Rosemary Beach, FL

This place is amazing.  I grew up always going to the Atlantic coast, since it was only 30 minutes or so from our house.  I still love the Atlantic side of Florida, of course, but Rosemary Beach is gorgeous and completely different!

My cousin got married in November here, and it was a great excuse to explore Northwest Florida.  The beach sand was so soft and fine, and the seashells were much finer and seemed more delicate than what we'd see on our home beach!

Rosemary Beach is a planned community that feels like a European beach town.  It's only 30 minutes from the airport and we could connect through Atlanta for easy flights.  If they ever start having direct flights from MSP (hint, hint!), I know where I'll be spending my spring break now!  I'm guessing that most folks come from Birmingham/TN because the boutiques were selling sweatshirts that said "Home" with a picture of the state of Tennessee!

The wedding was on the beach and it was beautiful.  Thanks to my parents, we got to stay in a house with them and all my siblings and nephews so it really was great to all be together.  The only downside was that the AC broke in the house and the dishwasher leaked, but it was otherwise comfortable.  We could walk all around the town and to the beach very easily.

I got one run in down 30A early early pushing baby J in the single jogger because he didn't sleep very well on the trip.  30A has a nice wide bike path so it was easy to do a down/back run.  I'd love to go back here!

Weekend Scenes

Who me?  Climb up here?  Never!

Yogurt Bread

Leaf wrestling/snuggling

Finally cutting that summer hair - with a little help from Mr. Rogers

M picked these for me from our yard.

Baby J - 8 & 9 Month Update

This boy is busy, busy busy!  As you can probably tell, I can hardly keep up with him, his older brother and this blog!

8 Month Update: he is a [mini] man on a mission.  The champion of the army crawl and not afraid of any stairs.  He loves to eat anything - including sand, leaves, and dirt.  Trips to the playground are not very relaxing for me - he wants out of the stroller NOW and is crawling like crazy through the sand.  I really miss McEuen park and its turf!

9 Month Update: Baby J has graduated from his army crawl and bear crawl to a full-on speed crawl.  We have gated off our play area, but if he spies an open door, he can sure get to it quickly!  When M plays outside and I've kept him in on the porch, he pulls up to the window and loves to just stand there and yell at M.  He is pulling up and cruising up and down the couch and anything else!  He is definitely a "gross motor baby" as my Mom and I call him. 

 He has 3 teeth poking through, too!!  Two on top and 1 on the bottom.  What a grin with those chompers, too.  He is babbling more and definitely saying "Dadadada" but not meaning it yet.  He hates to be gated in the playroom while I'm cooking dinner, and mostly stands at the gate and yells at me!  He still loves to snuggle in the Ergo and come along with us wherever we go, and he is great in the double stroller on a run, loving M's constant narration/questions.

I think we are all going to be due for haircuts, this weekend, don't you think?  Baby J, we love and adore you!  You are a tremendous blessing to our lives!

Weekend Getaway

A couple of weeks ago, we were so lucky to get a little weekend getaway to visit my parents and sisters in FL.  I flew by myself with the boys and they were super travelers.  My parents generously took us here.  There's just no place like the beach!

The happiest little baby on the beach.

 

Sister time!

#Floridalove

I brought some seashells home and put them by our front door.  A little touch of home in the Midwest.

Have a wonderful, restful Labor day weekend! 

5...6...7 months - Baby J Updates!

How has time flown by so quickly with this little guy!

By five months.....he started rolling both ways from front to back and now from back to front.  We also started solid foods, and he is thrilled to get anything in his mouth.

By six months....he was quickly rolling himself across the room to get what he wants.

By seven months....he is now "army crawling" and getting up on his hands and knees/rocking back and forth.  I know he'll be crawling soon and I don't think I can handle it!  We're experimenting with mushed up banana pieces and cheerios to work on self-feeding - although he just gets super frustrated when he can't quite get the food in his mouth.  It is hilarious because the look on his face is like the most dissatisfied restaurant customer ever!

