Beach Camp

A few weeks ago Ivy and I were brave and decided to join the youth group at Beach Camp.  Josh had to go of course because that is his job.  But Ivy and I decided that it would be better to be at Panama City Beach Florida watching daddy work than to stay in hot, flat, landlocked Dallas. 

This time we did not fly.  Ivy got to experience her first road trip!  Josh had to ride the bus so I road with our director of student ministries wife and two kids.   

For those of you who are good at math, YES!  That means we had 3 kids, in a van driving from Panama City Beach Florida!  Here is a picture below of Kathryn, Braxton and Nash.  They were our travel buddies.  

I'm not sure about the ride there but I know on the ride home we were in the car for a total of 16 hours and made 9 stops.  Between all the dirty diapers, hungry babies, and mommies that needed refreshing what would you expect?  The kids did pretty good expect for the occasional temper tantrum from Nash or Ivy.  Those little ones don't like to be in a car seat for that long. 

Below is a pic of Josh being Mr. Ref.  We really didn't spend much time with him that week. Just an occasional meal in the cafeteria or a hello on the beach.

Ivy made up for a lack of daddy time by getting some of her favorite high school boys to entertain her.   These are two guys in the 10th grade.  The one holding her is Spencer and he really loves babies!  He has two younger siblings so he is good with the little ones and Ivy loves his attention. 

If Ivy wasn't with me or being passed around by high school students, then she was in the arms of one of the leaders on the trip.  There were several older women that loved taking over mommy duty so I could play with the kids during rec time.  Here is a pic of Ivy taking a nap with Sandra on the beach.  

My most embarassing moment as a mom happend towards the end of the week.  Check out this pic of me below and pay close attention to my outfit and the sleeves.  Yes, it's silly and that is because our last night at camp we had a thrift store prom.  Our room was down the road from the other campers so I had to get dressed and then walk down the street by myself to the prom with Ivy in her stroller.   Just as I walk out the front door a church let their kids out of worship.  So there was some 200 plus kids and leaders from another church.  And here I come walking down the road looking like a hooker with a baby!!  It was like the red sea parted as I came strolling by.  Every one stopped and stared at me.  I won't repeat some of the choice words I heard but most kids screamed  "GO GET THE CAMERA"  " WHAT IS THAT??"   I was quite a site to see.  It was SOOO embarassing!!

If you want to see more pictures from Panama City Beach then CLICK HERE.

 

Lake Keowee

Ivy has been quite the traveler in her short 5 months of life.  Three weeks ago Ivy and I went again to South Carolina.  Why?  Because Grandmommy just had to see little Miss Ivy.

While we were at home my mom rented a house on Lake Keowee.  Keowee is a beautiful lake in the mountains just past Clemson.  The water is the most beautiful shade of greenish blue and the mountains wrap around the entire lake.  It's georgeous!  I so wish Josh could have been there.  Everyone always ask me why Josh isn't with me every time I go to SC.  My answer is... Do you know of a job that would give him that many days vacation???  

Above is a pic of Keowee.  I'm trying to show off my photography skills.  Do you like?
The lake house my mom rented was in the Cliffs.  There are several and we were in the Vineyards.  You can see the Vineyards in the back ground of this picture past my sister, brother in-law and niece Isabel.  
Above is a picture of "Ivy's favorite Uncle Fletcher".  

While we were home we got to see lots of friends and family.  Below is a picture of Ivy meeting Ms. Jessica Dean.

For those of you who don't know I actually do have a job.  Thanks to my 2nd cousin Jane Herlong I am able to work from home and plan my own hours.  Jane is a motivational speaker and I book her events.  She is SOOO amazing at what she does and is a wonderful boss.  If your company/organization ever needs someone to entertain and make a crowd laugh then Jane is your woman. You can check out her website at www.janeherlong.com

For those of you who know my dad you might think you are looking at him.  But no... this guy below is my Uncle Ben.  He is my dad's brother and yes, they look like twins. 

This is just a cute picture of Ivy and Isabel.  Isabel loves her cousin Ivy and loves to give her hugs.
This are just a few of the pictures of places and people we got to see on our trip. CLICK HERE to see the rest of the pics.  

