All-American

Independence Day has become my favorite holiday behind Christmas. The older I get the more I value our freedom and what the fourth of July truly means. And this year the day kind of felt like a big national celebration as everyone was united by our nationality and debates about same-sex marriage, immigration, etc. were set aside at least for one day.

This was a week prior to the fourth but it hadn't found it's way on the blog yet. "Easy like Sunday mornings"-or not. Those are usually our hardest mornings. Sister was feeling it, brother was not.

Our county fair most notably known as the Catfish Festival is the week of the fourth but unfortunately this year (and the past couple years!) it rained so much we were only able to go one night. So we stayed home and played a lot this week. It was pajamas and big messes galore. This night I found an awesome deal on a double stroller I have been wanting on Craigslist and so we loaded up and headed to Tennessee at 7 o'clock on a Tuesday night. I love the spontaneity of summer nights and I love our new stroller! Hopefully the rain will go away and we can start using it.

Between the storms we did get in a little pool time. Once this girl warms up to the water she is a fish!

This boy has done a lot of relaxing in the shade. I can't explain just how easy of a baby he is. So thankful.

A little sparkler action at Granddad and Grandmomma's house.

The morning of the fourth Georgia Grace entered her terrapin that she so affectionately named Simon in the annual terrapin race. Our cousins Payton and Elijah had the idea and my uncle found the turtle for her on the side of the road the night before the race :) Simon (he was #129 out of 150 turtles!) got 4th in his heat and she was so proud of him. We kept him for a little while that day and then we explained that he needed to go home to his mommy and daddy so we put him on a log in the woods. We were playing outside last night and she asked, "Do you think Simon will come back and see me?" Melted my heart completely.

Sprinkler fun in our backyard with Ma

Roman and his mommy and daddy came over to celebrate with us and we tried to get a cute picture of these two and this was the best we could get. They were too busy fighting over the hose nozzle and/or the flag.

My all-American babes. This time last year we had no idea we would be celebrating the this year with our baby boy. God's blessings are abundant!

We went to the Catfish Festival and ran into Miss Catfish who just so happens to be one of my former cross-country babies! Hannah is the most beautiful girl inside and out, she is a great representative for our county. Georgia was mesmerized by her crown!

This was her first year to ride the carnival rides and she was excited about it. Her big cousin Keagen was such a sweetheart to ride with her.

Riding the motorcycle ride, just like her Pa!

The festivities continued Sunday with the annual "Thunder Over Grancer" at our friend's house. I made peach homemade ice cream and the container was scraped clean!

It was a crawfish boil and everything was delicious!! I ate my weight in fish.

This girl loved the homemade ice cream :)

Hope you had a wonderful Independence Day! We have so much to be thankful for.

Wild Animals

Monday Rachel and I took Georgia Grace and Roman to the zoo. We picked a random Monday in June to go thinking we would beat the crowds but we were wrong-it was crowded! Thankfully it wasn't real hot and once everyone got into the zoo we all kind of dispersed and it wasn't that bad. 

Our babies loaded up and ready to go! My mom kept Jack for me, I debated back and forth on taking him but ultimately decided he would be happier in an air conditioned home with his Gammy. We missed him but I enjoyed spending the day with my favorite girl.

I realized in this moment I wish I had brought my selfie stick. Oh well, asking a stranger to take our picture is not something I'm above doing. 

Have you ever seen cooler kids?!? Their personalities match their shades :)

The gorillas were a definite hit. They put on a show for us which included peeing off the top of the ledge. That was a crowd favorite.

We love Mr. Polar Bear too. It amazes me he can survive in the south. He stayed under the water most of the time.

Georgia and Mr. Polar Bear

They were taking it all in

And this one is a heart melter! I have to brag on these two, they were complete angels all day. We couldn't have asked for better behaved kiddos. They have so much fun together.

After the zoo trip on Monday, Georgia went to AKK on Tuesday to play with four of her friends that were spending their last day as Aunt Kay's Kids (Kohen wasn't there yet so he didn't make the picture).

