The Beach... in pictures

Just the three of us!

My attempt at photographing our dinner one night... Dad grilled shrimp and we had grits, asparagus and salad... yummy!!

Eating dinner at Capt. Anderson's our last night... a Panama City Beach tradition!

Eating lunch at Margaritaville

Family Pic... wish we would've turned 90 degrees to get the beach in the background instead of the parking deck next door!

So happy to see her Daddy!

Reading a book with JJ

Food and Words

Addy has had a food breakthrough this past couple of weeks!  We are trying lots of new finger foods and having some success!  Today, I cooked a roast in the crockpot with carrots and potatoes and for supper, Addy ate 4 carrots and two potatoes!  She likes watermelon, peaches (sometimes), bananas (sometimes), any kind of bread, blueberries, blueberry pancakes (who wouldn't?!) and now carrots & potatoes.  Mealtimes are a lot messier but it is fun to see her doing something new. 

Yummy breakfast!

Tonight when she was eating her potatoes and carrots, she kept saying ma ma ma ma.  I kept trying to get it on video but she wouldn't ever "perform" when I turned the camera on.  I love hearing that sweet little voice say ma ma!

Blueberry pancake moustache!

Beach Photo Shoot!

I really want to learn more about our camera. I have been thinking about taking a photography class but I need to find one that is inexpensive and doesn't take up much time! While we were at Pier Park in Panama City shopping, I found a book at Borders about how to take better photos of your baby. I skimmed through it while waiting on Courtney (he could stay in book stores for HOURS!) and tried to memorize what it said! These were a few of the tips I can still remember...

Get CLOSER to your subject. Like only 2 - 3 feet away.

Turn off the flash and try to just use natural light from a window or door.

Take a whole bunch of pictures and hope for a few good ones...

Before we left the beach, we tried to take some pictures of Addy in the sand and put the new photography knowledge to use. Addy is constantly on the move so as soon as we set her down, I had to be ready to snap a few pictures before she crawled away.  I quickly gave up on trying to get a centered picture with her looking at the camera and smiling.  That would never happen unless it was an accident!  Here are a few from our photo session...

5 Years!

Courtney and I celebrated our 5th anniversary while at the beach last week! My parents and sis kept Addy on Friday night so we could have a date night... we had dinner at Cafe 30-A...Courtney had some fancy grouper and I had a grilled chicken pizza and let me just say it was the best pizza I have ever had... mozzerella, feta, spinach, bacon, and chicken. Yummy! We had dessert there and just enjoyed talking and spending time together for a little while.

I can't believe it has been 5 years but then it seems like it has been forever... really, we started dating in 2001 so we have been together about 9 years!

Marriage is a wonderful thing and I am so blessed to be married to Courtney... we fill in each other's gaps. When I am lacking in patience, Courtney is patient. When he is anxious about something, I help calm his nerves. When I'm too serious, he adds the humor.

We love road trips because we have hours on end to talk in the car. One time on the way to the beach, we memorized the military alphabet, just for fun. Weird, I know! Courtney still remembers it :)

He likes sweets almost as much as I do!

We love having a TV show to watch once a week - that is just "our time" and we both look forward to it so much... Courtney wouldn't appreciate me telling but our favorite is Dancing with the Stars!

I remember when we first got married the best thing was just laying in bed talking before we went to sleep at night. That rarely happens anymore because as soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm asleep! But we still love to do that!

We have had some fun times the past 5 years and we are looking forward to what's in store in the next 5, and the 5 after that, and after that... hopefully until we can't count anymore!

Itsy Bitsy Spider...

We have had those brown wolf spiders around our house a lot lately and yesterday morning while I was feeding Addy her breakfast, I noticed a dead one on the floor near the kitchen table. I intended to get it up after she finished eating but I got distracted and forgot about it. Fast forward to last night when I was trying to cook supper... Addy decided to see what the spider tasted like! EWWWW! I freaked out and fished it out of her mouth before she swallowed it. I think I scared her because I was freaking out about it so she got upset which of course made me wonder whether she was okay or if it somehow leaked out poison or something in her mouth... so I called poison control and I think they thought I was nuts! I saved the spider to show it to Courtney when he got home. I think he was more amazed that I instantly overcame my fear of bugs to fish the nasty thing out of her mouth than he was that she put it in there to start with!

beach trip

Just got back from a week of fun at the beach. I will post more pics soon but I wanted to share a couple of my favorites from the "old" camera that we took down to the sand. I haven't uploaded the pictures from the other camera yet.

Addy LOVED the sand and the ocean (her first time in the ocean!) and we loved watching her play! There was no sign of oil on the sand or in the water where we stayed in Panama City Beach and the weather was great.

My favorite!

Bath Time!

We thought this was pretty funny... she is trying to grab hold of the water ;)

Visit with the G's

Mom, Kayla, Addy & I went to Birmingham yesterday to visit with my aunt Lisa and cousins Erin, Jordan, Mackenzie & Slate.  Erin is home for a visit from the U.A.E. and she had never met Addy!  We were so excited to get to see Erin and the rest of the family.  We had a delicious lunch and then the weather cooperated this time so we got to swim in the afternoon.  Addy was having too much fun to take a nap so she got in the pool too! 

Slate and Addy

Mackenzie and Addy - Addy was moving Mackenzie's hand out of the way so she could put her hands on the table!

Kayla and Jordan

Kayla, Jordan, me and Erin

Lisa and Addy playing patty cake in the shade

Addy loving the pool

Addy and Erin in the pool

Mom and Addy back in the shade

I hope I don't get in trouble for putting swimsuit pictures of everyone on the internet... why didn't we take pictures before we got all hot and sweaty girls?  Love y'all!

