Danny's 1st (Memorable) Easter

Sure, Danny was around for last Easter, but at 11 months old he was too young to "get it". This year we still had to remind him that it was Easter and that he needed to look for his Easter basket, but he at least participated! Of course, he was most excited about the Annie's fruit snacks. The kid is obsessed with "nackies". We were in Chapel Hill still, so this video is taken at Alex and Dieter's house. Sorry, it's a little long...

Basket full o' goodies

Even though it wasn't hard to do or anything, I'm still proud of how well my homemade gingham garland turned out and I had so much fun shopping for all of his "favorite things" to include in there.

Alex + Dieter

I was in Chapel Hill late last week and this past weekend for the wedding of 2014! That's right, Alex and Dieter tied the knot and it couldn't have been more beautiful or fun!

Surprisingly calm bride and her helper

First up for the festivities, the rehearsal dinner at La Rez. Thankfully it's Dieter's family's restaurant and it was closed to the public that night because Danny just ran (shoeless, I might add) from one end of the place to the other.

*Almost every photo is borrowed from Kelly McSwain - photographer pictures to come!

Future Mr. and Mrs. with ski-themed grooms cake

And then the ceremony and reception were at the Gualtieri's house, in the heart of Chapel Hill, in their beautiful garden. I was matron-of-honor, Colin was a groomsman and Danny was the pseudo ring bearer. He didn't carry any rings and he just ran down the aisle, but hey, it was something!

Danny trampling the tulips

Ring bearer get ready...

Best Man & Mother of the Bride

Beautiful bride and Father of the Bride

Mr. and Mrs. Gualtieri

Danny was an absolute dancing fool, holding hands and cutting a rug with everyone on the dance floor until way past his bedtime. Hence, why we could barely wake him up to hit the road the morning after...

Yes, he's wearing snowman pjs

Danny's First Circus!

Last week was Azalea Festival here in Wilmington, which also means the Cole Brothers Circus was in town. After much anticipation and talk about what the circus entails, we finally took Danny on Saturday afternoon. His reaction was not excitement so much as complete awe, which I think is to be expected at his age. All in all, such a fun experience!

 

Out to dinner afterwards...And for his next act...

Insta-Lately and Selfies

Just some cute Instagram photos of late...

If you're not careful, Danny will steal your phone and take more selfies than you can delete in a day. Here are two I decided to save from his most recent "shoot" since they were kind of cute...

St. James

Grandma and Ron were in town last weekend scouting out their future homesite in beautiful St. James Plantation! After viewing a few lots, they finally decided on this one - right on the 18th hole if I remember correctly - and even had their offer accepted before heading back to Maryland on Monday!

We so much enjoyed getting to see St. James alongside them and explore Southport for an amazing dinner together on Saturday. Fun times!

Back in Carolina Beach - techie nerds on the couch together ;)

And We Did It - 1st Haircut

As forecasted last week, I finally bit the bullet and took Danny for his first haircut. He was immediately enthralled with the "shop" part of this place with a bunch of cool toys and a little playhouse to climb in.

The scene

He was not equally "into" sitting in the cute little car chair and cooperatively sucking on a lollipop while the nice lady cut his hair. So I put on the cape, sucked on the lollipop and held him on my lap. We got very hairy, but there were no tears, so I'd say it was a success!

During and After

Danny's documentation with my phone. Some pretty cool shots!

Though I was feeling a little sad about doing it - after all, getting hair cuts are for big boys, not babies -  I'm glad we did it. And he looks super handsome if I do say so myself.

Recent Field Trips

I've always made it a point to schedule outings for us during the day, but the older Danny gets the more fun we have!

"Puddles" at the "wybwary"

Carolina Beach Lake Park

Hugh McRae Park

Carolina Beach Lake Park 

Fort Fisher Aquarium

But even when it's yucky weather or I have too much work to take a field trip, we still have fun staying in!

Little Man in the Making

Jimmy and I can't help but laugh sometimes at the funny little boy Danny is becoming. And what's funniest is that he's just mimicking us. He yells at Malloy, "no, dadoo" with a finger point. He loves to vacuum, especially under his learning tower where he frequently drops little snacks. He strums an imaginary guitar like Daddy and dances to music. Apparently, I often say stuff like, "hold on, Danny, mommy needs to check her email really quick," because he's always pointing to my mac and saying, "email" - a word that wasn't even part of our vocabulary when we were kids. He's just a big boy now, enjoying big boy things....

Double fisting pizza

First driving lesson

Appliance shopping at Home Depot

Sporting eyewear

Planning for a Trim

Though it pains me to think about it, I've finally decided it's time for Danny to get a haircut. I can't stand to get rid of his ringlets, but a little trim has become necessary. I have a feeling he's not going to like it. He HATES when I cut his nails and points to his fingers and toes for days afterwards saying, "oh no, nail". He is definitely afraid of strangers and strange environments too. The other day, Danny had the pleasure of meeting McGruff the Crime Dog and I've never in my life heard a more terrifying scream. Poor guy buried his head in my neck and I had to pry him off me to get him in the car. But whether he likes it or not, the haircut is coming and I'll be sure to document.

Different looking baby with wet hair!