Where Did July Go?

Where did the month of July go? No, seriously, where did it go? I guess between the parties, work and family it slipped by.

Well, here is a July wrap-up.

BRENT TURNED 30! I'm enjoying these last few weeks teasing him that we are in different decades and have nothing in common.

So to welcome in a new decade I hosted a surprise party for him AND it was actually surprise. All of our friends dressed up as their "Favorite Brent." We had work-at-home Brent, golf Brent, Mexico Brent, Wrangler Brent, Fiji Brent, the list could go on.

Surprise! Please note Eli crying in the background. He was surprised, too!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Next Birthday was Eli's. My little baby is now a little kid. That's what we tell him at least.

Our b-day tradition is for the birthday boy to pick his own breakfast. Last year it was blueberry muffins, this year. . . donut holes. Not the best choice, but it was a special occasion.

B-day morning. What a happy boy!

Talking about donut holes.

The next day was party time. We had a sports themed party where all guests were to wear their favorite team t-shirt. We had TCU, Cowboys, Rangers fans and more.

Our family.

The cake -- by Jen Fisher, of course!

Eli enjoyed being sung to by everyone.

He also enjoyed opening a TON of presents!

Then some pool time to work off the sugar high from cake and juice.

All-in-all July was by far the best month of the summer!

Best Video EVER!

The video below is the highlight of our trip. It is one of my favorite memories.

I will post more about the rest of our trip later.

Day 3 and 4 of Florida

Happy Belated July 4th! We had a great day celebrating America. We played in the ocean, swam in the pool and watched an amazing fireworks show.

Almost everyone hanging in the ocean. Eli has a blast scoop, scoop, kick, kicking with his tube. He jumps with the waves and even floats. He is still not a big fan of the sand, but loves the ocean.

Eli proudly displaying his red, white and blue.

Mommy, Daddy and Eli.

July 4th night. Waiting for the fireworks.

Watching the fireworks.

The next morning, enjoying breakfast with cousin Colton.

Out to eat on the main drag.

Day 1 and 2 of Vacay

Hello from Florida!

We made a semi-cross country trip to Florida in 1 vehicle with 4 adults, 2 toddlers, 2 suitcases, 2 playards, 2 duffel bags, 2 golf club sets, 2 portable high chairs, 2 over night bags and 6 much needed movies.

Day 1:
Eli was such a trooper! We drove 8 hours to Mississippi. He watched his movies, ate a snack, we stopped for lunch in Shreveport then played on the boardwalk. He ran and ran in the hot sun. Enough for him to take a 2 hour nap on our second half of the trip to Hattiesburg, Miss.

Eli and Colton packed in at 8:30 a.m.


This is Eli's second time to stay in a hotel. The first time he was 5 days old. Mommy and Daddy were delirious and thought that we MUST make an appearance at our 10-year high school reunion.

Eli did great at the hotel. He loved jumping on the bed, running up and down the halls, and the FREE breakfast in the morning. He ate 2 yogurts, toast and 2 bananas. He was getting his money's worth.


Day 2:
We drove from Hattiesburg to Destin - about a 4 hour drive. Eli was once again an awesome traveler. We got to the condo around 4:00 p.m. and headed to the beach within the hour.

Here are some of the pics:

First steps on the sand - a little apprehensive. Contrary to the look of pain on Eli's face, the sand was not hot.


10 steps in. Still not loving the sand.


Finally, at the water!

Hanging with Papaw.

Starting to like the sand. New toys helped!

Yay for Vacay!

Tips from the Foodie

How to enjoy toast and yogurt:

Place "yo-geet" and "toost" on tray.

Lightly spread yo-geet over toost.

Enjoy!

Scoop, Scoop, Kick and Kick

My new favorite words: scoop, scoop, kick and kick. Eli and Colton started swim lessons this week. At first, I'll admit, I wasn't thrilled about going every day for 2 weeks, but the 2.5 to 3 hour nap that follows every lesson is glorious!

What can you do with 3 hours in the middle of the day? Well, let me tell you!
1. Go to Costco and actually search the aisles without a foodie fanatic toddler.
2. Get ALL your laundry done.
3. Complete most of your work projects during normal business hours.
4. Take a nap -- tee-hee. That was my favorite day!

Eli is enjoying it for the most part. He is learning some swim technique, holding his breath and jumping of the edge. We have two older boys in our toddler group so maybe he will imitate them. They are fearless and it makes me fearful of Eli being two-and-a-half.

He is not keen of putting his face or ears in the water and also not a fan of the dunk. I think he might have a little crush on our instructor too! Not only is she cute, but she has some great ducky toys.

Colton and Eli ready for the first day.


Does he look excited or what?


Colton going in for a hug.

The Next Roger Ebert

I am telling on myself since babies/toddlers are suppose to have zero screen time, but we watch movies at our house. Eli's favorite movies are Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar -- oldies but goodies.

Kung Fu Panda 2 came out Memorial Day weekend and we decided Eli needed the big screen experience. So Sunday we packed up snacks, drinks, a toy and headed to Tinseltown. It's only $4 per ticket so an investment we were willing to make in case we had to walk out.

He did AMAZING! We got there 15 minutes prior to start and he sat in his chair through all the previews up to the last 10 minutes of the movie. I would say a total of 2 hours he was engrossed in the movie. I am totally impressed.

Enjoying a snack before the movie.

Eli gives it a thumbs up.

Now, the sad thing is Brent and I have not been to a movie in probably a year. I guess the compromise will be if we see a movie, it will be a cartoon.