Beach Vacation- Part One

Well, we took the risk and headed to the beach in my ninth month of pregnancy.  I am so happy that we decided to go---it was just what we all needed!  The week before we left, I had planned to drop off my kids with my mom for a week and pick them up on our way to the beach so that I could get in a few good days of "nesting".  The morning after dropping the kids off, I woke up with vertigo and I had no choice but to lay flat for 3 days.  The Lord knew that I needed rest and I am so thankful to have had those days even though I felt pretty horrible.  I was able to get in a few days of errand-running and cleaning before we were off to pick up the kids.

We spent the first few days of our trip in North Myrtle Beach with Chad's family.

Caroline and Grayson got their first visit to the ocean for the year, but unfortunately it started raining about 5 minutes after we got there, so we had to pack up and leave. 

Grayson had a special evening with Grandma.  They went to the Carolina Opry.  He really enjoyed the all-you-can-eat refreshments . I'm pretty sure he was the only child there.

 Canoe ride with daddy on the lake:

 All the grandkids had so much fun being together.  It's always wild and crazy! 

 We were there to celebrate Uncle Ryan's birthday.  The kids couldn't keep their hands out of the cake before we were done singing.

We had such a fun visit!  

A Week with Mimi and Papa

 The kids and I headed to Clinton for a week to spend some time with Mimi and Papa.

Abby Ruth and Baby Will came to visit for a day, so there was lots of action. 

 This was as good of a picture as I could get with all 4 kiddos.

 Music time!...

 Watching the train...

Visiting with Baby Will.  

He is such a laid back baby, allowing each of the kids to take turns holding him.

 Finding treasures...

 Fishing with Papa...

 Checking out his first catch...

 And trying for more....

 Caroline even got a lesson on fishing...

 

Feeding ducks...

 icecream on the porch....

 lots of rocking...

and sweet visits with the great grandparents.

Summertime

This is just a glimpse of how we've been spending our summer.

My parents came for the 4th of July but unfortunately all events were cancelled due to rain--no parade, no fireworks--BOOOO!  Thankfully, we had a dinner planned with friends and ended up having an enjoyable 4th.

 

Making the most of rainy days at home....

Exploring ALL things Indian...loving this little imaginative age! 

 A quick visit to the zoo with friends to check out the  new splash pad and to pay a visit to some of our favorite animals...

 Grayson has become quite the little fish this summer and has made excellent progress

in the pool.

 This is about as close to the water as Caroline cares to get...

 Looking forward to what August brings!!  

COWS

 Just showing a little appreciation....

Thank You, Chick Fil A!

BIG week for a BIG Girl!

 This past week was a BIG week for our little girl.

She started sleeping in her BIG girl bed with NO problems...

Since she did so well with the bed transition, I decided to move right along with potty training.

We jumped full speed into our 3 Day Potty Training method.

After Day 1, she pretty much had it figured out.

It always helps to have a BIG brother to encourage you along the way.

She has done so great with hardly any accidents!  She wakes from naps dry, but bedtime is still something we're working on. One night she woke up dry, so I know that she can do it!  I'm assuming that part will just take time but I'd rather her figure it out now than in September when I'm up with an infant.

We're so proud of our baby girl (at least for now she's still our baby girl!).

What's next?

Moving this little Indian to his top bunk.  

Caroline will eventually be joining him on the bottom.  

I'm so excited for these 2 to share a room!