August Beach Week 2011

At the beginning of the summer, we tried to plan a family (just the four of us) beach weekend, but kind of had to put it on hold due to a number of circumstances. However, as the summer progressed and plans were made, we ended up planning two consecutive beach weekends with friends. Because I didn't like the idea of the four hour trek there and back twice, the kids and I decided just to stay down there the whole ten days and relax at the beach! We owe Will's parents a HUGE thank you for letting us "take over" the condo for the week. We are so blessed to be able to use it and enjoy it.

I'm so used to going down to Wilmington and staying with my parents where my mom has EVERYTHING for children except for clothes. I didn't fully understand how amazingly wonderful that is until I had to pack to go where there was nothing! I should have taken a picture of the cars! It was worth it, though, since we were going to be there for so many days.

It ended up that Block and Talley couldn't come the first weekend because Charlie was sick, so we ended up getting our family weekend after all. But we were so disappointed that we missed out on our long-awaited Jack and Charlie reunion. I guess we'll have to wait for the first UNC tailgate! Here are some pics from our week-long adventure...

Playing at the condo...

Building a fort was a must!

We did stay with my parents for a couple of nights during the week while Will was back in W-S working...it's just easier with more hands to help! Jack definitely got his lovin' from Mimi and Sissy!

Jack's first time at the beach!! All the trips before, we had left Jack in the A/C with my mom. This time, he got to come, too! Of course, he wanted to shove the sand in his mouth at every opportunity!;)

On Friday, our dear friends from Texas, the Carpenters, drove up from South Carolina to spend the weekend with us! Wade needed to make a business trip to Charleston and wanted to take the fam. He and Sarah decided they couldn't be that close and not come to see us. We were so glad it worked out! They did leave their 2-year-old, Drew, at Grammie Camp, but brought the other two munchkins, Clayton (6) and Owen (3 months). We had a blast!

Clayton and Anna made fantastic babysitters!

Anna showed Jack how to build mud castles and look for shells.

Jack wasn't so sure about all the wind and waves at first, but slowly figured out that it was lots of fun!

Clayton was so sweet and let Anna and Jack watch him play his new Nintendo DS.

Since Clayton swam with goggles, Anna had to have some, too. Unfortunately, she didn't like the goggles being so tight. We tried to explain that they had to be tight to work, but they lasted all of 5 seconds. She does look pretty cute in them, though!

Daddy sharing bottle duty...

...and entertaining on the beach duty.

Little Owen was a trooper! It was too windy on Saturday to put up the tent, so Wade just dug a hole and Sarah stuck Owen in it. He slept like this for almost two hours, even after the kids both almost stepped on him!

On Sunday it was gorgeous and we were able to set the tent up for the babies.

They both took their naps here...

Then Jack was ready to rock and roll in the waves! He started dancing when he would see them coming and get excited.

Fun at the beach!

Clayton figured out how to make a recliner!

Sunday night before dinner, we tried to get a family shot. After 567 attempts, we finally got a fantastic picture! Thanks to Wade for not giving up!

Our cute munchkins on the waterway before dinner...

Best buds!

I think I see some resemblance, don't ya think?!

Sarah and I met starting our first real jobs out of college at Children's Medical Center in Dallas. We have since decided that we are long lost sisters. Even though many miles separate us, we work hard to stay in touch and jump at the chance to get together every year or two. It is amazing how similar we are (and our hubbies, too)! It made for a very fun and effortless vacation together. Hawaii 2013 anybody??

We love us some Carpenters!

We had an absolutely fantastic time and made memories that will last a lifetime. I'm glad we saved this trip for the end of the summer and enjoyed the anticipation. We definitely rounded out the summer with a bang!

Daddy and the Kids

I couldn't help but snap this pic before church the other morning...my three favorite people in the world!

