It's been a long time....

I shouldn't have left you, without a dope beat to step to....

I was so happy to hear this song this morning, Aaliyah is one of my and Henry and Sherri's all time favorites. It also got me thinking about how slack I've been with my blog. So here's a quick update.

1) Our house is finally finished! Hooray. We have our walk through on Dec.7th and close on Dec. 16th. This has been a long time coming, it will be so nice to have our family under one roof (of our own). I can't think of a better Christmas present.

2) It's hard to believe, but Weston will be turning 2 in less than a month and Brenner will be 5 months old. We don't plan on throwning a big party for Weston, like last year. More than likely it will just be a small gathering with the family.

3) Thanksgiving was great and we were very excited Amisha came to town. We took lots of pictures and will post them soon. For now here is Granna with all her grandbabies.

New Pics!

Rock Me Amadeus

Weston recently discovered the piano at Granna and Poppy's house and has been putting on spectacular performances daily. As you can see from the video, he also enjoys clapping for himself and letting out a big WOOOOOOO!!!

Yet another photo shoot......

As you can see, we have had many photo shoots. None of which have produced a good picture of both boys together. However, we will keep trying and hope to one day soon have a decent one to send out.

New Pictures

We're getting there....

Since Brenner's arrival, Weston has been pretty aloof about the whole situation. We have had a few bouts with jealousy, but overall he just seems to carry on as if nothing has changed. Yesterday, we had a major breakthrough during Brenner's afternoon feeding. While I was holding Brenner, Weston grabbed a paci and brought it over to give to his brother. This was one of the first brother to brother interactions and my mom was fast enough to catch it on camera.(we had attempted a photo shoot a few minutes earlier.) As you can see from the picture, Weston actually put the paci closer to his eyes rather than his mouth, but hey I'll take what I can get. It's a start, hopefully they will be best friends in no time.

Four Generations

We are so excited that Nevin's grandparents were here in the US for Brenner's arrival. Today they came with Nevin's parents to visit us in the hospital, while here we took a lot of cute pictures. It was really sweet to see four generations of their family together. It was also a little bittersweet for me, it made me realize how much I wished my Grandma Terry could have seen my children. She would have been so happy and probably made a funny comment on how I need to cut my hair when she saw me.
Above is one of my favorite pictures from the day.

Introducing.....

Brenner Nevin Shrimanker
Born July 6, 2009 3:30am
6lbs 7oz

Best $10 purchase

Sadly, Poppy has been having trouble getting the pool water swimmer friendly. So, last week we purchased Weston a plastic pool from Wal-mart. As you can see from the photos, it was a huge hit. No doubt the best $10 I've spent in a long time.

On another note, a BIG thank you to everyone who voted for Weston in the Baby Idol contest. He was runner up and won Taylor Swift concert tickets, which he gave to a 13 year old girl who was super excited.

Final Countdown!!

Today is the last day to vote for Weston, hopefully tomorrow he will be the next Baby Idol, stay tuned....... The link to vote is below.
http://www.1075kzl.com/pages/4544932.php?imageGalleryXRefId=1136640#imgXR

Only 2 days left!

To vote Weston for Baby Idol, see link below.

http://www.1075kzl.com/pages/4544932.php?imageGalleryXRefId=1136640#imgXR

Votes needed, Weston made the finals!!!

Weston has made the finals of the 107.5 Baby Idol contest! We need everyone to vote everyday starting today Monday June 8th through Thursday June 11th. Thanks to everyone for their support, the link to vote is below.

http://www.1075kzl.com/pages/4544932.php?imageGalleryXRefId=1136640#imgXR

Today's the day, please vote for Weston!!!

As I previously posted, I entered Weston into the 107.5 Baby Idol contest. today his picture is posted on the website, in order to make it to the finals he needs to receive th most votes today. Here is the link to the website to vote
http://www.1075kzl.com/pages/4426876.php?imageGalleryXRefId=1112122#imgXR

Also, here is the pic I submitted. Thanks to everyone!!!

Mother's Day, a little late....

Mother's Day was very special this year, because we had Weston's dedication at church. We were so happy to have our family there, Weston's Godparents Amisha Shrimanker and Alex Rutledge and especially excited Nevin's grandparents (Nani and Nana) were able to make it all the way from India.
The dedication service was short, but sweet and we were very lucky Weston was somewhat cooperative. However, about half way through the service he decided to start clapping his hands and saying "Go Deacs!" over and over.
Above is a picture of everyone who attended, it was a great day and we truly thank you for your love and continued support.

