A Beach Day and Jell-O

Poor Josh has been so busy this summer that he hasn't been able to swim in the ocean at at all! So a couple Saturdays ago we went and spent an afternoon at the beach with my parents.

The weather was perfect and Chandler loved the ocean! (Please ignore my bald patches. Apparently, all your hair starts falling out after you have a baby. Which is super unfortunate when you didn't have a whole lot of hair to start with...)

We saw someone catch a shark which was enough to keep me from going further than about knee deep, but Josh and Dad were brave enough to boogie board.

We finished off the day by hanging out in the pool with Dad. It was a great Saturday!

And, on a side note, Halston had her birthday on the 29th and requested that I make her some stained glass Jell-O like I made on the 4th but in different colors. So here it is in pink and purple!

Lately

Chandler is getting so close to sitting up! He has to put his hands down by his feet like a gorilla and only lasts a little bit before toppling over, but his back is getting so strong! I love how he looks around all casually like he's been doing it all his life.

We've also had to start watching Chandler more closely when he's laying on a blanket because he has started grabbing it and pulling it up over his face. And here is a  bonus picture of him in the owl onesie that I made him...

For some reason, he always like to grab the sides of whatever he is sitting in...bouncer, car seat, changing table, etc. Josh loves it because he does the same thing.

We have been continuing to enjoy smiles, giggles, and adorable babbling. Prepare for photo overload. He's so cute, I can't make any picture cuts...

He will still eat pretty much anything that we put in his mouth. So far, we've only really given him vegetables because I've heard that once you start the fruits, that's all they want. We'll be starting fruit soon, though, and I'm sure that will make him way happy.

We were at the store the other day getting him some books, and we handed him one while we were looking around. When we took it away to leave the store, he started crying. And when we gave it back, he stopped. So we bought it and he LOVES it. He still gets so excited when we hand him and read him Wheels on the Bus.

Chandler has come a very long way with nap time and it isn't as difficult to get him to sleep anymore. I've been laying him down to sleep in our room because its blinds are more efficient than in his room and help him sleep better during the day. When I lay down next to him, it helps him fall asleep faster. And I know I should probably just let him learn to fall asleep on his own, but he turns and snuggles his face into mine and slowly falls asleep and I love it too much to give it up... But then the tricky part is trying to get up without waking him up. He is such a funny sleeper. The other day when he was napping, there was a HUGE storm going on outside. Every time the thunder boomed, it sounded like the Yankees were back and firing cannons directly at our house. I crept in to check on him because I didn't think there would be any way he could possibly sleep through that. Sure enough, he was still asleep, but as I crept away I made the floor just barely creek and it made him jump awake. Seriously, baby?

Here he is the day he turned 5 months:

Our 4th Anniversary

We've been married for 4 years! It's been the best 4 years of my life. I'm so blessed to have found this incredible man who is so patient and loving. I'm so grateful to him for working so hard so that I can stay home with Chandler. This guy works 40 hours a week at the resort and doing an internship at a CPA firm, is in school getting his master's degree, is the ward mission leader (which is a busy calling in South Carolina), and helps me manage the park. Even with all of this on his plate, he is unfailingly optimistic, attentive, and plain incredible. Seeing him as such a great dad has only made me love him more!

On the day of our actual anniversary Josh had class until late. So I surprised him with a steak dinner (his favorite!) when he got home. 

Our sweet little third-wheel joined us.

The next night, Mom and Dad were kind enough to watch Chandler so we could go out on a date with just the two of us. It's always hard leaving my boy behind...

We ended up at Carabbas, like we do for most special occasions. We love that place! And....I forgot to get a picture there. But we snapped a few before dinner!

Happy Anniversary, Josh! I love you more than life itself!

Oh, this face...

...it makes me happy.

Summer Fun

Here are a few pictures of the fun things that we have done this summer...

Back in May, Mom and I went to Charleston to visit Jordan and Kaitlyn. First, we walked along the battery:

Right after this picture was taken I noticed Chandler had a huge poopy explosion that got everywhere. And we couldn't find a bathroom and had to set up camp in a public park to get the job done. Good times.

At least he's cute.

Then we got some gelato to eat while swinging on the pier and walked along the famous Rainbow Row. (Also, I wish I could have this fountain in my back yard.)

A few weeks later we went and celebrated our friend Ashley's birthday on her family's houseboat!

And we've hit the beach with a few friends.

And Josh, Chandler, and I went to Myrtle Beach's 75th birthday party.

For the event, they decided to break Guiness's World Record for the largest cupcake tower! The tower ended up being 21 feet tall and was filled with 7,000 cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake, which is featured on the TLC TV series "DC Cupcake."

The stars of the series, Catherine and Sophie, were there to sign autographs and take pictures. The line was long, but they had live music and handed out little pinwheels that Chandler quickly became obsessed with. He couldn't decide if he wanted to watch it or eat it.

When we made it to the front, they were so nice! Sophie asked how old Chandler was and when I told her 5 months, she said "I have a 5 month old, too!" and we complimented each other on how good the other looked and then became best friends /(except for the best friends part...). Anyway, her husband and mother had the baby and we chatted with them for a little while. As it turns out, her baby was born the day before Chandler!

After the cupcake tower was completed, they handed out free cupcakes. And the way they did it was ridiculous. They just opened the flood gates and people went pouring in like a stampede and lost all inhibition. This lady next to me was trying to sacrifice her poor 12 year old daughter instead of herself by shoving her into me and the poor girl is saying "Mom, stop pushing me!" but I guess the mom just reaaaally wanted cupcakes, because she didn't stop. On top of that, there was a pretty strong wind that made me lose control of my cupcake box and hit some poor girl in the head. I felt so bad, but she was nice about it. Anyway, here are my battle-worn cupcakes.

But they were still delicious.