Memorial Day Beach Trip 2010

Our summer has already been in full swing with lots of pool trips, but we made summer official this weekend by heading to the beach for the 1st time. We had so much fun. Our friends, Mark and Sarah Kathryn, joined us Friday afternoon and spent Friday night. Kyle and Mary Grace, Kylie's Godparents, came down later Friday night and spent the rest of the weekend. We are so blessed to have such special friends that love Kylie and get just as excited about her doing something as Lee and I do. Thank y'all so much for everything!
Friday, Lee, Kylie, Mark, Sarah Kathryn and myself went to the Wharf to walk around and have an early dinner. We ate at Guy Harvey's Island Grill, it was good! Great place for Kylie too, she loved being able to walk around and look at all the boats. Kyle and Mary Grace arrived to the beach house just as we were getting back from dinner. We all visited and the hit the sack. Saturday, we all loaded up and headed to the beach. The guys played bocce ball while us girls laid out in the sun. Kylie was sleepy when we got to the beach so she took a 2-hour nap under the umbrella. I did not get to take any pictures down on the beach :(. There were no signs of oil yet, but lots of game wardens walking around looking. My grandparents house is in Ft. Morgan, so from the beach you can see where the Gulf of Mexico goes into Mobile Bay. There were a couple a big ships off shore a little ways laying out pipe in an effort to block the oil. We are really hoping the situation will be under control soon and we can still enjoy the beach this summer. Anyway- after a long day at the beach, Mark and Sarah Kathryn headed to Fairhope for a wedding and the rest of us went into town for dinner. The wait was so long at one restaurant, that we decided just to go back to the Wharf Saturday night too. At least if the wait is long over there, we can stroll Kylie around and keep her entertained. We ended up eating at Shuckers which is at the Wharf Marina. After dinner, we headed to do some shopping. Kyle and Mary Grace took Kylie to Build a Bear. She loved it!!! She picked out a Jaguar animal. The little clothes they had were so cute, but of course she wanted hers naked. So we walked out with Baby Jaguar and a pair of hot pink sunglasses which Kylie has worn more than Baby Jaguar. On Sunday, we pulled out the baby pool at the house and caught some rays by the bay. Todd (Mg and Kyle's dog) and Porter had a blast playing in the sand!!! And Todd loved the baby pool!! Sunday night we fried fish and cooked out the house. It was a great weekend with great friends and we cannot wait for the next trip.

Upgrade

We have been discussing the idea of purchasing a "real" camera for the past couple of months. I use my little camera ALL the time, but as Kylie has gotten much more difficult to photograph these days and with Maggie on the way- we decided to bite the bullet and make a purchase. If you all know my husband, you know that he does not make big purchases often (he probably has not even bought a new pair of jeans since high school :)), so this was a big deal! I am very excited and hope to get some good pictures this weekend while at the beach.
And a huge thank to my co-worker, Sarah, who is an excellent photographer for sharing some tips with me. I am sure I will be bugging you alot on how to use this thing!

Wagon Rides

We have really been enjoying our wagon that Wen-Wen and Papa got us last Christmas. Most every afternoon we have taken it for a spin while enjoying a snack. We are really enjoying summer time and can not wait for the beach this weekend with Mary Grace, Kyle, Sarah Kathryn & Mark.

Pool Time & Sissy's Name

We have been spending most of our evenings and weekends at the pool. Kylie loves it and I must say that this is the best 20 bucks I have spent in a long time. It works great!!! Kylie is really doing good in the big pool and we have been practicing paddling our arms and kicking our feet. The days that we are not at the pool we have been enjoying the good ol' water hose out in the back yard. Here are a few pics and please notice the pigtails...I think they are so stinkin' cute!!
Filling up the pool
Catching some rays

So excited!
Swimmin' Like a Fish
Playing with the big girls at the pool
Swimming with Mrs. Kaley and Thomas Clay
Daddy came to swim after golf...just a little note- she normally will not keep these sunglasses on but insists on taking them to the pool. I think she saw the big girls with goggles on so now she thinks these are her goggles.

