Can you believe it?!?!?

Check out the new picture at the top of blog. Not only are we all together, we're ALL LOOKING AT THE CAMERA! Whoo hoo! We got family/Halle Kate's first birthday pictures taken last weekend and I will get some up as soon as possible. They turned out really great!

Exhausted, Cramped Puppy Love

This is the last of our beach vacation recap. A week in the sand and sun was the first thing we've found in more than two years that has worn Matney out enough that she fell asleep in the car. Look at this sweet, exhausted girl and her puppy dog. We knew she was really, really tired when the paci fell out of her mouth. Sleeping without the paci is a sure sign that Miss M had passed any level of tired we'd ever known her to reach.








And this last picture? Just for my memory so that I don't get it in my head to take a road trip again with them until they are old enough to sit in the back alone. I crammed myself inbetween their carseats for most the ride home with my feet buried under all that stuff. I think I was the most excited to finally be home!

Dear Girls

Most of you can ignore this post, it isn't a good picture of me or the girls, but one day this blog is going to be a great source of memories. Well, it will be if I ever get going and have it printed out but that's another issue. Either way this is really for Matney and Halle Kate someday in the future.
Dear girls, look at your Daddy! He is really cute and your Mommy loves him a lot. The three of us girls are beyond blessed. He loves us so incredibly much. One day when you are big and you start thinking that boys just might not have cooties after all I pray that you will have someone to love you like your Daddy loves us. And I hope that you will love that lucky man just like your Mommy loves your Daddy.
I know that one day you will feel like your Daddy and I don't understand you or even that we don't love you but I want you to know now just how much that could not be true. Everyday we laugh at you, we dream for you, we beg God to protect you and keep you healthy. We'll let you grow up and we'll have to let you be independent but we'll be so sad every time you walk out of our front door. Both your Mommy and Daddy know that you are the greatest gifts we have ever been given and we are so thankful to be your parents.

Beach Pictures

Once again we tried to take family pictures and, once again, it did not work. First, in my rushing to get us packed and out the door I forgot the girls' matching dresses. We did have coordinating outfits but this night they didn't make it in them. Then I had a problem with my contacts. I am more blind than a bat (-8.25 prescription for my contacts) and had to wear my glasses. They are ugly and I never wear them out of the house but forgot to take them off for most of the pictures. Dummy. And it was super windy and we were being blown all over the place. So, not the most together looking pictures ever but I still think we're cute!






Can you tell we were singing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" trying to keep HK occupied? He's going up his spout in the this picture!

Funny Pictures Outtakes

HA! These are just a few of the funny pictures we got trying to get a family picture. I especially like Halle Kate picking her Daddy's nose and me doing the hair flip. Ha! I don't know why we keep trying. Maybe one day I'll get all our heads looking at the camera and photoshop them into one picture.

4th of July Playgroup

We had a patriotic playgroup last week and the kiddos are so cute and grown up! I'll have to snag the pictures off everyone else's blogs because I didn't take any of my own. For now, if you want to see them check out Lindsay's blog. The one of Matney at the end is a new favorite of mine!

Great times

I am wrapping up the beach pictures and had to include these. You can tell how great of a time Matney had. These are her posing on the balcony about to go to the pool. One of the highlights of her trip wasn't long walks on the beach, it wasn't the pool...it was her pacifier. At home she only gets it in the bed but when we went out of town she got it in the car and at bedtime. Except she could would hide them around the condo and we'd catch her with one in her mouth every time we turned around. We're going to get rid of it soon but she's so addicted (and I SO enjoy sleeping through the night). Poor baby is going to be upset. For now, the beach plus a paci was her favorite week ever!

My Big Girls

I took these pictures while we were at the beach because I wanted to remember just how big our sweet girls are getting. Look at Matney in her swimsuit and ponytail. She's not a baby any more. And Halle Kate, our wild thing, started really walking while we were there. She started taking a few steps at a time a few days after her birthday. While we were out of town (2 weeks later) she started walking all over the place. She was EVERYWHERE! After changing her diaper she wants to get up and go and hardly lets you get clothes back on her which is why I didn't even finish buttoning her pants). In a strange place that isn't child-proofed we were chasing after her the entire time. We were worn out but she thought it was the greatest thing ever!

Halle Kate, meet the beach

Once she'd had a little time Halle Kate quickly warmed up to the beach. Aren't those the cutest toes in the sand?

Beach part 2

Our time on the actual beach was cut quite short since Matney hated the sand and Halle Kate was no fear and wanted to crawl into the ocean. The first two pictures show how crystal clear the water was, aside from some big seaweed patches. They also show how we often had the entire beach to ourselves. Even during the day it wasn't crowded but we were still on GA time and Matney likes to be up with Mr Sun. This morning I think it was about 6am FL time when we hit the beach. No one wants to be out that early!

We tried to get the girls out playing in the sand but it wasn't their favorite. Only when Matney thought by going in the water she would find Ariel (from The Little Mermaid) was she willing to let us carry her into the waves. Once she was out she did enjoy the water. I am sad to report that, despite the numerous times Matney called for her, Ariel must have been visiting Prince Eric's ship because we never saw her.

Our outside time didn't last long so we decided to take the girls to the pool. The condo had an indoor pool and it was perfect for our pale redheads! The girls love the bath but had never been in a big pool. They loved it. We tired floats first but quickly learned the girls just wanted to be carried around in the water. This was the first of our twice daily visits to the pool.