First Annual Family Vacation!!

Jonathan and I created a family mission statement, with additional points of things we want to accomplish... one of which includes an annual family vacation.:) No sitters, no extended family... just us, our sweet little family. Since Les doesn't like his carseat in the least, we thought why go to Florida or elsewhere that includes a long drive when we could find a place with sun, sand and water close... the Coast of MS!:) So, we rented a condo in Gulfport. It did the trick.:) The kids loved it!! And we kept the agenda packed!

The first day... we ate Mexican on the way down (Ceci LOVES cheese dip), checked in, went to Walmart to get groceries then headed to Chuck-E-Cheese for dinner.:)

Ceci loved the Barney ride. Les wasn't digging it.

Sweet girl

Silliness!!

The next morning was beach time... Well, as you can see, the weather didn't cooperate... We were there about 10 mins then ended up...

At IHOP!!:)

Pancake time!!

They had fun.:)

We were all greasy with sunscreen for a big 10 mins at the beach, sun nowhere to be found!

She put on a dance show for the restaurant patrons...

Finally, the next morning it was FUN in the SUN! Zero entry pool time! Both kids had a blast!!

Our little diva. Vacation calls for unlimited popsicles. She took full advantage.

Sorry, Daddy! They both want YOU! Heehee.

Mommy loving on Les (and looking out of shape). Ceci getting down on a capri sun.

Les' new pool toy

The first annual family vacation was a SUCCESS. The kids even slept well! We both downloaded sleep machine apps on our phones and had Les in the living room and Ceci in the guest bedroom. I couldn't love our family more. Beyond blessed!!

It's been a while...

So, I haven't been the best at posting lately and the serious cuteness in this house keeps piling up. Yes, yes, yes... I want to pull my hair out most days (ummm, every day at some point:)). BUT Cecilia and Les, both, are just getting too cute for words. Cecilia is such a little girl now, and I can't believe Les turns one in less than TWO weeks. Whaaat??! Does that mean he won't want to be rocked to sleep soon (Ceci requested not to be rocked but go straight to bed after reading at around 2 yrs old. Jonathan and I rocked her every night. BEST part of the day. I love it.) Is rocking my BABY Les almost half way over?! Say it isn't so!!:(

So some Ceci funnies... followed by loads of pics.

During bathtime when I say it's time to bathe now. Her response is always "No, Mom. I gonna play awhile."

When she gets in trouble or she's tired she says, "Mom, what am I gonna do??!" in the most pitiful way imaginable. Pretty stinking cute!

She has told me on several occasions to "stop whining, Mommy."

We were staying at the camp one night, and she started talking in her sleep... actually just screaming. She woke up and started yelling, "my cake, my cake!!" as if someone was trying to steal her cake in the dream. Oh my. As you can see, someone likes birthdays for one reason only...

She told Jonathan, "Daddy, you're my best friend." Ummm, how sweet is that!? MELT your heart.

She was praying one day and said, "God, thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Les, Mam-ma, Papa, JoJo, Papa Dave, Nanny, Poppy and cupcakes."

The funniest thing ever lately is her "smelling something." She always says, "I smell somethin'." If we are outside or in the car, this is most of the time followed by "I smell somethin'. I smell mosquitos." Oh my gosh. So funny.

Les has become something else!! Demolition man. Ceci walks around saying "Les is a wascal (rascal)" all day. I took her to get her bangs trimmed today and she got a little sucker afterward. I let her have it after nap time in her play room. She put it on her mini-tray on the window ledge with her sippy cup of milk. Well Les bulldozed everything in his path to get to her and her sucker. He pulled up on her back and started grabbing for it. Well of course she starts screaming bloody murder and he begins to slap her in the face!!! I had to turn around, it was so funny. So, I picked him up and "reprimanded" him by saying "now, Les, you can't do that to Cecilia. That was ugly. We don't slap our sister." She said, "spank him, Mommy. Spank him!" Oh my gosh! No mercy. I said, "if he does it again, I'll spank him (yeah right)." Then... for serious comic relief, she said, "do it again, Les!!" They are BOTH too much. Hands. Full.

