Family Beach Shots

We took some shots on our way to dinner the last night we were at the beach and I just love them! I haven't had a chance to crop or edit any of them but here are some of my favorite ones. Be aware, there are a lot!

Of course, with Matt and me taking most of the pictures, everyone had made there way to the car when we realized we didn't have one of the two of us! This was our attempt at a self-portrait!


Me and the kids


Carter, long surfer hair and all


Yes, he did get hot and sweaty from running around and
decided to lay in the sand. Quite the mess!


Nana and her babies


Daddy and his princess

...and with his little man

A picture of me that I actually like (with my sweet boy)...

another with my precious baby girl

more playing in the sand

Matt and his brother Grant with honorary family member, Rusty

The Goodwin Family


and just one more...

Navarre Beach

I love the beach. When I think of beach trips, I think of fun family times. I also think of calm and peace. Pictures like this help take me back to the feelings I have when I am really enjoying my time by the ocean. Soaking in the sun, watching the kids, and hearing the waves roll in.
Carter loved spending time at the pool. He was a little afraid of the ocean, the pool was a lot of fun for him. He would ask if someone would take him to the "nother pool" I guess the first pool was the gulf! Here he is with Nana and Gracyn- at the 'nother pool.
Matt and Gracyn before we went out for our first night of seafood.

Debbie, Carter, and Janet going to see what the boats brought in for the day.

One charter of mostly girls/women had some nice fish. We saw them unload the fish by throwing them on the deck and then hang them up before cleaning them. All of us were a bit disgusted when some of the nails poked through the eyes of the fish!

Matt and Carter checking out other boats in the harbor. Not only was it pretty- we got to miss seeing the fish being cleaned!

Another rare photo of me- Carter was really not wanting to have a picture taken so this was the best we were able to do!
Enjoying the waves!
Family photo! Wow- Carter was cooperative and Gracyn was almost looking at the camera!
Matt and me before our night out to celebrate our 10th anniversary. It was actually on May 15th but we didn't really have the opportunity to go out alone to celebrate until our vacation. We had an amazing meal and sat on the sound while the sun was setting. It was worth the wait!
I just can't believe how big Carter looks here. He is turning into a big boy right before our eyes!
My sweet girl- she was a trooper. Loved the pool and took a few naps in her "cabana" at the beach.

The past month...

sure has been busy! I would love to blog about all of the fun events we have enjoyed but it would take forever. Let's just face it...life never slows down! Here are some pictures that highlight the past month.

Gracyn is really exploring her environment. She studies everything right now- especially her feet!

She loves spending time in her exersaucer. I thought this shot was hilarious!

She also has two teeth now so that means time for "real" food! I am actually trying something new- making her babyfood! The first try was a true success. I made carrots and even Carter wanted some on his plate! I plan on making some more this week to freeze and have on hand.


Here is a picture of my first batch of carrots! That was Carter's first food too. So far Gracyn as tried carrots, bananas, sweet potatoes, and pears. Of course I am waiting the 4 days between! She seems to like everything so far, but my food always seems to look more tempting to her! Did any of you make baby food for your little ones? Any tips to share? What foods did you introduce first and in what order? It is always nice to hear what has worked well for other moms!

Carter always wants to help out, but Gracyn is not so sure! Another funny face, this little girl is expressive!

Last week we went to the beach with Matt's family. What a blast! I will have to devote an entire post (or two) to that but here are a few shots to share for now.

Getting ready to go to the beach for the first time.

A family picture! What a rare thing! I think we took around a hundred pics in this one setting. I love so many of them! Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Sweet Love

I know I have a lot of picture sharing and updating to do. We have had some big events and major milestones that I need to share with family. I am a bit overwhelmed by that right now. In fact I am just sharing one of the sweetest things that I have ever seen Carter do. It was a biggie for Gracyn also. Last night my mom was in town and we invited Brittney and Donna over to eat. Gracyn was playing on her mat and was sooo close to rolling over. Brittney saw that it was about to happen and got all of our attention and over she went! After dinner Carter laid down next to her on her blanket and was coaching her. "I'll give you a big thumbs up if you roll over again." He showed her how to roll and over she went again. He was so excited! "You get a big thumbs up! I am so proud of you! I love you Gracyn!" followed by another "I am so proud of you!" with a big kiss. I just love watching the two of them together. If only I had caught it on video...

Spring!- Ten Things Tuesday style!

This last weekend was absolutely gorgeous! We spent time doing fun spring things. Here are some of the things we did:
1. Had a picnic at Lakeshore park.
2. Played baseball on a real baseball field.

3. Laughed at Carter running the bases after hitting the ball- he always ran through the puddle between 1st and 2nd.

4. Laughed even harder when he complained of a stitch in his side- remember this is a regulation size baseball field, and he is not that tall! Of course he did not call it a stitch- he said his elbow was hurting and started holding his side. I guess he didn't know how to describe it because he does know where his elbow is! He desrved to sit for a second!

5. Went home where Matt, Carter, and Gracyn took naps.
6. I went and got a shorter, warm-weather haircut.
7. Went to a friend's house to celebrate her birthday with a cookout.
8. Got up and went to church! We made it (we were a bit late- but we got there!)!
9. Stayed for lunch and Easter Egg Hunt.

10. Spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and doing laundry while Matt cut the grass and the kids napped.

Hope all my blogging friends had a great fun filled weekend too!

Has it been two months already?

It's so hard for me to believe that my baby is already two months old. How did that happen...I know I didn't sleep through it! Then again, it is amazing to think of what we have done in two months. We have been to both my hometown (Chattanooga) and Matt's hometown (Bristol), we spent some time in Nashville, and made a trip to visit Mamaw Carter (yes- if you didn't know, that's where our precious boy got his name!). So at two months old Gracyn has been to Georgia, Alabama, and Virginia. She might grow up to be a big traveler some day!

Taking Gracyn to the doctor for her two month check-up today was not fun. I am sure most of you can relate. She was screaming from the moment the doctor walked in the door. Believe it or not, she did better with the shots then she did with his evaluation! After the nurse gave her the shots she left the room and i went ahead and gave her tylenol. I knew she was going to have at least some soreness so why not try to prevent the pain before it bothered her. That plan seemed to work well, until I decided to go to the store while she was sleeping. When she woke up she started crying. It was a whimper at first but it got louder and louder very quickly. I knew I wouldn't be able to get everything that needed. I had barely gotten started! I rushed to put the few things back and got to car as fast as I could. I headed home and as quickly as the crying started it stopped! Maybe I should just drive around let her rest a little. Eventually I had to go home to change her and feed her but when we headed back out to pick Carter up from school, she was calmed by the ride again. Tonight is my night to fly solo while Matt is in Bristol for school. It was not easy trying to keep her settled down, give Carter a bath, and all of those bedtime rituals. I just don't see how so many mothers do it on their own. I have such admiration for single mothers. I can be relieved by the fact that Matt will be here tomorrow night and if I get very little sleep tonight, I can probably with his help, catch up tomorrow. So for all of those parents who have greater challenges than mine- children who are sick, multiples, etc. Wow, may god bless you! For now, I am celebrating our healthy girl- 11 pounds 10.5 ounces (69%) and length 22.5 inches (53%. It is amazing how different she and Carter are. I don't think he has ever been above the 30% for anything! One thing that they have in common is the ability to be soothed by the vibrations of this bouncy chair.


Next on our list- going to our church. We have been to church when we were out of town, but I look forward to being at our home congregation. This season has been a little rough with sickness and I haven't wanted to take any chances. Hopefully, Gracyn and I will get a good night of sleep and our whole family will be there on Sunday!

HELP!

I love this picture but don't know how to flip it! It is not upside down on my computer but when I upload it, it turns upside down! Anyone technically savvy enough to tell me how I can fix it? I love that she has such a big smile and that she waskicking and moving her arms so much that they are blurry. Hope you can appreciate it, even though it is upside down!

Ten Things Tuesday

Ten things that I love to hear Carter say
1. Yellow = Lellow
2. Jelly Beans = Jelly Bins
3. remote = merote
4. banana = blana
5. yelling = lellin
6. football = fitball
7. froggie = froggery
8. Gracyn = Gracyn Amery (with the a sound instead of the short e, and he usually says her first and middle name)
9. Ms. Melinda = Ms. Alinda
10. Basketball = batchetball
Of course I always enjoy hearing "I love you mom" - what mommy doesn't love to hear that! I do wish he still called me Mama or Mommy, but I guess he just thinks he's too big for that!

Aunt Deanna's Visit and 1 month pictures

The night that Gracyn was born I called my sis (within minutes of her birth) to tell her she had a beautiful new niece. It was such a surprise. It seems as though everyone in my family has boys! The next morning I talked to her again and she told me that even though she was coming to keep Gracyn for a week in April, she couldn't wait that long to see her and hold her. Here we are- not quite a month late, I am finally posting pictures from my sister's visit on Feb. 20-22. This was a quick trip that took almost as much time to travel as she had to spend here! She had to fly from California!

Here is a picture of what our welcome sign looked like. I have always wanted to make one and this was the first time that I ever did.

We drove to Chattanooga that night so we could see dad before he left for Honduras. DeAnna also wanted to get out to see Mamaw while she was in town. That gave us an opportunity to introduce Gracyn to a lot of our family.

Dad loves to wrestle with his grandsons. I think he is going to have to learn some new moves for his little princess!


Gracyn loves her Aunt DeAnna!


Mamaw tells me that I have the loudest kids...wonder where they get that?

I love this picture. Mamaw looks so happy and proud. I wish that I lived closer so that we could visit more often.

My cousin's puppy- Carter loved playing with him! He also thought it was great that he had on Go Vols clothes!


Gracyn at One Month!

She likes to stick her tongue out!

I also took Carter's picture in this chair each month.


Hopefully I will be posting her two month pics soon! It has been hard to blog and keep up with my friends. I had such an easy time with Carter, except for the trouble gaining weight. Gracyn is a good eater, but she needs to be held a lot. She cries most of the time unless she is being held. It has made things very exhausting lately. I am praying that things will get better soon! Carter is still doing a great job as big brother. He loves his little sis and talks to her so sweetly. I am looking forward to doing more fun things with the two of them this summer.