beach bums...

Aaaaaand another 2 months has gone by since my last post.  It's not my intention for this to be the pattern.  It just is what it is, you know?

As a matter of fact, I've had this post in mind for quite awhile and I've only just had an opportunity to go through my [thousands and thousands of] photos to choose some to post here.

I thought with the end of summer approaching, or at least the end of beach season, it would be neat to post some photos from some of our trips to the beach this season, including Natalie's first time at the beach and in the ocean (intracoastal waterway):

[these were taken in May, when Natalie was 10 weeks old --

her first trip to the beach]

[these were taken a month later in June, when she was 14 weeks old]

[these were taken at the end of June, when Natalie was 4 mos old --

isn't her bathing suit adorable??]

[these were taken at the end of July, when Natalie was 5 mos old --

she took her first boat ride AND got into the water for the first time!]

These are not the only times we went to the beach; they're just the times I took my camera along, so as you can see, we have been quite the beach bums this season, since I'm now able to stay home with my littles (praise the Lord!).  Deacon loves going to the beach and now playing/swimming in the water.  He's gotten very confident with his puddle jumper, and it's nice for mom & dad, too, knowing he will pop right back up to the top.  :)  

So long, summer!  We'll see you next year!  Bring on F A L L!

summertime on the coast...

You know, there are worse places we could live, I suppose...

 

Living on the coast most definitely has its advantages, especially in the summertime.  I think I've mentioned before my (life-changing) discovery of Instagram -- the photo app I use to basically capture my life as it happens.  It's so great because I don't always have my big honkin' DSLR with me, and yet I can still capture sweet memories.

 

I wanted to share a little of what we're doing this summer, instagram-style (just to further clarify, these were taken with my phone, using the instagram app -- it's freakin' awesome!)...

 

 

 

 

Happy summer, y'all!

Mother's Day weekend...

I had such a good weekend with my boy last weekend for Mother's Day.  On Saturday, Jeff went golfing with some of his friends so Deacon and I went to play in the park up the road...

 

[it startled me how big/grown he looks in this one...]

 

And then we went up to a new strawberry farm (close to home!) to pick strawberries!

Deacon did really good finding strawberries to pick.  He liked carrying the bucket and he lasted for probably a good 20 min or so.  Everyone at the farm thought he was adorable and kept giving him these ginormous, outrageously shaped berries to eat.  He was loving that!

 

[instagram photo -- so in love with that app!]

 

When all was said and done, we picked almost 4 lbs of beautiful, yummy strawberries!

Saturday evening, my boys took me out to eat for dinner, my choice.  I chose Blue Water for the outside dining and yummy menu.  We don't eat there often because it's all the way down at Wrightsville Beach, but it was so pretty out, I thought it would be a nice night for it.  And it was.  :)

Deacon enjoyed seeing all the big boats on the water, listening to the seagulls, etc.  And he charmed anyone who would look at him, of course.  He's a show-stealer, that one. :: wink ::

 

[another instagram photo -- it's how I capture my life in real time]

On Sunday, we went to church, of course, and then went home for naps.  Around 4:30 or so, we decided to head to the beach -- our first official trip (with bathing suits and everything!) of the season.  It was absolutely perfect out there.  The water was a little chilly but the air temperature with the sunshine was so nice.  Even the wind was minimal which kept us comfortable.
 

 

[instagram again :)]

 

[here's another one that makes him look so grown... :: sniff ::]

I love being this precious boy's mama.

summah-tiiime...

Whew, it's hot.  We are most def into summer around these parts.  And taking advantage of our proximity to the beach...

::  photo cred goes to my sister-in-law, Jill, for all these great shots ::

Deacon is definitely warming up to the beach now.  Ha, ha!  Get it?  Warming up...?  Aaaaanyway, he enjoys the beach more now that he can run around.  He's not so fearful of the waves and actually enjoys having his feet in the water with the waves rushing over them.  Every time we go, he gets a little braver.  He's a lot of fun to watch.  :)

And, as always, he's very friendly to everyone we see.  To the point of awkwardness, I think.  Of course, he charms everyone, but as his mama, sometimes I have to pull him away for being so, um, friendly.  Know what I mean?  Playing with other kids' toys, eating other peoples' snacks, tuning other folks' radios...  Okay, that last one hasn't happened, but we came pretty close one day...

