Welcome sweet baby!

I also wanted to share that my friends, Carrie and Jamie Baucom, welcomed their little boy at the end of last week. James Henry "Hank" Baucom was a few weeks early but came in very healthy at 9lbs 4 oz! The first few pictures were taken the weekend before last at her shower in Columbus. She had such a round, cute belly! Jamie sure does look like a proud papa, doesn't he? We can't wait to meet you, Hank!

Playing at the park

To beat the heat Hannah Kate and I have been visiting the park during the mornings this summer (while the playground still has a touch of shade) and she has really enjoyed the slides, swings, and crawling tunnels. I finally remembered to take my camera this week and grabbed a few shots of her having fun.

Guess who's back!

After 3 whole weeks of being on the lam, we had a hilarious surprise tonight. Hank came home! He ran away the Thursday before 4th of July and tonight he was returned via a super sweet neighbor (Thanks, Lizzie!) who had seen him sporadically during his adventures. Hannah Kate has been calling him and talking about him nonstop so I decided that the best thing to say was that he was on a great adventure (really thinking much worse things) and simplified for a 17- month old "Hankie's gone". What a fun surprise HK will have tomorrow morning when she sees this crazy little dog. Well, he stinks and is covered in filth (and I can't wait to hear about his travels) so off to the bath we go.

Oh, Nat...I almost forgot

Check behind and under your passenger seat! Just to fill others in...Natalie and I have been playing this ongoing game for a little over 5 years now. We have been passing this obnoxious little stuffed animal between each other every chance we get. (without the other expecting it) For example, although I'm not quite sure when exactly it originated, I remember giving it to her at one of her wedding showers as a gift (the look on her face when she realized what she had received!). Then it would find it's way in my suitcase on weekends that we were both in Columbus. Well, now we've gotten our husbands involved and here recently Hook hid it in their spare tire(a place they were sure to never find...until we called them once they were safely back in Meridian and told them to check there) only to have it return to Greenville via our trailer hitch from our beach vacation. And on it continues...

Cousins and armoires and sunflowers, oh my!

Swimming fun!
Emma loved modeling the hats!
Hannah Kate, well, not quite so much...

We have had an amazing week with my sister, Natalie, and her daughter, Emma, visiting us from Meridian! We have played and laughed eaten great all week! We hit the going out of business sale at Abides and found a great armoire for the living room at an even greater price. And we had the easy part- buying it! We owe a "big thanks" to our very strong Uncle Mark and Hook for moving the two VERY solid pieces into place. (I'll have to post pictures later) We got the girls out early in the mornings for splash time in the pool...let them nap...and then off to shop some more! On our adventure outing, we passed a huge field of sunflowers that made us all smile....had to borrow them for a few pictures! And the eating was Greenville's best! We dined at Fermo's and happened to run in to Uncle Mark, Aunt E, Mattie, Mark and Mary Glenn (mar-mar len as HK says) so we all got to eat together! And as always, Fermo's was just fabulous! Steaks and pasta!! Well, eating good didn't stop here. We also had the chance to take Nat and Em to Doe's and the hot tamales and steak kept coming! Delightful! Good food always makes me so happy! It was such a neat week. We are so lucky to be able to enjoy the summer time with our kids and each other. Now it's time to pack and head over to Columbus this weekend for one of my greatest friends, Carrie's baby shower. I haven't seen her in quite a few months and I just can't wait to see her glow that I know she'll have. She's about 3 weeks away from due date and just has the best attitude. Every time I've asked how she's feeling she can only say great and that she feels that she doesn't have the right to complain because she's just lucky to be expecting! What an attitude- especially for this July heat!

4th of July weekend

What a fun weekend we had! Hannah Kate had her first spend the night out with Mimi and Papaw and her cousins Mary Glenn and Mark! She had no idea that she isn't as big as they are! They played in the sprinkler....which HK wasn't quite sure about...but, with a touch of coaxing from Papaw, she dids manage to get a little wet.

They all wanted to share the stool!
Daniel and I enjoyed a day on the lake, while she was romping up a storm. Although it rained the fireworks out, it didn't stop Hook and I from enjoying good times! The B.Y.OB. (Hook's boat) always seems to find the fun! We did feel a little out of place when we woke up EARLY Saturday morning without the help of Hannah Kate...but Mimi made us feel right at home with her wolrd famous breakfast (always super good after a day on the lake!) and chocolate gravy!

trying this out....adding a slideshow