Oak Island

We just got back from a lovely week long trip to Oak Island. We could not have asked for better weather. We typically go to the Outer Banks but we are SO thankful that we did not as Hurricane Earl was blasting those barrier islands when we would have been arriving. If you remember from last years trip, our road flooded and it was not even a hurricane.
The girls had a blast. Hollings loved the ocean and thought the waves were pretty hysterical. She also started to crawl on the trip, 9.9.10 to be exact. It is not fast but she definitely moves in a forward motion on all fours for a couple of steps. The drive down and back went very smoothly since we moved Hollings out of the infant seat and into BellaRose's britax rear facing. She is so much happier now that she can see better!
Now sleeping is a whole other story. I am not a fan of the pak n play! She would roll over and hit the sides and wake up and the only thing that would get her to sleep was nursing. I certainly did not want to go down that road since she is sleeping through the night at home, but on vacation you just have to make exceptions.
Trent joined us this year and provided a lot of entertainment for BellaRose!
Thank you!
So now here are a whole lot of pictures. It is just too hard for me to narrow them down, but this is not nearly all of them.

BellaRose learning to skip.

She was also a very dedicated kite flyer. She played in the sand holding the string and just sat in her chair with a scowl holding it, sort of seems more like a job, but I think she enjoyed flying.

Kayak sessions with Daddy in the ocean.

A hole is to dig.
Anyone read that book?

Riding the ferry to Fort Fisher and then on to Wrightsville beach.
Riding the car onto the boat and riding the ferry was certainly a highlight of the trip.

Hollings was not sure about her dad who just turned into a head.

Loving those waves!

Hollings adores BellaRose.
I asked Rosey who her most favorite person in the world was sort of hoping it was me, but she said Hollings and that was an even better answer!

Next post

BellaRose's 1st day of school for the second time (since it is her 2nd year in preschool)

Sweet Hollings

A update

Hollings turned 6 months over two weeks ago and we had her check up on Monday. She weighs 14 pounds 11 ounces and is 26.5 inches long. She is almost exactly has BellaRose was at her 6 month check up. Hollings is sitting up on her own (a little wobbly of course), sleeping through the night (officially), still working on a day nap schedule (the plight of the second child I guess) she is eating puffs, cheerios, graham crackers, and is on a variety of baby food. She continues to not be a lover of the car which is such a bummer! Makes for a long car ride for us all. She just can't calm herself down once she gets worked up. Her smile is the most amazing smile I have ever seen on a baby. It honestly lights up her face and every one around her smiles. Her pout is just as big as her smile.
Her eye color is still undetermined. They are obviously not blue, but I am not sure what color brown or even green they are. Both T-love and OG have green eyes so it is not out of the question and they are not near as chocolate brown as Rosey's. We just have to continue to wait and see.
She brings us great joy and at the same time has made us realize we are pretty good with just two kids. Our family of 4! Our girls! We are good!

It won't be like this for long

Some days being a parent is just hard. Having your toddler pee in her pants in Target soaking the floor and the cart, and having to tell the Target employees who are pretty much teenage boys that there needs to be a clean up on aisle G4, and then having to buy emergency panties and slip them on in the middle of aisle all the while having your 6 month baby strapped to you in a bjourn, is just hard. There are no 2 ways about it. It is humorous but in the midst of it, it is hard. Yes I should have listened to BellaRose when she told me she needed to go potty, but I just wanted to finish the already harried trip. Next time I will know to listen to her or else I will have to pull over on terribly busy highway as 18 wheelers come flying at me with no regard to me or my Rosey who has to pee right then. The adventers of potty training are not for the weak. It is funny that right after that experience in Target yesterday I saw all of these pregnant women just patting their bellies, shopping by themselves, daydreaming of what it will be like to have a baby as they look at me all frazzled thinking their children won't be like that. Little do they know, really little did I know! I write all of this coming from a place of very little sleep. Hollings has been doing awesome, sleeping through the night, of course we expect every night to have to wake up not really wanting to make the big announcement that she sleeps through the night. Last night proved us right as both girls took turns crying. It was one of those nights that you don't trust the silence, so you stay awake waiting to hear the cry that is sure to come. We got sleep somewhere in between 1 am and 6, not sure when but it happened. Poor Worth has to face another day of doing math and fighting building suppliers for his materials on 4 hours of sleep. Bless that man! At least it will be in the 70's today.
And all these tails of woe lead me to a song that has been heavy on my heart and has brought me to tears. Take a LISTEN. This song has actually held me accountable lately because the lyrics are SO true. These stories will make for good rehearsal dinner material when these precious girls find their beloveds, and in the mean time I will try my hardest to embrace having my gorgeous purse peed on and not being able to take a shower for days on end, because it is all worth it isn't. Those giggles, those smiles, those cries for momma.

