Atlanta - Family Play Time

There is just something about getting all the cousins together that just melts my heart. One morning after Dan and Teresa left for work we took the kids bright and early to the playground to get out some energy. It had rained the day before but they didn't mind. They ran around and talked and laughed it was a very good start to the day.

 Sean was all over the place - and his shorts were soaked but he was having a ball! 

 Keiffer was so sweet with the babies, he is a cuddlebug. 

Atlanta - Running in the Rain

One of the days that we were in Atlanta it would rain on and off. When it was off we decided to take the kids for a walk and then it would turn on again. One time it started coming down so hard and it was one of those pee your pants type of laughing experiences. We were running and the babies were getting wet and we were all in flip flops and sliding. Just so funny. Anywho, here is the photo documentation. Ha. That sounds so stuffy.

 These guys came home from work to find a bunch of wet messes, but how cute are they!

I had to add this one because of the large man driving the baby john deer in the background. 

You can see the rain coming down! 

June 10 - Game Ranch

When we got to Atlanta my sister in law took us to the Game Ranch. I had never been to a game ranch and didn't really know what I was getting myself into, except that there were animals running around. Ok Sure. We drove down there all pumped to see some animals and when we arrive it was closed due to weather. Uh for real. Its a piece of land fenced in and has deer and chickens running around. I don't think the animals mind the weather but maybe they used the light sprinkle as an excuse for a date night. Who knows. 

Anyway the best part about sitting in the parking lot looking at the animals walk around was the peacocks. There were two of them, one on the roof and one in a lower parking lot. I have seen peacocks before but never this close or with their feathers fanned out. Very very cool! 

I think Teresa wanted to take one home as well...

The Pea'hock' as Kayla referred to it as, didn't want to come home with us.
Aww shucks! 

How beautiful! 

One of the best parts of our vacation were that all the cousins got to be together
and create lasting memories!

June 9th - A wedding and a cha cha slide

I am post-dating all of these so chronologically they are in some order when I look back and reminisce. Does that even happen nowadays? Maybe the reminiscing comes when the children are grown.

June 9th was the day before we left for Atlanta and friends were coming into town for a wedding. We packed like mad in the AM and were pretty much ready to go by noon. We dropped Addie off at the Bunce house and off to the wedding we went.

It had rained in the morning and the wedding was supposed to take place outside near the water. Luckily by 2 the sun started shining and it was turning into a wonderful day. It was really nice to see everyone but Hubs and I both knew we had to be at the airport at 6am and finish packing so it was not a late night for us. We were home by 8 and ready for vacation!

The ceremony turned out to be very beautiful and we took advantage of the wonderful views. There was a crazed man running after seagulls and lots of booty shaking. 

For those there I am putting these pictures in the dropbox and will email you all. 

The rest of that evening for the Keiffers was quiet and busy because the next day...

Baby was on the plane!! She was fantastic both there and back! I was so super nervous but she did awesome. Little fussy but no big deal and she slept a little. Everyone loved her and overall it was a very successful flight. 

Onto June 10th... 

Friends and Family and VACATION! Cell phone photo dump too.

 Over the past few weeks I have been working on my network of friends. For a while there - sometime between college and baby - there is a lull it seems like in the friends department. People are either single or with babies and being in the middle makes you feel slightly out of place. Granted I was/is/am very thankful and blessed and happy with my marriage, we just felt like we  had no friends. Our friends from college had moved away and although we are still SO very close we are miles apart. 

I have recently started gaining a nice little friends circle, I don't need many just a few gems. First off I have my absolute best-est Daniel O. We like to remind each other that we are best friends, its one part of our marriage that I really enjoy. He is my number one, my support and my biggest cheerleader. I may need to remind him every now and again but I am so thankful, blessed and excited to spend the rest of my life with him.

I have been meeting up with Marisa - my family photographer - the last few weeks, at least once, to work out and have our 'therapy' sessions as I love to call them. She is a breath of fresh air and just a really wonderful person with a heart of gold. I so very much enjoy getting to know her more and more each week. We met a few years back at the studio and we just had a connection. Awesomeness.

Then there is Andrea - its scary how similar of a person we are. We think the same exact way. She is a few years older than me and has three beautiful children. Its amazing to watch them grow and she is a kick ass mom. I look up to her and respect her opinions. I don't know that she knows how much she impacts my life - I think I have to tell her that. She is the person I go to when my heads a mess and she says just the right things to snap me out of it. The craziest part is I have worked with her for three years along with her brother and sister and hands down I would say I am part of their crazy family. Although time or space may separate all of us at some point, I still really love them.

There are some new friends coming into the picture, it is exciting to see how our life is unfolding and who will be there and how they mold and grow with us. Yesterday was Ms Addisons first play date! It was adorable, us Mommys talked and the babies played. It was just a really nice time and Andrea - I must attract people with this name - is a really nice down to earth, smart mom.

Love is so wonderfully powerful. I enjoy being so in love and feeling so loved.

