21 Months .. and a bit of rambling!

Hey Blog Friends!! Some weeks I’m all over this posting thing, and other weeks I’m not! This was one of those weeks. Yes I know it’s only Wednesday, but I haven’t blogged since last Thursday so it feels like FOREVER to me! I felt like I had something to share almost every day, but I never made it to the computer. I’m thinking I need to start a Blog Calendar – a place where I can write down ideas about posts I have and when I want to post them. That way I don’t let a whole week go by without blogging! Do any of you do that?

In other news, CB is 21 months old today! Where has the time gone? I know I say that ALL THE TIME, but it’s so true. I cannot even explain how much I LOVE that little girl. She brings so much JOY to my heart each and every day. Speaking of joy, CB and I have been singing about it recently. It goes a little something like this,  “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart…I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart to stay!” Cori pats her heart while we sing. Then we talk about where her joy comes from, which is simply from Jesus alone. I LOVE that I get to spend time teaching her about Jesus everyday. My only desire is for her to know him personally and love him with all her heart. Everything else will fall into place. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things will be given to you.” Matthew 6:33. Nothing is more important!

 

 

My Dearest Cori Belle,

At 21 Months you have a wide range of vocabulary. You LOVE babies, especially your own sweet baby sister. You sleep in a big girl bed and know that your nuks are ONLY for sleep time. You have such a sweet personality and you LOVE jumping on the bed. Fruit snacks are your FAVORITE snack. It’s the first thing you ask for upon waking up from nap time. Well, those, and the “Hat!” (the Cat and the Hat). I think you would watch the “Hat” all day if I let you!! :) You LOVE to read!! “Dora Goes to the Beach” is your favorite at the moment. I sometimes catch you on the floor reading to your baby sister. She is so lucky to have you to look up to. You love to stack blocks and you are very interested in sorting colors at the moment! You love to draw on your easel and I often hear you standing there saying, “i, e .. i, e.” That’s how you spell your name and I LOVE it! You love to go through the names of your family members, “papa, yaya, mimi, grandad, mommy, daddy, baby!” You always get your vacuum out when I vacuum. You love taking Maverick outside and sometimes you even walk over to where he is going peepee and pretend to squat and pee as well. Hilarious! You love to swim in the pool. You LOVE to swing!! Whenever we go to the park you stand at the swing and say, “weee!”  until I push you on it. You have graduated up to the big girl swings now. You love to run and laugh. You love to “fly” on mommy and daddy’s feet when we do airplane with you. Sometimes I will catch you lying on the floor with your baby doll propped up on your feet as you tell her to “fly.” Precious! You copy everything we do and repeat almost everything we say. You LOVE to wear my shoes and go into my closet to put them on frequently. You are using the big girl potty, but haven’t officially started potty training yet. You always pull out your step stool in the bathroom and ask me so “sit” on it while you sit on your potty. I’d sit in there with you all day if you wanted me to! You ALWAYS want to wear socks when you go to bed – nap time and bed time. You are so giddy as I put them on your feet. It’s as if those socks make your day! Your hair is starting to flip out at the bottom and grow a little bit longer. It’s long enough to put a bow in, but you still love wearing head bands with a bow attached. You LOVE to wear those head band bows and ALWAYS make sure your baby sister is wearing one too! The list could go on forever, sweet one. You light up our lives and we love you more than words can express.

 

Swimming in September

That’s one thing I love about living in Florida. You can pretty much swim year round. Last Friday Cori, Finley, and I headed over to our friend’s pool for a play date. We used to get together with these friends EVERY Friday for a play date, but somehow life has gotten the best of us and we haven’t ALL been together in months!

All us girls met back when our kiddos were a few weeks old. Well, actually, Em and I were already friends from church. Jen and I had met previously at Abiding Savior pre-school. But, small details! We ALL started hanging out together when Cori was 9 weeks old and their kiddos were 4 weeks old. Time flies. I do LOVE these girls!!

me, Jen, Em, and Jules

 

The kids had a grand ‘ole time playing together! It’s hard to believe they are almost 2. We tried our best to snap a picture of them all looking at the camera and this is what we got… True children, they are! I love the bottom picture with Claire completely turned around! She was WAY more interested in the rocks behind her than the 4 crazy mammas making faces in front of her trying to take her picture!

 

Cori probably sees Aaron the most since Jen and I are both stay-at-home mommas and Julie and Em are working women! :) You can just see their love and adoration for one another! I love hearing Aaron scream “Cor-ee, Cor-ee.” It’s so stinkin’ cute!

 

Even Finley got in on the fun for the day! It was her FIRST time in the pool. Yes, that’s right. I put a bathing suit and sunscreen on my 11 week old! I know it’s not “recommended” but it’s better than her being left out of the fun or getting burnt! :) She LOVED it! And, was completely pooped afterwards!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tried to get a picture of me and my girls, but like children do, neither one looked at the camera. I sure hope we can make it to the pool a few more times before the water gets too cold. We had a blast!

What I love about YOU … week 10 & 11

I LOVE …

• Gazing into your eyes while you coo and smile at me!

• The way your face lights up when our eyes make contact with one another.
• Funny faces like these! You LOVE to stick out your tongue. So did your sister! :) That bottom picture is one of mommy’s FAVOTITES!!!