Now for Sissy's name!! We have finally decided and I am ready to monogram! Baby sister's name will be
Margaret Meyer Calame and we will call her Maggie.
We love it and cannot wait to meet this little girl!!!!!

Kickin' off the Summer

We have been outside most of the time gearing up for summer. Kylie's last day of school was last Thursday and we are all excited summer is here! We have been spending our days riding the "tractor"(aka lawnmower) with daddy, making sure the dogs have plenty of food/water, helping wash mama's car, planting flowers, and just being silly.

22 Weeks

Things are moving right along, already 22 weeks! Only 4 short months to go assuming I make it to my due date. Time is flying by and I feel like I have soooo much that needs to be done before Baby Girl arrives. Lots of cleaning, sorting, painting, organizing and even a little shopping to be done. We are set in the clothing department with the exception of a few monogrammed things (hey, we live in the South, we have to monogram :)). I also need to start stocking up on new bottles, diapers, etc. Some of my baby stuff just looks slap worn out and some things were destroyed from Big Sister's stomach issues. I think I can justify these purchases since I am saving a small fortune in newborn clothing, bedding, etc.
Kylie is still not so sure about a baby, but she is very excited about her new room. When we go in the guest bedroom, I ask her if she is going to like her new room and she says yes. Her bedding came in a week ago and she has been pointing to it often. Her furniture, which was Lee's furniture when he was little, has been dropped off for painting and some refinishing. I taped most of the walls in her room over the weekend so hopefully we can get some paint on the walls this week. With my back acting up and not being able to do much of anything at night due to back pain, I am very ready to get stuff done before I really cannot do anything.
Now onto the name game...we have several names picked out. Some are those we liked when Kylie was born and there are one or two new ones. I really, really like all of our choices so I am having a hard time deciding!!! Everyone we have shared them with has voiced their favorite which has made making a decision even more difficult. =) All of our options are really special to us in some sort of way so I honestly do not know how we will choose. Hopefully I will have a name posted soon!

Introducing

Well here are the 1st pictures of Baby Girl #2. These are a little hard to see, but here are her 1st glamour shots.

Curled up in a ball, feet up by her head

Looking straight at the camera

Not modest at all, it's GIRL!!!!

Everything looked great at Monday's appointment. I am so thankful and now cannot wait to meet her!!! She has all 4 heart chambers and a strong heart beat at 142 bpm. She is measuring right at 22 weeks, so a little ahead which is exactly what Kylie did. Lee and I went to NameDropper after our appointment and got her a little gown and a dress. I know I have tons of girl stuff but this angel deserves a few things of her own too! I am so excited to start buying some matching outfits for next year and get her some new things with her monogram. Speaking of monograms, we are still working on the name and hope to officially decide within the next week. This time I have several girl choices that I really like so it is making the name game much harder. We are starting on Kylie's new room this weekend and next week so I can clean out the nursery. I am working extra hard to get this done asap!

My pregnancy has not been so easy this time around. No sickness or anything, but I have had a good bit of back trouble which I have never experienced before. Most of it is due to having such a fast delivery with Kylie and just being stretched so much during the 1st pregnancy and some of the pain is created by having to pick Kylie up. I do not have to hold her much, but I still have to get her in and out of the crib, tub, car, etc. Evidently it is doing a number on my back. I pretty much limp everyday now and have to use a heating pad at night. I also have to do Dr. prescribed stretches everyday. Dr. Dupre says that it shouldn't affect me during delivery but given that I am pregnant I cannot use any of the good stuff that is normally prescribed for back pain. If it continues to get worse he will recommend that I start physical therapy. So I am trying to get everything done around the house for the baby and Kylie asap since I will probably need to really watch it as I continue to get bigger. Other than that I cannot complain and am just so thankful for another healthy baby girl.

I cannot wait to watch "the girls" (I love being able to say that :)) together. I am sure we are in for a some good fights and lots of drama down the road, but it sure is going to be fun! And we will be teaching them the word "elope" asap, J/K! Haha. It is going to be so fun to take them on trips together.