Ivy's First Boy Friend

Yes!  Ivy has a boy friend.......  That would be a BOY who is her FRIEND.  You didn't think I ment a "real boyfriend" now did you?    She's only 4 months old!   

Ivy is not the only one with a new friend.  Josh and I have made some new wonderful friends right here in our apartment complex.  It's really an answer to prayer!  

I was wanting to meet some other ladies my age that had a baby Ivy's age in our apartment complex.  So I prayed and asked the Lord to make some introductions if possible.  Shortly after that prayer I met 3 young mothers and all of our babies are within 3 months of each other.  One baby was actually born 1 day after Ivy.  That baby would be the only boy in the group and Ivy's first boyfriend.  His name is Lauden.  

You can tell by the look on Ivy's face that she likes her new friend.

I don't think Lauden shares the same feelings.  I think he is still in that  "girls have coodies" phase.

Here is another cute pic of the two just chillin in the water on Memorial Day.  

Ivy is quite a lover of the water. I know it's been a few weeks but if you want to see some more pictures from her first beach trip then CLICK HERE.  

Our Memorial Day was fun!  We spent time at the pool with some of our new friends and our babies.  I also had a special guest that was a real treat.  Ms. Erin Greenfield came to visit!  Here is a pic of us right before she left.  I didn't have our camera so her brother took one from his phone.

Erin is my good friend who lives in New York.  Erin and I are sorority sisters from college and we were also in the same Bible study all four years.  Now she is a lawyer and works crazy hours and rarely gets a weekend off.  Thankfully she was able to get last weekend off and at the last min decided to come to Dallas to visit her brother.  Lucky for me I got to see her too.  

Guess what?? It's time for another SC trip.  Ivy and I are heading to my home state in one week!  Grandmommy... here we come!

  

First Beach Trip

YES!  We are back in SC but this time at the beach!  Ivy and I flew into Columbia on Friday.  The flight was terrific despite the fact that we sat on the run way for 2 hours before take off.  The weather caused a long delay. I could tell everyone on the plane was nervous about the baby and how she would handle everything but Ivy did GREAT!  She did not make a single noise except to laugh and coo at me.  She is such a good flyer!  Everyone on the plane complimented her and how good she was. 

We spent the first night with Pappy Joe and then Uncle Fletcher brought us to the beach.  We made a stop to see our great Aunt Johnsie and then we arrived in Myrtle Beach to stay with Grandmommy and Grandpa Bledsoe.  We have been having a good time and we can't wait for Josh to meet us on Wednesday. 

Here are some pictures of our vacation so far. 

On Sunday my Aunt Harriet and cousin Ben come down to visit.  We had sooo much fun doing a fashion show with Ivy and all of her cute bathing suits.  

Here is a picture of Aunt Harriet and Ben with Ivy. 

This is one of the first pictures from our fashion show.  This bathing suit is sooo cute and is on loan from her friend Ryann.

We had to get a picture of the back of this bathing suit.  It was just too cute.  Daddy said no to two pieces but we snuck it on her.

Here she is showing the mid drift.  I hope daddy doesn't look at the blog or Ivy might be grounded.  Or perhaps mommy will be.

Ivy said that she wants to be like Great Aunt Harriet.  She's trying to start by getting the "head tilt" down for pictures.

This is a video of Ivy's first time in the Ocean.  Uncle Fletcher is the one who got to do the honors.  Pay attention to the very end.  It will explain why I had to knock him out.  The bruise is mild and will go away soon.

Free Diapers for 6 Months!

Can you believe it?  We couldn't!  So last week I go to the mail box and find a letter from my dear and sweet friend Carmen Wagner.  I rarely get mail from her so I couldn't imagine what it would be.  Carmen was a summer roommate in Clemson my senior year.  So anyway, I open the envelope and there was TONS of coupons for free diapers.  Not just any kind of diaper but my very favorite, PAMPERS!!!  

