KY Lake Trip #2

We had a great weekend at KY Lake with Mimi, Boo Boo, Megs, and David. We all left around 9 Friday morning and the kids did great in the car. We stopped at Walmart on the way and bought a Dora and Max and Ruby DVD for Maddie to watch. She was content the entire ride. Turner required a little entertaining, but for the most part was a happy camper. We arrived at lunch and immediately went down to the lodge to eat. Everyone was ready to put on their swimsuits and go to the pool. Maddie has turned into quite the little swimmer. She is not afraid to put her face in the water and can hold her breath for quite a while. She uses her arms and kicks her legs-I think she would be fine if we took off her floaties, but it makes her nervous not being able to touch the bottom with her feet. They had a baby pool and she swam like crazy in it-but she could stand if she chose to. Turner enjoyed the water as well. He loves to kick his feet and watch everyone. Kevin would throw him up and he would just laugh. After swimming, we ate dinner in the lodge and then put the kids to bed. Both nights, Kevin, Dad, David, and Megs stayed up playing cards after the kids went to sleep.

We woke up early Saturday to a beautiful day and Kev and Dad took Maddie fishing. She caught about 5 fish and would just throw crickets in the lake and say she was feeding them. I love watching Kevin fish with his little pink Barbie fishing pole:) Maddie always has a good time fishing and it is something they enjoy together. I am hoping Turner will enjoy it as well. After fishing, we all went down to the dining room for breakfast. This weekend was the first time Turner sat in a highchair at a restaurant and he loved it. We would hand him toys and in between trying to eat the table, he would just play. After breakfast, we all suited up and went to the pool. Kevin and Dad played cards while Turner was napping and then joined us once he woke up. We bought Maddie some eye goggles for her to use and she looked so cute. The goggle would have filled up halfway with water and she still was swimming away with her eyes wide open. David was great with her and they basically had the pool to themselves swimming back and forth. Maddie can be a little bossy and David, for the most part, just did what she said-he is a trooper:) Mimi and Boo Boo went out and grabbed some lunch and brought some back to the pool. We were trying to eat light, so we would be ready for Patti's that night.

At 3, I took Maddie upstair for a craft they were doing for the kids. She was able to paint her own piggy bank (she actually pick out a fish bank), which was very exciting, because hers broke a few months ago. She used every color they had and had a great time. She was excited when Mimi gave her some change to put in it. After that, we went back to the room to get ready. We got to Patti's and was able to walk around a bit before our reservation. Maddie saw a turkey, a llhama, some rabbits and few other animals. We took lots of pictures and then were ready to eat. We enjoyed a great dinner and then headed back to the lodge. The kids went to sleep very quickly and Kevin enjoyed playing cards again. Maddie did not take a nap the whole time we were there and was exhausted by bedtime. Turner stuck with his normal routine, which also meant waking a lot during the night. His bottom gums have been so swollen for the past week, and a tooth still hasn't broken through. So, Kevin and I were taking turns with him, but fortunately it never woke Maddie up. We just had very early mornings all weekend (which we are used to:)

Sunday morning, Kevin and Dad took Maddie fishing again, but didn't have as successful a trip. Maddie tripped and skinned her knee before they even made it to the pier. It put a damper on the fishing adventure, and they didn't stay long. Our daughter is a drama queen and it required some special attention from everyone:) After we ate breakfast, the guys played some checkers and us girls went back to the pool for one last time. Maddie swam for about an hour in the little pool and showed us all of her "super tricks"-I don't know where that came from, but she said it a hundred times. She did have a bunch of tricks. We headed home around lunchtime yesterday. We stopped to eat and make it to the house around 4. We had a great weekend with the family and am glad we were able to go back. Thanks Mimi and Boo Boo for taking us!! We appreciated everything-here are some pics from the weekend.

