A Week at the Beach

We just got back from a week at the beach with my family. Every year for my entire life, my family has gone to the beach for a week to spend time together. Last year we did not go because Beau was 2 weeks old and we didn't think he could handle the trip. This year was his first big long car ride to the beach. (it is only 4 1/2-5 hours, but that is a long time for the little man). Rodney and I left last weekend at night time, thinking Beau would sleep the whole way there. We were sooooo wrong. Beau woke up somewhere around Troy and screamed from Troy to Elba (approximately 2 hours)!! Rodney and I tried feeding him, sitting in the back with him, pulling over and buying paci's (which he no longer uses, but we thought it would calm him down). Nothing worked! He finally fell back asleep and even then he wimpered in his sleep. Not a fun way to start the vacation!!

However, the rest of our vacation was great!! Beau LOVED spending a week with my family. We rented a house with my Mom and Dad and he would say "hey" to them every morning. He would walk or crawl to where they were to make sure they were awake! We played in the pool, at the beach, and at our beach house and the rest of my family's beach house. Beau loved all the attention he got from my aunts, uncles, and cousins. He got to have his cousins Jenna and Blake spend the night too. We realized that Beau had no fear of the sand or the water. He tried numerous times to eat the sand and to crawl into the ocean. We drove back at night again and this time, Beau slept the whole time! Praise the Lord!! I don't think Rodney and I could have endured another melt down for 2 hours.

Here are a few pictures of our week:




At the pool with Aunt Betsy and Cousin Jenna

Showing his book to Grandpa Tom

Going for a wagon ride to the pool

Eating Sand





Eating at our favorite restaurant and checking out the boats



After dinner with cousin Blake

Chasing bubbles at the Kick Off Summer Carnival

House Blessing

Beau LOVED playing with Pastor Steve!!! We have not heard him ever give a belly laugh like he gave when Pastor Steve was tickling him.


As you all know, we have been preparing to move. Over the last month or so... we have been doing a lot of preparation and moved much of our furniture. One of the main events we wanted to do prior to spending our first night in the new home was to pray over our home.
One of the Wednesday nights services prior to moving in, Pastor Steve Blair was intoducing a guest speaker, and during worship he referenced a passage out of our one year Bible reading plan in 1st Kings. It was about how King Solomonm had built the LORD's temple & furnished it with the finest items. But, it would be nothing without the presence of the LORD.Pastor Steve was kind enough to join us the night we prayed over our home. And we used this passage as the focus of our prayer time - that the the Lord's presence would be on our home.
We have been at our new home for about a week and have adjusted to it pretty well. Beau and Mom take a morning walk to the park every morning and Dad can come see us some during the day because we are so close to his work. We love it and are so thankful that moving means Mom will be able to stay home with Beau!!

Happy Birthday Beau!!

We celebrated Beau's 1st birthday all weekend long! Beau got to eat cake several times and see lots of friends and family. We are busy playing with new birthday toys now and wearing new birthday clothes. Rodney and I are still trying to get over the shock that we have a 1 year old. How did a year pass by so quickly?

Here are a few pictures of the fun we had:

Beau and Memie



Beau digging into his 2nd cupcake



Mom and Beau opening gifts






Mom trying to show Beau how to eat his cake



Check out the blue hand!


Digging in!



Beau's friend James



Beau's friend Ellie...Ellie was so sweet to help Beau open his birthday gifts!



Beau's friend, Jeremiah



Beau's friend, Lawson

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Rodney and I enjoyed a nice anniversary date on June 5th at Bottega Restaurant downtown.


Many of you reading this that know us well, are probably thinking "Why would they go there? They are such picky eaters!" And, you would be correct! I wanted to go somewhere nice because we used to take an anniversary trip every year before we had Beau and we would eat at a restaurant that we would not typically go to. Last year, I was about to bust with Beau on his way just 4 days after our anniversary, so we had Moe's. I love Moe's, but wanted something different this year. So, Rodney and I went to dinner while Papa C and Nonna watched Beau. When we sat down, I looked at the menu and knew that I wanted grouper. Well, so did Rodney, and we did not want to be nerds and order the same thing. We debated over what else to get, and Rodney let me get grouper (what a great husband!) and he got Lobster risotto. He wanted to try risotto because he had heard about it watching Hell's Kitchen(we have watched it for the past 3 seasons, and Rodney has always asked me what Risotto was because they serve it on every episode). Anyway, we ordered an appetizer that I did not know how to eat, I thought it was olives, and bit into one, and it was hard in the middle, but it was still tasty. So, our waiter was super nice to us and came back to check on us very often. I think he could tell we had no idea what we were doing! He was concerned because I did not eat all of my meal (rarely can I ever finish an appetizer, bread, and full meal), and he told me he would be happy to order something else for me to eat. Too funny!

We had a wonderful 4th anniversary date. We had time to enjoy each other, have a nice conversation and reminisce about our honeymoon. We were able to look back at all of the changes from this time last year and still be glad that we are married to each other! Rodney gave me a card that said the past 4 years have been the best years of his life. I would have to agree that the past 4 years have also been the best years of my life!

Over the Past Year

These are some reflections we had when we were thinking about the past 12 months of our lives. This is a letter we wrote to Beau and put in his baby book. Maybe he will want to read it one day. :o)

Beau,

Over the past year you have grown up so much! You were born at 8:43 a.m. on Saturday, June 9th 2007 at St. Vincent's. You weighed 6 lbs. 13 oz. and were 21 inches longs. You were healthy and so sweet!

