Lunch Date and Redheads

Henry and I had lunch with my friend Lucy from college and her daughter Ella. Ella is 4 months old and is a spittin' image of her daddy, Nate. Lucy and Nate both have red hair and so does Ella. So, naturally Henry was drawn to them! He really liked Lucy...she's kinda silly like I am, so he thought she was funny! We ate at Mimi's on James Island and had so much fun catching up and talking about babies. My, my...how times have changed!

Henry and Ella posing for my photo shoot...ha ha!

I think Hen-ro is asking Lucy for a cracker for the 1 millionth time and Ella is just chillin'...she is adorable!

Last Fling at Folly Beach

Well, maybe not THE last, but probably ONE of the last for this summer. Usually by this time of year I am so over the dog days of summer and so ready for the cool, crisp days of fall. But, this year is different. I have loved every minute of this summer and this August has been very bearable. There has actually been a nice breeze (thanks Fay) and the average highs have been in the 80's. I am sad to see this summer go!

Mimi and Henry

Yesterday the Smoak's invited us to spend the day at their beach house. We got out there just after lunch and spent the afternoon chasing our little FEARLESS boy all around the surf. At the beginning of the summer Henry was rather leery of the water and waves and even at the Litchfield Beach Week he would have rather been playing on the deck with the hosepipe. Well, the "tides" have turned and this little toddler was running full speed ahead into the waves. We had to stay right beside him, so Brad and I got quite the workout! He loved picking up shells and running after me with hand fulls of sand. He thought it was so funny to chase me with it. We put him down for his nap in the house and it must have been the salt air, b/c he slept for an 1 and a half.

Uncle Jerry and Henry


Thanks Uncle Jerry and Aunt Sue for letting us come hang at your house! We had so much fun!

My Little Mexican

So, I had a BIG hankerin' for some Mexican fare yesterday and my boys indulged me. We hit our favorite spot, El Dorado, and much to my delight Henry LOVED it! I mean, he caught on very quickly that you dip the chips in the salsa. Except, he would dip his in with his whole hand and then proceed to suck the salsa off the chip and then go back for more. Who knew 1 year olds loved salsa? His shorts were covered with little drops of salsa and he kept calling them "boo boos". Hi-larious!

So wait, I'm not finished. He then proceeded to eat an entire cheese quesadilla and grapes, oranges, and pineapples "apples" from the bar. He usually doesn't eat that much in a restaurant b/c there are so many distractions, but not yesterday!

I LOVE Mexican food. I mean LOVE and would eat it a couple times a week, but my sweet husband only LIKES it and won't tolerate it quite that often. So, now I have a partner in crime and it will now be 2 against 1! Sorry Brad!

Ay Caramba!!!

Cameron's Wedding Weekend

This weekend was my cousin Cameron's wedding and it was so much fun. We were all exhausted yesterday when we got home, needless to say. But it was all worth it! Cameron was seriously the most relaxed, easy, anything goes bride i've ever been around. She was the exact opposite of BRIDEZILLA! And not to mention GORGEOUS! She was stunning!

Henry and I were in the wedding and much to my surprise, he did awesome. He came down just before the bride in a little wagon covered in white with a sign that read "Here Comes the Bride". I was already standing at the front and got to see the whole thing. It was HILARIOUS! I was cracking up and crying at the same time. They stashed a bunch of animal crackers in the bottom of the wagon to lure him in and he jumped in and cruised on down. I was so proud!

The bagpipes then started playing and piped Cameron down the isle and I seriously can't handle bagpipes. It takes me back not only to my wedding day, but also every sacred event at PC. Namely graduation day...boo hoo! (All you PC people know exactly what i'm talking about.) But, so beautiful!

I stole this pic off Cam's Facebook page.
We made it to the reception and I couldn't keep Henry in my arms for 2 seconds. He was on the dance floor in 2.5 and stayed there until we had to drag him upstairs to go to sleep. He was a dancing machine and loved being on the front row. Just like his Mama! Someone looked at me at one point and goes: "There's a future fraternity brother right there. Lovin' a band party". I was so proud!
This is Henry with Aunt Tricia (mother of the bride) and Jonathan, the handsome groom. Henry and Jaden (flower girl)

He LOVED her.
All that dancing makes a boy thirsty!
My family right before the wedding

EdVenture

On Saturday I didn't have to be at the church until 3:00pm, so Brad and I took Henry to Edventure (childrens museum) and then to Mellow Mushroom for lunch. He had a blast at Edventure and you could just see his mind taking it all in. His eyes were WIDE OPEN the whole time! If you've never been to this place, you need to check it out ASAP. It's so neat!

He "rode" on the John Deer
...and went on a Safari in Africa
...and rode a camel in Egypt
Aaannnd...went camping

WHEW! BUSY DAY!

And the boy loves pizza! I realize it may be just because Mellow Mushroom has the best pizza in the entire world, but still. He ate almost a whole slice and was a mess by the end!

Lazy Day

Today has been rainy and dreary, but one of the best days I've had in a while. Henry and I have been lazy and have only gone out of the house once to venture to Barnes and Noble. As most of you know, my little boy is usually very busy and going too fast to stop and cuddle or love much. Most of the time I only get that right before bed. But, today has been so different and wonderful. He has crawled into my lap 2 or 3 times and put his arms around my neck and squeezed so tight. He keeps looking at me with a big smile and says: "Mama". Precious! I can't help but fall more and more in love with this child on days like this! He is a true gift!

Paula Dean Junior

You may start noticing a trend in some of my posts....CHOCOLATE! I have been craving it lately, so this morning Henry helped me make 2 chocolate pies. One for us and one for Mimi and Pops for helping us out with painting our dining/living rooms.
Of course Henry was a HUGE help and loved stirring the mix....and dripping it on the floor and on me and on himself. But we had fun and I see lots more baking adventures in our future!

update: just tasted the pie and it is like heaven in your mouth! YUM YUM!

17 Months

Not a whole lot new to report this month. Henry is still a ball of energy and moves at the speed of light most all the time. He eats great 90% of the time and sleeps great most every night. One new thing is that he seems to be transitioning from 2 naps to 1. We're still not there all the way, but working towards that goal. We've seen some huge improvements in our discipline efforts this month. Time out seems to be working and Henry is learning his limits more and more everyday. I am feeling so much better about the direction we're going with that!


This child is full of hugs and kisses when I can wrangle him long enough to give me some! I love every square inch of this little man and just can't get enough of him!


"Who me? I didn't do it!"

Ahhh, a taste of the good stuff!

This boy is definitely mine! He loved his first taste of CHOCOLATE!

Wild Wings & Football

Aunt Hanna came down this weekend and we decided to take Henry to Wild Wings for dinner Saturday night. At first I picked the chicken off the bone for him, but by the end he was gnawing on the bone like a pro! We sat in front of a huge big screen that was playing highlights of the season that is to CONSUME my life for the next few months...FOOTBALL! My husband is obsessed and it looks like my son is soon to follow. He was enthralled with the t.v. and kept yelling: "football"!

Cool Cat!

Um and K

The past 2 days Henry has been saying "um" and "K" (as in ok) at random times. I figured it out finally and realized he is copying us! I realized that I say those two words quite often and he has picked up on it. TOO CUTE!

Friday Playdate

Henry and I were invited to join Rose and Jesse (22 months) at their neighborhood pool this morning and we had so much fun. The boys hadn't seen each other in a while and they loved playing together on the steps of the pool.

Learning to share

Hangin' with my bud