Oh, Charli girl...

Good grief my Charli girl seems to have completely grown up. She will be a second grader within the next week, and it seems like yesterday that we were prepping for preschool. Yesterday afternoon she had 5 inches cut off her hair! She has been asking for it to be to he shoulders for quiet sometime now. But just as I was learning new cute styles for her, we decided to cut it just in time for school. 

I am certain that I went into the salon with a 7 year old and let with a 10 year old. She looks SO grown up with her hair straight. But a wash later and her sweet curls are thankfully back. I am not ready to loose the sweetness of her curls. 

Today Charli, my Mom and I are heading out to back to school shop. This is the first shopping trip without Bryar. I feel a little silly not knowing what to do with out him or what to do with my hands since I am so used to pushing a stroller. All kinds of ridiculous, isn't it? But he is staying on the farm and I am very certain that he will enjoy his day of cows and tractors. Wish us luck that we will not be over taken by the crowds of back to school shopping! :) 

Big Wild Crazy Baby Bryar

It has been quiet sometime since I have updated on my little wild man. In the past few months he has truly been growing like a weed. It seems that he is learning something new daily. Which is truly acceptable when he has a big sister in his face trying to teach him to even spell already - even though he can only say a few words. 

His favorite words seem to be tractor, stuck and buddy. Some of his other words include puppy, book, Papaw, Pa, Charli, car, Daddy and Mommy when he cries. 

His favorite thing in the entire world to do is to ride the tractor. I am more than certain that he would live on one, if give the chance. 

He is also still a dancing machine. Anytime music starts playing you can look over and Bryar has his white boy groove going. Even if it is directly after bath time, he will run until he can find a stage to dance on....

 

Sleep is still a fond issue of mine...not. He has now became a co-sleeper, most nights or we end up on the couch with me sleeping in the floor. Just to be honest, in this stage of my parenthood it's all about survival. I will sleep in the bathtub if it means I can rest for a few. Crying it out does not work, so I lay with him until he is ready to fall asleep then I move him to his bed. Typically he always wakes around 2:30, and is moved into our room. Around 5, we make our way to the couch. Lately he has been sleeping until 9 with one nap during the day. 

Oh, how his little world is fixing to be rocked. 

He loves being outside playing or exploring. If someone is riding the horse, he must be in on the action too. The swing is his favorite playset activity and he will ride until he falls asleep. We also spend time of our day digging and just plain getting dirty. He is for sure, all boy! 

Just to be honest, Bryar is my most challenging child out of the two. But rewards me daily by his unconditional love and need for his Mommy. He is so much fun with his silly spirit and stubborn will that it completely reminds me of his Daddy.

Panama City Beach 2013

A few weeks ago we made the trip to Panama with my side of our family. We left around 3 in the morning with sleeping kids in tote. We stopped for breakfast then traveled onto make our way to the beach. Around 50 miles to our destination Bryar threw up, all over his carseat and himself. So we left the flow of traffic and pulled into a mechanical shop and cleaned for what seemed like two hours. I am very sure all of the passerby's felt very sorry for us, because I must admit I felt sorry for myself cleaning this up in such humid temps. 

When we made our way to the condo to meet up with the rest of our family it was time for peace and relaxation. My sister and I took our annual grocery trip while the men let the kids swim. Sadly, from the cooler temperatures and rain in the past week the water was freezing the first two days. By midweek we had lots of rays of sunshine and warmer water to cool is off! 

The little boys loved the water. Bryar loved having pool side concerts on the ladder. He would sing and dance. He also gave me a huge scare by running away from me and jumping in. I somehow caught him, but then tripped myself going under with him, then bought him up into the air by one foot. The stinker did not get choked up, one bit. I on the other hand had to call it a morning and take him in for nap before I had a massive heart attack. 

This is the first year that Curtis and I have visited Seaside together. I had honestly never heard of this cute quaint little area until my parents had started going. The air steam food trucks were simply one of my favorite parts of our trip. Barefoot BBQ was probably one of my favorites. Great southern was simply amazing too. The crab cakes had to be the best that I have ever had. Each day we visited Seaside an unexpected thunderstorm rolled in. The first time I was stuck under an umbrella with Bryar, another couple and two teenagers complaining about thee hair. I had high intentions of pushing them into the rain until my Dad thankfully pulled up in his car. 

