Sea World Trip

We went to Sea World last Sunday and at first I was very hesitant. I mean, a 6 hour round-trip, hot summer day with a toddler and a baby, crowded theme park, and temperamental kiddos..it could be a recipe for disaster but we stayed optimistic. 

 Me and my babies! Here we go....

 They were ready to be out of the car and get into Sea World!

 The boys ready to go!

 The sweet little seal. There was also a brand new baby in the aquarium but we couldn't get close enough to see.

 Bowen would clap and jump on my lamp! He was very excited

 Watching Azul. It was really neat! Both the boys watched and were very excited! 

 Wrestling in the stroller...goofy

 Sweet big brother!

 The beautiful coral at the aquarium

 Isn't this just the sweetest thing?!! Tate kept holding Bowen (because Bo would lean against him when he was tired) and humming to him like I do to them when I'm rocking them. It was adorable!

 I loved just seeing him watch the shows. A child's curiosity is soo precious!

 One of the last shows that we watched. It was really cute and funny. 

Bowen getting everything out of the nightstand and just being a genuine stinker! 

and Tate all 'crazy-eyed' and hyper when he's supposed to be going to sleep; he thought it was time to party and jump on the bed like a monkey! haha

 Watching the dolphins. 

 Close to the end of the day we went to the aquarium. We all loved it. It was nice and cool and dark. The boys thought it was pretty cool to see the fishies and sharks up close.

They both loved it! But I think Bowen really loved it! He hung in there way longer than I thought he would! My little observer. I love his curiosity! Tate really enjoyed it too; however, he was very distracted and he wanted to run around like crazy. He was also very busy taking everything in. It wasn't until the next day, after he'd been rested, did he really start talking about it and was really excited. We told him we were going to the zoo and he said he wanted to go see Shamu! hahah 


I loved our trip! Thanks Mom for the wonderful time! These boys are so lucky!

Bowen is 12 Months

The last update for the 12 months has come. It's a bittersweet thing. I'm going to miss all the baby things but I'm so excited to see him grow up into the sweet boy he is!

At 12 months!

-Bowen is starting to walk!!! YAY! He took his first 3 steps by himself on Tuesday and everyday since he's gotten better and better. He's up to about 5 steps now. He will be running in no time.

-He is 32" long (95%) and 24.10 pounds (45%) He's my tall and skinny boy

-He has 8 teeth and I think there are a couple more on the horizon.

-He is very intense. He gets the same clenched jaw and angry face that Tate did/does. They definitely inherited that from their daddy!

-He is babbling a lot now! And he points at everything that he's interested in. He will even say "dog" and he likes little dogs but not much on bigger dogs. He verbalizes a lot. He is saying "grandma/grandpa" and  "Dada" a lot and "Mama", usually when he's upset or wants me to hold him.

-He is STILL not sleeping through the night. I will jump for joy when they are both going to bed at 8 or so and sleeping til' 8! That's the dream! I would love a full night's rest!

-We go to the park pretty much everyday still. He likes to swing and play in the sand. And he likes to put the rocks and sand in his mouth---yuck. He also really loves to climb through the yellow tunnel on the baby section of the playground.

-He likes to brush his teeth. I think he mainly likes the toothpaste and being able to bite the brush.

-He wears mostly 12-18 month clothing. He's really just too skinny to hold up 24 month shorts but he's long enough to wear 24 month tees.

-He is very observant and will grab onto something he sees that he wants-especially glasses!

-He takes about 2 naps a day.

-He LOVES to read books-especially the Bright Baby Animal book! He lights up when I read it to him and he likes to turn the pages.

-He will start Mother's Day Out this month! I'm excited/nervous. He doesn't like to be without me, but I know it will be good for him to get to play with other kids and it will be nice to be able to get things done around the house.

-He's very beautiful! I know all moms feel this way but he is! His eyelashes are so long and pretty and he has just a sweetness to him. He loves to flirt and can definitely work the crowd!

-He wants me to hold him....a lot! My poor back is starting to ache but I just don't want to lose any of this baby time. It's so short! It's hard though because he doesn't want anyone else- especially at Mother's Day Out. When I drop him off he just cries and cries and it breaks my heart. But, I know I need to let him adjust so he can start enjoying some independence like Tate does.

-He is very loving. He squeezes me when I pick him up and will lay  his head on my shoulder. It's so sweet.

-He also will hum/sing when he's sleepy..just like Tate did! It's so sweet!

I love him VERY VERY much! He's growing up so much! I'm sad that he's grown out of the baby stage; however, I'm looking forward to seeing him grow into the spectacular boy (and man one day) he's going to be!

Bowen's First Birthday Bash

Bowen's first birthday snuck up on me. I kept thinking "I need to get things ready" but everyday just ran faster and faster. I never even got to sending out invitations. So, if you didn't get one please don't think I left you out. I decided to not have a big party on the day of his birthday because it was Steph and Eric's wedding weekend and it would've been stressful with so much going on so I waited until the week after and just called people over. I decided to have a beach themed party because it's so hot and it seemed fitting. It's still hard for me to believe that he's already a year old! I love him more all the time!

 He was more interested in grabbing the candle so we had help from big brother blowing it out.

 He dug right into his birthday cake

 and even got a life saver gummy stuck on his thumb

 sweet sugared up baby

 and the newest itty-bitty, Carson James and Mama

 Grammy and Tate runnin' wild

 while Baby Bo watches with Papa. He actually took his first set of steps 3 days in a row now! He'll be running in no time!

 and to clean off--and cool down-- the boys got in the turtle and soaked

 and splashed

 and head-butted/hugged

 and...um...lounged! lol

 What a goof

 family shot

 and Bowen took a ride on the trike

 with his Grandaddy

 and got bunches of lovin' from everyone

He's so loved! Happy birthday baby boy!

Bowen's 1st birthday!

Bowen's first birthday was on a Friday. Normally I would've had his birthday that day but we had a rehearsal dinner for Uncle Eric and Aunt Steph that night followed by their wedding the next day. It would've been very stressful and not nearly as focused on him as I would've liked so we delayed it for the next week and just spent his first birthday just us-our little family doing fun stuff for him. 

When he woke up I had bright balloons waiting for him. He was still very sleepy so it took him a minute to really get excited about them. Luckily, Tate was there to help him get pumped up about turning one---and about hitting the balloons! Tate kept saying "here ya doe (go) baby" and handing him the balloons. He's such a sweetheart and a great big brother!

 Wrestling with daddy

 Then we ate yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast. He really doesn't have a favorite breakfast so I figured this would be fun and sticky...just like he likes!

 He decided his cinnamon roll needed some sprucing up with blue sprinkles!

 Then we went to play at the park for a little before it got too hot. I wanted to take some shots of him with  his balloons like a hot air balloon. His nursery is decorated in vintage transportation (airplanes, trucks, etc) so I figured it was kind of fitting. He liked it for a while but then got tired of it.

Here's one I edited. 


and to my sweet little boy: you bring so much happiness and indescribable joy to our lives! I couldn't have dreamed my life would be filled with such love! Each day you bless us with your sweet laughter and your wonderful smile. I'm one proud Mama! I love you more and more each day and my love for you will always continue to grow! Lots of hugs and kisses, Mama