Back from the beach...

We just returned from our annual beach vacation. We were gone for a total of 10 days/nights.  Seven of those were spent on the beach, the other three were spent in hotels in Alabama (business trip) and Mississippi. 

The girls were AWESOME.  I wasn't worried about Amelia but wasn't sure how Sydney would like being in her seat for such a long road trip.  She did great.  They were the best little travelers and we were so proud of them. 

We arrived on a Saturday afternoon.  This was our back yard for the week.  We literally walked out onto our patio and onto the beach.  This is the first year we rented a ground level condo - it's the best way with little ones.  You don't have far to go with your stuff or if you need to grab something and head back out to the beach. 

We were there with my family but spent lots of time as a family of four as well. 

This is one of our favorite places to eat breakfast in Destin.  They have the best cinnamon roll I've ever eaten.

Sydney enjoyed eating out on the patio as well.  Who wouldn't with a view like this? :)

We spent time with our cousins.  Amelia was so happy that Kandace came this year.  They played well with each other and their conversations with one another kept us laughing the entire week.

The girls slept until at least 9 A.M. every morning and some days until 10 A.M.  It was glorious.



I have lots of pictures to go through but wanted to post a few that I took with my phone. 

As we were driving home, I told Alex that even though vacations are different with little ones, I would choose a vacation with them vs. without them any day.  I loved waking up every morning to Sydney's big smile and taking her to my parent's condo for my Mom to feed her a morning bottle.  I loved waking up to Amelia's excitement to go to the beach or play with Kandace every morning.  

Do I get as much beach time with little ones? 

No.

The day will come when I will get my beach time back but in the mean time, we're making memories that we'll never forget. 

Memories of my babies at the beach. 

Their first time to see the ocean. 

Their first time to play in the sand (and maybe eat a little too). 

Their first time to actually play in the ocean. 

Their first time to taste the salty ocean water.

Their first time to go crab hunting at night on the beach.   

Their first time to watch the sand move out from under their feet when a wave comes in. 

Amelia actually looked up at me after walking out onto our patio one morning and said, "there's just nothing like the sound of the waves, Mama." I started laughing because she obviously heard someone say that, but she's right.  There's just nothing else like it.

Memories that we will cherish forever. 

I'm thankful for this time that we had as a family.

Today is definitely a pajama day. I did laundry all week while at the beach but we still brought home one bag of dirty clothes, so we're washing those and unpacking the rest of our things.  I'm getting Sydney back on her napping schedule that she was off of while at the beach.  She took a 3 hour nap this morning.  I think she's happy to be home. :)  Alex left this morning for a week in Virginia.  It's back to life...back to reality.

Love to all,

A baby shower for Nathaniel...

I wanted to share the pictures from a baby shower I hosted for my friend, Niki, a few weeks ago.  I had a lot of fun with this one.  I haven't thrown a shower for a baby boy in a long time. :)  Niki mentioned they were going to add airplanes to the room so I decided to go with that for a "theme."  I didn't go over the top with airplanes but added them here and there. 

I started with the invite.  My favorite etsy seller for invites is Natalie at NattyMichelle.  She does the artwork by hand and I think it just adds a special touch to the invitations.  I've used her for several showers (bridal and baby) and she always comes up with something that I just love! 

I wanted to do something special that Niki could save for Nathaniel.  One of the things I've seen on Pinterest is where the guests write a special blessing or wishes for the baby.  I went with Wishes for Nathaniel.  I ordered the cards from this etsy shop.  The guests filled out a card for him and then I displayed them on bakers twine with little clothespins.  I gave Niki an album with Nathaniel's name on it to hold them.  Some of the things people wrote were so sweet and some were so funny!

A picture of the Mommy and Daddy along with an u/s picture of Nathaniel.

My sister-in-law, Elaina made this airplane and banner for me to hang on the mantle.   I thought it turned out really cute!

Niki is a vegetarian so I was determined to only have a vegetarian menu.  It was pretty easy since we were having brunch. She has also developed several allergies while pregnant, bless her heart, so I did my best to not serve anything that would send her straight to the hospital. HA!  I think she enjoyed the menu and as far as I know, she didn't break out in hives from anything I served!



My sister, Joy made all of the food.  I decided I would rather hire the Catering Girls (our catering company) instead of making it myself. HA!  Best decision ever.  I didn't have to stress over anything that morning!  Everything my sis makes is delicious so I knew my guests would be happy. 

She made blueberry scones, tomato pie, hashbrown casserole, and donut holes (the only thing she didn't make).  The tomato pie was a hit.  It's one of my favorites!  I found the little berry baskets at this etsy site.  They added some color to my table and I thought the scones and donut holes looked sweet in them.



