Mauldin Great Grandkids

Rebekah and Sophie are visiting so we got the kids together for lunch and a quick photo shoot. It's Emma (2 1/2), Granger (5 1/2 mos), Sophie (4 mos) & Everett (3 1/2 mos). They did pretty well, except for a little defiance on Emma's part, and we had a nice lunch together with Grandmother and Grandpa. Thanks to Steve and Uncle Carlton for the pictures!

Mauldin Family

The whole group of us in front of Steve and Mollie's house

Emma's Princess Lunch

Last week we took a trip to Chick-fil-A for a princess lunch with Emma's friend SaraGrace who had just turned two. SaraGrace wasn't too sure of the cow, but Emma loved him and wouldn't stop following him around. The girls also got their faces painted, and I think they had a fun time before Emma crashed on the way home. In case you didn't know, Chick-fil-A has family nights every Tuesday and they do all sorts of fun activities for the kids (maybe only over the summer - I'm not sure). Emma's tiara and wand came from an earlier princess party there and she also got to paint a ceiling tile for the 4th of July. She really enjoys it when we go.

Everett July/August

Cody's Birthday/River Pics

Cody turned 33 this year, and I helped Emma bake him a cake.

Cody about to go down the slip and slide at the sandbar, doing his best Ron Burgundy imitation ('CANNONBALL!!')

Playing in the pool at the cabin on Cody's birthday

My little stud muffin!

Emma got a pretty good shiner at Cody's birthday party when she fell off the steps under the cabin, but as you can see it didn't slow her down any!

Emma with her friend Layla, my friend Jess's little girl. They are only three months apart and will go to school together in a few years.

It looks like he's going to have blue eyes like me and his sister.

Napping on the boat after a long day.

Beach Trip - July 4th

My cousin Katie, about to be a freshman at UNC this fall, is our 'Gymboree fairy' who showed up at the beach with some adorable clothes for the kids. She was a great help with the kids on the trip - Everett's favorite place to nap was on her shoulder!















Cody usually despises the beach, but something possessed him to take a shot at the boogie board one afternoon, so I had to get it on film.















Despite our attempts to keep Everett out of the sun (see below), we managed to let him burn one side of his face. But he survived, and here they are with their holiday outfits on.















The kids under an umbrella out on the beach on the 4th. Emma had a blast, and Everett slept that way the whole day (hence the sunburn above).














Daddy and Emma in the pool practicing swimming skills learned in the spring.

What a Summer!

I'm finally back at the office where I have a decent internet connection so I can catch you up on what's been going on with our family. I've had a WONDERFUL couple of months at home with my kids and I wouldn't trade it for anything. It made me sad to think that's probably the last time I'll get to spend any significant time at home with them for the next several years, but I do count myself blessed to have a job right now in such an economy. We've had a great summer spending time with our friends and family. We went to the beach in early July, celebrated Cody's birthday at the end of July, had a visit from my Granny in August, and have enjoyed a few weekends at the river. Emma is changing so much becoming much more verbal, imaginative, and energetic. Everett seems to change every day and is smiling, gurgling, and trying his best to sit up any chance he gets. We pulled out the Bumbo seat the other day and can sit in it and hold his head up pretty well. I'll post a few shots from the various events shortly, as well as some random other pics. Soon I'll have copies of some pictures we took yesterday with the four Mauldin family great-grandkids that I can't wait to see - Emma, two month old Everett, three month old Sophie, and four month old Granger!

Everett William

Everett & Emma














Everett's second week










One month old

Well, I'm sure most of you know by now that Everett is here. It only took me a month to finally blog about him! We've had a fun and exciting first month. He was born with a nice, quick labor at 3:12 AM on May 25. He started out at 6 lbs 11 oz, and then went down to 6 lbs 1 oz due to some feeding issues (stressful to say the least!). Now he is eating like a champ and at his one month checkup today he weighed 8 lbs 12 oz! He's also grown three inches in length since he was born (now 22 in). We're all adjusting to life as a family of four very well, with some greatly appreciated help from my mom. Emma enjoys being a big sister. She has her moments, but overall she is very sweet and gentle with Everett and loves to tickle and kiss him. We are now trying to potty train her and that is going pretty well so far. We head off to the beach for vacation next Thursday and I can't wait. This will be the first time I've gotten to go on the full family vacation in probably 10 years or more. Cody is going to come for the weekends and I'm staying with the kids through the week. I probably won't post again for a while, so I hope everyone has a wonderful summer and I'll post some new pictures when I can!

Daddy & Emma

They were goofing around the other night and I tried to get a picture without them knowing, but they busted me and this is what I ended up with. I can't complain!

Trip to Butterfly Rainforest

Emma's Grandma took she and I and her Aunt Tracy to the Butterfly Rainforest on campus this weekend. She had a great time, and one even landed on her head at one point. It will be fun to take her back when she's a little older and she can try and identify the different plants and butterflies. Other than me locking the keys in the car (second time in two weeks - can you say pregnant brain?!?) and having to call AAA (who thankfully was there and done in 5 minutes) we had a fun girls day out together.