Trip to the Zoo

Usually Saturday's are spent in the pool. It has actually been a little cooler the past few days and today the high was only in the low 80's. We decided the pool might be a little cool and it would be a perfect day to go to the zoo. We bought a membership back in April and haven't been back since. It has been so hot and Turner was still a little young. Now that he can sit up in the stroller instead of riding in his carseat it was a great time to go. Maddie was really excited and couldn't wait to see the giraffes. We stopped and got lunch on the way and got there about 12:45. We were able to see everything and both kids had a great time. Maddie really enjoyed the monkeys, giraffes, and hippos. They have a fairly new birds and bees exhibit that I took Maddie through as well. We got a stick that had bird food on it and the birds land on your stick and eat. It took a minute, but I was able to get 2 birds to land that Maddie was able to watch eat. We took a break to feed Turner a bottle and shared a snowcone with Maddie. We were there about 3 hours and had a fun day. It is now 7:30 and both kids are asleep-I am going to go enjoy some downtime before I hit the sack. Goodnight y'all!

Turner's 6 month Doctor Visit!

Thursday I took Turner for his 6 month check up and shots. He did so well! As soon as we got back there I undressed him so they could measure and weigh him. I talk to Dr. Scott everytime we go about his spitting up and this time we were able to demonstrate it. Turner was spitting up on the way to get weighed, on the way back to the room and the whole time we were there. The poor nurses were cleaning up the floor behind us, changing the sheet on the exam table, and handing me tissues to clean up myself. I told them that I have been telling the doctor about this little problem he has-the whole time Turner is smiling! He weighed in at 17 1/2 lbs (50%), is 27 1/4 inches long (75%), and his head was 42 1/2 inches around (25%). Dr. Scott is wasn't how big his head is that matters, but how he uses it:) We are now supposed to be giving him oatmeal at breakfast, a fruit and vegetable at lunch, and a meat and vegetable at dinner. That is a lot more than what we have been doing, so I am anxious to see if this helps with his sleeping at night. He is right on target as far as accomplishments as well. He is sitting up on his own, grabbing things and transferring them from hand to hand, and talking all the time. His favorite thing to say his "Da Da" and to growl.

He is just starting to get up on all fours and is rocking back and forth. I think he will be crawling very soon-I don't know if I am ready for that. He will grab his burp cloth and put it in front of his face and throw it down and smile. He loves to play peek a boo and his dad can really get him to laughing. He will sometimes fight sleep at naptime, but is always quick to go to bed at night. He is such a good happy baby! I am so mad at myself because I left my camera at home for his doctors visit. But here is a picture that was taken a few days before. Check out his abs.

Story Time

Before church this morning, I put Turner in his little kicking machine and started putting up some of their clothes. I turned around and Maddie was reading Turner a story. Turner was sitting himself up and trying his best to get a hold of that book. I am so glad that Maddie enjoys to read and that she includes her brother so often. It is evident how much she loves him and I am so glad that they are so close in age. I don't think it will be long before he is crawling and I have a feeling he will be following her everywhere! What trouble those two are going to get in:)

Preschool Water Party at Church

Friday night there was a party for the preschool department at church. They had a water slide and a pool set up for the kids to play. There were several of Maddie's friends there and she had a big time. It lasted until 8 and Turner was a real trooper. He just watched everyone and enjoyed himself as well. We had hot dogs, chips, and cookies and they loaded us up with leftovers before we left. We spend most of Saturday in our pool with Megs and David and everyone enjoyed the food from the night before. We always enjoy spending time with our friends from church!

Maddie's first night of Dance

Well, off to a new school year and we decided to let Maddie do a different activity-Dance! We did Kindermusic for 2 semesters last year, and while she enjoyed it I thought we would try something with a little more structure. Kevin kind of wanted her to take gymnastics, but I think it will be so much fun preparing for her to be in a recital! How cute she will be in a little costume strutting her stuff across the stage:) She is taking tap and ballet one night a week with Beth Cross. She started last Wednesday, and while she was very shy at first, I think she had a great time. She showed Kevin and I what she learned when we got home and they gave her a sucker-nothing makes her more happy than a piece of candy:) I hope she enjoys it, and I always like having something to do while Kevin is gone so much for football. I took some pictures before we left.

Turner is supposed to be taking a nap:)

DORA LIVE

A few weeks ago I bought tickets for us to take Maddie to see Dora Live at the Orpheum. It was a rather expensive outing for us and I was so nervous that she would get bored, not enjoy it, and then it would be a waste of money. I was so, so wrong. My parents kept Turner for the night so it was quality time spent just with Maddie. She was so excited on the way there. She had never been downtown before and couldn't get enough of the horses and carriage rides. We are going to have to go back as a family and do that one night.

