Panama City!

Dave has a week and a half off and we decided we needed a little family vacation. Even though it would be a 7 hour drive we wanted to go to the coast. We have heard about the beautiful beaches and white sand and wanted to try out the gulf coast. We drove straight through Alabama and enjoyed the diversity of homes and small towns. 

Bailee stayed busy in the back napping, snacking, and playing with toys or reading books. We are so grateful that she stays entertained without needing a movie or a device to play on the whole time. We saw a lot of cows and horses and loved the greenery the whole way! That may be one of our favorite things about the south.. It stays green all year! 

We set up in our hotel which was a great deal on Priceline! We were a little nervous but it exceeded our expectations and thoughts of how it was going to be. 

Clockwise from left- this is how she eats sandwiches.. We have tried teaching her to keep it closed. Bailee and me at the hotel. A corded phone is a novelty and she kept wanting to talk on them. And of course she was so excited for her big bed to jump in the pillows. 

After settling in we headed out for some food and beach time! 

We ate at pineapple willy's and tried our first alligator! The food was great and Bailee even liked the alligator. Dave and I have made a little tradition of trying new things on trips and now have had shark and alligator. Now I just need to take him back to Australia to try kangaroo! We wouldn't support eating these things all of the time but we enjoy trying new foods. 

Because of eating at the restaurant we were able to stay parked there and have access to the beach. Bailee had been talking about going there for at least a week so she was thrilled to be there! Dave turns back into a kid at the beach which I love because I enjoy sitting back mostly and watching him play with Bailee. 

More pictures of our beach time because that is all we wanted to do for our time there. There are other touristy things to do but we could have spent a week at the beach alone. We debated staying longer but chose to leave when we heard a tropical storm was headed our way! 

We were so grateful to have a little family vacation even with Dave in school. There are still many destinations on our list we would like to go to while living here but we are glad to be slowly checking off that list :)

Another little princess!!

Well I went to the doctor today and found out we are having another little girl! We had to do things a little differently this time because we knew Dave wouldn't e able to be with me. I was able to leave Bailee with a friend and was on my own. I had them put the gender picture in an envelope, picked up Dave and Bailee then headed to the park for lunch to open it together :) I am so excited for Bailee to have a playmate! This little girl is just as active as Bailee was in my tummy too so we anticipate a lot more energy in our home :) Dave jokingly said a few days ago that if we had another girl, then The Lord wants us to keep going because if it was a boy he would have been happy to be done :) now we just have to figure out a name for this little one... She is doing well and is healthy and now it is all starting to feel more real and exciting! I will enjoy a few more months of no diapers. I look forward to the baby smell again and the constant cuddles to be enjoyed :)

Baby coming!!

We are so excited to announce that we will be blessed with another sweet spirit from The Lord at Christmas this year! 

We will find out the gender a week from this coming Monday. Bailee has been so cute and excited about having a sibling and we are doing all that we can to prepare her for the change but only time will really tell :) 

This morning we took a walk with her baby to our apartment playground and are doing things regularly with play babies to teach her the caring for a baby. Knowing Bailee, we anticipate a little bit too helpful of an attitude and wanting to take care of the real baby :)

A few happenings lately:

My parents came for a couple of weeks which was fun to have our first visitors! Bailee continues to talk about them and how they went home on the airplane. She loved having nana and papa here. They helped her start potty training, took her to the pool a lot and started teaching her to swim without floaties, and spoiled her with lots of grandparent love!

Potty training is going very well :)

 One of those " just go get the camera and take a picture" moments :) my mom has told me that whenever your children make a mess (as long as they aren't in danger) go get the camera because you will want to look back on these moments as part of their curious childhood. This is only baby powder so not a big deal at all. We are teaching her that there are good choices and poor choices so when I walked in on her like this, she looked at me and said " poor choice..." We are liking the use of that phrase as opposed to bad, naughty, or trouble. Her carpet and room sure smelled nice and baby fresh afterward! 

