he walked his LAST daughter down the aisle. It was a mixture of shock, sadness, and happiness.
-Nate walking down the aisle holding my hand and holding Slinky in the other hand (sorry Bec that your beautiful monogrammed pillow didn't make it down the aisle!)
-Mike being VERY eager and saying "I do" a little early :)
-Bec's face as she saw that Mike was surprising her with not just one but TWO beautiful wedding bands
-The personalized vows...poor Mike had to promise to watch the "Hills" with Bec for eternity
-Watching Nate play on the floor in Nanny & Poppy's pew...all I could see were his little feet sticking out. He was SO well behaved and got up in time to walk out of the church with me, down the aisle again.

The bridal party got to ride to the reception in style...in a 50 passenger coach bus! Bec & Mike made quite the entrance on the stage, and tears were flowing during the first dance, as well as father/daughter and mother/son dances. The food was delish and the cake was AMAZING!!


Perhaps the biggest hit of the night was the photo booth....they had it set up with props (think: funny hats, sunglasses, boas), and you could print pics out and then put them on a scrapbook page for Bec & Mike. So neat! I went in there with Abby, and Nate went in MULTIPLE times with my little cousins Anna, Will, and Meredith.

The Givens took both kids home around 9:30 - Abby was VERY fussy & VERY tired - so Greg and I got to have about an hour to ourselves! We enjoyed dancing, eating donuts, and catching up with relatives.

We sent the happy couple off with bubbles and watched them ride off to the Ritz in a Rolls Royce. (Becky's nickname is "Country Club" for a reason!!) All in all, it was a wonderful weekend with family and friends and I am so happy for my little sister!!


PS I want to give a big shout out to the multitude of people that helped out with the kids this past weekend...Mum Mum and Granddaddy of course, as well as Nanny, Aunt Lora, my cousins Anna/Will/Meredith, and Ellen who entertained a fussy Abby at the rehearsal dinner! And of course my sweet hubbie who allowed me to be, for the most part, “kid-free” for the weekend, so that I could enjoy myself!

Watch out world!

Abby officially crawled for the first time tonight!!! She has been working on this for awhile, and has done everything BUT crawl. Actually, up until tonight, she's just had her own definition/version of crawling! But she finally did it tonight...everything just clicked I guess. Move an arm, then a leg. Repeat. And the object that enticed her to do so?! Greg's glasses. We remember Nate being crazy for them too.

She has her eye on the prize...

Making her move...

Did you see that, Daddy?!


In other news, Abby attended her first wedding this weekend (my little sister's)! She was a total trooper despite a late bedtime two nights in a row. A LONG post to come later, as I accumulate all the pics from family & friends...

So long, dear friend

I can't believe I haven't posted about this yet!! But we've been busy, as you can tell from my multiple blog posts recently...

Anyways, big news around these parts: Nate has FINALLY retired his passy!!! (Insert: lots of applause and a huge sigh of relief from myself. I thought he was going to go to kindergarten with that thing.)
As you can see, his passy was looking a LITTLE rough. He had finally bit that thing down to the core, and about a month ago, decided HE wanted to throw it in the trash. Of course, Greg & I were MORE than happy to hear this, but didn't have high hopes that he'd even make it thru the night without it. Well he did, and minus a few slip-ups in Johnson City that we won't go into :), he has been passy-free for almost a month!!!

It has been quite the process, trying to rid him of these pacifiers. As a newborn, he'd sleep with 4-5 in his crib at a time, b/c he kept throwing them out and waking up etc. Then, we got it down to 2 passys. At 18 months old, we stopped carrying around a passy during the day and only let him have the two at naptime and bedtime. When he hit 2 years old, we had to stop the naptime passys b/c he was starting MDO. Not a problem. And though I had all intentions of weaning him off that last bedtime passy before Abby arrived, as you all know, that didn't happen since Miss A made an early appearance. We actually backtracked and he began getting it at naptime too (not really sure how that one happened....I think I just wanted to ensure that he had a good, long nap when Abby was an infant b/c Lord knows I needed that time)!

