Bye bye Summer

The end of summer has been busy but fun. We had a long overdue visit with some dear friends on the Coast in August. They moved into a lovely new house which is perfect for 2 exploring little boys! Brantley had not seen them since January but did not hesitate to join right in with their fun. A good time was had by all!

First Swimming Lessons

Brantley and her friend Andrew have been taking their first swimming lessons for the past week. It has been an interesting experience as I never know exactly what kind of mood Brantley will be in between 5:15 and 5:45 everyday...I think her favorite part of the whole thing has been that Andrew & his mom come over to our house everyday before class to hang out. She genuinely loves having another baby to interact with and that makes me really excited about her attending Trinity's playschool in the fall. But that's another post for a later time...
Swim class starts at 5:15 Monday thru Thursday and lasts until 5:45. Brantley & Andrew are the youngest in the class and the other children are around 2 years old. They practice things like reaching out to grab floating objects, scooting off the side into the water, "jumping", floating (on their stomach is okay, on their back is not so okay), kicking legs, and just becoming generally comfortable in the water. It has been a really fun experience and I am SO glad that we did it.
Kris came to observe Brantley on Monday and brought the camera along...

Mommie & Me- Summer Session Finale

Last night was our last class of the summer session. It was a special class because it was our first Mommie & Me Family Night. That meant that the Daddys, Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, etc. were invited to catch a glimpse of what we do every week. And there was free food. Kris and GrandPattie attended with us and a good time was had by all.

Playtime at the beginning of class while everyone arrives & gets settled in...



Wave to Daddy...


Doing the Hippo Song...


Hickory Dickory Dock, once with Mommy and once with Daddy!



Texture Time (due to the mobility of the babies the "texture" is often shared)


Pretty Baby in the Mirror (and excellent Daddy photography skills)


No More Brantley Monkeys Jumping on the Bed


Brantley sums up the fun had by everyone with this picture...

First Fever

Brantley had her first fever yesterday. When she woke up from her morning nap she felt warmer than normal so we took her temperature & it read 102. Momentary Mommy Freak Out...I gave her baby Tylenol and we just did the "wait & see" game. We went to GrandPattie & GrandDaddy's for lunch and she seemed to be fine other than being a little less mobile than normal. More lap sitting than standing-on-your-lap-to-pull-your hair. Longer nap than usual. Poor thing.
We went to New Orleans on Saturday afternoon and she had seemed fine but yesterday we just kept everything more low key than usual. GrandDaddy did his part by switching back and forth between 2 golf games on television; doesn't get more low key than that right? Today she seems normal and back to her playful ways...

Fourth of July Fun...

This afternoon Brantley & I attended the Stars & Stripes event in one of our favorite places, Downtown Hattiesburg. We were in the Kids' Parade, however it was not on purpose. We went to Brownstone's where I thought the parade was supposed to begin at 5pm but apparently it was where the actual parade participants were supposed to meet before proceeding to Town Square Park. A lovely young man handed us flag & we joined in the march!




Tricked out Patriotic Tricycle...


WONDERFUL Councilman Dave Ware welcoming everyone to the event...


Brantley and GrandPattie...


Me, Brantley, & a Clown...


Brantley being cute...


Brantley making friends...


Brantley taking a break...


We had a GREAT time! She was really 'jamming' to the music (T Bone Pruitt played his awesome blues tunes) and charming everyone she met. Her GrandDaddy and Uncle Briggs were there also, and she was really loving her Uncle Briggs tonight! You can't tell from my pictures but there was actually a pretty large crowd in attendance for the event. Brantley was in good spirits all evening, stayed up until we got home at 7:30pm (way past her bedtime), and then went quietly to sleep. It was a great day!

WOW!

Okay, so I took a break from blogging for the entire month of June. That should tell you a little about how much exciting stuff we had going on! As some of you know, my blogging/free time is relatively limited to when Brantley is asleep. Most of her nap times lately have been dedicated to the care & cleaning of the house. Nights have been for making dinner, having a glass of wine, & spending time with Kris. Also, during the month of June, Kris & I attended several events (at night!) & had our date nights and I had a few girls' nights as well. It was a good month to say the least...Here are some pictures to recap...

A wonderful visit from Grandma Sally and Bill-



A fun new toy...



A new book...



Play dates...




Annnnnd just cuteness in general...