Mother's Day

I had a wonderful mother's day! I can't believe this was my 5th Mother's Day! It was a busy, but nice day! It was the first Mother's Day we have been to church as a family I think! We have spent previous mothers days in Destin then last year I went to church but Austin had work. This year we got to have Lindsay's baby Dedication on Mother's day which really made the day special. Colby's was in September b/c there were so many late summer babies that year they did a special one. We all went to Sunday School. I actually stayed in Lindsay's class most of the time b/c I wanted her to get a good nap in before her dedication. We were able to take Colby to the front of the church with us too which was really special! It was hard to believe that 3 1/2 years ago we were having him dedicated! He was such a big boy and did so well too! Lindsay on the other hand made her prescence known! She did really good while we sat up front but then as soon as we went down front to stand she cried and cried! I know babies do that all the time! Poor thing I had to wake her up from a good snooze and I think all the people kinda scared her plus it was getting close to her eating time. We got her back to the nursery where there were 2 other babies. I had contemplated staying with her but my mom was in there so I just left her with her. Church service was wonderful and it was so nice to sit in there with Austin and his parents. His parents came in town to see her dedication. I thought it was sweet of them to come since they were also here for Colby's. After church we came back quickly to our house to change clothes before heading over to Mrs. Eva's house. We had lunch over there this year. Last year we did the same thing but Austin wasn't with me so it was nice to have our whole family together. It was a wonderful treat and I enjoyed visiting. But boy was I tired. Our poor kids were too! They both hung in there well though but I felt like we had no time to recoup from our trip! So after the lunch we came home and quickly put both kids to bed! They both needed their rest. Well Austin was sweet and took his parents to run some errands while me and the kids rested. Too bad Lindsay never slept so I never got a nap either! Oh well it was nice to have the quiet time alone to catch up on some stuff! When they came home we woke both kids up. They all went outside with Colby. He swam in our little pool and played outside. It was great for him to get all that attention. I kept Lindsay inside with me while I did housework. We had hotdogs for dinner and hung out and played with the kids. It was an early bedtime for us and the kids though we were all so tired from the trip and company! I don't feel like it was a restful mother's day but I was so happy to spend it with my mom and Austin with his mom and with our 2 children I couldn't have asked for anything else!
Colby- I can't belive you are almost 4! I am so thankful that almost 4 years ago you made me a mommy! I learned what unconditional love really was! The job isn't easy but its so rewarding! I am so thankful I have been able to stay home with you for these last 4 years! I can't believe you will be in prek next year and going off to school every day! I love the time I got for 3 years to hang out with just you! I now love that I get to hang out with you and Lindsay and sometimes just you! I love your stubborness I hope you can use that to accomplish great things when you grow up! I love that you have a sensitive side and love your family! I love that you want things just right my little Type A child! You may look like your daddy but you act like your momma and granddaddy!
Lindsay- I can't believe you are nearing 6 months old! Even though we have only known you for a few months you feel like you have been in our family forever! I love that now I have a daughter to share "girl" things with! I look forward to our relationship as you get older. I know we will have ups and downs but I hope when you are a grown woman we can talk every day and be friends! You are growing up too quickly! You are the sweetest baby! You love to talk and be talked to! You are very happy as long as you are rested and fed! You are rolling over and scooting!
Thank you both for each day I get to spend with you! I know I am not perfect but I hope you know I try my best to be the best mommy I can! I make mistakes but I try to do everything out of love!

