Quality time...

This past weekend was all about having quality time....

On Friday night we had a nice dinner out with our good friends, the Vallecorse's. Samuel and Winnie tried out their highchair covers and seemed to really love sitting up at the table. We always have a blast with the V's and cherish our time with them. After dinner we tried to put the kiddos in the grass to snap a few photos....it started raining and both weren't too sure about the grass!

On Saturday I spent a fun (busy) morning with a new friend, Kristi...she and her husband have joined our couple's small group and excited to get to know her better. She and I went to our church sidewalk sale and bonded over good deals! Seriously, they had toys/books/clothes $2 or less!!!! We both made out big time! Afterwards we headed back to her home so the girls could play together. Winnie loves watching Hannah and Emma walk and play!

All this for $19....including a Patsy Aiken dress!!Winnie loves her new toys, especially this book...and it was only a quarter!!

Sunday was an awesome day too.... One of the girls I used to lead was in town from Atlanta!! Christine moved there a few years ago when her dad got relocated. I absolutely LOVED seeing her and having some special time after church to catch-up and see where the Lord is leading her. She is an amazing woman of God and was so happy to hear she (still) has a heart to go to Africa someday. Her passion is to become a nurse and then go to Africa to serve the people who are hurting. This girl has got to get there!! Our time together was too short...and I miss her already!

Tom was busy in the bonus room all weekend...its coming together. Hoping we can the electrical and framing inspections this week...and PASS!!

Baby Babble...

Everyday is a new day with Winnie, she is growing so fast and doing something new each day. Lately she is on her belly a whole lot more and trying to scooch around, mostly backwards. She continues to try and put her little legs under her butt so she can crawl but hasn't been able to yet. At daycare (Mary's home) she loves the walker and can move backwards about 3-4 feet.

This week she said "Mamamamama"!! My week was made!! She has always been a talker but only at home...even these videos were hard to get as she stops talking as soon as she sees the camera ;-(

The first video she shows us the skill of throwing your toys off the high chair tray...wonderful... time to teach her to keep them on the tray!! Look at those eyes...and even her hands say "I just did something I wasn't suppose to..."

Oh, haha, don't mind the conference calls in the background....our house is crazy in the mornings with us both having WW jobs.

Reminiscing & A Pool Party

The Jones' weekend was a jam-packed filled one (surprise surprise). By Sunday we were ready to relax... Sunday morning we dressed Winnie in the dress that we bought when we found out that she was going to be a girl. It was a special time for Tom and I to reminisce about that day and realized that it was almost a year ago (we found out on June 25th last year)....too cool! She was absolutely adorable going to church wearing her little dress and one of the flower headbands that Mary made her. Those headbands are a hit..everyone commented on how cute and girly she looked! Our little girl is everything we dreamed of...from her relaxed, carefree personality to her hair swoop....we are taking in every moment with her!

In the afternoon we headed over to our friend's pool for a small group pool party and cookout. The Kern's ROCK and we loved fellowshipping in their backyard!! The kiddios were so fun, splashing in the pool together and playing on towels together. Emma and Connor loved being thrown in the air by their parents, they were all smiles. Emma (we have two) and Hannah the twins LOVE the pool and were having so much fun swimming around with their parents. I'm so excited that the Lord prompted me to bring an extra bathing suit for Winnie, as Kailey was able to borrow and jump in with her dad. Caroline and Winnie had a treat too, it was both of their first times in a pool (a real pool)! Both did awesome and practiced their "kick kick kick." Tom cooked up some yummy burgers/dogs and had them ready by the time the kiddos were done splashing. Luckily the Lord held off the rain, it started coming down as we were leaving!!

Birthday Boy....

Today is Tom's 34th birthday (oops was that a secret, hehe)!!

