The Beach 2009

We are still recovering from our vacation to Destin, FL with my family. We had a great time, but for some reason did not come home feeling well rested. Oh, yeah, that was Lily keeping us up all night and Grace keeping us going all day. And then there was the LONG car ride home. Grace has always been such a good car rider, snacks, movies, books, games, stickers, she was always easy to occupy. Lily just wants OUT! and she cannot say it loud enough. On the way there she did better, but on the way home, the best part of the trip was the two hour nap after the massive screaming fit. I kid you not, Grace was never taken out of her car seat while the car was moving. Lily and I almost hit the road after jumping out of the car walking home. This child has the worst TEMPER you have ever seen. As soon as she is old enough she is turning that car seat around to see the world and so I can move out of the middle seat and back into the front row.(Did I forget to mention that I get car sick when not in the front?) The trick that got us home the last two hours was feeding her puffs every time she got cranky. Tom's statement was, "yeah, she'll be a great car rider but weigh 300 pounds." Grace thinks she wants a pink car seat like hers - Mommy just wants an escape hatch for our next car ride to Florida(in July). Does anyone want to help me get Tom on a plane? As Lily was screaming i think he actually started to think about it.

But as for the trip, we had fun, playing in the Gulf, sitting in the sand and swimming in the pool. And once again Grace's beach appetite resumed. It is the one place on Earth that Grace will eat endlessly. It also helps that Papa buys all her favorites - cookies, ice cream, doughnuts, mini muffins, pretzels and chicken nuggets and fries and she ate a lot of fruit. Lily on the other had eats anything and everything put near her mouth. Lily did not care for the cool water of the gulf or the pool. She was content to sit under the umbrella with her battery operated fans to cool her and an occassional cold bottle. She stayed inside in the afternoon, resting up for dinner and keeping her parents up all night. (She still has no teeth, and we hope this is the reason for the restlessness.)

My sister and her son were there for the whole week this time. We will call my nephew Mr. NO, since that is his favorite answer to any and all questions. He occassionally spiced it up with a few uhuh's or the crying noooooo's. He is three and doesn't like sharing the attention of his grandparents. He is very sweet to his cousins though and always wants to be around them. He is like Gracie in that he loves to sing and would get a song stuck in your head. Unfortunately he sings the wrong words A LOT. My favorite "if you like to talk to momatos".(Veggie tales for those of you who are not in the preschool in crowd.)

Grace's favorite part of the whole trip was diving into the pool. I think she also enjoyed going to The Track which is the local amusement park, where she got her Dad soaked on the bumper boats. Lily's favortie part was sleeping on everyone at least once and watching all the action of her 5 year old sister and 3 year old cousin.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

this was the day of naps, I didn't get one :(

3rd meet

Grace swam in her third meet tonight. She actually jumped off the blocks for the first time! She made a good time for her but it was a tough group so she came in last. She was still happy and ready to get out of the rain. Oh did I forget to mention that it rained all day and everyone got wet at the meet. Hopefully we won't be sick next week.

Go Gracie, Go! - First Place!

Grace's second swim meet was away at Eagle Watch. She did great. She swam in the 11th event, the third heat(non-scoring) and the middle lane. She either came in first out of three in the heat. She is still refusing to swim her backstroke, but we will get there. As long as she is having fun we will keep her swimming. She loves all the kids on her team and especially the coaches. We laugh because she refuses to jump in, especially off the blocks and could cut several seconds off her time if she would just jump. Hopefully by the end of summer she will be jumping off the blocks and doing her backstroke. For now we are happy that she goes to practice and meets with a smile on her face and sleeps well at night. Soon her incompetent parents will remember to bring and how to operate the video camera. Enjoy the pics and know that we are very busy on Thursday nights at the meets. Lily loves it too, she gets lots of attention and can't wait for her turn in the pool. BTW - The waves lost to Eagle Watch, but it was a close competitive meet, we'll get them next year.

