The Birthday Boy

Well my, my, my. They aren't kidding when they say "kids grow up so fast" I honestly cannot beleive my sweet baby boy is 1 year old today. I was having a talk with him the other night before bed about his upcoming birthday party and how all the people who love him the most will be there, then I let myself go to that place... weepyville- haven't been there in regards to Ace in about 9 months. I told him with tears streaming down my face what and honor it is to be his mommy and how thankful I am that God knew he and I were a perfect match. When I think back to how long it took to get pregnant with him I have no doubts that he was hand picked at the right time in eternity to be all mine (and my man's of course) Moving on, I don't want to start crying again, I have errands to run and I don't want red puffy eyes. Of course I will do a blog on his party which will be this weekend, so today I thought I would make a list of 12 things I have learned/realized over my first 12 months as Ace's mommy.

Month 1- I realized that being a parent will be the hardest thing I ever do in my life.

Month 2- I realized that my husband is an awesome parenting partner. Things are so much easier when he is around. He impresses me everyday.

Month 3- I came to realize that my crying would eventually stop and the sun would come out again- I ain't lying, I did not handle my emotions well for the first 3 months.

Month 4- By month 4 I realized that breast feeding was not my cup of tea. Once I gave it up I never looked back with regrets. I definitely became a better mom at that point.

Month 5- I realized that there is nothing more calming and tender in this world than watching my baby sleep.

Month 6- I learned that babies aren't as expensive as I thought they would be. I am a big craigslister, yardsaler and coupon user. Most of Ace's birthday presents are from the aforementioned.

Month 7- In month 7 I learned that Ace is starting to have an opionion.... I'm not ready for that yet.

Month 8- By month 8 I realized that my old life ain't coming back and that's o.k.

Month 9- by month 9 I realized that danger lurks everywhere in our home. I guess we weren't as baby proof as we thought. Crawlers get into everything. I can't imagine what walkers get into!!

Month 10- By month 10 I realized that my plan to keep my family room looking grown up will not work. Toys WILL take over.

Month 11- By month 11 I am realizing that the anticipation of his 1st birthday is exciting yet saddening.

Month 12- By month 12 I have successfully gotten back to my prebaby weight and lost an additional 10 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 4th of Juy

Busy, busy, busy is the best way to describe the 4th of July 2009. Our town square celebrates in a big way. The day kicks off with a parade and craft festival. Though we walked through all the crafts I resisted the urge to spend. We staked our claim on some shaded land in anticipation of said parade. Now the parade began at 10a.m.... you know, when Ace should have been napping, but how could we resist the opportunity to watch his little face light up when he heard the bands and the pretty "little miss" girls drive by. He did surprisingly well for most of the parade, but alas nap time beckoned so we and our neighbors packed up and headed home. Now if I have said it once I have said it a thousand times this weekend-I have NEVER been to a parade where the floats did not throw out candy. Much like Halloween and Easter this year Ace would not have been the one partaking of the sugary delights, but I would have used him as bait to snag some treats for myself. Well, no candy was thrown so I had to go and buy my own. I think this world is getting a little too nuts about child safety. I mean, parades have always had cars, golf carts, motorcycles etc... that could run over children and we still grew up chasing that candy though the streets. Whatever, I guess next year I will just bring my own candy and throw it in front of myself for fun. So now Ace is in his crib dreaming of the upcoming fireworks and the grands came over for a lunchtime cookout. I was so sad they didn't even get to see Ace in his festive 4th outfit. Nap went waaay long then we dressed down and headed over to the pool with the Hunters. I think Ace is a little smitten with little Miss Livie- he likes aggressive women :) Home again for another power nap for the little firecracker then off to our picturesque firework viewing destination with the Rusch family. We parked it in the Kroger parking lot. You see, I was joking about the picturesque part. We had a great view of the works, but I think it we were a little too far away. Next year I want to be able to feel the booms and pows. Overall it was a wonderful day. The weather held steady around 87 degrees which seemed almost brisk after last weeks scorching temperatures. This 4th of July is extra special this year because Ace broke through his first tooth! We have been wondering if he was going to be a toothless highschooler at the the rate we were going, but thankfully we are making progress :) Here are some pics of our day, sans the parade becuase I forgot my camera. Happy Birthday America!!!
Me, Garrett, Livie and Ace- he is clearly excited to be in a picture with 3 babes
My man, Ace, Frasure and David chillin' poolside
Ace just wanted to crawl in baby Greyson's carrier all night long
Me with Ace and his sweet friend Aiden- I know they are going to be best buddies

