Another relaxing day...

OK, you all know us well enough by now to know "relaxing" does not describe our days! Today was another busy one but we had a great day full of family time, cleaned the house and managed to get to the grocery store and get most of the laundry done. The only thing we didn't do was the work stuff we brought home. Oh well!

We started the day with a bike ride on some battlefield trails. Although we both will have a few sore muscles tomorrow, we had a great ride. Makayla really liked her ride and was so comfortable, she fell asleep!


After the ride, we played a little soccer. Makayla is pretty good at kicking the ball around.

And she loves her very own water bottle!

After lunch and an afternoon nap, she is ready for the pool!

She was definitely more into the pool today than she was when we went last August (seeing she could barely even sit up on her own then...) The water was a little chilly but after a few minutes, she didn't seem to mind.

When her lips started to turn blue and her teeth chattered, we thought it was probably time to head home. She had so much fun in the water that we continued playtime on the deck - with some warm water from the sink. She also had her first popsicle - she loved it!

We set up Kona's pool too and after his initial splashing and craziness, Makayla got a little curious. After a minute or two of watching, she hopped right into the very chilly water!

And after such a long and busy day, what better way to relax than by laying on a pile of dirty laundry....

Ready to ride!

After talking about it for about 3 years, Jason and I finally got mountain bikes yesterday! And since we don't go anywhere without our favorite little peanut, we got a kid's seat to go on the back of our bikes. We also got Makayla her own helmet which she loves. We tried it on at the store and she didn't want to take it off! When we got home, she wanted it back on.

Then she saw mine on the table. She pulled it down and said, "Mommy's". Then brought it to me. What was I supposed to do? Of course I had to play the game and put mine on too.

This morning, as soon as she saw her helmet, she wanted it back on. A bike ride is definitely on the schedule for today!!!

Friday Night Dance

This is sure to bring a smile to everyone's face!

Catching up

After spending the last three nights working on the slide show, I need to catch up with a few other photos!

House update. As you can see, it's going up fast! On the outside, the trim is around all of the windows and the garage doors. On the inside, heating and air are done, plumbing is done, electric is in progress and we are on schedule for the pre-drywall inspection next week!

Basket rides! Mary didn't have to fly home until Tuesday night so she was able to have a day with Makayla all to herself. I think they both had a great time wearing each other out!

Makayla's latest trick -Say EEEEEEEEE!

The Wedding Slideshow!!!

The slideshow is ready!!! Check it out (don't worrry, it's not 30 minutes like Makayla's video was...) Make sure your sound is on!


Sean and Kristen's wedding weekend

Where we have been the last few days...

At my brother's wedding! It was quite a weekend with a lot of driving time but the wedding was great - I still can't believe my little brother is a husband! Grandma Mary made the trip with us which was a huge help - I don't think any of us would have survived the car ride without her help entertaining Makayla! We loaded up Thursday afternoon and made it to Marion to stay with my parents. Friday morning we took off and drove to Memphis, TN and made it in time for the rehearsal and dinner. Makayla was great in the car and we were again reminded how lucky we are to have such a wonderful little girl! Saturday was the big day and we really enjoyed hanging out with a lot of my family that we don't get to see very often. The wedding was beautiful and Sean and Kristen are so happy together. They took off early Sunday morning to head to Puerta Vallerta, Mexico for their honeymoon and the rest of us started the drive back home. As we all arrived back to unpack and get ready for work, I think we all wish we could be in Mexico for a week too!

Here's one picture of the happy couple. More to follow soon!

Please comment!

I tried to come up with a quote for this one but then decided to make this interactive...

What do you think she is thinking? Please leave a comment with your thought!

Silly Goose

We found another pair of Makayla's sunglasses that are a little more toddler-proof. These wrap around and velcro at the back. At first she didn't like them, but then she kept them on while she played a little.

The Silly Goose on Rody!

But her favorite thing to do with the glasses... chew on the velcro strap...

Summer weather

Saturday's weather was great. Nice and sunny and warm and then some big thunderstorms later in the afternoon. We enjoyed hanging out on the front porch watching the rain and lightening. Here are a few shots before the rain came...

Looking cool! Makayla loves to copy whatever we are doing. She even left these sunglasses on the whole time we were outside!

The debut of Kona's pool. He loves to attack the water coming out of the hose and splash in the water in the pool. Makayla watched for about a minute, then must have decided he was crazy.

Water fun! At first she was very careful not to pour it on herself...

But that quickly changed!

I wonder what she is thinking here....

Unfortunately today's weather is not like yesterday. It's quite a bit colder and there was even a frost warning this morning! Guess we better find some indoor things to do today!

House update

We have a house! We are very pleased with how quickly it was framed. We can't wait to see how much more is done this week!

Looking good!

One of the great things about knowing someone with an older kid is getting hand-me-over clothes!!! Here Makayla shows off in one of Julia Keane's old outfits. Of course, snacks are always close by!

Good morning! Milk, cheerios, cool new jammies and pots and pans... what a great way to start the day!

Blueberry pancakes - yum!

Playtime!

How cute is this picture?

I think this is Makayla giving a "subtle" hint. She dragged the beanbag all the way over to where Jason was sitting...

She lays down and Jason folds her up like a taco and swings her around the room.

She loves it!

This was a picture from our road trip this past weekend that didn't make the blog earlier. When I looked back at it, I thought it was too funny not to share. She sure does love her snacks!

House Update

Our basement and garage slab have been poured! The basement exterior entry stairs are complete and it is time to start framing the house.

Our builder (Ryland Homes) uses prefabricated wall panels which arrived on site today. Believe it or not, these three stacks are all of our walls. Over the next few days the house will really take shape. With every sign of progress our excitement grows.

A weekend of firsts...

This weekend we loaded up headed north to meet our new nephew, Warren. Although the visit was short, we had a great time and really enjoyed being able to hang out with everyone. Here are a few pictures of some of Makayla's firsts and of course a few of Warren.

Her first haircut... I don't know if the hair in her eyes was bothering her as much as it was bothering me but I decided it needed to come off! Of course the ever-curious child kept on eye on everything. We just did a little trim off the top so don't worry, all of her beautiful curls are still there! And no, we didn't save any of this hair...

The first swing of the season. She seemed ok with swinging a little, but loved it when Jason pushed her way up high!

Her first time playing with sticks. Kind of a risky thing to do with two dogs around! Tucker (Mary and Ed's dog) wanted to fetch so he would take the sticks out of Makayla's hand and Kona would try and get the sticks to eat them! We were really hoping Tucker would teach Kona how to fetch...

The first picture of Makayla with her new cousin. I'm not so sure she likes sharing the spotlight...

Her first attempt at smelling a flower. She didn't really get the idea of getting closer to it so you could actually smell something!

Her first workout with a gallon water jug! Ok, this one was empty but she was pushing a full one all around the kitchen!

I don't have a clever "first" title for this one but I think Warren is cute enough that no other explanation is needed :)

Two happy daddys! We still can't believe Makayla was ever that small!

The happy mommys. The dads cooked us a wonderful Mother's Day breakfast. Does anyone else think every Sunday should be Mother's Day?

On the way home we hooked up the portable DVD player - what a great invention! We played the fish video from the Planet Earth Series about 10 times - even Kona wanted to watch!


We hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!