Prior to the race

Winning mid race

8 Months

Eight months old and loving it! Miss Lily is sitting on her own pretty well as long as there is nothing nearby that she wants to get, then she is over on her side trying to reach it. Lily loves to eat. She prefers the sweeter taste of fruits, but hasn't turned anything down yet. Her favorite color seems to be red. She reaches for the red plastic cups, red Coke cans(I need that picture Lara!) and loves wearing this red dress. She loves the bathtub and gets very excited when she sees her sister swimming in the pool. She likes to play in the exersaucer, but she loves the johnny jump up. She can't wait to go after her big sister and I don't think walking can come too soon for her. She still loves to snuggle and giggles at just about everything Grace does. She loves music and will quiet down in the car for veggie tales still. She is working on getting some teeth. Not fun, long nights of periodic waking and screaming and occassionally fits in the daytime. She hates the taste of anbesol and spits it out at you when you put it on her gums. She loves her vibrating teether and anything else she can get into her mouth. She is still on her beta blocker for the irregular heart rhythms she experienced in the hospital post surgery. The doctors are letting her outgrow the dosage, so she should be completely off of it in July. She is still a big spitter, not so much throw up(knock on wood), but we still carry lots of burp clothes around. Anyway it looks to be a fun summer with our growing girls.
On another note, I cannot post Grace's dance recital or her end of preschool program due to the fact that the video file is too large for blogger. As for her first swim meet on Thursday May 21st we had a camera malfunction and don't have any film or pictures. Maybe the Hughes will post it for us or give us a copy(hint, hint Ms. Lara).

Baptism

Lily's baptism was on Sunday at First Presbyterian of Marietta. Dr. John Wells did the ceremony. It was fabulous. Lily has been on the prayer list at our church since last November some time. The ministers and many members of the congregation were thrilled to see Lily doing so well, three months out from surgery. She took in every detail of the church, congregation and the ministers. She didn't cry or fuss at all. She was able to wear the dress that Grace, Aunt Anna and I were all baptized in. It was a very special day. Even the minister got choked up talking about what a blessing Lily is. She is so special, not only because of her heart, she is Grace's baby sister, our second daughter and a joy to be around. She has a definite temper, but an infectious laugh. She can't wait to be mobile on her own and jump in the pool like Grace. It should be an interesting summer.

The cake


Lily wanting a piece.



Talking at the table.

Why can't I have any cake?

too close.

Recital

Recital was Saturday. I have a whole new appreciation for all my dance teachers growing up. It was definitely a long day, but well worth it. This is my "second" job. I had three classes performing and I was very nervous as well as excited. I absolutlely love teaching dance and am so glad for all my friends at the studio. They have made this year much better and relaxed, with surgery and everything. I can't wait til next year to teach more children the love of dance.

I was very teary eyed watching Ms. Grace up there on the stage. She looked so grown up with her hair in a bun and dancing on the stage. This is her third year dancing and 6th recital. She loves dancing and her teachers. She has learned so much and enjoys showing off in the house, down the street and anywhere else music is playing. Next year she moves to the big girls classes where they don't do as much of the story play acting and will learn way much more. This summer she wants to do dance camps and cheer. It should be interesting to watch her grow into a ballerina. I will post the video soon.

Mommy working, 4 down 1 more to go.

Grace was awesome!

All the grandparents

Watching the show!

Big Girl Bath

We gave Lily her first official big girl bath last night. She got to sit in the tub seat like a big girl. She absolutely loved it. The water, the splashing, eating the washcloth, dumping water on her and even the camera flashing in her face. It is hard to believe that she is seven months old. The last several months have flown by. Lily is continuing to grow. She has been fighting off a small cold or allergies. She knows her name, when people call to her. She is very inquisitive to everything that is around her. Between Lily and Grace our house is never quiet. We are looking forward to a busy summer of swimming and anything else that is cheap or free.

Always need a shot of the original big girl.
Best Buds!