Summer Jammin'

It's probably no secret that my baby loves music (i.e. guitar he carries everywhere).  Ever since I can remember, we have listened to music while we do things together.  Heck!  We barely turn the T.V. on when we have our music playing...

For bath time, we tend to pull up the closest holiday/season's Pandora station.  On the ride in the car, we listen to our favorite Sirius stations.  And while we are playing outdoors, we tend to listen to easy, fun, upbeat songs:)  So today, I thought we'd share our favorite Summer Playlist for those hot summer days!

They say listening to your favorite song is thought to cause your brain to release dopamine, a "feel-good" chemical.  It can release the same "reward circuits in the brain as food (no wonder Cam is a fan!) (Discovery).  I definitely can tell a difference when we listen to music during activities vs complete silence or the T.V blurring in the background.  Cam doesn't get frustrated as easily, and is less likely to start pitching a fit!  And I can never have enough random Cam dance parties!  Baby got moves;)

*Sorry in advance for all the Boyce Avenue:)

Here's to soaking up these last few days of summer rays:)

Friday Favorites

It's Friday, Friday, Friday!  And SIX days until we hop on a plane to North Dakota, and our family can be complete again...We are so excited.  Here's to hoping Cam likes my lap and window view (fingers crossed) more than a car seat!  Until we embark on our little summer adventure, we just wanted to share a few things that we are loving right now.  I'd love to hear from you as well on this subject...;)

McDonalds Ice Coffee:  I don't know what it is, but I about have to make a run for their sugar free vanilla, every day!  It's the perfect summer treat in my book.  A large is a dollar!  Hashtag WOOT!

Thirty One Cooler:  I just got mine in the mail and haven't got to stock it up for a pool date yet, but I can already tell I am going to love it.  It has tons of space, and organizing compartments for all the snacks Cam loves to tag along-not to mention it's adorable!

Fresh Flowers: I love the warmth and coziness they bring to our home and Cam loves to sniff them.  Enough said!  It's a sad grocery trip when there aren't many to choose from!  The brighter the better.

Tory Burch Sandals:  These babies went on sale while we were at the beach, and given that our dog had chewed every presentable pair of flip flops I had up...I made these mine.  I really needed a good quality shoe I could wear around town and to work (so excited to be able to wear open toed shoes to work now!)  I love my decision:)

Converse All Stars:  Since we are talking about shoes...I love these for Cam!  We got him a pair last fall and he out grew them so fast!  If it's any indication of my love for these shoes, I got this pair for him this summer and hoping they will last him on into (finger crossed) the fall.  They make dressy outfits look kid appropriate (and stink in' cute with a punky edge;), and fit right in with play clothes.  If he grows out of them by fall, I think I'm gonna go for the high tops...it was a hard decision between those and the ones we bought.

Also, a favorite of ours...seasonally appropriate fruit snacks (haha) and chalk play:)

Cam decided Mom needed some help marking down the days...

Well thats a wrap on the Friday Favorites!  I hope everyone has a blessed weekend.

P.S.  I would like to wish "B.B" (Cam's Grandmother and my MIL) a wonderful, happy birthday today!  Happy Friday, Friends!:)

Cam These Days...

It's been a while since I have shared Cam with you:)  Right?  Haha, okay maybe not-- but he just turned 16 months old so I think it's only fair you indulge me with some funny stories and milestones.

Words: mama, dada, shoe, puppy, bite, bye bye, shew (with the head shake and everything), more (also sounds like mama most of the time), moon, nana (banana and nana), papa, "C", cookie, ball (he can definitely scream say "ball," especially in a store:( , "tar" for guitar, no, bubble, tree, truck, La-la, hat, bear, bye, book.

On the go: climbs stairs, runs, waves, peek-a-boo, high fives, stingy kisses, dances, grabs every passy he sees, crawls under things

Cam Fun: toilet scrubbers, toilet plungers (against my will-this is how he learned "whew!"), pushing, pulling, picking up the heaviest items in sight (Hercules baby), "reading", putting on shoes, playing his guitar and singing, dancing, drawing, cleaning (broom, swiffer, etc.), trying sunglasses on and cramming them on other people, "talking on the phone," smelling flowers, driving anything with a wheel, "mowing", giggling, he lights up when he spots an animal, pulls on shirt collars when he is tired or sleepy,  turning the bathwater "on and off" (complicating bath time...).

Cam the Foodie: He's eating almost everything right now.  Most of the time we do fruits and a grain for breakfast (toast/oatmeal/bagel), grains and veggies for remainder of day for both lunch and supper.  We keep sweet things in moderation, but indulge in a little something sweet a couple days a week.  Cam's favorite snacks seem to be goldfish, cheerios, graham crackers, yogurt, fruit, and cheese.  He drinks milk in the mornings with breakfast and at night before bed.  For the most part he drinks water, and juice in moderation:)  He's a great eater!

He loves all things boy.  Cars, trucks, planes, guitars, drums.  Name a loud noise, he's gonna love it!  He is more attached to his paci now more than ever, And his favorite shoes are his moccs.  Start getting him ready, and he will bring you his moccs to complete his outfit:)

I can't believe how these last few months have flown by.  Cam has grown and developed beautifully (Thank the Lord) into the most precious, sweet baby boy a momma (and daddy) could ask for.  We are head over heels in love with him, and if it is even possible, it grows with every giggle or fit he pitches!  And now that he has teeth, that gummy grin that I just knew I could never part with...is now the most adorable toothy grin I have EVER seen!

