Brian gets a new car :)

Brian's days in the Ford Escort Station Wagon aka "The Mom Mobile" are over. We finally traded in the Escort with roughly 235,000 miles on it- trade in value= $200 lol The Escort got us through college, a baby, and new jobs (Thank you Aunt Brenda and Uncle Dave). Anyways, I must say that Brian is quite pleased with his new ride (a Toyota Corolla Sport).

Addisyn will be taking swim lessons at the South Gaston YMCA starting next month. Her age group 6mths- 36mths meet 2 times weekly. Kari will be taking Addisyn on Wednesdays and Brian will take Addisyn on Fridays. We are really hoping this will burn off some of her extra energy and it will allow her to see other children :)

Brian's new ride...



Addisyn plays in her toybox...




Cute outfit from her grandma...

What a ham!

Lots of updates...

Our little ham is getting so big and has such a huge personality. She had her first real "tantrum" when I pulled her out of her toy box. She screamed and kicked her feet, so I stuck her back in it and she was happy as could be :) Addisyn also has been walking. She stands up on her own and takes 2 or 3 steps before putting her hand down and getting back onto the floor to crawl away. She will be 10 months old on the 27th, so she will probably be walking quite well on her own in the next few weeks. Addisyn has had a diaper rash for a few days- it is finally clearing up. She has never had one before, so we were kind of concerned.

Grandma Neff has moved up from Florida and is getting settled in her new home. I saw it for the first time today and it is beautiful. It has gorgeous hardwood floors through the kitchen, dining, and living rooms. The kitchen has awesome granite countertops too. She has a view of the pool, which we will definitely be swimming at this summer :)

Brian is finished with school for the summer. It is difficult going to school, working fulltime, and having a family. I am so proud of him though. He manages it all very well. I will be going back to school in the fall to work on my graduate degree as well. I will be attending UNC Greensboro's graduate program- mostly through distance education (online) with some cohorts that meet a few times per semester.

We have a contract on a house! It is a HUD home, so we are getting it for a really good deal. It has 4 bedrooms 2.5 bathrooms and is around 2100 square feet. It was built in 2000 but does need new flooring (we will place hardwoods through the living room and formal dining room; carpet in the bedrooms; tile through the kitchen, laundry room, and all the bathrooms). We were quite upset that we lost our loan: We had been approved for the Bank of America "No Fees Mortgage Plus" loan which was fixed 30 yr at 5% interest- the bank paid for the appraisal, survey, and inspection plus paid all closing costs. The bank discontinued this on April 17th, so all paper work (signed contract) had to be in by that date. HUD refused to sign the contract and the woman at the office said "That is not going to happen today" when I explained that if the contract wasn't signed we wouldn't have a loan. It was a lot of frustration and no it did not get signed. We will have to get a new loan- which is fine except we didn't ask for any closing costs in the contract b/c we thought we had the Bank of America loan. Oh well, stuff happens. Everything will work itself out :)

Last weekend we took Addisyn to the Renaissance Charlotte Southpark Hotel. We spent the night and took her to the pool before bed and again in the morning. She had a blast splashing around in the water. She wore herself out! After her morning swim she slept for almost 3 hours :)

Well we will post again soon.

Love,
Lindy, Brian, Addisyn, and Bear

Addisyn in her "toy box"...

Addisyn yawning as she eats baby ravioli...

Addisyn stands on Daddy's shoulders...

Addisyn sits in her rocking chair from Cracker Barrel...

The new house: Yes the outside colors need to be changed and the yard needs some TLC. Not the best picture, but it gives you an idea of what the house looks like. It will look awesome (inside and outside) when we are done with it :)

Happy Easter!

Hi Everyone,
Wow it is hard to believe it is Easter! We went to the church service this evening to avoid the huge crowd tomorrow morning. Bethlehem always does a great job of offering several different services- there was one service tonight and there will be 3 tomorrow morning at different times. Anyways, we got all jazzed up- including Addisyn :) We had a few bad storms last night- lots of rain and some hail too. Today was beautiful though. We are really excited that Grandma Neff is moving up here in just one week. I am looking forward to lots of nice visits :) Brian's school is winding down for the semester and he has decided not to take any summer classes- it is difficult working full time and going to school (he is lucky that he can do his classes online, but they do require an awful amount of work and self-discipline to keep up on them)- oh and a working computer (between my laptop, his laptop, and Dave's laptop he has still had some technical issues). As for the house hunt- we have an offer in on 2 different houses- which ever one accepts first is the one we will go with! Both houses have their positives and negatives, but both have 4 bedrooms 3 bathrooms- which sure beats our Cramerton house. We are really lucky that Dave (Brian's Dad had extra space to take us in during our transition- Thanks Dad!) Well we will post again soon.
Love,
Lindy, Brian, Addisyn, and Bear

Some Pictures:

Family Easter Pic:

Addisyn's Easter Attire:

Yes she looks like Daddy:

Addisyn trying on her new swim wear: (the cutest baby bikini from Baby Gap)



She has blue eyes, blond hair, and of course applesauce and baby cookie on her shirt:

Brian working on his school stuff:

Taking a nap with Addisyn (enjoying my holiday off work):

A 9 mth old, a night out, and a party!

Addisyn had her 9 mth well check on Friday! She is 18 pounds and 27 inches long- 50th percentile for both height and weight. Friday night Addisyn spent the night with Grammy while we spent the night at the Renaissance Charlotte Southpark- a beautiful hotel! We ate at the Cheesecake Factory, shopped at Southpark Mall, and took an evening swim at the hotel pool (after burning up in the sauna). Tonight Dave (Brian's Dad) had a huge party! We made personal pizzas, got the fire pit going, and had a great time! Dave is a wonderful host! (Thanks Dad!). Below are some recent pics...

Tom, Bear and Kyle...

Guys and the fire pit...

Family Portrait...




Our hotel room and us being goofy...



Our empty Cramerton house (we closed last Monday- we have an offer on on a house and are just waiting to hear something)...


Addisyn playing...

Addisyn and her 2nd cousin Kyla...


Addisyn in her crib...