life lately

nora boo,

daddy has been out of town for TWO weeks in texas for work and we've been missing him like crazy!! we've tried to keep busy to make the days go faster, but we still miss him around here. it's just not the same!  we facetime every morning or evening before bed and you get a little confused by seeing his face on the phone, but love talking to him and telling him about your day.  i think he misses us too :)

silly selfies for daddy 

so throughout the last two weeks we've... 

cleaned out the baby's room & painted the closet... 

went in search for a big girl bed for you...

pretending to go night-night

had quite a few play dates with friends (abby, georgia, the triplets, kate/tyler...)

reading with georgia 

pool with nate, bri & ky 

went on walks... lots of walks!

stroller strides & park time...

story hour at the park with kate & tyler...

music in the park with the foley's... 

dinners with grandparents...

"oggie" the baby doll had to come with everywhere we went! 

the zoo with mommy's cousins... 

even a beach trip! 

playing in the sand... so different than last year!

so proud of your sand castle! 

and just about anything to keep us busy! 

wearing daddy's shoes 

ice cream in a cone! 

you are getting SO good at saying your own name, too.  you always refer to yourself as "you" and although i think it's the cutest thing ever, we're trying to work with you to say "nora".  you are talking SO much more now and putting together short sentences.  it's so incredible to watch you be able to express what you are feeling or needing.  just tonight we were riding in the car and you said, "mommy. tummy hurt" then you said "hungry noodles" and sure enough... it was past your dinner time and you must have been starving!! 

you love pushing your baby in the stroller whenever you have the chance. it usually takes us about 45 minutes to get halfway down the block because you are so distracted by every little bug, stick, birdie, squirrel, etc... 

speaking of birdies... your new favorite book is are you my mother? and you can retell the book page by page.  you bring it with you everywhere we go and say, "birdie looking mommy!" "mommy food baby!" your favorite part is the snort and how it brings the baby bird home to his mommy.  it's so fun to watch you continue to develop your love of reading.  i hope you always have such a passion for books! 

well boo, we'll have to make daddy a big welcome home sign before he gets home... we sure will be glad to have him back!!! these past two weeks made me realize even more so how important he is in our lives and how much we really need him!!! 

xoxo

mommy 

first train ride

nora boo,

today we went on your first train ride!  you love watching for trains to go by and get very excited when you see one.  we don't live too far from the tracks, so you see one often... at the ice cream place, at the pool, driving home... 

this morning grandma & i surprised you with your very first train ride!  when we first got to the train station you said "train watch".  then i told you that you got to ride ON the train... you screeched with delight and kept saying "train ride!" over and over again.  

woah! up close to the train! 

waiting for the train with grandma

we (mommy, nora & grandma) took the train to the choo choo restaurant for lunch, which is just two stops down... quick ride!  it was a train-filled morning today!  

waiting for your food on the train 

after lunch we took the train home and you got to sit by the window to watch all the cars, houses, and train tracks go by.  i think you were kind of in awe because you didn't really know what to say when you were sitting by the window.  it was so fun to watch you have such a great time!  we'll have to do this again soon sometime, and take the train to an even farther destination! 

sooo happy! 

watching all the cars and houses go by

your hand! 

hope you enjoyed your first train ride, boo!

xoxo

mommy

4th of july 2015

hey baby girl,

every holiday that comes and goes, i find myself reminiscing at year's past holidays and comparing/contrasting our lives.  for example, two years ago i was pregnant with you and we went to the fireworks and you were jumping around like CRAZY in my stomach!  i guess you didn't like the loud noises (and you still don't!).  last year you were just loving swimming in our backyard pool and crawling all over grandma and papa's patio.  this year, was actually no different!  you spent the day playing in the "froggy pool" (as you call it...because papa's orange pool is SO different from our orange pool wink wink) and eating snacks on grandma and papa's patio.  their neighbors were shooting off fireworks and at first, you didn't like the noise.  we taught you to say "boom boom firecracker" and you were then okay with it!  every time you'd hear one you'd say "boom boom cracker!" 

just for some comparisons..... 

2014 vs 2015 sitting on the patio eating cheerios july 3rd

4th of july 2014 

4th of july 2014... barely walking yet! 

ahhh.... i can't even!  just to think next year we'll be a family of 4 and there will be another little lady crawling about! i can just picture the matching 4th of july outfits already!!!

our forth of july started off with breakfast with martin, elizabeth, isabelle & baby theo.  you loved hangin' with isabelle and HATED when i held baby theo! you got pretty jealous quickly and asked me to hold you.  oh baby girl... if only you knew what's coming in just a few short months! 

hugs from isabelle 

then we headed over to grandma & papa's for a forth of july low country shrimp boil.  since returning from charleston, grandma is officially in "southern" mode and made a delicious shrimp boil.  of course, you ate noodles (charleston shaped pasta noodles though, sticking with the low country theme).  we ate, played, and ate some more!  no fireworks or parade this year... maybe next?! 

