Arkansas Vacation

Over Labor Day break, Josh, Eli and I headed to Arkansas with Josh's family to celebrate Mamaw and Papaw's birthdays. In lieu of buying them things they really didn't need, we decided to take a vacation together as a whole family and spend a few days bonding, relaxing, playing games, eating good food, and having lots of fun! We arrived late Friday night, so I wasn't able to take many pictures then, but the next morning I began :)

Our lodging area was really nice. We rented out the entire site since we had so many people with us. It was nice to be able to spread out and not be cramped together.

The view from the back of our cabin
Strangely enough I didn't get a picture of the cabin from the front

House where Brian, Jeff, Shane and Sara stayed

Sleeping quarters for Ariane and Peyton

The main house had lots of people in it...Lisa and Reggie, Jordan and Addi, Mamaw and Papaw, Sue, David and Lisa, and Allison.

We knew before we even got there that this weekend was going to be one completely geared towards Eli. We knew that he'd want to be outside pretty much all day and that's what we planned on. Saturday morning he woke up bright and early as always and after eating a quick breakfast of yogurt we went "ow-side." The weather was simply perfect-zero humidity, zero mosquitoes, perfect for sitting around and relaxing. We were so very thankful!

Eli and Peyton were best buds over the weekend. They hung out from the moment they got up until they went to bed at night, with the only exception being nap time. Eli just adores "Pate" and loves to be around him and Peyton is so sweet with Eli. I'm so glad they had each other this weekend!

Sitting around like two old men talking about the weather...ha ha.

Eli's first powdered donut. He liked it a lot!

Two peas in a pod!

This is what our whole weekend was about-the entire family being together and spending time with each other. It was so nice to have everyone here!

Peyton and Eli couldn't sit still long, so they were always on the hunt for something fun to do. They had lots of fun chasing this motorcyle around and around this tree. Eli thought it was hilarious when the motorcycle would accidentally hit his foot...it's the little things in life!

Pretty soon, they tired of chasing the motorcycle and decided to go on a nature walk with Sara to the fish pond to see the fish and frogs.




Around lunch time everyone changed into their swimsuits and headed to the lake for some swimming. The water wasn't cold, but the beach part of the lake was really rocky. I was so worried that Eli was going to fall and hit something, but thankfully he didn't. The lake and the surrounding scenery were beautiful!

My two little fish :)

The people who weren't brave enough to get in the water...WIMPS!

Addi made her lake debut in her pink swimsuit, pink hat, and pink sunglasses. Isn't she just the cutest thing you've ever seen??? I love this little girl so much! She is the most content and laid back baby I've ever seen. I am so thankful that God brought this little girl into our family. She's been such a blessing! We all fight over who is going to hold her and I got lucky on this particular day :) She LOVED the water! She's going to be right there with Eli and Peyton before we know it.

Josh couldn't stand the fact that I got to hold her more than he did, so he took her out into the water with the big kids. She loved it there even more. I guess he gets the cool points because he went into deeper water than I did. Can you tell Josh likes her just a little bit?



While Josh had Addi, Eli and I decided to make a rock pile on the beach. There were SO many rocks, so we had to do something with them. Eli used great precision in getting his rock pile to look just right.


We left the beach and headed back to the cabin for some much needed rest. Since I was on vacation, I made sure to take a nap with Eli every day. It was so nice to be able to sleep and cuddle with my little buddy. We woke up refreshed and ready to go. Every time Eli woke up from a nap, he'd say, "Get up, Mama. Go ow-side!" He and the great outdoors were a great combination.

Josh and Shane cooked burgers for us that night for the LSU game and everyone put on their LSU attire to cheer on their favorite team. While they were cooking the burgers, Eli, Peyton, and Buzz, who went everywhere with those two boys, practiced blowing bubbles.

Josh and Lisa Brown

I don't know who won the game, but I do know that this little girl was a cute little tiger :)

Addi and Jordan

She just melts my heart!

After the burgers, we sang Happy Birthday to Mamaw, Papaw, Sara and Allison. They all had birthdays before we came and we wanted to celebrate those!

