Summer fun!

Funny thing about our home...we have an in ground swimming pool. It's "funny" because we did not open it this year (in the previous summers we barely used it, so we decided it may not be worth the effort/expense to open it this year). We did, however, get a blow-up pool so Bailey has some water to play in. She absolutely loves it. And, even though the water only comes up to her tushie...she feels most confident with BOTH her water wings on her arms AND a water circle around her tush :) It's the funniest thing. Below are some pictures from this afternoon.... I know, three posts in less than a week - Amazing! :)

Tired and giddy....

Bailey has inherited a trait from her Mommy, which I in-turn inherited from the YiaYia....when we get tired, we can get giddy. Before I got the camera out, Bailey was laughing so hard (at Daddy throwing her stuffed animals into the air) that she was crying. When I brought out the camera, she mellowed a bit but....I think you still get the idea :) Oh and I apologize for the bad camera angle!

Love you all!

Humidity in the air...

Summer has hit Georgia and with the warm weather comes the "wonderful" humidity. For the most part, that just makes us all pretty sticky but for Boo, it also makes her hair nice and curly :)

Look at those ringlets!

She's dancing/twirling around :)

Our beautiful girl!

It's a zoo out there!

This past week, Tom and I took Bailey to the zoo. We actually have an annual pass, so I've started taking Boo about twice a month....she really enjoys it. Often times her friend Evan comes, this time Daddy was able to come instead; she loved having him along! Below are some pictures from our day.

Lots of love to you all....



Patiently waiting to feed the birds


Wow...look at that!


Watching the safari animals (zebra, giraffe, etc)


She wasn't too sure about touching the goat on this day


I don't often think Bailey looks like me but, in this photo (which
I had to zoom/crop in on), I can see me in her :)


Having fun at the zoo's playground


Daddy having some fun too!


Bailey was more interested in the train nearby, than taking a picture :)


Going to the train


Bailey explaining to Daddy, how the train works


A kiss for the train ride

Missing the ocean....

We've had a good week but, we're missing the ocean. Our neighborhood has lots of trees and, that can be very pretty but, the view from the condo's lanai was pretty tough to beat! Plus, there's nothing better than playing in the sand and waves (plus eating out/junk on a daily basis because "you're on vacation" :) Below are a few more photos from our time at the beach. Hope your week was wonderful!

Lots of love!

What a difference a year can make!

This past week, we went to Panama City Beach, FL. We had a great time! Last May, Bailey and I spent a night there with my parents (YiaYia and Popo) and Bailey had NO desire to touch the sand or the waves....it was a fight to try and get her to touch either. This year, BIG difference! We took her down to the sand and she walked on it like she'd done it a thousand times before and then basically walked right into the water. We had to make sure that someone was holding her hand because she was pretty much determined to go out as far as she could :) We had some wonderful weather and Tom got to go along on this trip so....it was pretty much perfect. Below are a few pictures, of the 150 or so I took. Enjoy :)

!
The condo we rented, it had a GREAT view!

We were on the 6th floor, on the beach

Bailey loved to walk the large lanai off our condo

She especially loved the strong ocean breeze!

Bailey - brave and walking INTO the water!

Still feeling brave!

A wave comes and splashes her and...

She LOVED it!

Mommy and Daddy enjoying some beach time

Flying a kite...

Showing Daddy how it's done :)

Popo and the pooch taking a rest....

Riding a train at the local shopping center

Look How Far We Come.....

This past week, Bailey has been pointing out babies and it's made me think of how fast time has (already) gone and how far we've come. Three years ago this week, I was sticking a needle into my stomach each night with fertility drugs designed to help Tom and I conceive. Later in the month (on the 29th to be exact) I took a pregnancy test....my first positive after many negatives. Funny, when you go through infertility, you sometimes (as with our case) have years to think about how it is that you'll tell your loved ones, your husband...your parents, that you're pregnant. For me, even though we were going through infertility treatments I was genuinely shocked when the test turned positive. I was convinced that the treatment had not worked and that I was not pregnant (I had even put a call into the doctor's office a few days before the pregnancy test to talk with them about starting the procedure over the next month). So...when the test turned positive, my Hollywood style, big-drama, over the top way of announcing our pregnancy to my husband and then to my parents pretty much went out the window. For Tom, I called him (he was on the rode on his way out of town for a business trip....luckily only about 20 minutes down the road) and I met him at the door hands shaking as I held out the pregnancy test. For my parents, a simple phone call.....amazing how such a simple thing, a phone call, can have such monumental impact. The home pregnancy test was followed by a blood test at my doctor's office later that morning. There were three amazing moments for me in my pregnancy (the ones that really stood out): the first was the positive pregnancy test, the second was the first ultrasound when not only did we get to see Bailey on the screen but we got to hear her heartbeat, something we were not expecting (this u/s was even more amazing as I had been bleeding the week before and was very afraid that I had lost the baby), the last amazing moment, was her birth.

God is so good and if I never have another child I will praise Him with every breath that is in me for the miracle that He has given me. To be honest, I love Bailey so much that it can be hard for me to imagine having/loving another. My beautiful girl fills the arms that were empty; the love I have for her completes me and gives me purpose. God heard my cries and He answered my prayers. Praise God for His mercy and His blessings.


May 29, 2006 - It's positive!


May 2007 - 3 months old


May 2008 - 1 year 3 months old


May 2009 - 2 years 3 months old