Summer time and the livin' is easy

I. Am. So. Glad. It. Is. Summer!! I wish I had summers off with my munchkin but we are making due with the weekends and the long daylight hours. She is loving the back yard and we got new patio furniture so as soon as the hubby has time to build it, I intend to spend lots of afternoons outside with her.

She is absolutely loving her baby pool. Who knew a teeny blow up pool would be so much fun! I also built her water table tonight so we will have to see how that goes over.

We spent the day at the "real" pool with my family and Bennett Grace went swimming with her Uncle Matt, Aunt Lala and Aunt Morgan. Bennett Grace floated around in her float and greeted everyone who would swim or walk by. she cracks me up with her Hey! and nonchalant wave. We ate a late lunch and by the time we got home none of us were very hungry for dinner so we had watermelon in the backyard. As you can tell, somebody loved it.

Have great week!!

My Own Little Hourglass

I am once again behind on my blogging and for good reason! We have been SO BUSY LATELY!! Not to mention that Bennett Grace is in to everything. All the time. Every single thing. Her current obsessions are hats, balls, stuffed animals and dolls, animals, and Gigi.

She is so freaking smart it blows my mind. I know she's my child and I'm totally partial but in my head she's a two foot tall genius. She walks around the house naming everything she sees. I can not even count how many words she says and how many things she points out. It is to the point that not only does she repeat back what you say when you say something like "can you say sprinkler?" But she has started walking up to things I didn't even know she knows and calling them by name. My favorite thing is when she makes connections in her head when things are the same, like her dolls eyes, her eyes and my eyes, etc. For example today she was playing with my ponytail and she said "hair" and "OooooOooooh pretty!" (Copying my mom of course!) then later when she was playing with a rocking horse at my mom's house she touched it's hair which was made of yarn and said "hair!" and smiled at me. Then tonight when Sean was changing her diaper she looked at his arm and pulled on his arm hair and said hair and just beamed! It cracked him up so much.

She also is in this busy body phase. She pulls everything out all the time. Drawers, cabinets, toy baskets, blankets, you name it. It is hard to keep things clean for sure. She also runs. Literally runs. I feel like I should be burning major calories chasing her. She loves to play or should I say demands to play "OUTSIDE!! OUTSIDE!! OUTSIIIIIIDE!!!" We are working on patience, asking nicely not screaming and saying please and thank you. Reasoning with a toddler is more difficult than I imagined, however she has started learning and she actually seems to be understanding when i talk to her so apparently it is working.

We took our first weekend trip away and she stayed with Mimi and Pop. We are also transitioning to our summer schedule so she is splitting days between Mimi and Gigi. I CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL JULY so that I can finally get a few full days with her. I can't believe this time last year she was only just over a month old. Mind blown. I don't think I really ever appreciated how fast time goes by until I had her. She is a physical representation of time for me. She is ever present and ever changing. My own little hourglass.

Here's a few pictures from the last few weeks :) Now on to catching up on all of your blogs!

Happy summer my little blogger friends!

Dear Bennett Grace (1 year!)

Dear Bennett Grace,

Sweet girl, mommy and daddy can not believe you are ONE! It is amazing to think that one short year ago we were waiting anxiously for you and wondering what you would look like and what your voice would sound like. You never cease to amaze us. You are a little sponge, soaking up everything around you all the time. When you walk over to us and reach out your tiny arms to be picked up, we melt. We love you so much sweet baby.

Here's a little of what you are doing at one year old.