They will start kindergarten in the fall so their preschool days are over. We are super sad to say goodbye but I know their friendships will continue and we will still see them outside of AKK. Plus Georgia Grace and Thomas are getting married they say so it sounds like future plans are being made ha!

Dr. Kypton and Dr. Georgia treating a patient one last time :)

Happy fourth weekend! We have had rain for most of the week and we really hope it goes away for the weekend. We want to be outdoors letting freedom ring. 

Jack's Sip and See

Saturday we hosted Jack's sip and see. I realize a sip and see is not common in our area and I actually don't know of anyone personally that has ever had one. It's simply a southern style event where everyone drops by to meet and hold the new baby. I wanted to have a sip and see for two reasons. One being of course so everyone could meet Jack for the first time or see him again and love on him some more. The other reason is so our friends and family could view our new home. We moved in November and it has taken us this long to furnish and complete our remodeling projects. I was excited about an opportunity to do both at the same time!

We had 54 people at our house which was a great number to entertain. We were honored so many people took time out of their busy weekend to stop by. The sip and see had a casual feel to it so we kept everything simple and just spent time together in conversation, touring our home and of course swooning over baby Jack.

I kept the menu simple-assorted cheeses and crackers, tea cookies from Riley's Bakery (the best party treat ever) and a $12 monogram cake from Walmart! And for the sip portion we had lemonade, sweet tea and coffee.

Precious baby Jack charming all the sip and see attendants. He was passed around so many times and loved every minute of it. He loves to be held and talked to.

Sweet boy wore a white bubble with baby blue rope trim. I lucked up on this outfit on eBay, I've been able to find quite a bit of second hand "Jack" pieces. He looked like a living doll!

I didn't take many pictures but did snap this one of some of our friends and family mingling. I loved seeing our home full of our loved ones.

Jack with Ms. Carolyn Darr, she bought our first home last summer and moved here from Clay, Kentucky. She is the sweetest person and we were so glad she came. Her daughter and family are dear friends of ours.

The Harrison four. Georgia Grace was in charge of giving the tour of her room and playroom :)  I don't think I saw her again until it was over! She's proud of her space and toys.

This was a proud and happy day for our family that I will always remember. Thanks to all of you who came and made it memorable!

A Checkup and Playmates

Tuesday was Jack's two month checkup. I was dreading it but also anxious to see how much he had grown and to get our pediatrician's opinion on his feet. Also, I continue to be amazed at the things I do differently with the second child. I took Jack to his appointment alone (the pediatrician's office is 35 minutes away) and I don't think I've taken Georgia Grace alone one time. I think for me I've just gained confidence as a mom and I feel like I understand my babies a little better.

Our Jack weighs 12 pounds 13 ounces (55th percentile), is 24 1/4 inches long (80th percentile) and his head (42 cm) is in the 97th percentile. He has grown 3 3/4 inches in two months! And we're hoping he continues to grow tall, my dad is 6'3 so that would be an awesome gene to inherit.

Everything checked out fine and his doctor thought his feet seemed more flexible at this appointment. He recommended shoe reversal to help straighten them out along with the exercises so we will probably start that soon. We ended the appointment with three shots and goodness he did not like them one bit. The rest of the day he just wanted to be held and would cry off and on but by Wednesday he was back to his happy self. Bless his sweet heart!

This weekend we are having a sip and see for Jack that has put us in let's-finally-get-the-house-fully-furnished mode. We've drug our feet on a lot of house projects but we've had more important things occupying our time so we didn't sweat it. I have been dreaming of a gallery wall in our upstairs hallway so I started mapping my layout.

Then I replicated it on my wall with wrapping paper, magazine pages and frame boxes. I finished it all up tonight and I'm pretty proud of it. I'll take a finished picture this weekend!

We've had a pretty easy, slow week at home. We recently set up Jack's play gym and it seems someone else is also interested in the new toy. I didn't realize how much she already wants to play with him. I'm so glad she has a built-in playmate and best friend for life.

And who needs baby dolls when you have a baby brother? I have the cutest video of her pretend feeding him, giving him a paci and playing her clarinet for him :) He was eating it up! I pray they always love each other as much as they do right now.

I'm off to bed to get rested for our busy Saturday. Happy weekend friends!

