favorite places.

last week we took our fifth annual siesta key beach trip with the perlins. we loaded up the old mountaineer and headed south. even though our car is full, we really did a good job packing! gotta love the "little potty" as henry calls it. nothing like traveling with your very own bathroom, ha ha.

10.5 hours later we arrived in siesta key. here are h & o all loaded up. henry did AWESOME with the potty training and had no accidents the whole way down, during the trip, and all the way back. now, last weekend appeared to be a different story when visiting family, but we were so proud of him. both boys traveled well-they were good to us!

cute owv

owen's first time to the beach - he liked it. he just hung out and was pretty happy go lucky.

henry LOVED the ocean. last year all he wanted to do was run up and down the beach and wasn't crazy about the water. this year he didn't want to get out of the water.

here is adam! adam had fun playing with our crew. every day he would give many kisses and hugs to owen, which was adorable. he liked henry but LOVED that owen.

one day the guys played golf and the girls and boys headed to the beach. everyone did great - although I would recommend bringing a baby bjorn or carrier of some sort for the littlest one. holding owen for the 2.5 hours we were down there got a little tiring. henry wanted to be in the water the whole time so owen had no choice but to be held, which of course he didn't mind. :)

henry and adam raced their cars on the window tracks morning and night. fun fun!

who are these guys?!?

ice cream at BiG OLAF's - delicious!

group shot ... next year we will add one more kiddo to the group as kevin and sue are expecting baby #2! exciting. so ... next year everyone's ages will be: 3 .5(H), 2.5 (Adam), 18 months (O), and 6 months (Baby P). wow!

thanks to gary's mom for the cute matching lobster and crab outfits!

the last few years we have done a low country boil for dinner one night (my favorite). time to feast!

gary william and owen william.

the girls and the boys. the little boys that is.

is owen giving a west side?

look at the expression on henry's face - pure joy.

ah the beach. one of my most favorite places. and to be there with such dear friends. doesn't get much better than that. now we are home. back to work. back to normal life. back to normal routines. back to the doggies, who we missed and have cute little summer haircuts. back to the laundry, oh the laundry. back to the endless vacuuming and dish washing. back to work outs. back to family and friends. back to a home and a town we love where traffic is minimal. back to a church that is such a wonderful place. back to dirt we can dig in and sprinklers we can run in. back to life in auburn as we know it.

and you know what?

in pure honesty ... this is my favorite place and it doesn't get much better than this either.

grins.

this little piggy went to market ...

this little piggy stayed home ... and had a bath!

owen, meet the exersaucer. exersaucer, meet owen.

it appears to be a very exciting relationship!

re-introducing henry to the exersaucer. i took the seat part out and he literally played in it for an hour. he pretended it was a car, his "funderbird" as he calls it. he says, "look mama, I'm driving my funderbird! I'm driving crazy! it has a horn. it has a trunk. i need to take it to the gas station and get some gas."

and when he sees owen sitting it, he says, "look mama, owen's driving my funderbird! he's driving slow."

ha ha! it seems like lately, it is comedy hour with henry ... so many funny things.

ch - ch - changes ...

(I never knew david bowie sang that song - did you?!)

lots of changes. on this blog, in our lives, in our country, you name it.

a big change for our family, well actually a huge change, deals with my work. after working with first financial group for eight years, I have resigned and accepted a position offered to me by a local financial planning firm. I tend to steer clear of writing about mine and gary's work on our blog, but felt this was something that had to be mentioned. the short of it ... I was not looking for a change in this regard, it found me, but I am really excited about this new opportunity. am still working part time, in a somewhat similar/somewhat different role. leaving a firm and people that are so very dear to me was one of the most difficult professional and personal decisions I have made. but my instincts kept creeping in and telling me that no matter how difficult it may be, this was the right move. the people with whom I'll be working are such outstanding people.

so, here's to a new chapter!