Destin 2012

Well we just got back from our annual beach trip to Destin. We had a great time as always! It ofcourse goes by wayy too fast! It was Colby's 5th time there and Lindsay's 1st! Colby had many memories of the beach so he was very excited! I think this is the 3rd trip he will remember! He was really excited when we started talking about going to the beach. Lindsay obviously will be too little to remember but it will be fun telling her about her first trip as she gets older!
We left Wednesday morning. My parents and Randall met us at our house so we could all caravan together. Both kids did really well. We actually drove all the way to Florida without stopping. We stopped finally at the Florida reststop to take potty breaks and feed Lindsay! It was pouring down rain in the midst of this! Colby enjoyed running around the rest stop though! After there we drove a few more miles and stopped at our famous Ruby Tuesday's for lunch. Again both kids did well...Lindsay ate her baby food there. We were all tired by that point though and I think Lindsay was ready to get out of that seat! We arrived at the condo about 3ish. I went up immediately to feed Lindsay. Colby was anxious to check out both the condos. We put her down for a nap. While she was resting I tried to get things unpacked and us "settled in". Colby and Austin went down to the beach and pool. They weren't able to stay long because of the off and on rain though. That evening we had a low key night. My mom made jambalaya for us so we went to their condo to eat dinner. After dinner we had to head back to our condo to bathe the kids. We knew they needed to go to bed early since it had been a long day and no one really got naps. Austin and I turned in pretty early too. Ofcourse we always enjoyed about an hour of peace every night after we got the kids in bed!
Thursday morning we were up bright and early. Between Colby and Lindsay they were both usually up before 7! We would begin our day by getting dressed and eating breakfast. After breakfast we changed into our beach clothes. We were all going to go down to the beach but I quickly decided that Lindsay needed a nap instead. Austin and Colby went on down. I hated that I missed out on so much beach/pool time. Its not that I am a HUGE fan of that stuff but I hated I didn't get to see Colby do everything this trip! I have to admit though staying in the condo with Lindsay was nice. It was quiet and relaxing! My aunt and uncle came over from Pensacola to spend time with us and eat lunch. I took Lindsay over there for my aunt and mom to watch while I spent some time at the beach and pool with Austin and Colby. It was nice to see him playing at the pool I didn't get to enjoy as much "Beach time" with him this year but next year they will both be out there playing so that will be fun! Once we finished down there we all went up to eat lunch together. It was nice to visit with everyone. The kids soon were melting down and needing naps though. I think we all slept pretty hard! After naps Colby and Austin did a little more swimming and I stayed upstairs with Lindsay. We took turns getting dressed to go out for dinner that evening. We decided to try a new place this year. I have heard about the Back Porch from friends so we decided to try it. It ended up being very good! The kids did pretty well and we had a great seat that was comfie for us to all spread out! After dinner we went back to the condo to bathe the kids. Usually we would go do something after dinner but b/c Lindsay goes to bed so early we just decided to head back. We put the kids to bed early and enjoyed some time to relax ourselves. I always look forward to those quiet moments in the evenings where Austin and I get to hang out after the kids go to bed. In some ways its often my fav part of the day.
Friday was another bright and early day! Our kids chose not to sleep in at all this trip! I got up and quickly showered and got dressed b/c I knew if I didn't do it then I would be rushing around and never have time later on. Once we got the kids up and dressed we did the same thing as Thursday. We went over to my parent's condo and ate breakfast with them. After we ate I left with Lindsay b/c I could tell from the early waking she was already tired. I got her to sleep while Austin and Colby went down to the beach and pool again. They stayed out there for a couple hours. From what I heard he had a blast. He rode the waves on aunt lizzie's raft. We had an interesting thing happen though...Austin had left Colby's bucket by the pool and some lady ended up puking in it. We aren't sure what was wrong with her b/c an ambulance ended up coming to pick her up. Needless to say we left the bucket in Destin! I enjoyed the quiet morning though. My mom came over and spent some time with me and Lindsay. Once Austin came up we made our lunches and ate out on the patio with Colby. It was nice to have some time with him. After we ate we all went down for early naps. Lindsay didn't nap long though. We ended up taking both kids out for a walk to pass some time.  After our walk we started getting dressed. Austin and I had made the decision before we left that we wanted to do something special with Colby while on the trip. We debated the Gulfarium or a Dolphin Cruise but both would have been far away and taken a long time so we decided to take him to the outdoor mall and have dinner and let him play! We let him play on their outdoor playground and ride the little kid train. This took about an hour! I think he had a good time but he also was jealous that Lindsay was back at the condo with Grammy & Granddaddy...he asked a couple of times if we could just go back there. He thought she was getting something over on him which we were really trying to make him feel special. I think he had fun though. We ate at Johnny Rocket's then got him icecream. This was really a treat although he probably had more desserts on this trip then we allow anyway but icecream is really a treat! We rarely go out and get dessert so this was really special for him. After icecream we headed back to the condo. At that point we bathed Lindsay and let Colby hang out with the grandparents for a little while. Once we got them both to bed it was time to start packing. We did get to relax for a little while though!

