Party Party

Lauren's friend, Nicholas, turned 2 this month. His mom threw a super fun Mickey Mouse party that you can read about on her blog. Lauren was in Mickey heaven and had the time of her life. She managed to pull off lots of shenanigans like begging for more cupcakes and locking herself in the bathroom with a friend. She's a wild one I tell ya.

 Nicholas and his Mommy ready to blow out his candle. Our friend, Becky, made the cake and cupcakes and did a fantastic job. She's so talented. I obviously need to take some home ec classes.

 

 Im dying over this family photo. We were sweaty messes in the July heat. Lauren was super ticked we were leaving. Connor is just hot, sweaty, and tired and wanted to pull Lauren's hair. I had a lovely ulcer on my lip that was starting to scab over and Todd is sweating profusely. Hotness. Pure hotness.

 Moving on to Sunday after church. My little guy was all decked out in his Sunday best. He and Lauren matched so I really wanted to try and get some sibling shots. My wild Lauren fell into the coffee table somehow and was sporting a massive bruise on her cheek. Poor child. That coffee table just got the best of her.

 Sweet boy so excited to be mobile. I really feel like I just had him yesterday. I don't know where the past 7 months have been.

Ahhh yes, Little L playing with Connor's toys. She's still so itty bitty that she fits in them nicely. Crazy girl. She's so much fun.

7 Months Old Little Guy

 My sweet little love is 7 months old (on July 2, 2012). I went with the fourth of July color scheme. My sweet little babies looked so cute in their red, white, and blue.
I would pay some big money for this sweet baby boy to stop growing up. He's just the easiest, most chill baby that he's a breeze to take care of. His big sister is so smitten and still loves him so so much.

 Taking pictures this month got a little complicated. Connor attacked his sticker so I moved it to his chair. He really wanted to eat it :)

 Our monthly hippo that usually graces the pictures had to take a backseat this month. Lauren says the hippo is actually hers. The hippo gets daily diaper changes like a real baby. It so so funny. I think for Christmas, I need to order Connor a replacement hippo.

 Sweet handsome boy. He's just pure sugar, pure pure sugar.

 My life and loves, besides their Daddy. There's no better job than being their mommy.

 Evidence of the sticker eating attempt.

Connor had his well check appointment yesterday. I can't find the little sheet of paper that had his stats on it but I did remember how much he weighed. 

Weight: 15 pounds 5 ounces

• Connor eats, eats, and eats. His favorites are: sweet potatoes, squash, watermelon in the mesh feeder, yo baby yogurt, corn, peaches, mum mums, and crackers.
• You sleep for 12-13 hours at night and take 2, 2 hour naps
• You are still the easiest baby ever. I seriously didn't know babies could be so easy
• You LOVE your sister

We love our precious baby boy!

Everyday Life

Every few months, I like to update on what our daily schedule looks like. I know it will be so fun to look back and see what we were up to during this stage of life. This little schedule is what we do when Todd is NOT home. When he is home, we stay super busy and play play play.

Both of the kiddos go to bed no later than 8pm. Connor goes upstairs first around 7pm and Lauren around 7:30-8:00pm.

They sleep like champs and sleep 12-13 hours at night usually. Connor has to be the easiest kid ever. You just lay him down, say night night, and he rolls over to his tummy to sleep. 

8 - 8:30am - Lauren will come downstairs to my side of the bed and ask for more "nilk."

9:00am - Lauren and I go and get Connor ***Yes, we sleep in here. All 4 of us are not morning people at all***

9:15am - Connor has his morning bottle. Lauren eats breakfast if she wants to eat. She is not a morning eater.

10:00am - Connor has a fruit for breakfast after his milk.

10:30 or 11am - Connor is already ready for a morning nap. He goes down for 2-3 hours. Again, he's soooo easy.

12pm - After Lauren and I have played dress up, puzzles, outside, etc. She eats lunch with me. We play play play after lunch until Connor wakes up.

1:00pm - Connor wakes up sometime around this hour. He doesn't ever cry. I just usually hear him talking to himself and grabbing his bumper in his crib. He loves to grab it and peek through the spaces on the crib.

1:15pm - Connor has a bottle and vegetable for lunch.

