Summer Sneak Peek

I don't know about you but this mama is SO ready for sunny days by the pool with a margarita, friends and snacks! Today we got a little sneak peek with our friends Holly and Brooklyn. It was warm... certainly not warm enough to swim but Parker didn't seem to mind. Brooklyn would play in the pool and then come back to her chair to dry off a bit then try again. Then there was Avery.... who was everywhere. The pool is too deep for her to sit in and splash but she kept trying anyways unsuccessfully. Eventually I got tired of chasing her around the pool deck and fed her into a coma then laid her in the wagon in the shade. I realize there is only so much longer I can do this but it was SO worth it! I got to really enjoy watching Parker swim while chatting with a friend and Avery got to take a great nap outside in the shade. Win/Win!

As you know, Parker is not a lover of the camera but I think we FINALLY may have figured out how to get a great picture of him! H20!

This wagon and top is worth its weight in gold!

Silly boy!

Look how happy he is despite his blue lips!

Parker LOVES to jump in the water! Jumping pictures are some of my favorites of him!

Floating

Sweet boy is such a fish!

Joy!

What could be more fun!?

hahaha!

Princess girl napping in her chariot

Brooklyn enjoyed gently pouring the water from one cup to the other while Parker just splashed everywhere! Oh the differences between girls and boys!

Are you as ready for summer as we are!?!

Little Mama

Avery has recently discovered the world of baby dolls. I have to say, it makes me SO happy! Don't get me wrong.. I don't collect dolls... I just love all things girly and nurturing. My sister gave Avery a "my first Disney doll" Ariel for Christmas that she likes to play with. Avery takes Ariel from the doll pack n play to the stroller and then into the shopping cart. She sleeps with her as well. I've caught her many times holding Ariel saying "hi baby!" in a sweet high pitched voice like I use when talking to babies. Speaking of mimicking, Avery also now talks on her "phone" aka old calculator. I feel like she's become such a big girl in the last week. Despite being a peanut (32% for height and 7% for weight), she seems so grown up to me!

Sun, Sand and Shades

I really want to get Avery's 1st birthday post up but the thought of sifting through and picking from 300 photos sounds exhausting! Too much cuteness to pick from!

We had GLORIOUS weather 2 Sundays ago so I set my alarm at o-cock-a-doodle-do and took the kids to my parent's church to surprise them. They looked so precious sitting outside of church waiting for nana and poppi. The plan backfired when they decided to be heathens and sleep in. haha It worked out just fine though because we beat the church crowd to a good ol Southern breakfast at The Cookhouse.

Afterwards, we slipped into swim suits and hopped on the boat for an afternoon of sun, sand and cool shades. Avery sleeps so well on the boat under the bimini top and Parker was, as usual, on constant duck and geese hunt!

Miss Avery and I

Too cool for school

Parker and poppi

Napping... as long as I unsnap the neck strap she'll sleep in her life jacket. I suppose it's like a pillow? She napped for almost 2 hours like this!

Stud muffin

So Avery does have a swim suit.... but I didn't want the lake to stain in... so she swam naked because I am vain. Note to self: buy lake bathing suit

Seriously, how could I let her swim in the dirty lake in that cuteness!?

We are a lake loving family so I'm sure you'll see this post with similar pictures over and over this summer! I can't wait for our friends to join us!

Avery's one year photoshoot

Oh my cuteness.... Avery is officially ONE and I am still recovering from her birthday weekend! I SHOULD be "reclaiming" the house and giving it a nice "I'm sorry we abused you on Saturday" scrub BUT instead I've been a photobooking QUEEN today! How could I not? Scroll down and check out the cuteness that is Avery's 1 year photoshoot book in the post below that I let Shutterfly post in exchange for a free $10 gift card that I am way too excited about.

I am a SUCKER for pretty pictures. My friend Alicia Sutton from Alicia Sutton Photography graciously waddled her 8 month preggo belly to Freedom Park in Charlotte last Thursday to capture this cuteness...

Seriously, y'all.... there has to be some contest I could submit this to and become and instant millionaire. No? OK... how about this one?

I could just eat her up! She was too cute! She kept looking up at me like "is this really OK?" Once she finally decided it was, she'd dip her face in the cake and say "YUM" and giggle. My heart is still warm from the preciousness that was last Thursday morning's photo shoot.

I bet my frequent blog followers are thinking "Did she FINALLY get the elusive family photo?" No. I didn't actually invite Daniel since the plan was to surprise him with pretty photos of the kids for Father's Day but my plan was foiled when I caught him purchasing the same living social deal for Mother's Day that I was buying for Father's Day. Great minds think alike right!?! Anyways, I DID drag Parker along in a coordinating outfit with the promise of a duck siting and if the photographer could have walked on water, I think we would have been golden. Note to self: next time bring an inflatable boat. I'm sure my 8 month pregnant friend/photographer wouldn't have minded?! Anything for the sake of good photos? (Except for taking them on the side of the interstate in a wild flower patch which yes... we did actually ponder).

All kidding aside, we did get a few action shots of the kids thanks to a little shameless bribery:

Parker has learned how to voice his opinion lately and I can't tell you how many times we heard "I do not want to take my picture anymore!" Everything is "anymore!" (Throughout the weekend he declared he was not going to poop, pee, eat dinner or be nice to Avery "anymore!".... bless his little dramatic heart). This might be my favorite "No. really... I'm done. Get the heck out of my face so I can see the ducks" picture:

You have to admit he's SO handsome! Wouldn't it be funny if one day he were a model or something photo related? Oh the arsenal of terrible family photos I have to show his future wife one day!

This one is pretty sweet of Parker's though:

OK, back to the birthday girl. I loved the simplicity and genuine smile in these pictures and the adorable outfit from Smockadot:

I may have to order more frames to have an ode to cuteness with all of these cake smash pictures! I'm seriously obsessed with them!

These pictures have brought me SO much joy as the children have been a bit AWFUL spirited today. They're reminders of the innocence of children, the joy found in "the little things" and the incredibly fast pace of time and to truly cherish these moments. I'll laugh one day about Parker's potty training backslide, Avery's tantrums at 12 months old, the sheer amount of times I've caught her drinking toilet water, the battles over pictures and hair brushing, the list goes on... How many times over the last year have I stated "this too shall pass?!" Of course, it does pass and something new comes along to replace it that I also wish away... Oh mommy guilt. Bottom line... I'm so glad to have these sweet moments captured on film of Avery smashing her staged birthday cake, Parker doing darn near anything to spend some quality time with water fowl, and a sweet moment of shared oversized lollipops at way too early of an hour... all for the sake of a pretty picture! ;)