SNOW, SNOW!

We got snow again!!!! The second good snow storm since I've been in NC!! It started snowing on Friday the 18th and snowed over night. We got about 4" of snow and 0.5" of sleet, the parks to the North and West of us got between 11" and 25"!! Here are some pics of the fun.

A frequent question I get is "What do you do when
the weather is bad?" I sit on a tractor and plow
the roads, it was cold but fun.

Eli out in the snow, I think he is calling Doc.

Happy about something.

Doc wondering what Eli is doing?

This is a good pic Andrea took, the fiery red blueberry
bush in the background adds some nice color.

Doc enjoying the snow.

Andrea being artsie-fartsie

Our house in the snow.

The office snowed in.

Eli having fun in the plow piles.

Again here is Eli showing his mastery of speaking, also him exploring the snow.

Triangle Trip

The other weekend we went to Fuquay to help the Renfrow's prep their house for sale. It was nice and cold and I enjoyed spending some time outside. We shoveled a bunch of mulch, painted a little bit and moved some stuff to storage. Inside the house the kids played, rooms were organized, and stuff was packed. We also gave Claire her B-day presents because it was the closest we could get to her 2nd birthday!!

Claire is a cutie.
Whats under all this paper?
A book to read with Dada.
more....
Thanks Auntie Ree.
A Black Bear fan!!!
Matt's mom was in town helping as well.
On Sunday after church we met the Hoyles and
Dredlas for lunch. Emma is getting big!

This is the whole gang minus Emma who was napping.

Eli being cute

The candy cane ears are Andrea's from growing up, and they get busted out every year for Christmas. This year an actual kid got to play with them :-)

Eli is also quite the talker, or at least we think so. He had a Dr's visit yesterday, and the Doctor said he is already at some 2 yr milestones for talking!!!

Christmas Spirit

This past week we bought and put up our tree!! We didn't have one last year but this year we felt we needed one! We got a small one to put up high and it is very cute, plus we got it for a steal, $10!!!!! Eli really enjoyed helping decorate as you will see. He has since been all about trying to get to the ornaments, but no messes so far!

Eli playing with a tin and swaying his head to the music.

Eli discovering the lights.

We have a bunch of S'More ornaments and this is my favorite!

The tree.

The tree lit up.

Here is Eli enjoying the Christmas music.
He was also a good helper when decorating the tree.

#2

Baby Gwinn #2 is on the way!
We are so thrilled about this new addition to our family!!! :) Our due date is May 5, 2010! A couple of our friends pointed out that it is "Cinco de Mayo" or 5/5/10 which could make it easier to remember! However, if this baby is anything like Eli, the arrival will probably be a bit later than that. Here are a few pics of the progress so far. More pics to come as the belly expands...again! :)

Ultrasound at 9 weeks

11 weeks

Eli is such a sweetie & so smart too! He knows lots of words and 'baby' is one of them. He points to pictures of babies in books and at himself in pictures and says "baby." Sometimes when I ask him where the baby is he'll point to himself and other times he'll gently pat my belly (and sometimes try to lift my shirt to see it) and say "baby." :)

14 weeks

I started feeling the baby move at 16 1/2 weeks this time, I think it was closer to 20 weeks with Eli. Feeling the baby move is one of the sweetest parts about being pregnant, it's a great reminder of the miracle of life that God has placed inside of me.

18 weeks

Ultrasound pic at 18 weeks

This was the visit where we could have found out the gender but we decided to wait again. It was such a fun surprise with Eli. Plus, like one of our Doctors said, it's one of life's few surprises that is good no matter the outcome!!!

Estes/Miller Wedding

Our friends, Walter and Heather, also got married in October. Unfortunately, since Jason got to go to Laura and Jay's wedding the weekend before he was working the weekend of their wedding. My sweet friend Hilary watched Eli for me since the wedding was right during his lunch and nap time! So, I represented the Gwinn family by myself! It was a pretty wedding and yummy reception! :) Congrats Heather & Walter!

Mr. & Mrs. Miller

Me with the bride and groom!

My table buddies at the reception:

Abbey & Jeremy

Leslie & Ken

Jeremy & Nikki

Candace & Matt

Ringing bells as they exited the reception at Maggiano's.

Hidden Video

I posted this video to YouTube a few weeks ago but didn't put it on the blog. I watched it and decided it I didn't want to post it.... but my dad, who has now apparently mastered the computer, found it!!! So here it is. It is a fun video of Eli making animals sounds and reading books.

The Churchill/Veverka Wedding

On October 17, my dear friend and former roomie, Laura Churchill, got married!!!! It was such a beautiful ceremony and fun reception and a blessing to be a part of the festivities the whole weekend! :) Jay and Laura have now been hitched for about a month and a half, man I'm not a great blogger! Jason has been getting on me to get this one posted for some time, so now it's a bit out of order! Sorry guys! :) Unfortunately, I don't have as many pictures as I would have liked (and none of the ceremony), but that usually happens when you are in the wedding! As Jason mentioned in a previous post we went to the fair on Friday morning as part of the festivities, see State Fair post. Friday evening was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I was able to send Mr. E home with Dada and then stay the night with Laura and another bridesmaid, Jessica. My first night away from him since he was born!!! We both obviously survived!

Here are some pics from before the ceremony and at the reception:

Laura and I before the wedding.

The bride resting her feet for a bit... and getting very excited! :)

Jay and Laura... not sure if this was the first dance or not.

Cutting the cake!

My parents eagerly waiting in line for a piece of the yummy cake!

The UNC crew! What a fun bunch of friends!

This was supposed to be a picture of just Laura and myself...

Nice pic of me and my sis... or so we thought! This happens a lot. ;)

The Gwinns plus Auntie Alison!

The Veverkas and the Gwinns! Yay! :)

Laura and Eli having a good ol' time!

Eli being super cute, as usual. He had only been using the paci again for a week or so (since refusing to use it since early July). He would take it out and say "cheese" for the camera, and then put it back in. You may have seen the video Jason posted here.

My parents took Eli home for us so we were able to stay longer, and we even got to dance!

This is the only picture I got of them leaving... those are hard shots to get if you are not in just the right spot, and multitasking with a sparkler adds to the challenge as well!

Congrats Laura & Jay!