Moving, Moving, Moving

I have always heard that girls are ahead of the curve over boys in almost all cases crawling, walking, talking etc... However, I have been waiting and waiting for Henley to crawl for weeks! She has been on the verge for a long time, but nothing has happened! She will be 9 months old on July 2nd and I was starting to wonder if she was just going to bypass crawling. She is already trying to pull up on everything she could get close too! We did not know what was going to happen. I had read that the normal range for babies to crawl is between 8 and 10 months so we were just patiently waiting. So today when I got home from running errands Brian informed me that Henley had crawled to him, just a few crawls! I was so excited that she had finally figured it out! Brian and I laugh because Christian is in for a world of change! He has been helping Henley try to figure out the crawling and pushing her bottom when she gets on all fours! It is really cute because he says, " Come on you can do it... crawl"! Little does he know that now all bets are off when it comes to toys because she can come after them! I admit she just started today, but it does not take long to get the hang of it!

Now for those of you who knew Christian as a baby and watched him crawl...let's just say, it was unusual! He had this crawl which we affectionately call the crab crawl. He would drag one leg and have his other knee on the ground! Everybody that saw it would just laugh and think it was so funny! It was funny and apparently more common than you would think? Well, I guess there must be some genetic link because...drum roll please...Henley is doing the same thing!!! Ahhh are you kidding me? We could not believe that she is just like her brother! Now, she just started crawling today! She does get on both knees so we are hoping she will figure it out the right way! I guess that is what happens when you let her big brother teach the crawling techniques! :) Here is some video I hope you enjoy!

Nene's Visit!

We were so excited to have Nene come visit with us when we got home from the beach! The Saturday we arrived home Brian's mom had been visiting Julie, Bennett and Preston the past week. Debbie then came over to spend some time with Christian and Henley for a few days! It was alot of fun because Christian is so much fun to play with at this age! Since it is so blasted hot down here there is not much to do, but go to a pool. However, on Monday Christian wanted to go to the zoo? Since that is what he wanted to do with his Nene that is what we did! Believe us when we say, that we were not there very long! I think we left by 11:30? We went home and Christian played in the waterslide. I think Nene had a great time playing with the kids. Henley was a stinker though because she is in that horrible stage where only mommy or daddy can hold her. So Nene did not get much qulity time with the baby, but that will change very soon. Hopefully, when the Jersey Shore rolls around the end of July she will be better with being held by others! I did manage to get some cute pictures of the kids with Debbie and I promise I will be sending it to you Debbie! My computer has been on the fritz for a week...so that is my excuse!

Watercolor

I am sooo far behind on my posts I feel like I can never catch up! So for awhile the blogs will be short and sweet!The first week in June the family packed up and went down to Watercolor for a week! We were meeting some friends of ours down there and were really looking forward to the vacation! After we packed up our entire life (so it seems)we headed out for the road. We were trying to plan everything around Henley's nap schedule because she is the impatient one in her car seat for too long. We were hoping for lots of sleep on her part. Luckily she cooperated and slept for a big portion of the trip. Christian of course did not do so well. I think that every five minutes he asked, " where are we going"? Talk about your nerves being shot...have a toddler ask you the same question over and over for four hours!!! He drove us crazy because he kept telling us he had to pee, just so he could get out of the car! Finally, we called his bluff and he fell asleep the last hour to the beach!

If you have never been to Watercolor, Brian and I highly recommend it! We think it is better than Seaside! The community, the houses, the pool and all the kids made it so much fun! We parked our car, rented bikes and never got back into our car until it was time to leave! We did get a babysitter a couple of nights to have some adult time and yummy dinners! For all you beach goers that travel to the 30-A area we discovered a great new restaurant called Fish out of Water. It was fantastic!

Christian was not to fond of the beach this year so we lived at the pool or should I say, "In the pool"! He loves the water and so does Henley! The days were spent all day at the pool. Once we got up in the morning we would exercise, eat breakfast and then lotion up and head out to the pool! We ate lunch at the pool and luckily they had adult beverages too! Brian and I took turns with Christian in the pool because he would not get out! Henley took her naps in the shade and so did Christian and daddy on some days! Henley loved being in the water with her brother when she was awake. We had a boat for her to sit in and she would just chill out in the pool. Brian and I talked Christian into a few more trips to the beach, but it was not long before he requested the pool again. Brian took him into the Ocean, but he was NOT a fan! I did not mind staying around the pool because all Henley did was eat the sand.

My parents recently bought a place in San Destin and they were coming down the Friday before we left to go home. So on Friday night we drove over to visit them and check out the new digs and have dinner. We had dinner over in Baytown Wharf and Christian played and had ice cream. This particular area is so kid friendly during the day and adult fun at night! I am excited that we have a place to go in the summer with my family.

All and all it was a great vacation that we hated to have end! However, we will be back down the 4th of July so...here we come beach!

I'm a BIG boy now!

Wow...how the days fly by! It seems like just the other day Christian was born and now he has grown into such a big boy! The past four weeks we have had a diaper free child (one anyway)! I can not beleive this happened before he turns 3 the end of August!? We tried potty training back in January and February, but it was a no go! Christian would use the potty, but not consistently and he would wet his pants! He would never let me know he had to use the restroom. I decided to leave it alone and we would try again at a later date!

So May rolls around and I decide to try again with the potty and big boy underwear! We of course entice Christian with suckers, but there is one thing that really makes him proud of himself! I tell him about all his friends and people he loves that pee in the potty! He gets so excited to know his Boppa and Poppy and Uncle Reed pee in the potty too! He gets this look in his eyes like he has just now joined some elite club of potty users! Then he wants to get on the phone and call them all! It is so cute!

He has become very good at telling me when he has to use the bathroom and alot of times will just go pee...wherever he might be! Literally, he will pull his pants down anywhere and pee! We are working on the etiquette of the bathroom, but he has the general idea! However, the pooping in the potty has been a little more of a challenge! He has had a few accidents with that, but we are getting there! Multiple suckers for that one!! He is very proud of his big boy underwear and will show anyone anytime how cute they are! We are so proud of him and this milestone he has accomplished! We are still wearing diapers at night because mommy is lazy and does not want to get up in the middle of the night to change sheets! When he wakes up with a dry diaper and when he is ready to give that up we will make that adjustment! However, for now he has made a huge accomplishment and we can not believe how big our boy is now!

Happy Birthday Bennett!

On May 23rd two years ago our darling niece made her appearance into this world! We all celebrated her birthday by going to her party the end of May. Julie and Steve put on a great affair with a wonderful theme of arts and crafts. They decorated the backyard with rolls of paper around the fence and the kids got to paint their masterpieces! I think it was a huge hit because paint was all over when everything was said and done! Lots of children running around playing and having a blast! The heat, like always in the South was sweltering and we were all trying to stay cool going in and out of the house or shade! With adult beverages flowing I think everyone was happy! :) Steve grilled hot dogs and we had a great meal! Perfect for summertime! Bennett was the life of the party and looked absolutely precious in her sweet dress! I know she loved the attention, but not as much as she seemed to love that birthday cake!!! I think she has become a sweetaholic since Easter came and went...according to her mommy! We can not believe that she is already turning two and growing up so quickly! We hope she had as much fun as we did at her party! Happy Birthday Sweet Girl and we look forward to many more!

Steeler Fans Beware!

This blog is worthy of it's own page! When we were in Georgia at the Lake House we ran into a NFL player and his offensive line at the Club House! I know our Friend Todd is going to be sooo envious! Christian made friends with a celebrity.......Ben Roethlisberger! Here is the picture! I personally think Christian steals the show!