We spent our days poolside and being beach bums. It's the perfect way to spend vacation. We spent our nights trying new restaurants and eating at pier park. One of Charli's favorite memories is jumping at Pier Park. The man that helped her this time taught her to do a back flip, which she was very excited about. Curtis and Charli then rode the ferris wheel together, and her and I rode the Sea Dragon together. 

On the last day my little family took a solo trip to Gulfworld due to cloudy skies. Charli and I have been twice before and the loved it then. Thankfully, both of the boys loved it this time too! 

When it was time to pack up and head for home the weather was a tad crazy. The wind was shaking the rails on our balcony and the clouds just looked creepy - even for me, the girl who is always dying to see a huge storm. About an hour into our trip home, Bryar threw up again. It was raining this time, and I pulled into a horse farm where Charli thanked me about twenty times for stopping there. After driving for hours in the rain and stopping for lunch Bryar vomited again. Eek! My head was going to explode by this time. My Mom and sister pulled off this time to help, while Curtis cleaned him up. 

As you can see it was a very interesting trip home. I typically am always ready to be back to see farm lands and the pretty Kentucky views, but this time was different. I could stayed at the beach for a long long time with by family by my side. 

Cloth Diapers

I have been wanting to make the change over to cloth diapers since I started preparing for Bryar's arrival. I kept thinking and telling myself that there was no way that it could easy. They just had to stink and my days would be spent washing diapers. 

Recently I found where a NICU nurse that took care of Bryar was selling some that she purchased for ER daughter, but could not use. Score! I purchased all boy or gender neutral colors that she had and different liners to try out. Last night was our first experience with them. I must say that I love the learning and knowing that I am saving money. But I failed to double line through the night and woke to a bed full of icky urine. 

Bryar is in a stage of being super thirsty at night. He possibly drank two cups of milk. I am not sure why he has started this, but I hope it just isn't a habit that will need to e broke along with buddy. 

The brand I have is Sunbaby.

Is there a certain brand that you love? Do you double line at night or use pre-folds as liners?

Girls Day at Holiday World

My sister Ashley, Charli Beth and I spent the day at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana yesterday. The last time I went to Holiday World was when I was around 9 years old. We started the day off by riding some of the smaller rides and a roller coaster. Charli is only 44.5 inches, so thankfully she was unable to even question the large coasters.

After a quick lunch of pizza we decided to start our adventure in Splashin' Safari. We rode on almost every wafer adventure for families except for Zinga because the line was long and the ride looked very short. Just our luck the temperature was in the 70's. After getting splashed with water on the longest water ride in the world we were absolutely freezing.

On every ride wet or dry, fast or slow Charli screamed from the beginning to the end. It was so hysterical, and watching her smile the whole time while, "screaming her head off" made the long lines very worth it.

After we left Holiday World we stopped at a place called Wonder Whip in Owensboro. It was quiet fabulous. Deep fried apples with ice cream, oh my it was delicious! It is not very often that I get to spend time with Charli lately by herself and I practically never get to spend time with my sister. So yesterday was an absolute perfect day! I am so thankful for the opportunity to have went along with these girls!

They really DO look alike!

The other night we were playing around and I slipped Charli's headband onto Bryar's head. I instantly thought to myself how much he looked like Charli Beth as a toddler. Honestly, I have never really thought that they looked a whole lot alike. I personally am just terrible at seeing the similarities in people unless they are practically identical.

But if I could just stick a bow on B then they could possibly pass as the same. As I go through pictures of Charli Beth then I can see the similarities more and more.

Do you think they look alike? Are your kids identical or do they look like one part particularly?

Surprise Sleepover

A few nights ago my friend Krystina and I planned a surprise sleepover for her daughter Kaylen and Charli. These girls have been "best friends" since they were infants. Their birthdays are two weeks apart and they have a special bond between the two of them even though they no longer live close.

This is the first sleepover that Charli has had in this house. So I was nervous at how the Girly screams and late night giggles would go. But they were so much fun and were such a blessing to watch play together. They had so much fun playing on the slip-n-slid and dressing up as nothing other than cowgirls.

It is always precious to me as a Mom being able to watch Charli Beth play with someone that she thinks the world of. I hope that we are able to sneak in a few more days of play before school starts back!