Riley Clair

Today is Riley's first birthday, and I can't describe first birthdays any other way than the saddest, most thrilling day. Such an oxymoron I know. Jamie brought our little birthday girl into our bathroom this morning and we both just beamed, knowing today was such a special day. We sang Happy Birthday to her in unison, as she arched her back and whined...almost begging us to stop the horror. This is a huge birthday for Jamie and I. It marks our final "planned" first birthday. We are high fiving every month that goes by where we aren't pregnant. Both of us are fully settled in our family of five. I have such high hopes for all of my children, but today is Riley's special day and so as I reflect on her past year I can make a few distinct observations...................

She LOVES her daddy. She loves his special way of holding her, and demands him as soon as he walks into view. Of course there is never any objection on his part either. Who knew I'd be competing with the cutest, softest other woman in my house. She loves to nurse. Both boys weaned themselves at 9 and 11 months. Not Ry. She loves the closeness and routine of being with mommy. She adores her brothers, each in very different ways. Joshua looks out for her and takes the true role of big brother. Making sure she is yelled at when she dips her fingers in Kidd's water bowl, pulls her away from the TV when she is attempting to push buttons, makes silly faces at her to distract her from rolling away during a dipaer change, seriously enjoys watching her laugh, which in turn makes him laugh, is excited when she accomplishes a milestone, and the list goes on. Whereas with George, she loves how he actually plays with her. Get down on the ground and play, type of play. He will keep her company playing cars or pulling books off of the bookshelf. George can make Riley belly laugh which is big family fun in our house. He does something silly to set her off, and then they both repeat the game over and over again. Riley loves to eat. She can pile off three scrambled eggs easily. She love watermelon, cheese, blackeyed peas, frozen peas, sausage, burgers, chicken, fish, shrimp, cottage cheese, applesauce, pasta, casseroles, yogurt, crackers...Im writing this list out so in 8 months when she wont eat a thing, at least I can look back and know she got off to a great start eating. Ry loves her bath, swinging on the swing in our backyard, watching her brothers push trucks, and just recently going to the beach. She is very at home along the shoreline. The waves rolling in and out covering her legs with bubbly salt water. She splashes in the tide pools licking her salty fingers and then looks up at me to make sure its okay. She plays with sand toys attmepting to dig. She is everything I imagined a little girl to be like. I can't wait for all of the memories we will make, and relish in the ones already made. I am so proud of her without her even doing anything yet. I just know God has wonderful moments planned for her. I'm honored to be a part of that. I'm crying thinking of how sad I am that my baby is growing up, but so thrilled to have witnessed this first year. Which takes me back to how sad yet thrilling this birthday is. I love you Riley Clair!

Im just sick

I can't stand this. I feel sick. Sick at the thought of my best girl leaving Wilmington. I'm tired too. I can't seem to shake the weariness of it all. My thoughts are so up and down I cant make sense of anything. I'm only writing this down in hopes that my mind will clear and I'll gain a few hours of relief. It really feels that bad.

Our Daily Trek

I love this time of year. Beach season. Each morning is the same. We wake up, sip coffee, juice and/ or milk, eat breakfast, pack our cooler, and head to the beach. The trek is also the same each day. The boys walk side by side up the hill and over the sand. Conversation sounding something similar to "George, can you see the water yet? I think the tide is going to be out." "Not yet Josh." "Can you see it now George?" "Not yet Josh." "I see it now. Lets go!" This year will be so exciting watching Riley become a beach babe. She already seems very at home along the shore. Not scared, no complaints about the sand, just content. Although my beach partner will be sitting alongside a different shoreline, I'm hopeful this season will be just as fulfilling as the last. I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be. Thank you Jesus!

Staying engaged

Downloading pictures to my computer can seem like "just something else I hafta do." Point being, my brother emails me asking for a family update and my reply was "nothing big has gone on, just the day to day. Nothing exciting." ( What an ungrateful thought, I know) This virtual conversation led me to download pictures to my laptop, only to find how many precious, once in a lifetime opportunities I'd been blessed with, and thankfully captured on camera. .......Riley crawling for the first time, my neices and nephew visiting for spring break, and Damaws visit in March, just to name a few.

