St. Simons July 10-July 19

We made it home from a fun, full week at the beach last night around 7:30!! Phew! Talk about exhausting!! We left last Saturday after spending hours running around like crazy getting packed and our house cleaned so we could put a "for sale" sign in our yard on the way out! Thank goodness for Grandmommy and Granddaddy who took the girls for the morning and into the afternoon to the zoo and park to keep them amused and wear them out while we got everything done around here!!

Mimi, Papa and Bailey came down on Sunday and Sig surprised us on Thursday morning too! Our week at the beach was filled with LOTS of pool time, some shopping, eating good seafood, golf for the boys, birthday celebrations for Ryan, and even a little beachtime. (although not much!) I have to admit, getting everything we want to get done between the girls naps (Ali usually naps for 3 hours in the afternoon), waking up late, etc can be a daunting and exhausting trip but well worth it! We had a blast and were so sad to leave to come home!! Here are the few pictures we got from our trip....

Rhodes is a self-feeder these days. She does not care to have me spoon feed her - what a big girl! The only problem is that, when she feeds herself, everything does not make it to her mouth. It's so interesting to see what is on her lap when pulling her out of her seat - or what is sitting on her shoulder, or stuck to her cheek....


On the rainy moments we had, Ali loved to go outside and splash in the puddles with her Papa...

And Rhodes got a turn...

Rhodes loves to sleep on her daddy - especially when we're at the beach!
The only family picture we got the whole time - we need to start taking pictures with me in them (hint, Ryan!) so the girls know that I was around when they look at these down the road!
We went down to the new pool/putt-putt/fun play area by the pier - they even had tableside service. It was a lot of fun! Ali ate every last drop of her huge lick a color popsicle! She deserved it after all the swimming she had been doing!
Rhodes and daddy snacking
We did lots of swimming in our private pool!! Ali improved so much from our trip in May where she was terrified to be in the water without holding on to us. We hit the pool pretty much every day (weather/nap/meal permitting) and by the end of the week, Ali was taking her vest off in the pool and play AND jumping into the water to her daddy and Papa! A complete 180!



Rhodes is our little daredevil (although Ali was at this age too!) - she loves to splash in the water and especially when her daddy throws her up high!

Pretending to jump in...although really going to sit down and scoot in!

Up, up and away!


My favorite!

So happy to be in the pool with her daddy!
Drying off from some fun in the pool
Time for a nap while we pack our bags to hit the road home! (Which takes a LOONNNGGG time to do for a family of 4 that includes two little girls 2 & under!)
A few of the many beach shots we took to try to get a good picture of the girls on the beach!








Oh, how I love these two!!!!
One of Rhodes' first time on the beach (even though she is not in beach gear!) :)

After a long 5.5 hour drive, we finally made it home sweet home - Ali was soo happy to see all of her friends and moved them all over the house until it was time to head to bed!

We had so much fun and can not wait to head back again soon!! As soon as we started pulling off the island, I was trying to figure out when I could get the girls back there (if things ever slow down around here!) and if I could handle it alone just the three of us. We shall see - can't wait for our next trip to our home away from home! :)

Our little cherries

Ryan walked in from work the other day and we were playing in the living room and he pointed out that Rhodes looked just like a picture we had of Ali. I grabbed my camera and here are pictures comparing our little cherry girls. Rhodes is about a week over 9 months in this picture (top two) and Ali is about a week less than 9 months in hers (bottom two). Look how different they look! Although you can't tell in Rhodes' pictures, I think their eyes are very similar colors though - crystal blue - the prettiest color I've ever seen. :) Now, who looks like Ryan?? (Always hear that they both do!)

RHODES

ALI

Miss Independent

Ali is little Miss Independent these days. A few days ago, she turned 2 years and 8 months - I can't believe 3 years is quickly sneaking up on us. She is starting to play more on her own and definitely has her own little ideas, conversations and tea parties with her friends, and quite the imagination!

Yesterday she told me she had an idea. We were heading to La Parilla (our favorite restaurant - especially on a Friday night!) and she said she thought she would take her "friends" and walk to La Parilla and I could drive my car there. Here's about how the conversation went:

"Mama, I will walk my friends to La Pareeah and you drive your car, ok? Is that a good idea?"
"Oh, really?"
"Yes"

"Okay, but that is a long walk - are you sure you want to do it? My car is a lot faster than walking."
"I will walk very fast"

"Well, it's very dangerous to walk by yourself and there are cars in the road so it scares Mama"
"I'll just walk in the grass, okay?"

"Are you sure you want to go all by yourself"

She looks at me with a smile on her face and says "Maybe baby!"

It is much funnier said out of the mouth of Ali than typed out. To hear her say things like "Okay?" and "Is that a good idea?" is hilarious. She is quite determined and was not joking around one bit. She is too cute! Here are some pictures from my iphone (reason for the not perfect clarity) of Ali getting ready for her "walk" to La Pa - probably about 2 miles away.

Convinced her to ride in the car....finally!


She was such a big helper yesterday with Rhodes' 9 month check-up. Rhodes had to get her toe pricked to test her iron and Ali kept her so entertained playing peek-a-boo that Rhodes never even knew her toe got pricked - seriously. The only thing she noticed was the bandaid on her toe afterwards that she immediately tore off! She is the best big sister and Rhodes just adores her and watches her every move.

Just wanted to share some pictures of our little Ali B!

9 Month check-up

I took Rhodes in for her 9 month check up yesterday afternoon - what a trooper! It was at 2:00 which is the beginning of naptime for both of the girls and they both went and were WONDERFUL! You just never know sometimes if everyone will be in a good mood, but we made it through with only about 5 seconds of crying (and that was with a shot and toe-pricking!). Rhodes weighed in at 22 lbs (90%), 29 1/4 inches (97%) and her head is 18 inches (90%). I found Ali's A+ card from her 9 month appointment and she was 18 lbs 6 oz (50%), 27 inches (50%), and her head was 18 1/2 inches (97%). It's funny to see the differences in the two as they grow!

Here's a picture I took of Rhodes this morning from my iphone - her favorite place to be, standing up on the table! (although her second favorite is climbing on the shelf under our kitchen island - scares me to death!) Yesterday, Rhodes started standing up momentarily without holding on to anything! Changing every day and growing way too fast!