More Summertime Fun

Our summer is shaping up to be much busier, work-wise, than we had expected. It's right on target with what we've been praying for, but we are pleasantly surprised and hoping and praying for even more business over the next couple months to help us through the hard times.

I've recently started back up with our Out-Island Explorers blog where you can read a little more and see some more pictures about the trips going on... My sister-in-law, Heather, really inspires me here because she does such a great job with her photography clients on her business blog and I feel like I need to try to SELL our trips better. How better to do it than with a blog these days?!?! Hopefully it will help!

These next two pictures are of the boys with my old teddy bears (Ted-Ted & Cuddles). I have pictures of me in my crib with one of these, and the other one became part of my life when I was very young. I just thought it would be a cute moment to capture when Joss & Emit got them out and started loving on them.

So I have a list of Joss' sayings right now that I have on my Sticky-Notes (I love this Windows 7 feature of sticky notes now by the way) :) Here's a few of them that don't really need too much explanation:

"Ew, Yuck, Pooh!" (to anything gross)

"Daddy, where ARE you?"

"Mommy, Snuggie You." (When he wants some snuggles)

"Daddy/Mommy, pick you up."

"Alright, mom?" "I'm alright, Joss, are you alright?" "Nam awright." (I'm alright)

"Good Boy, Mommy!"  (I love this one-- he tells me this when I do something he likes or approves of) :)

We had a trip starting in Staniel Cay the other day so we had to tow our kayaks and Dallas up there to kayak back...we left at 4am from our house, so they boys were pretty tired most of the morning/day. They were in very "snuggie" moods both ways. Luckily, O'Neil & Lyndsay were able to go with me to help me bring the boat back to Georgetown since Dallas was going to be staying and paddling back with the guests (over the course of 7 days/6 nights). It was a long day, but I feel pretty proud that I was able (with the help of course) to bring the boat back, get it out of the water and on the trailer and reversed into our driveway, where it stays parked. I've come a long way with my trailer reversing skills. Still takes me a few forwards/backwards here and there, but Dallas tells me "You got skillz girl" and rewards me with a big ole kiss :) So that makes me happy!

Here Joss is calling the Swimming Pigs...this is his pig face. LOL!!

It worked :)

We also took our guests to Thunderball Grotto, which is a really cool place to snorkel and swim with TONS of fish. Joss got to go inside too. At first he didn't want to go in the cave, he just wanted to swim with Daddy, but then as Dallas got closer to the entrance and Joss could see a little bit inside he got really excited and wanted to go the rest of the way in. They took some crackers to feed some fish, and they just swarmed all over them. Joss really liked that!

This was the best place for him to take a nap on the trip back because it got really bumpy. My arms were so sore from holding his entire weight (30lbs) most of the day and trying to take the bumps instead of him getting knocked all over the place. Once he got in "Emit's seat" he was OUT. Emit (weighing in at only 15lbs these days) was a lot easier to hold in a way that he wouldn't get shaken up so badly.

We made it back safely with sun-kissed cheeks and tired bodies, but after a good night sleep we were good to go.

So this story is just random, but I have to share it with you. We were in the food store the other day. Joss' favorite snack is BLUE CHIPS (also known as Cool Ranch Doritos). Well, we picked up a bag and put it in the buggy and he grabbed them and wanted to open them. I told him, "No, we can't open them yet. We have to pay for them first." And his response was to put his hands together, close his eyes and say "Lord, thank you blue chips, amen". I'm guessing he thought I said we have to PRAY for them first, but I thought it was so sweet. He wasn't about to let a little time praying stand in the way of his blue chips. I love also that it didn't matter what else was going on around him he stopped and prayed out loud for anyone near him to hear. Aren't we supposed to be more like that?? Man, I'm going to get a lot of conviction through these little guys-- I love it!

Here's how Emit fell asleep the other night after our long boat ride. It made me laugh when I saw it, so I had to risk the flash for the photo.

Joss has just started licking everyone. He came up to me yesterday and started licking my knee, and then I saw him today licking Emit on the head. Then he licked my shirt....not sure where or why he's started this, but it cracks me up. It really tickles and makes me laugh really hard when he does it. I love my little weirdo :)

Joss is such an affectionate little guy. He really is a sweetheart. He is constantly telling me and Dallas "I wuv you mommy/daddy" when he hugs us or is playing with us. And he's all the time trying to hug things like bugs, lizards, his toys (as you'll see in this video coming up), anything that he's happy about at that moment. The other night I was putting some pajamas on him that has buttons on it. Well, he was in a very lovey mood toward those buttons. He was kissing each button and each time he would say "Kiss Button" "I wuv you button!" If only those buttons knew how much he liked them :)

So Emit has a little happy dance that he does whenever he wants some food, or is excited about a toy or show... it's really hard to get it on video because you just never know when he's going to get really enthusiastic over something, but it's the cutest thing, so I'll keep trying.

There's a few random things I've been meaning to post about baby/toddler items that I just really LOVE, so I'm going to throw them in now so I can cross them off my notes.

1) I'm a huge fan of Boudreaux's Butt Paste. It's the only cream that worked on Joss' awful diaper rash, and it has worked like a charm with Emit's and given me no problems. I'm sold!

2) I will never ever buy another type of sippy cup (if I can avoid it) other than the Nalgene Brand Sippy Cup. They are AWESOME and have stood the test of time. Everytime Joss is finished drinking he'll throw it down really hard and it goes bouncing across the room (we're trying to break this habit). But really they are very durable and easy to clean all the parts.

3) I was looking for a car seat cover for Emit's car seat a few weeks ago because that seemed to be the cause of his rash that he kept getting. To get some custom made ones it was like $70+ it seemed, and there were only a few on the market. We actually got this one at Babies R Us and are using it in Joss' car seat for now...but I don't really like it. But I needed something before our trips to the states, so I just took one of our changing table covers and cut a few holes for the straps to go through and TADA! It worked great and the elastic pulled it nice and snug around the infant carrier. So, if you're in need of a quick and affordable (and soft) fix... give that a shot.

So anyway-- maybe some of that info will help some other moms, or moms-to-be!

Hope you enjoyed the stories!