So as you can see, getting rid of the passy has been in the making for 1.5 yrs. What a process! Luckily, Abby is not as attached to the passy as Nate was from the beginning, so hopefully we can wean her a lot sooner....fingers crossed....

3 years ago today....

(DISCLAIMER: Please bear with me....my baby boy is turning 3 today and I'm going to be one of those moms that recounts their kids' birth stories every year on their birthday. Gosh, I'm turning into my mother!)

3 years ago today, my sweet baby boy was born! I had been having back labor for a few days and was given the option to be admitted to the hospital on Friday at my appt b/c I was 4 cm. For some reason, I said no and continued to labor all thru the weekend. By Monday, I couldn't take it anymore and went in to be "checked" - why I did not go straight to the hospital, I'm not sure. But I just had a hard time timing my contractions and didn't want it to be false labor. The doctor checked me and I was 5 1/2 cm (!), so we went straight to the hospital. I was admitted at 3:30 pm, sent Greg home for my bag, made a few phone calls to family, and endured some pretty intense contractions until I got my epidural at 5:30. It was smooth sailing from there, and I started "pushing" at 8:15 pm. By 9:40 pm, Nathan Eric Givens was born!! He weighed 8 lbs 5 oz and was perfect!

He was then, and continues to be the love of my life. I could not ask for a better son! Nate is such a gentle spirit, and takes every opportunity he can to cuddle or say "I love you," which is pretty rare for a 3 yr old. And like his Dad, he has a wicked sense of humor...I love hearing the things come out of his mouth everyday. He continues to amaze me, as he is learning new things every day and becoming more curious and aware of the world around us. He's got such a contagious smile and I feel lucky to have him in my life. Happy 3rd birthday to my sweet angel boy. I love you!

And now, for a stroll down memory lane...
1 day old

1 yr old

2 yrs old

3 yrs old

Back to School

What a difference a year makes! Last year after I dropped Nate off at MDO for the first time, I was a WRECK all day....anxious and crying and everything in between. And the drop-off was awful...tons of tears from both of us. Now, here we are, a year later, and it could not be more different! There were no tears at all this morning as I dropped him off. He was very pre-occupied with the toys in the room (the play kitchen; the train table) but kept asking his teacher if they had a Mr. Potato Head there. I think I might need to donate one of our 3 to the class! I wanted to take a few pics of Nate at his table, with his nametag on, etc. But he would have none of it. I think I'm already starting to embarrass him at this young age!! He even forgot to hug & kiss me goodbye....at least he remembered his sister though. Right before we walked out the door he said "Ooh ooh, wait!" And then he proceeded to kiss Abby, on the foot. Sweetness! My biggest worry this year is how pottying will go while he is at MDO. I'm not so much worried about him going pee, but #2. Oh well, I guess that's in the job description when you're teaching 3 yr olds.

Nate's class is a little bigger than it was last year - 6 boys and 6 girls. He has two teachers who seem super sweet, Miss Denise & Miss Nikki. And, one of his old teachers, Miss Andrea, is right next door! So I have a feeling Nate will be sneaking over there a lot to get a hug or two. He was so happy Tuesday night at Open House to be back at school...loved playing with all the toys in his room, and of course, he had to show us the gym. I think he's really missed being at school and interacting with the kids & teachers! He has 2 of the same girls from his class last year in his class this year, Riley & Bailee. Bailee was the one that he got in "trouble" with a few times for being giggly with during nap. I told Miss Denise to watch out for the lovebirds!

The bad news is that his nap period is shorter this year - just from 1-2 pm. So I fully expect him to be a grump when I pick him up each T/Th. But the good news is, he has an added "craft time" this year, so that means I get to see & hang up more of his adorable projects and artwork! :) AND, one interesting thing that Miss Denise told me...by the end of the year last year, most of her class was able to both recognize & write their own name! That seems amazing to me, b/c I know a few 4 and 5 yr olds that cannot do that yet!! Anyways, fingers crossed that Nate enjoys his classmates & teachers this year. I am so excited to see what & how much he learns!

