Kaelan's 2nd Birthday

Well, we officially have a 2-year old. Can you believe it? We definitely can't! I still don't even think of myself as a "mother" but since someone calls me "mommy", I guess I can't deny it. :) We had a fabulous birthday weekend! My parents as well as Scott (my brother) and his fiance, Melonna, were here for the festivities.


Saturday we went to an indoor shopping center that has a ginormous playground right in the middle of it. You'll see pictures below. Kaelan got to climb, slide, and play with daddy, Uncle Scott, and Aunt Melonna. We also ate lunch there and rode a couple rides (also pictured below). After his nap, it was time for presents...many, many presents. We're still trying to find a place for it all. Kaelan loved when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him and he even got to blow out his own "2" candle (with Mom's help of course). He had a Backyardigans cake which unfortunately is not gone yet (I can't let it go to waste). :)


His presents included a set of blocks, a Mickey Mouse race track, a Handy Manny power saw/drill, and a dinosaur puzzle, just to name a few. He plays with his new toys every day and mixes in some of his "old" toys as well. He likes to put his blocks in his dump truck and drive it around (see picture).


There are too many pictures to include in just this one blog. I'll add another post later this week with more as well as add them to our slideshow. Hope all is well with each of you!

Just Some Silly Pictures

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! The best news this holiday season was that one of my best friends just had a baby. Melissa and her husband, Colin, welcomed Jack Thomas McCormick a little before 9:00 on December 23rd. Jack is their first child and Kaelan's newest friend! We can't wait for Kaelan, Paige, and Jack to all be together some time soon. They'll be the best of friends and share many memories throughout their childhoods. The first picture below is of my new little "nephew" who I can't wait to meet in February!

As for our family, we had a fabulous Christmas full of Fulmers, presents, dogs, laughs, tantrums, food, fun and very warm weather. As you know we were at Mike's parents' house but you may not know is that they have 3 West Highland Terriers. Four adults and 3 small dogs at your feet seemed perfect, but add a toddler who you can't take your eyes off of and 2 large dogs who are scared to death of the little dogs and you've got a house full. However, everyone (including the dogs) is becoming more and more comfortable...thank god! And oh yes, I did include tantrums in the list of things we enjoyed over the long weekend. Kaelan is most definitely an almost 2-year old full of "I want what I want, when I want it or else" attitude. Boy can he throw a royal fit if he really wants to! Poor Nana had never seen that side of him before but of course nothing could soil her opinion of that sweet little boy. His smile, his adorable voice, his interest in imitating every action, word and sound he hears, and his few but far between cuddles FAR outweigh his little fits here and there.

What's next for us? The terrible twos of course! We are thrilled that both sets of grandparents will be here for Kaelan's 2nd birthday. Even better, his Uncle Scott and Aunt Melonna are coming up from Florida as well. He is a very lucky little guy to have so many people around him who love him so much.

Also attached are holiday pictures. One of the pictures is of the three of us on Christmas Day and YES, Mike is in short sleeves. Christmas in Greenville, SC was probably the most beautiful day of the year, 65 and not a cloud in the sky. If I can't have a white Christmas, I'll take this any year. We hope you all had a wonderful holiday full of family AND friends. Oh, and don't forget to leave us a message if you have time!

I hope this entry finds everyone well and ready for Christmas which will be here before we know it. I truly can't believe it's only a week and a half away. We'll be spending our Christmas with Nana and Papa in Greenville, SC this year. We haven't been there for Christmas for some time now so we're looking forward to it. We also have a Fulmer Family Christmas Party coming up next weekend and Mike's Aunt Sherry's house in Atlanta. None of his family has had the chance to meet Kaelan yet. Of course we are excited to show him off but hope he's on his best behavior. I will very much miss being with my parents for the holiday but we were fortunate enough to have our whole family together (including Scott) for Thanksgiving. Luckily, the Baumgartner's dearest friends, the Robertsons, have invited my parents over for food, games, and I'm sure a couple glasses of Mike's yummy eggnog. I'm am so grateful to Mike and Linda for including them and giving them family to be with.
We had a very festive weekend. Friday we drove through a neighborhood that was having a Christmas light/decoration contest. It was FANTASTIC!!!! It will definitely become a yearly tradition for our family. Today we braved the chilly, cloudy weather and visited King's Mountain State Park. It is a gigantic park within which lies the King's Mountain Battlegrounds where the Revolutionary War turned in the favor of the patriots. It was very interesting to learn about this part of our history which I had no knowledge of previously. We traveled on a 1.6 mile hiking path that circled and led up King's Mountain, the site of the actual battle. I'm so happy to have such a big part of our national history so close by. We plan to make frequent trips there to ensure Kaelan grows up with a great sense of patriotism and realizes our wonderful history. Below are some pictures from our day.

Welcome!

Well, I've finally done it. Melissa and Katrina have hounded me long enough and I eventually listened. This is our Fulmer family blog that I will attempt to update on a regular basis with news and more importantly pictures.


Here's the latest with us. Most of you know that we are now living in Rock Hill, SC. Unfortunately we are living in an apartment temporarily while we continue to wait for our Ohio house to sell. It is quite an adjustment but I just keep telling myself it is temporary. How temporary remains to be seen with this housing market. Mike is enjoying his new career and I am actively persuing a permanent teaching position by substitute teaching.


Kaelan is doing fabulously! He has adjusted to life in the south quite easily. He seems to really enjoy his new school and his new teachers. I thought it would be much more difficult to drop him off every day knowing that I wouldn't be just down the hall anymore. However, due to his positive attitude and laid-back personality, it's actually quite simple. When we walk in the door each morning he is immediately emersed in any activity they are doing in the classroom and could care less if I'm there or not. We are so lucky to have such a happy little guy!


Below are some recent pics of Kaelan and the rest of the family. I'm also going to attempt to post of video clip of his very first Christmas performance but I can't make any promises. If it does work, you'll need to fast forward through the first 4 mintues of the clip to get to his part. Enjoy!