Dinner with Nana

Friday night, just the four of us went over to Will's grandmother's house for dinner. She was so excited about cooking for us and we had the best time visiting. She held Jack for the longest time and he was actually still for her! She had found a princess costume for Anna and loved watching her prance around in it. She is such a sweet lady! I just love that Anna and Jack have the opportunity to make precious memories with their great-grandmothers.

Experimenting with Hair

Anna's hair is getting longer all the time and she is so excited about it. And slowly but surely, she is getting more enthusiastic about pulling it up. She had a week-long camp at her preschool last week and had a blast. Since it was so hot, we started putting her hair up in the morning before she left. There is just something so special about a mama fixing her daughter's hair. I just love it! Look how cute she looks!

Jack is 6 Months Old!

I can't believe our little man is 6 months old already! Time is just flying by. And this was such a month of milestones. We went to see Dr. Silkstone this morning for his 6 month well check. Jack weighs just shy of 20 pounds (84th %ile) and is 28 inches long (92nd %ile). He got three vaccines and we found out that he has raging bilateral ear infections! This is the second time he's had an ear infection and not really shown any symptoms. Dr. Silkstone said she was shocked that he didn't have a fever as bulging as they were. He has been playing with his right ear a little, but never fussed or couldn't sleep or acted puny. What a tough little guy! So we start the Amoxicillin again.

Jack is wearing 12 month clothes, but some are getting tight already. We are getting ready to switch to size 3 diapers in the next day or two. We have yet to find a baby food he doesn't like and have started switching to stage two foods. He still takes three naps during the day and sleeps from 8 pm until 7ish in the morning.

Here are some pics of the last month in the life of Jack...

Learned to drink out of a sippy cup

Switched to a big boy car seat

Can eat toes, roll both ways, and army crawl across the floor

Looking studly in his swim attire...

and LOVES splashing in the water!

Sitting up all by himself!

Happy Baby!

Jack and Daddy

One of my favorite pics

Oh, sweet boy, you are so much fun! You are constantly on the go and always wanting to move and know what's going on. You can barely drink your bottle for fear you're going to miss something. You can tear up your exersaucer and jumper and are so close to figuring out this crawling thing. You learned to sit up by yourself this month and are getting more stable all the time. I wish I could get you to slow down and stop growing and figuring things out so quickly! You are doing great with your baby food but want so badly to eat what we are eating. You are so loving and give the best juicy open-mouthed kisses in the world! We are so lucky and blessed to have you in our family. We love you so much!

A Striking Resemblance

During Grands' Camp, my mom pulled some old dresses out of the closet for Anna and Nia to play dress-up in. One of them was the dress I wore for a photo shoot when I was four years old. The picture has been hanging in our den for as long as I can remember. Anna tried the dress on and then stood beside my picture. How neat is this?

Grands' Camp 2011

The third week of July was Grands' Camp this summer, where my parents keep all the grandkids for a week. Since there are five grandkids this year, including three babies, the mommas were invited down to participate (and help)! Sarah and I watched the babies so that Mimi and Papa could take Nia and Anna to the aquarium and down for a boat ride on the river. We all went to the pool at Greg and Michelle's condo and Sarah and I took Anna to the beach one day. The daddies got to come down for the second half of the week. The big boys played golf on Friday and then Mimi and Papa kept all five kids Friday night for the parents to go on date nights! It was so fun to have everyone together and the cousins had a blast making memories. Just to record all the ages, Nia was seven, Anna three, Nellie 9 months, Jack 5 months, and Caroline 4 months. It was crazy at times, but so much fun!

Jack chewing on Caroline's ridiculously cute croc.

Mimi had all the kids make t-shirts.

Nia and Anna used their hand print to make a fish

and the babies used their footprint to make lobsters. So precious!

When everyone was there, we had 15 people total!! Wow, how our family has grown!

All the cousins in their t-shirts

Nellie sharing her table with Jack and Caroline.

Mimi and Papa with Anna and Jack

Elmo cupcakes from Daddy and Uncle Jason

Nia and Anna played dress-up with old dresses that

Sarah and I wore when we were little.

Sibling love in the pool!