Our First Family Vacation!!!

I've been so eager to post these pictures of our first family vacation. We had a blast in Pine Island, cruising the water, fishing, visiting Cabbage Key, and watching Grace Louise experience lots of "firsts". Who says all the fun is gone when you have kids?? She made everything more special. Thankfully, though, my mom went with us as a Nanny, which allowed Jimmy and I some alone time to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary!!!

boating.

First ride on the boat! She LOVED it. She is her father's child, for sure!

The boat ride relaxed Grace Louise like I have never seen her before. She was like a zombie, as you can kind of tell from this picture.

Driving the boat! Poor baby- those life jackets are horribly uncomfortable, but she didn't seem to mind as long as we were moving.

This is her second time out on the boat. Now she's a pro. This was the day my mom went home, so we brought her out fishing with us from 10:30am-5pm. She was such a trooper! She napped in the Bob twice and cruised all over the boat. We cornered off part of the boat in the shade, and she was just as happy as could be playing with the fishing poles!

GL and mom on the sandbar (just before I threw my back out swinging her around!...the only downside of the trip)

1.2.3.4.5.6 teeth

This pic was taken going full speed in the boat, headed in after a long day. The wind in her face and sun on her skin put her into a fast slumber. (This is a child who generally wakes up when you sneeze).

fishing.

Jimmy and I went fishing together the morning my mom arrived to watch the baby. Neither of these fish, by the way, were keepers, but its always fun to reel one in! I figured I'd take a picture just in case we didn't catch any more :-) We ended up with some keeper grouper and snapper. Jimmy's friend, Jeremy, came on our last night of vacation and fought a HUGE tarpon in the pass. Didn't quite get it to the boat, though. So much fun!

eating.

Pine Island has one thing going for it... good food! One of the most special places we ate (twice) is actually a separate island- Cabbage Key. The nostalgia is worth the trip, though the food is excellent too! We went one evening for our anniversary and stopped in again one day for lunch to enjoy a cheeseburger in paradise!

View from the restaurant- looking towards Charlotte Harbor.

One of the long-standing traditions of the restaurant is for all the guests to tape a $1 bill to the wall. Our waiter said that they estimate there is around $70-80,000 currently on the wall. The $10,000 that falls down each year is donated to charity. We were excited to leave our stamp on the place and commemorate our anniversary celebration!

"This is a hard life!"

swimming.

exploring.

Mom and I took Grace Louise to explore the island one morning. There is so much rich history in Pine Island, much of which is preserved by the Nature Conservancy. Because it is not a barrier island and is home to many people (including the Florida writer, Randy White), who fight to protect its beauty, Pine Island is real Florida. I love it there!

AnOtHeR LaKe PlAyDaTe!!!

Enjoying the water as much as possible this summer! McKenzie and Taylor joined me, Missy, Trey, and the babies for a beautiful and relaxing picnic at Aunt Cindy's lake beach :-) It is so fun to watch the girls interact with each other as they get older. Grace Louise was all about giving Joanna kisses, all the while trying to claw her eyeballs out. Joanna was the free spirit, forgoing clothes and playing in the sand. They are so funny! Pretty soon they'll be giggling together, running around, and sharing toys.

McKenzie is such a great helper! She stayed with us for a few days this summer while Jimmy was out of town.

"Big Lou" and "Little Lou"

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Not sure what it is about Grace Louise's sunglasses. She's a trend setter.

Everyone wants to wear them...

First Trip to the Zoo

Here are some pics of our trip to Lowery Park Zoo that I promised a few posts back. Grace Louise was such a trooper and loved most of the animals.

Unlike her mother, it appears Grace Louise isn't a fan of goats. Or at least not just yet. She actually screamed for the first time when meeting this goat in the picture. Sad, but funny. And I got it on the camcorder! Growing up I had a goat, "Ellie Mae", who acted more like a dog and walked on a leash. I would love for Grace Louise to have her own little goat one day.

Cooling off at the water park.

Feeding the parakeets.

Talented.

Feeding the giraffs. The best part!

We're Baaaaack...

...And have a lot of catching up to do! The eighth month has been SUPER, fun, and really really fast! Typing that last sentence makes me realize just how much my life revolves around some little girl... and I wouldn't have it any other way :-) Eight months in and she's still amazing. Maybe even a little more since my last post ;-)

Now that I've returned from hiatus, I'm SO eager to post pictures!... organization will have to wait. (This weekend I'll work on posts of some fun things we've done this summer). Since this post is all about randomness, I'll throw in a quick top ten list that I made up while playing with Grace Louise in her room this evening.

Ten new things about you
1. Your eyes are starting to turn up on the ends. So feminine of you! Boys will find that attractive one day. Not too soon, though.
2. You're growing eyelashes and it looks like they are going to be thick (er than your mom's. That's a good thing! You won't have to endure fake eyelash hangovers).
3. You tuck your chin in and grin REALLY big!
4. You have nice, large, healthy white teeth.
5. You're already driving. A red plastic car, that is. And you know just what to do with the steering wheel without ever being told.
6. You eat "holy" (whole wheat) toast.
7. You kick with eager anticipation at the sight of the door. You LOVE outside!
8. You're exploring the many sounds you can make, but prefer the Indian holler.
9. You're most comfortable sitting on your knees. A yogi already.
10. You're growing up too fast...Daddy and I decided that tonight while watching you push around your first toddler walking toy. CrAzY!!!

"You know. Just chillin. Eating a car."

I should frame this, huh? She loves her naked friend in the mirror.

Buddha?

4th of July with BeBe

Cuddling with Uncle Bubba.

Roseola and rib bones

I've been too busy chasing this little monkey around and trying to keep a decent house... blogging was put on the back burner for a couple of weeks. Actually, I've been having computer issues (SOOOO ready for the Mac world). I've been working off of two computers set up next to each other. When one messes up or runs too slow, I switch to the other. Sad, I know. I also drenched my camera last weekend on a kayaking trip, so its been hard to take pictures with no camera. I think I'm depressed about that. Not really. Well, maybe just a little. I will be remedying that situation as soon as possible. No one wants to read my blog without pictures of THE ONE.

The most exciting thing in the past couple of weeks was Grace Louise's first trip to the zoo to celebrate her 8 month birthday!!! Truthfully, it wasn't to celebrate her monthly birthday (that was an after-thought); it was actually a trip for my nephew, Triston. He earned this trip to Lowery Park Zoo for learning his 2-3 multiplication facts! Smart boy! We just tagged along for the fun! I wish I had pics to share, but again... no camera. I did use my camcorder/camera, but haven't figured out how to upload them to my (slow) computer(s).

The most not-so-exciting thing going on in the past couple of weeks has been ear infection #2. Boy, has this been a long, drawn-out recovery! We're pretty sure that on top of the ear infection, GL also had roseola. The rash is gone today and we've continued the antibiotics in hope of clearing the ear infection up once and for all. Lord, please save her from having her mama's ears. Amen. And no more roseola, please.

I do have a few pictures to share from before my camera went for a swim. You might be able to tell... Grace Louise is getting taller and more slim. She only weighs 19.? pounds. At the rate she was growing right out of the chute, I thought she would be much heavier by now. Must be all that crawling around. Before too long, she will be walking. She loves to "cruise" the furniture and will walk all over the place if you hold her hands.

First rib bone. So many members of my family were proud.

She was proud too.

She walks up and down the couch... getting into whatever she can.