End of June Baby Moon!

Doug and I enjoyed a relaxing, KID-FREE!, weekend while the girls slept over at Gigi and Babu's house.  Even though our original "Baby Moon" plans fell through thanks to Doug's busy work schedule, we still managed to have a great time getting some much needed R&R! 

We went to dinner alone, went to bed early, slept in...late, watched TV shows other than Dora or Tinkerbell and even hosted a small housewarming party with some of our favorite Richmond friends.  

In fact, the sad reality is, when you are a mother of two young children and pregnant with another, a relaxing weekend on the couch sounds better than any other destination!  My DVR is a little tidier, my ankles and feet a little less swollen and my "before baby to-do list" is just about checked off!  

It was a wonderfully relaxing yet productive end of June Baby Moon weekend.  

 

 

Pictures from our small housewarming cookout. 

Mandy, Me, Cat and Lindsey (minus Liv who left before our pretty Mama photo shoot!)

 

Doug, Rob R., Rob S. and Ricky (minus John who had to leave early)

 

 

When I wasn't watching TV on the couch in my sweatpants, I was getting the nursery ready, washing baby clothes, blankets, bibs, burp cloths and bottles.  We are ready for our sweet baby girl to get here!!

 



 

 

 

 

 

The girls had a great time in the woods with Gigi and Babu.  They chased the puppies around, hunted for frogs, worms and bugs and had a blast getting dirty!!!

 

The girls were happy to see Babu!

 

Hailey and her worms!!

 

Lulu loves the fresh air!

A much needed bath after a day in the woods!

 

 

When the girls got home, they were excited to see that we had a "just because" birthday cake for them (leftover from our housewarming party!)  We sang Happy Birthday, blew out the candles, had cake and then ran around the house like wild donkeys hopped up on sugar!

 

Absence really does make the heart grow fonder, because when they came home, all we wanted to do was snuggle with our girls!  (Even though Hailey informed us that she still loves us SO much but that she didn't really miss us while she was gone because she had so much fun at Gigi and Babu's house!  Well!  I guess it's good to know that they had a good time!)

 



 

 

Water Babies!

 

It looks like I've got a couple of water babies on my hands!  Hailey has been taking swim lessons at the pool in the mornings, which means that we've been spending most of our days poolside!  As you can imagine, chasing a 4 year old and a 2 year old around the pool, while 7 months pregnant, is no easy task.  That's why I'm determined to get Hailey swimming by the end of summer!  So far, things are looking up.  In a week, I've managed to convince Lainey to wear her life vest, without screaming the entire time, and Hailey has shown great improvement in her swimming!  She's going under, wearing her goggles and even swimming under the water!  She's even been moved up to a more advanced swim class starting tomorrow afternoon!  Fingers crossed that she keeps improving!  Since our schedule has consisted of spending the hours of 9am-12:30pm at the pool, followed by long naps and then dinner, the only pictures I have from this week were taken with my phone at the pool.  Even though the pictures are lackluster, you better believe these two have had one pretty amazing week!

 

 

Finally smiling while wearing her vest!!  Hooray for small victories!

She loves the pool!

Swim lessons with Ms. Martha. 

Kicking away on her kickboard!

Once I finally convinced her to put on her goggles, she wouldn't take them off!  She even wants to wear them in the bathtub!

After last years traumatizing swim lessons, I never thought I'd see this happen!

Lulu and Daddy.

Giving baby a poolside bath. 

I feel so much more relaxed now that Lulu will wear her life vest. 

Snow cones at KRA are becoming a tradition!

So are $1 hotdogs and snacks!

Too tuckered out to even look at the camera!

Yep.  Time to walk home and take a nap!!

Lulu is Two!!

Happy Birthday Lainey!  You are my sweet, cuddly little teddy bear.  Your spunky little personality mixed with your love of "snuggling with Mommy" keeps me on my toes while at the same time melts my heart each day.  I can't believe how fast you're growing up right before my eyes.  I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful little girl, both inside and out. 

 

 Lulu turned two this week and someone seems to have snuck in and replaced my chubby little baby with sassy toddler!  I feel like we blinked and now she is speaking in sentences, singing songs, running, jumping, dancing and playing pretend with her sister!

 

For Lainey's 2nd birthday, we decided to celebrate all things, "Nom Nom" aka Cookie Monster.  Lulu loves her some Nom Nom!  We partied with Grandma, Grandpa, Gigi, Babu, Uncle Poogie, Emily and Aunt Kay.  There was tons of food, lots of Cookie Monster balloons, a Cookie Monster cake and even a Cookie Monster piñata.  Lainey scored some great birthday loot and all in all I think it was a smashing success. 

 

 

Party pics:

 

Lainey loved her "Nom Nom" shirt!

 

A very incriminating birthday family photo. 

 

My happy cookie monsters. 

Kisses for the birthday girl!



 

Some beautiful hydrangeas in our backyard. 

Lainey loved her birthday decorations!

Especially her  big birthday banner!



Our first "real" birthday cake!  It was delicious! 

The piñata!

It wouldn't be a 2nd birthday party without birthday hats!!

 

Or noisemakers!

 

Lulu's smash cake. 

This, my friends, is what happens when a 7 month pregnant woman plans a birthday party.  There was certainly no shortage of food!

Grandma and Aunt Kay, on babysitting duty. 

Daddy make great steak and chicken kabobs for the party!!

 

Daddy and grandpa, assembling the kabobs. 

The girls ran around like wild animals with all of the cookies and sugary treats around for the taking!

This pint sized cookie monster was very happy that Aunt Kay baked some of her ginormous M&M cookies!

She just loved all of the attention that day:)

Me and Uncle Poogie. 

Chick fil a nuggets for the birthday girl!!

 

 

Time to open presents!!

 

 

 

 

 

Time for cake!!!

 

 

 

Me and the birthday girl.

 

 

 

Piñata time!

 

 

Post party snuggling on the couch with Grandma and Grandpa. 

 

 

 

Someone please stop time for just a little bit...my babies are growing up way too fast.  (And yes.  Going through these pictures made me cry like a baby!!!)

 

Lainey on her birthday, June 11, 2011.

 

Lainey on her 1st birthday.

Lainey on her 2nd birthday. 

If sweet baby girl #3 gets along even half as well as these two do, then I'll be one lucky Mama.