more goodbyes

this week we had to say goodbye to shelby, and then a few days later we had to say goodbye to coleman.  i can't handle anymore!  i cried way too much these past few weeks...i tell myself my body is still crazy from having mae, but that was almost a year ago, so i think i've officially become a crier. 

we spent a lot of time with uncle coleman before he left.  mae has really started to enjoy him.  it's been so fun to see my brothers become uncles, and to see how much they love mae.

mae had her long john jammies on and coleman wanted to match...

we spent saturday with my dad and coleman.  they were cleaning cars, and mae was happy to eat lunch and watch the action.

then we headed out to the pool

still squatting like a champ.  she won't really sit that much anymore, this is her preferred method.  homegirl is going to have some solid thighs.

saying goodbye...

the happs

last week was kind of sad for us.  we had to say bye to reid.  he left for his first year at utah state.  we're so excited for him, but we sure will miss him around here. he's one of my favorite people, and closest friends, so it was hard to say bye to him! we had to get a picture of mae and her uncle reid the day he left.

coleman really wanted to photo bomb

last week we had some great weather (no humidity...love that), so mae and i headed over to the fountains to keep her busy/ wear her out!  she had a blast.

cody takes some really good pictures of mae.  i need to take a photography class or something, my pictures are not up to par.  here are a few from his impromptu photo session with mae the other night. 

 

you can tell how much this little girl loves her daddy.  it's so sweet to see them playing together.  when he gets home, i like to make sure that they have some daddy/ daughter time.

on saturday we got to have rufus for the day!  mae and rufus are so cute together.  and seriously, they wore each other out.  for the first hour, they pretty much ran around the house chasing each other.  it is so cute to watch them play together.

in other news, cody is moving to a project that is located in reston.  we're so excited that he'll be closer.  his commute now takes about and hour and a half, so we're hoping that we'll be able to see him a little more now!  especially with school starting next week.  last semester of his mba progam, woohoo!  i'm so proud of him.  he's worked really hard these past few years, what an awesome accomplishment.

back into the groove

these past few weeks since we've been home from the beach have felt like an eternity.  for some reason, i feel like we have been home way longer than like two weeks.  we've been trying to get back into our normal groove.

mae has been in constant teething mode.  we have round the clock drooling, fevers, crazy poo's, chewing on anything especially her hands, crankiness, and a constant stream of baby tylenol.  two teeth have come in, and two are making their way in.  poor thing.  despite the major meltdowns she's had, overall she has been a happy girl.  i'm hoping those two teeth come soon!

 since coming home, mae has enjoyed exploring everything now that she can walk on her own.  she loves going to gram's and grandma's where there is endless amounts of space to roam. 

we're still enjoying extremely awesome hair....

mattie and erich let me borrow their copy of pitch perfect...love that movie.  anyways, i was watching it while i was running one morning, and mae was playing.  when the singing came on she dropped everything.  she was enthralled.  i had to rewind a scene a few times because she loved it so much, and would get upset when it was over.  during the movie, she started clapping and dancing for the first time! it was so fun to watch.

she was playing with the cover of the dvd, and then when i went to put the movie away, i couldn't find the cover anywhere.  seriously, i lifted up couches, moved all kinds of furniture, and i could not find it.  then, a few days later, she strolled up to me with it in her hands...i still do not know where she stashed it.


mae always has to be holding something when she's walking.  it doesn't really matter what it is, just as long as she's got something. right now she's loving this little plastic bucket.

 she's mastered the low squat.  she can sit like this for a while.  babies have to have some serious lower body strength.  i work out 6 days a week, and i'm pretty sure i could only last like 30 seconds like this.

we've had fun the past few weeks spending time with reid and coleman before they leave for school.  mae has also been able to have quality time with her cousins shelby, spencer, and noah.  she loves all the attention she's getting.
we've had some fun play dates.  and i also finally took her to the kids club at the gym.  the first time she did great, she took off running and didn't look back, she made all kinds of friends.  the second time, she got a little whiny the last few minutes.  but when i took her today, the kids club workers had to come find me because she was crying so hard.  i was not expecting that.  so, we'll see how she does next time!

Beach Trip Part 3

the third and final installment of our trip to the beach.

this week, cody had to go back to work, so mae and i were left to our own devices.  luckily we had plenty of people who were willing to help!  and of course, this was also the week that mae got another tooth, so we had a couple of fussy days.  but, other than that she was awesome.

there were plenty of walks this week.

there was a great tide pool this week, and mae had a blast playing in it.

her toy of choice this week was my aunt's hairbrush.  she would walk a few steps with it, bend down and brush the sand. 

playing with gram

more walks

lunch on the beach

 while there, mae developed a love for a few different foods.  pb sandwiches, goldfish, cheez-its, yogurt melts, and squeeze fruit.  this stuff is awesome.  so easy, with little mess.  she just sucks those things dry.

she also had her first taste of a tootsie pop (a beach necessity), and loved them.  

 

she spent some real quality time with her gramps on this trip.  lots of walks and bike rides.  i wish i had gotten a picture of her in the bike trailer.  she loved that thing.  cody and i are looking for one to buy so we can take her on bike rides.

her little footprints

 this week, the people next to us had a catamaran, it was pretty awesome to watch them go out on it.  mae just wanted to play with it.  whenever we came down to the beach, she would go straight for it.  they were really nice, and let her play around it.

this week oma and opa came down to the beach for a few days.  it was great to be able to spend time with them.  we got another 4 generation picture. 

the beach is my favorite place.  and i'm so glad i was able to share it with my daughter, and to see her enjoy it as well.  i'm so grateful we were able to spend time with family, and that mae is able to get to know so many amazing people!