Maiden Swimmage

Someone has a new toy, and he loves it!!!! We do have to put a pillow under his feet and sit right beside him because he can't hold his head up too long, but he adores his new bouncer!!!

Also, Daddy and Granddaddy put up our pool! It took a couple of days and a ton of hard work...or so I heard.

Silas got to swim for the very first time.

He loves the water!! Any water. When he takes a bath, water ends up from the garage door to the back door and beyond. Good thing Richard is in charge of bath clean-up. I encourage splashing.

Sadly, some of the pool poles sunk into the ground. The pool has been drained. Leveling is reoccuring. Hopefully, it will be full again soon. Hopefully, our pockets will be full again soon...since we have to pay to fill a pool with 6,417 gallons of water...twice.

Oh what fun!!

We have truly had an eventful last couple of weeks. Si has had a stomach bug, poor thing, and I didn't believe our wonderful pediatrician who told us that it would take him at least 2 weeks to get over it. Well, of course, she was dead on!! Two weeks to the day, and he is feeling better. And...it's a good thing. Look what I found...

Yup, 2 little boy swimsuits in his size!! He is going to need them, because as I type Daddy and Granddaddy are in the backyard leveling the ground for our above-ground pool!!!!!! We are both so excited!!

Speaking of Daddy, he had his 30th birthday and first Father's Day all in the same week. Needless to say, he was slightly traumatized. This was his first birthday to have a cake that said "Happy Birthday Daddy" instead of "Happy Birthday Richard."

Luckily I was there, because I believe Richard would have let him eat the icing. Seriously!! When I put a stop to it, Si looked at me like this. So sad.

For Father's Day, we went to Selma, Alabama. This is Mimi's hometown. Gigi, G-daddy, Graunt Judy, and Gruncle Barry all still live there, and we LOVE visiting as frequently as we are able. Of course, as soon as we arrived, the wonderful aromas of all of our favorites filled our noses. Weight Watchers flew out of the window, and I enjoyed being at Gigi's for our whole visit!! After eating a delicious dinner prepared by G-daddy (We know because it was so good. If it is good, then he had to make it. Just kidding Gigi!!), us women-folk enjoyed jabbering around the table, as usual.

Graunt Judy, Mimi, and Baby Si

Gigi (Caitlin wouldn't let me take her picture. Next time I will be sneaky.)

The neighbors generously sent over some cookies for us to enjoy. As we were trying to figure out what they were...raisin? gingerbread? nuts? chocolate chips?...they brought another bag, saying they didn't realize Gigi and G-daddy had company. Gigi asked what kind they were. We were told "mystery cookies." They definitely were a yummy mystery!

Then, Caitlin and I gathered our courage and entered the kitchen to do the dishes. Now there are many many things that gross me out; however, there are only a few that gross Caitlin out. This is one of them.

We paper-rock-scissored for who had to stick their hand in, but, thankfully, someone came to rescue us. I think it may have been Graunt Judy, but I was too busy gagging to notice.

When I noticed G-daddy twiddling his thumbs that night before bed, I asked him if he was too sleepy to stir. He assured me he wasn't and headed into the kitchen to make some world famous coke floats. No one can make one that compares to his. Period. Ever. They are such a delight!

Getting the necessary supplies.

Mixology.

Finished product.

Also, while we were there, Mimi almost lost her life. She was being proactive, rescuing the bird hotel that sits on the cement picnic table from the incoming storm. As soon as she picked it up, we heard what sounded like lightning. But no...it was a monstrous limb from a pine tree. Twenty-nine running steps in place, a dart to the side, and Mimi moved just in time to miss being completely smushed. The branch landed directly where she was standing! It took Blanton and Richard to lift the massive thing! (Don't worry, the bird hotel was perfectly fine.) Grateful that Mimi was alive, the family jumped in to dismember the limb and stack it at the street. G-daddy could have done it the next day by himself, but we figured he'd rather play golf.

Blanton, G-daddy, and Richard deciding where to saw next.

Looks like they picked a spot. Chubbs and Mimi are using the wheelbarrow in the background.

