I Love YOU!!!!

Lailey has been much more affectionate lately than she ever has. It's so delightful when she just walks up to me and hugs me or gives me a kiss. She's never been a big snuggler or hugger, so this is just the best thing ever. She has learned to say a new phrase, which you will hear in the video. It warms my heart every time I hear it, and I will never get tired of it, which is good, since she has been saying it ALL day lately.

The hand on the forehead at the end is her adorable attempt at a salute. Apparently it's the same way her Uncle Eli used to do this as well.

Playtime with Zadee

I always think Lailey's current age is my favorite, then she moves on to new things and I say, once again, that is my favorite age. Well, this one really is. I've had so much joy staying home this summer and spending day in and day out with my budding toddler. Everyday I see her leaving the baby stage and growing up. Heartbreaking as it is, every new thing is so fun and exciting.

Now that she is walking well and falling less frequently, her bravery has increased. She is learning about this climbing thing.

And based on this grin, she's pretty happy about it.

As Davey will tell you, I can't stand to watch videos where people get hurt, so I will make the disclaimer that while she looks pretty precarious, she doesn't injure herself. There, now you can watch without biting your fingernails.

This week I had the privilege of keeping our friends' daughter, Zadee, for a couple days. When Lailey was just a couple days old, we found out that our friends, Dustin and Meredith, were pregnant. Our girls are 8 months apart and will hopefully be good friends as they grow up together.

Lailey enjoyed having another munchkin in the house and played very well with her. This is after I asked her, "Where's Zadee?"

Then she fell over! I accidentally took this picture, but it's pretty funny.

This is Lailey giving Zadee ("Day-dee") a "hug"

And going for a kiss...

the love is reciprocated

Awww, friends already.

I put Zadee in the Boppy pillow to let her sit up on her own, and after she rolled out of it, Lailey wanted a turn. She just couldn't quite figure out how to fit in it.

Try #1

Try #2

Tries #3 through #12

Lailey's first side french braid - I can get her to be somewhat still as long as there's food involved.

Guess that's all for this week.

A Month's Worth of Pictures

So much fun this summer...so little time to blog. I've had the time. I've just chosen to use it to do other things. The last month or so has been loaded with fun. Plenty of relaxation time too, but tons of fun. I just decided it was so much stuff I'd just show the highlights in pictures.

LAILEY'S FIRST ZOO TRIP WITH GRAMMY AND GRANDDADDY

As promised in the previous post (that nobody remembers over a month ago) here are a couple of pictures from Lailey's stay with her grandparents while we were in St. Augustine. They spoiled her like good grandparents should, and she had a blast. They went shopping, to the zoo, rode carousels (yes, that's plural), ate at the Cracker Barrel, and had a grand old time.

YARD SALE

We successfully held our first yard sale. We didn't have nearly as many people as we would like but we still made a decent amount of money. Lailey was a trooper despite the heat and her cuteness probably helped our sales.

Craaaaaazy hair after playing and sweating outside all day!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

For Father's Day Lailey fingerpainted a card for her Daddy, and I made him blueberry pancakes and eggs.

Lailey making her "silly face"

Lailey making her "cute face" (She tilts her head to one side, shrugs her shoulders, and smiles. It's so cute it's ridiculous)

NEW SMYRNA BEACH 2010

Once again we headed off to NSB for the annual vacation. It's always fun, but we all agreed that this was one of the best years. We went to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, played tennis, played in the pool and on the beach, watched movies, played the Wii, played on the playground, went fishing, ate seafood, ate icecream, and more. Lots of playing and eating to sum it all up.

Last year- 2.5 mos. old

All packed, belted in, and ready to go

Feeling the sand

She needed a change of clothes after this one - check out the shorts

Stinker getting in the cooler

Relaxing with Grammy

Aunt Whitney ("Whit-Whit") making Lailey's day

Daddy stuck - literally - on the tire swing

Davey, Nick ("Nuh"), and Julie ("Ju-Ju")...where's Lailey?

Whitney, Eli, and Lailey

Chocolate milkshake...mmmmmm

Cutie

Lailey's first movie! I can't say we saw much of it, but hey, we tried.

First ferris wheel ride

Looking out over Daytona

My favorite

Look out, she's opening boxes now

I didn't do it!

More pool time

Snuggling with Daddy

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

Sunday morning, July 4th, we went to church and enjoyed a wonderful service celebrating our freedom, our country, and the many people who sacrificed to allow us to enjoy the lives we have today. That afternoon we headed over to my Aunt and Uncle's house to celebrate. Lailey ate 3 (yes, THREE) considerable slices of watermelon, plus a ton of other food. She just kept on eating!