Fingers crossed!!!

So, I entered Weston in the WKZL Baby Idol contest. I'm not exactly sure how the voting is going to work, I don't know if KZL chooses the finalists then the public votes or if the public chooses the finalists. I will keep you all posted, if we do make it I will need all of you to vote. Stay tuned......

The picture(above) I entered was taken by one of the world's best photographers Sally Gupton. My friend Erin introduced me to her and I have been so happy with her work, she is very talented. Check out her website if you are interested in seeing more of her work. http://www.sallyguptonphotography.net/

So Sweet

I have finally chosen the outfit for Baby #2(possibly to be named Brenner) to have his picture taken in at the hospital and wear home. I ordered it tonight, it is from the Zutano Itzy Bitzy collection and in the Good Dog pattern. Here is a picture, so cute, I love the orange hat.

Mommy's Vacation

Nevin took Weston to Raleigh to stay with his Dada and Ba this past weekend, so I have been baby free since Friday. While I must say I have enjoyed sleeping in, getting a pedicure and not cleaning my kitchen floor after every meal, I believe today I'm starting to miss him. I mean, seriously, it's hard not to miss this face.

Things I will miss.....

I can't believe we only have a month before our house closes and 3 months away from our move to Raleigh. It seems like just yesterday, Nevin was finishing medical school and we were searching for houses in Winston Salem(along with a majority of his med school classmates). Now we are leaving our first house behind and off to the next chapter. While I'm excited, I'm also sad when I think of all the things I will miss.
Here are a few in no particular order.....
1) Village Tavern French Onion Soup, great anytime of the year.
2) Pretty much everything at Dewey's.
3) The Walk-A-Thon
4) Wake Forest basketball games and texting Laura during the halftime shows. Those Bouncin Bulldogs are off the hook.
5) Watching Elf at the Hatzis home in preparation for Christmas, can also be combined to celebrate Erin's birthday.
6) Birthdays at Diamonback Grille I'm not sure why, but they love us there.
7) Sightings of random high school people(special guest appearances) and texting Alex almost instantly.

Easter 2009

This Easter was actually Weston's second, but this was the first time he was able to participate in the church Easter egg hunt. I would love to tell you he collected many eggs, but the truth is, he only picked up one and carried it around the whole time. However, we were able to pick up a few eggs, add them to his basket and stage some pictures. By far the highlight of his weekend was playing with his cousin's new puppy. I will post a few of those pictures later.
Easter morning Weston woke up to an Easter basket filled with goodies. The Easter Bunny brought him new shoes, a Go Diego ball, crayons, cars, a book and candy. I tell you the Easter Bunny has gotten much more generous since I was a kid. I hope everyone had a great Easter, the Shrimanker family now needs a much needed nap.

What a difference a year makes.....

Time truly does fly and I was noticing that while going through some pictures recently. Here are 2 pictures of Weston wearing his UNC gear, one is from last year's ACC tournament and the other from this year's NCAA tournament. I also added one of him is his Duke shirt, just to remind everyone I am a Duke fan.

It's Amazing the Happiness a Little GG can Bring!!

Despite the wonderful weather today, Weston and I spent most of our day inside due to his teething. To say the least, today was a very long day. It seems Weston's molars and eye teeth are all coming in at the same time which equals a very unhappy baby, thus leading to an exhausted mommy. However, there was one bright spot this evening. The Chuck Bass we have been missing has returned wearing his smoking jacket, holding his scotch and working on his next scheme. I wish I could have found the picture of him in the smoking jacket he wore tonight, but this will have to do.

In Loving Memory

Joshua Craig Herron born March 28, 1994. We miss you!

Which Celebrity do You Look Like?

Some of you may know(Melanie), but for those that do not. A while back I plugged the following photo into one of the those which celebrity do you look like sites and this was the result I received. Who knew we were related and I was so attractive?

A Few of Weston's New Interests.

Swimming lessons and feeding himself are becoming 2 of Weston's favorite things.

Getting started.....

By popular demand, I have decided to start a blog to introduce the world to the ins and outs of being a Shrimanker. My intention is to keep friends and family updated on the latest and greatest events in our lives, as well as share the entertaining stories that sometimes go along with them. Please be patient, as I am slowing learning how everything works.
Love to all,
Meredith