Myrtle Beach 2012

We had a great time at the beach.  The four of us plus Mom and Harry loaded up in the minivan and headed to North Myrtle Beach.  It was perfect weather, our condo was gorgeous and we had a fabulous time!  We hung out at the beach and pool all day and went out to eat at night.  We shopped, played mini golf, magiquest, ate ice cream, went on a dolphin cruise and more.  What's not to like about vacation?

Here are some photos.  Lyla was pretending to be a swimsuit model apparently.

Can't wait to see the ocean again next year!



Ten

Today my sweet boy turns TEN.  I mean where did the time go??  Just yesterday I found out I was pregnant with him.  How could I have already been a mom for 10 years? 

I prayed for this child.  I have something called PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and getting pregnant does not come easily.  I took fertility treatments (not too invasive, thank goodness) and became pregnant after trying for 15 months.  Fifteen long months of disappoint and one miscarriage in between.  I still remember the day I found out I was pregnant with Kyle sooo vividly.  I can still see myself jumping up and down in the bathroom saying over and over "there are 2 lines, there are 2 lines".  My pregnancy with him was fairly uneventful until right up at the end I was induced due to high blood pressure.  On July 7, 2002 our lives were forever changed.  We had son. A SON.  I said it over and over to make myself believe it.  After all the heartbreak and fear that I would never become a mom, I had a son. 

Oh how I love this boy.  I think it is definitely true about about a mother's bond with her son.  Kyle and I have a special relationship and we are so close.  He is an amazing child.  He is smart, funny, cute, and a lot like his dad and I mixed together.  To me he is perfect, the child who made my dreams of a mother come true. 

He has given us so much joy over these last ten years.  He was the most well behaved toddler in the history of the world, no kidding.  So good it was almost odd.  He has been a good student in school, and when he was almost six he became the most amazing big brother.  He loves Lyla so much and protects her so fiercely that it warms my heart to watch them.  He loves all of his family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, everyone.  They are clearly so importan to him. When he was 8 he got into a freezing cold pond with his Poppy and publicly professed his love for Jesus and got baptized. He has such a caring, loving heart.  I look forward to watching him grow into a young man.  I can't believe how quickly these 10 year have flown by.  I wish time would slow down so he can be my little boy forever.

Happy 10th birthday Kyle!  I love you more than you will ever know!

Reds

So, our almost 10 year old son has FINALLY decided he likes baseball.  I mean it's about time, right??  It is literally in his blood, how could he not like it?  But for 9 long years, he had NO interest in the game.  This spring, for some reason, it is like a switch flipped.  Literally overnight, the boy took an interest in both of his parents favorite sport.  He wanted a glove and wanted to start throwing in the back yard with Chris.  He started watching games with us on t.v and literally asking a bazillion questions wanting to know every rule of the game.  It is a good thing I know a lot about baseball because he asks random rule questions several times throughout the day. We don't really know why it happened, but we sure are glad it did!

So his Poppy, my dad, loves his Cincinatti Reds.  Always has, always will.  I grew up going to Reds games on my dad's days off, and was fortunate enough when I was in high school to attend the World Series the last time the Reds won it in 1990.  When I met Chris he was living up in New York and we attended a Yankees game together on one our first dates.  He played the sport all the way through college and coaches today.  I mean we LOVE baseball people.  And this summer, so does Kyle. 

We are going to visit my father-in-law in Michigan in August and he so kindly got us tickets to the Detroit Tigers games vs. the Yankees.  I am super excited about that!!  But upon this revelation I realized now that Kyle loves baseball, his first major league game MUST be the Reds, not the Tigers.  So I hurried up and bought us some tickets to the Reds, for like the next day.  I mean no need to wait, right??  We had sooo much fun!  Lyla loved it too, though she never has had any trouble enjoying sports.  She is our little athlete of the family.  She was super excited to learn "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" though. 

Kyle really loved it and I was so excited that he did! This photo of Lyla was pre-Joey Votto T-shirt purchase.  She insisted on having one because Kyle and both did.  She shares my love of T-shirts so she will get her money's worth out it. 

After the game was Fireworks Friday and I must say they were amazing!!  My dad says they are known as the best in the major leagues and I believe him cause they were awesome!  Kyle got his Nana to take him to the gift shop after the game where she bought him his first Reds hat.  It ended up coming in handy because 2 days later he talked his Aunt Kylee into giving him her ticket and he was off the Reds game again with his Poppy.  So he went from zero major league games to going to 2 in three days!  And come August he gets to go to his 2nd stadium.  Lucky boy! 

In keeping with our Reds themed post thought I would tack on some pictures of the awesome Reds basket my sisters and I made Dad for Father's Day.

Four

Well this is late in posting but better late than never.  Our little princess, Lyla Kate, turned four on May 17th.  She had her last day of preschool that day and they had a little program (in which they were goldfish) and got certificates.

We went to breakfast afterward and she picked Chick-Fil-A.  Later that evening we had to go to her dance recital dress rehearsal.  Afterward we got pizza for her birthday dinner at Mellow Mushroom with Nana and Papaw.



We went home for cupcakes after dinner where she was totally enthralled with getting sung to and blowing out the candle.  So much so that we did 3 times!

A couple of days later she had her dance recital and party on the same day.  It was a big day for her!

She did great at her recital and looked so cute in her costume!  After it was over it was time to head to Gattitown for the party.

She had a great time playing with her friends and opening presents!  Gattitown provided a t-shirt for everyone to sign.  She loved it and wore it to bed that night.