It turns out that Carmen enters contest all the time to win any and everything.  She entered a contest to win a lot of money and instead she won a 6 month diaper supply of Pampers. (Carmen is single so she doesn't really need them at this point.)  Instead of trying to sell them on Ebay she so graciously mailed them to us!   It's so neat to see how the Lord provides in the most mysterious ways.  We are thankful for Carmen's kindness and how the Lord used her contest fettish to help us out.  :)   Above is a pic of all the coupons.

We have been slow at posting blogs because we are in transition of computers right now.  Josh and I used the good ole tax return to purchase a Mac Laptop.  We are loving it so far but there is a learning curve.  We still need to transfer all pictures to this computer.  

Other than that we have been enjoying life with Ivy.  Ivy went to her first birthday party a few weeks ago.  It was for Ryann Lamb's 1st B-day.  Here is a pic 

of the two little girls.

Here is just a cute picture of Ivy getting a bubble bath.  She LOVES her bath and being in the water.  Hopefully she will take after mommy and be a swimmer!  It's a good thing she likes the water because we are heading to the beach this weekend!  SC here we come again!

Visting South Carolina

Over a week ago Ivy and I traveled home to South Carolina. We were there for 10 days! It was awesome to see so many friends and family. Our reason for going home was for two reasons. One, Josh was going on a mission trip to Vegas and we didn't want to sit in Dallas alone for a week. Two, my mom had hip replacement surgery and we wanted to be there to help her recover. The timing was great!

Ivy LOVED South Carolina! She was sooo good on the trip. She was even good on the plane. She didn't cry once and everyone on the flight told me I had a good baby. I am glad because we are going to be traveling to SC a lot.

Before we headed out to SC we were blessed with a visit from Aunt Carmen, Uncle Bernie and cousin Isabel. It was nice to have more family here and for the cousins to meet. Isable is a one year old and she adored her cousin Ivy. Isabel seemed to think that Ivy was her little baby doll. She would just lay her head on Ivy and hug her. Here is a cute pic of her doing that.

Isabel also loved swinging Ivy. She really would swing her! Here is the picture to prove it. (If you notice Isabel's outfit don't blame Carmen. Bernie and Josh dressed her this way.)

Ivy is not sure that Fletcher will be her favorite Uncle. He was a little nervous about holding her. Fletcher said.."I don't do bobble heads". I guess Ivy will get more Uncle Fletcher time once she gains more head control. Fletcher also was only able to burp her for about 2 mins. He said his hand was getting tired. Guess he's lost muscles since his days on the Clemson football team.

This was just a cute pic of Ivy. She is passed out after a day at the Park with Isabel.

Here is another cute picture of Ivy on Easter Sunday. She is such a doll and I love dressing her up!

Ivy got to meet so many family and friends while we were home. Here is a list of who she met and what Ivy thought about them. If you want to see more pics of our trip then CLICK HERE.

Aunt Carmen - She is really good with babies and it's obvious mom has learned a lot from her.

Grandmommy - She is so much fun! She was so sweet to buy all kinds of toys and things we needed at the house to make traveling easy. I can't wait to see her again.

Grandpa Bledsoe - He is a little nuts but I think I'll always have a lot of fun with him.

Uncle Bernie - I hope he never has to pick out my outfit.

Uncle Fletcher - Needs to improve on baby holding skills.

Cousin Isabel - I'm glad to have a cousin close to my age. I can't wait to play with her once I grow up.

Uncle Brian and Aunt Amanda - Those two need to have a baby soon so we'll have more cousins to play with.

Great Grandma Nonnie - She is really pretty, especially for her age. I hope I got some of her genes.

Ashley Alexander - What a sweet friend! She is a natural with babies.

Doctor Grier - He needs to get over mom breastfeeding me. She had a cover over her. He's a little strange acting, especially for a pediatrician. Dr. Cody and Dr. Lyle were much better with me.

Anderson Family - (This includes Jeff, Melanie, Jeffery, Bethany, Greg, and Patty). I have heard the Anderson family is strange. The jury is still out and I'll make my decision as I grow up.

Aunt Martha - She is sooooo good with babies. I could sleep in her arms forever.

