Happy 4th of July!

Technically,we celebrated the 4th on the beach of Gulf Shores(more on that later), but I of course had to celebrate the whole week!
This was a big week for us. This handsome boy turned 9 months!
9 months already?!?! That means it is like time to plan the first birthday party. (oh, who am I kiddin!?!? I have been planning that thing since before he was born!)
He is eating lots of food and weighs 20 lbs and is 29 1/2 inches. That means he is just 4 pounds lighter and 4 inches shorter than his sister! No, is still doesn't crawl and is still perfectly content sitting and playing and having someone else hold his bottle. (Speaking of, this is the first time in almost 3 years that I am now solely eating for myself. I am not thinking about how it will affect some other little person. Kind of a weird feeling.) Unfortunately, after 9 months I was just not making enough for my little man and he was not very happy about it.
Did I mention that my little red head has a temper?
He goes from this:

To this:

and then usually back to this after he gets his way:

STINKER!
Even Lila quickly returns a toy to him after he throws his fit when she takes it away.
These two sure are cute together. Very rarely can I snap a good photo of the two of them. Each day they are starting to play more together and make each other laugh.
Every morning when Lila sees Graham, she says," Good Morning Graham. I give you good morning hugs!" So sweet.
Speaking of Lila, she is also 25 months old. We are like at the age when I guess I quit talking in months and just say her year. sniff sniff. We went back to to the cardiologist....FOR THE LAST TIME!!! PTL...her VSD is GONE!
Here she is getting ready for the Dr.


They never thought her hole would completely close, but it has. We are so thankful we do not have to make yearly trips to Vandy anymore. Good thing too because our cardiologist is moving to Knoxville, so at least we don't have to lose another Dr. She does still have a teeny tiny little murmur, but everything looked great. I can't express to you how thankful we are to have 2 healthy babies. I have a breakdown everytime I am in that waiting room. There are many very very sick kids, and it just breaks my heart. It also reminds just how blessed we are!
Lila has had lots of changes the past week or so. No more paci, pee peeing in the potty, (here she is making a run for it)

and now having to convert to a toddler bed since she decided to climb out of her crib. Since we never officially gave her her birthday present, we decided to also use it has a praise/reward for all these new things. Now, let's see if it works.
She does love it so! Maybe now I can actually cook dinner, since she will hopefully be occupied!
Here she is checking out her kitchen for the first time:


Gorgeous Girl

Funny Girl!

Happy Anniversary

This is the only picture I have of Michael and I from our anniversary night at the Schermerhorn. I just found it on my phone and wanted to post!

Daddy's Day

Poor Michael, this weekend wasn't quite all about him. We traveled to East Tennessee for my dear friend and college roommate's wedding. Boys, the one and only Misty Kay Bartlett is off the market. She is now Misty Kay Hay! :)
We got to visit with lots of good friends and celebrate the union of Misty and Ryan. Congrats guys!
Some of the girls and old roomies: Leanne is going to be crazier than me when she has baby # 2 just 14 months after he precious Ansley was born. Her due date is my birthday, so I am hoping he/she comes on time! :)

Michael dancing with the bride trying to earn her some honeymoon money.

Me with the Bride:

Just 2 weekends before, my Hannah Banana also got married. (This was the same weekend we went to Morristown for Lila's birthday party and I forgot my camera.) So, in order to make up for not having my camera at her wedding, here I am with the other new bride.

Me and My Groom:


The Girls:



While we were at the wedding, Lila and Graham stayed with their cousins Laura and Elizabeth. For the first time in a long time, Lila screamed when we left. Apparently she was not happy the whole time we were gone. We also discovered that she climbs out of the pack n' play. (I found at later that she also did this at my mom's house the weekend before, but we did not know.) Oh, I should probably mention that her paci got "broken" just on Thursday night, so it hasn't been the easiest week for her. She also was still not caught up on sleep from being gone the 2 weekends before. Graham also did not have a great night. He rolled off the bed....poor Laura.
Anyway, we came home on Sunday to celebrate Michael and G's first Father's Day together and Michael's 3rd Father's Day over all! I am jealous...I've only had 2 mother's days. :)
I could not ask for a better man to be the father to my children. He makes their faces and mine beam when we walks into the room. He helps me above and beyond and always puts our family first. Thank you Michael for being the best daddy ever! Happy Father's Day! We Love you!




We didn't get home until late, so we waited to open gifts until the kids were fed, bathed, and ready for bed. (That's my disclaimer for why my kids are dressed or not not dressed in their pj's.)

I'm on a boat! PART DEUX

So thanks to these two fine folks,

we had another awesome weekend on the lake. This time we headed a little closer to home, to Norris Lake. We met my parents, who were so awesome to meet us in Knoxville at 11 pm at night to pick up our first baby, Chloe, and Lila. Yes, for the first time besides being in the hospital with Graham, I spent the night away from Lila. :(
Because of nursing and the fact that he is still so little (to me), Graham went with us to hang out on the boat with Baby Brody!
Leading up to dropping Lila off I was a nervous wreck. I think I was more bothered by it than her. She was so excited to get to see Grandmother and PopPop, that she didn't even flinch when we put her in their car and they drove away. I knew she was going to have a grand time! She got to see all her cousins and go here:





They said she was a perfect angel and had so much fun!
I wish I could have been with her on her first trip to the big D, but I don't think she even missed me. I only cried once when I talked to my mom on Saturday and she told me that Lila was asking where I was. sniff sniff.
However, when we went to pick her up at my sisters house, she ran away from me and wouldn't have anything to do with me....figures! The no napping at Grandmothers finally caught up with her and she was a little toot.
Graham did so well! He did a lot of this:


And we did a lot of this:


and alot of this:



AND you can't forget this:

It was absolutely the best lake weather ever! It was so nice and sunny and the perfect breeze for the babies.
It was so nice to get away from it all (no cell, FB, internet service) and just soak in God's glorious creation. We definitely had a weekend of good eatin, no make-up wearin, no showerin', and lots of good company!
Here are a few more shots from our great weekend:
Graham enjoying his view:

Me and Debbie:

Graham hanging out and loving the boat:

Naked Baby:

Me and my baby:

My Girls:


G enjoying lunch with his shades on.

HANDSTANDS:

We had a hard time getting a picture. I was afraid I was going to roll on over into the water so I wouldn't kick my leg all the way up. This was the best we could do.





As much as Michael and I both missed Lila, it was so nice to just be able to enjoy each other and spend time with our friends and G. We didn't worry a bit about her because we knew she was in great hands and having a good time.
Now, I don't know if I am ready to go and leave her all the time, but I can say I am glad we did.