-As of your one year old check up on April 23, 2013, you weighed 19lbs 5 oz. (40th percentile) and were 28 inches long (10-20th percentile)!
-At your one year old visit, Dr. Soong asked if you had started saying any words and you said "I see you" right back to him, Mommy, Gigi and Dr. Soong laughed and he said "I guess so!"
-You are still wearing size 2 diapers and 9-12 month clothing with a few 18 months too! You wear a size 2-3 shoe.
-at one year old you still only had 2 teeth! Both on the bottom.
-you started walking a few weeks before your first birthday and by the time your party rolled around you were moving everywhere! Your daddy says you speed walk or run!
-your first birthday party was a pink theme and you had your very own smash cake. You loved it! You also had tons of guests and got lots of great presents :)
-your favorite toy is currently a stuffed pink polka dot puppy dog that you have aptly named "puppy". You love him so much, it is precious!
-you say more words than we can count. People always comment on how well you can talk. We joke that it is because your Gigi talks to you all day and your Mama talks to you all night!
-your favorite foods are cheese, bananas and sweet peas.
-you switched to whole milk at 1 year old and you love it! You have 18 oz a day, 3 meals and 2 snacks. You feed yourself most of the time and are learning to use a spoon. You like to pack your cheeks full of food like a chipmunk :)
-you are into everything! You head straight into the "no no zones" shaking your head no like you know you are going to be in trouble!
-you love to pull things out and sort them. You stack things and transport them from place to place. You also love putting small things into bowls or larger toys and carry thing them or pushing them from place to place.
-you are so thoughtful with your playing. We can really see your thought process.
-you love to pick up and carry things that are way too big for you or are close to your size.
-you love to play with the puppies, Jackson & Olivia.
-you also love children. When we are out shopping you say hey to everyone and waive. If we pass a child or baby, you squeal and say BABY!!
-you are so curious. You ask "what is it" or "who is it" constantly.
-you love hats! They remind you of Papa D. You excitedly say hat!!!! And we tell you to put on the hat like Papa D. You put it on and smile. If Papa D is around, you try to find him to show him your hat.
-you have more clothes than any child we know.
-you love to give kisses and hugs. You also love to be tickled and to show people your tummy.
-you have the best smile and laugh!
-you love to climb in and out of things and love to go up and down the stairs. Papa D taught you to go go down the stairs and get off the couch backwards on your tummy so that you can get down safely.

Sweet angel, in our wildest dreams we could have never imagined how much fulfillment you could bring to our lives. You make everyday more fun and interesting. We are so proud of you every single day. We can not believe how fast you've grown and how smart you are! When you stop playing to give us a hug or kiss, we melt. We can not wait to enjoy this next stage in your life and watch you grown. We love you so much sweet baby.

Love, Mommy & Daddy

Water baby

Who knows how long it will last but for the time being, we've got a water baby on our hands. BGT and I headed back to the beach last month for spring break with my parents last month and it was so fun to compare how much she has grown since we were last there in October and the July before. She LOVED it in October and even more so this time around. I left my camera at home but still managed to take 537951 pictures on my iPhone.

The pool is heated at the condo so BG loved swimming and although the ocean was still a little cold, she loved playing in the sand. Not to mention I got to try out some of her summer clothes and bathing suits and best of all her sweet little sun hat and Waterbabies sunscreen with is my favorite smell in the whole world! We had a blast! Daddy was a little jealous he didn't have any time off work to go with us.

I CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL WE GO BACK! Really I can't wait for summer in general. I'm dreaming of a pool day. And I think we might start to teach BG to swim this summer. She has started dunking her face under water in the bathtub and blowing bubbles under water. She did it the first time trying to avoid getting her face washed and now she does it all the time! I know it sounds early for swimming lessons but i figure we should strike while the iron is hot and she's interested in it. Not to mention that my sisters and I all started swimming early.

So here are some of my favorite pictures from the beach.

Walk on

Ok folks! We are OFFICIALLY WALKING. As in would rather walk than crawl style.

Around 10 months she started taking a step or two from person to person then around 10.5 months she started consistently being able to walk from person to person for a few steps. At 11 months to the day she walked the first time independently on her own with no one prompting her. Around then she really started to realize she could take steps on her own and we would see her take a couple of good steps here and there but then about two weeks ago it was like a switch flipped and she started zooming everywhere. Now she would rather walk than crawl which amazes me. She's so short with teensy feet so even though she's almost a year old and not really an early walker, she still looks a little funny to me! I just love that little munchkin. When she stops playing, walks over to me and lays her head against my leg to "love mama" I melt.

Yesterday was her one year photo shoot, her attitude was not the best because she is in the "investigate and play with everything she is not supposed to play with" phase but that's ok! I've seen one preview shot which was really cute so at least I know I'll have one! I can not believe that one year ago today was my due date and that in 4 little days she will be ONE! Her party is in a week and I can't wait!!! Pictures to follow!!! (I need it to rain a lot leading up to the party so that my allergies will keep in check. Fingers crossed!)

And lastly, TODAY I am picking up a nice gallon of whole milk because this week we start the transition from breast milk to whole milk. The fact that I have lasted a year amazes me for sure! WOW. Prayers for an easy transition.

Happy birthday week to my munchkin (and me too I suppose :) ) and a lovely week to you all!