Stand Up Toys

Our friend Riley recently shared some of her toys that she had outgrown with Addy and they are just right for her to play with!  She had started getting bored with her other toys and she loves to play at the new table and walker.  They both play music or talk constantly so Courtney and I joke that we feel like we have ADD after Addy hits the buttons so often that 5 different songs are playing at a time! 

Visit to B'ham

A few weeks ago Addy & I took Mom and Kayla to visit my aunt Lisa and cousins Jordan, Mackenzie & Slate.  We had planned to go swimming at their house but the weather did not cooperate.  We had fun visiting and talking inside and I found out that I like pimiento cheese... Paula Deen style... which was a huge discovery!  I have since made it myself at the house.  Yum Yum!

Here are a few pictures from our day of fun.

Mackenzie & Addy

Lisa, Slate, Mackenzie & Addy

Kayla, Mackenzie & Jordan (and Addy is asleep on Jordan!)

Addy exploring her new surroundings...

Serving the Community

In June, our church had "1,000 for 1" where we were trying to get 1,000 people to do one hour of service in the community.  We exceeded our goal!  Our Sunday school class got together for our service hours and the guys cut the grass at County High (a big job!) and the girls baked cookies and brownies to make up goodies to take to the local firemen, policemen and hospitals to say Thanks for the job they do!  Here are a few pictures of the girls in action... I didn't take the camera up to the school to snap pics of the guys but trust me, they were hard at work!

Trish tying up a box of goodies...

Courtney, Tucker, Amy & Tiffany are getting it done!

The whole group before we delivered our goods!

A Trip Down Memory Lane

So, our 10 year high school reunion is coming up this weekend.  I feel so old!  I am helping plan it which has been lots of fun - I am very excited about it but it is a little stressful!  I have spent a little time looking through old pictures to find some we can use at the reunion... thought I would post a few for fun!

Panoramic picture from graduation during the alma mater... does anyone remember why we pointed our fingers in the air?

Girls picture from our senior cruise

Eddie Martin, Courtney and me from Homecoming... Courtney had to do the Hustle in a 70's skit and I was in a 50's skit during the homecoming program!

Homecoming Court... don't we look young!

9 Months Old!

Addy was 9 months old on July 7.  I think I have said it every month but it is hard to believe how fast these 9 months have gone by!  I can't believe she will be turning 1 in three months!

These are the new things I want to remember from this past month:

• Went to the beach for July 4th and played in the sand for the first time
• Started taking baths in big tub

Mia and Pop got in on the bathtime fun one night!

• Can play pattycake (pats her hands together when you start to say "Patty cake")
• Signs "more" but doesn't always do it at the right time - I don't think she quite has it down yet!
• Always crawls on toes and hands
• "Cruises" all the time (pulls up to coffee table or sofa and walks while holding on to furniture)
• Doesn’t want to be held for long… wants down to crawl around/pull up on things
• New Foods – bread, pineapple, bananas (successfully!), goldfish, other Gerber finger foods (wagon wheels, biter biscuits)
• Getting 4 new teeth on top which made for some fun times this past month.  Ha!
• Babbles all the time, except out in public or around new people!
• Acts so serious when we are around new people – she studies everything like she is taking it all in…
• Wears 9 month and some 12 month clothes, size 3 diapers; weighs approx. 19 pounds

Wiggle worm

I took a smocking class at Sew Delightful a few years ago and the dress Addy has on in these pictures is the one that I made in class.  Smocking is really fun and easy but I have no sewing knowledge so I have to get help in that department.  I tell myself that I would smock more dresses and outfits for Addy if I knew how to sew them up afterward but that is really just an excuse because if I knew how to sew, I'm sure I wouldn't take the time!

Here are our Sunday pics from yesterday.  Lots of takes to get one good shot of her smiling...

Trying to wiggle out of the chair

Trying to leap out of the chair...

Silly smile

Finally, a real smile!

Yesterday at church, someone sang a song that is on one of Addy's Praise Baby DVD's and I can't stop singing it over and over in my head.  I haven't heard it very much (until Praise Baby entered our lives!) but I really like this song.  Here are the lyrics:

Wonderful, merciful Savior, precious Redeemer and Friend;

Who would have thought that a Lamb could rescue the souls of men?

Oh, You rescued the souls of men.

Counselor, Comforter, Keeper, Spirit we long to embrace;

You offer hope when our hearts have hopelessly lost the way,

Oh, we hopelessly lost the way.

(Chorus)

You are the One that we praise, You are the One we adore.

You give the healing and grace our hearts always hunger for,

Oh, our hearts always hunger for.

Almighty, infinite Father, faithfully loving Your own;

Here in our weakness You find us falling before Your throne,

Oh, we're falling before Your throne.

Phillips, Craig & Dean, "Wonderful, Merciful Savior"
Lyrics: Dawn Rodgers, Eric Wyse

Weekly Lunch Date with Friends

Once a week, we try to have lunch with my friends from work - Pam, Amber & Tiffany.  Our favorite place to go is the mall so we can squeeze in a little shopping before or after lunch.  We usually frequent Chick-fil-A or Taco Casa at the mall and sometimes we venture out and go to McAlister's, Walton's, Zaxby's and the like.  A few weeks ago, in lieu of lunch we all brought our kiddos and swam at Amber's house.  It was so much fun!  Addy was the youngest one and she enjoyed watching the older kids.  She is fascinated with other children!  I hope she isn't easily influenced when she gets older - we are going to have to teach her about that!