A Special Thank You!

In the excitement of sharing Foster' special day online, I failed to say some deserved Thank Yous to those family members and friends who helped us prepare for the big day.  I would like to send a special Thank You to Nana and Papa (Debbie and Frank) for helping us prepare for the day.  Nana and I took Foster shopping for the yummy treats we had at the party and babysat while I ran some much needed errands in preparation.  Papa drove ten hours down to south Florida and back with Daniel to pick up Foster's big boy bed that I found on EBAY!  Love, love, love EBAY!  Of course we will not move him into the bed until next summer, but with Daniel deploying this fall and finding the exact bed we wanted for such a steal...we couldn't resist being prepared!  We truly appreciate your efforts and support!  Another Thank You goes out to Aunt Meme (Jaime) for all her help during the party and after.  It was so nice having an extra, unoccupied set of hands!  OF course she didn't mind the snuggles she got along the way!  Our neighbors loaned us numerous items that were of such use and we appreciate their generosity as well!  Missy Fancher helped me create all the signs and cute cut outs by allowing me to borrow her Cricut and her opinion on color choice and pattern!  I am sure there are others I have left off this list, but please know that we feel so lucky to have the family and friends that we do and each one of you who has had a role in Foster's life to this point is helping shape him into the incredible little man he is! 

It's my Party...

And I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cr-yyy if I want too...You would cry to if you didn't nap too!

On Saturday, July 14th, we had a party to celebrate Foster's first birthday.  He turned one year old the following day, but we wanted to include as many of our family members and friends in the celebration as we possibly could, so we opted to have the party one day early.  Unfortunately, that still did not help MJ and PJ.  MJ was diagnosed with Shingles the day before they were supposed to leave for their trip down to Florida. Yikes!  Foster could not get vaccinated until the 16th, so they had to miss out on the festivities.  We were disappointed to say it lightly, but for the health of everyone they stayed in Atlanta.  We took many pictures and some video and sent them the following day, so they could feel as much a part of his big day as possible!

Foster must have sensed the excitement in the air because

Just Another Day at the Beach...

And what day it was!  Armed with the hat and rash guard from Aunt Mimi and some beloved beach toys, Foster took to the tide pools.  It was low tide just as we arrived, so the pools were nice and toasty.  Foster played the entire 2 hours in the water with his toys.  He giggled and splashed to his heart's content.  He is a born fish...which comes as no surprise to anyone who knows the background of my side of the family.  I was practically born on a pair of water skies!  And now with a dad in the Navy and a mom who was a former swimmer, Foster is genetically predisposed ti love the water!  I think you would all agree!  And I mean how cute is he?

Father's Day in the Country

Daniel used 4 days of his unused baby leave so we could make the trek to his hometown of Troy, North Carolina.  It seems rare that we get to use any leave to be alone.  We are always traveling to see some family member.  One of these days, I will put my foot down and we will use leave days to enjoy each other's company in our own home with our baby boy!

However, we did enjoy the time in Troy.  Foster wasn't super happy about the tail end of the trip, but what mobile, busy baby wants to be strapped in the car for 7 hours???  He was great overall, just ready to get out at the end of the trip!  But of course, so was I!  We spent the weekend  with Daniel's parents. Debbie even threw a Mary Kay party with many of her lady friends.  Such Fun!  If you haven't had your lady friends over in a while, you should and throw in a Mary Kay makeover to boot!  Saturday we helped Daniel's grandparents around the house; not that they will allow us to do much for them!  Daniel's sister, her boyfriend and their baby boy came for a while too.  His Aunts and Uncles also came by to visit us and of course spend time with the cutest baby who ever lived, Foster!  Daniel got to enjoy his Grandmother's cooking and baking and of course he ate his fair share of NC barbecue-YUCK!  We even had to take some home for the freezer.  Grant and Sabrina swung by with the kids as did Devon and the boys.  All in all it was a nice weekend getaway...save the unpacking once we got home!  As always Welli and Chloe traveled like champs.  It is amazing how much stuff you need to travel with both baby and dogs!

Father's Day in the Bag...

OR should I say mug???
I am so far behind on this blog.  Things around here have been crazy since I started my own business with Mark Kay.  It is a good busy, but busy is busy.

For Father's day this year, Foster decided to pull out his "old" aviator's hat and have a photo shoot for dad.  We took the pics from the shoot and made Daniel/Dad a cute mug.  One he can take with him when he goes on deployment this fall.  It was so funny to compare the photos Bri had taken in October with the same hat  to the ones we took together as an 11 month old boy.  Wow he has changed so much!  I didn't know that any baby could get any cuter, but amazing he has!  See for yourself.  Here are some of the best!

Swimming with Shelby

Last week, before dinner Wednesday night we spent a little time next door with the Bell family.  Their grandaughter, Shelby, was over and Foster and she

10 Months- Seriously?

I simply cannot get over the fact that in less than 2 months, Foster will be a year old!  Shouldn't I be slimmer?  He is so big and so sweet!  In fact, I put a pair of shorts on him this morning, and I was glad I did because they are a little tight!  Oops!  I guessed we missed the boat on those.  I am thinking I need to go back through the closet and pull out the items I love so much and just hate to put away...and actually wash some of the 12-18 month stuff!  Wow!  He is so long.  I haven't gotten him to Dr. West yet for the 10 month check, but will do it next week and provide a weight and a height.  He moves