throwback: part 2 of spring break

well, here's another oldie but goodie.  i forgot to finish our spring break posts!  you can find part 1 here for a little refresher ha!  this was back in april and i can't believe how tiny she was.  i'm trying to remember exactly what it was like since she's actually had her second beach trip now that i'm writing this in october. goo!

we were in gulf shores, al for our first time ever on our first ever family vacation with baby in tow.  everything was new, it was a learning experience and so super super sweet.

our chauffeur around town & tour guide, emmie collins.

certainly, a highlight was getting to see emmie experience the beach & ocean for the first time.  being that it was april it was gorgeous weather outside, definitely warm enough to be in a bathing suit on the beach but the water was pretty chilly so we spent most of our time on the actual beach.  she really liked to look at the ocean and at the sand but didn't really want to touch either.  at the time em was only crawling and wasn't crazy about the sand being all over her.  she would squish it around in her hands but then would want them wiped off.  she had a little baby tent that we borrowed from friends to keep her in the shade and i laid out towels with bath toys for her to entertain herself with.  tip:  for our next beach trip we learned that an old flat sheet is a great idea for the beach instead of a million towels.  it's lightweight, compact and gives babes lots of room to move around without getting in the sand [if they don't want to].  thanks for the idea, supermom cory!

when we had her stand in the sand by the water and let the waves wash over her little feet she just screamed and wanted to be picked up. haha not thrilled.  i think it was just too cold for her teeny toes at the time.

i bought this little sun top at a consignment sale months before our trip.  it was for a 12 month old, she was just 8 months old but her little arms were being squeezed like a blood pressure cuff and the belly could not be contained.  swimwear sizing is a joke and also my baby was the roll-polly-ist!  i kind of don't even remember how rolly she was without seeing these pics.  so adorable!!  gimme those thighs!

like i said, we learned a lot on our trip.  we learned that lugging a bunch of baby crap back and forth to the beach is not our favorite thing but once you get there, we really loved it.  multiple factors lead to a lot of back and forth to the beach that made it kind of wearing.  at this time em was still taking 3 naps a day.  ugh.  we couldn't really get her to sleep on the beach but looking back i should have just tried harder to let her get wiped out and eventually nod off.  sadly, i'm such a sucker when she's whiny and i'm kind of crazy over her getting good sleep.  maybe i'll be more laid back if we have a second babe?  secondly, i was translucently pale and was a little scared to spend the whole day in the sun myself.  burning is the worst & i'm scared of that burning ball of fire.  and finally, i was still nursing her and i wasn't much of a public feeder so we'd take care of that when we were in the house for naps too.  for second babe i think i would probably give beach feeding under a wrap a try too if needed.  all that combined equals a lot of to and fro.  a little tip [that everyone had probably thought of besides me]:  as far as food went on the beach, those squeezy pouches were amazing.  no utensils required, no prep, no sand in her food.  i'm so glad we brought these with us, both for the car rides and for the beach!

emmie & i went on lots of walking adventures (in a stroller) around our neighborhood and looked at many adorable little beach homes.  em loved the breeze and looking around for the most part and it was a nice departure from hauling to the beach.

...family portrait attempt 1...

on a cloudy, windy day we took a walk on the pier and saw lots of birds and fish that people were catching.  emmie didn't love being in the baby backpack but tolerated it for about 20 minutes before getting really upset.  she's just getting on the higher end of the weight limit so i think she may have been a little uncomfortable and at the time was just kind of getting into her independent stage.  she couldn't walk then [even assisted] and crawling on fish & bait goo while hooks are soaring through the air is a little out of the question for this momma.

family portrait attempt 2 hahah

 
we ate breakfast and lunch in most days and did dinners out.  gulf shores is an hour behind us in kentucky and we kind of wanted to keep our normal schedule so most nights we were at dinner around 5 with all the early birds so that we wouldn't be rushed to get emmie home for bed.  after din din we'd basically tuck emmie in and be in for the night.  we'd read or watch a movie.  in hindsight, i would have loved to pack some games for us too, for some more entertainment / interaction for ben and i.

