Beach Trip 2009

We love going to the beach! We had our first family vacation with Amelie on a trip to Destin this past week. We went with our good friends Katie, Chris and Bella Green, and Morgan Collins, and stayed in a condo right on the beach in West Destin. This years beach trip was very different with Amelie but still very fun. We had to keep her out of the sun because she is too young for the sun and sunscreen, which can be a challenge. Add in the fact that she needs a nap and feeding every three hours, plus can find any reason to be ornery, and you have a very different trip than we would have had just a year ago. Even with all those factors, we still had fun setting up camp every morning and just hanging out by the beach every day. Everyday was beautiful and basically consisted of beach, naps, food, naps, reading, beach, food, beach, and beach naps.

One of the best things about vacation at the beach is of course seafood, which we had our fill of the first few days. Bobby defintely kept with his theme of adventurous eating the first night out by polishing off a dozen oysters on the half shell, followed by the grilled and broiled platter that contained deviled crap, shrimp, mahi-mahi, scallops, and even more oysters. Kelly kept it simple with mahi-mahi, but that was just fine with her!

Bobby and Chris got to not once, but twice play golf while on the trip. Their first outing they were paired with some retired ex-GE execs who were great to play with. Their second outing was a lot more fun because they played later when it was cooler, and had the course literally to themselves. Between the stoagies, cold brew, and both shooting well, it was a great day of golf.

Because of kids (and old age), late nights usually consisted of two things: quick runs to the closest ice cream store for milkshakes and ice cream, and/or game nights once the kids were asleep. Uno and hotrod Uno seemed to be the favs most nights. One of the night highlights was when Morgan's friend Josh met up with us and hung around for both ice cream and Uno (what a lucky guy to be get both in one night). He seems like a great guy and we enjoyed meeting and getting to know him.

All in all Destin '09 was a blast. We had lots of quality family and friend time. Somehow we came back with neither airbrush t-shirts or tatoos commemorating our trip. Nevertheless, Destin '09 will go down in the annals of great vacations. Enjoy our pics and videos (including Amelie's first time in the ocean) below.

Family picture at the beach (Straw hat c/o '96 Olympics)

Amelie sitting pretty in her chair

Now with sunglasses off

This is what Amelie did at the beach (sleep)

Kelly and Amelie on the docks at sunset

Family pic on the docks before dinner

Bobby's dozen oysters at dinner

Bella and Chris enjoying the parrots

Amelie and Dad playing in kiddie pool

Amelie and Mommy posing by kiddie pool

Amelie modeling her bathing suit from Uncle Daniel

Morgan and Kelly with pre-dinner pina coladas

Group Picture!

Amelie's first time in the ocean


Amelie in her kiddie pool

Update on Amelie

We haven't been great about putting up new video and pictures this past week so here are a couple fun ones! First, she is really loving baths now. She kicks and splashes and has a great time! Bobby does a great job making bath time fun. Another video is of me trying to get her to laugh by blowing on her tummy. She had a laugh and then when we got out the camera she stopped but she still made really cute noises. And lastly, we had to include a short video of her watching Baby Einstein videos, which should be known as "Baby Crack" because of how addicted and focused she gets while watching.

Summer Days

I (Kelly) sometimes have a problem with sitting still. Today was one of those days that I struggle with not be frustrated because I didn't get a lot accomplished...or at least all that I wanted to get accomplished. I really wanted to start painting trim today, but only got as far as sanding a little and putting a little tape up. I really want to get these little projects done around the house but since they seem somewhat insignificant, it's hard to find the motivation to do them. And it's even harder to find the time when so much of my day is consumed with taking care of Amelie. I love taking care of Amelie and wouldn't want to trade it for anything. I have to stop and put things in prespective on these kind of days that I didn't get a lot checked off my list. I need to be more thankful that I'm blessed to not only have summers off myself, but that my husband also gets to have summers off! I love us being able to be home together and not have a ton going on. I love these carefree days and I need to enjoy them while they last! We did try to go to the pool today, however we couldn't find one that wasn't packed with college kids. We are starting to realize how old we are getting when joining a private pools sounds more appealing than our normal pool hopping schemes. Things are just different now there is a little one tagging along! :)