When we first got there, we ordered a few drinks and got Maddie a snack (sour patch candy). I knew if nothing else, the candy would keep her entertained for a little while. Then before we sat down, there were Dora and Diego souvenirs to choose from-I had to let her pick something out. So, for $15 we got a spinner that lights up and has Dora on it. Then we went to sit down. Let me tell you-I really showed my tail and am so embarrased about it now. I am not familiar with the seating at the Orpheum. So when I was buying our tickets, I was going off what the girl told me. We bought the most expensive tickets they had, which apparently can get you seats on the first row or in the balcony. Our seats were D201-D203. So down the middle aisle we go to the 4th row. We were all excited, because they were great seats! Kevin runs to the restroom, and of course while he is gone, a lady comes and tells me that we are in her seat. We have 3 people that work there looking at our tickets and I politely show her that mine say D201-203. I tell her that she must be in the wrong section, and is probably up in the balcony. Well-after discussing this for a few minutes, I am told that we are in the wrong seats and needs to go up the stairs, blah, blah, blah. I could not believe how snobby I had acted to this woman when all along it was us who needed to go to a "different section". Needless to say, our seats were still fine, but it would have been so much better if that family had never shown up:)

Once we got settled, it didn't take long for the show to begin. It lasted about an hour and a half and had an intermission half-way through. Maddie did great and really enjoyed herself. I don't think she ever took her eyes off the stage and she and her daddy sang right along with the songs. I was quite surprised at just how much Kevin enjoyed himself-he really is just a big kid, which I think is part of the reason he does so well with Maddie and Turner. It was a great show and I am so glad that we went. We decided to get something to eat on the way home and stopped at Perkins. There was a lady there painting faces and Maddie had Elmo painted on her hand. She also got a balloon on our way out. It was great quality time spent with her and we all had a great night.

Turner is now sitting up!

Over the past few days, Turner has gotten a lot better in the balance department. He loves seeing everything and isn't always fond on laying on the floor and playing. I have been saying that I think it will make a huge difference once he is sitting up and I think I am right. He hasn't actually sat up by himself yet, but if we sit him up, he is able to stay that way for a while. He really enjoys playing with his toys that way. Last night he read his book while Maddie was reading (he is very intelligent:) I can't believe it is already time for him to start reaching these different milestones. It has gone so incredibly fast and am not ready for him to stop being our baby. I imagine in a few weeks he will start crawling and will be everywhere. He is starting to scoot backwards a little bit and gets very excited. His favorite position is the airplane. He will be on his belly and will start kicking his legs and has his arms out flapping them up and down. It is very cute and I know he is just wanting to take off. Maddie is such a big supporter of his and praises him when he does new things. She is such a proud big sister!

Happy 1st Birthday Sophia!

I have a lot of catching up to do on my blogging. It has been a busy past 2 weeks, so bare with me. Two weekends ago we went to Savannah to help Sophie celebrate her 1st Birthday!! I can't believe she is already a year old. We got there early Friday afternoon and Nonna had pizza waiting for us. Both Turner and Maddie slept some on the ride there so they were ready to go! Brayden, Grace, and Tyler were there and they had a slip-n-slide set up. As soon as we ate Maddie put on her swim suit and took off. She really enjoyed sliding with Brayden. Turner went to bed pretty early that night, but it took some doing to get Maddie to sleep. She is always so excited to be there and doesn't want to take the time to sleep.

Saturday was the day of the party and the family was coming over to Da and Nonna's to celebrate. They had two bouncies set up and the kids took off. Maddie was able to spend some time with her cousin Addison. It was the first time we had seen them since Christmas and the girls played well together. Maddie went down the slide by herself a few times and Grace was a big encouragement to her. The kids would go back and forth between the bouncers and the trampoline. This went on from about 11 am till 5 that afternoon. I will have to say that Maddie never slowed down the whole day, but wasn't whining either which is unusual. Normally, if we miss a nap she is a mess by late that afternoon. She was just having too much fun. Turner just took it all in by watching everyone. He was passed around and loved on by the grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Sophie enjoyed eating her cake and seemed to enjoy the day. It was a fun weekend spent with family!