Horsing around

Hollings with her horse.
6 months

We finally got BellaRose on a horse! She rode a sweet little pony named Bella. I got to ride too which did my heart good. It has been probably 2 years since I have been on a horse. Just like riding a bike, you never forget.
I was so proud of BellaRose. She sat so tall, her leg position was perfect, and she picked up the reins properly. She is honestly a natural. We were not even sure she would get on, but she stayed on the whole time I rode. I think our favorite part was her blond little ponytail sticking out of the helmet.
Can you believe we only had Worth's cell phone to document the ride!

one week to 6 months

Hollings, on Saturday, will be 6 months old!! I can't even begin to tell you how strange that is to me. In 6 more months we will be celebrating her 1st birthday. Have I told you before how much I fear time. I really do. It almost paralyzes me. How could my girls be growing so fast? I look back at pictures of BellaRose when she was Hollings' age and I can hardly remember her that little. My heart aches a little.
Have I also told you what a complete joy Hollings is? She is SO close to sitting up on her own, as witnessed below. She is also eating lots of different solid foods. She loves the orange stuff, carrots and sweet potatoes which is not so good for her clothes! She also loves avocados, bananas, and pears. She chews on anything she can get her Velcro hands on and is a drooling mess, but no teeth yet. She rolls over every which way and cannot stand to go to sleep on her back. She has slept on her belly since the beginning. I guess with the colic it felt good and now she just continues. I am not sure why she just won't roll over onto her belly when she goes on her back while sleeping, but it wakes her up and she is not a happy little girl. Sleep training has been happening for sure in that area. She sleeps great when she is in the position she wants, but has so far won every battle while on her back, EXCEPT for this morning and she finally gave in and rolled over and went to sleep! She has slept through the night on several occasions and I rejoice!
People still have hard time understanding her name and Worth and I feel compelled to spell it every time someone asks her name. I guess I am just going to have to put her in clothes with her name on it so people can just see it for themselves. I love her name, how could it be anything else really? She is just a Hollings!

I wanted to get all these pictures up here because I just photographed (go ahead take a look around, give me your thoughts) a wedding and I am going to be up to my ears in editing images. I also needed to get these pictures off the memory card before the wedding. BellaRose had woken up from her nap in these. We had been at the pool all morning and you can see her blood shot, chlorinated eyes. We love the pool and have spent a lot of time there this summer, as you can probably also tell by Rosey's blond blond hair.
BellaRose is a pure delight. She has taken to calling me Sunday again. I guess she really does it when she wants my attention. She went to Poppa and T-loves cabin the other night so Worth and I could have a much needed date. They have a little silverware set that BellaRose adores. She quickly got it out and started passing out everyone's table setting and cooking in her "kitchen". I was so proud of her she gave everyone a fork, a spoon, and a knife. She has such a servant's heart and is a fabulous hostess. The apple of my eye!

Summertime and the living is easy

What do you do when it is 200 degrees outside?
If you are Will and BellaRose you fill up dog bowls with pool water and dump it on your head. To say I was a little envious of them is an understatement. I have lots of fun pictures of them playing but I am going to be using these pictures in several social media outlets and don't want you to be bored!
Oh to be 3!

This face is pretty much how BellaRose lives life, and.....well.... swims actually.

Will the Thrill.
If you want to see more pictures of Will and BellaRose loving some water activities and enjoying Splashville in downtown Asheville go to Annie's blog, she also is showing off the 3 million mugs she made this summer while being preggars in the 200 degree heat! She wins some sort of prize I am not sure what!

Happy Hollings

I gotta tell you, I love having sisters, sisters of my own, and my baby girl sisters. They are so sweet together. BellaRose loves to sit by Hollings and hold her. Hollings cracks up at BellaRose all the time. Hollings even picked up one of BellaRose's traits. The old foot in the mouth trick.

This photo is courtesy of Worth Grant Construction. Worth is growing loads of peppers and he is loving the colors, especially on our dilapidated potting bench. At least it is good for something.
Pretty photo, huh?!