Its Been a While....Lots of News

Wow! Where did the month of August go? I can't believe that summer is drawing to an end. The kids in the neighborhood have all started back to school, mornings and evenings are chilly, and college football starts today....GO DAWGS! There will of course be a running update of UGA on this blog as I am what the alums call a bulldog-by-marriage and my husband is a bit of a fanatic (in a good way - not in a body paint at the games way - hopefully). At the time of the last post Sweet Pea and I were preparing to go on a girls trip to the Outer Banks of NC. The trip was fantastic. Well, let me re-word that. Once we got on the ground the vacation was fantastic. The plane ride was difficult and Sweet Pea was not a fan of sitting in my lap for hours on end and I was not a fan of her using my abdomen as a trampoline. Yes, she cried A LOT and even had one very impressive temper tantrum which included slapping her mommy (count to 10). From this I have a bit of advice. First, if you are traveling without children bring headphones or earplugs; second, if you are in the area of a woman and a screaming child do not ask anything that starts with "have you tried....." the answer is YES, the woman has tried everything and is just as bothered as you are with the screaming child and these questions may just be enough to put her over the edge. I have no pictures of any of the travel as you can imagine. Sweet Pea enjoyed being in the airports. We walked all over the place (trying to wear her out) and she thought that was great.
Once we landed we were greeted by Love's parents. They picked us up and the luggage actually came out quick and we got settled in for the night. The next day we all visited and took Sweet Pea swimming. She loved it. It was the most fun she had ever had in the pool and she refused to get out. I tried to let her sit in the splash pool and she crawled out and jumped into the kiddie pool that was about 3 feet deep.



After a few days in Virginia we headed down to the Outer Banks to see my parents. When we arrived my Aunt and her granddaughter Macy were there. Macy is 4 and she and Sweet Pea had a blast together. They made quick friends and played all weekend. Every time Macy sat still Sweet Pea would jump on her like a WWF wrestler.



We also spent a lot of time at the beach. It was a new experience for me to go to the beach with a toddler, but it was so much fun. Exhausting, but fun. Sweet Pea would play in the sand and then run to the surf. She loved the waves and it was all I could do to keep her from floating out to sea. Waves would hit her and she would clap and laugh and run towards them. Macy entertained Sweet Pea with all of the beach toys Nana had for them and on the first day of the beach we found this great little lagoon for the girls to play in.





Then it was finally time for my brother and Heather to arrive. I have not gotten to see Scott and Heather since their wedding on August 11, 2007 (Happy Anniversary) so it was a long anticipated meeting. It can never ever ever ever ever be a year in between visits again EVER.....and this visit just was not long enough although great. At the end of the weekend Charlene came down from Virginia Beach and we had more of a family reunion. The whole family got to hang out and enjoy each others company. Everyone was amazed at how much Sweet Pea has grown and at how much she can do. She entertained all of us with her many, many, many antics.









Dad and I also got to do a bit of sea kayaking around the sound in Manteo. It is a great way to start or end the day. We also got to see quite a bit of wildlife. I will share a conversation had as we floated in a relatively small kayak with small paddles in a big body of water.

Dad - "I just saw a fin"

Raleigh - "Sure, ok, I bet you did" (dad is notorious for trying to get a reaction out of me)
About 5 minutes pass and we enjoy the scenery and company
Raleigh - "What was that - was that the fin you were talking about"
Dad - "I didn't think you believed me" with a laugh
Raleigh - "I don't want to see the fish that fin is attached to"

It turns out that there are Bull Sharks in the sound and this had to be the granddaddy of them all. And NO it was not a dolphin. We saw dolphins the next day and it was totally different.



So the trip back was much better. The first flight was the short one and Sweet Pea played with toys that Nana sent with her and ate snacks and talked to the other passengers and flight attendants. Then during our 3 hour lay over we walked from one end to the other of the Atlanta Int. Airport and ate dinner. Then we found out our flight was delayed so we got to stay in Atlanta for another 2 hours. It was way past Sweet Pea's bedtime when we boarded the plane and with the help from a dose of Benadryl (no I am not above this and it helped us both) she slept soundly all the way home. We quickly got back into the swing of things at home. I went to work for a few days and now we are back to our normal schedules.

Sweet Pea is learning new things every day. The last few weeks she has been working on conquering the spoon and she is definitely getting the hang of it.
- - - - inserted here was going to be an absolutely adorable picture of Ashley feeding herself with a spoon with a huge smile on her face, but blogger will not let me add it at the moment and it is quickly nearing the end of nap time. - - - - - - - - - -


August 28th was our 4 year wedding anniversary. It does not seem possible, but I guess time flies when you are having fun. Love and I went out to a wonderful dinner which prompted us to decide to go out on dates much more often. It is wonderful to have such a great friend for a husband.

Well, I have saved the biggest and best news for last. We are expecting another baby. The due date is March 12. We are so excited. I have been feeling a little lethargic and a little green, but I am starting to feel better daily. This is another exciting chapter in our lives and we can't wait to share it with all of our loved ones.

Until next time I hope everyone is well.