• That you love looking at books already! You love to talk to the characters on the page!

• That you always sleep on your back with your knees bent.
• That you and your sister take a long nap at the SAME TIME!! 12:30-3 almost everyday! It gives mommy a nice break! A.K.A – time to do chores, blog, work Premier, read, etc!
• Your neck strength! You’re pretty content sitting on your belly, holding your head up, and watching your surroundings for a good 15 minutes. I also LOVE these pictures of you in PINK! I’m such a girl! ha!

 

• How easy going you are! You seem to just roll with it on most days and really only get upset when you are tired or hungry.
• Sweet pictures of you!

• Your leg strength. You do love to stand!
• Seeing this in the morning as mommy gets ready for the day. You and your sister hanging out together!

oh, and this one too…

• How simply BEAUTIFUL you are to us! We LOVE you!!

Apparently mommy took A LOT of pictures the day you were wearing that sweet hot pink “cuddle me” onesie. So many that you tried to warn me when you were getting tired. Unfortunately, mommy didn’t listen and it turned out like this… oops!

I LOVE you!

~Mommy

SURPRISE!

On August 31st, David celebrated his 29th birthday. He worked late, but I made him a yummy dinner and a brownie cake. Little did he know that I was planning a surprise birthday party with all of our friends that  upcoming Friday. David has ALWAYS wanted a surprise party. When I turned 19 (it was the summer we met and we’d only been dating a few weeks) he had all my friends gather at his house while we went to lunch. When we got back to his house and walked in the door, all my friends were there to greet me with a “Surprise!” I had NO idea!! He has been talking about it ever since, proclaiming that I could never get him like he got me. HA! It may have taken me close to 10 years, but I got him!!

Our good friend, Caleb, sent out an email the week of David’s birthday inviting all the guys to come over to his house for a guys night. David got the email and immediately came to as me if he could go. It took everything in me NOT to bust out laughing!! I gave him a little bit of a hard time, “Honey, you’re working so much and you work 24 hours the following day. The kids and I would really like to spend time with you, but I know it’s important for you to hang out with the guys too, so… fine you can go. But, please don’t be out too late!” Worked like a charm!

So on Friday, I prepared and cooked the food, and went over to Emily and Caleb’s house after the girls woke up from their nap to set everything up. David actually ended up getting off work a little early and called to let me know he’d be coming home before guys night so he could see us. UHHHH – “Sorry honey, we are out at a friends house for an afternoon play date. Since you were going to guys night, the girls and I decided to get together.” I HATE lying, but it was for a good cause! :)

Finally, it was time for the surprise. 7 o’clock rolled around and David’s car pulled up. Everyone, except for the guys coming to the guys night, hid behind the island in the kitchen. Caleb opened the door and made some small talk until David walked around the corner and we all jumped out and yelled, “SURPRISE!” His face was priceless. He truly had NO idea!!!

 

It was a “tail-gate” themed party since the Gator’s first game was the following day and Dave was going to have to miss it since he was working a 24 hour shift. Everyone wore their gator attire and the food was tail-gate style… Pulled pork sandwiches, twice baked potatoes, chicken wings, buffalo chicken dip, celery and ranch, chips and salsa, and a few other goodies. It was delicious!!

 

The first thing we did was roast David. It was so much fun!! I told everyone to complete the sentence, “You know you’re David Smith when… “ We had him sit in the front of the room and everyone read him the “roast” they had prepared. He was a little nervous about it, but it turned out really cute!

Some of my favorites were,

• “You might be David Smith if you think it’s ok (or cool) to sleep and drive.” – He pretty much drives to work with his eyes closed. I’m not condoning it. The kid needs to drink coffee!
• “You might be David Smith if the Saturday of your dreams is shopping at Lowes and doing a DIY project at the house.”
• “You might be David Smith if you could be found running barefoot through the Appalachian Mountains.” – He runs in minimalist shoes now and just ran a marathon up in the mountains!
• “You might be David Smith if you’re “Mr. Premier!”” – He is just a hubby who supports his wife in selling jewelry! :)

It really was loads of fun! Then, we all just hung out and celebrated David. Emily made her famous cake balls, I made an Oreo Birthday Cake, and Lacy made rice crispy treats in the shape of a “29.”

 

All the kiddos had fun too! There were only 2 boys amongst all the girls! We did get a picture of all the girls in their Gator Gear. Too cute!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just look at those sweet girls of mine! I could just eat them up!!

Here were all the guys who were supposed to come out for a “guys night!” We thought we’d include the boys in this picture too since there were only 2 of them!!

 

The party was a huge success and I’m so glad I can finally say that I got David. I really am bad about keeping surprises on the DL. My face says it all. I think David’s crazy work schedule helped me contain the news. So glad we got to celebrate my sweet hubby on his 29th birthday!!

Snack Bin

I blogged earlier today about organizing a snack bin in my pantry. It took all of 5 minutes and it’s done! Love me some organization!

 

I did some fridge organization too..

 

I also spent a good deal of time today on Pinterest and have some fabulous ideas for DIY projects around the house! Hopefully my sweet hubby will be excited about them too! hehe! :)