Sweet Caroline

FIVE MONTHS OLD.   As I write this post, I’m thinking about the fact that my baby will be HALF A YEAR old soon…wow, how did that happen?     Collins, you continue to amaze your daddy and me…you are such a sweet, content baby and LUCKY for us you are STILL sleeping 11-12 hours per night.    THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT!   You have started to really laugh out loud this month…especially during bath time and an intense game of peek-a-boo.   In fact, the first time I really heard you go nuts laughing out loud was in Beaufort when your cousins Janie, Kaileigh, Ella and Belle were all playing peek-a-boo with you…you were in heaven!   You’ve been quite the trooper this month, going from your old house to spending the night at Lolly and Granddaddy’s for a few weeks and then finally getting settled in your NEW home.   Fortunately, you didn’t even seem to notice all the craziness that has been going on.   From your 4 th to 5 th month (June 17-July17) you experiences lots of firsts!!

We spent the fourth of July holiday in Beaufort....big surprise, right?!?:-) For the most part, it was just my immediate family and we used this as our "family vacation" time. Little baby Grady was only about three weeks old, so he didn't get to partake in too many of the activities (and neither did his mama) but we still had a wonderful, relaxing vacation. We got lots of sun, boat time, pool time, porch time and down time; all of the necessities of a good vacay. I'm so excited to have Collins experience Beaufort, I sure hope she loves it as much as her mama does. On the 4th, we invited our best family friends over for the day, they were in Hilton Head keeping two of their grandbabies. Lots of fun was had and LOTS of food was eaten:-) And now on to the PHOTO overload.  I can't ever pick just a few! Collins getting her first dip in the pool. She liked it.   Belle and Emmie cheesin' Kisses for my sweet girl Granddaddy caught us some crabs.

So...I blogged a while back about us escaping to the beach for the weekend. That was in fact the weekend of June 22-24; the weekend before we were moving...and we needed a break! So, we packed up and took off for Beaufort with some friends and my parents and their friends for a fun weekend. It seems all I really have time for these days is a photo dump...but at least I am documenting our events in some way. I had to upload over 400 pictures before I could do this anyways...whew!  That takes time! Granddaddy and Collins...her very first dip in the ocean.  (4 months, 1 week) Most beautiful sunset ever. Where she "chilled" most of the day. Happy baby! Well, this picture didn't really turn out as planned, probably would have helped if Collins was actually LOOKING at the camera!  Come on, girl...get it together:-) Loves. Wheeee! The boys playing bocce. Beach naps have to be the best ever. Family portrait.  It's so hard to get her

Struggling.   Today was Collins’ first day at daycare.   In most ways, I am TOTALLY okay with this.   *most ways* I’m not really that emotional, so I was fine leaving her…..she was happy, I was happy.   Then, came lunch.   I was going back by there during lunch to bring a few more things and in I walked and she was just lying in her crib crying.   Broke my mama heart.   She just looked so sad and alone. What to do?   They said she had been great all morning, took a nap, etc.   I was telling my mom about it, and she said “they were just letting her lay there by herself,” but what else are they supposed to do?   There are 8 babies in there with two ladies…they obviously can’t hold them all at once.   She wasn’t screaming crying or anything…I’m sure they would have comforted her then, but she was still sad and it made me really sad.   It made my mom sad too, but I know and she knows that she couldn’t keep her forever.   Today, I’m torn on whether to keep her at a church daycare li

We had a big first last night. Collins had her VERY first bottle of formula. No worries, she didn’t bat an eyelash over it. We are going to Beaufort this weekend for the water festival and my mom wanted to leave today and take Collins with her (since she is still keeping her for us…until Monday and she starts day care!). In a way that forced me to give her formula; but it was time and I am completely okay with it. For the longest time I had SUCH a supply built up, I could have left for a week and Collins would have had enough b-milk to last her thru. Over the past month it dwindled to the point where I was only about three feedings ahead. Crazy. It was a combination of her eating more, me not pumping as much, and being on vacation there were several nights where I drank enough to dump. For me, it was all a point of pride; it’s silly really. But, I was proud of the fact that I had been back at work since she was 8 weeks old (she’s 23 weeks today) and she still had not had any

Home to me. (PS...when I think of "home" this song always pops in my head ....apparently it's from the Dawson's Creek soundtrack...I don't know I never watched that show.  I love this song; mainly because this girl sang it in our sorority on pref night and she just had this INCREDIBLE voice and just made you want to tear up and get all into it with her.  Anyways...I digress) It feels like home to me It feels like home to me It feels like I'm all the way back where I come from It feels like home to me It feels like home to me It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong HOME.  What is home?  The house above is where I grew up...we moved in when I was 8 years old and has been "home" to me for the past 20  years.  TWENTY.  I cannot believe it.  As of Monday, she belongs to new owners.  Makes me so, so sad.  My parents are ready to move on and build a new house and I am excited about that...but I am SURE GOING TO MISS THE HE

I typically take the most every day pictures of Collins on my phone and only whip out the camera for special occasions or a good, long photo shoot. I try and remember to always send my phone pictures to e-mail though so I won't forget about them. This is basically a photo dump of phone pictures and several that my little cousin took on father's day (she actually captured sweet girl smiling some!). All of these pictures were taken between June 17 (Collins' 4 months) and now. Look mama, my new trick!  She loves to now rest her little feet up on her toys while sitting in her car seat.  This picture she only has one foot up, but typically it is both of them! Falling baby! Ha! Playing with blocks at Lolly and Granddaddy's. Girlfriend LOVES her fingers.  All of them.  But, lately I think she is going to be a thumb sucker. Trying to get that whole fist in there! Bath time (first bath at the new house!) Father's day, cousins...Brynlynn and Belle