it's easier if momma takes the pic :)

due to a water heater fluke we didn't have hot water for like 2.5-3 days.  something was wrong with the heater and it was easter weekend so basically no one was working and all the hardware shops were closed.  it was a little rough.  they had another unit a few miles away that we went to go to get cleaned up.  there's not really a point to mentioning that other than the fact that it made ben and i a little less sweet to each other.

we're really different and sometimes have different expectations of how we'd like to spend our time.  i think this always becomes most evident for us on family vacations because it is just us.  normally at home if one of us doesn't want to do what the other is looking to do we can find another person to come along or another way to compromise.  when you're 10 hours from home, just the two of you and a baby - expectations and different 'wants' seem to come up more often.  i remember kind of grumbling in my head about several of my wants not being met and then i was smacked in the face when reading 'one thousand gifts'.  i realized, i'm frustrated that my husband doesn't operate the way i do when in reality, i am beyond blessed to have a wonderful man as a husband and partner. i'm grumbling that it's hard to lug a baby to the beach when lots of families never get to take a vacation or go somewhere so beautiful.  i'm irritated that my kid needs lots of naps and constant attention when there are so many families that would love to have the amazing blessing of a healthy, sweet baby.  so long story short(ish), i'm selfish and don't deserve so many of the ridiculous blessings God pours out on me.  this week will always be a great reminder of that for me.  thank God for grace, thank God for this beautiful life.

mommas & graduates

i just uploaded a bunch of pictures onto blogger so i'm thinking i'm set to go on posting, at least for a minute!  sadly i realized that there were things i wanted to document from APRIL of this year still in waiting...WHAT!?  here it goes...

so about 5 months ago i got to celebrate my sweet little sister's graduation from college and my first ever mother's day with a babe out in the world.  here are some pics from that weekend.  it was really special for us.

**i just noticed that nearly every picture in this post is blurry.  sorry about that.  i'll work on my phone photography skills soon.  maybe.  i'm just lucky i took a picture - let's be real.**

my little girl used to be so ... little!  i remember thinking that weekend how amazing it is that God has allowed me to become a mom.  it's strange to me that i knew i wanted to be a mom without the slightest clue how much i'd really love it.  i don't think i'm an extraordinary mom or anything but i know that i enjoy it more than any profession you could think up and it brings me more joy than i ever could have fathomed.  i'm pretty sure God designed me to be a mom.  maybe even for my own sanctification, but regardless such a gift.  with that said, i'm praying with all i've got that He'll equip me to raise & disciple this little bean.  there's nothing else i'd rather do!

on mother's day ben went and got emmie out of bed.  weekends are the best because the three of us just get to plop into bed together and cuddle and play until we really get up to start our day.  i wish all days could start like that but since poppa gets up at 6:30 i'd rather us not all be up together daily ;)

he carried her in and she was carrying a mother's day card for me in both her tiny hands. she literally had the. biggest. smile.  she was so so adorable.  her and her poppa had organized for me to have a whole spa day full of fun & pampering the following weekend.  it was AMAZING!  i have the sweetest little family.

 

we wanted to document our first mother's day together.  emmie was obviously thrilled & cooperative.  just like always.  i have no idea where she gets her dramatic temperament. 

emmie bear, you'll always be the baby that made me a momma.  there is such a heavy but precious weight to caring for you & loving you with my whole heart.  in watching you grow and learn and thrive i've experienced such delight.  me and your dad have been able to watch God move, protect & prove himself faithful through you.   we've tried our best to trust Him with your little life.  you're special because God made you.  you're lovely because God calls you loved.  i'm so thankful for how fun you are and what a loving little mini you're becoming.

.  .  .  .  .

as i mentioned, my little sister graduated college!!  ow ow!  which means i'm officially old.  in my mind i think chelsea should be eternally 12 years old.  graduating college and getting married are things not fit for a 12 year old so as you'd imagine, i'm stunned hahaha.