Les got bit by some unknown insect last month. He woke up with barely a red mark under his eye and by lunch it was awful. I took him to the doctor (of course) late afternoon and they said he was fine. They checked it for an infection, etc. The next morning the swelling had gone down significantly. At that appt (10.5 months old), they weighed him... 23.2 lbs. Whoa! He's now 11.5 months and ~24 lbs.

Any time I ask her if I can do something like brush her hair or kiss her baby bear, she says, "of course."

One afternoon I actually decided to shower and get dressed while they were awake. I must have had dinner plans. I started yelling, "Cecilia, where are you?" She wandered out of my room. She responds with "coming, sweetheart!!"

Every time she is doing something bad or wants to get up from her little table while snacking and I haven't given her permission, she runs over to me and hugs my leg and says "big hug, I love you so much!!" Stinker. She knows she's being BAD!

Picture overload!!

Cuteness. Ahhh, I love these kids! Les and Ceci are a handful to bathe together.

Rainy afternoon activities...

4th of July fun at the camp, Lagniappe

Loving on Daddy

A trip to Corner Market with Mommy... (you can still see his eye a bit red from that nasty, mean bug!)

4th of July fun at the Crab Festival in Bay St. Louis!! Aunt Leah is so cool!

So is Aunt Sarah!! Ceci was LOVING it. See below!!:)

Helping Daddy with dishes...

Loving on her baby duckling and baby bear. She's very much into animals and not so much dolls. We have to swaddle her babies every day. She feeds them snacks, etc.

Watermelon, anyone?

Dimples!! Love this big hunk!!

Les is SUCH a sweet love bug. He gives me hugs all day long, and I can't get enough!! Here he was giving his elephant a big hug.

Visiting Baby Drace Castleman!! Getting the fever again!:)

Daddy's birthday dinner!:)

The bug bite!!

Oops... thunder thighs got stuck under the table!!

Ceci went with me to get my hair done. And she was SOOO good! She loved it! Laid up with her french fries, choc milk and baby duckling and baby bear swaddled up. DIVA

Oh, my babies. Can't love them more if I tried! This was from a bridal shower for Jonathan's cousin Jessica in Rayne, LA. 

Jonathan and I went to see Alabama in concert in Orange Beach, AL during 4th of July weekend! SOOOOOO fun. 

Tacos and cheese dip please... 

A visit from Jonathan's cousin, Alicia, and her twin boys and niece!! Alicia and I lived together in Memphis while she was in optometry school and I worked at PwC. I LOVE her and LOVE her boys!! Best picture we could manage with this group.

Les had a 102+ fever for four days last week followed by a rash for three-four days. Finally, it is GONE! Darn viruses. 

After being stuck at the house for days on end, rash gone, Mommy and kiddos needed an ice cream break! Talk about messy --- Les. 

Uncle David had a farm... e-i-e-i-oooooo...

We went over to Uncle David Fortenberry's house about a month ago for some swimming fun. He has quite the "farm." You will find horses, pigs, chickens, roosters, dogs, cats, etc. Cecilia had a blast. Les and I hung out inside for the most part. Hot, hot weather!! I have been super bad at posting lately... catching up now. I am helping our friends Jonathan Jones and Paula Elias plan their wedding in Napa this year, and it has consumed me! It has been super fun to plan. More posts to come! 

She LOVES all animals!

Weddings, Birthdays, etc!

Wow, I have been awful at blogging lately! I just posted our swim lessons pics... now onto another! I have been to Austin (bachy), San Fran (girls trip), Atlanta (wedding) and Philadelphia (U.S. Open) all in a matter of a few months. I have one other girls' overnight stay on the Coast soon... and one overnight date night to the Alabama concert at The Wharf in Orange Beach then I'm DONE... until we schedule the beach trip with the kids.;) Aghhhh. Summer! Summers are so fun yet so exhausting... and I only see that getting worse as the kids develop a busier social schedule than their parents. (Ok, so I started this post a couple weeks ago. The Wharf and 4th are past me. Posting pics on those soon!:))

Cecilia and Les are just hilarious. Ceci keeps me rolling every day. She's such a priss. Aunt Leah painted her nails this past weekend at the fish camp. They were SO cute! She is such a big girl. Tear!!:( Posting about the fish camp weekend coming soon!

