:)

I'm not the best gift giver....

But this year I did really good!  

I stole this idea from a friend in IL.  

We went to one of those "paint your own pottery" places.

You can only imagine how fun that was.

My little man in a place dedicated to things that break.

We made it out without much damage.

I was thrilled with the results.  

Daddy got a new grill plate for his birthday and he LOVES IT!

Places I love in my house

My friend Kathy just saved me by swooping away my son.  I threw out my back last night and I am moving very slow today.  I took some good meds and things are better...but I am so stiff.  While I was walking around trying to stretch out I had negative thoughts in my head.  I was finding all the things I didn't like about my house.  Then the light bulb went off.  Satan has been working on me ALL DAY.  He is winning too.  This day has been a big mess. 

After some prayer I picked up my camera and started taking pictures off all the places I love in my house.  This home is a blessing to our family.  We have been able to open it up to family, friends, and neighbors on a daily basis.  We have brought home a sweet baby girl to this home. 

I am so ungrateful!

Satan....no more.  I'm done for today so you can move on! 

Here are some of my favorite spots.....

Living Room:

Kitchen:

Guest Bathroom:

Little Man's Room:

Middle Sis's Room:

Girl's Bathroom:

Big Sis's Room:

Playroom (Previously the Dining Room):

My Bedroom:

My bathroom:

Baby Girls Room:   That's right...she sleeps in my closet.  And I like it.  Weird...maybe...

 
Blessings everywhere and I miss them all of the time.  

5 months!!

 It just keeps getting better and better.  

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this sweet girl!

I kiss her about 1,000 times a day.  

Here is what she is up to:

She smiles a lot!

I have gotten a few giggles, but it's not her normal sound.

When she is happy she squeals!

She loves the exersaucer.

She is happy being held by anyone in her immediate family.

She does not care for others to hold her.  

She still loves being in the sling.  I wear her most of the time when we are out and about.

I think she is so incredibly beautiful.  

Is my gushing annoying?  I don't care, she is my last little girl!

Tonight when she was nursing for the gazillionth time I had an idea.

I know....best to wait until 6 months to start solids.....

But, she was sucking me dry!

So....I smashed up some banana and she went to town.

She was a pro.  She loved it!

One difference from my other babies is she prefers being on her stomach.

If you lay her down on her back she is flips herself over in a flash.

She also manages to make her way all around.  She rolls and scoots to get to her desired destination.

So much for my laid back 4th child.  This girl is constantly moving.

I'm not sure what she weighs, but the outfit that she is wearing in these pictures is size 0-3 months.
I am starting to break out the 3-6 month stuff.
She is still such a peanut.  Maybe more like a string bean.

She is adored by everyone in the house.  I think we are going to keep her!!

Warning:  the pictures are not the best...but I still wanted to get the events recorded.

So this weekend was one of those "divide and conquer" weekends.

Little Man had a soccer game and Middle Sis was in a parade at the same time.

I was able to get to both....but it was a rat race.

 We were sitting at the end of the parade route so she was pretty 

hot and sweaty by the time we got to see her.

She had a blast!

And it was.....

Baby Girl's first parade!

 Then we headed to the soccer fields....

Little Man is not loving soccer like I thought he would.  He loves the activity of the sport, he just doesn't love playing it with other people.  He wants the ball to himself the whole time.  He has an "attack" face the whole time he plays.   It's kind of creepy.  I'm sure the other parents have a lot to say about him.  Not a team player yet.

And when this happens.....

He is done!  

We have a few things to work on!

Beach Weekend

It was not quite the beach weekend that I dreamed of.  

A cold front moved in Thursday and changed our 90 degree weather to 60 degree weather.  

It was cold, overcast, and windy.  

We had to change our plans.  

Because Myrtle Beach had so many fun things to offer, we were still able to make it a great trip.  

(We just had to spend more money than I originally planned.)

We accidentally spent Saturday morning/afternoon without a camera.  

But, we had a great time at the Aquarium and shopping the boardwalk. 

Then.....the main event.

Pirates

The Pirate Voyage show was the real reason I booked the trip in the first place.

Little Man has been talking about this show for over a month.

It lived up to the hype!!

We were not able to take pictures during the show (which is very unfortunate for us). 

But, I can tell you that Little Man's face was bright as a light THE WHOLE TIME!

We had to force feed him b/c he was not going to take his attention away from the action.

There were cannons, fog and fire, high diving, gymnastics,

mermaids, sword fights, skeletons, and animal tricks.

We were front row center for it all.  

And aside from the amazing show....the food was fantastic!

And....on top of all of that....

Out of 300 people Little Man and Daddy were chosen to be a part of a contest.

Little Man rode in a boat while Daddy pulled a rope to get it across.  

Daddy used his speed and muscles and WON!!  

Little man was awarded a medal.  He was so proud!

I wish I had more pics to share.....

Little Man made a friend while waiting to enter the show.  They were HILARIOUS together! 

They talked to each other in pirate language.

On Sunday the weather was better and we were able to get out on the beach.  

Although it was not bathing suit weather, we still enjoyed ourselves.

When we texted our family to tell them about the undesirable weather we got the response...at least you are at the beach.  They were right....although it was not sun bathing weather....sand in my toes and waves splashing to shore are some of my favorite things!

Our hotel had an indoor water park.  Sounds great with the cold weather outside....except it was open air.  So, the outside chill traveled indoors.  The kids went from water slide to hot tub each time.

It did not fulfill my desire for "A day at the Beach".....but it was great family time!