The Kersey Family

I can’t believe it’s almost June and Matthew is about to turn one!  I’m not sure what happened to the year, especially the past few months.  Well, I guess I kind of know what has been going on, but hard to believe that 6 months got away from us just like that…poof…gone!  The beginning of the year was a mad rush to get our house prepared to be put on the market.  I think Ben and I worked around the clock for weeks or even months to get things in order.  Now we are on the market and it seems like we are following the kids around with a Clorox Wipe and the Dyson.

Just when we thought things were calming a bit, we discovered that Nathan has a blood disorder.  Poor kid was covered in unexplained bruises for weeks before I took him to his pediatrician.  I was horrified of taking him to the doctor because I thought they would think I was beating him!  He was diagnosed with ITP; a low platelet count.  Thank God it’s a blood disorder that usually goes away in about 6 months.  In the meantime, we have to treat him like a toddler and keep him away from any dangerous activities that would result in any sort of trauma to the head.  It has been tough on all of us, but we know that he will be fine because God looks after all of his little angels!

Matthew opted to keep things interesting too.  At almost a year old, the little guy is reluctant to eat solid foods.  He just wants the boobs!  No bottle, not sippy cup, and nothing on a spoon except yogurt maybe.  Lately has been trying the sippy cup so I guess that is progress.  We also learned that while he really dislikes baby food, he will try our food! We discovered that he is especially fond of meat! My guess is that he just doesn’t like flavorless food.  I can’t say that I blame him.

We had a rare visit from Uncle Jeremy at Easter! Both of the boys enjoyed the visit (and so did we), but Nathan especially got a kick out of hanging with his uncle and talking his head off. I think Nathan had the most fun coloring Easter eggs and playing frisbee in the back yard with his uncle. Matthew loved hanging with Uncle Jeremy too, as long as mommy wasn’t around…then it was another story.

Matthew is starting to stand up on his own and has even taken a few steps, but shows no signs of wanting to get anywhere on his feet.  He crawls faster than lightening so why would he right?  He has taken to climbing steps and would you believe going down them just as well??!! Shocking! He’s also trying to say a few words.  We can sort of make out; dog, mama, dada, nay nay (Nathan), cat, car,  and ball.  In many cases we actually think he says full sentences, we just don’t have a clue what exactly it is he’s trying to say. Matthew enjoys playing with balls, cars, trucks and trains just like big brother, but most of all he loves following Nathan around..both giggling like crazy. They are two little peas in a pod.  I love to watch them play together. It reminds me of playing with my little brother only Nathan isn’t playing tea party and feeding Matthew dirt (pretend cake).  Yeah, I was a naughty little girl.

Since we let the past few months get away from us, we plan on having a fun summer together.  Nathan told his preschool teacher that he wanted to go to the beach so I’m putting down the Clorox Wipes to book a few short family vacations.  Don’t be surprised if we are headed your way!

Filed under: tidbits on May 16th, 2010 by Charlotte | No Comments »

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As I sit here reflecting on the past year I’ve realized that I have so much to be thankful for so I thought I would share what made 2009 so special. Here they are in no particular order:

1. I’m thankful for my darling little Matthew Ryan who joined our family on June 1st. After another complicated pregnancy, he was born healthy and happy thanks to the support of friends, family, excellent physicians and many prayers. Drew especially deserves a big thanks for giving up 3 months of his life to come live in our crazy house to help Ben and I care for Nathan while I was on bed rest. He was also kind of enough to keep the low-sugar apple pies coming because I couldn’t have sugar during the pregnancy. I’m thankful for my wonderful friends for taking Nathan on play dates and for bringing yummy dinners to my family. My husband also deserves kudos for working from home so he could help with all the household duties. Even Ben’s bosses are awesome for consenting to this arrangement. Matthew doesn’t know it yet, but he is a very lucky boy!

2. I’m thankful Barry is still with us. My father-in-law survived a massive stroke at the beginning of the year. I’m thankful that he not only survived it, but that he had great insurance to cover the lengthy hospital stay and post-stroke therapy. I’m also thankful that Seth was home to help him through the entire ordeal. Without Seth pushing him, the doctors, and the insurance company, I’m not sure Dad would be talking to us today.

