No road trip this year...

In July of '06 and '07, Mallory and I had headed down to Florida for a week of visiting friends and family. I decided to forgo the trip this year because I just didn't think Mallory could have handled it. She is such an introverted little girl and has a difficult time acclimating herself to new people and environments. I think she would have been miserable, thus making me miserable. So, my mom and dad are now en route to FL without us this year. I'm hoping to at least go see my sister in S. GA in August because she'll be in a musical and I'd like to see her perform. Those plans are still swimming around my brain, but as of now, we're staying put at home for the remainder of the summer.

I did end up using the camera...

Travels

Well, the kids and I are at my parent's house for a few days. We've been here since Monday and will probably leave tomorrow. I was hoping to get some R&R, but we've been busy ever since we've gotten here. We've been to the lake, we've played, and we've enjoyed playing with Gommy and Poppy (who Mallory has decided to call my mom and dad). We've been so busy, in fact, that we haven't even stepped foot inside Papa's and I haven't even had a single piece of pizza since I've been here (my folks own a pizza place for those who don't know...)! I'm hoping to remedy that this afternoon.

Anyway, Mal and Ethan had a GREAT time at the lake. There are lots of little fishes that swim close to the shore and I crumbled up a pretzel to give them so Mallory could see them up close. Needless to say, she was NOT happy to see all the fishes swimming around. Oh well. She might get a big kick out of it when she's older, at least Poppy hopes so...

I have only taken one picture since I've been here, which, again, is odd for me. I've just been too tired and unmotivated to get my camera out. It's shameful, I know. I have too many bags to carry around as it is and too heavy of a child to lug in addition to my camera. I do have my compact, but the battery died shortly after we arrived at the lake. *sigh* Could someone give me a shot of energy? I wish someone would figure out how to bottle up the energy of a 2 year old and sell it over the counter. I'd buy it.

We're cuttin'!

While I was web-cammin' it with my parents this morning, I noticed Ethan has a tooth coming in. I can't believe my baby is not toothless anymore!!! Yet another sign that he's growing up. He's also cut out one of his naps (down to two naps a day) and one of his feedings (down to 4 breastfeedings a day). The change of schedules transitioned so smoothly, where it seemed as though it was more of an effort with Mallory.

Here are two pictures I took of the kids this morning. Ethan pretty much towers over his learning table, so he sits and plays with it unless I assist him. Mallory has a liking to this table as well. She brings it over to Ethan to play with, but as soon as he touches it she has a fit. There is a little salt & pepper shaker thing on it and when you move it, a voice says "Aaaa choo! Excuse me", which Mallory now yells LOUDLY whenever she plays with it. She's given both me and Ethan a start with her "AAAAAA CHOOOOOO".














(PS...Eric, I told Laressa last night that I bought this learning table from a garage sale that you all had like a year and a half ago. I didn't know you all then, but after I figured out where you lived, I remember that sale vividly. We were house hunting at the time and looked at the green house next door to y'all. But, I digress...)


And Patrick snagged the tent that's in Mallory's room from Karen's house while we were in VA. Mallory is LOVING the tent, though it will only temporarily be in her room. It's a pain to clean around, but it will remain there until the novelty wears off.

Our Virginia Weekend

We had a great time in VA this past weekend visiting some of Patrick's family. We stayed at his sister, Karen's, house for a few days to celebrate our neice's birthday as well as relax over father's day. We left at 5am on Sat and the kids did really well on the trek up there, which took us about 7.5 hours with two stops. I-81 is such a beautiful drive and I can actually say that we enjoyed our time in the car.

Our visit was short, but nice. Karen and Rick live on a few acres of land with their kids, horses, goats, chickens, dogs and cats. They live a busy life keeping up with all of their animals, taking lessons (horse riding, karate, piano), working and keeping their huge house clean. It's a wonder they have time to sleep. I got tired just watching them complete all of their daily chores and activities!!!

It was good to see everyone, though we missed seeing Patrick's sister, Kim, and her family due to a stomach virus. Here are a few pics from our weekend.

Vote for Ethan!

I entered Ethan in the Parent's Magazine Cover Model Contest. I didn't even enter Mallory because in most of her pictures, she doesn't smile and I think even on the off chance she did win, she'd have a horrible experience. She does not like tons of attention from strangers, that's for sure! But Ethan would have a ball.

Anyway, go vote for Ethan!

And while you're at it, vote for my friend Courtney's son too!