AHK-WARD.

I guess it's okay at this age, though.  I'm hoping he'll grow out of the "overstepping boundaries" thing, but will keep that charming, friendly, kind disposition for all of his days.  It's one of the things I have prayed for him since we found out we were going to have this precious child.

And I do mean precious...

Mother's Day #2...

This was my 2nd mother's day and it was just as special as the first, in different ways.  I got almost a whole weekend out of it, but it really started a few weeks ago at a Girls' Night Out.  Some of my girlfriends and I got together at a paint-your-own-pottery place and I made this:

It was quite a challenge to get Deacon's little handprint on it (probably the last year I'll be able to get it on a mug this size), but I think it turned out okay, and I'm SO pleased with how the mug came out!  What a treasure this is to me!  And I reckon I'll be drinking out of this for the next 20 years or so...  :)

So then this weekend rolled around.  Saturday we went to the beach together and it was a GORGEOUS day!  The perfect day to go to the beach -- it wasn't too breezy at the beach, it wasn't too hot.  Seriously, I could've stayed all day long!  But after about an hour we headed home for lunch and naps.

 

 

Well, my boys napped while I went to get a pedicure!  We have a new place right up the road that I wanted to try and I left there a very satisfied customer.  :)  Aaahh, it was so relaxing!  My poor feet were in desperate need of some TLC and the sweet lady at the salon did not disappoint.  She painted my toes with a beautiful color of pinkish-purple and then added a pretty design (she painted it by hand):

Sunday morning, we got up and got ready for church as usual but I found this on the table for me:

After church, we picked up sushi for lunch (that was a big hit last year!) and then took naps all around.  Sunday evening, we ended up at a place in Surf City for dinner -- Mainsail Restaurant.  It's not a new restaurant, but one we've never eaten at before.  It was a great atmosphere with great service, and the food was wonderful!

I loved spending lots of quality time with my boys this past weekend -- they are my most favorite in the whole world!  Being Deacon's mama is the absolute best job I've ever had.  He is my heart, truly, and I'm so humbled and blessed beyond measure that God would choose me to raise this most special little boy.

18 mos old...

SO.HARD.TO.BELIEVE. we have a child who is a year and a half old.

I took Deacon to his 18 month well-check last week and he did great, of course.  The doctor said he was right on track for doing, saying, eating everything an 18 month old should be doing, saying or eating.  He's such a busy-body that it was pretty difficult to hold a conversation with the doctor, but she's a mom, too, so I guess she understood that I WAS listening, even if my attention was on making sure my son didn't flip off the table.

So his stats at this point haven't changed much in the last 3 months:

Weight = 23 lbs, 11 oz (21%)

Height = 31 inches (21%)

He's progressing on his own chart exactly as he has been doing (no huge jumps or lags) so the doctor says he looks great.  And no shots this time, yay!  He'll get his next booster shot at his 2 year appt, and then nothing more for a couple years, I think.

His vocabulary has ramped up a little bit, though he still speaks lots of Japanese, if you ask me.  :)  He can now say/sign or sound the following:

eat (and he does the sign, too)
more (just the sign)
please (just the sign -- which looks a lot like "bath", too :)
ba (bath)
mama
da (daddy)
shh (shoe)
cah (car)
cruh (truck -- it's weird but he looks right at a truck when he says it)
chh-chh (choo-choo train)
chh (cheese)
night-night
nap
nack (snack)
hot (as in "the food is hot" or "the oven is hot")
up
no
uh-oh
whoa
yay
apple
nana (banana)
wa (water)
Deacon (oh, my word -- it is the cutest thing!)