I know this is blurry, but it was too cute of Caitlin and the survivor.

When we got back to Dothan, we had a nice BBQ with Grandmother and Granddaddy. I'll tell you what, my beau can smoke some meat!! Yum!!!

Silas, of course, continued to delight in all of the attention he was receiving!

Yesterday, we headed to Luverne, Alabama, so Silas could meet his great grandmother, Granny Armstrong.

Granny graciously gave Si five dollars for his piggy bank. (and check out the ADORABUS outfit Grandmother got for him!!!!! It is mint green with a smocked train. We love it! I saved it all week thinking it would look great in pictures...but it is officially too small.)

The look isn't because of the money; it's because of the camera, again. Ha! Granny couldn't believe how chubby he was. She said he was as heavy as lead! How true she is! We were also glad to see that some of his great aunts and uncles came to meet him as well. I think everyone enjoyed the visit.

Aunt Louise, Aunt Debe, Richard with Silas, Aunt Margaret, Uncle Doc, Uncle George

After leaving Granny's we walked to Aunt Mary's, who lives just across the street.

She loved on Silas, and gave us a delicious pecan pie. Yum!! (Weight Watchers really put up a good fight this time. Richard ate half of my piece.) All in all, we had a wonderful Father's Day week. Silas got to spend it with some of his favorite men.

Daddy

Chubbs

Granddaddy

G-daddy

Gruncle Barry

Si also has two other important men in his life, Uncle Greg and Uncle Doug, but I couldn't find a picture of them with Si anywhere! I'll be sure to take some soon!!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

Home Sweet Home

It is good to be home! Although, it was truly hard to leave this.

And re-packing was an exhausting experience for all parties involved.

But when the beach is beginning to look like this because of an oil leak.

(Those are oil barriers that were being placed all along the ocean and bay.)

It makes it easier to leave.

Our car was once again packed to the hilt. As we all know, somehow you have much more stuff returning from a trip than you do heading to your vacation destination. Silas was still crammed in the back seat.

I could barely sit in the front seat...my knees were up to my ears.

And Richard, once again, only had a 3 inch x 3 inch hole out of which to see behind him.

Once we finally reached the interstate on our journey home, the bottom fell out of the sky! It rained so hard that I truly thought we had missed the "build an ark" memo from God. Richard, who already drives slower than Christmas times ten, was going 45 mph, and even that putt-putt speed made me nervous. Things change when you have a baby in the car. 18-wheelers were blowing us off of the road splashing even more water onto our windshield. (This is how we discovered that I need new wipers.) It was just like Forest Gump, raining from all directions. After slowly trudging along in the downpour, we realized the countdown was on until time for Si to eat. We exited (along with approximately 30 other cars) in Defuniak Springs, and stopped here.

Although hesitant to enter, I didn't have a choice because my husband jumped out of the car, ran around it like a Chinese fire drill, snatched my baby, and headed inside before I had a chance to protest. I unwedged the diaper bag from under my feet, and unwillingly followed. The three of us headed to a booth, soaking wet, and decided to order. I was pleasantly surprised at the wonderful demeanor of the precious waitresses and the numerous options on the menu.

Now, I am a fish sandwich kind of girl. I love a fish sandwich, whether in the cafeteria, at McDonald's, or in a restaurant. I eyed one on the menu, and ordered away. It was delicious...

...and as big as my head!!

While we were there, Richard and I were reminded why (to the dismay of our mothers) we use papertowels as napkins in our house.

I think we used approximately 1/3 of the napkins in the holder on the table.

Finally, we finished eating, fed Silas (who screamed everytime we burped him to the point that the people around us thought they might need to contact the authorities), and were off. Six and a half hours after leaving Orange Beach, we arrived home. Praise the Lord!!

I forgot to mention, that while we were at the beach, Silas learned to do this!!!

After being home for a few days, Silas had his 2 month check up. Richard had summer basketball games, so Mimi came to hold my hand while Si got his shots.

