Memorial Day Weekend

So we are enjoying summer mode and the holiday weekend around here. Friday was our first "official" summer day. We ended up spending it at home though. Lindsay ran fever Thursday and was cranky and didn't sleep well so we were exausted. I wanted to bring Colby to the Cool Zoo or something fun but I knew we needed a day to relax plus I couldn't find a sitter for Lindsay and a day at the zoo in May would just be too much with 2 kids especially with a baby! Anyway we stayed home...something we don't do much and haven't done probably since we all had the flu. It went better then I expected though. I tried to keep Colby involved so he didn't sit around and watch tv all day. During Lindsay's morning nap he rode his bikes in the front. We all took a walk late morning before it got too hot. That afternoon while Lindsay was taking her afternoon nap Colby and I went in the backyard to play. It was fun having some time to just play with him. We also sat in his room and played. I feel like sometimes I don't get much time to "play" with him when we are so busy going places so it was nice to kick back and do that! I definitely couldn't stay home all day every day though with 2 kids. We have to get out the house! Saturday we planned to go swimming at my parent's house. This is our usual Saturday during the summer activity when Austin is working. I knew we would spend half the day since we stayed in all day Friday as well. It was nice to be over there. My mom watched Lindsay while my dad and I got in the pool with Colby. It was fun swimming with my big boy. I felt like I missed so much of that time with him while at the beach so this was my first time this year to really enjoy being with him in the pool. We had a blast! After swimming we ate lunch. After lunch I put Lindsay down for nap...she napped some while we swam but she was ready for a longer nap in the bed. While she slept my parents played with Colby. It was nice to have some downtime. We all visited and played until after she woke up. The kids and I finally got home sometime after 3. We were all wiped out. We had a pretty low key rest of the day!
Sunday was another good day. We went to church...I stayed for the Sunday School hour but brought Lindsay home after that. Colby chose to stay for church and come home with my parents. I was fine with that knowing it would give me a little quiet time. We had such a full, busy week plus the kids had some rough nights during the week so I was exausted. After getting in and getting Lindsay fed and ate lunch myself I dozed for an hour. By the time Colby got home I felt rested again. Both kids took great naps though which was nice to have that quiet time. Austin got in at a good time so that was nice.
Monday Austin was actually off which has been SO nice! We had a leisurely morning around the house! Its rare that we get those so it was nice to not have to hurry off somewhere. Once we were all dressed though we went to my parent's house. This is our yearly thing for Memorial Day. My mom cooks and we all swim then come in and eat a yummy lunch. Usually we have Randall and Elizabeth there too but they are on a trip so it was just us and my parents. We got in the pool right away. We decided to take Lindsay in today. She hasn't been in a pool yet so we figured today would be a good day to try it out. She really liked it at first and enjoyed splashing around but quickly got tired and ready to get out. It was around her lunch time too so I think that is one reason she got tired of it quickly. My mom came and rescued her so Austin and I could enjoy some more pool time with Colby. I think he enjoyed having his mommy and daddy to play with. After a little while I went on in to help my mom with Lindsay. Soon after the boys came in ready to eat! Lindsay took her nap there while we ate lunch. After lunch Colby wanted to relax and watch CARS so that is what we did. It was nice to just cool down and chill! After the movie and Lindsay woke up Austin and I came home with Lindsay. Colby made plans to spend the night. Its been awhile since he stayed over there so he was all excited! In fact he was so ready for us to leave! Austin and I got home with Lindsay and it was nice just to relax. After we ate though he mowed the yard. I was able to get some housework done and play with Lindsay one on one. I am sure this summer we will be sending him over there to spend the night a few more times! The break was nice! We sure missed him but since Lindsay goes to bed early we were able to have a few hours to ourselves last night!
Tuesday Austin was off again. We had a slow morning since Colby was away and we only had 1 child to get ready and she took an early nap. After we were dressed though we went to pick up Colby. We picked him up and dropped Lindsay off. We have been promising Colby a trip to the Cool Zoo for some time. We knew it would be too hot for Lindsay so my parents watched her. This was Colby's 3rd time there I think. We took him there a year ago for the first time. He was so much more brave this year. He still wanted Austin to stay close but he would go down the slides alone this time! He had a blast! he played for 2 hours! Once he had enough we left and ate lunch at McAlister's. That is our usual thing when leaving the zoo. I dropped the boys off at the house then I went to pick up Lindsay. Now that we are all home we are just cooling off and resting. Austin and Colby are now doing some outdoor "boy" things. We have enjoyed having Austin around so much! its making our 1st full week of summer really fun! The rest of the week will be low key with me an the kids. We will probably stay close and just do a couple errands.