daddy is leaving tonight for a two week business trip, so it's just me and you baby girl!!  we'll have to plan many fun things to make the time pass quickly! i think you're going to miss him, as you've started calling him "nick" when you want something!! :)

xoxo,

mommy & daddy 

just one family picture, please nora!! 

isle of palms, sc

nora,

this past week we took a vacation to the isle of palms in south carolina.  we went with grandma, papa,  and uncle kyle.  we drove there (14+ hours!) and you did so well in the car (on the way there... not so much on the way back!) 

don't let the sleeping baby fool you... it lasted for 15 minutes. 

when we got there on saturday, we met grandma and papa in charleston to do a little fountain-running and have breakfast.  after everyone was full and wet, we drove to the island and checked into our home for the week and headed straight for the beach!  you were a little timid at first and felt more comfortable wearing your "jellies" in the sand and water.  

sooo hot and ready for breakfast at hominy grill

fountain running in charleston... dont mind the huge baby belly!

hmm... what is this sand stuff??? 

sunday was father's day so we played at the beach all day and then had a wonderful dinner at magnolias.  

bringing the pool to the beach was so worth it! 

kisses for daddy in your matching anchors :)

attempt at a family picture...

"ky-woah.... doing?" "pushing you in the stroller, nora." "push it, ky-woah." 

monday the boys went golfing and us girls had a beach day together!  it is exhausting taking you to the beach because all you wanted to do was play in the "deep end" of the ocean!  you continuosly wanted to run into the ocean and were completely fearless! grandma and i were so ready for a nap after a morning at the beach with you!  we grilled burgers at home that night and had a low key evening of drinks & sweet tea on the porch...exactly what southern beach vacations are for! 

tuesday we fortunately had all hands on deck for another beach day (seeing a pattern here?!) and had a delicious dinner at the boathouse on the isle of palms. 

beach bike rides with dad (don't judge the no helmet... it wasn't planned ahead of time!) 

happiest baby on the beach!

evening beach walks

so so windy!

wednesday the boys went kyaking and the ladies headed into charleston for some breakfast at toast and a little shopping. we walked and walked and then walked some more until you declared, "hot! home!!" over and over again. ok, point taken. the pregnant lady & baby were hot & exhausted! 

papa, daddy & kyle kyaking... on the look out for dolphins!

licking lemons at breakfast! (whatever it takes to keep you happy in restaurants!) 

naptime with grandma

"okay mom, hurry up... i'm ready for the beach NOW!"

wednesday evening we had professional photos taken of our family on the beach.  it was so incredibly windy and you were NOT having any photos taken of you, but i'm sure the wonderfully talented leigh got several great ones!! i can't wait to see all of them! 

thursday the boys went golfing (ugh, again!) and we had quite the lazy day!  it was a little overcast, windy, and rainy thursday so we went for a long walk in the beach, played on the porch, and finally the sun came out in the afternoon!  dad and i had a date night into charleston at fig and it did not disappoint!  we had a fabulous meal and enjoyed walking around charleston, ending our evening with a drink (sweet tea for me!) at a rooftop bar overlooking the city.  

reading books with grandma

watching the boats come into the marina with grandma & papa

friday was our last full day :( we made the most of it by being at the beach bright and early and staying until almost sundown!  lots of swimming, shell collecting, castle building, and some relaxing (when you went down for a nap)! 

we headed back into charleston for dinner at s.n.o.b. which was quite the experience with a toddler that did NOT want to sit in her highchair (hmm...wonder who that could be?!) the food was some of the best shrimp & grits ever and we even found some buttered noodles for the little lady, too :) we ended the evening with some ice cream and a long walk in charleston. 

"let me outta here!!!" 

 saturday morning daddy & i got up early to watch the sun rise, which turned out to be quite the experience, as we got POURED on and had to run back to the beach house! the wind + rain + sunburn = not the best feeling on sunburnt skin :) 

after packing the car, saying our goodbyes to the beach house & a wonderful breakfast at poogan's porch, we started our journey home.  it was quite the miserable drive home, as traffic was horrible and it just took forever to get home!!! 

 but... we finally made it home and woke up in our own beds (best feeling ever!) and headed to the farmers market, starbucks, and home for some water table play time. 

what do you mean you're not supposed to stand in your water table?!

we had such a wonderful vacation celebrating grandma's retirement and 60th birthday!  there is nothing better than family and i'm so thankful for all these memories created this week.  we can't wait to go back again and it's crazy to think that when we do go back again, there will be another little lady in tow!  i envision lots of matching monogrammed bathing suits & dresses for you and your sister for our next southern beach vacation! i could SO get used to the southern living style... sweet teas, ya'll, & a much slower pace of life.