Beach Trip

We took Melanie on her first beach trip last week.  It was also her first opportunity to meet a new friend, miss Ava Jane.  Ava Jane is about 3 months older than Melanie and lives in Birmingham with our good friends, Gabe and Rob.  We've been trying to get them together for a while.  It worked out great, because they were going to be down at the beach for the week on their family vacation.  They were staying down at Grayton Beach, while we were over at Elaine and Steve's house in Destin.  We rode over there to hang out with their family under the big Auburn tent.  The beach trip was actually much easier than we thought it was going to be.  Gabe and Rob had this tiny pack and play that they took out to the beach.  So, when the girls weren't playing in the sand, eating, or swimming in the ocean with us, they could take a nap on the beach and take advantage of the ocean noises and beach breeze.  There was also a lagoon with no waves that we could set them up in to play.  Everything was great until Melanie fell forward a bit and got a facefull of saltwater.  Then, we knew it was time to head on.  We rode an hour to Dewey Destin's for dinner.  We went as is, which was pretty grungy.  We knew it was kind of a dive, so we thought that would be ok.  After a long wait in line and a fight for a table, we finally got our dinner, and it was great.  A nice family from Cincinnatti let us sit at their table.  They got a kick out of Melanie...their son even offered to feed Melanie while I ate!  Other days that we were there, we did some shopping, and we went down to Destin beach for a day.  It was a great trip, as usual, but we weren't there nearly long enough.  Next time, we'll definitely have to make it longer.  The full album is posted over on the left.   

Father's Day 2008

This is a couple of weeks late, but I wanted to post this picture of Melanie giving her daddy a Father's day card she made at daycare. 

She's was all set to hand it over, but then, she changed her mind and decided to eat it instead. 

Daddy's "new" truck

I've been looking at trucks for some time now and finally found one I couldn't do without.  I wasn't searching for something with the best gas mileage, all the bells and whistles, or the modern comforts of a new truck.  No, I was looking for something with character.  What we really needed was something to haul lumber around in besides the rack on my GTI that has a 200lb. weight limit.  I think we severely exceeded that a few times during the kitchen remodel.  Since the backyard renovation is our newest self-inflicted endeavor I figured now was the best time to go ahead and pull the trigger.  As I narrowed my search I began to get nostalgic and somewhat fixated on 70's Ford models.  My grandfather had a '72, I remember that truck and it makes me think of simpler times.  Well, here she is, the green hornet..........my "new" 1971 Ford F100 longbed with 82,000 original miles and a 360 cu. in. V-8.

 

^^^I can fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood in the bed of this monster without letting the gate down.  That's a utility vehicle!

Melanie's First Food

Mother's Day weekend, Melanie started eating her first "solid" food.  We started her on rice cereal, mixed with milk.  Mark and I both took turns, and she did really well.  As soon as we came at her with the first spoon, she leaned in, like she was ready for it.  This weekend, we'll try her out with oatmeal.  After a couple weeks of that, we'll start veggies.  Can't wait to see what shows up in her diaper once that starts...haha!   

Humidifier Hair

This is what Melanie looks like first thing in the morning, after sleeping with her humidifier all night.  Hilarious...

Kim's shower and Cinco de Mayo

The weekend before last, Melanie and I went to Auburn to go to cousin Kim's baby shower.  Kim's having a baby boy in July, and we are so excited for her and Rich!  They're naming the baby Foster, after our grandfather's brother.  We can't wait to meet him!  When they grow up, Foster will have to teach Melanie how to ride horses like we used to do!  The food was awesome, and Kim got so much cute stuff...I told her I could take some of it off her hands if she needed me to!  Mark stayed at home that weekend, and worked on building our new deck and fence in the back yard.  We'll post more on that soon.

The cake

 

The spread

I made the diaper cake!

Anna and Kim

Paige, Aunt Diane, and Kim (Debbie and Mel in the background)

Cute outfit from Becky

and the back...Neigh!

Crowd shot

Melanie was a ham, as usual, even though she was working through her first cold.  She had a horrible sounding cough, but she stayed very happy almost the entire time she was sick.  Anyone who wanted to hold her got a chance, as long as they could persuade Aunt Elaine and Aunt Anita to give up their never ending "turns".

Aunt Elaine and Melanie

Debbie-with-head-cut-off and Melanie

Melanie and Becky

Something must be funny...

Later that night, we went to Mom and Dorothy's Cinco de Mayo party.  They had to set the tents up, because it stormed earlier in the day.  Once the party started, it was nice outside though.  Mom and Dad's neighbor has a daughter named Gulmeena who is a senior at Auburn.  She offered to sit for Melanie, so we had our first babysitter, other than family.  Melanie must have known something was up, because she didn't go to bed as easily as she usually does.  After a bit of crying, she finally settled down, and slept pretty good for Gulmeena.  The party was fun, but it seemed like it was over pretty quickly for me.  Even though I knew Melanie was asleep and fine only a block away, I still felt like I had to rush back to be with her.  That was my first step, though.  This weekend, we're going to our friends, Rebecca and Matt's wedding.  Because we'll be out late, we're taking Melanie down to Aunt Shannon's house to spend the night.  I'm sure I will be nervous the whole time...not because I don't think she'll be ok...just because I'll feel like I"m so separated from her.  I'm learning that motherhood really pulls at your heartstrings.

   

Uncle Bobby, Aunt Anita, Aunt Elaine, and Uncle Steve

Aunt Diane, her sisters and nieces

Spirit Week

Last week was spirit week at Melanie's daycare.  Each day of the week, they were assigned a different theme to dress up in.  The director said Melanie had the most spirit in her class, because she dressed up every day!  Hat day and wacky tacky day were my favorites.  It was so funny seeing a room full of babies dressed oddly!

Monday - Hat day

 

Tuesday - Favorite sports team day.  Her little Auburn dresses are still too big, but we made due!

Wednesday - Wacky Tacky day

Thursday - Pajama day...how easy was that?

Friday - Countries of the world, or something like that...each class had a different flag/country.  Melanie's Little Lamb's room was Kenya...so, they were all supposed to wear navy blue.