Some cute videos to share

I got some sweet videos of the kids today that I wanted to share with you.

This first one is of Gavin and his ever developing vocabulary.  The boy doesn’t say much that people can understand.  He is trying new words all the time, lately though.  Gavin likes to watch Dora the Explorer with his big sister (which I had the “joy” of listening to for about 2-3 hours on the way to the beach today).  There is a fox on that cartoon called “Swiper” that is always trying to swipe things from Dora.  In the show, Dora will say, “Swiper, no swiping!”  Gavin can often be caught saying “swiping”  It doesn’t exactly sound like that, but it is pretty cute.

This next one is of Mikayla trying to occupy her brother while I am about to jump in the shower.  Gavin has really grown to love the song “Five little monkey swinging in the tree.”  He will just giggle and giggle whenever that alligator snaps up a monkey.  It was so cute to see them acting like this together.  If you notice during one of Mikayla’s small breaks, he raises his hand and says “monkey.”  Yes, it does sound  a lot like “Swiping,” but I am just happy that he is finally trying to say some words.

Hilton Head Day 1

Thanks to some great “wheeling and dealing” on the internet, we are currently on vacation at the Crowne Plaza Resort at Hilton Head Island.

This was our first road trip where we experienced the incessant “Are we there yet?”  Okay, it wasn’t those exact words, but it was pretty much the same.   Mikayla could not wait to see the beach.

We got to the hotel around 4pm and quickly changed into our swimsuits.  Mikayla wanted to go to the pool first, and then we headed to the beach.  The kids had a great time.   The both liked the water, although, Mikayla thought it was too salty. :)  The really liked spending time in the sand.  I think Gavin could spend all day just playing in the sand (I guess we’ll find out tomorrow!).

Here are some cute pictures for your enjoyment.

The hotel room is very nice and I think the beds are going to be very comfy.  Mikayla particularly liked the “sleep mask” that was placed on her bed. We had a busy first day with a lot of driving and fun in the sun.  This is what happens to a one year old who does all of that without a nap.  Sweet boy.

Old Soldier’s Day Race and Parade

Last Saturday, my sister, Emily and I ran in the Old Soldier’s Day 5K.  We decided about 2-3 months ago that we needed something to help motivate us into a regular workout routine.  So I started running about 3 times a week.  At first it was pretty hard, and while it is still challenging, it has gotten easier each week  (Imagine that!).

This is a picture of us, bright and early, before the race.  It started at 7am, so we had to get there around 6:30am.  I guess when you are running  a race in the middle of the summer in the south, you have to start that early to try to avoid the heat and humidity.  It was pretty humid, but the temperature was in the 70s, which made for a fairly comfortable run. 

This is a picture of us, in our race t-shirts.  We finished!  I am so glad that we did this.  We have already decided to do another one in October.

       After the race, Emily and I staked out a spot for the small town parade that follows the race.  I have been going to this parade since I was a little girl.  I have actually been in the parade a couple of times (Brownies and High School Band).  I love that I can carry this tradition on with my family.  We have been going as a family since Mikayla was about 18 months old.   The kids had a great time. 

It was pretty hot during the parade.  Both of my kids were red-faced very shortly after getting there.  It didn’t bother Mikayla too much, because she was so interested in getting candy from the various floats.  Gavin, on the other hand, got very tired at one point.  I thought for sure he was going to fall asleep right there in my arms.  He didn’t fall asleep, but I did enjoy some good cuddles from my little guy. 

I think the best thing that we got from the floats where some Freezer Pops from the Beauty Queens.  Man, did they have the right idea.  Gavin had never had a popsicle, but he thoroughly enjoyed this one. 

The only downside of the day was that Jeremy was not there.  He had to work and we definitely missed having him there.  All in all, though, it was a great day with my sweet kids and the rest of my family. 

My Thirtieth Birthday

I have to admit, I really have not been looking forward to turning thirty.  It sounds so different to be in your twenties than in your thirties.  By the time you are in your thirties, you are expected to be a responisble and dependable adult.  There is no more goofing off and living  carefree life.  No my husband reminds me that with two children, we have pretty much been living this life for the past five years.  I know that, but it just sounds different.

So, the day started off pretty normal.   Jeremy had to be at work early this morning, so I had to get up with the kids just like every day.  I decided to treat myself with some cinnamon rolls (of the Pillsbury variety).  The are yummy, but very easy to make. :)  Mikayla insisted that I eat on “her” special birthday plate.    We started the tradition of the “Special Red Plate” on her birthday last year, so I guess I can sort of see her point. 

When I was washing the plate after breakfast (yes, normal mundane things done here today), I noticed that the plate tradition was started in 1979, the year I was born.  I thought that was kind of neat.

Well, after Mikayla let me take a birthday nap this afternoon, we met my family at Longhorn’s Steakhouse for a very yummy birthday dinner.  The waitress was nice and brought some ice cream for me afterwards, but didn’t do the horribly embarassing sing-a-long.  I was very happy to have escaped that!