Saturday morning we were up EARLY once again! These kids decided that 6 am was a great time to wake up on vacation! We hit the ground running. There was lots to do from packing and organizing to hauling things to the van to keeping 2 kids fed and happy while doing all of this! It was a busy couple of hours! I hate that part of vacation! Once we got on the road the kids did great. Lindsay slept the 1st half of the trip and Colby watched Finding Nemo. Its kinda nice to just sit and talk to austin while we drive. We stopped at our usual Panera Bread. Once again that was our only stop on the way home. We fed and changed Lindsay there. The kids did well again my mom rode with us from Mobile home. Colby chatted with her the ENTIRE way! It was also nice having her in the back b/c she fed Lindsay a bottle so we didn't have to stop. Once we got in we were all exausted! We knew Colby wouldn't take a nap so we let him watch Cars. We normally don't do 2 movies a day but in this case we were all exausted and we had so much to do plus it was raining outside. Lindsay was glad to get back in her bed and took about a 2 hour nap! We had a wonderful time! I hated to leave that beautiful water and beach! I am already looking forward to our trip next year! By then we will have a 1 year old and a 4 1/2 year old! We might try to take Colby back to the beach atleast Gulf Shores or something before the end of summer!

5 Month Comparisons

5 Months Old

Lindsay is 5 months old as of Saturday! I can't believe how fast time is flying with her! I can't believe next month she will be 1/2 a year! She's growing up too quickly! I think she is getting really fun though! On her 4 month birthday she rolled from her back to her tummy so over the last month she has practiced. She can easily flip from her tummy to back but is still working hard to conquer the back to tummy. She loves playing on her side though. She's also getting really good about twisting and turning and grabbing things! She is so flexible! I think she may be our little athlete/gymnast! She is really getting a personality too! She's oh so sweet! She has her moments when she's tired or hungry but for the most part she rolls with the punches whatever that may be! So far I can tell a BIG difference in her and Colby. Colby was a great baby too but he was very used to his routine and didn't do well when being taken out of it so far she seems to do fine. Her naps have gotton so much better too! We had to do a little crying it out and I've discovered just not going in there and letting her fuss for a bit has helped so much! She has learned to put herself to sleep and not depend on comfort from me. We still swaddle her at night but she always breaks out now but it doesn't wake her up anymore which is nice! She is taking one 2-3 hour nap after lunch most days. She also takes a 30-40 min catnap in the morning usually while we are out and about and then a 30-40 min catnap in the afternoons/evenings either in her swing or me rocking her. She is sleeping great still at night. She goes to bed around 8 and sleeps until 7:45-8 the next morning. She's eating great. She is doing 6 oz five times a day. Since her 4 month b-day she began eating cereal twice a day and we have just added veggies twice a day also. So now she is on a 3 meal a day schedule. She has oatmeal for breakfast, a veggie for lunch, then rice cereal mixed with a veggie for dinner. This is the same way we did it for Colby which made it really easy to get him used to our eating times. So far she is loving the veggies. She seems to really have gotton more into it the last couple of days there for awhile she would eat her cereal but wasn't thrilled. Now she laps it up! I think she finally figured out it was food! So far she has had peas, squash, green beans, and carrots. I want to make some baby food for her I just honestly haven't had the time. I am not patient enough to make it all but I do hope to try to do some homemade stuff for her. She is still petite. I would guess she weighs around 14 lbs? She is wearing a size 2 diaper. She wears 6 month clothes or 3-6 month depending on the brand. She loves tummy time and acts like she wants to crawl! i think she will be mobile quicker then Colby. She already can move around by rolling/scooting which I don't think he did until 7 or 8 months! She's a sweetheart and we are so happy to have had her in our lives for 5 months can't wait to see her grow into a little girl!

