Thursday, June 23, 2011

Got My Toes in the Water...

Tail in the sand


Not a worry in the world

Coke Zero in my hand

Life is good today

Life is good today.


It's been birthdays all around this week. Bradley turned 29 on Tuesday. We had a small celebration last Friday night to celebrate. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I don't do secrets well, so..................I told him. Early. Real early. Early as in the beginning of the week. It was lots of fun. I got to listen to lots of stories. Some I'd heard, some I had not. But we had a good time visiting and eating.


I turned the big 3-0 yesterday. Bradley told me we would go out to eat dinner. However, he texted me after practice and told me to hurry or we'd be late. When I got home, he had the truck packed, EK was with his dad, and we took off for the beach. It was BEAUTIFUL. I'm not sure I've ever seen the water so clear. We read, we talked. It was perfect. We enjoyed some good seafood and came home. I'm so thankful for him. And 30 is off to a good start!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

In Pictures

B's 1st Fathers' Day Card. All English teachers, please ignore my error.

A perfect Sunday afternoon: napping with Mommy.



Swimming Lessons: Look at me float!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

A Day in the Life of Us

Ella Kate doesn't care that it's summer. She's not sleeping in. We rise bright and early, fix a bottle, and lay back down with Daddy. She and I snuggle and play (She's EXTRA loving and happy in the morning) and then I box her in with pillows and leave her with B watching MickeyMouse Clubhouse. She loves it. I dress and head out to run because as Mickey says, "we all feel better when we mouse-kersize". I come back, pack her swimming bag, and jump in the shower. Some mornings we go seperate ways to swimming lessons and cheer practice. Some mornings we all go to swimming lessons. This week, we've also had VBS until 12. A busy morning doesn't bother me, as long as I can have a lazy afternoon. Today we all napped. It was ABSOLUTELY marvelous. Don't you love a good nap??? At night, B leaves us for workouts and EK and I spend girl time together. Tonight we played, ate dinner, pulled weeds, and had bath time. Bath time is great. She plays. I sit in the bathroom floor and read. It's my ME-Time. She's usually asleep by 8, so I stretch out in B's chair and have a Coke Zero. This may not seem exciting to you, but I love it. It's the simple things. I am so thankful for this life.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. Thank you, God.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Note to Self:

A trip to the beach with a 7 month old may nor may NOT qualify as a "vacation". We left Sunday for a few days of "rest and relaxation" at the beach. We knew we would be traveling with a lot more "stuff" than normal. Our condo was on the beach to help with hauling all our supplies back and forth. We were prepared. We'd purchased a tent and plenty of sunblock. We were READY.

You're looking at these pictures and thinking how sweet..she looks so happy. But pictures can be deceiving. I only posted the happy photos. How come none of you mentioned to me that babies typically don't like the beach???? Or that babies typically don't do well when you move them to a new environment for a few days? Monday morning we were up bright and early. We had to give EK 2 bottles during the night Sunday night. We haven't done that since she was 2 months old! But to spare our neighbors the screaming fits, we gave in. We thought she'd take a good nap and we could head down to the beach. We thought wrong. No nap. By 11, we gave up, and went to the beach with NO nap. A mistake? Yes, probably. But we're new at this. After screaming for an hour, she napped on the beach. B suggested we call the sitter and ask her to drive down...immediately. Ella Kate didn't like the sand, the waves, or the heat. As soon as we took her in, she was fine. Tuesday was slightly better. I was a little more "organized" as we trecked to the beach. She played in the sand for a little while. The water was good as long as the waves didn't crash into us. She still didn't love it, but she was improving. Even though, it was the most exhausting "vacation" I have ever taken, it was fun and I'm glad we took her. I just hope she likes it better next year.









Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Our First Summer Begins...

Ahhhhhhhhhh....summer. We can breathe. We can nap. We can grill. It is absolutely THE BEST. It makes my heart very happy. Ella Kate and Bradley are napping. I've just loaded the dishwasher and am taking a few minutes to blog and have a Coke Zero.

We kicked off summer last Friday with an early departure from school. Yay! We are so thankful to still have jobs, as many are not as fortunate this year. We loaded up and went to Gantt to celebrate the Memorial Day Weekend. It was like old times...reading, taking a tan, grilling all weekend long. Except this year, we have an addition. She's a sporty little thing. She keeps us on our toes. She didn't love the lifejacket, but she seemed to enjoy the boat. Uncle J joined us for the weekend. He deserted us in favor of people who stay up past 9 p.m., but we'll forgive him this time. We came back Monday around lunch. Everyone else napped and I started cleaning out closets. I still had maternity clothes in there...hoping I won't need those for a while. We rode to my parents' house for dinner, and crashed when we got in. Ella Kate slept all night without a peep for the first time in a week. I took it as a sign of good things to come. She started ISR swimming classes yesterday. She's not very keen on floating on her back. She's never very keen about being on her back...on land or water. But I think she'll get the hang of it. We don't have huge plans for the summer...a beach trip here and there, VBS, cheer camp, football workouts, etc. But regardless of what we do, we get to spend our days with Ella Kate. And that is what makes it marvelous. It's only been a few days, but I love it already.



My goals for the summer are to:

*Read-I've already finished 1 book and started a 2nd. Some are my choices; some were recommended by the kids in my class as possibilities for read-alouds for next year.


*Nap-I'll start working towards that one tomorrow.


*Re-do our bedroom- I have the "supplies". I just need to do it.


*Complete the other bedroom- We've been here 2 years, and I finally bought a comforter for that bed yesterday.


*Run- 5K anyone? I will complete 1 without stopping before school starts back in August. I'll be honest. I do it for the shirts. ; )


*Spend as much time with Bradley and Ella Kate as possible before the madness begins in August. I LOVED summers as a single girl. But it doesn't even come close to this. Welcome to "Our First Summer".