Uncle Joe Ben - He is a funny man and I hope mommy will let me play with him a lot when we come home.

Tavaras - WOW! I have never been held by a man with such dark skin.

Jenn Breaux - For not having kids she was pretty good with me. I liked her and hope to see her again.

Briani - Ummm. She needs to spend more time with infants before I let her hold me again.

Aunt Harriet - She is my clothing idol. I want to dress like her when I grow up. She is stylin! But I hope she will remember not to call me a dog next time. When I burped she said.. "Good dog". I think it's been a while since she has been around babies.

Grandpa Joe - He seems a bit "task oriented". When we come home I will need to be added to his "to do" list to make sure we spend time together. But he is fun too! I little crazy but still fun.

Again, if you want to see pic's of Ivy with her family and friends then CLICK HERE.

Lauren VIsits!

Last weekend Lauren Davis was in town for her wedding shower. Lauren also brought her mom, Ms. Debbie. Ivy and I had a blast with these two great friends. While they were here we took Lauren out for a bachlorette party and then had her lingerie shower the next day. It was so much fun! I actually got to get out and dance! Josh was busy last weekend with Chi Alpha. Chi Alpha is a weekend retreat with the youth group. I didn't see him all weekend.


This is a picture of some random women that wanted to get in on the baclorette party action.

This is Ms. Debbie. Ivy loved having Ms. Debbie babysit so she didn't have to go dancing with us. She hasn't developed her dancing skills yet.

I think Ivy likes Ms. Debbie better than Lauren.

This is a sweet pictures of Josh singing to Ivy. She loves when her daddy sings to her. He has a much better voice than mommy.

I added some more pics to her 2 month album. CLICK HERE to see.

More Pics of Ivy

Here are some more pics of little Ivy.

Who said it takes a baby 3 months to develope a smile??

Now she's not smiling here. I think it's because Daddy did her hair.

I think she is trying to blow a kiss. Hopefully not at any boys!

Here is a glimpse of one of her many tempertantrums. She pitched this one when daddy said no to a shopping trip.

She calmed down when he told her that she could go to Grandma & Grandpa's house instead. She knows she can get what she wants from them.

If you want to see more recent pics then click here.

Visitors

We have been busy bee's around here. I've been living in Texas for 4 years and I've never had tons of visitors. If you live away from home and want your family and friends to visit you then just have a baby and they will flock to you. :)

Josh and I have been blessed to have so many friends and family come by to meet Ivy. Lot's of our local friends and family have been by to visit but recently we had 3 visitors in a row and we have enjoyed chilling with them. Here is a picture of Ivy in her "chill" mode.




This next picture is my dad. He came to visit us last weekend and it was a huge blessing. My dad is quite the handy man and loves to stay busy. I had a long "to do" list for him. He helped us in many ways from fixing up our cars to painting the baby's bathroom. He may not have changed a diaper while he was here but he was super helpful and we enjoyed spending time with him. Here is Ivy with Grandpa Joe.

My mom also came to visit. She was here for Ivy's birth but she came back to visit for a week. This was a tremendous help to me and for my sleep. My mom did the 6am feeding for a week and I was able to get some shut eye. Mom was sooo helpful with teaching Josh and I some tips to taking care of infants. We learned a lot from her. I was actually getting worried that Ivy might think my mom was her mom because she pretty much did everything while she was here. I really enjoyed the relief and the company. It's really hard to get up at 6am now because I am so use to her doing it for me. Josh has been a sweetheart and jumps in to help as much as he can.

Anyway, here is Ivy with Grandmommy.

One of our other visitors was Samantha. Sam is one of my best friends and college roommies. She was traveling cross country to move to LA. Sam drove from Florida to Cali and made a point to stop by Dallas for 2 days to meet Ivy. Sam's visit came in good timing. Josh had been super busy with work and school and I was starting to feel like a single mother. Sam brought the company I desperately needed. It's always fun to catch up and spend time with her. Ivy really liked Sam too and wants to go visit her in Cali soon.

If you want to check out more pictures of Ivy then CLICK HERE. Check out her 1 & 2 Month Album.