When you turned one month old in July, you loved to cuddle and be held. You started drinking from a bottle and loved your paci. You celebrated your first 4th of July with family and friends.

When you turned two months old in August, you loved to watch your horse mobile while laying in your crib. It was your favorite morning activity! You were getting bigger and growing so much! You went to Mommy's school this month so that Mom could set up her classroom for her substitute teacher because Mommy was staying home with you until December. You would sometimes sneak a smile to someone you thought was being so funny.

When you turned three months old in September, you finally slept through the whole entire night! We were so proud! You did this with a bunch of crying, but finally calmed down and have slept great ever since. This month you watched your first Auburn football game. You also went to your first play group, "Mommy and Me" at the Coldiron's house.

When you turned four months old in October, you finally started wearing more clothes around the house. We used to put you in a diaper and bib because you were always so hot! You started to really enjoy stroller rides and outings with Mom. We discovered our favorite store, Target! You also took your first trip to Sylacauga to see family. You spent your first night away from home with Nonna and Papa C while Mom and Dad went to Ross Bridge Resort for the night.

When you turned five months old in November, you went to Auburn for the 1st time. You loved all the attention everyone gave you! You started to roll over this month...but only when you thought Mom and Dad were not looking. You had your 1st Thanksgiving and traveled to see many family members. This month you started eating rice cereal, but you were not too fond of it. We also dedicated you to the Lord this month at Church of the Highlands. Pastor Chris said you did not look like you missed too many meals! Some people said that you were a big boy, but Mom and Dad only fed you 4 times a day.

When you turned six months old in December, Mom had to go back to work to teach her 5th graders. Mom cried the whole first day she was back at work. You did great with your Nonna and Granny though! This month, you cut 4 teeth, had your first Christmas, and New Year's Eve. You saw Santa at the mall and at the Richard's house. You went to many Christmas parties and you loved all the people you saw there. You also started rolling over from front to back this month. You actually rolled over and preferred to sleep on your belly. This made you sleep much sounder than when you slept on your back.

When you turned seven months old in January, you celebrated your first snow. You were able to sit up all by yourself, and just touched it. Thankfully, it melted quickly and we were not snowed in! You started to rock back and forth on your knees at the end of this month. You had lots of pack n play time this month and you loved it!

When you turned eight months old in February, you were "scooting" across the floor. You could not crawl yet, but moved around by scooting or rocking back and forth. We started to put away a lot of you toys that made you stationary because you no longer wanted to sit still.

When you turned nine months old in March, you were crawling everywhere! You loved to pull up on things also so that you could stand. This month you met your nanny, Lori. She watched you 3 days a week and you had so much fun with her. This month you started saying "Mommmamommma" and I took it as you calling me "Mom."

When you turned ten months old in April, you were a man on the move all the time! We had to start babyproofing the house because you loved to open and close doors, cabinets, drawers, etc. We celebrated Daddy's birthday this month and you had your first trip to the zoo. This month you starting saying "Daddy" sometimes. You really watched the people more than the animals, but you still had a good time.

When you turned eleven months old in May, you were trying so hard to walk. You could take 10-15 steps at a time, but then you would get down and crawl. You started to eat regular food and not as much baby food. You said bye bye to your paci and started saying bye bye to your bottle (even though you still have 1 or 2 a day). This month Mommy was able to quit work to stay home with you full time and we had so much fun seeing friends and family every day.

In June you will turn 1 year old. We are so excited to see how much you grow this year! We love you so much and are so thankful for you. You have truly blessed our lives and we could not imagine them without you. You are a gift from the Lord and we promise to take very good care of you.

Love,
Mom and Dad

The Pool

Our first trip the the pool was on Friday with James and Michelle. I packed Beau's float and realized when we got to the pool that his float had a hole in it. James was so sweet to let Beau share his float that day. I realized Beau loved the pool and loved to drink the pool water. Friday night we went to Wal-Mart and got 2 floats...just in case one float got a hole, we would have a back up!

Saturday, we went to the pool again to see Granny, Grandpa Tom, and Aunt Betsy. Beau had a great time! He especially loved the kids at the pool that liked pushing his float around in the pool. Beau did not get any sun either day...which was my goal. However, Rodney and I both got burned on Saturday. Looks like Mommy, Daddy, and Beau will be wearing t-shirts in the pool this summer!

Ready to go!

Beau LOVED these kids pushing him around in his float!
Dad and Beau

Beau and Aunt Betsy
Talking to someone in the pool
Just hanging out

School's Out!

Praise the Lord!!! School is out for a while for me....May last day was May 23rd. I said goodbye to my class of 5th graders a few days before that when they "graduated." My colleagues had a good bye breakfast for me and another teacher who was also leaving. I packed up my classroom and turned in my key to my principal. Driving home, I had mixed emotions....I thought I would be overjoyed to finally be a stay at home mom. Instead, I panicked. Who will Beau and I hang out with? What will we do with our days? Will I ever see my work friends again? After some prayer and an attitude adjustment, I realized that my dream was to be a stay at home mom. The Lord answered my prayer and I did not need to fear the unknown.

So,Beau and I had a great first week of the summer together! We played with family on Memorial Day, played with friends at the park and at the pool, ate lunch with daddy, and went to Target (our favorite place to go!).

I am so thankful for this next phase of my life and want to enjoy every minute of it! Here are a few pictures of our week:
Eating chicken
Trying to get my chicken with my fork Wearing Dad's hat and waving "bye-bye"
Beau loves to crawl to his diaper bag and get out whatever snack is in it..on this day he had puffs



Beau and Aunt Betty