Dog Days of Summer

We have been super busy the past week! Our days have been filled with water fun at the swimming pool, the gym, the library, and the park. We are already tan because our favorite place is the coolest place--the pool! I think that Caroline has the most beautiful skin--she is a lucky girl! Daniel's eyes stand out even more when he is tan. They somehow seem even more clear blue. I am loving being able to spend all of this time with the two of them. Believe it or not, they actually LIKE spending time together! I am sure it won't stay this way!! It is quite different than this fall and spring when D was in school part time. We just don't realize how long 9-1 really is! I think my sweet hubby realized how much work having two kids all day long is, because he surprised me with a dozen beautiful red roses this week to say thank you for taking such good care of the kids! It really meant a lot to me, because often the stay at home mom profession is not respected or appreciated very much. I must admit that when I was working, I underestimated it myself!
We are headed to Panama City Beach for the weekend to visit with Matt's sister Amanda and her family. They have a little girl that is a bit over a year old and a little boy close to Daniel's age. We are planning to hang out at the pool (and the guys will play some golf OFCOURSE!), drive some race cars (which Daniel discovered he LOOVES in the mountains), and maybe get a sitter so that the four of us can go out as adults Saturday night.
I'll post some pics as soon as I can--Matt has the camera in the SUV. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
Oh, and Happy Birthday Carrie! Sorry I could not make the party last night--hope you were surprised and that you love your new stroller!

Daniel is excited to see Dino-man!

Caroline can't wait to see what this is all about

The one and only...Dino-man!!! (we left early b/c it was a bit lame!)

Caroline has just arrived at the pool and is ready to splash and sun!

Daniel LOOOVES the water rocket!

Mountain Memories!

We have just returned from a wonderful trip to Gatlinburg, TN with my cousin, her husband, their 10 month old baby girl, and my aunt. We had a wonderful time! The weather was perfect! The mountains have been a family vacation destination for me for as long as I can remember. When I was two, my grandmother bought my cousin and me identical black bear stuffed animals. Apparently, we fought over who's was who's the whole time (gotta love vacationing with a two year old!)! On our trip last week, my aunt bought the kids the same type of bears. She is like a grandmother to Daniel and Caroline too. Funny how things come full circle. Daniel named his zootype (because, according to Daniel, he has the magical power to type on the computer!) and Caroline's Sweet Caroline. He has quite an imagination!
We spent Memorial Day at the Country Club pool. It was awesome!! The day was absolutely beautiful! Daniel finally got up the courage to swim all around the big pool all by himself (with swimmies ofcourse) and Caroline LOVES the water! She kicked her little legs and moved her arms just like she should! She also loved sticking her face in the water. She may be our little swimmer!

Oh, by the way, I would post more pictures from the vacation and Memorial Day, but I just found my camera--in the bottom of one of Daniel's many toy bags!! Gotta love it!

Below are pictures of the kids playing with their bears...

(Daniel dressed himself!!)

Sorry for the Delay...

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting, but our house has been a bit sickly this past week. It started Monday night--Daniel woke up about 11:30 throwing up and with fever. He was also complaining of a headache and had a horrible hacking cough. Diagnosis: croup and a sinus infection (poor baby!!). A few days later, Caroline began coughing and according to Dr. Dudgeon, had caught the croup from Daniel. Again, my poor baby! Now, my throat is hurting and I can only assume that I have fallen victim to the bug! Despite our feeling a bit puny, we had a nice Mother's Day yesterday. After church, we had brunch at the Country Club and then went to Aldridge Gardens and Star Lake later in the afternoon. Gran and PePaw joined us on our outdoor adventure. Perhaps the most exciting part of the day was when Daniel caught his first fish!!
I do believe that Caroline will be crawling around any day now. Also, she went from laying flat in her crib to sitting straight up all by herself yesterday! It is the strangest thing to come in after nap and see her sitting up looking at me! She is doing really well with her first sounds. Baa, baa, baa seems to be her favorite. She is going to be a talker--she tries so hard to communicate with us already!
Daniel is growing so quickly! His intelligence never ceases to amaze me. Yesterday, he said "Mom, I am laying horizontally across my bed" (and he was!!!). HORIZONTALLY?!?! I think I had horizontal and vertical confused until I was a sophmore in high school! He also has a fantastic memory. He remembered where all of the different scare crows were at Aldridge Gardens during October. Maybe he WILL be a doctor one day! He certainly has the brain for it!
Well, enough bragging for the day. Can you tell how proud I am to be a MOM! Hope all of you had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Couples Night (kind of!)

We had a great weekend! Saturday night we went out to dinner at Ocean (sooo yummy!) for a couples night with some of our friends. We had a great time! Though the intended couples night turned out to be more of a combined girls night/guys night, it was nice for both Matt and I to go out to dinner at the same time without children! It is amazing what you begin to appreciate--things we used to just take for granted (a meal without screaming?!?!) We decided at dinner that we must make this a monthly event. It is so important to set out time for ourselves--it can become so easy to get wrapped up in your kids' lives and put your own aside. Who knows, maybe next time we might even sit next to our husbands!

The girls side of the table...

And the boys side of the table!

Rainy Days Are Here Again!

Well, in keeping with typical Birmingham weather, it is pouring down rain! We were supposed to have Daniel's last t-ball game this morning and then head over to Veteran's Park for a fun Hoover Celebration Day, but all of that has been cancelled. Matt is lifting weights right now, and then I think we are headed to the mall with the kids. Daniel and Caroline are very much "on the go" kids, so rainy days can be hard. There is always Daniel's favorite--the McWane Center. Matt likes it too--I myself could take it or leave it! I much prefer the mall! Matt and I are very excited to be going out with some friends to eat at a wonderful restaurant, Ocean, tonight. It is a rare event indeed to be able to go out with friends as a couple without children (thanks for organizing Ashley!!). We are attempting to relive the prebaby days with our college friends--to some degree!! I will try and take and post some pics. Happy Rainy Saturday everyone!