The Wright Family...Ben, Christina, Ben David, James and Caroline: 2009

Monday, December 28, 2009

Winter Fun

it has become an annual tradition of sorts in our family to have some photos taken around the holidays. this helps out with the every challenging task of trying to coax smiles from the kids for the christmas card picture, in addition to getting some fun candid shots to mark the year.

this time, we were excited to have a guy named jon cox (http://www.joncoxphoto.com/) whom we met at the pool this summer, take some pictures of us. i think he did a great job capturing the boys and caroline's personalities and we had a lot of fun, despite the freezing temps:)!

here are a few of my favorites!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Sweet and Petite

and that about sums it up!:) took little miss c in for her 4 month (ok..she was 5months by the time we made it in there...3rd child, what can i say??) check-up. she is a whopping 11lbs. 12 oz (sorry...can't remember her height!). that lands her in the 25% percentile!! she is a tiny little thing...gaining steadily, but staying in that margin. healthy as can be...we sure are grateful for our little "sweet and petite" baby girl. so i couldn't resist buying this outift (look closely below) when i found it the other day. just perfect for her! we love our little caroline!

caroline also recently had the pleasure of meeting her two great aunts (my mom's sisters) for the first time: aunt geraldine (on right) and aunt bonnie (on left). these two women have been such a special part of my life. my grandmother passed away when i was in college, and my aunt geraldine and aunt bonnie have been like grandmothers to my sister and i ever since. they stood up as "honorary grandmothers" in my wedding, and are both such amazing women who set an example in both their devotion to their families and to the lord.

we had so much fun visiting with them, and caroline enjoyed being loved on too! thank you both so much for coming to see us!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Come Fly With Me!

...let's fly, let's fly away"... and so the old sinatra song goes! and while we didn't go quite as far as a bar in bombay (gotta know the song for that one:) it was still, by far the ride of a lifetime!

so, let me go no further without saying a big...

CONGRATULATIONS

to my husband Ben on recently earning his pilot license!!!

on sunday, i was privileged to take my first ride in a small plane being flown by no other than MY VERY OWN HUSBAND!! as he is not one to brag or even tell folks about this...i am taking it upon myself to "toot his horn" just a bit. for the last year, plus...ben has been diligently working on obtaining his small plane pilot license. this has been a rigorous process involving early mornings of studying, flying several times a week with an instructor, and taking three very difficult tests: one written, one oral and one "in flight." and just as he does with everything else...he passed with flying colors!! (no pun intended).

it was quite impressive, watching ben go through his extremely detailed process of checking over the plane, making sure it was ready for takeoff. then, there is this totally other language he has learned in order to safely communicate while in the air. i'll admit...a little strange climbing in and, just like that (or so it seemed), ben knew how to fly!!:) our flight was extremely smooth and he did a great job taking off and landing too!!

and to top off this amazing experience, (mother, don't read this:) i even got to handle the controls while air born for a few minutes!!

ben is truly an amazing man...he rides motorcycles, can snowboard, fish, build anything you might want (like an attic and stairs, most recently), fix anything you need fixed, decorate a baby girl nursery in a pinch (more on that later), and now...FLY A PLANE!!!!!!

this was an incredible experience and i absolutely can't wait to go back up with him again.

and who knows...maybe bombay one day, right honey?

my handsome pilot

putting gas in the wings (news to me:)

if you look closely, you'll see us standing by the plane!

beautiful fall colors from above

about to be airborne:)

Monday, October 12, 2009

Gulfshore Getaway

this past weekend ben and i had the luxury of getting away to panama city, fl...just the two of us. well, almost. we took little miss caroline along, but hey, when you have three kids...taking one along still counts as a vacation! the boys enjoyed some special time with marmie and poppy while we were gone. this included a great trip to the zoo, chic-fil-a, and lots of playtime...they had a blast and did not miss us for a minute!

