A Week of Firsts

Isn't it always fun the first time you do something? The first day of school, the first tomato from the garden, the first kiss, your first home run...(it's PG here so we'll stop there)...but there's always is a level of excitement when it's a first. Last week was no exception while on vacation. The boys had a ton of firsts and it showed in their excitement each day. And thankfully because I'm their mother, I got to relive the excitement too. One of the many blessings of being a parent.

So without further ado, let's relive a few of the firsts from last week...

#1) First bite of green beans (for Charlie)
Probably one of the ones I was most shocked by was that Charlie ate green beans. Seriously, the kids has been given them over and over and over. Refuses to even consider them. But low and behold, Daniel and I go on a date and we get back to hear that he not only ate 1 but 4. Apparently they had a race to see who could eat a green bean first and Charlie raced to win totally forgetting that he won't eat green beans. On the fourth one he did gag a little but he still ate it. Cole of course loves them and it's one of his favorite veggies. We came home looking like this (all grins), especially after hearing that Nana and Pop-E worked their magic.

#2) First trip to the "real beach"
Usually we go to a little island called Radio Island where all the locals go if you live in town. This time we got to drive over to Atlantic Beach one morning and hang out on the big beach. Radio Island is great for kids because it's part of the inlet and has no waves or rip currents but I really wanted them to see the big waves and all the seashells. True to form, Cole loved being in the waves while Charlie preferred the safety of the sand.

 

 

#3) Watching a parade

#4) Holding their first crab
Or if you're Charlie, tabs. (we still can't say the "cr" combination yet). Once we learned there were crabs in the tiny holes on the water front, we became obsessed. And somehow he managed to find adults and kids who would catch them for him every time he went down! We also loved sticking our fingers down the crab holes. Thankfully the crabs were kind and no fingers were lost in the making of this blog post.

 

#5) Izzy came in to heat (this one's for you mom!)
OK that wasn't really one I wanted to chronicle but I found it fair to include Izzy (the dog) since she practically became one of the toddlers during the week. I'll spare you the picture of the diaper she had to wear all week.

#6) Watching fireworks
I wish I could explain the kids excitement at being allowed to stay up late, drive in the car to a dock and then sit outside and watch fireworks over the water. In theory I brought my camera and captured fantastic photos of the event. In reality I totally left it sitting on the counter.

#7) Boat ride on a big boat
This one was a last minute decision by Pop-E but a really good one. They have several boats at the town docks that go out on tours and he booked us on The Crystal Coast Lady. We could have easily gone out on Pop-E's boat but that would require the boys to wear life jackets which would then result in epic meltdowns. Instead we hopped on board the bigger boat where life jackets aren't required. Huge hit. Huge. And it was a perfect amount of time - 1hr. We even got to see some of the wild horses that live on the island across the inlet (Carrot Island). They are said to be descendants of the horses brought over on Spanish ships that crashed on the NC Outerbanks. (Cole did go with us despite the pictures...but he was too busy running around to be captured in a picture)

 

#8) Cole learns that everyone else's ice cream is better than his own
Didn't take him long but Cole quickly learned that if he refused to eat what he ordered then he could have two. Part way through the week, every time we went to the General Store, he managed to convince someone (usually mommy or Pop-E) that he needed our ice cream instead of his. I'm sure my waistline appreciates the few cones I didn't end up eating.

Yep, he played us. But who can blame him for trying when he's this cute? Kid totally works it.

#9) Building sand castles
In prior years (all two of them) the boys were too little to appreciate the sand. This year they realized the fun of filling a bucket and creating a little sand castle. OK, really it was partially fill up the bucket, whine to Pop-E so Pop-E would fill it up faster and then turn it over to create the sand castle which they promptly squashed. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. But it was still fun.

So all in all it was a great week of firsts for the kids. We even managed to squeak out a few great family photos without having to force it. (note the way Charlie likes to close his eyes when he says "cheese") Maybe that should be #10 - easy family photos!

 I could actually go on and on but I'll stop at the top 10. Anyone else having fun family firsts this summer? Thanks for stopping in to share a few of ours!

Sand, Summer and Shells

Well it's officially been a very long time since I was able to blog...mostly because I went back to work full time, have a little one who is now 6 1/2 months old and all the other responsibilities of a mommy, wife, daughter and employee.

Recently I took down my Easter decorations and just couldn't bring myself to put up my "standard" design elements in my house. After Christmas then Easter, it just seemed so ho-hum. Then viola! The new Potter Barn catalog came in the mail. Now usually I don't have time to look at magazines anymore (I miss you InStyle, Southern Living and People StyleWatch) but on a recent road trip I took a stack with me. Afterall, we were going to be in the car for what turned out to be years 6 hours. I was instantly drawn in to Pottery Barn's summer coastal style (well, in truth I'm always drawn in by their stuff but this time especially so) and it was just the right thing to get my creative juices flowing.

Here is how I brought the summer in to our home with some simple design elements...

This is a side table with a little glass bowl filled with sand, seashells and a simple white candle.

The coffee table adorned with 3 glass containers filled with a combination of candles, moss,
seashells and sand. I added a few of the larger shells on top of the books to make it more casual.
Just enough to make you feel like summer is here.

a close-up of a jar so you can see the innards

And when you add a natural colored basket to the mix, it gives you a place to store your junk stuff
but still keeps with the natural elements of the table

And for the dining table, which happens to be in the same room...

(I have since changed out the candles in front since these didn't match as well as I had hoped)

And it doesn't all need to be seashells and sand...you don't want people thinking you tried to bring the entire coast inside your house. Most of the shells you see in these pictures I found last summer at the beach. But for some variety, I also used natural elements on other tables:

Excuse the foam ball in the bowl...it's supposed to be covered with green moss but
I haven't had a chance to do that yet. The little silver items are a turtle and frog votive holders -
just another symbol of summer.

And while I don't have pictures of them yet because they haven't made it to my front step, I also will be adding these pillows to my sofa. Well, the long one anyway. I couldn't afford the whole set. These pillows are also cute if you want a less expensive but chic way to spruce up your couch (I got them in terra cotta with our monogram).


And don't forget the front door! Here are some options for you. Now I won't give you my opinion on all of these wreaths...some are very classy...some not so much. (Hint: fake is never good...in anything. Opt for real when you can).  I opted for a natural floral wreath versus keeping with the seashell theme, just in case I decide not to do seashells next year.

So be inspired by summer and bring your favorite aspects indoors to spruce up your home! If you have other ideas, please share them with me.