Colby's Last Week of School

 First Day

 Last Day

Wow I can't believe my little guy's last day of school is tomorrow! Its been a wonderful year for him. He attended Aurora Methodist 3 year preschool program. This is his second year at the school. This year he went 3 days a week from 9-12. Once again it was so great for he and I. At the start of the year I was very pregnant so the break was quite welcome! I used the time to rest, clean house, or run errands. The second half of the year was nice b/c it gave me some 1 on 1 time with Lindsay. He has loved school for the second year in a row! He never once cried or didn't want to go! He made so many friends! He had some old friends from last year and made many new ones also! His teacher Mrs. Lyn was so sweet. We couldn't ask for a more kind, tenderhearted teacher! Colby fell in love with her and has felt so comfortable with her! I pray every year he can feel that way! He learned so much! They worked on ABC's and 123's ofcourse. Each week they had a theme and they played and learned through that. Some of the theme's included: Nursery Rhymes, Community Helpers, Transportation, Zoo, Sea Life, etc. I love their theory of having the children learn through play. I am glad for preschool he wasn't sitting at a desk doing worksheets. They had many special days and field trips. He got to visit the Zoo, Storyland, Post Office, go on a picnic, and many other things. I have seen him grow up and change so much this year! I loved when I would go up to help for special events and could see a small glimpse into his life at school. Its amazing what all teachers can get their students to do! He listened to everything Mrs. Lyn told him! This last week of school has been very emotional for me...I know next year will be really bad b/c it will be his last year at this sweet little school. I feel like he's so sheltered and loved and protected at this little preschool! Going to kindergarten will be hard on all of us! I know we will all miss Mrs. Lyn! I also can't believe he's completed his 2nd year of preschool! Some of his friends like Max will not be returning either so that makes the end of this year very bittersweet!
This last week though they have really made it special for the kids! Even though he usually only goes on M, W, F his teacher said he could go M-Thu this week bc each day they were doing something special! Monday they had a lemonade stand and sold lemonade! They even pretended to bring their money to the bank! Tuesday was icecream day! From what he told us he had a blast! I think they had all types of toppings to put on it! Wednesday was a school picnic. They walked across the street to the park and parents were invited to have a picnic with the children! I enjoyed going today and being able to enjoy this last school event with him! He seemed to have a good time I think his favorite part was eating though! He played some on the playground but he kept waiting to eat. The teachers wanted them to wait until atleast 11 to eat. Once we could eat he ate his entire lunch! We sat with his friends Max and Isabella. After eating he played with some of his friends before it was time to go! My parents kept Lindsay. Its just so much easier to focus on Colby plus she would have been hot and miserable! After the picnic we ran some errands and I took him to Barnes and Noble. I figured it would be nice to do one more thing with him before going home so we did that. He enjoyed playing with the train table while mommy drank coffee. It was nice to have a few moments to sit and rest. I let him pick out 2 books before we left too. I love that he loves books so anytime we go I let him pick atleast 1 b/c I want to encourage a love for reading and books!
Thursday was his last day of school. I don't kknow what they are doing other then just enjoying being together on the last day! His teacher made him a beautiful scrapbook from the year! Its such a great keepsake to have always! I am happy in some ways that summer is here! It will be nice to not have a schedule but it will also be hard finding things to do everyday! We are sad b/c we will miss his teacher and friends this summer! He learned so much this year and we are so thankful for another great year!