.grandma paula. momma. nana.

a selfie on skinny bleachers is hard.

tickets were limited to the graduation ceremony because the first lady, michelle obama, was the guest speaker.  i'm not really political at all and whether or not you love the president, it still felt like a really unique opportunity.  it's not everyday you get to hear someone like that speak in person. 

this is on the jumbotron but she was there in real life [promise]...she just kind of looked like a dot on my iphone cam so this made more sense.

congrats my sister!  you did it.

me and my little siblings!  did i mention that i'm ancient?  my little brother is in high school now!?  earlier this fall, through a series of miscommunications one of his friends thought that emmie was nick's sister and that i was his mom.  this is the end.

more baby snuggles and family fun as the weekend continues!  look at that baby bear!!!  she loves to take early morning chin pics - something you won't find me doing.

on actual mother's day we had a graduation party for chels where we got to celebrate her and i got to see one of my moms and several of my grandmas [and lots of other fam too!]  it was a really sweet weekend full of special people and sweet fun!

where the wild things are :: emmie at the zoo

[there are about two months worth of life that i haven't yet documented here.  fingers crossed that i'll catch up soon but i couldn't let being behind hold me back any longer...so here goes]

it happened.  our sweet little emmie bear went to the zoo, ironically i don't know that we saw any bears.  we traveled up to the cincinnati zoo and met our dear friend jenna.  cincy is about halfway between our two houses and baby-friendly so it made for an obvious choice.  we got yummy breakfast while emmers screamed at all the other diners.  [that's what she does now...shouts at strangers]. 

she roared at all the animals.  she loves to roar.  most of her favorite books now have animals in them and we always make the noises together, i think that was one of her favorite things about the zoo.  that and staring at other people's kids.

this is emmie and a wallaby i think.  she looked at it kind of like it was a stuffed animal.  but maybe a stuffed animal she didn't want to touch.

"helloooo, it's me emmie!"

whenever she was on the ground she was a wild woman.  she basically acts like she's an animal on the loose and runs as fast as she can away from containment (ie: me)

::jenna and emmie collins::

my sweet little babe, auntie jenna and i loved taking you to go see all the animals and hopefully on our next visit you'll take longer than a 30 minute nap to be primed and ready for fun.  you probably were too excited to sleep, i get that way too.  but don't worry, i'm already dreaming up a family membership next summer.  think of all the fun you'll have!  my itty bitty baby is turning into a running, squealing ball of little girl right before my eyes!

 

oh yeah, and she was completely knocked within 5 minutes of dropping jenna off.  doll baby!

should eat cereal or sleep?

so i say crazy things like "i'm going to post once a week" and then i don't post for you know, like a couple months or something.  hmmm, fail.  the truth of it is, life is busy and in our "down" time well, i'm a little bit of a lazy bum.  but i have a few things that i'm going to try and commit to, and you know, actually do them.

:: blog regularly, high hopes being about once a week to record our little but wonderful life
:: be in the Word daily & prepare early for the studies i'm involved in [not last minute]
:: become a clean freak
:: stay on top of my work daily so it doesn't pile up
:: use my dslr often

got any mid-year resolutions yourself?  or some 'back-to-school' habits you're trying to master?  here we go ya'll.

friend fest

i really do miss posting about life more often and i kind of even miss writing just to write.  it's a lot harder than i thought it would be to keep up with this ol' thing.  pre-babe i just saw so many moms that posted regularly, even daily and i thought, "once i'm not working full-time this will be cake."  buuut adding a baby and working part-time hasn't really allowed for all the time i thought i'd have & when i do have free time i always seem to find myself away from a computer.  i don't even keep up with my friends' blogs or any of my favorite reads from strangers like i used to (ha!).  all that to say, i'm hoping to turn a new leaf.  i won't be posting daily but i hope that a couple times a week or even just once a week, instead of once a month, you will find me here.  two days in a row, that's a pretty good start right?

