Vacation Pics, Part II

So, this is the second half of our vacation, jam-packed with busy, fun days, too!


Sunday: Botanical Gardens-type park in the morning, followed by a trip to MIAMI UNIVERSITY (yippee!) in the afternoon, and then on to Patty's for dinner!

Laurie & EJ - two cute girls!

EJ can clearly pronounce "water" and kept showing us all the water she was seeing...and occasionally trying to get IN the water (she has always LOVED getting wet!)

There was this cute little cabin with all these frogs in difference scenes painted on the walls...everything looked crazy 3-dimensional.  Of course, my lovable kiddo had to give kisses!  OK, so maybe Mommy told her to kiss the frog and see if her handsome prince came!  :)  Is that mean?

Just love the smile.  She was all proud and excited to have been allowed to go over the bridge by herself.

Mommy and EJ in our first treehouse!

Cuteness at the bottom of the treehouse....

Ahh!!!  The exploring of the botanical gardens did the trick!   Naptime for EJ while Laurie drove us to Miami.  ...fun time for us girls to just talk in the car for a few hours....

Hello Gorgeous!

Self portrait of me 'n' Laurie outside of our apartment that we shared our last year together with Kim (we missed you Kim!!!).  It was SUCH a dump, but it granted us some great stories that we can say, "Well, when I was your age and I was at college,..." to our kids someday.

We met up with my precious, dear, wonderful friend, Patty, and her beautiful daughter Courtney (missed you, Chrissy!) for our infamous SDS sandwiches that Patty and I shared for years over many great, encouraging talks.  How fun that my daughter got to try it!  
Never did I think that I'd have a kiddo back in the college days!
Laurie went with her college standby - Bagel-N-Deli, also a favorite, but without the memories for me.

OK, some of you might kill me over this one...and hopefully all of you will laugh.  I was just DYING to get my little girl in a cheerleader outfit!  She just has the bubbly, happy, outgoing spirit of a cheerleader, and how much better can I possibly cheer on my alma mater!?  See below for our fun girls' dress up time!! (and, no, I did not buy the outfit...just had to get proof of how cute she'd look in it!)

A cool cheerleader, too!

Yea!  Gooooo Miami Girls!!!

She's practicing her positions here...for the pyramids or whatever they are called....

Do you love the pink crocs?

She couldn't help herself...she was just too cute not to give herself a kiss!  :)

From left to right:
Patty, me, Laurie, Courtney
In front: EJ...bored but toasting to Miami and Mommy's girls with a sippy cup

This is one of several stone bridges I crossed in order to get to classes every day for two year...gorgeous.

This is a view from an almost-identical bridge I was standing on, looking at yet another one of the amazing, beautiful bridges on campus.  I mean, how many colleges have this on them?  What a blessing to have this as part of my life....

We stopped to call Kim and since she couldn't be there with us, we took a picture while we were on the phone with her, in honor of missing her.  ...and EJ snuck in the picture, too...  :)

EJ having lots of fun bouncing on top of Patty's shoulders.  She had a blast with Patty the whole afternoon, and warmed up to her right away.  Precious.  Patty is just that kind of person - everyone loves her! - and, she's smart, too - she brought along a "peace offering" of a little pink doll right away for the first time EJ saw her...won her over!  :)  

This is inserted in here just for all of us 1999 and 2000 (or later) grads - I mean, HOW OLD DO WE FEEL NOW??

Me 'n' Patty outside of Bishop Hall, where Patty used to work...and she could have a direct view into my Interior Design studios right next store....  Patty and I would often meet up for lunches on the quad that this dorm was on.  Always fun.

Time at Patty's house that night...EJ lovin' all the fun things to play with and all the attention she got from Patty, Bo, and Courtney.  See her excitement below?!

Patty and EJ had a special kissing thing going on.  As usual, if I ever get the videos loaded, I have this one in action!

Patty's hubby Bo was overcome with EJ's preciousness and wanting him to play with her, so he finally got down on the floor with her for a little while.  SO fun for me to see that side of Bo!  :)

EJ helped take this picture!  What a pro!

