5.31.2011

memorial day 2011

as in what seems to be tradition now, josh and i hosted a casual memorial day bbq at our community pool. this is becoming one of my favorite holidays--good friends, yummy treats, and great sun!


little p chillin' with grandpa


jimmy and larae hanging out poolside


auntie jess taking peyton for a dip


family time in the water!


angelo and vanessa being sweet together ;-)


yup! we sure did bust out a round or 5 of penny can!


little "hailey boo" having a ball!


uncle josh...being "fun" uncle josh to little man joel.


girl time! :-)


thanks to everyone who made it out for the afternoon. as usual, hoping to make summer barbecues a more typical activity! as always, the more the merrier! :-) join us next time!

5.25.2011

my playtime...

have you HEARD the opinions people have about breastfeeding? four words. OH. MY. GOSH. PEOPLE.

since i've become a parent, i've begun to have exposure to the world's thoughts on "everything parenting". a big topic of discussion is breastfeeding. i won't go into the details, you can google it for yourself and get an abundance of differing opinions. me, personally? i thank the Lord every day that i'm physically able to breastfeed my daughter. it's not easy, and it's not for everyone, but peyton seems to like it, i love the benefits of it, and daddy loves the money it saves us!! so for now, baby gets teet :-)

now for the contraversial part. yes, i nurse in public places. i try to consider others--for example, i do my best to not nurse over someone's dinner at a restaurant (although, family has had the unfortunate chance to experience this), or hold off a while if there is a more well-suited place to do it, like a "family's room" or "mother's room", but i'm not afraid. it's not because i can't pump. it's not because i don't have bottles of milk at home.

it's because when i'm done, i can turn my hooter-hider around and play superhero for a few minutes while someone else burps my child.


5.17.2011

on parenting

last week, on one of our morning walks, i made the decision to go ahead and push it a little harder, as my 6-week-post-partum date was approaching. (for those of you unfamiliar with what that date signifies--it's the goal date for which "all normal activities may resume". that's right--ALL NORMAL ACTIVITIES! get your mind out of the gutter--i'm just excited to work out again!!) therefore, that morning walk eventually turned into a morning jog. yay!!

it was quite the sight, really. peyton was in the jogger, june was on her "short leash" (yes, kind of like the short bus, but without all the window licking), and i was "jogging" as if i'd never run a step in my life. we started with a super slow pace, because i didn't want to overdo anything, ya know, in case i accidentally broke a sweat or something strange like that... and within a tenth of a mile june shot me a look that seemed to say, 'i thought we were done with this nonsense of running at an uncomfortably slow pace when you got yourself knocked up, mom!' i tried to ignore it and keep going, but another tenth of a mile later she flat out STOPS. she does this lately, thinking she's the one who decides where and when our walks are over, and i like to think i can pep talk her out of it. but this time, i couldn't. nothing i said got her to move.

"june, you LOVE being outside. what's going on?"

"june, don't'ya wanna get rid of all this pent up energy you have?"

"june, see this tummy? mommy NEEDS to run. seriously."

"june, there's a bunny farm at the end of the trail."

nothing was working. so, i did what any good dog owner would do. i thought real hard, identified her biggest insecurity, and capitalized on it. she hates to be left alone, so i dropped the leash and ran away from her, leaving her and her attitude behind.

she followed me.

i won! but the bigger victory was that i picked up yet another valuable lesson in parenting. because dog ownership is how i acquire all my parenting skills.

5.04.2011

one month old today!



*peyton reese*

you are the most wonderful and amazing gift your dad and i have ever been blessed with! thank you for bringing so much JOY and LOVE to our lives. we a.d.o.r.e you, you know, and we relish in every moment we get to $pend with you (or...$pend bragging about you...)! every glance, movement, sound, facial expression, and touch of yours is priceless and will becherished by the two of us. (oh, and we know june cherishes them, too...!)

happy ONE MONTH birthday to you, our beautiful baby girl!!

all our love and more,
mommy and daddy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*cutest backside ever*

*sleepy, but not sleeping. shocking...*

*mommy loves this cuddler*

*junie keeps an eye on you*

*what are you looking for, peyt?*

*no, really, what's in there?!?!?*
*you and daddy love "after work" time!*

*mmmm, kisses for the baby girl!*