Good job Bobby

Well, yesterday I decided to try and ruin our summer vacation. I was playing basketball and went up for a rebound, but came down on another guy's foot and rolled my ankle all the way over. And, I sprained the mess out of my ankle. It popped when it happened, so I was worried it was more than a sprain at first. But I am pretty sure it is just a sprain. Who knows though because I decided to forego medical attention and just let my wife torture me with ice baths. Anyway here are some pictures a little more that 24 hours later. Good job Bobby, good job.

Daddy Fun

So, one thing that Amelie does not dig too much is "tummy time". We do this so that she can work on her neck muscles and support, but usually after a few minutes she is pooped and cranky. Undaunted, I have finally found something that she enjoys and gets her some great neck exercise. I could explain but check out the video for best explanation. And yes, I always do the Superman theme music for her (though I can't remember if it is Superman or Star Wars because all of John Williams soundtracks seem similar to me).

-Bobby

I finally did it!

I have been couponing, thanks to Katie Green, for a couple months now. I have been trying to save more than I spend and haven't been able to do it yet. I've done good in that I've saved at least 50% of what I spend each time I go but I really wanted to do better than that! On Saturday, I finally accomplished my goal in saving more than I spent! I spent $45 and saved $52!!! :) I was super pumped! The challenge of trying to save more than you spend has actually made grocery shopping more enjoyable for me. I guess it's my competitive nature coming out! :)

-Kelly

Amelie--12 weeks

Amelie is starting to hold onto things. She hasn't reached out to grab something on her own yet, but when she gets a hold of something she doesn't easily let it go. She also loves to sleep with her mouth open and the other night her tongue stayed on the roof of her mouth.

- Kelly

Amelie Talking

Amelie is talking more and more! I love all the noises she makes! She is mesmorized by the camera so as soon as she sees it she stops what she is doing and focuses very intently on it...but this video is pretty good! :) Enjoy!

Amazing Sister

Thursday my sister, Katie, came up to Athens to hang out with Amelie and I. She has been helping me out a lot lately and I am super grateful! I'm glad that her school schedule has allowed her the time to be able to come up. I love our lunch dates and being able to hang out and hear what's going on in her life. She came up to help me with Amelie while I had a precancerous spot removed at the dermetalogists. So it was nice to be able to have that done without worrying that Amelie would get upset and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. They strolled around downtown Watkinsville and enjoyed the nice day. I just found out that she got accepted into UGA for the Fall! I'm super excited not only for the great experiences she will have by being a Bulldawg but also for her being SO close to us! I'm looking forward to more Katie time in the future! :)

By the way, this is an old picture...which I realized with Katie yesterday that I don't take that many pictures any more. I need to get better about taking pictures of friends & family because my photo gallery is definitely lacking!

Tuesday

Amelie can be propped up and stay like that for awhile. Love this outfit!! :)
Lately, she has not liked baths. She cries & cries...or at least when I do them. But daddy has the magic touch. She does great while he gives her a bath.

Walking at the park with the soccer team in the background.

Bobby playing ultimate frisbee. He's the one in the red shirt! Good luck trying to spot him! :)

Silly face! :)

I love how she is SO relaxed after she eats!

I haven't posted pictures in a while, so I thought I would take a minute and post a couple from this week. Tuesday nights Bobby plays ultimate frisbee with a group of people and really enjoys getting out and exercising while having fun. This Tuesday, Amelie and I decided to join him but to walk around the track while he played. Unfortunately, they were on a different field so Amelie and I would only see them briefly as we passed by their field. The field they normally play on had a little kids soccer practice going on. It was super cute to watch them practice! There were parents sitting on the lawn watching. There were other parents entertaining younger siblings on the nearby playground. There was one dad who decided to introduce his youngest, who was about 3ish, to honeysuckles and how to eat them. It was super cute watching them and listening to a little of their dialogue. It made me excited about one day introducing Amelie to this sweet summertime treat. :) It was a fun evening enjoying the beautiful weather!

