Sweet Caroline

Whew!! This weekend was crazy busy but crazy good. We started Friday night by attending the Okra Strut in town (an annual festival to celebrate okra, duh!) There are rides for the kids, food and bands Friday night... Collins had a blast dancing to the music!! And the boys... Well they slept thru their first okra strut experience!  Little miss hot mess! Saturday, we woke up bright and early to attend the okra strut parade. The usual small town parade with dancers, cheerleaders, marching bands and politicians.  It was fun and the weather was beautiful!  Then, when the parade was over we loaded up to head downtown because ESPN gameday was happening on campus. We love to be a part of the action. So many people... We enjoyed the sights and even got to listen to Kenny  Chesney perform... Colls loved looking for cocky and watching the cheerleaders!  After nap time, it was GAME time for Mikey and I. We had a babysitter for the boys and Collins went to a friends to play....

As I said, the rest of my family and some cousins and my aunt and uncle came and joined for the long labor day weekend. Collins was beyond thrilled to have belle and the other big kids there to play with:-) She's only slightly obsessed with her big cousin;-) We spent Saturday and Sunday on the boat/beach all day and it was HEAVEN. We would cruise in the boat for a bit and then go to a nearby beach and unload for the remainder of the day. The boys continued to be perfectly satisfied in their tent and even dipped their toes in the sand for the first time! You can see below they were less thrilled about that! ;-). Probably because we interrupted their peaceful snooze.  We watched lots of football (sadly both our teams lost), cooked some incredible meals, and made memories to last a lifetime. Isn't that what vacation and family time is all about?! Collins and her idol:-) Always following behind. Sweet girls being silly.  Passed out! Love:-) Hehe!! My girl! This is how we spent th...

We had the BEST ever family vacation this year. I went into with low expectations of what our days would look like considering the boys were barely two months old. But, the boys and everything else about our trip was absolutely perfect!!  It was just our little family down there Sunday-Friday... And then the rest of my family joined for the long labor day weekend.  We spent at least four hours on the beach every day except Wednesday. We decided to make the trip to hilton head Wednesday afternoon/evening so skipped the beach trip that day and Mikey played golf and then I went and got a pedicure!   I was amazed at the weather on the beach.  I knew we wouldn't be able to enjoy with the boys if it were too hot... But not even close! The breeze was amazing... Almost too windy at times!  The boys stayed comfy and cool in their tent on the beach and Mikey and I took turns keeping Collins entertained:-) it was heaven! The weather was beautiful and we had the best time....

As I mentioned, Collins started preschool a couple of weeks ago. She has had a bit of a rough transition from being home with me so much... But I think she's finally getting used to going and loving it. She was always fine within minutes of being there, it was just drop off that was TOUGH. But, after two weeks of classes (she goes M,W,F) no tears were shed at Mondays drop off, hooray!  Every day I pick her up she says the same things: Me: "so what did you do today?"  C: "play musics, go big room, ride bikes, line up, eat goldfish, eat cookies."  It is so darn cute!!! No clue what all they really do, but this is her interpretation.  Then I say: " who did you play with?" C: " mawy bwooks (Mary brooks), yucy (Lucy) and john.  Presh!!! When I go back to work, I'll take her every morning around 8:15 and then her caretaker's husband picks her and another little boy up. How awesome is that? Have I mentioned how much we love weezie (her caretaker)...

I have two weeks left. TWO weeks. Part of me feels like I was in the hospital last week and the other part feels like it was a year ago.  Maternity leave is much different the second time around. I chose to keep Collins home with me the majority of the time. Yes, it was harder sometimes, but the boys sleep so much so it gave us lots of good quality time together. I would say the first 5-6 weeks of maternity leave I would send her to daycare at least one full day each week. That was because I was shuttling back and forth to appointments and needed more sleep time early on. Then for about 4 weeks she hardly went at all, and it was great... We had a great routine. And then... She started preschool two weeks ago and that has given me good alone time with the boys. So I feel like we've had a good combination. My last week I will probably send her after preschool to her caretakers so I can soak in my last days alone with the boys.  So...how in the heck do I do it?!? Ha! This is the ...

Hooray!! Our boys are two months old and growing great! (Which is especially important for preemies.) Month two has brought lots of new adventures and the best part... Y'all are sleeping 7-8 hours at night for the past week. Heck yes!!! I know there will be growth spurts and such to come that will change that but for now I'm celebrating this! Y'all had your first boat ride at 6.5 weeks and then were old pros at it by the time we went on vacation at the end of the month. Y'all also experienced the beach for the first time and the combination of the breeze and vibrating bouncy seats put y'all both into great slumbers during your beach time. Which was a lot for 8 week olds! We took y'all to hilton head for the first time and our yearly tradition of going to dockside for dinner in Beaufort. You two were just all over the place this month and did so great! Graham, you still spit up about half of your food, you little booger! The clogged tear duct is gone though. You ...

*i just realized I never blogged about our last little vacay as a family of three.  Back in June, we took a long weekend and headed to Beaufort for the last time before the boys were to come. It was a much needed getaway and it was perfect. We slept late, relaxed on the beach and boat, and Mikey and I even got away to celebrate our five year anniversary.  Celebrating daddy's birthday. Whoa. It's amazing how quickly I forgot how BIG I was. Yuck.  Evening golf cart rides. Gorgeous sunsets.    At our favorite restaurant in Beaufort. Love this man. Happy 5 years to us! Beach days.