This weekend we are heading out to Atlanta for our vacation. Um Say What... Sunday yes. Um.  Er. Hm. I think I need to start to get ready for that. I feel like it snuck up on me. I remember writing on the calendar that we had three weeks until we leave and now its 3 days. Yikes. This will be the first time traveling with the little bug and I am hoping it all goes well. We are going to bring some toys and food and the flight is only 2 hours so I hope it goes quick.

I am REALLY excited to see my sister in law and her family. We don't get to spend as much time with them being they live in Atlanta but we have never been there and we haven't seen them since the holidays so it will be so great. We will be there for 10 days, Dan has to work the first few days and then we are going to some museums and fun things.

Posts will be light the next few weeks so to hold you over I am unloading my phone pics...

 Old Couches

 New couch

 Super happy bumbo baby

 St. Pattys Day Outfit - Her Cousin Peyton had the same outfit

 Home with Mommy Working Away

 Papa and Daddy working on his car

 The butterfly in our backyard that was hanging around the week before the baptism.
I think someone was saying hello.

 Our kitchen with half of the backsplash done.

This outfit is another hand me down from her mama. Love. 

My sleeping angel on mothers day. 

Who needs Mom anymore, I can sit up. 

Another hand me down from Mom. 

Loving jogging with mommy. 

New car mirror so I can stare at her while driving.
She loves when you open the window and her hair flies everywhere. 

 Another hand me down from me.

Our super beautiful rose bushes that have exploded this year. 

Yesterday with mommy, the dog is starting to come around to having a new addition in the house.

A Very Merry Unbirthday!

Today we celebrated our little miracles half birthday! She will be 6 months old on the 8th and today we put together a family bbq to celebrate her. It was a Mad Hatters Tea Party theme and a very un-birthday it was.

We are so incredibly blessed to have such supportive families and to have our beautiful daughter. The last six months have flown by and I am so excited to see what the next six months and beyond have to hold. She is developing into such an amazing person and already my heart beams with pride. I love to cuddle her and we have a great routine going. She is a slobber monster but there aren't any teeth showing just yet. She sits like a champ and may fall after several minutes of unsupported sitting. The last week her voice has become louder and louder. It is one of the most wonderful sounds. Her smile melts mommy and daddys heart and literally lights up a room with her gums! I have come to learn that she gets VERY unhappy when the weather is warm. This old home has no air which really makes her mad. I don't mind though because she can stay in her diaper all day, I just get to nibble on delicious legs and chubby arms all day.

I think today was a complete success. I started working on some crafts last night and finished decorating this am before company. I made the teapots from scrapbook paper and hung some decorations from the chandeliers. We also decorated the house with red roses, ya know, 'painting the roses red'. We also had cards and the 'eat me' 'drink me' signs. This AM at the dollar store I also found an Alice in Wonderland coloring book!  Daniel bought a gas grill last night and we cooked at our house. Papa brought the ice cream cake and it was specially made just for her, half a cake for a half birthday. My smile grew when I opened the box. Overall it was amazing to celebrate her life so far, I am really thrilled that we had an un-birthday party for her. When will she ever be only a half a year old again!

* Hint if you want to see the collages bigger just click on them.

And now Mommy and Daddy are spending a quiet Sunday evening watching our little blessing on the baby monitor enjoying a glass of wine.

Addison Mary is 5 months and 3 weeks. She is the light of my life.

Big Weekend - Great Week

So the last week has been really packed. I feel like thats what happens every summer. It gets here, I am SO super excited we are go go go and then its fall. Anywho I am proud of myself for exercising - running, hiking, walking - every day since Saturday. I have just committed myself to get my pre-baby(s) body back. Its been a long time and I just want to feel good again. I bought some new clothes, which always seem to make you feel better and I didn't freak about the sizes I bought. C'mon lets be realistic I am no Heidi Klum, and I had an almost 10 pounder in my 5 foot 5 frame. I have to remember that some days because I want it instantly.

Last night I strapped the baby on my back and we completed the Corporate Challenge 5k. Yep you heard read that correctly. I walked a 5k with my baby strapped to me. It was no time to write home about but I was not doing it for the time, I know how fast I can run it by myself. But there was something about crossing that finish line with my baby that made me so proud. I started to tear up. I think it was just a culmination of everything and my joy was overflowing. I have always thought about waving to my baby on the side of the road as I prove to her how strong her mama is but having her with me was an even better feeling. It makes my baby belly and tiger stripes seem like no big deal. I am excited to show her one day the photo of her 5 months old crossing the finish line in my arms. Seems metaphoric in a way.

This weekend we are celebrating Ms Addisons Half Birthday! We are having the family over for a BBQ, nothing too fancy, just a way to look at the last 6 months and where we have come and send good wishes towards the future.

I will be posting pictures of the weekend for sure! Keep an eye out! (and look for super old posts I am finally going to finish i.e. Her Birthday! - Bad mama!)

For now I am going to get my work on so I don't have to this weekend.