Our Weekend

Alas, the weekend has come and gone just about! I can't believe how fast this week went by! Its mainly due to the fact Austin was off M-W! Thursday I had to go grocery shopping with both kids...we survived just a boring day though! Friday Colby had school.This weekend has been nice. Austin had to work though so just me and the kids but we have had some fun moments! Saturday we enjoyed sleeping in and lazing around the house! I feel like that's so rare! The last 2 Saturdays we have been up for birthday parties! We went over to my parent's house about 10:30. We haven't been there in awhile and I wanted to let Colby swim over there. He got to swim with my dad for quite some time. I stayed inside and baked cookies for Colby's unbirthday party Monday at school. My mom kept Lindsay entertained. Colby had a blast in the pool! I wish I could have gotton in with him. I don't feel like I will get to do much swimming this summer. Lindsay is still too little...one they say 6 months for sunscreen and 2 the swim diapers start at 16 lbs and she's only 13lbs. I am sure we will bring her in some but its not like she will last for long periods of time anyway. After the swimming and cookies I got Lindsay down for her nap and my mom, dad, Colby, and I enjoyed lunch. We visited for awhile then when Lindsay woke up we came home. I knew it would be a kinda long afternoon since Colby didn't nap at all and Lindsay had a very short nap. We got home and I did end up putting Lindsay back down for a nap. She slept thankgoodness but Colby never did. Actually I didn't want to put him down for a nap b/c it was after 2 when we got home. If he sleeps that late then he will never go to bed that night! My friend Honey called and said she and Max would like to come over so they came for a visit. Austin got home early too so that helped. Austin worked in the yard and Honey and I visited inside while the boys played. It was nice to have another adult to talk with. She enjoyed helping with Lindsay too. We ate pizza together then the boys played in the backyard and pool with Austin. It was a nice break from our usual "routine". Ofcourse Colby had a blast! We were all exausted though!
Sunday was church which is always a busy time for us. With Austin working I feel like Sundays are like a "school" day for us. I have to have everyone out the house and dressed and fed by 8:30. Not an easy task! We made it to church on time though despite torrential rains on our way there! Both children did well during their Sunday school and ec hours. I was expecting to sit in worship service but we had a ton of toddlers so I decided to stay back there and we ended up splitting the class. I didn't mind or really want to complain b/c I am grateful when we have a bunch of kids! There were times when Colby was a baby/toddler I prayed for a full nursery. I think its such a blessing to see so many children at church. Lindsay was the only baby but we had 5 1 year olds and 1 two year old and six preschoolers. It was very busy back there! I was worn out by the time we got home. I was really hoping for a nap but Colby fell asleep on the way home and so he didn't take a nap. Lindsay napped off and on and I laid down for a short time but never really felt rested. Austin was late getting home which always makes for a rough evening. I feel like we are going in 6 hundred directions! So now we are just gearing up for another week but luckily this week is only 2 days long b/c then we go the beach Wednesday! So excited to spend time with family and relax also it will be Lindsay's 1st trip there! It will be really fun with Colby he has been talking all about it!

Colby's Field Trip to Storyland

Colby had another field trip today! I love all these field trips his school takes! I am so happy he gets these experiences already! With Austin being off today he got to come with us. The field trip was to Storyland. We were excited to have a special day with him. We planned on my parents keeping Lindsay again. Once again I like to keep his special days keeping the focus on him. Plus we were so busy yesterday I figured Lindsay needed a low key day plus my parents enjoy watching her alone and spending 1 on 1 time with her. We dropped Lindsay off then went to Colby's school. The children had to go to their class first. I guess the teacher counted who all was there and also gave them instructions on how to behave on the school bus. Although Colby seemed like they had talked about that all week b/c he told us they had to sit still and quiet on the bus! It was funny b/c all the parents gathered around to watch the board the bus! It was so bittersweet...one of those moments I felt myself getting choked up! The fact that my baby boy was ready to ride a school bus with his friends without mommy and daddy. Since they only had 1 bus and all 3 classes were going the parents had to drive their own cars. I was ok with this I knew we would be close behind them! He seemed to love the ride and was all smiles when he got off at the park! When they got to the park we all got together and went in. There was only 1 other school group at the park so it was pretty easy to keep up with our kids thank goodness! They all seemed very well behaved. We had to keep up with Colby and this little boy Amir who didn't have parents there today. Austin pretty much stayed with Colby and I watched Amir. Amir was a lot easier to keep up with then Colby he would get on one thing and stay forever! Colby gets antsy and hops from thing to thing! He also wanted to go ride the rides like we did at Max's b-day party and didn't understand why we couldn't. He didn't play with his friends at the park as much as I had hoped. He was more concerned with making sure Austin followed him around....he's so attached to Austin when he's around! I know its b/c he works so much and I think he just thinks he has to have all his daddy's focus when he is home! Anyway I am glad Austin got to go though to 1 school event. I am always the one that goes so it was nice for Austin to get to enjoy that aspect of his little school life! We all 3 had fun though. It rained on us so we had to seek shelter but I think that just made it more fun! The kids didn't seem to care at all! I think the highlite to them anyway was the bus ride! They sat down during the worst of the rain and ate a snack. Colby rode the bus back to school then we picked him up and went to lunch at Applebees. We figured we would treat him to lunch while his sister was still napping at Grammy's. We stayed at my parent's house for a little while until Lindsay woke up. Once we got home we all took naps though! I think we were all exausted from the past 2 days! This afternoon Austin and Colby played outside and ran errands while I caught up on inside housework and hung out with Lindsay! Its been a great 3 days! I know we will miss Austin so much tomorrow when he returns to work!