Play Play Play

3:00pm - Connor goes night night again for 2 hours

3:00 - 5:00pm - Lauren and I have fun. 

5:00pm - Connor is awake.

6:00pm - We eat dinner together at the table. Connor has a vegetable. Lauren and I eat whatever I cook.

6:30pm - Both kiddos take a bath together

7:00pm - Connor gets ready for his bedtime bottle. We go upstairs and rock. He's out by about 7:30.

7:30pm - Lauren gets her jammies on. We lay in her bed to read 2-3 books a night, sing songs, and she goes to bed.

***This totally changes if we are out running errands. We are 30 minutes from town so if we run errands, we're out all day. When Todd is home, we usually are always out doing stuff together so the schedule is completely off. Im also not a stickler for a schedule. This fell into place naturally. I would give myself a headache if I was Type A. Im really the opposite. I would drive myself batty if I thought it was a big deal if the kids went to bed 30 minutes to an hour late.***

They love to take a bath together. I bought this little sling for Connor so he doesn't slip or fall as he tries to sit up by himself. It works so great. Lauren is awesome and helps him if he starts to slip too far down it. She can lift him and put him where he belongs. She also washes him for me but says "I know not to do his face and hair. You do that Mommy." :)

 Snack time together. Lauren likes to have watermelon and Connor loves baby Mum Mums.

 Dress up! This happens about 50 times a day. :) Lauren got a big package from my mom filled with goodies from The Disney Store. They were having a big sale so she stocked up on swim gear for next year. Lauren had to try them all on of course.

 Lauren gets so tickled if Connor plays in her room after his morning nap. We usually play in her room for 1-2 hours a day. She loves it. It's so sweet because she gets out all of her toys and shows Connor what they are. 

So that's what we are up to at our casa during this stage of life. It sure is fun playing with these 2 loves every single day.

Charleston

After leaving Hilton Head, we headed to Charleston to see my grandparents. It always feels like Im on vacation having family live in beautiful cities. It's so nice to just stay at their house but get to enjoy beautiful Charleston. My dad grew up there and my grandparents have lived in their house for around 50 years. It feels like home always going to visit there.

Connor played with the stacking cups that have been around since I was little. Lauren loves them too. I love that they have saved toys from years ago to pass down. Connor sure did enjoy laying in the floor to play with Mema and Papa.

 We brought the Johnny Jump Up for Connor to try out. It was his first time bouncing away and he loved it. He looked so so tiny and had the best time. It was a great spot for him to play while we ate dinner.

 My grandparents are getting up there in age but you would never know. They get in the floor to play, go to the beach, take water aerobics, step aerobics, and stay busy. It was nice having the extra hands. Papa loved to feed Connor his bottle in his chair. They had great boy bonding time.

 Connor is always mesmerized by his sissy. He loves to stare at her and she just eats it up. 

 We rocked and rocked on the screened in porch. It was perfect weather and fun to just sit and relax.

 On the way home, we made a little stop in Anderson, SC to see my other grandparents. My Mema Vergie was just diagnosed with leukemia and also has a terrible pinched nerve in her back. The leukemia is under control and she should be fine from that but it's the pinched nerve that is causing her a lot of pain. She will receive 3 intense shots over the course of 6 or so weeks and that will hopefully take care of the pain. To life up her spirits, we took the babies for a fun little visit.

 Their neighbor, Jean, is a sweet lady who loves my kids like they are her own. She walked over to visit us too. 

We missed Todd on this part of our trip. He had to head back to the friendly skies but hopefully he can go with us soon. I try to take the kids every few months to see family that doesn't live near us. The kids are great little travelers and it gives us something to do.

Hilton Head Island, June 2012

We've continued on with travels this summer. My dad recently took a job right off of Hilton Head Island so we thought a week at the beach sounded like a great idea. Thankfully, both of the kiddos are super great travelers. Connor is only 7 months old but sweet baby boy is on the go. He doesn't have much of a choice in this fam.

We stayed at the Omni Resort on the island this time. The Omni was recently The Hilton. Lauren's first birthday party was there in October of 2009. You can read about that HERE

Sweet little loves on the balcony

 We overlapped our trip with some of my family that was there as well. We arrived on the tail end of their trip so we met up for dinner one night at The Kingfisher. Lauren is the life of any party. The girl is just wild, feisty, and funny. After eating, she felt the need to groove to the music. It doesn't matter who is looking at her, she will dance the night away. I love her awesome personality. 

