St. Simons

Caleb and I just returned from a really fun trip to the beach with my mom, my Aunt Brenda & Uncle Louie, cousin Daphne and my sister Andrea and her family. We had the best weather and such a wonderful vacation. I grew up going to St. Simons and love to return for visits. It is so quaint and charming. Caleb enjoyed his second visit very much and looks forward to going back!

Caleb loved playing in the ocean and the sand as well. He liked the sand so much that he tried to eat it on multiple occasions!

We went to the pier every night to see what was being caught and to let Caleb's cousins go crabbing. We saw two baby sharps being caught one of the nights we were out on the pier.

My cousin, Daphne, and I prior to eating seafood at The Crab Trap. I grew up going to eat at this restaurant and I cannot go to St. Simons without eating there.

There were ducks in the pond where we stayed and Caleb loved feeding and chasing them everyday. We were also fortunate enough to be there while 2 (yes I said 2) ducks were sitting on the same nest with 17 eggs below waiting to hatch!

Independence Day

We had a great 4th of July weekend up at Lake Rabun with some of our favorite friends! Caleb came along to entertain the crowd and prepare our friends that are expecting for parenthood. We had lots of fun floating in the lake, eating lots of yummy food and what girls do best talking....talking....talking. I decided to ski on Sunday before we can home and enjoyed all 7 minutes of it. I realized I had not used some of the muscles that are required for skiing in a long time and was sore for the following 3 or 4 days! This mommy is getting older than she'd like to admit and it is harder to recover after activities I use to do for longer periods of time and with less pain :)

Six years later......still in love!

Today Josh and I celebrate our sixth anniversary! We just returned from Hilton Head where we celebrated early and were able to get away just the two of us for several days. I had never spent any extended time in HH and just loved my time there. We stayed right on the beach and were able to soak in the sunshine (which was very hot, but perfect). We ate at some delicious restaurants (Salty Dogs, The Oyster Factory and on the bay at Harbour Town). We enjoyed sleeping in late....which I hadn't done in such a long time. It was just wonderful! Today I want to take a minute to list my top 6 reasons why I love my wonderful husband and they include:

1. Josh is one of the most gracious people I know. He extends grace when often undeserved and is quick to forgive. Thank you ,Josh, for extending me grace day after day!

2. Josh loves to play. This is one of the first reasons we really connected. We both love playing games, sports, etc. You are my favorite playmate Josh with Caleb pulling a close second :)

3. Josh loves Jesus! This is so evident by his passion to serve the Lord and others. He is eager to honor the Lord with his life. I have grown so much in my walk with the Lord because of you Josh....thank you!

4. Josh is my knight in shining armor. Not only is Josh still opening my doors, but he is also still as good looking as ever (even with a little less hair)!

5. Josh is a dreamer and keeps my life exciting. I admire and love this about Josh because he keeps me on my toes (and sometimes this may even involve moving out West).

6. Josh loves me. I am confident in Josh's love for me and that feels really good. Thank you for loving me unconditionally Josh!

The list could go on, but for six years you just get six reasons :)

Josh, I love doing life with you! Happy 6th Anniversary!

1st golf lesson

OK Caleb, grip the club like this....

OK....I got it Dad...

MR. INDEPENDENT

Did you see that shot????

Zoo Atlanta Grrrrrrrrr

Today Caleb and I went with "Papa" Sapp to Zoo Atlanta. We had such a great time and had perfect weather to visit with the animals! Caleb tends to growl at most animals, but began making other noises as he continued to realize that not all animals growl. One rather large bird was showing off with his loud coos and Caleb preceded to "coo" back at him--it was quite entertaining. We went during a great time of the day (mid morning) and most animals were up and about and easy to view even by a 1 year old. My favorite were the gorillas who apparently were having some problems with one another and were putting on quite a display of aggression/territoriality while we watched. We finished our day with the Panda bears which were so cute and cuddly. Papa, thank you for a wonderful trip to the zoo! We had such a great time!

One year old appointment

Caleb had his one year old appointment and checked out well according to the Doc. He is 24lbs (approx. 65%) and 30" long (90%). We dropped the bottle cold turkey the day after he turned one and he has done well. He is drinking whole milk out of a sippy cup and looks like a big boy carrying it around on his own. It makes me kinda sad! He is walking everywhere now and practically refuses to crawl. Occasionally he will still fall, but walks around like a champ. In fact, I am preparing myself for him to start running soon! Caleb is eating 3 meals a day with snacks in between. A typical day of meals would be the following:
Breakfast:
Milk
Blueberries
Yogurt
and maybe a
Slice of toasted bread w/ jelly or pancakes

Snack:
Cheerios
Juice

Lunch:
Cheese
Fruit cup
Turkey (deli meat)
Veggie--offered not being eaten much now unless it is sweet potato fries

Snack:
Juice/Water
Animal crackers

Dinner:
Lasagna
Bread
or
Spaghetti or
Pizza
or
Beans/Rice

Caleb LOVES balls (bouncy balls, golf balls, basketballs--any really)! He takes two naps a day that usually each last around an hour. He has never met a stranger and loves laughing, smiling and has become quite a talker. He knows several words like bird, ball, balloon, lights, sky, duck, horse, and dog to name a few. He can say several words also like "Ma ma", "Da Da", "Ba" (ball), "Boon" (Balloon), "thank you" (not crystal clear), "juice", and "cheese". Caleb loves bath time and doing anything outside.

Caleb, this year has been an incredible year for your mommy and daddy! Thank you for giving me the most incredible and challenging job I have ever had. I love you more than I thought was possible. You make me light up when I get to talk about you or when others compliment you. You bring so much joy into my life and days. I am honored to be your mother and will always love you no matter what!

Caleb is a 1 year old!!!!

Caleb turned one May 2nd and being that Cinco de Mayo is one of Josh's and my favorite holidays we decided to have a Dos de Mayo party for Caleb. We were so excited when we found a poncho and sombrero for Caleb to wear (which he would not wear the sombrero, but did not mind the poncho with his name on it)! One of Caleb's favorite foods is beans and rice so we thought that was another great reason to have a Fiesta for his first birthday. We had his party at a park on a sunny, but very windy day. Other than the fact that the wind blew some of the sombreros off the table and some of the picture frames down it turned out to be a great day. Caleb had a little personal cake, but did not really dig in like I thought he would. I wanted to have his first party on his actual birthday since it fell on a Sunday and that will not always be possible so we had it at 2pm (which is usually nap time for Caleb). This I think influenced him digging into his cake since he was a little bit sleepy. We all had a great time though especially Caleb's cousins playing pin the tail on the donkey and hitting the pinata for candy! Josh and I made all the food for Caleb's party including the cupcake cactus you see below. Happy 1st birthday Caleb we love you so much!

Caleb with ("Gigi" Sapp & "Gramma" Nelson)

Caleb's cousins picking up candy after the pinata busted.

Caleb and mommy hitting the pinata!