The look on Daddy's face

So, we were about 45 minutes away from our vacation destination of Myrtle Beach and from the back seat Austin asks......"Mommy, are we at the FERTILE Beach yet??" I looked over at Jeff to notice how stark white his face had turned and began hysterically laughing and replied....."Daddy sure hopes its not a fertile beach buddy!"

Bumps & Bruises

Of all 3 kids, I would have to say that Addison is by FAR the most accident prone we've had at the age of 1. She has had so many, it seems as though as soon as one bruise goes away she gets another and the worst part is that most of them end up on her cute little face! Nothing like taking your little girl out in public looking like she was just in a boxing match :(

Black eye from the toy box: May 16th

Egg on forehead from footstool: June 7th

Dent in forehead from corner of wall: June 13th

No more bottles

So, I had set a goal of getting Addison off the bottle by the time she reached 17 months. I had tried to give her milk in a sippy cup on a few occasions in the past and she refused to drink from them. She would drink water fine from them, but as soon as I would give her milk in one she would take a sip, make a face, and hand me back the cup. Fussy much?!? For the past few weeks I kept telling her that she was going to give up the "babba" soon and we would count down as each day passed. Brooke also knew about the goal and she would be sure to tell me every night how many more days Addi had left. This morning was a rush getting the kids out the door to VBS, so I let her have a bottle(more for mommy convenience than anything else!), but tonight I knew I could take the time to sit down with her before bed while she had her milk. I put it in a sippy cup that had a straw, warmed it up, and voila!........she drank it no problem :) I am so proud of her and incredibly happy that it was so easy. I guess she just had to be ready on her own to give up "babba."

South Carolina Baseball Trip

Baseball season has been incredibly LONG this season! I'm not quite sure what it is that has made it seem like it is never going to end. This year was a little different than those in the past because Jeff worked EVERY single game, I am employed as a Nanny 4 days/week, I have had several health issues arise, Brooke & Austin are both in school, and Addison is all over the place (last year she was just 1-4 months old during it.) Regardless of the reasons I have felt on many occasions that I was sucked into a black hole and fighting to get out.

With all of this being said, UF was gracious enough to tell Jeff that we could join him for the series up in South Carolina and they would foot the bill(including mileage......score!) I was stoked because I was going to be able to spend some time with my oldest friend, Melissa and her family. The added bonus was that Kimby drove down to join us for the weekend and kept me company during the games. Austin even had a sleep-over with her Friday and Saturday night. He was such a big boy and he had a great bonding experience with his Aunt. It really was a priceless memory!

We drove up on Thursday morning, leaving Addison behind with my parent's for the 4 day trip. I didn't think she would enjoy the car ride or the 3-4 hours spent each day at the ballpark. It was also nice to spend some quality time with Brooke & Austin, which is something we really haven't had the opportunity to do in a long time. The car ride was long, especially since every 2-3 minutes we heard "Are we there yet?" or "How much longer until Carolina?" It really didn't matter how we answered either of those questions because a 3 & 5 year old have no concept of time or mileage. When we arrived we grabbed a bite to eat and brought it to the hotel. Jeff left for the field while we tried to get a nap in. The kids and I then headed to the field where we met up with Melissa and AJ. The new stadium was incredible, complete with a grassy area and a bounce house for the kids to enjoy. We lasted 4 1/2 innings in our seats, where the kids learned how to keep score by a very sweet grandma-esque Gator fan. The other 4 1/2 innings we hung out at the kid friendly zone. The kids had an absolute blast and I left wishing we had an area like that at McKethan so we could make it to more of the games.

Friday we headed over to Melissa's house, which was beautiful and the type of Craftsman style home that I've always wanted to live in. Their neighborhood was new and full of adorable houses. the instant we turned into the neighborhood Jeff looked over at me and said "Oh I know you are in love with this!" He of course was right. Why can't we have houses like that in Florida?!? We had a great time hanging out with Melissa and AJ and as an added bonus her Mom, Maria and Stepdad, Terry had made the trip up from FL to watch AJ for the weekend. It was nice to see everyone. We enjoyed a pizza lunch and then let the kids run amok outside playing in the kiddie pool. That night Kimby arrived and we enjoyed the game, where the Gators took the SEC Title!

Saturday I wasn't feeling very well and didn't want to sit out in the heat watching a game that didn't matter and I thought it would be nice to do something special with the kids. So, after Kimby and I headed out for a bit by ourselves to hit up Starbucks(you shouldn't expect anything else when the 2 of us are together) and drive around campus we loaded the kids up and drove off in search of a movie theatre. We ate lunch at Moe's and then saw Shrek the 4th. Afterward we took them on a mini shopping excursion(purpose was bor Kimby to buy Austin his b-day presents) to Toys R Us. We had a lot of fun with the kids playing with all of the fun stuff! Of course we couldn't even leave the parking lot without taking everything out of the boxes :) Austin got a new Ironman Mask(which is HUGE!) and an Ironman shooter. Brooke got a cute little puppy with clothes and a carrying case. By the time we got back from our excursion, Jeff was done with the game and we took the kids out for ice cream.

The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel and began the long journey home. It was a good trip and I'm so glad we went. Next year I have my sights set on joining him for the UF/GA series up in Athens......sans kids!

Chomp, Chomp!!

Learning to keep score

Sharing a Lemon Ice

Kindergarten Assessment

Today Brooke had to go to P.K. Yonge for her Kindergarten Assessment. I picked her up from school and then drove out to Ironwood to drop her off with Jeff so he could take her. On the way there I was telling her some of the things that they would probably ask her and told her that she needed to show them how smart she was. She tends to clam up when people she doesn't know ask her questions, so I was nervous that her intelligence and everything she learned this past year at VPK wouldn't show. I told her that she needed to put on her "Thinking Cap" and answer their questions like I knew she could. When I got to the golf course she was being a little grumpy and didn't want to get out of the van. I asked her what was wrong and she started to cry and said "Mommy, I don't want them to put one of those things on my head." It became clear that she took my telling her to put her "Thinking Cap" on a bit too literal.

I'm a big kid now!

Austin is officially out of night time pull-ups! This is so exciting for us because he was potty trained at 2yrs/8mos., but has had to wear pull-ups during the night since then. With his 4th birthday approaching in just over a month, one can imagine how much $ we have spent on pull-ups!! We were spoiled with Brooke because she too was potty trained at 2yrs/8mos., but only had to wear pull-ups at night for 1 week!
Last Friday night Austin spent the night with Granni & Grandpi while Jeff was out of town. The next day when I unpacked his bag I noticed that his pull-up was still in it and hadn't been touched. I called my Mom to see if she forgot to have him wear it and she told me that Austin said he didn't want to wear it and would be fine during the night without it. I told her she was BRAVE and that was the 1st time he went without wearing one. Low and behold he didn't have an accident! He of course thought that meant he never had to wear one again, but I on the other hand wasn't so confident. I made a deal with him that if he went the next week without peeing in his pull-up during the night he could start wearing his undies to bed. I am proud to say its one week later and he was dry every morning when he woke up! This marks a very important milestone....not to mention a little extra $ in our pockets!