Out for the Summer

One of my best friends, Kari, is a teacher and we have decided that once a week during the summer we are going to have "fun days" where we got somewhere to entertain the kiddos. Today, in celebration of her first day of summer break, we took the kids to the zoo. The Jackson Zoo is by far not the best I've ever been to but it was still a lot of fun. It has tons of shade and the kids actually liked looking at the animals. Next week...the splash park! Yippee for summer!

Can't handle the cuteness going on here. :)

The zoo really pooped them out!

Happy Hump Day!!

This girl LOVES being outside and LOVES popsicles!!!

First Camping Trip as 3

This weekend we ventured out for our first real camping trip as three. Yes, at first I thought we were crazy but we had to bite the bullet at some point. If you have been reading this blog before our bundle of joy came along you would know that Hays and I are big campers and hikers. We LOVE to be outdoors and have been out west several times to hike and Hays has even gone back country hiking in Alaska. So, we couldn't think of a better time to see if Olivia inherited the genes.

We went with our good friends Kari and Jeremy which also brought along Emerson, who is 3 months older than Olivia. We didn't want to venture to far, just in case there needed to be a middle of the night escape to our own beds (you just never know with young ones), so we stayed the night at Jeremy's farm in Canton. Perfect, not too far but also not in our own backyard.

The kids had a BLAST and slept better than in their own beds. We set up camp, built a fire, the kids played in dirt and we cooked hot dogs and smores. Olivia must have known she was in for a treat because she talked NONstop until way past her bedtime. I finally put her in the tent around 9:30 and she didn't make a peep all night. I think we might have a camper on our hands. YIPPEE!!

Our first night in a tent as a family of three.

My OCDness of being clean went out the window quickly. The girl LOVED playing in the dirt and of course, eating the dirt. This dress and shoes and hair bow are officially discolored.

Our two little campers. I foresee many more camping trips for these two.

I gave her a little monkey bath and put her in her jammies and she was out like a light. Slept like a rock all night and we even had to wake her the next morning when it was time for us to leave. 

What great memories we made this weekend. Wouldn't trade them for the world!

Summer Days

So it's not official, on the calendar, until June but here in Mississippi, summer has begun. It is HOT, HOT, HOT. We have been enjoying some outdoor activities before it gets unbearable outside. Olivia is at such a fun age right now and we can do way more than we could last summer when she was a baby.

Wil Franklin came over to play so, of course, we had to go on a wagon excursion (excuse Olivia's outfit, we were having some "wardrobe malfunctions" that day).

Olivia has got the cheeeese part down, Wil Franklin, not so much.

You can't start the summer without a bomb pop!

I think my running bores her to sleep.

And a mid-evening wagon excursion with the parentals.

What child wouldn't want peanut butter as their main course?? 

And of course, every summer day has to end with a good cleaning.

Date Night

It's very rare but every once in a while Hays and I are able to get away just the two of us. We LOVE Olivia but it is SO nice to just relax and eat a whole dinner without having to tend to someone else's needs. It's nice to have an uninterrupted conversation and actually remember what the other person said 5 minutes ago. It's also nice to get out of the house and enjoy each others company, kinda brings you back to the dating days. It's good for our relationship and the soul.

On this night, we ate dinner at a nice restaurant down town and then went to the Train concert. Hays has been listening to them FOREVER so he was, of course, beside himself. We had a fabulous time and really cherish these few and far between nights together without a baby hanging on to our ankles. Boy, are we glad to get back to that little stinker though. :)

In.To.Everything!!!

I guess she was trying to tell me that she was thirsty???

No, she's not picking her nose! Well...maybe not?!

Teaching her the ropes to household chores early. Maybe I'll have some help earlier than I thought! Hahaha!

We FINALLY have a Walker!!!

Happy Hump Day!!

Mother's Day

This is the second year that Mother's Day has had a completely new meaning for me. What a day of celebration. I am indescribably thankful to God for loaning me this precious little girl to raise here on this earth. There is no greater gift. Motherhood has brought many joys, tears, worries, laughs and the greatest love I have ever felt. Thank you God for allowing me the privilege of being a mommy and for giving me a Christian role model to show me the ways. Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

My family was able to come down and spend the weekend with us. We had a great time relaxing, grilling out and setting up the kiddie pool for Kai to play in.

Isn't she a doll...

My man got up and made everyone beignets for breakfast. Yyyuuuummmmmm....

After breakfast my little pumpkin delivered my Mother's Day gift via the baby doll stroller.Couldn't ask for anything better.

She colored me a picture, got me a kindle and a necklace. She's so thoughtful (so is her daddy;).

Best picture we could get. Sometimes it just doesn't happen with small children and I am starting to figure that out.

I hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day!

Some of the Girl's Favorite Pastimes...

This girl LOVES to read her books. She may read each one for a total of 10 seconds but she loves it!

And she HAS to read in her rocking chair. The rocking chair goes hand in hand with a book. Can't have one without the other. Only rules made by the girl.

What do we do when it's rainy outside?? Play with all the stuffed animals.

Does this not look like a scene from ET??? (You know...when he's hiding in the closet with all the stuffed animals and all you see is his face). Yes, we were VERY bored that day!

The girl LOVES to run (or crawl) around naked. Who doesn't like to water the flowers naked???

We have found that she loves the mist option on the water hose. I can foresee many afternoons this summer...

Yes, she has a pearl necklace on while playing outside naked. Why??? I cannot answer that.