Baby Boom

Our neighborhood puts on quite the production for the Fourth of July. 

They don't mess around. 

Here is a summary of how we celebrated our nation's birthday.

First and most importantly, I made sure I took plenty of pictures of P.

I may be bias, but I think she's stinkin' cute!

We strolled down to the pool for our first event of the day:

The first annual Red, White, and BOOM 5K in our neighborhood.



After the race, the children lined up outside our house for the neighborhood parade.

We just watched this year, but P had a grand ol' time waving to the participants.



Next up, we followed the parade to the baseball field for kids' games.

P wasn't old enough to play yet, but she enjoyed watching.

The fire department sent some volunteers for our enjoyment.

P especially liked their mascot.



She would not take her eyes off of him!

After the games, we headed home for some much needed naps. All of us!

But it wasn't long before we were at it again.

Our neighbor gave us this sweet pool.  P absolutely LOVED it.

And what would the 4th of July be without swimming?

This picture cracks me up. 

 I swear she was perfectly fine and having a great time!

The festivities in our neighborhood kicked back up again with this event:

Yup, a belly flop contest.

And what 4th of July celebration would be complete without one of these?

A lawn mower race to conclude the day's activities.

Not pictures are the countless hours of fireworks that were shot off

 the entire week and weeks prior to this celebration. 

We have fireworks explode in our hood on a regular basis,

and though they are impressive, especially on the fourth,

we were absolutely pooped and defaulted to our bed instead. 

I know, Bah-hum-bug. 

 In our defense, we did stay up to watch the fireworks that were shot off Tuesday night.

All in all, we had a fun-filled day. 

I can't wait for next year when P can participate more

and realize what a cool neighborhood she lives in.

Gruene with Envy

Before Trent and I took off on our "adults only" trip to the beach,

we were able to take P to one of my all-time favorite places - Gruene, Texas.

(New Braunfels (where Schlitterbahn is) for those who are unfamiliar.)

We visited Gruene Hall.

And soaked our feet in the Guadalupe River.

And we had a wonderful meal at the Gristmil with some of our very best friends,

Peyton and Jordan. (Also known as Aunt P and Uncle Jord.)

I hope to be able to take P to Gruene many, many more times as she grows older.

Fun at Lake Hefner

These pictures were actually taken a few weeks ago

 and I am just now getting around to posting them.

Trent and I went for a jog around Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City,

and it seemed like a perfect excuseto stop jogging so I could

snap some pictures of our kiddo at the lighthouse.

Then we came across a playground - another perfect excuse to stop jogging.



"Ride 'Em Cowboy!"

I hope this picture is not an indication of her mechanical bull riding skills when she gets older.

Adults Only

Trent and I were blessed to be able to escape for a few days

to the beach with some good friends from Longview. 

This was an "adults only" trip, so P got to stay the week with Gigi and Bobalou. 

 Here are a few pictures that Gigi was able to get throughout the week:

Gigi bought her a shopping cart, which she loves.

She eventually figured out how to get on top of the hot tub.  No surprise there.

Gigi also bought a water table to play with in the mornings before it got too hot.

I think P mostly enjoyed pouring the water onto the deck.

Oh, look! Something else to climb on.  Again, so surprise.

Up close and personal with the T.V.

Dress up!

I think she might be giving Bobalou a back scratch.  Good girl!

Gigi took P over to a friend's house for a play date.

P had fun hanging out with the "big kids".

They even had a tea party.

Back at Gigi's house, P found some old dolls of mine that she liked.

And she still likes Bobalou's music.

Thanks Gigi & Bobalou for keeping P all week!

As soon as we left the house to come home, Gigi took a long nap.

Cousins

Aunt Kami, and Paisley's cousin's Caleb & Carly came to visit us this week.  I had to attend a teacher workshop and Kami was gracious enough to come babysit!  I think Caleb and Carly did most of the babysitting.

P was introduced to video games. Eeks!

Caleb had fun with Uncle Trent's flight helmet...

and learning how to play the guitar.

P liked dancing to the music.

CHEESE!

Bath Time!

P giving Carly some tackle love!

Carly & Caleb also loved giving P hugs.

 These two pictures crack me up!

Harley and P have the same expressions on their faces!

 COUSINS!

The kids had a lot of fun swimming and running around the backyard.  Caleb enjoyed playing baseball with one of P's toys and a coke bottle as the bat.  They both enjoyed chasing P around the house and yard.  I think Aunt Kami probably enjoyed sleeping in her own bed when they got home! :)

In other news, P had two new firsts recently:

Eating a corn dog.

And this! My parenting will never be the same.

 

The video would not upload, but yes, P can now open doors! Yikes!