Dedication and Baptism

Well, it took a couple of months from when Tripp prayed to ask Jesus into his heart to be able to coordinate schedules to have him baptized, but at the beginning of July, we were able to take care of it. It was so special to have both my brother and my dad take part in the baptism.

We also had Addie Grey's baby dedication that same day since all of our family were there. Our neighbor, Matt Goodman, did Addie Grey's dedication and he did an awesome job. Addie Grey wore the same dress that Makinley wore for her baby dedication! Sweet memory!

Wedding Fun

My baby cousin Mark got married a little over a week ago, and we made a trip to Wilmington for the week to enjoy the festivities! The rehearsal dinner and after party Friday night were so much fun!!!! We danced the night away and I even snuck Makinley in for the last little bit and she had a blast!

Then the wedding day was beautiful and the ceremony was so sweet. I can't believe he is married!!!

Here's to a Godly marriage and a lifetime of happiness!

Addie Grey- 10 Months

Well, it seems like we've spent this summer spoiling you rotten. All four of us, really, but you are one SERIOUS momma's girl. You get so super excited when you see me walk in a room, and you have definitely figured out that you can come find me if I vanish for even a second.

 Yesterday you figured out how to climb our steps to our bonus room. Needless to say, a baby gate has been installed.

 You are definitely the quietest of our three and you still aren't really trying to say much. When you want something, especially a certain food, you make a humming sound and flap your arms up and down.

 When you are sitting on your bottom, you will use one leg to pivot yourself around in a circle.

 Bath time continues to be a favorite part of the day, and I've started letting you play in there for a pretty good while in the evenings.

You have figured out how to shut doors and you love to do it. That is, until you shut yourself in a room completely. Then you don't find it quite so entertaining.

 And, oh, you've definitely figured out how to take your bows off your head. So, I have to sidetrack you in order to put them on.

 At ten months you:

• weigh 19 pounds
• are 28 1/4 inches long
• continue wearing 6-9 month clothes; some 9-12 month stuff
• a size 3 diaper
• continue to nurse on demand. Some days you eat every 2 hours all day. Some days you will go 4 hour stretches
• are still an awful sleeper and wake up anywhere from 2-5 times/night
• LOVE goldfish, cheetos, cheerios, puffs, watermelon, banana, prunes and green beans
• have started making the funniest face where you scrunch your nose up while you're smiling. It's hilarious.
• say 'da-da'
• hit people in the face to tell them 'hey'
• do great in a highchair when we go out to eat
• do awesome in your stroller and in your Ergo baby carrier

You are by far our most laid back baby. You are so easy during the day, so that makes your nights a little easier to handle. I love you, my sweet, sweet baby. Every day with you is more precious than the last.

VBSx3

While Tripp was enjoying swim camp, Makinley was at her third VBS of the summer....and she still has one more to attend! On the day of Tripp's meet, she had her end of the week performance too. So, Addie Grey and I had to sneak out of the swim meet and head over to watch Makinley perform her songs. At first, I didn't have the best view in the world.

 But I moved myself around so that I could at least get a profile shot. It was hard because they were singing from the pews and not on stage.

 And my sweaty baby was still just wearing her diaper and this mortified her sister. She couldn't believe I let her crawl around 'naked'.

I'm not going to lie. This summer has been a little tough with Makinley. Right when I think she couldn't get any more headstrong or stubborn...she does. Ever since Addie Grey came, she has acted out at home even more than she used to. I know she is just trying to find her place, and Joey and I both think like she feels lost in the shuffle at times, and that breaks our hearts. We obviously love her more and more every day, but I just can't give her the undivided attention that she still wants. So, she is a classic example of, "I'm going to get your attention somehow...whether negative or positive." Joey and I are trying really hard to figure out the best way to parent her and love her and raise her. She is definitely the most difficult. YET, she really does have a sweet, sweet spirit and loves to be a leader and a helper....and she is so smart. We are trying really hard to praise her strengths while molding and growing her in her areas of weakness. We all have them, right? I do love, love, love this firstborn daughter of mine.

Swim Camp

Going into this summer, one of the things I was nervous about was keeping Tripp and Makinley entertained while having a baby. They are so used to being able to go, go, go and I didn't want the baby to keep them from doing things they love because she has to be on a schedule. Well, I needn't have worried. They have had an event-filled summer, and the baby has done awesome at getting dragged from one thing to another. A couple of weeks ago, Tripp had swim camp. Our rec department offers several different camps during the month of June, and swim was one of them. They learned all four different strokes and on the last day of camp, they had a meet. Tripp had a great time and it really improved his swimming skills.

 As you can see, Addie Grey was just hanging out in her stroller, despite the fact that it was smack dab in the middle of the time she should have been asleep for her morning nap.

 The four races Tripp competed in were freestyle, back stroke, breast stroke and butterfly. He has the hardest time with butterfly, but that's a hard way to swim.

 He won first place in his free style race.

 It was SO, SO hot in the aquatic center. Like you couldn't feel like you could breathe it was so thick and AG was dressed in a terry cloth onesie. So, I had to strip her down to just her diaper and even then, her hair was drenched in sweat. But, she did manage to take a little catnap. Don't I look lovely?! Countless days this summer of no make-up and hair in a pony-tail for me!

 On the back stroke race, Tripp was afraid he was going to hit his head, so he stopped short of the wall and ended up coming in 2nd place. If not for that, he would have won. Still did awesome!

On the breast stroke, he came in first and on the butterfly he came in third. It was a great week for him, and I was really proud of everything he accomplished. Makinley is actually going to start swim clinic this week, and she is going to try to be on our county swim team in the fall. She is a strong swimmer and has a ton of lower body strength. She can also hold her breath forever, so I'm excited to see how she does.