He loves taking baths and sits up in the baby bath tub and splashes like crazy.  He's still not a great sleeper and only sleeps through the night on occasion.  But, we've been through so many transitions lately (on the road, in FL, living in a studio apartment! etc.) that I can't blame him for his interrupted sleep.  He weighs 23 pounds and wears size 12 month clothes, so I was getting my workout carrying him around Minneapolis.  He can sit up without immediately toppling over, and he can lean forward from sitting to get himself into position to crawl and push himself back up to sit.   He doesn't babble but he loves to laugh, squeal and scream (haha!).  Daddy needs some ear plugs!  He is still super duper smiling, loves to pull hair and will drag himself across the room to play with his big brother.  I love getting to watch him change and grow day by day.  He is a miracle and a blessing.  We love you baby J!

America the Beautiful: Beach Edition

After we drove across the upper West, we flew down to Florida for the annual family week at the beach in Florida, aka "cousin camp" for our boys and my nephews.  Didn't I just say that Montana is the most beautiful place in the world?  Well, if you could combine it with the beaches of north Florida, then it would be simply perfect.

M had an epic time playing with his big cousins.  J spent most of his days snoozing and we all had a great time relaxing on the beautiful porch and visiting with our far-flung family.  Family time is such a blessing.

 

M and my 4 year old nephew E.  M is his shadow whenever we get together!

I have no idea how people get wiggly kids to line up and all look at the camera with a nice, normal smile.  This was the best we could do....=)

Our view of beautiful St. Augustine Beach!

4 of the 5 boys on the beach. 

D pushed the couches together to make a clean, soft spot for baby J to roll around in.  Of course, the bigger boys took it over for their dogpile.  Needless to say, it quickly became a little bit sandy....

Don't you love the kid-sized rockers that come with the house?!  We did!  We're already looking forward to our next beach trip!

A Trip to the Hardware Store

D took 3 year old M on a Saturday morning trip to Lowe's.  You've never seen a more excited little boy.  Some of the gems I overheard as they headed out the door:

"Daddy, we are big guys!"

This is M and Daddy time.  Not time for Moms." (?!)

"We got dressed in our work clothes, and now it's time to do our jobs!"

"Let's go be Handy Manny's!"

Adoption Day

 Baby J's adoption was finalized several months ago, but I'm just now getting the post up.  #lazyblogger.  He learned early on that legal proceedings are a snooze.

 

After we skipped out of the courthouse, we took a family selfie:

Then we went out for breakfast at Java on Sherman's new location.  Big brother loved the hearing and totally hammed it up.  The Judge told us that he thought M would either be a politician or an entertainer (yikes!?). 

 

When we got home, baby J perked up enough to start rolling around - back to front!  And M spent the day pretending that he was an attorney.  Now he says "Mommy, can you believe you were a yaw-yer?"

 

Baby J, you are a blessing beyond measure.  You bring us so much joy and we are so honored to get to love and raise you.  May God bless you always!

Weekend in New Jersey

 The babies and I flew to New Jersey for a quick weekend trip over Mother's Day weekend.  We celebrated Mother's Day with my wonderful mom and my 93 year old paternal grandmother, but the REALLY big deal was my dad's 70th birthday!  Happy Birthday Dad!  And let's not forget, my mom's birthday is the day after my dad's, so we got to celebrate her, too!

Let's just say - it was a busy weekend:

Thursday: Mom's Birthday + baby J's first flight.  Thank heavens for the iPad and the Winnie the Pooh movie!  I used the Cares 5 point harness for M, but I wouldn't recommend it.  In fact, I'm returning it.  He kept sliding out of it and was unable to lean over to rest his head and nap.  

Friday: we had a great visit with a dear friend from college!  She brought her daughter over to play with the boys and my nephew.  It was so good to see them.  As we prepare to move, I am reminded of how important it is to maintain friendships.