Sour cream biscuits with jam and honey.

I love mason jars so I had to use them somewhere in the shower.  I decided they would make great containers for our fruit cups.  We had yogurt and granola to go on top!

We had Ed's petit fours with airplanes and Nathaniel's initials. 

The drink station had brunch punch, caramel coffee, iced tea, and blueberry water.  I learned something about infusing water with blueberries.  You need to do it about two days ahead of time for it to really taste like blueberries.

I served the drinks out of these glass milk bottles.  They were so cute.  I'll be using these a lot at future parties.  Niki said folks were asking where to find these.  I ordered the glass bottles from here and the straws from here.

Niki received some of the cutest personalized items!  I love seeing a new Mama open gifts with her baby's name on them.

Some of the guests who came to love on Niki and Nathaniel. :)

Niki with her Mom and Grandmother.



It was a joy to host a shower for Niki.  She and Tyler will be wonderful parents. I just can't wait to meet their sweet boy next month!!

Love to all,

All About Sydney - 5 months!

Sydney, you're 5 months old!!

I'm not sure how much you weigh but I'm guessing a little over 15 lbs.

We don't go to the doctor again until next month. 

You're wearing size 6 month clothing.

You wear a size 2 diaper.

You're taking mostly formula now and love it.

You sleep through the night.  Thank you for that. :)

You've started breaking free from your swaddle.

You sleep in the pack-n-play next to Mommy's bed.

You love to give kisses.

Your feet are one of your favorite things to play with.

They seem to always be in the air and you love to grab them.

Your sister is your favorite person.

You just love for her to entertain you and she is more than happy to do it.

You spent your first night in a hotel this month.

You're a great little traveler!

You sit up in your high chair like a big girl.

You have the prettiest blue eyes!

I love to see you and Amelia together.

There's nothing like the friendship of a sister.

We're beyond thankful that you're ours, Sydney Faith.

Love you so much!

Our day at the DMV...

Okay, so we didn't spend the entire day at the DMV but it sure felt like it.  I made sure we were there way before lunch so we could get in and out quickly.  We made it through the first two lines fairly fast and then went on to the third and final line.  I handed them all of my paperwork and wouldn't ya know it, I needed Alex's signature on one of the papers. 

*Cue huge sigh of disappointment*

I called Alex and he left work immediately to come sign the paperwork but I was there with both girls and was just praying they would stay in good spirits until he arrived.  Sydney fell asleep and Amelia made a new friend who was around 85 years old.  She asked her "would you watch baby Belle for me?" every time she would get up to go throw something in the trash can. 

She made a trip to the trash can no less than 50 times.

I'm sure the lady was ready for us to get out of there. 

Amelia also told her "they won't let us get our tags" and then would look at me and say, "Mama, why won't they let us get our tags??"

Alex arrived and signed the paperwork and then headed back to work. 

Amelia wasn't happy that he left and kept asking "why does Daddy have to go back to work, Mama!??"  And then decides to answer her own question with "Oh, I know, my Daddy has to go to work TO BRING HOME THE BACON!"

I couldn't stop laughing.

And then we went back to waiting...

and waiting...

and waiting.

Why does it take so long to get tags for a vehicle??

And why do the employees at the DMV act so angry about people coming in to get their tags?

If I could go to Starbucks and get my tags, I sure would, but my state says go to the DMV.

Unfortunately.

I'm sure it didn't make us popular with the kind employees that every time they yelled out the next number for the next person up, Amelia would yell back at them. 

DMV employee: "86!!!"

Amelia: "39!!!"

Everyone waiting would laugh while I watched the ladies behind the counter staring at me with smoke coming out of their ears.

They finally called our number, "#9!!" and we made our way to the counter. 

The lady looked at me and said, "where's your number?" 

They hadn't asked one single person for their number and of course the lady I get asks for ours. 

She wanted me to prove we were #9.

And of course, my two year old tore it to pieces and threw it in the trash can on one of those fifty trips of hers.

I looked at her like I was about to lose my mind and said, "my two year old tore it up and put in the trash, do you want me to go dig it out or do you just want to take my word for it?"

She took my word for it.

But she certainly took her time typing my info into that computer system of hers. :) She stopped no less than 30 times (I counted) to talk to other employees, stretch and massage her right arm (no, I'm not kidding), and answer the phone. 

After over two hours at the DMV, we received our tags and were on our way home. 

And we got a little exercise as well.  Exercise of our patience.  We need that every once in a while. :)

The DMV was a good experience only because Amelia made me laugh the entire time.    She has made me laugh a lot today actually.

She walked in a little bit ago in her "bike helmet." 

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

Love to all,