Travelling this weekend

We will be heading north this weekend to Culpeper, VA to visit Patrick's sister and her family. Patrick's folks will be up there, too, so it will be a nice gathering. Our neice, Skye, is turning 16 and in addition to celebrating her birthday, we'll be honoring all the dads, too. It should be nice, though this will be the longest trip we've taken thus far with both kids. It sould be a 5.5 - 6 hour trip without stops, so who knows how long it will take us! But, we're planning on leaving in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow so we're hoping to arrive around lunchtime.

Patrick's folks were at our house last weekend, so they'll get a double-dose of the grandkids. They are very excited, to say the least. This will be the first time Ethan has met his cousins and Uncle Rick, though he's already met his Aunt Karen (Patrick's sister). We're hoping Patrick's other sister, Kim, will be there too, but her family has had a bout of stomach flu and we're ones to vouch for how horrible that can be!!! So, the last I heard they were still unsure of their plans.

So, since we'll be travelling a longer distance than usual (4 hrs to both grandparents), I figured I'd go get the kids some travel pillows. I went to Target and found their travel pillows would have cost me 14.99 each. WHAT???? For a pillow? I looked at it and said to myself, I can make that. Yes, that's what a sewing machine has done to me. I thought I had enough fabric remnants for 2 pillows and all I needed to get with the stuffing. So, 1.5 hours later, voila! Travel pillows. And I saved us $30. That will go towards maybe a half a tank of gas these days (don't get me started!)...

Fun with Watercolors

Mallory painted with her first watercolors this week. I wanted to make her grandfathers something for Father's Day and I figured why not use water colors! She was more interested in dipping the brush or her fingers into the paint and then into her mouth, but after a few flicks on the cheek she decided she was "ALL DONE" with painting. I did get 3 pictures out of it. So, grandfathers, I hate to spoil your surprise, so "Surprise"!

Teach 'em young!

Domestically Speaking...

Well, I took the plunge into a more domesticated life. I bought my first sewing machine this weekend in hopes to make some window coverings for my living room and bedroom. I practiced making some bibs in order to get the hang of it and I have to say I felt great pride in seeing something functional get created from my use of the machine. Anyway, I have some more practice to do, but I'm really excited about opening up this new world of domestic possibilities. I can see why my mom finds great pleasure in sewing. I would call her a master seamstress, though she might not. I called her yesterday to tell her about my adventures in sewing and she was glad to hear that at least one of her daughters is trying her hand at sewing!

Ethan is 7 months

I can't believe my son is 7 months old. I just can't wrap my brain around how we've somehow already time-warped from November 5 to June 5. It's like he was born yesterday and started sitting up today, while somehow gaining 16 lbs along the way.

I've been saying for about 6 weeks now that I'm going to have to start him on formula real soon. I have questioned my milk supply for a long time now, thinking that I'll have to drop a breast feeding and add a formula feeding any day. I only have like 5 bags of small increments of milk in my freezer for back-up in case I don't have enough to give him. It's been a long time since I've added to my precious stash, but it's also been a long time (maybe 2 weeks) since I've dipped into it as well. God is good. He's given me the patience to pump (like 4, sometimes 5 times a day) and he's given me the supply to feed the high demands of my son (40+ ounces a day). After 7 months, I am still able to strictly breast feed. Not only is that good for him, but it saves a TON in formula costs. I'm amazed that I'm keeping up with the boy and I'm so thankful. I feel a stronger connection to my son knowing that my milk is the source of his pudge. Such a bond we have. I love it.

Ethan is so precious. He's sugary sweet. He's my little piece of heaven on earth. My heart is so full for him.

Ta-Da!

Mallory is starting to say "Ta-Da" after she jumps, spins, summersaults (which she still needs my help with), and pretty much any other time she thinks she's doing something significant. It's really cute. In this video, I'm prompting her but she'll do it without my prompting. I got some good laughs out of this.



And can you believe it's already been a year since she was doing this???

Da Da Da

OK, so this isn't a very exciting video, but I mainly posted it because E is so cute and he's babbling just a bit.

Trying new things...

like a sippy cup and cheerios. Both are BIG HITS.

Peanut Butter fun

Mallory helped me make Peanut Butter and Banana muffins this afternoon. She's really starting to take more interest in everything I do, cooking being one. She helped me cut up a banana (which she ended up eating before I could puree it), pour in the ingredients, stir the batter, and fill the muffin cups. I loved having her help (or should I say "help"). She's a delight.

Children will be children...

At the moment I was reading this, Mallory was doing this. The messes DO NO compare, but I just thought it was ironic.