An Afternoon at the Beach

The weather this weekend was wonderful! It was still a little windy, but it was definitely time to get outside and enjoy the beach. After Davis' 3 hour post party nap, we packed up and went to the Whales Tail for a couple of hours. Davis had fun, but was dying to get in the water (which is obviously still freezing!) We had a great day hanging out with the fam. How could you not enjoy spending your afternoon like this!

Yes this is Davis! He got a little fussy after about 2 hours, so I covered him up and he slept for at least 45 minutes just like this. He did have an opening on the other side... I promise I didn't smother him :-)

Kiersten Martin's Birthday Party

Our friend Kiersten Martin turned 3 this week and we got to celebrate her birthday last Saturday at her house. She had people come to help all of the children finger paint and the little kids were able to do their handprint which the helpers made look like jellyfish. It was such a neat idea and the kids seemed to love it! Davis wanted to stay outside the whole time because that is where all the big boys were playing. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a picture with the birthday girl because she was "working the party". We had so much fun! Thank you Kris and Erin for inviting us!

Davis eyed Mia the whole time.... or was it just the tricycle?

My bow-legged big boy! Starting to get a little sleepy here...

Keep in mind... we only live about 5 minutes from the Martins. Davis was out! He kept falling asleep on the way home with his sippy in his mouth. When we got home from the party, he took a 3 hour nap! Good times!

1 Year, 1 week and 1 day ago today

So I wanted to do this on JD's birthday but as always I'm a few days late and a couple dollars short. But better late than never! This time last year (well like I said, 1 year, 1 week and 1 day ago).... sweet baby Davis was brought into this world by Dr. Petrac in Destin, FL at 7:09 pm on Saturday February 23, 2008. He weighed 8 pounds 15 ounces and was 21 3/4 inches long. My labor was fast and furious, but we were so thankful to have a healthy, happy, beautiful baby boy and never knew just how wonderful life would be from that day on. John and I never knew the joy that a baby would truly bring into our lives until we look at our precious angel. JD amazes us daily and we have enjoyed every single minute that he has been a part of our lives. The amount of love that you feel for your child is truly unimaginable. People told us time and time again, you will never understand how much you can love until you have a child. They were all right! They were also right when they say that every stage gets better and better. Even though I wish I could freeze each stage of his life, I find myself loving each milestone that he reaches and get excited about the next stage to come. Tonight he started trying to crawl up on the couch with daddy and I... you would have thought it was a pep rally with us cheering him up to join us. Davis is such a blessing! He has taught us so much about ourselves, about life and about the devout love that truly exists between a son and his parents. He makes us laugh daily and stop to appreciate the small things in life. We love him more than anything in this world and thank God that he has given us the opportunity to raise this precious boy!

Now that Davis is really starting to show his personality, I find it a good time to "introduce" him to everyone. Davis is part Labrador retriever.... he could eat anything and everything put in front of him and he absolutely loves the water! He will literally put his entire head under the faucet during bath time just to get the optimum H2O exposure. He loves to dance! His favorite artists are Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, and Bob Marley... the kid's got rhythm. John and I will come home from work and crank up the IPod (forget Barney and the Wiggles) and he will dance till its time to go night night. Davis loves to sleep! I swear, he is the easiest child when it comes to bedtime or nighttime.... all it takes is a few cues of rubbing his eyes and yawning and he will go right down. Bedtime prayers + paci and he is golden. He gets that from his daddy. And he loves to make everyone laugh! (he gets that from his mommy) Whether he is trying to talk to us, dance with us or just his stinking cute waddle, JD makes us belly laugh every single day which further makes us realize what a blessing we have in front of us when all can seem so gloomy at times. I hope we can slow down this next year of his life and it will not go by so fast. Happy Birthday (late Birthday) Davis! We love you sooooooooo very much!

Happy Birthday to JD!!!!

JD had his first birthday party this past weekend. We had such a good time with family and friends. He was a perfect angel and napped about 2 hours prior to the party so he was in a great mood for the entire time. The hat didn't stay on for long but at least I got one good picture with it. He was too cute peeking around the corner, it was like it was a Surprise Party. He couldn't quite figure out why everyone was here......

One of the handful of pictures we have with all 3 of us. We have got to get better about that.

He looks like such a little man here in his big boy chair that his grandmommy and papaw got for him.

Opening presents is a tough job... Where is the cake???

It was so much fun watching all of the kids interact. I hope everyone had a good time, I know I had a blast watching them.

DRUMROLLLLLLL.................... CAKE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was the last picture snapped before we snatched him up to give him a bath. Poor thing. He got it all over him!

Playing with Pa-Paw and Uncle Bubs

JD got some really nice things. He got a car, a lot of beach toys, a bubble lawnmower, trucks, blocks, books and swimming lessons. We are so thankful for all of our sweet friends and family. Thank you all for coming and you did way too much! I want to personally thank all of you who had to drive to come celebrate with us. Thank you mom and dad, Mack and Debby, Uncle Steve, Brit and Jason. It would not have been the same without you here and am so thankful you all made the trip! Love ya'll!

I copied my friend Barkley's cake idea. This is actually cupcakes which made it very easy! I thought it turned out so cute and it was very yummy too! The circle cake up top was JD's personal smash cake.

Of course I got him on video!

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa Brown

Grandma and Grandpa Brown got to stay a little longer than everyone after the party. Unfortunately Grandma Brown was sick so we didn't get to spend as much time with them as we would have liked. They came over for dinner one night and we got to visit. Here are some pictures of everyone playing. Davis loves his grandparents so much!

Moving on to Running!

His first cell phone! I can't believe I still have the old thing... Don't worry mom, I watch him very closely when he plays with it. I know it is not baby proof.

I caught JD on camera this morning walking so intently, but as I followed him with the camera I noticed he was pretty much running. Oh my, guess we are in for a whole new ballgame now :-)

Afternoon at the Outlets.. not shopping

I have searched everywhere in Destin to find a place for Davis to swing and little did I know the best place was at the Outlet Mall which is less than 2 miles away. The swing is still a little too big for his britches but we had a good time... Listen for his little giggle on the video. So sweet!

Patty Cake!