Ashley

Dear Bennett Grace (11 months)

Dear Bennett Grace,

This month has been a busy month for us! You are enjoying the warmer weather and got to go visit Auburn for the first time. We can not believe how much you are learning and growing. You are like a sponge and soak up everything around you.

Here's a little bit about what your are doing these days:

-you are still in size 2 diapers and wear 9-12mo. clothing. You have the teensiest feet! You are still wearing a size two shoe and they are on the big side.
-you still only have two teeth on the bottom and we haven't seen any signs to think we should expect any more anytime soon!
-you have so many nicknames. Most of the time we refer to you as BGT or call you Shugga, Shug, Shuggie, or Shuglet.
-for the first part of the month, you had 2 bottles and 2 sippy cups of breast milk per day, 6 oz morning and night and 3 oz twice during the day. Toward the end of the month we swapped out your morning and evening bottles for a sippy cup and the only time you mind it is at night if your are very tired.
-you are eating three meals a day and LOVE feeding yourself. You feed yourself tons of things (pretty much everything we eat) but you really love to feed yourself bananas, turkey, avocado, strawberries and cheese shreds most of all! You get a little feisty when we try to feed you your purées because you want to do it all by yourself!
-You are adding more words that we can even count. You are like a tiny parrot and you repeat everything we say... Except Mama... Grrr!
-your favorite person is your Gigi. You would rather she hold you if she is in the room!
-the weather has started to warm up a bit and you have enjoyed rolling around in your red wagon Santa brought you for Christmas!
-You love books and counting things. We will look through your books and tell you about all the pictures. You love when you point to something in a room and we tell you what it is.
- You have started pointing out objects when we ask you where they are.
-you are obsessed with pictures. You like us to tell you who each person is. You say who is it? And what is it? All the time.
- you love to talk to anyone and everyone. you smile and wave and love it when you get someone's attention.
- you also think its so funny to sneeze and now you fake sneeze all the time and wait to hear us say Skat! or Bless you! And then you crack up
-you crawl so fast and are still getting into anything and everything.
-you have a feisty little attitude and we are working to control your "Taylor Temper" when you don't get your way.
-you love stuffed animals and push toys.
-you started taking a few steps from one person to another but you really prefer to crawl because you can get there faster. At 11 months to the day you took your first unprompted steps. You wanted to get from the ottoman to the couch and your usual path was blocked so you just turned and walked there! Mommy and daddy were right there to witness it too!
-your favorite thing to do it seems is pull off your shoes and socks. You usually wait until someone is watching and you pull them off and then have a look of victory on your face.
-you still love to put things where they go, stack things up, sort things into piles and knock things down. You like to play with blocks and puzzles and most of all you love books! You love to be read to and to look at the pictures.
-you love children and babies so much. You smile and wave and stare at them wherever we go!
-this month we took you to Auburn for the first time to visit Brad and Lauren and to say farewell to the Toomer's Corner Oak Trees. It was a beautiful day and we walked around and took your pictures all around town. You had your first Toomer's lemonade too! You loved it.
-you have the best laugh! You will clap your hands together and laugh or you will laugh so hard when your daddy tickles you that you gasp for breath! Your smile is contagious and we just love you so much.

It is amazing to think that you are almost one year old. It feels like the past eleven months has flown by. You are so special angel. We love you so much and can't wait to see what the upcoming days have to offer.

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Back in action!

Why heeeeello there! I'm baaaaack!!

Sorry I've been MIA and I am so far behind on all of your your precious blogs but I'm having a blast getting caught up on all of your blogs as me and my munchkin leave daddy behind and head out for spring break at the beach!

I'm a little behind on my 11 month post because I've got some cuties on my computer so I need to post from there but never fear it is coming!

What have we been up to that has kept me away? CONSTRUCTION. Why is that you ask? Because our house FLOODED!!! We had a pipe freeze and sadly it flooded the house. Lucky for us we caught it before it had time to spread throughout the house but it was certainly enough time to do lots of damage. So sadly my days have been spent dealing with home owners insurance claims, getting quotes to replace damaged property and clean up and construction crews working to get us back to normal.

BGT is loving all of the attention from the workers coming in and out. She is such a flirt! She waves and smiles at each and every one of them and says heeeey!!

Ok so more to come in my planned blog posts from BGT's first Auburn trip, our spring break beach trip and her 11 month post! Spoiler alert: my chickee is... Wait for it... WALKINNNNG. Unassisted steps that is :)

Have a safe and blessed week everybody!!!