Cam and the Beach...
1.  He waved at every. plane. in. sight.
2.  Always on the lookout for the moon:)
3.  Chased the seagulls until they flew away (does he know something we don't know?)
4.  Loved to wake mama and daddy up early.  And refused to go to sleep.  Hmmm.
5.  We learned he had an arm like Tom Brady (says Mom).  All he wanted to do was throw balls!  And steal them from other beach goers...
6.  He had a little Tour de Seafood...crab meat & shrimp
7.  He loved running from the tide and watching the adults run for his toys as he chucked them into the ocean.
8.  Hated the carseat.  What-changed!?

Here birdy, birdy!

The essential balls of our trip

Point and wave.  The airplane routine:)

Every. sunglass. stand.

Happy Thursday, Friends!

One week til' we jet set to see the Mr!  Can't WAIT!

A Summer Vacation Story

I could probably do a month's worth of beach pictures and stories but I promise to keep it under control!:)  It's been a week and a half (give or take) since we returned from our trip...talk about a lot of sad souls heading back to the mountains last Sunday.  Why does it have to go by at warp speed???  Enough about the sadness though, let's reminisce about the fun.  

It all started with a lost cellphone.  If you know me, you know it's not a day unless I am after a lost item.  Before we headed to the Sunshine State, we had to pick the Mr. up at the airport that evening.  Since we had a bit of time to kill, we decided to hang out in Atlanta and shop a little before heading to the airport.  While at the mall, Cam decided it was time for our daily wrestling match and before I had a chance to tap out (Hallelujah) the time rolled around for Cade's flight to return.  We found our friends and jumped in our cars to head to the airport.  

Before we even got out of the parking lot, Cade had called our friends whom I was following to inform us that a lady in Belk had just answered my phone.  Turns out, I was too busy trying to defend myself in the Iron Man Match with Cam to realize that my phone was missing.  Thank God for honest people and my husband's sense of humor!

Needless to say, Cade waited at the airport a little longer than anticipated, but we got him and all in life was perfect:)  I think that may have been why this vacation was one of my favorite.  I missed him so much since he left for ND and we finally had uninterrupted time together and with Cam to just enjoy life!

We didn't just enjoy life that week, we laughed until our stomachs hurt and tears poured.  Maybe it was because our husbands decided to relive their younger years by snorkeling, crab hunting, tossing balls, and fishing.  Or maybe it was going out for ice cream one night and totally getting inside the wrong car (lock your doors, people!)?  We can't forget the night Cam pooped all down our friend Lance's back in Target (my personal favorite).  Or the night all six adults forgot their room key and we had to contact security to let us back in our room at midnight:/

I think our favorite times were spent on the beach in the evenings when the low tide would give us the perfect sandbar to run, play, and eat popsicles on:)  

Popsicle Face:)

I so thankful that the Lord blessed us with such a rejuvenating time with some sweet friends.  He knew that we needed a lot of laughs and sunshine in our life and thats just what he delivered (as usual).

That is all.  Now, I am playing Christmas music and ready for fall;) #copingmechanisms

Remember Me?

Hi y'all...  Remember me?  It's been a while!

Since I've been gone, A LOT (I repeat) A LOT has happened.  
Have I really already attended my last day of work for my first job?  Is our beach vacation with our friends over?  Does Cam really have a mouth full of teeth and refuse to sleep anywhere but  in bed with me?  Did I seriously order a new Christmas tree yesterday?  How did I survive almost three weeks without internet?  

WOW.  Yes, it really all happened!  And I am here to say it can all happen in a span of 2-3 weeks!  No doubt, it is time to catch up:)  What has this summer had you and yours up to?

Happy Monday, Everyone!  So happy to be back to blogging again.

Red, White, & BOOM

Red, White, and BOOM!  That seemed to be the theme around our fourth festivities this year.  

The Fourth and summer vacation have always been the highlight of my summer and they are happening all within two weeks of one another.  I've tried to contain my excitement with all this summer fun, but can it get any better than a Christmas Marathon on the Hallmark Channel in middle of all the fun?  I think not.

Our Fourth was an absolutely beautiful day full of sunshine, lake water, and sweet faces.  Which, we feel pretty entitled to after last years dreary celebrations.  To kick it off, we had fruit fireworks for breakfast...and read Cam's "Red, White, and BOOM" book.  We read it over.  And over.  And over again. Which led Cam to yelling BOOM for pretty much the remainder of the day:)

We boated, floated, and stuffed our faces most of the day.  Made smores, played fiddles, and decked ourselves out in neon mickey glow stick ears.  What, you didn't?  

Late in the evening we gathered on the porch for our own personal firework show over the lake.  We had both floating lanterns and fireworks.  Talk about an excited baby.  And I guess we all get a little nervous over how baby will handle the fireworks.  Well, I am happy to say that the Camster did better than expected with the real life BOOMs.  He was pretty much in awe or well, maybe a trance for most of the fun.  

All in all, we had a great Fourth.  It would have been perfect had the Mr been there with us.

{shirt, bobo and coco}

Back to stuffing our faces.  We enjoyed an Ice Cream Flag Cake, Boom Popcorn, and Ice Cream Fruit Cones.  You can find the Ice Cream Flag Cake recipe here,   and the Boom Holiday Cookie Crumb Popcorn below.  As for the Ice Cream Fruit Cones, I cut out the fruit shapes with an ice cream cookie cutter with thin slices of cantaloupe and watermelon.  Once the shapes are cut, I used an icing pipe bag to swirl on the fruit dip recipe (Mix 1 package cream cheese+1 container marshmallow creme) and wa-lah!  And since it's the Fourth, I added a touch of the Fourth with some red, white, and blue sprinkles:)

Best kinda firework snack;)

It really works!  And tastes good too...

I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth with family and friends.

I do apologize for the recent hiatus... our internet line has been destroyed in construction!

Should be up and working in no time, but for now...we are enjoying life out of town and on vacation time:)