I just completed my first week at the new firm.

and, thoughtful gary (who had a crazy week this past week), sent me flowers on my first day. they were lovely so I thought I'd share ...

changes with the boys ... nothing too big to report here.

the main change is that they just keep getting more and more adorable,

and more and more loved, if that's possible.

a few random photos:

and a short video of the boys. quality is not great, but captures henry's loving spirit on film (as well as henry's version of bert from sesame street's "doin' the pigeon"). I'm saving these clips of the "i love you's" and such for henry in a couple of months, years, or whenever, when he decides his little brother is a bother, a pain, a nuisance, instead of a joy! ah, siblings. enjoy!

the big f-i-v-e m-o-n-t-h-s

July 1st. 5 months ago today this sweet angel made his grand entrance. I'm sorry, did someone say 5, ahem, 5 months ago? surely you jest. where in the world did 5 months go?!?!

well they are gone and here he is. all 18, yes I said 18, no jest, pounds of him. and he is scrumptious. he is jolly. he has a smile that melts hearts. he is wonderful. and he is owen.

happy 5 months big O.

look at his O hawk - so crazy! waking up happy one morning.
last week ... first time in doorway swing/jumparoo.

he likes the old bumbo ... he's so darn cute. can't you just eat him up?

4 & 5 month update:

• 4 month check up ... weighed 16lbs 13ozs (75th percentile) and was 26 3/4 inches tall (90th percentile). compare this to H ... who weighed 14.9 and was 25 5/8in tall at 4 months. shockingly, owen is not super roly poly. yes he has meaty thighs, chunky cheeks, and he's an armful, but he doesn't have roll after roll even though he now weighs 18lbs. He is long/tall and I guess his weight is well distributed. he is just BIG.
• wearing 9-12 month clothes. has long torso like his brother.
• happy, happy baby. knock on wood, laid back and goes with the flow. does not like to be left out. wants to be in the mix. he's a people person ... gets it honestly.
• loves to blow bubbbles. drools a lot. wears a bib all the time for the drool and the spit up, which he still does each and every day ... usually several times.
• can focus and grab things now and of course, straight to the mouth it goes.
• has mastered rolling over from back to stomach. loves to do "supermans" on his tummy.
• can roll from tummy to back but not as well or as often.
• loves to be held. he is fine laying/sitting/playing by himself, but loves to be held.
• another knock on wood, a good sleeper. 2 hour morning nap, 2 hour afternoon nap. most days a catnap around 5-5:30. napping caveat ... most every nap he cries out after 35-45 minutes. most times his eyes don't open. he likes his pacifier after he cries out and then he's right back to sleep. most days. no idea why this is, but happens every day. bedtime is at 7:30 and he starts the day between 6:30-7. thank you Lord for a restful baby and thank you babywise for making me an even bigger follower. :)
• still has bowel issues; nothing serious health wise, but causes serious gas.
• seems completely satisfied with his milk, so we are waiting until the 6 month mark as we did with H to start cereals and foods. he's still at four feedings a day. since he's been on a 4 hour schedule since birth pretty much (by his choosing), I'm not sure he ever had more than 6 feedings a day. so, new mothers or mothers to be, don't let books or others make you feel that the baby HAS to nurse 6-8 times per day to be healthy ... owen is proof of that. he's somewhat of a giant! every baby is different so I'm not saying that some babies don't need that many feedings, don't get me wrong, but they can be perfectly healthy on less.
• has started moving around in his crib at night. H was all over the place by 3-4 months. out of positioner, other end of the crib, you name it. owen has just started this. it is funny to see where he is in the mornings!
• is not stranger shy. likes everyone!
• is very strong. underneath the plump there are some muscles. his legs and back are really strong. has a firm grip too.
• has been very good to his parents and big brother and doggies! I'm not sure what toddler hood or teenage years holds for us and for owen, but so far he has been delightful. (ahem, another knock on wood-you just never know with these little ones!)
• eyes have turned brown. beautiful brown. just like his namesake (Gary William). hair appears to be staying darker too and has a little curl on the top.
• who does he look like? we both think he favors gary; not an exact replica but definitely favors him. and he also looks a lot like my uncle dan.
• can't wait to see what the next 5 months hold!