Afternoon on the Harpeth

Reesi, getting a lesson on skipping rocks from the master.

"Ooooh," said Elye.

I love this concoction that was built for the rope swing.

Larry joked that I used to be adventurous and would have gone off the swing.

I think it's not that I was scared, but I really didn't want to have to ride home soaking wet in dirty water.

I guess I am officially old.

Shelby Street Bridge

Reesi and her ginormous sunflower she grew. Ironically, she name it Daisy.

As you can tell, Elye was not feeling like cooperating that night.

The girls and I left Larry alone for almost a week, so when I got home we were ready for some family time. Saturday night Larry had to swing by Shelby fields so we decided to make a night of it. We went downtown to hit Satco and walk the Shelby Street Bridge. It was a busy night downtown with arm-banded American Idol hopefuls taking a break from the try-outs and some unidentified concert on the Riverfront. On our way back to our car we decided to let the girls play in the water in front of the Capital. We had no towel or extra clothes. Reesi rode home in wet undies and a dry shirt found in the bottom of the stroller and Elye rocked the white trash diaper look, but they didn't care a bit. They just loved the water. Even though Elye screamed and cried most of the car ride there and back and would only ride in her stroller 25% of the time, it was still a fabulous family night.

Good, Cheap Fun

Indiana, Again

Her fanny pack full of dog treats

Boyd's corn on the cob

The girls and I decided to take advantage of the fact that there is no school, no work, and they feed us for free. So we are in Indiana for the week, again. It's just so much more fun to play outside here than in our backyard! Over the past couple days Reesi's been working on training Sophie and Elye's been raiding the pantry.

The Fourth of July

I think this is my face trying to decide if I should let her lay her little head on a dirty goat or make her scream.

I decided to let her lay her head on a dirty goat.

Reesi at Sweet Cece's.

Sarah and Elye

This is the dog that Elye fell in love with. She would lay her head on him and wrap her arms around him. The sweet little dog just let her do whatever she wanted.

Our no good, horrible, firework spot. We'll know better next year.

On the actual Fourth of July Larry got home in time to celebrate. We headed downtown Franklin for Franklin on the Fourth. We ate with Karen and Van and walked around looking at the booths set up. After about an hour in stroller Elye was ready to get out. We let her out and she started dancing to the music immediately. She loved it! We also went to the petting zoo. Elye would go up to the sheep and goats and lay her head on them(I did try to sanitize her head afterwards). She loves animals!

We then ran into Bob and Sarah from school and went for some yogurt at Sweet Cece's. At this point Elye had already decided she was not going to get back in the stroller. Sarah was sweet enough to help us out with holding her and following her as she tried to run away. Elye was loving it! After Lori Morgan performed we went to find the perfect spot for fireworks. It turned out it wasn't such a great spot after all, but we made the best of it. We didn't get home until 10:15, which is the latest Elye has ever stayed up. I can't believe she made it the whole time without a major breakdown. I think she just loved being outside and being able to explore!

The Third of July

The Third of July

After my 27 hour tour of baby duty, I was ready for a break. Reesi, Elye, and I headed to White House to party it up with all our WH friends. Elye stayed for a couple hours until Julie came by to take her home to her house for dinner and bed so I could enjoy the rest of the party. Reesi stayed in the pool the majority of the time. She also loved the super long sparklers. I tried to take pictures of the night, but the pictures I missed were Lofton and Jude cleaning out the swing set boat. Apparently, their favorite thing to do is to pee in the boat, in the boat's telescope, and on the slide right before they go down it. To a mother of girls, this was hilarious to me, but I don't think Carmen and Amy are laughing anymore.

After the fireworks, Reesi and I headed to Julie's to spend to night. Elye was sound asleep when my head hit the pillow at 10:10. The rest of the night went as follows:

10:30 Elye cries

10:40 I get her back down

10:45 Elye coughing

10:50 Elye crying

10:55 Elye coughing, gagging, and then throwing up down my back

11:00 Elye not wanting to go to sleep. Normally, at home I would put her in the crib, shut the door, and let her cry. However, little Easton is right next door and is just beginning to improve his nighttime sleeping issues of his own. I knew I couldn't let her cry or she would wake him up and cause even more problems. During this hour of trying to get Elye to sleep she was pretty sweet. I remember at one point while I was walking her around she was laying her head on my shoulder and holding on so tight. Then I felt this little hand start patting my back. Even during frustrating times babies will do the sweetest things that make it all worth it.

11:40 Motherly frustration after walking the floor trying to get Elye to sleep

11:50 Throw in the towel, load up the girls and bags into the car

11:55 Reesi stays asleep, Elye is quiet for the ride home

12:15 Elye's screaming wakes up Reesi who just wants to go to bed. Elye stealing Reesi's blanket. Reesi's mad. Blanket goes back to Reesi. Elye screams and cries the rest of the way home.

12:37 Finally, pull into our house.

12:45 Elye in bed, crying

1:00 Elye finally asleep!!!

Not a good ending to a fun day, but thankfully I dodged all the drunks on the road and my bed never felt so good!

The Second of July

I had to pull out the Moby Wrap so I could feed Easton without Elye screaming.

Easton never seemed to notice that Elye was being a little selfish with the toys.

I pulled out a bath seat so Easton could sit on the rug. Look who ended up in the bath seat.

My holiday weekend started out with me and two babies. Larry was in Atlanta for the whole weekend, Reesi was at Mimi and Papoo's, and I was home with Elye and my sister's 5 month old, Easton. The challenge was me, 27 hours, no other adults, a 14 month old, and a 5 month old. During this 27 hours, Elye's jealous bone showed up several times. Everything Easton did, she had to do. When I changed his diaper she laid down next to him for me to change her diaper. When he ate baby food she had to eat baby food. When he had a toy, well, she made sure he never had toys for very long. When I held him she screamed until I held her. It was a long 27 hours, but I made it. I think teenagers should have to do this for a couple days because it is a wonderful form of birth control!