Kiddo funnies!!:

"Good morning, good morning, good morning sweet [insert name here]...!!!" She wakes up and swings her arms out and sings this song. She made it up.

"Happy Mudder's Day"... So cute. We were in Philadelphia for the US Open on Father's Day. Well actually traveling back that day, and the sitters had Ceci call Jonathan. We heard them say "say Happy Father's Day" in the background but all she could get out was "Happy Mudder's Day...":):)

Every time I ask her what she did (at Mam-ma's, at Mother's Day Out, etc). "We paid (played)..."

"Good job, Les. High five, Les." She is (sometimes) sweet to Les. When she is, she will tell him to say Dada or Mama. It is so funny. She says "say Dada, Les. Say Dada." When he starts babbling, she says "good job, Les. High five, Les."

"Stop crying, Les. Almost home. Almost there." You can tell she likes Les fussing in the car seat as much as I do. He does NOT like to be confined.

"Oh darn. Let's try again." We were throwing the ball, and when she would drop it, that would come out. It was hilarious.

No quote but a funny... she colored on Les' face and head with crayons. They both thought it was funny. He thought it was funny because she was laughing so hard, so he was laughing. Little did he know what the fuss was all about. Poor, Les!

And on a typical mean streak... she got her potty treat (an m&m and gummy bear) and he barely reached his hand toward her, and before I could blink she pushed his head backward and he literally flew backward onto the wood floor (was sitting Indian style). Again, poor, baby Les! Won't be long until he can defend himself, then I'll be blogging, poor Ceci!

We are deep in the potty training process, and we are very close to big girl panties. Pull ups are still in use. Mommy needs to get mentally prepared for the switch. Anyway, throughout this process, I would use the bathrm (and of course like any stay-at-home-Mom, you use the bathrm with your kids). After I finish she always says "good job, Mommy. I so proud of you."

She wanted a popsicle the other day. Well, she goes to the freezer and turns around and says "we're out of popsicles. Oh darn. I'm sorry, guys." It was quite funny - just the delivery and use of "guys."

THE funniest thing she has said in the past couple months was/is "What am I talking 'bout?" Then she would answer with herself hands/arms out and a shrug of her shoulders "I don't know." HILARIOUS.

Jonathan took her swimming the other day, and she came back and told me"I no cry no more. I stick my head under water." Sweet girl. She's finally getting brave.:)

The other morning we read a book my Dad and Stepmom gave her called "I love my Daddy because..." Then at end I said why do you love Daddy? She said "I love Daddy 'cause he works hard. I love him so so much." It made me tear up. Adorable. She LOVES her Daddy beyond words. I wouldn't have it any other way.

"I so beautiful." She doesn't have a lack of confidence. When I tell her she's pretty or that I like her hair, outfit, etc. She says "thanks." Almost as if she's like "duh, thanks.":)

Her newest favorite deal, especially at dinner when she is trying to get attention is to say "shhhhhh. Be quiet, Les. Baby dragon is sleeping, Les. You wake baby dragon up, Les. Shhhhhh. Mommy, shhhhhh. Dragon is sleeping!!"

Ok, so the last and latest SUPER funny was at dinner for Jonathan's birthday. I cooked (yes, it was good and nobody got sick) and had Jonathan's parent's and sister over for dinner. The day before the kids had been over at Mam-ma's, and Ceci refused to take a nap. Jonathan asked his Mom why she didn't make her and why didn't she just spank her. Ceci turned to Jonathan in a shocked/matter-of-fact manner/with furrowed brow and said "Why you tell Mam-ma to spank me?" It was SO SO funny. That girl listens to EVERYTHING!

Pics below and more posting about latest to come!!

Helping me pack for Philadelphia. They are such great helpers. I get everything done in record time.;)

The morning we left for Atlanta.

Molly's Wedding! Laura & I

The Groom!

Us!

Friends from USM... Love these guys!

U.S. Open

Happies from the U.S. Open... hats!

Future golfer...

She is too cool.

His first Cheeto!:)

Daddy/daughter love. Can't replace these moments!!