The birthday gang

Sunday morning Josh, Shane, David and Brian went to play golf, so Lisa, Allison, Jeff, and I decided to go have some fun, too. Jeff and Brian brought four kayaks with them to Arkansas so they could kayak on the lake every day. The day before Jeff, Brian, Ariane and Jordan had kayaked around the lake. I'd always wanted to kayak and now I had my chance! Jeff was a great teacher and was very patient with us. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be and I'm glad I got to do it. Thanks, Jeff!!

Lisa and Allison getting ready to kayak

There we are! I'm in the one at the top of the picture all the way to the right.

We came back and after another glorious nap, Eli and I woke up to the family playing tailgate golf. It was probably the most played game during our family weekend and it got pretty competitive, too!

That night our group split up to do several different activities; some went to play miniature golf, some went kayaking, some stayed at the cabins, and some went to the beach again. We decided to do the beach again, but after we got there we kind of regretted that decision. The water was SOOO much colder than it was the day before and Eli and I didn't enjoy being in the water at all. Eli and Peyton decided that playing in the sand was much more fun than freezing in the cold lake water.

Look at the difference in their skin! Eli is so white and Peyton is so tan!

We got back to the cabin and it was family picture time :) I was the self-designated photog in the group, so I made it a point to take a picture of each family that was there (except for my own...how did that happen???)

Allison, David, and Lisa

Shane and Sara

Shane, Sara, and Brian

Lisa and Reggie

Peyton and Ariane

Mamaw and Allison

Mamaw and Lisa

We all woke up the next morning and loaded up our cars to go home. The weekend was a success! We had so much fun and I'm so glad we were able to do this! I am already looking forward to when we can do it again!

Peyton and Eli showing they're all ready to go home!

Swinging, Climbing, and Sliding...Oh, my!

The weekend weather was too beautiful for us not to enjoy and get out in, so Josh and I decided to take Eli to a local park for some fun. Eli had a blast and we did, too. He loved sliding down the slides, swinging in the swings, climbing, and running around. It was right up his alley, especially since we were O-U-T-S-I-D-E!

This is Eli's "tum-tum" slide.
That's what he says whenever he wants to go down the slide on his tummy.

I love how cautious he looks in this picture.
He was being such a big boy going down the slides all by himself!

Daddy attempted to go down the slide and he didn't get out quite as fast as Eli wanted.

He was all about some climbing!

The swings were pretty fun, too!

After all the fun on the playground equipment we took a walk on a nearby nature trail and then came back home. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE days that I get to spend with both of my boys. They are my heart and I am so thankful for both of them!

Van Gogh in Training

I enjoy painting as a hobby, but I don't get to do it as much as I used to pre-Eli, perfectly fine because I would rather do something with him than paint any day. The other day though I had a few canvases that I was trying to finish up and Eli spotted me painting. One reason I don't paint as often as I did before is because now I always have a little helper that wants to help me paint. This is okay every now and then, but sometimes it's more mess than I want to tackle.

He came up to me and said, "I pain!" (I paint) and then to top it off he added a please at the end. How could I resist? My friend, Nicki, gave me a great tip for when kids want to paint. Give them a blank canvas and let them paint. When they want to paint again, paint the canvas white and give it back to them. Isn't that a great idea? I gave Eli a small canvas and let him go to work. He loved mixing all the colors. It was actually a great teachable moment because he got to practice his colors and get to see what happens when you mix certain colors together. The only problem was the paint. I only had acrylic paint on hand and that doesn't wash out of clothes. He actually was very careful though. (Daddy helped supervise making sure paint didn't wind up everywhere in my kitchen...thanks, Daddy!) I just have to make it a point to pick up some washable paint for our next art session :) I love that I get to share my love of painting with my little guy, even if it does mean more clean up for Mommy.

Sweet Treat Prescription

He gets it honestly. Josh and I both love sweets. The other night I thought I'd give Eli a treat and let him have some fresh strawberries and Nutella for dessert. To say he enjoyed it is an understatement!



Then as if it couldn't get any sweeter, a couple days after this we found out that Eli had contracted some sort of virus that gave him ulcers all down his throat. Talk about breaking a Mommy's heart. On the way back from the doctor, a sweet treat was definitely a MUST. We stopped at Sonic (I heart that place!) and got him a vanilla cone. Just what the doctor ordered...no, seriously, she did!


