Visit from Grandma and Grandpa

Since we had a little bit of a crazy Christmas, we weren't able to make it to Raleigh to see Tim's parents for the holidays. So, Grandpa Veeck and Grandma Sink came for a visit and we celebrated Christmas here in Fort Mill this weekend! Tim's dad made his wonderful rouladen (a German dish) with mashed potatoes and cabbage for Christmas dinner. So delicious! It was a nice little visit...one we look forward to doing again now that we're a lot closer.

Ethan getting ready to open presents

Playing the glasses ON/OFF game with Grandpa

Playing with his new Cookie Monster - Thank you Grandpa!

Giving Grandma lots of hugs

"Jumping" on his new trampoline - Thank you Grandma!

Almost falling off his new trampoline

Going for a walk to show off his new walking skills

For the Birds

My mom (who always thinks of creative, fun and messy crafts) decided we should re purpose our Christmas tree this year as a bird feeder by making pine cone and gumball birdseed ornaments. Ethan really enjoyed the whole project and did amazingly well with all the different textures. Here are more than a few pictures of this fun little craft...

Ethan giving Pop the pine cones to cover with peanut butter

And tangling up (I mean, untangling) the string

Playing in the birdseed (a skill he learned at VIPS this year)

The assembly line - Nana with the string, Pop with the peanut butter and Ethan with the seed

He's serious about his job

Yes, that is birdseed on his nose. He's had a cold this week and kept rubbing his nose with the peanut butter and birdseed hands

My job (besides taking pictures, of course) was to take the ornaments from Ethan and hang them on the tree. Side note: One of his newest skills is giving things to us when he's done instead of just throwing them. I still get all excited inside when he does this because we've worked so hard to get past the throwing - and it means he is able to motor plan and wants to involve other people.

The finished products

Ethan's other little project last week was building his first snowman!

Facial Expressions of a Walker

Ethan got a big boy walker about two months ago and really loves practicing his walking - especially outside! He still can't steer himself and tends to veer to the right, but is doing really well and we LOVE the freedom it gives him. As you can see, he is very expressive while walking around - these are just a few of the faces I captured yesterday while he was walking around outside in his pajamas. I also just uploaded a video of him walking on facebook. Enjoy!

Christmas in a Collage 2010

Books, homemade applesauce, an IKEA push toy, Elmo Chatters, a kazoo and much more...and they had the most amount of fun in the pile of wrapping paper!

A Snowball Break

In the midst of all the packing and moving last week Ethan and I decided to take a little break to play in the snow. I remembered from last year that he really loved getting hit with snowballs and, as you can see from the pictures, he loved it even more this year!

Here he is trying to throw a snowball back at me.

He loved it best when I would throw it right in his face...REALLY, he did!

The only thing he didn't like was tasting the snow. Too cold.

You think he liked it?

Not Saying "Goodbye" Part 3

The past few weeks have been so bittersweet. Knowing we are going to be living so close to family and that Ethan will grow up being able to see his family all the time. But at the same time leaving a place where our friends ARE our family. Being able to watch Cara grow up and having my parents around to help out with Ethan. But at the same time knowing we won't be around to see Penny, JoJo, Ben and Jack every week like we used to. Having the opportunity for a new set of doctors and therapists to get to know Ethan and possibly find a diagnosis and/or new ideas to help him flourish. But at the same time leaving Ethan's therapists and friends who have taught him (and me) so much and know how far he's come. Words really can't express how hard this move has been on all three of us because we have come to truly love our family in Louisville. We are so excited about all the new opportunities for us here in South Carolina...and at the same time we really are grieving. One thing that has gotten me through this whole move is the fact that I know I will come back to visit these amazing friends and that they will always be a part of our lives. So, even though we've arrived in Charlotte and are looking for a place to live in South Carolina and all our possessions are in a storage unit (and all over my mom's house) and we're (hopefully) going to be selling our house in the next few weeks...we really aren't saying "goodbye."

"It's Cryin' Time Again"

One of the coolest things about living in Louisville is being only 45 minutes from my family in Radcliff. I grew up living 5-8 hours away from them, so it has been such a treat for us (and especially for Ethan) to be close enough to see them fairly often. With Ethan's therapy schedule, we haven't been able to spend as much time in Radcliff as I had hoped for before he was born, but Ethan still loves going there and really loves his Radcliff family! When I was young (oh, and when I was older, too), every time I would leave my Grandma & Pawpaw's house, I would start crying and they would sing me a song called, "Cryin' Time." There have already been oh so many tears shed in the past few weeks and, no doubt, will be many more before we leave on Sunday. So, I thought it appropriate, for this post especially, to include the lyrics to the chorus they would sing to me (and I'm sure will have to sing to me again).

Oh, it's cryin' time again, you're gonna leave me

I can see that far away look in your eyes

I can tell by the way you hold me darlin'

That it won't be long before it's cryin' time

Saying "Goodbye" Part 1

Over the past few weeks we've been saying our goodbyes to lots of people we love here in Louisville. I know I haven't taken pictures of all those goodbyes, but I'm going to try (you know, while I'm up at 3am with nothing better to do but pack and stress out over all the things I haven't done yet) to post some "goodbye" pictures of just a FEW of our favorite people here in Louisville. My heart is full of gratitude for these three beautiful women and all they have taught me over the past 7 years. I love you, Alisa, Andrea and Kanea!

carallison and We're Moving!

My sister finally started a blog to update everyone on her beautiful little girl, Cara. Of course, she waited to start the blog just two short weeks before I move 30 mintues away from this sweet little girl and will, of course, be visiting her on a weekly basis. Here is a link to her new blog, carallison (http://www.carallison.blogspot.com/). Enjoy!

Oh, and I promise to update on Ethan soon! For those of you who haven't heard, we are moving to York County, South Carolina. For a while we have been feeling that it would be best for our family to be closer to our immediate families in Charlotte and Raleigh, NC. Tim was offered a position as Executive Director of York County Habitat for Humanity (http://www.yorkcountyhabitat.org/) and started his job yesterday. Ethan, my dad and I are still in Louisville wrapping things up and will be joining Tim in a few weeks. It has been quite a busy time for the Veecks, from packing to finding new doctors and therapists to trying to sell our house and find the best health insurance for our family. We're thankful for the opportunity, but a little overwhelmed with all the details. We will update everyone with our new contact information once we know it ourselves. Please keep us in your prayers during this crazy time in our lives!