It will be a great keepsake for years to come since she obviously has some room to grow in it!

We love our little girl soooo much and she is such a blessing to our family.  She absolutely adores her big brother and being with her mommy and daddy.  She is full of energy and loves to play outside, swing on her new swingset, practice cart wheels, and play ball.  She talks all the time and loves to laugh.  She hates wearing dresses, doesn't really care for dolls, and likes all things superheros thanks to big brother.  Not exactly what I had in mind when I found out I was having a girl (I loved dolls and Barbies when I was little) but I wouldn't have her any other way! 







Happy Mother's Day

I had a fantastic Mother's Day.  I got to spend it with my kiddos, my mom, my grandmother, and my aunt and cousin.  My grandmother's church is small and they really focused the whole service around mom's.  Mamaw won 2 beautiful hanging baskets for being the oldest mother in attendance and for having the most children and grandchildren in attendance with her.  She is a really special lady who laid the foundation for our whole family's faith in Jesus.  Most of my fondest memories from childhood (and beyond) involve spending time at my grandparent's house.  My kids adore her too.

Of course they also adore their Nana, my mommy.  I really don't have words for everything my mom is to me.  She has always put me first my entire life.  She raised me as a single mom and did whatever she had to do to make sure I always had what I needed.  She worked 2 jobs more than once.  Now that I have children of my own I understand all the sacrifices she made for me even more.  Today she is my best friend and the best Nana my kids could ever ask for.  I love her so much and she is the single most important influence in my life.

I have been double blessed with moms in my life because God also gave me the most amazing stepmom.  She has been a 2nd mother to me since I was 10 and I can barely remember a time without her in my life.  She has always gone out of her way to make me feel special and never used the word "step" or treated me differently.  She is one of the most caring, thoughtful people I have ever known and is always going out of her way to make others happy.  And her specialty is being a Grammy!  She is sooo good to the grandbabies and they love her so much.

And of course I must talk about my own babies.  I love them so much and never understood how much mama's love their children until I had my own.  They bring me so much joy and everyday is an adventure.  I love watching them grow and learn.  Lyla is so pretty and funny and smart and such a fantastic little girl.  Kyle is turning into such an amazing young man and makes me beam with pride.  They are my greatest blessings and I thank God for them daily.  I am so proud to be their mother.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

In honor of  my mother-in-law, Janet Hould.  We miss her everyday. 

Easter 2012

We had a wonderful Easter this year.  It was pretty low key but lovely.  The weather was beautiful all weekend.  On Saturday mom and the kids and I went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then came home to color Easter eggs. 

Coloring eggs isn't one of my favorite motherly obligations but Nana insisted and I'm glad we ended up doing it.  The kids enjoyed it and we has some pretty colorful eggs.

Saturday night we headed down to our best friend's house for a twilight egg hunt with flashlights in her cul de sac.  There were a ton of kids and hundreds of eggs to hide.  They all went into a neighbors back yard while the eggs were being hidden then they all came charging out with their flashlights.  They had a blast.  The little kids got to participate too but they had their hunt before dark.  Lyla and Seth were very excited with their full baskets.

Sunday the kids got up and checked out their baskets from the "bunny".  Then we got ready for church and the biggest miracle occurred.  Lyla wore a dress AND a bow.  She looked adorable!  And she didn't even fuss about it!  Kyle wore a cute polo and my babies looked sooo cute! 

After church we headed home where the dress and bow came off immediately, but at least it lasted through church.  Then we went over to Mom's where she cooked us a yummy Easter dinner.  My cousin Missie made a delicious cake for dessert and we had a great day visiting.  We stopped at Grammy and Poppy's on the way home where the kids collected even more Easter goodies.  We were sad when the day was over because it meant spring break was over and it was back to reality on Monday. 

Overnight Trip

This week the kiddos were on Spring Break.  Last year my mom and I packed up the kids and headed to Myrtle Beach for the week.  This year was a little more low key.  Chris took a couple of days off work and softball which in itself was a treat.  We don't usually get to spend much time with him during softball season so it was pretty exciting.  We decided to head to Cincy for a little getaway.  First up was the Children's Museum.  We had never been there before and I must say it was pretty nice.  The kids really seemed to enjoy it.  There were lots of things for them to do there.  They had a neat little water area for the kids to experiment with.  They provided these little aprons but they still managed to get soaked.

They had a little grocery store exhibit in which Lyla took her shopping very seriously.

It was pretty funny because there was a little boy playing at the cash register and Lyla very seriously took her groceries up and expected him to ring her up.  He played right along.



They had a metro bus in which Lyla happily drove Daddy and Kyle around in.

Ha ha look how big that wheel looks compared to her.

Then we had an extra special treat.  I have a friend that I made online in a mom's group.  She was pregnant with her son at the same time I was pregnant with Lyla and we became fast friends.  She lives in Indiana and on the way up that day I noticed on facebook that her and her family had come to Cincy that day as well.  I texted her and we met up for dinner.

Her kids and mine got along great and we all had such a good time!

We headed over to the Newport Levee after dinner where Kyle got in one of those giant "hamster balls" and went out in water. It was hilarious and he loved it.



That night we headed to a hotel with an indoor pool so the kids could swim.

The next day we got up and headed out to the zoo.



It was perfect weather and the kids got their faces painted.  They loved it and they looked really cute!

All in all it was a great trip.  And when we got home that night Kentucky won the National Championship to cap off a great mini vacation!