Monday: Departure Day :(  ...eventually

We got all packed up in the morning and then headed out to a park until the kids' naptimes.  Then we played around with the older two boys (of the 3 that Laurie nannies for) in the afternoon, before heading off to grab dinner before our evening flight.  I mean, really, I like to think we used every minute we had in Ohio!  :)

Check out this cutie - sassy pants, crazy pigtails, and wearing Mommy's shoes.  She's ready to go out on the town!

Playground time!

Since it is a vacation of "firsts," I like to pretend this is a rollercoaster ride (doesn't it kind of look like it?   Sort of dramatic for a swing, don't you agree?)!  And for those of you how know my kiddo's obsession with always taking her socks and shoes off, take special note of how time on the playground ended up in that department.  :)  She definitely does NOT get that from me!  I like socks!

Goodbyes at the airport. :(
Farewell my fantastic, fellow-freckled friend...we miss you all the time!  
Onward with your Super Nanny-ness!  :)

Just "that" Song...

I'm sitting here on a Friday night at a Bread Co. ("Panera," to those non-STL-ers), catching up on endless work, listening to my Pandora station...always a sucker for acoustic guitar and a great voice like Jeremy Camp, and this sweet, wonderful song came on.  I dig the lyrics, which remind me a lot of a recent Psalm I've been reflecting on - although the word "revive" doesn't appear in the psalm, I think based on what the psalmist is praying for, it makes me hope that BECAUSE the Lord will provide for and take of me, THEREFORE I will be revived (and delivered) from the tough, mind-boggling, confusing situation and bring a sense of Him desiring me, despite having been abandoned.


Just thinking "outloud...."

Beck




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Dg55eP4zw8




¹ Do not fret because of evildoers, 
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
² For they will wither quickly like the grass
And fade like the green herb.
³ Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and ^[a]cultivate faithfulness.
⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
⁵ Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
⁶ He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.
 ^7 [b]Rest in the LORD and wait ^[c]patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
⁸ Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
⁹ For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.
¹⁰ Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.
¹¹ But the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
 ¹² The wicked plots against the righteous
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
¹³ The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees his day is coming.
¹⁴ The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow
To cast down the afflicted and the needy,
To slay those who are upright in conduct.
¹⁵ Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their bows will be broken.
 ¹⁶ Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the LORD sustains the righteous.
¹⁸ The LORD knows the days of the ^[d]blameless,
And their inheritance will be forever.
¹⁹ They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And in the days of famine they will have abundance.
²⁰ But the wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the LORD will be like the ^[e]glory of the pastures,
They vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
²¹ The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous is gracious and gives.
²² For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,
But those cursed by Him will be cut off.
 ²³ The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
And He delights in his way.
²⁴ When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because the LORD is the One ^[f]who holds his hand.
²⁵ I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his ^[g]descendants begging bread.
²⁶ All day long he is gracious and lends,
And his ^[h]descendants are a blessing.
 ²⁷ Depart from evil and do good,
^[i]So you will abide forever.
²⁸ For the LORD loves ^[j]justice
And does not forsake His godly ones;
They are preserved forever,
But the ^[k]descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land
And dwell in it forever.
³⁰ The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
And his tongue speaks justice.
³¹ The law of his God is in his heart;
His steps do not slip.
³² The wicked spies upon the righteous
And seeks to kill him.
³³ The LORD will not leave him in his hand
Or let him be condemned when he is judged.
³⁴ Wait for the LORD and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
 ³⁵ I have seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a luxuriant ^[l]tree in its native soil.
³⁶ Then ^[m]he passed away, and lo, he was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
³⁷ Mark the ^[n]blameless man, and behold the upright;
For the man of peace will have a ^[o]posterity.
³⁸ But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;
The ^[p]posterity of the wicked will be cut off.
³⁹ But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
He is their strength in time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The LORD helps them and delivers them;
He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him.

Coming Soon!

Hi Everyone!