so anyway, onto the goods.  at this point i think this a full month late but it was such a special weekend that it deserves documentation.  it was my sweet friend jenna's birthday so she traveled a few hours to lexington to visit & celebrate in style with her friends.  we were lucky to be included in that. 

so first thing in the morning we hopped up, bean in hand & headed over to first watch.  we caught up, played sock puppets and stuffed our faces.  total success.  emmie liked it too.

the girls!  we've got from college roommates to living in three different states & now three of us [including em] are here while jenna's not tooooo far away.  well too far for me, but not really "too" far.  i like to think that Shannon is wearing a veil in this picture.  little bride he he he.

we parted ways for just a bit and then we were able to celebrate with even more friends that evening.  dinner with lots of our favorite couples and even some babies thrown in the mix.  it was a teensy bit hectic but we wouldn't change a thing.  we're all crazy.  God has blessed us with amazing friends.  we're truly thankful for the relationships represented here that the Lord himself put together.

the guys and the girls set separately.  because we're in middle school.  at this point in our lives most of us get more husband time than we do girl time // guy time so it's kind of nice to just get to be together for a bit.

::brunettes unite::



and yes we did take some group shots.  we had to.  i hope it's not to long before we all get together again.  it really is a treat!

ten months

little e.c.b. turns eleven months old tomorrow [insert momma melting into a puddle on the floor] so i'd say it's about dang time for a ten month update.  thank goodness i made some notes because my head is now only full of eleven month updates.

baby emmie, each month brings such growth, joy, learning and fun into our home because of you.  when i reflect back over each month i always think that there is absolutely NO way we could possibly adore you any more than we do and then...our hearts just swell a bit more.  your personality and abilities expand so much in such a short amount of time it is just crazy to think about the little girl you're becoming.

you started dancing this month.  you have this little stand up baby piano from your nana karen and just bounce up and down as you hit the keys.  we love to watch you dance, it's so precious.  i don't even know how tiny babies know what dancing is but it's so awesome.  we may have an infant music video concept in the works, i'm just sayin'.

you have 5 teeth in progress.  three on the bottom and two on the top.  teething hasn't been terrible but every now and then you will be a little fussier than normal or have a quick bout of crying because of them.  you're all about chewing on evvvvverything so we started putting some of your teething rings in the fridge to hopefully give you some comfort.  all in all, i feel like we've had a pretty easy road with your teeth.

you've graduated to big kid food - fo real.  we still try and give you baby food and it maybe makes up 50% of your diet but you would much rather have food that you can feed yourself.  because of that i really do try to keep food on hand that is perfect for little roly poly fingers to get ahold of.  pretty much any fruit, veggie or bread that we've put in front of you, you gobble up.

speaking of eating...i fed you about 5 allergens in a row one night.  it was a birthday dinner so maybe it was a celebratory reaction but you broke out in hives.  we think it was the few licks of peanut butter chip ice cream from graeters that sealed the deal.  this is so detrimental because your momma is actually addicted to peanut butter & doesn't cook so... i'm not sure what we'll eat if pb&j's are out of the question.  i have no back up plan.

we celebrated our first mother's day with you out in the world.  i didn't know how i'd feel when mother's day actually rolled around but it was kind of amazing.  benny is so thoughtful in pampering me and making me feel special.  he carried you in for your morning meal and you carried in a card.  you had the biggest smile on your face when you brought it to me in bed.  it was sooooo sweet.  you cried in bed with me when i tried to take your picture but i didn't mind.  i am so incredibly blessed to be your momma.  you'll always be the baby that made me a mother & will always have such a special & permanent place in my heart.  i have another half written post about this weekend that i hope to post someday ... [someday]

you have recently accumulated more bows.  i just can't get enough so as your hair gets thicker and thicker, i'm pretty sure you will be increasingly more decked out in girly fare.