Just a young family enjoying this journey The Lord is guiding us through. We love where we are and are taking things one day at a time :)

Good times with Reese and Abby.. a bit delayed

I have been meaning to do this post for a while now, so I am happy to finally take the time for it :) While living in Sacramento, I was blessed with an opportunity to watch a little girl named Reese who is only 1 month older than Bailee and occasionally her older sister Abby. I grew to love these girls and their wonderful parents like family and I loved how great of little friends Bailee and Reese became. Once we moved to Tennessee, we were driving to the store and Bailee was excitedly shouting "Reese house! Reese house!" thinking we were going there. It was so sweet and made me miss the two of them together. We sure miss them but are grateful for the time we were able to be together. We now have friends for a long time and hope that when we go back to visit we will be able to get the girls together again :)

The last day we were together

 

 

It amazes me how much they grew in less than a year

brief update

I think a lot about things I would like to blog about and how I would love to share more than just a picture and quick note here and there. I have realized though that if and when I actually sit down to write something, Bailee is instantly at my side and wa+nt+i+6n+6g+6 to "help"... as you can see in the word wanting.... I have often wondered how many mothers of multiple children keep a regular blog that is extensive and has crafts and activities that I can only dream of doing..one day... Most only get as far as being on a board on pinterest for me. Now that Dave is gone from 8 am to 10 or 11 pm and comes home for about an hour for dinner, I have realized how much I depend on him for support and strength. As our family dynamics have changed with him in school, we knew things would be tough and we wouldn't have as much time together, but I can see how our relationship as a family has grown stronger and we really make the most of what time we do have. We are grateful for the many blessings that have come as well as the challenges in being here right now. Overall we love it and just continue to rely upon our faith in the Lord each day.
Bailee is at an age that is busy, entertaining, and explosive in her understanding of the world around her and we love it. One of my favorite things lately is to walk by her room after putting her to bed and hearing her "read" her books by the light of her night light. Once she is asleep and I come into her room to make sure she is in her bed, I find books sprawled out on her bed and floor from her late night "reading" :)
Dave is doing well in his nursing program and amazes me with how little sleep he can function off of. He goes to bed after me and wakes up before and has not gotten sick! Coming here on COMPLETE faith for the program he is in, was never a concern for us and now that we have seen how great it is, we know that the Lord has guided us here for more than just his education. We are grateful for this time to be far from those we are comfortable with (although we do miss family and friends) because it has allowed us to break from our shells a bit more and grow in our relationships with one another as well as our Heavenly Father.

Relaxing on the porch

 

Zoo

 

One of two favorite activities this summer. This was one of few times Dave was able to go with us.

Bailee's other favorite activity right now. She LOVES to draw and always wants
help and daddy is great at drawing animals for her :)

 

Day date!!

Today Dave and I had a much needed date! We went to the rain forest cafe because Dave had never been and had an appetizer and dessert. I think I will do that more often so I can actually enjoy a dessert because the one we had was amazing! We shopped child free in the mall afterward and it was so nice. It is funny how once having children, doing simple activities child-free is a desired date. We loved being able to shop together and when Dave saw a man sitting with a stroller and bags he said he was grateful that wasn't him this time :) it was so nice to get out with my hubby before his super busy schedule starts next week with school. Dating is needed more once you are married and we are so grateful we have awesome young women in our ward here so we can get out more often :)
Bailee even benefited from our date with a new shirt and dress :) she is a huge Minnie fan right now

Mommy-daughter shopping

Just a few pictures from the day... Bailee insisted on leaving the house and even going into the store with her sunnies and hat on... I managed to convince her to leave the ball in the car but the rest went out into the world...oui oui... She even made a mother crack up in the store with how she looked :) I heard the lady laugh and I turned to her and asked if she was laughing at Bailee and i explained that she was persistent to wear the hat and glasses.. she pointed to the three teenage girls behind her and said " I had 3 and you will have many more of those days :)" it was quite entertaining. Later we went to another store and she loved carrying her bag of clothes. It was our little mommy daughter outing and I loved being able to focus on her while shopping and loved that she gave me an opinion :) we ended up with a swimsuit and 2 pairs of sandals that she was excited to show off to daddy when we got home :)