Our Weekend

We have had a great weekend! Its actually been busy too! Ofcourse we wish Austin would have been off to hang out with us but we have had fun! Friday evening we did go out as a family! We have been wanting/planning to do that all week and it finally worked out for us Friday. We decided to go to Adam's Catfish. That was only our 2nd time to ever take Colby there. He loved it though so I don't know why we don't think of it more often. We ate dinner then took Colby for icecream. It was a fun family night and a treat for everyone! A great break for all of us!
Saturday was a fun day for Colby. We usually go visit my parent's on saturdays if we don't have anything planned. I had told our friends Honey and Max they were welcome to join us sometime. Well she was watching Max's cousin Isabella on friday and saturday. We figured it would be fun for the 3 of them to swim together! Max and "bella" are Colby's best school buds. It was fun for him to have his friends at Grammy's house. they stayed in the pool about an hour I guess. I got in with Honey and the 3 kids. My dad helped us out as well. It was good having 3 adults with 3 young children. My mom stayed in and took care of Lindsay. She hasn't been in the pool yet...I think she is still too litte. Maybe when she is 6 months old it will be warm enough for her to get out and enjoy it! After the swimming the kids played inside until lunch was ready. I think they enjoyed coloring and playing cars. I put Lindsay down for nap while we all ate lunch. Honey and I got to visit some while the kids played with my mom and dad which was nice. After Max and Isabella left I let Colby play for awhile with the grandparents until Lindsay woke up and ate. Afterwards we came home. It was a long, tiring day but a fun one! Ofcourse no one really got great naps. By 4:45 Colby ended up crashing in his bed! I tried to wake him up several times and he would just not get up! i have never seen him so tired! He had a bad night the night before and missed 3 days of naps that week and on top of the swimming he was exausted! I had to drag him out of his bed and then he went to the den and fell asleep! He has never done that before! We finally got him to wake up and eat dinner. I think we were all ready for bed that night!

Sunday was church day! It was just me and the kids. Both kids enjoyed their classes I think. I was at the nursery desk all morning but I didn't mind. I let my mom actually get into church on time which she rarely gets to do! After we did our usual lunch at McAlister's. After our busy Sunday last week it felt good to have a normal Sunday. After lunch we came home to take naps. Both kids slept and I got a short nap too! So nice! austin got home early too which was nice! He and Colby went to buy a new lawnmower and worked in the yard! Its been a great weekend! Now we are gearing up for Colby's last week of school!

A Glance Back at Our Week

This week we have been trying to get back into a routine after vacation, Mother's Day and company. Monday Colby went back to school. He was so excited to see his teacher and friends and tell them all about the beach! I enjoyed having a break while he was at school.
Tuesday we had our house cleaned. My parents kept Colby for the day. Lindsay and I did a Target run then hung out around the house. It was nice to have a day like that. I enjoy being with Colby and it will soon be time for he and I to have a special day but the days when I just have Lindsay are special and low key!
Wednesday he went back to school. Lindsay and I grocery shopped and I got caught up on housework. Once again its been nice to have some low key days at home after our busy week and weekend last week!
Thursday since we didn't have anything scheduled I wanted to do something fun with Colby. I figured we would go to the park but he chose the mall. Its been awhile since he had been up there and he loves to ride the little rides and eat lunch. I invited my mom to go with us. I think I could handle both kids now but since Colby likes to do certain things there it helps to have someone to follow him around while I care for Lindsay. It worked out well b/c I was able to do a little shopping in Dillards while he and my mom rode the escalators lol! We then went to the little rides and he had a blast on those. Lindsay did really well this visit. She's getting better with stuff like this now that she can sit up and look around she's pretty content. She just chewed on her toy and looked around the entire time. I think it helped too that she took an hour nap before we left too! So she stayed awake the whole time at the mall. After the rides we took Colby to the little play area. By this point it was time for me to feed Lindsay. It worked out well b/c there are nice cushy seats in there so I fed her while Colby played. After that he was hungry and ready to eat. We ate our Chickfila then while I fed Linsday her veggies Colby and my mom went to sit by the fountain and get a cookie. After we all finished we went home. The kids were both tired by that point! It was a fun outting! I was glad we got out the house b/c the afternoon was sorta long...its so hot to get out much so we stayed in and I and the kids both get bored!
Today (Friday) Colby had school again. I looked forward to just coming home with Lindsay. Its such a nice time to get stuff done and relax a little! I am not sure what we will do the rest of the day... I am hoping Austin will get home early so we can go out to dinner then maybe go get icecream or go to a park! I feel like our evenings are so dull around here. I want to have a fun family evening! Its hard though when he works so late b/c Lindsay has to be in bed by 8 usually! Hoping we have a good weekend as well too bad Austin will have to work through it!

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