No Training Wheels!

On Sunday we took Tyler to the park with his bike, helmet, knee and elbow pads and no training wheels! When he got on the bike Eric gave him a little push and he was on his way!!
I can't believe how fast our little man is growing up...

BRAD PAISLEY

CONCERT

JULY 21st

34 weeks down, 6 more to go!!

And the countdown begins! I now have to go to the doctor every week, yay! I had my 34 week appointment this morning and again, everything is going great! The baby's head is down, my stomach is measuring on target, Caiden's heartbeat is in the 14o's which is great, and I only gained 1 pound! I'm not sure what that puts me at overall, but I'm still feeling great and that's all that matters :)

Yesterday Eric pulled out 2 big bags of Tyler's baby clothes from the attic and I went through and sorted out the stuff that the new baby could wear. I definitely have lots of onesies and night gowns!! I washed them and folded them and they're all set for little Caiden to wear when he comes into the world!! This is SO exciting!

New Basketball Goal

We decided to buy a basketball goal to put at the bottom of the driveway. Tyler and Eric worked most of the day to put it together and now we all enjoy playing a little game of "horse" after dinner most nights... so far it's 2-1 (Eric)...boo! j/k! It's lots of fun and I can't wait to play a little one-on-one!

Whitewater Rafting and Rock Climbing

Tyler and Papa


Jay, Dad, and Robby whitewater rafting at the US National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC



http://www.usnwc.org/

Jay climbed some big rocks...

Golfing..
When my dad visited earlier this week he surprised Tyler with golf clubs, bag and shoes! Tyler was SO excited! On Tuesday he took the boys (Jay, his friend Robby, and Tyler) golfing and I tagged along driving the golf cart around. I really enjoyed it because not only was I there for Tyler's first golfing experience but I got to see my dad and Jay play too! Wow.. I was so amazed at how well my little bro can hit that ball! I'm so proud of him : )

Tyler and Papa!

Nice swing Jay!

Birthday Wishes...

July 11th and 12th was Kay (Nana) and Tish's (Eric's sister) birthdays and Tyler didn't get a chance to speak to either of them, so we made a special little video clip for them!

Happy Birthday to you both, we love you!

Baby Kylie Brizendine

Our good friends Mike and Ashley Brizendine just had a new little baby girl on Friday, July 6 at 1:26 PM. She weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz of beautifulness! We are SO happy for them. Ashely did wonderful and I'm so proud of her :) We have gone through our whole pregnancys together and I'm a little jealous she's already done, but I'm not too far behind!!

The new mom holding her princess!

Beautiful Kylie only a few hours old!

Doctor's Appointment: 32 weeks

On July 5th I went in for my 32 week check up. I had to see another Doctor this time since I'm getting close to the finish line and need to get familiar with the other Doctors in the practice in case mine isn't on duty when I go into labor.
The Doctor said everything looked perfect! My stomach was measuring 32cm (and I'm 32 weeks!), Caiden's heartbeat was in the 150's (which is great!), and I only gained 1 pound! I still feel great, which is a relief. I'm now 33 weeks with only 7 more to go!!! Come on Caiden we can't wait to see you!!!

Welcome Isabella LuJia Rhodus!!

That's right, Eric and I are officially and Aunt and Uncle! Eric's sister Tish and her husband Chris just got back from China on July 5th with there new little girl, Isabella! We are SO happy for them and can't wait to meet our niece. She's a gorgeous little girl who just turned 1 year old on June 21st.

Here's their website about their journey to their daughter with some pictures as well!

http://www.thestoryofyou.net/ChinaGirl.html

4th of July

For the 4th of July holiday we went to Mike and Ashley's pool for the day for some fun in the sun, swimming, horse shoes, volleyball, hamburgers, watermelon and corn on the cob! It was a wonderful day with all of our friends and their children. Most of the day was spent IN the pool until around 8 o'clock then we figured that if we wanted to SEE fireworks we better get going! We didn't get to see the BEST show, but we were able to see some and the kids loved it. This was the first year Tyler was actually excited about seeing the fireworks. In the past he's always said they were too loud. This year, he was chanting, along with his pals, "fire-works, fire-works!" It was a wonderful day :) Next year though we will make sure we DO catch the big show!!

Here's a slideshow of our day!

Beautiful Wedding!!

Last Saturday, June 30th, Eric's dad Dave got married to the lovely Rachel at Sailfish Marina in Palm Beach, Florida. It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony on the lawn overlooking the marina. Rachel arrived by a water taxi and was escorted by her son, Matthew, down the dock. Following the ceremony we all ate at delicious meal at the restaurant upstairs on the balcony at sunset. We had a wonderful time that weekend. Congrats and Best Wishes Dave and Rachel!

Palm Beach Florida

Also on our trip to Palm Beach, FL we went to the beach and climbed the lighthouse in Jupiter. We had a wonderful time... especially Tyler, he LOVES the beach. In the past, he's always just played at the breaking of the waves, but this time Eric took him out into the ocean and Ty loved it. He was putting his head under and everything!

Enjoy the slideshow!

Our 1st Wedding Anniversary

June 24, 2007

Here's a slideshow to bring back memories of one of the most wonderful days of our life!!

On Saturday Eric and Tyler put up the baby crib! Tyler was so excited he was dancing... here goes!

On June 9 my very good friends Morgan and Stacy threw me a baby shower for baby Caiden! It was SO great. The theme was "pickles and ice cream" and each guest had to write down advice for me when I'm "in a pickle" and there was a buffet ice cream and toppings (Y-U-M)! We played lots of fun games and opened wonderful gifts! It meant so much to have everyone there! I had friends and family come from Clearwater, Orlando, Charleston, Columbia, Jupiter (FL) and good 'ol Charlotte to help celebrate! Thank you all again for coming!

This is me before the shower, 28 weeks preggers!

Rachel, Kate, Tyler, Mimi, Erin, Robin

Summer of fun at Carowinds! We got season passes this summer so we can go whenever we want to! We've gone twice so far and are going to try to go again tomorrow if the weather behaves! Tyler LOVES it. We usually spend most of the day at Boomerang Bay (Water Park) then later ride some rides. Tyler rode his very first roller coaster and loved it. Unfortuately I couldn't ride with him because of the bun in the oven, but I took videos and pictures. He rode with his hands in the air and had a smile on his face! When he got off he said "whooh, I almost got sick" and still wanted to go back on again!
My cousins met us there another day. They're visiting Nana all the way from Texas and Louisiana. It was so wonderful seeing them; man they've grown up so fast! It's hard being far away from family, but it sure is nice when we can all be together any chance we get.

Here's a slideshow of some of my favorite pictures!

Atlantic Beach

For Memorial Weekend we went with some good friends of ours to Morehead City, NC. We went to the Atlantic Beach, camped outside, and Tyler got to catch some crabs! It was a wonderful trip and we were so lucky to have the chance to go! Tyler had a blast because his good friends Tyler and Abbi were there! We spent whole days at the beach and the 3 kids couldn't get out of the water and sand... they were having too much fun! Nights were spent riding bikes, setting off sparklers and eating fresh fish! It was a fantastic weekend and we can't wait to go back....

Enjoy the slideshow with some more pictures