this month was the first time that you started to sit on my lap to read books and you'll point with one tiny finger at different things.  it makes me feel like you are such a little girl.  well like a big girl but you know, not like a baby.  sometimes you go crawl into your book basket and just fake read // flip threw the pages by yourself.  we call this the "baby library".

we played outside every pretty day & go for walks with friends (& baby friends) really often.  spring was a pretty amazing time for a ten month old.  you can't walk so you'd just kind of play on a blanket or ride along pretty contently (most of the time).  this time is really special to me.  i hope that we have lots of outdoor adventures as the days pass. 

i love to see you interact with wind and sun and animals & nature.  you're really into pulling up grass and not super into sitting on it.  you love the wind.  we started taking you to the pool too!!  during month 10 you were still kind of timid at the pool.  definitely wanting poppa and i close by, if not holding you.

your poppa completed his first year of teaching and here he is at 5th grade graduation.  how awesome is that?  you really wanted to be able to go watch him and all the kiddos but it was right during your naptime.  so disappointing but nonetheless you [and i] are so proud of your dad, all of his hard work and can't wait for him to keep teaching you things as well as all kinds of students.

this month was the month we began weaning.  it was so much easier than i expected, and i am so thankful for that.  you went right to a bottle, didn't skip a beat and my body was more than happy to just shut down the milk factory.  i dropped one feeding a week until we were completely on formula.  it wasn't until i dropped the very last feeding that my body did anything at all that was a hassle.  not pumping or needing to be home was/is so freeing.  i don't really like to be away for long but the trade off of flexibility at this age totally works for us.  i feel like God gave us the most perfect set up for our family - so blessed that breastfeeding was even an option for so long and then that we were able to so seamlessly transition to a bottle.  blessed.

you are a really great imitator - you love to say ahhh and stick tongue out, do hand motions, mimic noises or "words" as we call it. "mum" & "da" are words we hear often these days.

your laugh has changed.  your dad is by far the best at getting your giggles out and they are awesome.  it's this squeaky, weezy belly laugh that is just too much.  there's is no way that a person can not smile hearing babies giggle.  i mean if you have a soul, you love that.

you have a new little smile where you close your eyes tight and then do an open month grin & say 'ha'.  it's hysterical.

books use the word "opinionated," we use the word dramatic.  you do have some extremes, little diva.  if you're frustrated or don't get your way, you do at times throw a full-blown baby tantrum.  we haven't yet decided how to handle those for a 10 month old.  when you're happy though, you are super happy.  bubbly, giggly and playful.  you're this way 99% of your day - and that is really a fun blessing for our family.  you can at times be shy when we introduce you into a new situation or have new people around.  usually it doesn't take too long before you warm up though and start invading personal space, climbing on strangers and stealing people's stuff [no boundaries].

you're crazy into everything these days.  you love to open and close doors and drawers [safety hazard], you love to empty boxes & baskets.  you're a total tornado of destruction around our house but i don't mind too much.  your poppa might not say the same.

you're still an excellent sleeper.  you sleep a lot.  maybe too much.  we're going to try and adjust your schedule soon instead of just going with your flow.  you still take three naps most days, yes i said three. eeep!  you sleep from 7:00p to 6:30a at night and then 3 one hour and a half naps a day.  you put yourself to sleep with very little fussing nowadays.  praise!

my sweet itty bitty,

poppa wanted me to tell you: you're growing up so much & i love to watch that happen.  i love you very much, you're my favorite baby girl.

i want you to know:  you are so special & so lovely.  you're lovely because God made you that way, He calls you that & He means it.  He knit you together & knows you.  He made you unique and gifted with certain little gifts & loves & even quirks that are working together to make up who you're meant to be to most glorify him.  i pray that over you everday.  that you'd know Jesus as your Savior and that he'd be your treasure & very great reward.  i hope you'll know who you are because of Him.  you're beautiful and strong willed, fiery & passionate, even as a wee little one.  you're a tiny princess.  we love you dearly.