Our Fun Weekend

Well, our fun weekend really followed a BUSY week. I was in San Diego for work, so Nick had the children all by himself all week. Friday, as I was headed back into town, Nick headed to Decatur to play with Wes in the DCC Member-Guest golf tournament. Carter, Callen & I opted to stay at home Friday night {which turned out to be a smart move for a lot of different reasons, but that is a story for another blog post}, and we headed up to Decatur on Saturday morning.

The whole trip up there {which is about an hour and a half}, all Carter would talk about was seeing Mary Reese. So, I called Andrea to see if we could take Mary Reese to the pool with us. Mary Reese decided she wanted to go with us, and she and Carter swam and swam. Callen swam and slept in the stroller. Unashamedly, I have no pictures from that trip to the pool--my first with three children, and only one of whom knew how to swim.

That afternoon, Carter helped Debbie pick some peppers, tomatoes, and strawberries from her garden. He was so proud to show what he had picked and could name all of them, too. He even gobbled up one of the tomatoes.

Sunday morning, my children were up with the sun, so we took an early morning trip out to the Blueberry patch with Debbie and some of the Murphree clan.

Mary Reese and Carter picking blueberries

Posing for a picture {but Carter's not going to stop eating blueberries!}

Callen and Owen were having a ball, too!

Carter picking blueberries

Callen eating blueberries

All of the children--you have to look to the left of Carter to see Owen

After picking blueberries, we were going to go to the splash pad, but it wasn't open, so we played on the playground a bit before deciding it was entirely too hot not to be somewhere near water.

So, we ventured back to the pool. This little man couldn't have been happier to have gone swimming two days in a row with Mary Reese. He even decided to show off for her a little bit and jump off the diving board and go down the slide!

We finished off our weekend with a yummy meal of fajitas cooked by Uncle Christopher! It was a wonderful weekend, and we were wiped out when we got home...too bad there is no rest for the weary. We're gearing up for a fun July 4th weekend, too!

Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! The dad around these parts got to sleep in {until 7:30--wooo hooo!} this morning before a fun-filled day at the pool. So fun-filled, in fact, that our children took 3+ hour long naps this afternoon! Nick also got to hit a few golf balls this afternoon, watch the US Op.en and put his Big Gre.en E.gg to use, so it would seem that, all in all, it was a pretty good day.

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who is an amazing father to our children. They both adore him {as do I}, and it is so much fun for me to watch him with them. Nick and I are also blessed to have wonderful dads, and we wish them a Happy Father's Day today, too!

Sweet Friends!!!

Last Friday night about 9:00, our sweet friends the Murphys pulled into our driveway! We couldn't have been more excited! Deanna and I have been planning this visit since we moved from Indy, so I was THRILLED to see them!

Carter had been talking about Connor coming to visit ALL. WEEK. LONG., but he had already gone to bed by the time they made it here. We went upstairs to show Connor his bed and walked into Carter's room, and he woke up and immediately his face lit up and he said "Connor!" and jumped out of bed. It was absolutely precious! They played for another hour and a half or so and then went to bed, and the adults visited and got to catch up.

Saturday morning, we headed down to Orange Beach to stay at my parents' house for four days. {Thanks to Mom & Dad for having us all!} Although the oil had the gulf closed to swimming, we were not lacking for things to do.

The boys swam. and swam. and swam. The big boys played golf. And Deanna and I delighted in our little ones and LOVED spending time together. Honestly, the boys played wonderfully together! They had their moments {I mean, they are two, after all}, but in general, they shared well, they took turns and they enjoyed being together. It was delightful to watch them.

Connor and Carter swimming in the pool

Picnic lunches after swimming are great fun!

One day after swimming the boys got to enjoy a popsicle snack

Although we couldn't get in the water, we did venture to the beach one afternoon. The boys enjoyed playing in the sand. I couldn't get over how EMPTY the public beach was. There were probably fewer than six "groups" of folks out on the beach. Admittedly, it was late in the afternoon, but it is also mid-June. It really showed me the impact that the spill is having down there.

Callen was having fun in the sand, too

We took the boys out dinner one night...and they were exceptionally well-behaved.

It helped that there was a woman playing guitar {and, unfortunately, fewer patrons than usual due to the oil} who loved that the children were having a dance party while she sang.

They also got to enjoy story time with the Daddies.