You can tell by that picture that Si knew something was up. He weighed 13 lbs 9 ounces, was 24 inches long, and had a head circumference of 42 centimeters. In case you are wondering by the looks of his belly, he eats about 34 1/2 ounces a day.

He didn't mind the doctor while measurements were taking place, but, boy oh boy, he sure did hate getting his shots!!! I think I hated it more, and Mimi hated it the most.

His daddy did get to love on him once we all got home though.

Dr. Blaxton recommended we use faster bottle nipples in order to speed up Si's SLOW feedings. (It would take him at least 30 minutes to eat on a great day.) He did ok with them. When he was full, he made this face at the offering of the bottle.

We laughed and laughed!! He ran a fever of 100.2; however, he is now sleeping peacefully. I am so blessed that he is mine!!

Our first family trip...

Well, as of 9:30 pm the night before our departure, my closet still closely resembled the disaster that I posted previously. Thankfully, my sister came to the rescue. At approximately,

we began tackling the beast.

We were able to find all sorts of things. Things I haven't worn since highschool. Things my mom talked me into buying that still had the tags on them three years later. Things that were three sizes smaller than I was pre-pregnancy that I swore I would wear again. Things that I wore on our honeymoon to Jamaica that I would definitely not wear again...but Caitlin was nice enough to try on.

Yes, that is a dress. Ha! As we worked, my bathroom transformed to look like this.

I ended up with eight, yes eight, lawn and leaf bags full of clothes to donate. But, hallelujah, when it all was said and done, the final product was absolutely fanastic!!!

Richard thinks I am going to let him move into the master closet now. I don't forsee that happening. At all. Ever. The sad news, my master bedroom and bathroom did not get funeralized. So, if we happen to perish while on this trip, you have my permission to cut a hole in my living room wall in order to reach my closet so that you can pick out my funeral attire. Better yet, buy me something new!! Under no circumstances are you allowed to enter my master bedroom. The remainder of the house is funeralized. Feel free to look around.

I wish I had been proactive enough to remember to take a picture of our car completely loaded down with supplies for the beach. Lets just say that Richard left himself a 3 inch x 3 inch window out of which he could peer to see behind him. Silas was protected from the metal bottom of his vibrating chair simply by his "roll bar," the carrier handle of his carseat. I had my feet on a cooler of delicious pimento cheese (thanks Mimi) and two cameras. It was quite a sight. We could have been in a National Lampoon's Vacation movie.

Here is our room in this luxurious condo.

Richard and I don't even know the other person is in the room, much less the bed! Silas is sleeping here.

And yes, that is our Diaper Dekor. There is no way we could survive a week at the beach without it!!

Silas absolutely loved his first trip to the beach. We ended up under the bridge on the bay. Perfect sun. Perfect shade. Perfect water.

Yesterday, we took Silas and Cooper to the pool. Silas was able to wear his "big boy" swimsuit that his daddy picked out just for him.

Now, I am a smocked, shadow-worked, appliqued kind of girl, so this was a very huge deal for me. (Next year, Si will have a smocked swimsuit, but the smallest they come is 12 months.) I even continued to look for a "little boy" swimsuit down here. I found a seersucker one with precious crabs embroidered on it, but the waist was too tight, and the stride was too long. After seeing the next picture you will understand what I mean. Silas has a growing tummy!! This is a picture of Si and Cooper, who is 3 weeks 3 days older than him.

Since the adorable crab swimsuit did not work, I did find another "big boy" swimsuit (with somewhat baby-friendlier colors) and some new pj's after a whole afternoon of shopping at the outlets.

Did I mention that we spent the whole afternoon at the outlets, and this was all we walked away with? I know, ridiculous.

Well, my baby boy is 2 months old today. I can't believe it!! Time sure does fly! He isn't smiling on command yet, but I can tell that it is coming soon! Our vacation ends Sunday, so I'll be back with the rest of our trip. By the way, as of today, there is oil in Gulf Shores. Beaches are closed. Good thing Silas has already been. Great thing we have a pool. I took these pictures Sunday morning before we left for church. (Thanks Graunt Judy for the beautiful gown!)