The Beautiful Beach - part 2

More fun at the beach!

 

Eating at a buffet - Hannah  Beth looves watermelon! I couldn't believe how much she ate!

 

Daddy dug me a hole to play in! Of course, I figured out how to crawl out of it in about 5 seconds, but it was fun while it lasted! :)

 

Cooling down with some fresh water to drink! 

And then I got to swim in my little pool too!

 

Hannah Beth LOVED the ocean! She was fearless when it came to the water, waves, and sand. She would've crawled right into the Atlantic Ocean if we would've let her. 

Having the waves come up and splash her little legs made her so happy! 

And she didn't mind one bit when there was sand covering her head to toe (Mommy learned it's quite a process cleaning sticky sand off a 10 month old! - rinsing off in the outdoor shower in just her diaper, then splashing in the little pool, and then finally a bath in the tub! -- usually followed by a good nap for both of us! haha)

We're thankful for a wonderful vacation at the beach!

The Beautiful Beach - part 1

 

Our first couple of days at the beach...

10 months

Hannah Beth, it seems like so much has happened in your growth and development of skills and milestones between 9 and 10 months! 

(We had to improvise with the sign a little bit this time since we were out of town...)

Size: Not sure - guessing around 18 lbs.

Clothes: 12 months

Diapers: cloth diapers & size 3 disposable (for traveling)

Sleep habits: 2 naps - 1 in morning, 1 in afternoon; bedtime around 7:30 - awake in morning around 6:30; you still take your pacifier but only at nap & night time.

Teeth: at 9 1/2 months you got your 3rd tooth - the one next to the right front; at 10 months your 4th (right front) tooth poked through

Eating habits: you love finger foods; you're not a very picky eater and eat like pickles and meatloaf! You eat more different textures and we pretty much feed you whatever we're eating - making sure you get your veggies first since you'd much rather have the fruit.

Things you can do:

• Around 9 months, you started to take the balls from your treehouse toy and put them down the "chute"
• Right after 9 months, you started crawling really fast and getting pretty much anywhere you want to go! You then started transferring yourself from a crawl to sitting up position and pulling yourself up to your knees. 
• almost 10 months - you pulled yourself up to standing - first on the stroller, then in the pack n play, and so on...
• 9 1/2 months - you clap your hands [with them open]
• 9 1/2 months - you crawled up your first steps [2] at Grandma and Grandpa's house
• You wave bye-bye.
• You love to give kisses [and we love them too!]
• You figured out how to pull the wipes out of the wipes case and you think it's super fun.
• 10 months - learned how to drink from a straw

 Random Stuff:

• You are very smiley and you love to make noise!
• You continue to love looking at books, especially the ones with flaps, and you let us know which books are your favorites! Your favorite part is turning the pages.
• You love to play with your toys on the living room floor and really enjoy going to other houses and exploring their toys and stuff.
• You love to bounce, dance, and you even dance when there's no music!
• You seem to be really fond of men - haha - that's a good thing, just starting a little young. ;)
• You think baby dolls are interesting (especially their eyes and feet).
• You are showing your "feisty-ness" and "strong will" a bit more as you grow older - not the most easy-going personality but you sure are sweet! 

New experiences:

• Went to petting zoo for the first time and loved it - you LOVE animals, especially dogs and cats - you get so excited and squeal anytime you see them; instead of petting, you'd rather grab their fur.
• First ear infection @ 9 months - then came a rash
• First big bump/bruise on the side of head after hitting it on a chair at grandparents' house.
• Trip to North Carolina for a couple weeks of camp - first time. 

We sure do love you, sweet baby girl!

Appreciating the Cows...

The day we got done with our 2nd camp just happened to be Chick-Fil-A's annual cow appreciation day! We began the tradition of dressing up like cows and taking part in this event a few years ago. Tony's mom made some cow masks, cow bells, and tails, and I glued some black pieces of fabric onto some old white t-shirts. Every year since then we've pulled the "chick-fil-a cow bag" down from the attic and got ourselves some free food! We're happy it worked out that we were in NC this year on the right day.

 

Here's our sweet little cow! Last year when we dressed up I was a "pregnant cow" since I was 8 months pregnant with Hannah Beth. It was so special that she was able to wear this outfit this year [though it was a little bit small]- it had actually been purchased by Tony's mom for Alethia to wear in 2009. So thankful to have a little cow to dress up this year! 

 

And yes, as embarrassing as this picture is, here we are.  The stares that we receive from all the people around us when we walk in are quite amusing! haha  We sure enjoyed that free chicken though!

 

Hannah Beth enjoyed getting reacquainted with Mimi and Papa, who we hadn't seen since Christmas. She's also become quite fond of chewing on straws (and sucking on them too). 

 

Hannah Beth even got to meet the Chick-Fil-A cow! She squealed so loudly when she saw him - it was so funny! 

Camp #2 - Summer 2011

We spent July 2-9 at another camp in beautiful western NC, where Tony was the speaker for the week of teen camp. He spoke on Ephesians and did such a great job (if I do say so myself). Ephesians has always been one of my favorite books of the Bible. The teens asked some great questions about the messages/Biblical topics and seemed to really enjoy themselves throughout the week. They also loved the tootsie pops and blow pops Tony gave out for answering questions - guess even "older" kids are never too old for candy! We hope and pray that God's Word will be instilled in their hearts and minds.

Hannah Beth and I just kinda "hung out" during the week - we were able to spend a little bit of time with Tony but he was pretty busy studying/preparing for his messages. We were fortunate to stay in a quiet house on the camp's property - and thankful for a room with A/C. We just had to be extra careful with the food and snacks that we brought because little tiny ants were pretty much everywhere. I even had to store the Cheerios in the refrigerator. But alas...a small thing compared to so many things we have to be THANKFUL for (a lesson that I need to be reminded of often).

 

A few camp friends...Leah and Gabriella, and Hannah S with the 3 of us

And a sweet picture of Hannah Beth with Liam, the son of some good friends of ours who were at camp as well. Liam is 2 months younger than HB, but you wouldn't know it by looking at them - I think he weighs more than she does.

Catching Up... Slowly

I have a lot of catching up to do in the blog world...we've been busy and haven't had much internet access or time to blog.
It will probably take me a while, but slowly but surely, hopefully I'll get my pictures and details posted.

We spent June 25-29 at a youth camp in NC (Tony stayed until July 2nd since he was a counselor).

A little stop during the long road trip for a "crawl in the grass" break! I think this was at a random gas station in Ohio, lol.

Hannah Beth and me in the camp pool - she loves swimming!

Our little sweetheart playing in the dirt - digging a hole! She loves any sand, dirt, grass, etc. that she can get her hands (and sometimes mouth - yuck) on! 

This little missy started to pull herself up to stand just a few days after we arrived in NC (9 1/2 months old).

Hannah Beth and I spent Weds-Saturday of the week in the Charlotte area with my sweet college friend, Jan, and her two little boys, Matthew (3) and Jonathan (1). This picture of the 3 of them cracks me up!
Hannah Beth loved playing with the boys, attempting to steal Jonathan's toys, and exploring their house. I was so thankful to finally catch up with Jan - we did a little shopping, went swimming, spent lots of time just hanging out with the kiddos, and rented a movie & had delicious Chinese take-out on the last night. Her husband was at camp with Tony so it worked out perfectly!

 We met up with the guys at Chick-Fil-A and Hannah Beth was thrilled to get a little taste of my "ice-dream" cone.