meanwhile, caroline enjoyed her first airplane ride, somehow managing to "jump in line" of her big brothers for this special treat. she also was spoiled with lots of one on one mommy and daddy time!:) she even got to sleep in a drawer, yes, a drawer. my husband insisted on "light packing" as we were flying (not my forte) and banned me from bringing the pack and play on the plane. he assured me he'd figure a sleeping arrangement out for caroline that was both safe and comfy. i should never doubt this engineer husband of mine. once again, he came through! caroline slept great in this little trundle of sorts:) when out, she generally slept in the sling or woke up briefly to socialize. she even enjoyed some sunbathing! all in all...we had a great, relaxing trip together. sadly, though this was really a trip for ben and i, the one picture i had of just the two of us did not turn out. hence...this is basically a blog of caroline:)

getting ready for my first plane ride!

preparing for take off!!

a drawer bed

out to eat with the parents

beach time!

not so sure about this hat, mom!

one happy beach bum

patio time with daddy

snug as a bug in a sling

(thanks aunt bek!!)

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

In Other News...

here are a few long overdue shots of our sweet miss caroline. i can't believe she is already over three months! i must brag on her just a bit for she is truly a dream baby. she goes with the flow, eats whenever, sleeps whenever and is just happy to be along for the ride (and i'm just glad i haven't accidentally forgotten to put her in the car)! she is super social and has the most precious laugh.

and let me just say, for the record (and for all you moms toughing it out with your little ones), i have in the past also had slightly more difficult babies (we won't name names:). because i have earned my degree from the "baby school of hard knocks" i am allowing myself the liberty to brag a bit. regardless, i can take no credit...the lord knew we needed a little one who would just "go with the flow!" we all love this little girl so much and feel blessed to have her in our lives.

the beginning of fall has also brought with it many exciting developments in our home! it seems our family continues to get bigger as we have added yet another new member to the wright household (HA! that got your attention, didn't it!:). several weeks ago ben took the boys to the matthews alive festival. they returned home with a new pet; a goldfish who was promptly and affectionately deemed "Dorothy" by Ben David.

we are not big elmo watchers around here, and in truth, i find the fuzzy red creature slightly annoying. that being said...Ben David has managed to catch a few minutes of elmo here and there while i am trying to pack a lunch or load the car, etc. hence, he quickly latched on to the name of elmo's pet fish: "Dorothy." for some reason unbeknownst to me, however, Dorothy has since been shortened to "Dorky." not sure what happened there, but in any case...we now have a pet fish named "Dorky." she even survived a whole week without being fed while we were at the beach. do i dare i say i was a bit disappointed???

so here she is in all her glory...

in addition, ben david has started his first year in preschool at carmel baptist two days a week. so far, he really seems to like it! his only complaint is that he doesn't get the same fun food his friends do in their lunches. so, i broke down and bought some junk food for him yesterday...not going to let my kid be the odd man out...no sir!:)

and here is a picture of ben's latest "activity" for the boys...a homemade zip line!!:) ben always comes up with new fun things for the boys...they are always asking him, "daddy...what's the next "actibity" (as ben david wouldsay)???" notice the multi-tasking... that's my husband:)

and finally...our best attempt to capture all three on camera. we had a great time yesterday meeting our dad for lunch at the park...always a treat!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The Annual Ocean Isle Beach Trip!

when september rolls around, that can only mean one thing around here...TIME TO HIT THE BEACH!! right after labor day, we head down with my parents, and my sister and her crew to ocean isle beach for a week. it is a super fun-filled vacation (ok...maybe not "vacation") and great time together. this year's highlights included james climbing out of his pack and play, ben catching a giant sting ray, a trip to the myrtle beach broadway to ride the rides, and lots and lots and lots of holes dug in the sand. caroline enjoyed some beach time too (at least one picture testifies to that) and some bonus sand from her cousin annascott.

and of course...it would not be a family beach trip if we didn't try for the infamous "lets get all dressed up and go take pictures on the beach" outing. my sister took a bunch with her "professional" camera, so the real ones are yet to come. in addition...sadly, i was a terrible photo journalist this year and did not get as many pics as i usually do. but, here is what i have! all in all...it was a great trip, and no hurricane threats this year! already looking forward to next year!