STONE MOUNTAIN

This past week Davey and I went to Stone Mountain and tried out the Sky Hike. It's an adventure rope course with three levels - 12, 24, and 36 feet up in the trees. I surprised Davey with the trip, so he didn't know where we were going until we were on our way. Except for the two clues I gave him - "tree" and "monolith." I learned something about my husband of 4 years that day. In the past he's mentioned that he was afraid of heights, but I guess we never really got in a situation where this fear came out. He rides rollercoasters, so I never really gave it much thought when planning this trip. Little did I know this was no joke. We were completely harnessed in, NO way whatsoever of falling. Didn't make a difference. He. was. scared.

In fact, on the first level of the course (only 12 feet up, mind you), he says, while breathing hard from nervousness, not fatigue, "I can't believe this is the first level!" At that point I told him I wouldn't have planned this activity had I known he was really scared!

Really. Really. Scared.

In his defense, despite the trembling and serious concentration, he finished the whole course. I was very proud. After that we watched a 4D movie and it was my turn to be scared with dinosaurs and carniverous fish jumping out at me. I couldn't even watch! We all have our things.

An Atlanta Tradition

OUR 15 MONTH OLD GIRL

Where has the time gone, seriously? Everyday is an adventure being parents. Here is what Lailey is up to these days...

-She's walking everywhere. She still falls occasionally, but gets right back up and moves on.

-She says 40+ words, a couple phrases, signs several words/phrases, and tries to repeat almost anything when prompted. Most recent words include

Mommy (she will yell this happily at the top of her lungs and grin)

Daddy (she yells this too)

button (comes out "butt," haha)

beach

socks

watch (as in wrist watch)

Roo-Roo (Rudy, and every other dog)

puppy

shoes

Elmo

nose

all done

I love you (comes out garbled but we know what she's saying)

-She thinks all animals say "moo"

-She gives hugs spontaneously now and kisses too! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this.

-She enjoys trying new foods

-She has two more teeth coming in on the bottom for a total of 8- 4 on top, 4 on the bottom

-She weighs 21 lbs. 5 oz and is 29 and 3/4 in. tall

-She still loves meeting new people and tells people "hi" everywhere we go. Especially in the grocery store while riding in the basket (cart, sorry, I call it a basket, much to Davey's disapproval)

-Her loves to be silly. She likes to laugh and will fake laugh just to be goofy.

-She folds her hands to pray and says "Amen" enthusiastically

-She is a mommy's girl right now

-She is an absolute joy

If you made it to the end of this forever long post, I saved the best picture for last. Don't you love that hair?

Anniversary Trip

I was a brave mommy and took a trip to St. Augustine this past week with Davey to celebrate our anniversary (4 years on May 20th!). Of course, I wasn't worried about Lailey - she was with her grandparents and had a blast, and I've got pictures to prove it which will come later. First, here are some of the highlights from our trip.

~Where we stayed~

The Peace and Plenty Inn

We highly recommend this little B & B. Go to their website if you're interested. The breakfasts were amazing, the atmosphere quaint, and it's very close to downtown. We pretty much walked everywhere.

{back of the main house}

{the inside of our suite}

{our room was in the old carriage house behind the main house}

~Where we ate~

On our first night there, we celebrated by going to a gourmet restaurant called 95 Cordova which was really great. When they handed us our menus, I wondered why they were so huge and heavy...then I opened it and discovered that it lit up! I was fascinated to say the least.

Yum!!! Filet mignon and Chilean seabass

{Getting ready to dig in}

~Where we went~

We hit a lot of historical sites because the city is full of history and we enjoy that sort of thing. One of the places was the Castillo de San Marcos, the original fort in St. Augustine. Here we are on the drawbridge.

Looking out toward the newly restored Bridge of Lions. The marble lions that stand on one side of the bridge are in storage until the construction is finished. They are from the same quarry as Michaelangelo's famous David, if I am remembering this correctly.

This is about 30 feet up with no railing.

Courtyard inside the fort

Davey's first pair of Chaco sandals. He's finally a convert. :)

Ironic that we didn't take any pictures of the oldest wooden schoolhouse in America, just the oldest outhouse.

Okay, goofing off aside, this next place was one of the most beautiful and peaceful places we visited.

Over 200 feet cross

Historic Flagler College, originally a hotel built by Henry Flagler for wealthy people.

600-year-old live oak tree!

Peacocks at the Fountain of Youth

This white peacock jumped up on the low roof

A little cardinal, a female, and a beautiful male - red, white and blue

I had to get the authentic experience while touring the Old Jail. I guess I look a little too happy.

Our our last evening, we at on the beach. Crab legs!

Happy 4th Anniversary to my wonderful hubby. I love you!