Austin's Birthday & Days Off

I feel like we are having a fabulous week so far! Austin worked really hard last week and so did I. I feel like we all had to be very patient. I know every time we have a really hard week we usually get rewarded with a great week! Austin took off 3 days in a row which is so nice! Two days just usually isn't enough I feel like we always run out of time! Monday started his days off. Colby had school so we pretty much had our normal school morning routine. Austin does go get Colby pancakes at McDonald's when he's off though which Colby loves. I brought Colby and Max to school. We came home and Austin did some work outside. He went and picked Colby up when it was time and I stayed here with Lindsay. We had a pretty low key day at home since we knew the next 2 days would be very busy! Neither Colby or Lindsay really took long naps...Austin took Colby outside and they played in his pool. Lindsay and I visited and she even got to stick her little toes in! It was nice just having a laid back day. We had dinner at home and I baked Austin's birthday cake. Its so nice when we sit down to a homecooked family dinner! It doesn't hapen but maybe 2-3 times a week so its very special to all of us! Colby even loves it when we sit together at the table!

Tuesday Austin's birthday has been a very busy but great day! I hope he has enjoyed the day too! We started the day by making blueberry muffins and having a family breakfast! I rarely have time to cook stuff like that for Colby during the week b/c now with having to get 2 kids ready and feeding a baby it just takes so long I run out of time. But today I made sure to make the time! I didn't want Austin having to cook on his b-day! After breakfast we all rushed around and got dressed. Our housecleaner was coming over so we had to get out the house but we wanted to go out anyway and take the kids somewhere. We decided on the aquarium. We haven't been in quite some time and Lindsay ofcourse hadn't ever been. We got there and it was great we were one of the first people in and we were doing great. We got about 5 min or so into it and I realized we left Lindsay's pacifier in the car. Well Austin said he would stay in the aquarium with the kids while I ran to the car. By the time I got back though a TON of school groups had caught up to us! There were so many people. We kept trying to dodge them by jumping ahead to different exhibits but it seemed like they were closing in on us. We knew there was no way Colby would have any fun so we ended up leaving. Thank goodness we are members so no money was lost! We decided to ride the ferry home since we were right there. We have been promising Colby a ferry ride since that fateful night we tried and got rear ended. Colby seemed a little apprehensive of the ferry at first. But once he got on and Austin got him out the van and walked around he LOVED it! I have a feeling we will be doing that more often now! Lindsay and I stayed in the van though. It was time for her to eat so I fed her in the car. I can't believe she has already been on a ferry boat and to the aquarium at 4 1/2 months old! I guess she will get to do stuff earlier then her big bro! Although he did go to the zoo before her I guess we will get her there one of these days! So after the ferry we stopped off at Confetti Playground. We figured Colby still had some energy to burn. Again I stayed in the van b/c I was still feeding Lindsay. I also had to feed her peas in the van! That was interesting! She was more interested in looking out the window though! Colby had a blast riding on a big wheel at the park and swinging. He said he had a lot of fun on our outting. We picked up Subway and came home. We put Lindsay down for a nap and took Colby outside to eat our sandwhiches. He loves eating outside! We all rested some which was nice since the day before we didn't really get a nap! After naptime and everyone got up we headed out again to Cracker Barrel. We do this a few times a year we drive to Slidell and meet Austin's parents for CB. Ofcourse they wanted to see their son on his b-day! We usually go up there for his b-day or they come here but since we were just there and with his b-day falling on a Tuesday they weren't able to come here either. Atleast we got to see them and visit. I think they enjoyed seeing the kids again! Colby was convinced they were coming home with us too! Poor guy! Both kids left with something...Colby got a car ofcourse and Lindsay got 2 precious outfits! They were both really well behaved! I worried especially about Lindsay b/c I knew we would get in past her bathtime but she held in their really good despite the busy day too! Once we got home we did cake! I hope Austin had a good day I feel like it was a great family day! Something we really needed after the business of him working all last week! We are so thankful for him and his hard work! I can't ask for a better hubby or father. I gave him the option to play golf on his b-day and he said he would rather spend the day with us! I love him and can't wait to celebrate 33 more b-days with him!