For those wondering, the ulcers cleared up on their own and in a couple of days Eli was back to his normal self. I hate it when he's sick, but I'm very thankful that it doesn't happen that often. We've been very blessed in that regard!

22 Months Old

Is it that time again already? Has another month already come and gone? We're one month closer to your second birthday-Eeek!-and I'm not prepared for that at all! How is it possible that my sweet little baby has become a two year old so soon? This month has been a big month of changes for you, but you seem to be handling them really well. I'm so happy that you're happy because just thinking about how you would react to all the changes caused your Daddy and I lots of hours of worry (well, maybe it was mostly just me). Like I said before though you're handing everything great and are continuing to grow up and change right before our very eyes.

Physically: You are still my skinny minny :) You mostly wear 18-24 month clothes, but there are some 2T t-shirts that fit you. You're skinny little booty can still wear a 12 month in shorts, but since fall and eventually winter is approaching I've been buying you 18-24 month sizes for the length. We may have to tack up the waist a little, but at least you won't be wearing high waters :) You're foot has grown this summer. You're now wearing a size 7. You're probably more like a size 6 1/2 but we bought 7's for all your new shoes so you'll have some growing room. Your favorite way to move these days is by jumping. You jump ALL the time! At first your feet barely cleared the floor, but now you're actually getting some height to your jumps. You've also discovered that it's lots of fun to jump off of things. Oh dear, oh dear! Just remember the "Five Little Monkeys" song...especially the part, "one fell off and bumped their head." Yeah, let's skip that part, okay? Your Daddy is convinced that you need a balance band on your arm since you continually bump into things when you walk. I'm not going to lie, you get that honestly, but it's not from your Daddy's side. There's a reason my middle name IS NOT Grace :) You still love running. That's how I usually convince you to take a bath every night. You and I have a little race to the tub; you always win, of course :) You're also a GREAT climber. You are the reason I just spent $65 coloring my hair. My hairdresser thanks you, my son, but my wallet does not.

Verbally: You understand everything and your Daddy and I have reached the spelling stage. You know, the stage where you spell certain words like O-U-T-S-I-D-E and P-O-P-S-I-C-L-E and T-O-Y S-T-O-R-Y. We're good until you get in kindergarten and learn how to spell those words. Your speech is still sometimes unclear to people except for family, but normally if we can't understand you we ask you to show us what you want and you usually can. You sing and do motions to songs. I guess your favorite songs right now would be "If you're happy and you know it," "The Hotdog Song," "The Wheels on the Bus," and "Twinkle, Twinkle." If the song has motions you know them really well (my personal favorite would be "The Wheels on the Bus") and you're actually able to finish the last line of all those songs when we sing them together.

Eating: Mostly unchanged, but being at daycare has helped make you eat better at home. Yay! You have become a pretty good eater and I'm so thankful for that; however, getting you to sit still to eat a meal is what we're working on now. You like to graze instead of eating your meal all at once. You are super independent when it comes to eating now and only let me help you with yogurt or cereal now. Everything else you want to do on your own. If I even try to help, you look at me and say, "I do!" I love that you're stretching your little wings and wanting to do things more on your own :)

Sleeping: You're still getting around 10-11 hours of sleep a night and our system of me laying you down and then sitting in the rocking chair for a few minutes is still working great. You are almost always asleep by the end of the first song. You're such a BIG BOY! You still wake up in the pre-dawn hours of the day though to get some snuggles from Momma. We're going to have to work on that soon, but I'm going to choose my battles and I'm not ready for that one just yet.

Big Changes: You start pre-school this month!!! WOW! The preschool you're going to go to comes HIGHLY recommended. Your Daddy and I went to meet your teachers and see your classroom the other night and we think you're going to LOVE it, too! You have adjusted to going to Mrs. G's house in the mornings, but you still wake up and say, "No go. Tay (stay) home," every morning :( Breaks my heart, but you're just a homebody, and once you get where you need to be you do great.

We love you sweet man and can't wait to see what the next two months have in store for us :)