When I picked him up this afternoon, he was VERY happy to see me! I peeked in on him before going in, and saw him giggling with his old pal Bailee, and also a new girl Neema. And he told me on the way home that he had fun playing trains with Tripp. I love that he's making new friends already! Unfortunately he did not nap at all....which is very unlike him! I am hoping he was just excited/stimulated from all the activity. At least he was quiet and laid on his napmat, but WOW has he been bouncing off the walls since we got home! And he went potty without any trouble today. Miss Denise said she's never seen a little boy so excited to flush, haha! I have a feeling this is going to be a good year....for both of us! :)

Proud Momma

New backpack & lunchbox - I decided I'm going to let him pick out a new lunchbox every year, b/c they're so cheap. It'll just depend on what he's "into" that year. Big surprise - he picked Toy Story this year! :)

Jumbo Shrimp

So, I was pretty confident that Abby was going to grow up to be a shrimp like me. Not so much. My first clue should have been the fact that she has been growing out of 12 MONTH sized pjs already. And today, at her 9 month check-up, they confirmed it for me. A shrimp no more.

Her stats:
Height: 28 3/4 inches (80th percentile!!!)
Weight: 19 lbs 4 oz (55th perecentile)

So I guess I just need to accept the fact that someday, I will be the shortest one in my immediate family. So sad!

Her check-up went great though and she is hitting every milestone right on time. Luckily, she didn't have to have any shots today. But, she did need some labwork done and had to have her finger pricked. I warned Nate that Abby was going to cry (since he had SOBBED last week at his), and we were both armed with toys and fun bandaids and passys. Well, we underestimated Baby Girl....she is one tough cookie and didn't shed ONE tear!!! I couldn't believe it! Nate was a little confused too. Kept looking at me saying "Mommy, why Abby not crying??" That's my girl.

Oh, and when we got home, she decided to pull herself up on her knees for the first time!! Big girl!!

Thats what Grandparents are for...

Nate & Abby got spoiled by Nanny & Poppy last week, as they came for a 4 day visit. As my mom tells me, it's a grandparent's JOB to spoil their grandkids. I don't agree :), but Nate & Abby sure had a good time and loved all the extra attention. (And I enjoyed all the extra help with the kids!!)

The visit was filled with trips to Baskin Robbins for $1 scoop night, Chic-fil-A, the hairdresser, and Nate had some special alone time with his N&P at the Discovery Center. We played with Mr. Potato Head non-stop, as well as our new favorite game, Hungry Hippos. We painted, did puzzles, played games, watered plants with Poppy, and did bubbles. And then of course, there was Nate's big birthday party on Saturday.

Poor Nate had to have his 3 yr check-up while N&P were here, and that appointment involved shots. NOT FUN. Luckily I was able to leave Abby at home with N&P, and good thing b/c Nate was hysterically crying for about 20 minutes after his shot and fingerprick. It took many rides up & down the elevator to calm him down. The good news is, he is healthy! Here were his stats:
Weight: 31.3 lbs (50th percentile)
Height: 38 inches (60th percentile)

Because we had free babysitters, Greg and I were able to have a date night at Chuy's last Thursday (SO GOOD!), as well as run a 5K Saturday morning together. It was nice to be able to talk with my husband for longer than a 5 minute stretch without being interrupted to wipe up spit-up, change dirty diapers, be the "toy police", help with pottying, etc. Thank you N&P for all your help this past week & weekend!!

We always have a fashion show when N&P come, b/c of all the new clothes! This one was a fave from Deedee..

Trying to take control of the spoon...

N at the Discovery Ctr

Hungry Hippos! (I LOVED this game when I was a kid)

Big Baby Girl!

Poppy & Abby-Doo

We asked Nate if he wanted to go for a "ride" but instead he wanted to push Abby around - too sweet!

While N was getting a haircut, Abby got to play dress-up...

Ready to get his pre-wedding and back-to-school haircut!

Nanny had to use Nate's spiderman icepack b/c he gave her a boo-boo (elbowed her in the eye, ouch!)