Precious Hands and Feet

While Matt was out of town last week, the girls and I stayed with my parents.  It was so nice to get to spend time with them. My girls enjoyed the extra love and attention from Gigi and Pop and I'm pretty sure Gigi and Pop enjoyed it too. My mom had been in charge of crafts for her church's VBS and had the materials left over for making stepping stones.  My mom has a stepping stone of Mattilee's feet that I gave her when Matti was just a baby so we decided to make one of Ivey Kate's feet since she had all of the materials.  I wanted some for my yard too so we just had a fun time sticking little hands and feet in the mold and decorating them.  I was excited about how they turned out. 

I LOVE LOVE these little hands! I think the flower hands turned out really cute! 

I knew Ivey Kate wouldn't keep her hands spread or still so we tried her little feet.  She still moved her feet but I think they turned out precious.  

I know I'll always cherish these stones with my babies' hands and feet from when they were so tiny.  

These are so simple and a great gift for grandmas. Hobby Lobby sells a kit that has everything you need but it is kind of expensive, especially if you are doing more than one.  You can just buy concrete mix for around $5.00 and decorate with anything you choose. There are lots of how-to videos online. 

Sweet Summertime

 Oh how I love these girls! 

Ivey Kate is such a sweetheart.

Have you ever seen a sweeter smile?!?

 

My silly, sweet big girl having fun in her pool.

 Excited about her new Dora nightgown

 Playing like a big girl. 

Bath time is more fun in pairs.  

 Matti really is a sweet big sister.  She loves Ivey Kate so much. 

Both these girls LOVE being outside.

Monday Funday with Daddy

A few weeks ago on a Monday morning I noticed that Matt put on jeans while getting ready for work. My husband ALWAYS wears a suit to work so when I asked him what was different about today he said that he was just going in to work to do a few things and then taking the day off to spend with the girls and me.  He said he thought we might want to go to the zoo.  What a treat to get to spend time with him on a week day and I knew a certain little girl who was going to be extra excited about spending the day with her daddy!

 I love this picture and these two.

Our little giraffe  

Fun times with Daddy 

 She's a "scawey" lion. :)

 Our smallest angel was perfectly happy in the stroller the entire time.  I was so glad because this little chunk of love gets heavy. 

 Feeding flamingos 

 Playing in the splash pad. Her face is so funny!

Having so much fun. 

Thank you Daddy!

 This orangutan had a baby clinging to her chest.  The momma was really protective and tried to keep the baby hidden.  We got a few glimpses of her but I couldn't get a good picture.  The baby was so precious.  It was funny to me that the momma didn't hold the baby, the baby held her. The mom would walk around with her arms hanging by her side and the baby just clung to her mom. 

 This elephant kept her trunk rested on this rock the for hours.  

Family Beach Trip 2012

My mom with all of her grandbabies. 

Sweet cousins

I just love this picture of her. 

We tried and tried to get a picture with all four of them looking at the camera but this was the best I could get.  

My little loves

Matti trying to pose for the camera. 

And again. She hasn't quite figured out how to pose but she sure is cute anyway. 

Ivey Kate and Lyla taking a wagon ride around Carillon. Ivey's wide eyes in this make me laugh.

Pop reading "Hop on Pop" to the girls. :)

These two had just ridden the airlplanes all by themselves! They had so much fun at the little amusement park in Pier Park.  

Matti is the front of the train and she loved riding it! 

Sweet girls waiting to eat at Pier Park. 

Excited about riding the big train with Gigi and Addie Brown. 

Burying Uncle Pat in the sand.  He's such a good uncle and good sport. 

Ivey Kate's sweet feet in the sand for the first time. 

Matti's feet in the sand too.

Matti and her cousin Lyla sliding at the park in Carrillon. 

More fun at the park. 

Trying pistachios for the first time. I love that they do everything together. :)

  

She loves the water. 

Burping their baby dolls after feeding them. 

Riding behind the bike in this cool little bike caddy.  This thing was awesome and they loved it!  I'd like to get one to ride the girls around our neighborhood at home.  

Sitting with Pop before heading to bed. 

They had so much fun in the pool!

So did this angel!

The week of Memorial Day we went to the beach with my parents, brothers, and their precious families.  We stayed in a house in Carillon.  It was so nice to spend an entire week at the beach relaxing, playing, and catching up with my family.  The house had a pool which was so nice.  We didn't have to pack up everything to head to the pool, we just walked out of the back door.  And while the little ones napped, we could still be out by the pool with the baby monitors. We had beautiful weather the entire week.  Mattilee and her cousin Addie Brown had a really good time together.  We were proud of them; we weren't sure what to expect with two two-year-olds in the same house for a week but they played really well together for the most part.  We found out little Ivey Kate had an ear infection the day before we left for the beach so I worried how she would do away from home all week. But she did great!  She didn't act like her ear bothered her much at all.  Our bedroom had a walk-in closet where we set up her pack-and-play for her to sleep and it was perfect.  We set up the monitor and sound machine and she seemed to love her little oasis.  I loved getting to spend so much time with my family and getting to play with my sweet nieces.  These four girls are gonna have so much fun growing up together.  I always look forward to our trips together and I'm so thankful my parents plan trips like this for us. 

6 Month Sweetie

I have no idea where the past 6 months have gone!  Sometimes I just wish I could slow life down to really savor this time with my little ones. 

Our Ivey Kate is such a sweetheart.  I love her sweet smile and giggles.  I love that she wakes up so happy. I can hear and see her on the baby monitor just talking to herself, playing with her feet, rolling around, etc.  This girl LOVES her mommy.  I love that she loves me, but I also want her to be happy when other people hold her.  She has gotten a little better, she is usually happy with someone else as long as she doesn't see me.  If she gets a glimpse of me, she'll usually start fussing until I take her.  Mattilee did the same thing. It's so sweet when babies love and are comforted by their mommy, it just makes me feel bad for others when my babies aren't happy with them. I want everyone to be able to hold and love on my babies if they would like, and at times neither of mine have wanted to cooperate with this.

 At Ivey's 6 month checkup she was 16.5 lbs (60%) and 27 inches (90%).  She is eating baby food 3 times a day now.  She finally has a tiny tooth coming through. It seems she's been teething for months and now she finally has something to show for it.  

We tried sitting her up by herself last month and sometimes she would sit up for a minute or so before toppling over but on her 6 month birthday she really started sitting up and staying put.  She loves that she can see everything that's going on while sitting up and seems to enjoy getting to pick up different toys that are within her reach.  

I love the love that she and her big sister already seem to have for one another.  When I get Ivey Kate up from a nap and bring her to the room where Mattilee is, Ivey Kate's face lights up and she wiggles with excitement.  Mattilee always says something like "Hey Ivey Kate, Hey Sweetheart! Did you have a good nap?" And Mattilee immediately wants to give her a hug and kiss.   Ivey Kate will just sit and watch her big sister and laugh and smile at whatever Mattilee's doing.  

I was reminded this week of Psalm 127:3 and meditated on it for a while.  Children are a reward from Him.  Wow, I had to let that really sink in for a while. Our majestic and holy God, creator of the universe, author of life and everything that is good has decided to reward me!  How He has rewarded me with these too!!! And for what reason do I deserve a reward??  None whatsoever.  But out of His goodness He has, despite my being so undeserving of any reward from Him.  So thankful for His mercy and grace! 

This is our little sweetheart sitting up on her 6 month birthday.  Even after those nasty 6 month shots she still so happy.