Man Parts

My post title is so mysterious.  What in the world could that mean?  Yes, it is true, our newest little love is coming complete with his very own 'man parts':)

Now, if I was fancy on the computer I would draw a circle around 'the parts' but I am not fancy so basically this shot is from his tushy so you can see sort of a distortion of 2 legs and in the center, WHOA. There they are, in all of their boyness:)

His profile, spine, and heart picture-he turned away just in time so we didn't get a super great profile.

We are obviously thrilled to know 'what's' in there; Laila will tell you she knew all along it was a boy(and she actually had been telling us that, all along the way).  And Maier could of cared less what is was, she is just in love with anything baby; in fact she still insists that there could be more than one in there even though there is only one in the pictures!

We are so excited to meet him.  And I am excited about the 'new' world of boys:)

A Picture Post

Laila has been 5 now for almost a month...so perhaps it is time to show some proof of the celebration:)

The girls had a lunch buffet and pink lemonade

This was our 'photo booth' for the princesses to dress up and get a pic with the birthday girl

 For the craft the girls painted wooden vanity mirrors and then added rhinestones and glitter

       

The mirrors dried and then Jon screwed the glass part back in and we popped them into the princess paper bags and they doubled as the party favor:)

Laila had a fabulous time playing dress up, painting, and spending a great afternoon with her friends!  This birthday feels like such a 'marker' in time for Jon and I; we have been parents now for half a decade and we have a 'kindergarten-er'.  So crazy how life really does fly, especially once you have children!

For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanishes away (James 4:14).

vacation part dos

Here is a bit of pics from the last half of our week on vacation...

Little frogs, ("little guys"), were often found in the pool in the mornings; the frogs almost always joined in the pool games, such as tea party, whether dead or alive.

Every afternoon but one of the days there, we got an overcast couple of hours always accompanied by showers and light t-storms; before the lighting and thunder hit, we would rush back from the beach just in time for the girls to jump in and swim with the rain at the pool.

Beautiful plants all around my aunt's yard-she knows all the names and specifics; I tried to remember all the names but there were way too many to count!

Fishing gear ready and waiting for the evening catch from the dock.

Another gorgeous bloom.

The dolly was always packed with stuff to carry over to the beach.

Maier relaxing in the pool.

More beautiful blooms.

 I really love this shot, which seems like a terrible picture b/c it is so dark and fuzzy.  But it captured a great memory: The end of long day in the ocean, Jon holding Maier, and Laila and my dad, Gramps, boogy boarding on the little waves, and the water was calming down.  All was perfectly peaceful and restful.

Ocean side fishing.

Laila learning to swim with her whole face under the water.

Maier and Gramps flying a kite.

Jon trying out surfing on what waves could be 'surfable'; the last time he had surfed was 10+ years ago!

And here we have my spot; this was one of the last days to be enjoyed and Jon took the girls to the movies while I got to sit and read by the water-all by my self-what?!.  My idea of the most perfect way to relax, decompress, and revitalize:)

It was a fabulous trip and I long to return!!

Laila is turning 5

I know I am supposed to be back here with a 'part 2' to complete my 'part 1' post from last week.  But instead of compiling more vacation pictures I have been Pinning way too much and getting ready for Laila's big number 5 birthday celebration.  Her girlfriends will be coming over Saturday and I have lots to create.  It is a Princess Art party-at Laila's request.  So we will be mixing it up with a little crafting and a little dressing up.  Here are some of my pins:

All of these images are found via my Pinterest boards.  We are going to play a couple of games too-maybe hot princess potato and princess bingo.  It will be fun getting to watch her have her first 'big' kid party with friends:)  So next time I will have some party pics and some beach pics to wrap up our July!

Vacation part 1

So we are back from paradise and already a week has past.  It is good to be back home but we sure do miss the ocean breeze, fresh seafood, the daily fishing and swimming, and of course the family that we left behind.  My aunt and uncle live in a small ocean front town on the east coast of Florida; we are so blessed to be able to stay with them, not only b/c it is a beautiful place to stay but because they are some of the most loving and generous people I have ever known.  It was such a joy to be around them for a long week and be at the healing ocean front daily!  Here are just a few pictures of the first couple of days we were there.:

Maier (below with Gigi), took her time to get comfortable with the waves.  In fact, she didn't actually get in to 'frolic' around in the ocean until the last couple of days.  And also, we have here, a 'bump watch' picture...by the end of the week my stomach was truly twice this size-and I have witnesses!

Burying dad in the sand. They worked very diligently at this for quite some time-it's not every day that they get to have him at their disposal, so they would 'accidentally' dump sand on his face every now and then:).

Did you know that a catfish has stingers??  I am sure that there is a much more technical term for them but Jon experienced first hand what it feels like to be stung by a catfish; he wasn't smiling much so I captured a moment while we all got a good laugh at his hysterically frightened screams when the fish came off the line and landed directly on top of his foot.  One stinger went directly into his muscle which apparently causes instant nauseous and intense pain and swelling.  My aunt nursed him back with epson salts, tylenol, and there may have been a beer or two somewhere in there for immediate pain relief;)

The girls loved watching Jon and the other boys fish every evening.  But they were too timid to do it themselves.

Boogie boarding was a daily practice, although the waves didn't get great until the last few days.  Even Laila went boarding on the more impressive waves toward the end of the week!

I am going to post several more pictures of the middle and end of our trip later on.  Of course it's always impossible to not take too many pictures on vacation...so hard to not keep snapping-even with a point a shoot;)

Jon and I kept dreaming up 'dream scenarios' of how we could possibly live here one day.  I know we aren't the only ones who do that when they are on vacation, right?  We can't wait to go back-it won't be soon enough!  I have to go now and eat pie.  The baby remembered it was in the fridge.  I will leave you with a few more random pics and a happy Monday evening to you;)