All of a sudden it hit me (again) how easy it is to take life's precious moments for granted. I'm ashamed to admit how TRULY easy this is for me. I'm really present in life's moments, but I'm easily distracted by the world. Anyway, blah, blah blah...... I'm gonna take this opportunity to remember fondly all of March and April's precious blessings.


There is nothing better than watching your baby figure out a milestone. For Riley it was crawling. She teetered back and forth for some time, her brothers retrieving anything she desired, until one Saturday she just got it. It looked a bit like her legs were dragging, but after about a week, she had mastered the skill. I got it all on video. It's one of those things you never forget, but are so glad you were able to capture. Unfortunatley I can't post the video b/c my first born enjoys being naked so much and happens to be in the video. Just as adorable though is the first time you walk in your baby's room to find her pulled up on her knees smiling at you.

Secondly, my sister and her beautiful family came to visit for Spring break. All the cousins got to play. Riley and Kourtney, (6 weeks apart) although snotty, were happy to discover one another. Pulling out passies, smiling, cooing, (Kourt..yah yah yahing) and playing in the sand. Josh, George and David got to build forts, play bakugons (whatever those are...apparently a first grade boy thing) and ride bikes and scooters. Kyra occasionally joined in on the little kid fun, but spent most of her time chatting with friends via text. Watching her grow from little girl to beautiful preteen is another blessing I am so thankful for. Meeme, Papa, and Uncle Dave came for Easter participating in an awesome church service at PC3, lots of good food and drink, easter egg hunts, and of course some beach time. Between Lisa and I we have 6 kids, so you can imagine how vibrant the house was. I cried for a hour or so when everyone left, my once seemingly loud world quieted without the other half. Nonetheless, looking forward to the next visit. What a blessing to be able to host your family under one roof sharing laughs and spending time just chillin' out.


Damaw's visit was as usual calm, cool, and comfortable. She loves coming to simply watch the kids "do what they do." No agendas, just go with the flow type of fun. Can a daughter- in- law ask for any better. We relaxed in the sun, ate dinner and enjoyed a glass of wine at Dockside, walked along the beach, and our famous tradition.... a trip to Costco.



It feels good to have just relived a glimpse of life's precious moments. ( PS. as I'm writing this... Josh and George are killing ants with really big sticks. Is that bad?)

There you go brother, thanks for unknowingly keeping me engaged. I needed that.

Lots and lots of pictures

This blog is dedicated to Grandpa and Grandma Robertson. I've attached a lot of pics so they can see how the kids are growing. The boys and I were able to chat with them for an extended amount of time this morning. It had been a while since we had caught up, so Joshua had a bunch to say. We enjoyed the morning.


Look at those beautiful smiles

I love this determined look

Eager for spring to bring warm weather, we've made a few trips to the beach. It should be interesting this year watching three kids next to the ocean. Especially when each season Joshua and George become more brave.

Riley's beach hat. She looks like a Florida tourist. I love it!

Josh and George's friend Grace- if only the arrow was pointing down.

Josh's school trip to the Fort Fisher Aquarium

He adores the little girl, Abby, with the pink bow. Unfortunately, so does Ethan.

I was able to take the whole gang. We made it a family field trip. George loved hanging with the big kids.

Calling all grandparents

These are for the grandparents. A little glimpse of how they entertain themselves.

For the love

Wow! My mouth really hurts. I got braces yesterday and I have to admit, I wasn't prepared for the amount of pain I'd be in. It's not so much my actual teeth that hurt, (well really, they hurt a lot too) as it is my mouth trying to get used to all the stuff in it. There are lots of poky things driving the inside of my mouth crazy. Thankfully, the dentist gives you lots of wax to put around the poky things to ease the pain. I also drank a glass of wine for a bit of relief, afraid the whole time my teeth would permanently be red.

Im not sure how this extravaganza began, but it's reality now so I'm trying to grin and bear it. Although it hurts really bad when I try and grin. I feel ridiculous talking too, because I can't get my lips around my flippin' teeth. Oh for the love.

On a different note, Joshy got a big boy bike and adores it. He rides all over Halyburton in the morning, and then while I push the other two, he rides his bike to Empie in the evening. What a big boy!. Lots of exercise for the little guy. We love it.