We are back from our vacation!  We had a great time, and EJ did great for just about all of the trip.  Did a lot of "firsts" - both for EJ, as well as for us as our lil' family o' 2.  I'm excited to share our many adventures, busy days, and friends we visited with...I just need to catch my breath from being gone, and skim down from the hundreds of pictures (YIKES) I took!  Check back soon...more to come!


Becky   :)

Almost Done with 19 months old....

We've had a fun August so far, and we're only halfway through!  Crazy to think my kiddo will be 20 months next week!  2yrs old will be just around the corner.  I've so enjoyed finding ways for us to get to the pool, the library (only once so far - that was a bit treacherous right now with her...), local concerts, the Magic House (giant kids' interactive museum here), and even just taking walks across (or up) the street to visit with our friends and neighbors.  Even the other night, I attempted to have our dinner on our front porch "just because" it was something fun, different from the "norm" and finally not 100+ degrees outside.  We were joined again by friends ("DILL!!!" as EJ calls the boy) and had a cozy, laid-back time for a little while together.  I think it's been those spontaneous, go-with-the-flow times that have blessed me greatly this summer.  That includes a fun evening with these same friends and neighbors where our kids had fun soaking themselves with the hose while I picked weeds and us adults chatted.  Our kids were dripping wet, but they had a blast and we enjoyed watching them have fun and enjoyed the squealing.  :)

Adventures of Corn on the Cob

Getting settled in to the highchair for dinner...

A little confused on what part to eat.  In EJ's defense, Mommy got corn on the cob holders that were a nice, chewy rubber, were yellow, and looked like corn....

But she got the hang of it in no time...

And check out the corn-chomping champ!  She went through this entire 1/2 ear
and then almost finished off the entire other half! 

An Hour or So at The Magic House

Little girl...long, skinny boat

Her first time with Play-Doh (is that how you spell it?)...clearly there is none in my house yet! 
(I'm NOT ready for it)

In a Play-Doh trance...love the feel of it and can barely pay attention to what Mommy is saying.

Time for Tea!

Look at all the friends she could have for tea!

Her own personal sound effects of pouring the tea (we practice this with the tea pot toy that she has as well as tea cups we bring to the pool all the time)...video to be uploaded one of these days.

Her shirt says "I love being a girl."  :)

OK, technically, she shouldn't have even been up on this table...there were chairs below that she should have been on, but couldn't have reached all the fun things in the center...and then just a second later....

Why not SIT IN the fun plastic things?  :)

EJ's first painting!  Video coming on the artwork in motion coming eventually....

Today at the Zoo

We were only there for about an hour or so, but she really enjoyed seeing the "raffs" (giraffes) and the "lines" (lions).  She also can say zebra, tiger, monkey and cow pretty well.  So fun to hear how quickly her vocab is increasing and improving!  She'll repeat just about anything you ask her to.

And Later Today...

We went to another concert tonight (GORGEOUS, PERFECT night for a concert!) with our friend Mary and "N."  The girls had a really good time sharing N's doll, and feeding each other goldfish.  EJ was dancing up a storm...had all the old folks around us beaming in delight of her genuine happiness (and intensity) in dancing and bopping...and later in blowing bubbles. 

It was a fun (and jam-packed!) afternoon together today....

18 Month Photoshoot

Updated studio pictures of EJ!  As usual, I had a hard time narrowing 'em down....  What can a momma say?  She's my precious baby!  :)

  

Little bit of a rough start...pouty little kiddo with a giant bear...kinda funny!
(I guess this should be in the "outtakes," but it was too funny to not share)

Ah...smiles at last, though!

And then GIGGLES!  I love this one!

She looks like the cutest little forest creature I've ever seen!

Precious little kisses to a giant bear

Mommy's favorite girl with one of Mommy's favorite flowers

Tired little girl

Good-sized pigtails finally!

Hilarious, goofy expression on EJ!

Check out THAT expression!

Happy girl...

Silly girl...

Beautiful girl!

TONS of Pool-Fun Pictures...updated

Sorry to those of you who I sent here to see the pictures I mentioned.  I have had to change/remove some pictures and will try to repost as I can.

Thanks, 

Becky