Saturday and Sunday were filled with family time and celebrations.  Then on Monday, we flew back home.  It was great to see everyone, and us being gone allowed D to get a lot of packing done.  Some pics from our family time:

Happy in the air-conditioned hotel!

 

M rockin' his "ear muffs" for his movie!

Snoozing with Uncle J

Cousin Lego time

Whenever we go to New Jersey, we always walk to this little pond near Granny's house.  Happy Birthday to my parents, we can't wait to see you again in June!

4 Months!

Ridiculously Happy Baby is 4 months old!

He weighs 18 pounds - just 10 more to go before he catches up to big brother!

Baby J smiles at everyone and is (yes) ridiculously happy.  He is starting to put his fingers in his mouth and pull toys towards him.  He was strong-arming his way out of his swaddle, so now he sleeps un-swaddled.  Sniff, sniff, this sweet baby is growing up!

He has nearly rolled over from back to front a couple of times, but not completely yet.  He likes to bear weight on his feet, and he loves to sit up and watch his big brother play.  He is a riot in the bath tub - kicking his feet like crazy and squealing when he splashes himself!

He sleeps through the night (7 pm - 5 am) maybe once a week.  Other nights he might wake up at 2 am, 3 am or 4 am.  I can never predict it!  Anyone else up in the middle of the night with me?

He is adored by every member of this family!

Baby J's Baptism

We were so blessed to have our Ridiculously Happy Baby baptized on Divine Mercy Sunday.  He slept through the entire service, including his actual baptism and even though Father Roger gave him quite a bath!

We were blessed to have my sister (his Godmother) and my parents present.  M was completely intrigued by the whole process, and he had to get a closer look at the font during the service.  Deacon Gary let him carry the chrism oil, and thankfully his guardian angel also had two hands on it to help keep him from dropping it!

Taking a peek at the font

We are blessed by our parish and our kind and faithful Father Roger and Deacons Gary and Eric.  The 8th graders at the local Catholic school also made a blanket for baby J and we will treasure it always.

May God continue to bless and guide our sweet baby J!  He is such a gift to our family!

Easter 2015

Easter 2015 - otherwise known as "Sick Mom Edition"

I finally succumbed to the family sore throat/respiratory infection bug during Holy Week.  We made a little "Lamb of God" craft early in the week, but mostly laid low.

Lake City Easter Egg Hunt

On Holy Saturday, we walked over to an Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by a local non-denominational church and held at the high school.  The kiddos didn't have to look too hard to find the eggs, right?  M was very methodical about putting the eggs in his basket - he stopped before he filled it up - I think it started to feel too much like "clean up time". ;)  But he was pretty happy to eat all of the candy before we even made it back to the house!

Easter finest - 2015

On Easter Sunday, our prayer chain was complete and draped above the kitchen table.  And our beans turned into Easter M&Ms (to M's complete amazement!).  Both boys received new books for Easter.  No one sang the Gloria with more gusto than our little M and we rejoiced in the greatest miracle of our faith.  I hope you had a beautiful Easter!  I'm so thankful we get 50 days to celebrate it!

Baby J - 3 Months Old!

Time is simply flying around here - baby J is 3 months old!

He is the world's happiest baby.  Unless you are taking two seconds too long to fill up his mega-bottle.  ;)

I don't know his official weight, but I am thinking he is at least 16 pounds or more.  His two favorite things: drinking his bottle and watching/smiling at his big brother.  He is such a cutie and we can't get enough of him!

I love to watch him wake up in the morning - those first smiles are like, oh there you are!!  I have missed seeing you so much!  I am so happy to see you!  

Have I mentioned that he is a happy, smiley baby?

Other new things: cooing, babbling more, giggling, putting his hands in his mouth and a little bit of batting at his toys.  He is wearing size 6 month clothing and those will probably last for another week.  ;)

We are so blessed to have him in our lives.  What an amazing gift!