Do you like the Over the Hill balloon?

    Every year, my Mom makes my wedding cake for my birthday.  When Jeremy and I were married, a friend of my mom’s who was a pastry chef before she had children, made our cake.  She gave my mom the recipe for the cake and frosting.  That was my absolute favorite cake, so I always request it for my birthday. 

So, all in all, I had a nice birthday.  It was pretty relaxing and spent with my wonderful family.  That always makes for a great birthday.

Happy Birthday, Astro Twin!

Hilary and I have been friends since we were thirteen years old.  A cool “fact” about our friendship is that we share the same birthday.  We had some very exciting birthday adventures when we were in high school.

Last Saturday night, Hilary’s family threw her a fabulous 30th birthday bash.  That’s right we are thirty now.  It was a great night and I am really glad that I was able to be there and that we were able to spend some time together.   I had a wonderful time.

Happy Birthday, Astro Twin!  Here’s to many more birthdays together!

My sweet baby sister

Okay, you have to check out the sweet post my youngest sister put on her blog. I love you, Lollie!

Too cute!

Jeremy and I both worked this evening, so the kids went to my parent's house. My sister, brother-in-law and nephew are staying there until they move into their townhouse in Athens at the end of this week.

Apparently, the cousins had their first bath together. My sister took some cute pics and posted them on her blog. I love it!

Fourth of July

I can’t believe what a blogging slacker I am.  Actually, I can believe it, but I don’t really want to. :)

We had a great Fourth of July weekend.   On the third we had a great dinner at my in-laws house.  We always have such a nice time there and eat lots of yummy food!  After dinner we headed over to the Cumming Fairgrounds to watch the fireworks.  It’s nice to live in a city that does the fireworks on the third.  It makes it so that we can stretch out the celebration for a couple days which is always fun.

I liked this picture of Gavin.  The sun highlights his pretty blue eyes.

Doesn’t this show the true fun-loving personality of my little girl.  She loves to laugh!

Mikayla sat in a little lawn chair that had Dora the Explorer on the back of it.  Gavin has recently found a new “love” for Dora and Diego cartoons.  He kept looking at the back of the chair as if to be watching the cartoon.  It was pretty cute.

My favorite boys.

Gavin did great with the fireworks.  I was pretty sure he would do okay, but you never know with toddlers.  He just sat in Jeremy’s lap and watched the show.

On Saturday, Jeremy had to work during the day, so the kids and I headed down to my parents house.  Their neighborhood hosted a Fourth of July parade for the kids.  The kids gathered together and we decorated the various modes of transportation with festive decorations.  Then, we marched around the neighborhood for people that had sat chairs out in their driveways to watch the kids roll by.  This was the first year they had done this and it was pretty fun.  My only complaint was that it started at 4pm in almost 90 degree heat.  It was a little warm to be pulling a wagon with two children in it around!

Gavin was well decorated for the parade, too!

The kids had a lot of fun.

I had to take a picture of the table that my mom set.  She is always so festive and has everything decorated perfectly for whatever holiday we are celebrating.

We also had these “Jello Parfaits.”  These were a big hit with Mikayla.

After dinner, we headed down to the park near my parent’s house to watch their firework display.  I have only missed Alpharetta’s firework display once that I can remember.   I like that I can carry on the tradition with my children. My Fourth of July cuties!           Our Fourth of July family pic.  We had a great time together.

My cute little boy.

This is my sweet little boy.  He is growing into such a fun and loving little guy.  I seriously can’t get enough of him.  This is a picture of his long curls.  I cut his hair a couple of days ago, because I was really worried that people were going to start thinking he was a girl.   But don’t worry, it was just a long trim and he still has his cute curls.  :)

Okay, in the first video, you have a glimpse of what Gavin does every time a camera is put in front of him.   He immediately smiles and proudly says, “Cheese!”   I have trained him well.  :)

In the second video, Jeremy is feeding Gavin some yogurt.  Jeremy is doing airplane noises and swirling the spoon around to make Gavin laugh and giggle.  Gavin is having so much fun with this game, he keeps swirling his own arm around to let Jeremy know that he wants him to do it again.  He may not say many words, but he definitely knows how to get his point across.

She’s a big girl!

I wrote this post on Friday, but couldn't get it to post for some reason.

This is a picture-less post. I really need to remember to take my camera down to the pool. Today, we discovered that Mikayla can touch the bottom of the shallow end of the pool while her head is still above water. She is growing way too fast!

Also, Mikayla can swim!! After realizing that she could touch the bottom of the pool, she became a little more brave and decided to practice swimming. I could hardly believe that my little girl was swimming all by herself! The is one problem with her swimming though. She hasn’t quite figured out how to breathe and swim at the same time. She swims with her head under the water, and she can’t seem to coordinate bringing her head up to breathe and continuing swimming. Oh well, we are definitely headed in the right direction.