Unfortunately he had to work on his birthday but we did get to (once again) celebrate with food...its becoming a trend. For lunch we had our buffalo chicken wraps (BCD -- we always have acronyms at IBM)....earlier I asked Tom what he wanted for lunch and he said "BCD of course, what else is there for lunch!" Now mind you this wrap is from our cafeteria at work but we eat it every Wednesday and its good! Again, for dinner I asked Tom what he wanted..and he said "Tony's Pizza"! Wow, is my husband low-maintenance or WHAT!?! Tony's Pizza is our fav pizza joint..their pizza is NY-style and so yummy! Before we headed to dinner we played with Winnie on our bed, practicing her sitting up and fake cough (seriously!). We tried to get the cough on video but she chicken'ed out when she saw the camera. Tom is so fun with Winnie, she loves him so much and can hardly take her eyes off him...he draws us girls in.... We love him SO much and hope this birthday was special and fun, being the first one to celebrate with his little girl, even if she fell asleep during his birthday dinner....

Oh, almost forgot...Winnie found Morpheus' tail tonight...oh yes, she put it in her mouth!! Don't think she will try that again for awhile...enough said.

Our Week At The Beach...

Where do I start...there is so much to tell. We just got home from a very relaxing and fun week at Kure Beach with Tom's family. This was the first family beach trip (and Winnie's first time at the beach!) and we are already talking about going again next year, it was a blast. The whole family wasn't there but the house was perfect for the 13 of us who could make it. Kure Beach has a lot to offer....family atmosphere, lots of ice cream within walking distance, fishing pier (that you don't have to pay to walk on), amazing beach (that wasn't crowded at all), and nice rental homes.

Every day we would head down to the beach in the morning with the kiddos and let them splash in the ocean and kiddie pool. Winnie wasn't too sure about the ocean water, she cried every day until the last day. The pool though was a hit, she splish-splashed in there all morning with her bath toys and watched her cousins run back and forth to the ocean. Landon in the ocean with Uncle Dave...

We were pleasantly surprised that she would take short naps at the beach, the first day it was on a towel, the second day it was wrapped in a towel on my lap and everyday after that it was in her jogging stroller on our way down to the beach...crazy.

Each evening someone would take their turn at making dinner for the family, and boy were they yummy! It was so nice only having to cook one evening too! By Thursday we realized it wasn't going to rain so we skipped the sun in the morning to visit the aquarium (just 2miles down the road). There was plenty to see...the kids loved the alligators, horse-shoe crabs, jellyfish and all the fish.The boys and I practicing our "fish" faces...

Winnie loved cheesing it in her shades (thanks Josh & Emily!!)...

The whole week we all had such nice quality time with each other. Winnie loved being bounced from person to person, and the boys were great in delivering her toys wherever she was relaxing.

Before we left we had to celebrated Tom and Chuck's birthdays. Tom's family doesn't let a birthday pass without celebrating it together...

The week ended on a sweet note...we celebrated Tom being a father at home. It was very special for us to spend Father's Day together as a family.... we ate well and went to Tom's favorite place, Lowe's. I made his favorite dinner, Seafood Lasagna.....now I have only made this meal 3x since we've been married (its VERY time-consuming). He loved every bite, even if it was 10pm when he finally got to eat it (sorry honey!). I am so very thankful that my daughter is blessed with Tom as her da-da, he is absolutely wonderful with her....always playing with her, making sure she feels loved (calling her Princess is a norm) and teaching her new skills. My heart sings when I see Tom and Winnie spending time together.

Laundry basket & Senora Stinson's Retirement Party..

So I took Amy's advice and put Winnie in a laundry basket to play....well, like I thought...she sat up for awhile then slipped to the bottom like a fish on its back. In the coming weeks she will probably LOVE it and will be great to put her in while I'm cooking dinner.

check out those rolls...

On Saturday night we went to Senora Stinson's (good friend, Amanda's mom) retirement party and had a blast. Sandra teaches Spanish so we celebrated surrounded by Mexican decorations and everyone dressed in spanish garb. She was completely surprised as she thought she was stopping in to see some 1983 alumni that were having their reunion....well they weren't there...hehe...all 200ish of us were there instead to celebrate with her. They brought Sandra in wearing handcuffs, that she had committed the crime of retiring...and she was put on "trial". They played a sweet video of her teaching and her loving husband, Billy, played her two songs that he wrote. The one song was so touching as it spoke of her being called to teaching and how the Lord now was telling her it was her time to rest....so touching and sentimental. The highlight of the night though was Amanda salsa dancing...she was amazing and made me miss our nights out together. Her partner twirled her, threw her between his legs, carried her and complimented her every move. What a fun night....