Summer Lovin' and Father's Day 2015

Life is so good right now. We're in a slow summer routine that's filled with spontaneous trips to the pool, strolls after supper and later bedtimes because those things are just fun and that's what summer is all about. I don't know if I've ever enjoyed a summer as much as this one.

 

Speaking of enjoying life, he has been smiling and laughing for a while now. I hope he's always this happy and care-free. 

Sunday was Father's Day. My love for this man grew tenfold when he added daddy to his titles. I have two blessed babies growing up under his roof. We love you, Daddy!

Yes, brother and sister are wearing matching seersucker outfits. You knew matching sibling sets were coming!! :)

My aunt snapped this picture on Sunday. If we didn't need further proof of what a wonderful Daddy he is.

Yesterday we woke up to sunshine and no plans so a morning at the pool is what it became! We've got a brave girl on our hands wanting to do big things and not wear her puddle jumper. I just love this picture!

Like mother, like daughter-both easily distracted. And I hesitated to post this picture because of my post baby marks but I'm proud of what those marks of love gave me. I'll never be ashamed of something that tells such a beautiful story of motherhood. 

Tomorrow is Jack's two month checkup and the rest of the week we will be finishing up some projects for Jack's sip and see Saturday. Marcus told my Mamaw he thought the sip and see was really a ploy to get some of our house projects finished and she said in that case they were going to have one too HA! I'm super excited for this. It's just a great opportunity for our friends and family to see our new house and new baby at the same time. And I must admit putting a deadline on some to-do list items makes me happy too :)

Jack's two month checkup is today so please say a little prayer for me as immunizations will be given. I'm anxious to hear how much he has grown and to check his feet. 

Bible School and Bathing Beauties

This week was our church's vacation bible school and our first year of being involved with it. We have taken Georgia Grace for one day in previous years just to expose her to it but she was too young to go to class so there really wasn't much point.  This year we encouraged her to go to a class (and she did!) and Marcus taught the 4th grade class so Jack and me tagged along most days to be a part of the "nursery class" :)

The theme this year was "Journey Off The Map" and one of our church members created the most amazing set. He started working on this in April and spent countless hours perfecting all the details. It was spectacular!

My bible school babies! I realize GGH is a little overdressed for VBS but we had a rough morning and her first outfit was not wearable by the time we were walking out the door so I grabbed the closest thing hanging in our laundry room. And Jack on the other hand was still in a bedtime gown. Motherhood at its finest!

Our VBS is in the morning from Monday to Friday. We have a lot of teachers/retirees/SAHM in our congregation so daytime works best. Our first day we had 232 there! It was a new first day record.

Taking the annual group picture outside of church

Georgia went to the 4 and up preschool class this week (I actually thought it was 3 and up when we decided to see if she wanted to go to a class). I stayed in the nursery in case she changed her mind or didn't do well in class but she did just fine like I knew she would. Her big cousin Delaney was a preschool helper and she stayed attached to her hip most of the week :) So thankful for her!

The week of bible school is always tiring so we tried not to plan a lot of big activities. One evening we went to the pool to swim when it wasn't hot and sunny.

This was Jack's first time in the pool and he was completely relaxed and loving it! Georgia Grace was more into Jack being in the pool with her than swimming.

I think he's going to be a water baby. He was so sweet just sitting there in the water. He's getting too big too fast!

Everyday I water our ferns, impatiens and rose bush and just recently I have recruited a helper. She loves to feel important and needed.

Even though I feel like she has grown so much since we brought her baby brother home I can still put her in a bubble and pull her hair up and she becomes my little baby again :) I would love to keep her this age forever.

Me-"What's your favorite part of bible school?"

Georgia Grace- "Dancing" HA! I can't wait to put her in a dance class this fall.

Just our little swimmer in her 'mingo suit heading out for another swim! It looks like she's wearing makeup in this picture but I promise it's all natural. She won't wear that stuff until she's 16 if I have my way :)

Tomorrow is our last day of VBS and commencement tomorrow night. I can't believe it's already the middle of June. Summer days seem to move at rocket speed. We're trying our best to make the most of them!