And More Vacation

Vacationing with only one of our families just wouldn't be fair now would it. Each summer we have the privlege of spending some vacation time with both of our families. Before we head down the road I made the executive decision to break the law. You see, our last journey with the tot in the back was no less than a disaster. Ace has been such an easy baby, however we are all sinners and far from perfection. This seems to be highlighted during extended travel. I thought for sure if we just went ahead and bought the next stage carseat and faced it forward (just a couple of weeks shy of his first birthday) we would have a nice peaceful ride. WRONG! Oh well, at least this trip to the beach was half the distance of our last trip. So we hit the road. Our first few days were spent at Harbor Island, SC. This is one of my favorite vacation destinations. The house is so wonderful and is on the Harbor Sound so the water is never rough. It's perfect for little kids and once Ace is walking on his own I am sure he will be a beach bum. We took golf cart rides to see the gators (only saw 2) and to watch the sunset over the marsh, played some tennis and ping pong, rode bikes, spent a little time in the kiddie pool and spent a lot of time relaxing. No trip to Harbor Island is complete without a low country boil. Then it was off to Wild Dunes for a couple of days. Before we got to the condo my man, Ace and I spent a few hours in Charleston. I have been to Charleston several times, but I am not sure if I have ever hit all of the tourist highlights. This week the tall ships were in the harbor. They were a sight to see. I guess there was some kind of festival going on because there were more boats floating around than I have ever seen before. We walked down Rainbow Row, played in the fountain and sweated like pigs. We met up with KK and Papa Ans at the condo for dinner then tucked Ace in so we could enjoy some alone time. Off to the pool for a night swim and a walk on the beach. You know when you are walking on the beach and eventually you have to decide when to turn around and start walking back you usually pick a marker like- lets turn around when we get to the pier, or the green and white umbrella.... well, we were walking in the dark with just a sliver of a moon for light so we decided to turn around when we got to "that dark thing on the beach" turns out, that dark thing was a giant loggerhead turtle. It was so cool to just stand there in the dark and hear the brush brush of this giant turtle make it's way up the beach to lay eggs. I am sure it was a once in a lifetime kind of moment. Here are some pics from our trip... as always, there are more on facebook. Remember you can click on the pictures to make the bigger :)

 

Dental Woes

I am sure you will love this blog. Could there be anything more interesting to read about than my teeth? Let's journey back to my highschool years. I HATE the dentist. I despise going. I never come out of there with a good report or money in my pocket. I think it's a racket- sorry to my dental friends. Honestly I think all healthcare is a racket... so there, I'm not racist against just the dental industry. I digress. So growing up the only thing good about my dentist was how cute he was. Cavity? Sure you can fill my cavity Dr. Bowman, as long as I can stare at you the whole time. Remove my wisdom Dr. Bowman? Ummm, even you're not that good looking. So what I am getting at is that I have been told ever since highschool that my widsom teeth need to be taken out- except for the first 5 years of my marriage that neither my husband or I bothered to go to a dentist. Time warp forward 15 years to June of 2009. My wisdom teeth are grown in and blocking a tooth that needs "immediate attention." By immediate attention Dr. Campbell means, you need to get 4 teeth removed so I can put a crown on another tooth. HORRIBLE news on the dental front. The irony here is that I give my husband a fair amount of grief for his poor dental hygene. He sometimes brushes twice a day and NEVER flosses. I brush at least twice a day and floss every single day. Yet the golden boy always has a cavity free appointment and I ALWAYS come away with either a cavity or a crown, or now apparently an extraction. After my seething anger passed today I came to two realizations: 1. Why the heck didn't I get these darn teeth removed when I was still on my parents dime? 2. Why-o-why didn't I have these darn teeth removed before I had a baby to take care of? I have already put in a request for my mom to come stay with me when I am drugged to oblivion, laid out on the couch with chipmunk checks. Needless to say I am not looking forward to this life event. So come late August I will be sure to take some choice photos of my pitiful mug to post on the blogosphere to remind everyone to not put off til tomorrow what you can get done today... or when you were in highschool!

Top 10

Lists seem to be easier than actually thinking of something clever to write here lately. Honestly there just ain't much going on these days to blog about. I have created my top 10 things I miss about my hometown. Some of it I didn't realize I missed until living here made it clear that it was gone, others are pretty understandable reasons.

