OBX Beach Week

Last week was our annual beach week with Mark's family in the OBX. We usually "rent" a condo that my mother in law's boss owns and gives to her for free once a year but this year it was booked before he could set aside the week for her. We were bummed at first {because a free house on the beach is awesome!} but it was a blessing in disguise. Last year we started talking about eventually needing to rent a bigger house since the girls were getting bigger and this forced us to make the change this year! We were able to rent a beautiful house on the beach for a decent price since the week before Memorial Day is still "off season" and it was worth paying the money! The girls had their own rooms, there was a pool and a hot tub, and direct access to the beach.

We had a fun week but it started off a little rocky. Lilly ran a temperature of 105.3 that landed us in the ER because she wasn't responding to me very well. Thankfully after 3 hours in the hospital they determined it was just a virus and to alternate Motrin and Tylenol. She missed out on the first 2 beach days as Mark and I took turns staying in with her but she lived it up the rest of the week! Thankfully none of the other girls caught what she had!

Woodland Baby Shower

It was my great honor to throw my big sister Erin a baby shower for her first and long awaited babe! She had been dreaming about a soft, woodland baby shower so that is what her best friend Amber and I teamed up to give her a couple of weekends ago.

Amber had relatives that live in a gated community and so had a access to a beautiful clubhouse that they were happy to let us use. I was grateful to be able to host it in a larger space because we planned to invite several family and friends that have prayed for Erin along her infertility journey... not to mention it took so much pressure off that I would've felt trying to make my house perfect and pretty for a large party. ; )

I See You Now {a Mother's Day post}

I'm in my 4th year of motherhood, celebrating my 4th Mothers Day, and I feel so blessed. I am so grateful for my 2 healthy girls. But do you know what I become increasingly more grateful for with each new phase of motherhood that I encounter? My mom.

6 Year Anniversary

If only my 15 year old self knew she was going to end up with the guy, it would've saved a whole lot of teenage heart ache ;)

My Little Ballerina

We are almost through our first year of dance with this girl!

When we started last fall I wasn't sure if she would like going in to class by herself every week or even going up on stage for the recitals but her independence has really blossomed over the course of taking dance. She is so excited to go to dance every week and she's always beaming from ear to ear at the end of every class as she rushes out to meet me in the waiting room. She's usually exclaiming something along the lines of "Mommy! Mommy! I got to be the leader today! Oh, and I got a sticker!" 

She did a winter "showcase" recital before last Christmas, but this June recital is the real deal!

She got her costume today and it couldn't fit her personality any more perfectly.

Pink, sparkly and a tiara for the head piece! Being a princess is her favorite. 

I can't wait to see her perform in just a few weeks. We got a sneak peak of their recital dance and she gets to lead her class around the stage in the cutest toddler tippy toe walk ever.

Now I just need to practice my dance mom skills... I need to keep that tutu hanging upside down so it stays fluffy I gotta learn how to do a bun that will stay on top of her head! I'd totally recruit her Aunt Nin Nin to do it for me like she did for the winter showcase but her recital is 2 days after Erin's due date... So Nin Nin will probably be pre-occupied. We're totally going to have a lesson with her sometime soon! : )

See Lilly Grow {15 months}

This little one had her 15 month check up today! 

She is healthy as can be and lit up the Dr.s office with her silly antics.

She has lost quite a bit of chunk over the last few months but no one is worried.

35th percentile for weight, 22nd for height but her head has steadily stayed in the 55th percentile for her entire 15 months of life. {it's gotta be that smart brain}

She's growing so fast and I feel like every day she does something that makes me go "I want to write that down! I want to remember her she is as a toddler!" So I thought I'd do a little update with all that Lilly is up to at 15 months old. 

• She can say 15 words - Mama, Dada, Sissy, Lilly, Piper, PopPop, NinNin {Aunt Erin}, Hi, Bye, Eat Eat, Ni-Ni {night night}, Wa-Wa {water}, More, Oh Oh {uh-oh}, Wow, 
• She loves to run around the couch with sissy and spin in the living room until she falls over.
• She loves sissy's favorite baby doll. {Reaghan is sweet enough to share most of the time!} She feeds her, puts her in the crib, pushes her in a stroller
• One of her favorite toys is the play car she got for Christmas. Its one of the few toys that occupy her attention for more than 5 minutes.
• I'm surprised she isn't more of a chunker because she LOVES food. Almost any kind. Her favorites include pasta, cheese, yogurt, grapes, and gold fish! The few things she's not huge on are banana's, sandwich bread, and deli meat.
• She's curious, adventurous and pretty fearless. She climbs on the outer rails of the stairs, thinks gravity doesn't apply to her and that she can walk right off the couch or bed, tries to climb out of her crib and pack n play. {Reaghan never even attempted!} Loves to climb in and out of Reaghan's little chairs. She will walk away from us without a second thought in a store or at a park. {I appreciate her bravery, but this is a serious offense! We are teaching her that this is not okay.}
• She is feisty and loud. Screams, yells, screeches when she's mad and also randomly when we are in the car or if people are having a conversation that she thinks she should be a part of.
• She is a social butterfly and loves to smile at friends and strangers alike. She is constantly making friends in all the stores waving and saying hi to anyone who makes eye contact with her. 
• Her smile and laugh are contagious and her teeth are spaced far apart giving her to the goofiest, sweetest grin.
• She is slowly losing interest in nursing. It used to be the thing she LIVED for, especially first thing in the morning, but just in the last week or so she hasn't been as needy.
• She takes the best 3 hour naps and sleeps 12 hours every night. She is a breeze to put to sleep now. A little nursing, a little prayer and then she sits up and points to her crib wanting to be put to sleep. {tonight was the first night that she actually didn't finish nursing... I'm just going to go cry now.}
• She LOVES her pacifier. 
• She's sporty. She can put a ball on a tee and wack it off with a baseball bat. Her form just needs a little work. *wink* She likes when daddy helps her put the basketball in the hoop. 
• She gives the BEST hugs around the neck and the sweetest open mouth kisses and makes a cute "maaa" sound when blowing kisses. 

Gosh. This kid. I love her so much. I could go on and on about her. She hits the ground running every morning. I can't take my eyes off of her for seconds because she does things like sneak an orange crayon in the dishwasher that turns all the dishes orange! She plays hard and she loves hard. Everything she does has an intensity to it. Sometimes it exhausts me and other times it brings me the greatest joy. We speak life over her every night and pray that her boldness, bravery, fierceness and extroverted self would be brought under the Lordship of Christ and used for His glory as she grows. We pray for our diligence and patience as we grow her up. I'm so thankful for ALL of her.