Today Amelie is wearing a super cute outfit and I had to take some pictures! She's at a point now where she can sit propped up which is super cute. As I type she is sitting in my lap in her favorite pose of facing me while propped up on my knees and she is pooping. Is it possible that her poop smells like bacon? I did eat a BLT yesterday for lunch...hmmm.....

Amelie learning to grab

I love being home with Amelie. I love watching her learn new things it seems daily. There are so many times during the day that I wish I could capture the cute little things that she does. I try so hard to really memorize how she smiles, the way that she talks, her cute faces when she poops, her contentment when she eats, and so much more. I know I will forget a lot as she continues to grow and memories are replaced with new memories, but that makes me sad because I want to remember everything!!! Thank goodness for camera's!

Okay, so this video is super cute because she was napping and began to cry. I went in to check on her and this is what I found! :) It was a little dark so I hope you can see it good enough. Okay, so you can't see it that good, but she is grabbing her pacifier and waving it around in her hand while crying. Sorry for the poor quality!

Amazing Husband

For my birthday, Bobby coordinated with his mother to come to Athens and watch Amelie last Friday so that he could take me to a nice dinner just the two of us. We went to Girasole's in Watkinsville and it was amazing! We both had one of the specials which was Grouper. I had it with papaya mango sauce and he had it with shrimp and lobster sauce. It was the best Grouper I've ever had. We also had an amazing Eggplant appetizer. It had a vinegary smelling sauce but it tasted sweet. It was delicious! We had fun talking and not having to be worrying about Amelie. After dinner, since we had a little time left, we went to GA/FL baseball game to watch a couple innings. We were able to walk right in and sit right behind home plate. That was fun too. The temperture outside was perfect! I love that Bobby likes to plan fun things to do!

Patient Amelie

Today I had a dentist appointment. I had to get my teeth cleaned AND I had to get a couple fillings replaced. All in all we were at the dentists for 2 hours. Amelie was amazing! She sat in her car seat the entire time and just watched. She didn't fuss one time. I thought she would be asleep the entire time but it didn't happen that way but it didn't matter because she was so good. The dentist seemed a little nervous to have her there, that she was going to cry. After he would numb my mouth, he would say that I have about 5 minutes and that I should tend to the baby and make sure she was okay. I didn't really know what to do because she was just sitting there but I would talk to her and all was good. All was good except that my mouth hurt really bad from them scrapping my gums and pushing hard on my jaw. :)

After the dentist we came back to the house and she was able to take a nap in her bed. While she was napping, I printed & organized my coupons and made my grocery list. When she woke up, we went to Kroger and Publix. She was so patient again as we walked around the grocery stores. She is such a sweet girl! I love her so much!

Sunday Fun in the Sun by Lake Herrick

Bobby and I like to be out and doing; however, it has taken me a little while to adjust being out and about with a baby. But after 9 weeks, I think I'm finally feeling more and more comfortable with it. So, Sunday we decided to have a picnic lunch at the dock at Lake Herrick, which is at UGA's intramural fields. We walked through the woods a little to get to the dock and it was super fun! Bobby had Amelie in the Bjorn and although it was a bumpy, jostley ride she didn't seem to mind. We had a fun time enjoying the outdoors and also took the opportunity to get some good family pics! Enjoy the pictures! :)

10 Weeks Old Today & Butterfly Kisses

Our baby girl is 10 weeks old today. Man, time is flying by. Already in the double digits for weeks. Pretty soon she'll be telling me that she has a boy at school that she likes (he's as good as dead), and that she needs the keys to the car (no way). Last night I had a dream that she skipped crawling and was already walking around. I was pumped in my dream because it was cool that she could walk, but I felt like I was watching her life slip by. The worst part was that Bob Carlisle was in the background singing Butterfly Kisses.

Anyway here are the weeks in review:

Day 1/Week 1

Week 2

Week 3