 Connor just hangs out, smiles, laughs, plays, and sleeps. The baby boy just could not be any easier. I covered his car seat up with a blanket and he snoozed away. 

 Our cousins were renting a house so we went over there one day to swim and eat lunch. After swimming, the 3 big cousins took a bubble bath. I love it because we used to do that when we were little. 

 Connor took a little snooze on my Grandma. He had his bottle and was out like a light. We eventually moved him to a pack and play that we rigged up in a dark closet. Connor is a champion sleeper but only if it's dark and somewhat quiet. 

 Sweet Olivia swimming in the pool at the house. The water was freezing but once you got in, it really warmed up. I think I stayed in for a good 2-3 hours. It was so relaxing. 

 We headed to Stacks Pancakes  the morning that our family left town to head back to Charlotte. Stacks is unbelievable. They are known for their creme brulee french toast and it's out of this world. I definitely recommend it if you're taking a trip to the island anytime soon. 

 We headed out to the beach one morning. Connor had his first dip in the ocean. I had to take this picture of Todd and Connor because we have one just like it with Lauren. One of these days when I magically get computer smart, I'll post a side by side comparison shot. 

 This is how Connor napped by the ocean. Lauren's pink tent sure is coming in handy. It folds flat so it's super easy to take anywhere you go. We even took it on the Disney Cruise in April and he napped in it while we were at the beach in the Bahamas. It's perfect. It was kind of hot and muggy so we clipped the fan on. It was great because it provided just the amount of white noise but also kept him cool. The fan can be found HERE.

 We swam and swam. Both of the kiddos loved it.

 Lauren loves her little eye mask. She's such a hoot. She is always making us laugh.

 My babies. They love each other and Lauren is unbelievable as a big sister. Connor is 7 months old and she still hasn't acted out towards him. She loves him more than anything.

 Swimming with Daddy. Todd joined us on the days he wasn't busy flying. He flew into Savannah late one night and the kids and I drove over to pick him up. It's so nice that he will fly into random cities on his off days to go fun places with us. 

 Lauren loves to jump to anyone that will catch her in the water. She has no fear....as long as you catch her :) 

Just in case anyone is making a trip soon, here are the restaurants that we tried, other than the ones listed above.

Robert Irvine's Eat!

This place is awesome. It's a tapas restaurant with a fantastic menu and bar selection. Make sure you have a reservation. We did not so we ended up having to eat the bar area.....with 2 kids. Kinda funny. However, the bar lounge area is really awesome. There are couches and coffee tables so it's a very laid back vibe. It'd say it's a little "upscale" but not too expensive and definitely awesome. They have half price tapas on Tuesdays (I think, cant remember?). For sure try the sweet potato bread pudding with tabasco ice cream. Sounds disgusting but it's out of the this world. The ice cream doesn't straight up taste like tabasco. That would be so nasty. It's the best dessert and for sure recommended by the staff. 

A Lowcountry Backyard Restaurant 

Okay Im going all out and saying this was the best food I've ever had. Im not kidding. Unbelievable. It's off the beaten path but make sure you go here!!! Think small and quaint with awesome outdoor patio with beautiful lights in the trees and music. It's down home cookin that'll knock your socks off. We had the pimento cheese appetizer along with the fried green tomato appetizer. Both were incredible. For my entree, I had the fried green tomato sandwich. Again, incredible!! The meatloaf is well known and tasty as well. We all shared some banana pudding for dessert. It's so cute because they serve it in a mason jar. You won't be disappointed if you go here. 

Hudsons

Hudsons is a great seafood joint on the water. The restaurant next door is fantastic as well. We usually don't vacation on the island in the peak of summer so we aren't use to all of the wait times at the restaurants. They both had a long wait so we just went to Hudsons where the wait wasn't quite so long. Their hushpuppies are amazing. They bring a basket out when you order an entree so you get a ton of them. If you like yummy local seafood, this place is great. It's laid back so it's perfect to go to after a fun day at the beach or pool.