1. These are in no particular order, except for #1. I really feel like I am missing the opportunity to see my nieces and nephew grow up. Has to be the hardest part of living 8 1/2 hours from my family.

2. I miss being less than 2 hours from the beach. Growing up the beach was a day trip, not a long weekend committment. Wish I had taken more advantage of that more while I lived there.

3. This isn't something I miss, because I never really had it, but I hate that I can't just go over to my parents or my sisters house whenever I want to just because I feel like it.

4. I really miss Cubbies :( they have the best burgers and hushpuppies.

5. I miss Boulevard Bagel. I try to swing by whenever I make it home (once a year) to get some cheddar bagels- soooo yummy! Hint hint, mom bring me some when you come in July!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6. I miss clean air. There are definitely more stars to see in the sky and no smog alerts back home.

7. I miss being able to water my yard guiltfree. I felt like I was committing a federal offense pressure spraying our deck a few weeks ago.

8. I miss getting anywhere in town in 10 minutes or less. Traffic??? No such word in my hometown.

9. I miss the people who helped mold me into who I am i.e. family and my wonderful girlfriends. There is something special about the people who knew you when you were growing up.

10. I miss strawberry picking in the summer at Dews Berry Farm. I am sooo disappointed that there isn't a u-pick strawberry farm within a reasonable distance from me.

Now don't get me wrong, I love living here (list to come) and I am pretty sure we are setting roots in Georgia, but I often find myself thinking about what it would be like to move back home. A girl can dream can't she?

8 is Great

My man and I celebrated our 8th anniversary in May. 8 years of marriage, but we have been together for 11 years. Since then I have been meaning to do a little write up on why I love him so much. It seems appropriate to give 8 reasons, though there are many more.

1. He packs a goodie bag of my favorite candies for me when we travel
2. He cooks dinner for us once a week
3. I never have to ask him to take out the trash- before bed on Sunday and Wednesday nights he says he is off to do his chores.
4. He is excellent at keeping up with our laundry
5. He is excellent at keeping up with our finances so I don't have to think about it
6. He has a big heart for the less fortunate. I tend to be a little timid with homeless people, but he has a passion to help them out.
7. He picks the eye boogies out of our pets eyes
8. He is a completly loving and self sufficient daddy- he never calls me when I go out at night with questions on how to take care of Ace
9. (one to grow on) He is very big on tradition- something his parents must have instilled in him and I hope we pass along to our children.

I love you Stinkey!!!

Vacation 2009

Wowsers! Man I have been absent in the blogosphere. I can't believe I haven't posted since the 10th. Well we went on vacation so there was a week of getting ready, a week away and a half week of no cable or internet access at the house when we got back. None the less I am here again. Where did we go you ask? We packed our SUV and journeyed up to Pine Island, NC- pull out your map and slide your finger all the way up the Outer Banks almost to Virginia and there we were just between Duck and Corolla. Some of the Outer Banks have become quite built up, but the far North and far South are still somewhat quiet. This trip was with my family so you know I was in heaven amongst my people. The drive was long (about 11 hours) so for all of our sakes we broke the trip up both ways. Ace is not a great traveller, but who could blame him? Imagine being stuck in a small carseat for hours on end staring at the back of a seat. We arrived on Saturday and had a chill night at the house. We packed a lot into the next few days. Pontooning on the Currituck Sound, a climb up the lighthouse, crabbing, plenty of beach and pool time, an off road drive on the beach to see the Wild Spanish Mustangs, shopping in Timbucktu and Duck, Golf for my man, walks, kayaking, bikerides and I can't remember what else. This is Ace's 4th beach trip in his 10 months of life. He is officially not a fan of cold water. He took a tumble in the ocean much to his dismay. We had a theory that after putting sand in his mouth once or twice he would learn and we could the let him sit on the beach- well our theory was a bust, he just kept eating sand so he didn't get much beach time. We tried to let him play in the pool, but the water was so cold he just cried and snuggled up to my man. He did however enjoy the boat trip and hanging out with his cousins. As always vacations are wonderful, but getting home is also fabulous. The best part is that our vacation was Saturday to Saturday so we had a full day to recover before entering back into reality. I think we are heading out West next year for the family vacation, but before then we have another beach trip in a few weeks and a BIG birthday coming up. I just can't believe my baby is going to be 1 year old in a few short weeks :( Here are a few pictures from our trip- you can click on them to mak the bigger or see a lot more on facebook!