JR and Tay-die

JR loves Sadie. And Sadie tolerates JR.

Choo choo tRain

Does anyone else love the IKEA trainset as much as my child? I don't think so! He plays with these every day and never tires of them. Wearing funny hats during train play is just a bonus.

JR version 2.5

Apologies for the long absence. We've been busy bees lately. After getting back from our family vacation at Edisto, we had my 33rd birthday celebration and were excited that Dad and Joan could be in Spartanburg to help me celebrate! We had a big weekend, which included a trip to Gramling Farms! We pet a pony and took a carriage ride, too. JR had a blast! Many thanks to Grandmother Joan for sending us the pictures above!

On Sunday, Mom and John hosted a lovely birthday breakfast, and then Remsen and JR took me to Greenville for dinner and a Greenville Drive game! Even though the game got rained out, we had a super fun time! Plus, my big present was a flip video camera, so I am working on figuring out how that works and hope to upload some videos soon!

JR is 2 1/2! He has really started talking and singing. The transition from vacation back to preschool has been very hard for him though, especially at drop off. He'll be moving to a new school in August, so I hope this stage passes quickly! We've been swimming a lot at the Spartanburg Athletic Club pool, and JR LOVES the water. He will jump off the side of the pool into the water (usually wearing water wings but sometimes without!) and is getting really great at kicking. We have to drag him out of the water. His love for trains also continues to grow and he still watches one episode of Elmo's World just before bed. JR is silly and active and sits back and watches other kids in social situations. He is a super athletic and still has a great gap-toothed grin. We just love him to pieces!

AccessHealth Spartanburg opens its doors on Monday, and work has been crazy. We were featured on the local news on Friday night in a piece about the huge number of uninsured patients and the long waiting lists at our free clinics. It is an overwhelming issue to tackle, and I am excited to be part of the solution. Unfortunately, the work won't wait....so I am signing off for now!

Edisto 2010 Part 2: I want Abby!

At home, JR is forever asking to see pictures and video clips of his cousin, Abby. Not only are they close in age (6 weeks apart), but they also understand each other and can spend forever babbling and laughing together here at the beach. They pretend to go night-night, they play in the sand together, drink juiceboxes, eat snacks and have singing contests on the beach house porch. And this is just the beginning....to think that they will grow up together (and grow up faster than we want) is amazing and exciting.

Cousins forever!

Edisto 2010, Part 1

Cousin fun

Football preview magazines with Daddy

Whoa, DaDa, whoa!

The Palmetto Peach

On Sunday, we made it to Edisto, and to the Palmetto Peach (a house that is not peach in color but turquoise blue...go figure!). Upon arrival we discover that the A/C unit is leaking and pouring water into the house (as JR says, "Oh no, wain mama, in da house!"). We quickly discover that the brand new unit, installed earlier that day, had some issues, so the repariman came back Sunday evening (and then again Tuesday evening) to fix it. The house has been quite an adventure, experiencing brown outs and broken washing machine, shower faucet, and screen door. It pays to be handy on vacation; we finally got things working! Peachy keen!

The Parrish cousins arrived on Monday at lunch, and we have been having a blast together so far, and it has been so much fun having our nieces, Abby and Mackenzie, around. JR is so funny with them--he is much more silly and social, and he has picked up lots of new words hanging out with his cousins.

And of course there has been swimming....lots of swimming, and sandcastles, and jumping waves, and playing with toys (the kids), and margaritas (adults only, of course), and yummy seafood, snacks, reading sports magazines on the beach, sunshine and a little rain.

More updates and photos to come!

Charleston Trip 2010

We started our family vacation in Charleston and went to the James Island County water park, hit downtown Charleston for shopping and oysters, and found ourselves at a Charleston Riverdogs game (against the Greenville Drive)! Before we headed to Edisto, we spent Sunday morning at Isle of Palms.

Below are some great shots from our pre-beach weekend adventure.

Mackenzie's Birthday Celebration!

Our niece, Mackenzie, just turned 6 and we were very excited to celebrate with her in Augusta, Georgia last weekend. It was a super pool party, with cupcakes, presents and an almost indestructable pinata!

Mackenzie!

Above: Abby and the cupcake

Below: Blades of grass beneath JR's toes

Mackenzie gets a boost from her dad, Clayton

JR and Remsen hanging out below the float!