Summer 2014

I can not believe tomorrow is September 1st! Being a teacher, I have never thought about annual years beginning in January, but rather in school years, running from August to May. This is the first year since I was 4 that I am not starting to school in some form. I am so thankful to be home during this season (and hope to make my appearance as a substitute here and there this year), but it is very different for me to not be preparing my classroom and buckling down with my students. This truly begins a new season for me.

With that said, the summer of 2014 has just about come and gone. We had a wonderful 6 week visit to North Carolina, and have enjoyed the last 6 weeks back in WA with friends and Daddy. :) I could never go into the detail that I would like to on our visit, but hope to capture some of our favorite moments on our blog to share. So, ready or not, fall, here we come! :)

 While in North Carolina, we always spend time with both sides of our families. Uncle Zach spoils the kids with funny videos and playing blocks with them. He is a big time sucker. :)

 Sadie cut one of her teeth while in NC, and until the 2nd one popped through, every time she smiled, she did the cute tongue thing. She doesn't do it any more though.

 We had lots of fun playing cousins! The boys especially had a great time playing in the pool and sand box. JJ and Uncle Phil had lots of fun things to do with the boys, including a new golf set, riding toys, and new movies to try on Netflix!

 Jude officially wants to get bunk beds now because he says he can sleep on top and Eli can sleep on the bottom when he visits.

 Sibling love.

 I think this little gal might have Papaw wrapped around her finger...

 We enjoyed seeing lots of family, including the kids great grandparents and great great grandmas. Sadie loves Papaw Jerry's duck calls.

 Jude spent a lot of time in Nana's lap reading Franklin books. Nana also accompanied Jude to VBS every night for a week, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

 Great times with more great grandparents. Mamaw Ann and Papaw Mick are visiting soon and we are all very excited.

 3 of the 5 generations.

 While in Shelby, we enjoyed a visit to the city park to ride the carousel and the train.

 Sadie had to sport her patriotic attire. We also enjoyed watching Uncle Cody play in his softball league and ate lots of fro yo from Sweet Frog.

 We also traveled to Tennessee to visit my Mom's side of the family for a few days. My child hood summers would not be complete without  my many memories with my family there and I hope to share this with my children. Jude definitely looks forward to seeing cousin Jamen!

 This is my cousin's little girl, sweet sweet Willow!

 My Mamaw would kill me about this picture, as her hair is not fixed, but it's the best one I have of the both of them.

 In Asheboro, we took a trip to the bouncy house, where the boys had a lot of fun. Eli spent most of the time trying to escape, but Jude LOVED it!

 We got to complete our summer NC vacation with a trip to the beach. We had such a wonderful time playing in the sand, swimming in the pool (which Jude is doing so much more independently this year!), kicking the waves, visiting the Bass Pro Shop, and playing bocci ball and volleyball on the beach.

 The babies in the tidal pool.

 Such a stud!

 I also got to see very special friends! Here is one of my dearest friends from college, Candice, who I don't get to see often since she is in NJ. I am so thankful for her visit. She works for M&M Mars and she surprised the kiddos with lots of fun treats.

While home, I also got to see my friends Beth and Katherine, which were huge blessings. I am so thankful to keep in touch with these precious friends. The beginning of the summer was actually started with my 10 year reunion. It was nice to see old friends and catch up.

Below is a picture of Mo Mo and her babies. My Mom is such a trooper and I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with her and my sister. Some how, I went all summer and didn't get a single picture of my Dad. :( Jude loves the fact that Pop drives an ice cream truck. One night, he actually realized that he was selling it to other children and about had a panic attack thinking he would sell it all and not save some for Jude. ha!

When we got home, we celebrated Justin's birthday with a homemade cheesecake, his pick. With his birthday money this year he invested in a bow and arrow and I'm really excited to see him use it in action this hunting season. We also celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. A sweet friend watched the kids so we could have a nice dinner our and some couple time.

We enjoyed a visit from good friends, Christie and Jackson, at the end of July from Mercer Island.  We have spent some time at local lakes to beat the heat. We've completed the summer with cook outs (or BBQ's as they say here) with good friends and spending lots of time in our new sand box and wading in the creek.

Again, the summer has flown by and long awaited time has come and gone. Fall is my all time favorite season though, as it means football, pumpkins, boots and scarves, my birthday, lovely colors, and cooler weather...Thank you Lord, for yet again, a beautiful and memorable summer.

It's Been A While

Yes, I know. I've pretty much fallen off the blogging planet and have a lot to update. For now, I'm going to focus on sweet Sadie turning 9 months old this week. (Yes, I've missed months 7 and 8.) Our summer has gone so quickly, with lots to be updated, so I won't to focus on her first.

This sweet girl is on the move. She has been crawling every where since she was 6 months old. She is now pulling up and cruising along all of our furniture. She also stands up alone for several seconds, but won't take a step...not that I'm really encouraging it. Life is much more complicated with her all over the place. She can give high 5's, wave "hi" and "bye", clap her hands, and sign "all done". She LOVES to eat. She's already wanting mostly table food and is done with pureed. She wants the real stuff. Her favorite things to do are to watch Jude play, pull his hair, give her baby doll kisses, to play in the sand box and be tickled. She does not like to be still. It's actually really hard to read to her, which is something very different than Jude, even at this age. Sadie has 4 teeth, 2 on top and 2 on bottom. She does this hysterical snorty face and cracks herself up.

Sadie sleeps great. She goes down between 8 and 8:30 pm every night and sleeps until any time between 7 to 8 am. She takes 2 naps, 1 always being longer than the other but that fluctuates based on our schedule. She does not like stopping her favorite activities, especially bath time and the sand box. She already pitches little mini fits. She does nurse more often than Jude. It's definitely more a comfort for her than just eating, but I'm ok with that. She doesn't have a bappy, suck her thumb, or even have a preferred lovey yet, so I'm it.

We had her 9 month well check this week and this little lady isn't so little. Here are the stats:

Weight: 20 lbs. 15 oz (85%)
Height: 29.5 in. (97%)
Head Circumference: 45 cm (85%)

She is very proportionate and has stayed on the same trends since about 2 months, except her length has soared the last 3 months. Our doctor said he was be surprised if she wasn't close to 6 feet one day. With the height on both our families, the height neither of us got, it wouldn't surprise me. We shall see.

Sweet Sadie girl, you steal our hearts again and again. Your smile is contagious. Your quiet laugh is precious. You love to move and explore. You adore your big brother and love to snuggle with Mommy. Daddy's beard makes you laugh or cry, depending on the day. We love you so very much and am so thankful to have you baby girl. 

And, what people really want, the pictures...

 Miss Sassy Pants

 You can see how she captures your heart. Look at that sweet face! And yes, she does have a cyst over her left eye. We are seeing a pediatric eye specialist soon. It's been there since birth, but doesn't seem to effect her vision at all. I've actually had morons say things like, "What's wrong with her eye?" or "You are going to have that removed, right?" Talk about Momma Bear coming out. Prayers in the coming weeks as we see the specialist would be appreciated.

 Hmmm...what can I get into?

 Just hanging with Daddy

 This is her silly snorty face. You can see why we think it's hysterical. At least it does give you a good shot of those teeth coming in.

 Yum...

And, I had to throw one in of this precious boy. He surprises me every day of his new independence and willing to help. Love him so. Until next time...