And, before bed, while Connor was doing his breathing treatment, he and Carter watched Diego. What precious friends they are.

As I reviewed my pictures tonight, I could hardly believe that I had taken so few {and none of all of the adults together!}. Honestly, I think I was trying to soak in all of the Murphys that I could get, and while I took some pictures, I was focused on just enjoying our time together. We definitely miss all of our sweet friends in Indy, and we are so blessed to have gotten to visit with the Murphys this week! Before we know it, it will be our turn to travel back to Indy to visit after the newest Murphy makes her appearance this fall!

9 months!

Miss Callen celebrated her 9 month birthday last Wednesday! While she was livin' it up {ha, ha...don't you know she was in bed by 7?!?}, I found myself wondering just when did time start FLYING by.

We had her 9 month appointment today--with a new pediatrician, of sorts. New to her, I guess. Dr. Smith was my pediatrician growing up, and I wasn't satisfied with the pediatrician's office we had first gone to when we moved, so we switched! I absolutely loved my pediatrician and her office in Indy and I didn't want to settle for less than that here in Bham. At any rate, Dr. Smith was very pleased with her development and growth. She weighed 18lbs, 13oz {50th percentile} and was 28.5in long {~75th percentile}. He said that was a great place for her to be. We got the go ahead for any table foods {minus the allergenic variety} that we can get to the right consistency for her to eat!

At 9 months, Callen is just starting to get mobile. In the last week, she has mastered some sort of modified army crawl and can really get around with it. The form leaves something to be desired, and I swear her knees are going to be raw from it, but she can certainly get where she wants to go. Callen has also gotten really strong when standing. She is currently trying to pull up on things and can stand up assisted if you stand her up holding on to something. She adores her big brother...almost breaks her neck to try to find him when she hears him. We are loving every minute with her and soaking in these last few months of baby before she turns into our little toddler!

Memorial Day, A Toe-Dipping, & Strep

We packed up Thursday night and headed south to the beach to celebrate a LONG Memorial Day weekend! We got down there really late on Thursday night, but everyone woke up raring to go on Friday morning. We were in the pool by 10:00am! This was Carter's first pool experience since last Labor Day, and he was initially a bit timid and then warmed up quite a bit to the water. He wasn't a fan of taking his swimmies off, though. We could only convince him to do it about twice over the weekend. Oh, well, maybe by the end of the summer. Callen LOVED the water. Instantly. We put her in her float and she leaned back in it, grinned and splashed and kicked. She would stay in until she was a little prune!

Mommy and her babies in the pool

Callen loving the water

Carter being tossed from Uncle Steve to Aunt Emily

After an exhausting swim, Carter loves to enjoy a picnic outside!

While Callen snoozes outside in the pack n play. After her first day in the water, she slept over two hours in that pack-n-play while Carter swam, squealed and we all talked around her!

Carter and Uncle Steve went to see if they could catch some fish. I think Carter is trying to tell Uncle Steve where the fish are.

Looks like he was right. I think they caught two or three fish, and Carter was so excited each time! An added bonus is that we got to see dolphin out in the boat basin every day we were there. Carter LOVED seeing them!

Carter, Callen and Aunt B had a dance party one day during the rain!

Then, on Sunday evening, we took Callen out to the gulf to dip her little toes in the salt water. Unlike, her brother then or now!, she LOVED it. When we dipped Carter's toes, he pulled them immediately up from the water. Callen just put her little feet down like they were meant to be in that sand and surf! Then she would giggle and stomp her feet. It was truly precious! {We had to bribe Carter with ice cream to get him to let Nick pick him up and place his feet in the surf!}

All four of us!

Bamma and Big Pat with their grandbabies. Thanks for a fun weekend at the beach. We are thankful that they don't have to be so far apart anymore!

Oh, yeah. The Strep. Well, I got to feeling bad on Saturday afternoon and was just puny and achy most of the rest of the weekend. Because I had felt bad for so long and Nick was going out of town on Wednesday for four days, I took Tuesday as a sick day and went to the doctor. After a few tests, the diagnosis? You guessed it. Strep. I haven't had strep my whole life...until now. The doctor said the good news is that it takes the guess work out of the treatment--he knew exactly what I needed. So, two shots and two meds later, I am feeling like a whole new woman. Not necessarily how I would have chosen to feel on a holiday weekend, but at least we had a fun weekend at the beach despite it.