3. I’m thankful that Ben still has a job. This year was probably the worst economic year in U.S. history since the Depression and we were very worried that things would not be so great for us especially with the telecom industry’s constant lay-offs. We made it through the year with a job and even received an unexpected and welcomed raise. I’m also grateful for my husband’s money management strategy because without his frugal ways, things could have been pretty bad in this terrible economy. When I look back at this year from a financial perspective, we made some very smart choices. We are headed into 2010 with optimism and pray for those who are less fortunate.

4. I’m thankful for the sunshine of my life…Nathan. Nathan turned 3 and became a big brother and is becoming a wonderful young man. He’s so grown up that it’s hard to believe that he was a baby just a few years ago. I’m thankful that he is turning out to be a charming little boy with lots of love and happiness to share with everyone that he meets. He has his mommy’s energy and love for the outdoors. He loves keeping very busy and loves learning to read. He wants to learn so much that he’s always asking daddy to teach him how to spell things. He can almost spell his name now. Yup…he’s smart…thanks to daddy’s side of course. We enrolled Nathan in preschool for the first time earlier this year and it went very well. He loved it and the teachers loved him. We were expecting a difficult transition, but Nathan proved that he can handle a lot more than we give him credit for and I’m thankful for his outgoing personality. Although he had a rough year competing for mommy’s attention, he’s come around a great deal and is my biggest helper. He’s also developed a special relationship with daddy. He’s always needed me to do everything for him, but now in many cases he only wants daddy. I can’t express how much that warms my heart. I didn’t have the opportunity to grow up with my father so it makes me cry (a happy cry) to see the closeness between Ben and Nathan. I’m thankful that God has created this opportunity for their relationship to become so special.

5. I’m thank for for the birth of Sophia Fermanian who was born prematurely, but recovered quickly. One of my closest friends gave birth to a beautiful daughter mid year. While Sophia came a little early, God watched over her and she is now a very healthy baby girl. It just goes to show that lots of love an prayer can go a very long way.

6. I’m thankful for the birth of Charlene Rutledge and Logan Kurtz and for the bun in the oven (not me). Our dear friends the Rutledges and the Kurtz-Bobbitts have new additions to their family. Kelly and Joey welcomed a darling little girl; Charlene (Charlie) in March while Jason and Sharyn welcome sweet little Logan to their clan in November. Then of course we learned that our dear friends George and Paulla Hendleman will be expecting a boy in the Spring. So much life to be celebrated and thankful for this past year.

These are just some of the major events that I have to be thankful for, but there are many many others as well. In closing I remain thankful for our health, our friends, our family, and power of God’s love.

Filed under: tidbits on January 1st, 2010 by Charlotte | No Comments »

Santa came to our clubhouse for breakfast this morning. He was gathering last-minute gift requests as well as handing out a few early presents to the little ones of Wexford. Before he handed out gifts, he read T’was the Night Before Christmas to the children as they all listened to his every word. Nathan was horrified of him as usual so he stuck close to his two friends Evan and Hannah the entire time. Matthew just watched the whole thing from afar, but seemed to enjoy the crowd of kids and the donut holes I kept stuffing in my mouth. Well Nathan wasn’t the only one a little frightened; Reilly wasn’t a fan of the boy with the elf hat…

Filed under: tidbits on December 24th, 2009 by Charlotte | No Comments »

Just thought I would post some pictures of Ben and Nathan making a gingerbread house. Nathan did a great job helping daddy place the candy on the house; although, he also had fun trying to eat all the materials while daddy patiently attempted to outline the design. I had planned on helping, but Matthew was hungry so we just watched from the sofa. In the end, it turned out pretty good.

Filed under: tidbits on December 22nd, 2009 by Charlotte | No Comments »

I have the cutest kids! Spoken like a true mom I know. Nathan went out for a ride on his big boy bike today and Matthew tagged along in his stroller all bundled up of course. We also made another trip to the Kudzu Playhouse to see The Littlest Elf. I forgot my camera so had to take a picture in the dark with my iphone. Nathan got to go up on stage to let Santa know what he wanted for Christmas. Of course he asked for yet another Thomas train that I didn’t buy because he had asked the other Santa for a different one! Yikes!

Filed under: tidbits on December 17th, 2009 by Charlotte | No Comments »