Beach Days

Once again it has been more than a month since my last update.

And what a month it has been! Here is a quick recap:

Chad went to camp

Chad turned 31

Chad went to camp again

Seamus turned 7 months old (wow time flies)

My summer classes finally ended

We took our first trip to the beach with Shay

My new class started at work

While all of that may not seem like a lot considering Chad was gone for more than 1/2 of the month it was crazy! Now on to the real reason for this post:

Our First Family Beach Trip

My mom's side of the family has been going to the beach every year since 1989 and this was Shay's first year as a BeachNut :) We had a great time, Shay was a little scared about the waves, but he really liked the sand and his little baby pool. We had so much fun and can't wait to go back again next year!

Shay looking around his first time down on the beach.

Shay loved his baby pool. He really liked standing up but he learned that the water makes him slip and maybe standing up was not the best choice.

The aftermath. Shay got more than one face full of sand while we were at the beach. He didn't mind the sand so much but he did not like getting rinsed off with the cold water!

Since we were on vacation Dad and Grandpa decided to give Shay a little treat of Klondike bar. He loved it, but really who wouldn't!

We got to spend a lot of time together and there were smiles all day long!

Shay also got to spend sometime with his new Uncle Michael (my sister got married just before we all came to the beach) Shay enjoyed stealing his hat and wearing it!

Those are some highlights from our trip. I will leave you will a picture of the moon from our deck. The nights at the beach are so clam and this picture I think really captures that.

Independence Day

We had some friends come over a grill out on Saturday and then we went to watch fireworks at the Marietta Square! I hope everyone had a great 4th!!

Here are a few pictures from our day. Seamus got to meet a new friend! Baby Campbell, Campbell is almost 2 months old and his mom and I used to work together.

They were both a little tired from all the excitement of the day :)

We ended the night by taking in a nice fireworks show. Seamus woke up for the finale but snoozed through most of the rest.

**Sorry for the blurry cell phone pic!

6 Months! WOW

Seamus turned 6 months a couple weeks ago and it brought to my attention that I have been severely neglecting this blog. Summer has been so busy! I am taking 4 classes and Chad has been in and out of town. Two of my classes are online so that after finishing up work for those the last thing I want to do it be on the computer!

That said, I promise here in the next few weeks that I am going to start posting at least once a week and get finished revamping everything so that anyone out there reading has something to enjoy!

Here is what we found out at the doctor:

Height: 28.4inches (97th percentile)

Weight: 20lbs 10oz (90th percentile)

We have one BIG BOY on our hands!

He is crawling all over the place we can't seem to keep him contained! He also love to pull up on anything he can, although some things are not a secure as he thinks they are. We already have lots of bruises, it makes me a little sad when I see one and I have no idea how or when it could have happened. He also LOVES to eat and chew on anything, and at times anyone.

He finally has a tooth, although he won't really let us see it I sure do get to feel it A LOT!

Seamus has also stared Day Care three days a week. He seems to like it alright and luckily for me I am right down the hall so I can just think of it as dropping him off to play with his friends :) I get to see him at lunch and feed him if he has not already eaten. We are so blessed to be able to send him to such a great place with such great teachers who work there.

There has been so much going on and I will try over the next few days to bring everything up to date! Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!!

5 Months and Growing

My Sweet Little Baby Boy :)

Seamus turned 5 months old on Saturday and I cannot believe how fast he is growing up!

Everyday is a new adventure as he explores the world around him.

He loves to go on walks and watch the trees and animals pass by outside.

He loves to watch Trixi (Grandma and Grandpa's Pomeranian).

He loves his newly found toes and feet.

He loves getting on all fours and trying to crawl (getting closer everyday).

He lights up our lives each and everyday.

This weekend Chad was out of town on a retreat for middle schoolers.

Seamus and I had the weekend to ourselves so we cleaned up and organized and then went to Grandma and Grandpa's house. While Grandpa played with Seamus I helped my mom and sister make key chains that they sell and donate a portion to relay for life. After several hours of trimming and sewing we decided to take Seamus on a little walk and then go to the local Mexican restaurant. We had a nice dinner and Seamus enjoyed some people watching while we were eating dinner. After dinner Seamus and I headed home and got ready for bed.

After a great nights sleep (he usually sleeps for 8-10 hours) we got up and had some breakfast.

Then YAY! Daddy got home from his retreat and we were so excited to see him. I love the way that Seamus' little face lights up when he sees his daddy and hears his voice. Words cannot describe the joy that I feel when I see the two of them together.

Life is so wonderful right now. God is so good! We are so thankful for all that we have and for our wonderful little family!

4 months Old

This is a little late :) Seamus turned 4 months old on April 15th and we went to the doctor for his 4 month check up on the 20th. He is getting so big!

Here are his 4 month stats:

Height: 26 1/2 inches (95th percentile)

Weight: 16 pounds 9 ounces (90th percentile)

We realized that he has already outgrown his Graco infant carrier. Luckily we another carrier that he

can still fit in as well as a convertible car seat. I really don't understand why they would make an infant carrier that

is only for infants up to 26 inches. I mean aren't most babies longer than 26 inches before they turn 1 year old and can be

turned around in their car seats. It just seems silly. Luckily the Graco car seat was a hand me down from one of Chad's sisters,

and we have the larger infant carrier that we received from the baby shower. So when it comes to registering/buying things the next time

around we will be sure to check the weight and height restrictions of whatever we buy. I would recommend to anyone that is expecting to

check the limits and go to the store and try out the strollers and look at everything before you register or buy anything.

OK, that was my little rant, now back to Seamus...

The doctor said that everything looked good he is a big boy and growing the way he should be.

He keeps doing new things everyday, he is still sleeping on his tummy, and sleeping SO much better than when he was on his back.

He is really trying to scoot on his tummy and reach his toys when they are just out of his reach. He also has the sweetest little giggle and loves to smile, laugh and flirt with everybody.

The weather has been so great lately we have been trying to get some walks in since Seamus loves to be outside and feel the breeze. I am so excited to take him to the beach this summer!

Here are some recent pictures:

On Friday we took a little family stroll and Seamus wore his shades since the sun was so bright! He is the coolest kid around!!

On Saturday we took a family outing to the grocery store and Seamus had his first experience sitting up in the shopping cart. He loved it, and this will make our lives so much easier for him to just sit in the cart!!

Sleepy Time

Recently Seamus has started sleeping between 6-8 hours at night. Every now and then he will still wake up about 3:00am or 4:00am. So I decided to try him sleeping on his tummy, he loves it! He loves to rub his little face on the sheets and nuzzle his little nose to get comfy. It has made such a difference in his sleep! Not only in the length of time that he sleeps but he also seems so much happier during the day, he it not only sleeping longer but he is getting better sleep since he is comfy. Now I know that a lot of people would gasp at the fact that my 4 month old is sleeping on his tummy and not on his back like American Academy of Pediatrics recommends. But they don't know my baby he is so strong and he can roll over (from tummy yo back) he has been trying so hard lately to roll from his back to his tummy and he is almost there just not quite yet. Just think about it... how do you sleep? I sleep on my stomach and when I try to sleep on my back it's just not as comfortable and I don't sleep as well. What do you think? How do you and your baby sleep?

Better Late Than Never...

So, I had planned on participating in 12 weeks to better photography when I first read about it on my friend Lindsay's blog. However, life got in the way and now everyone is beginning lesson 7 and I am just getting started with lesson 1. But as I said, better late then never! We got our camera as an early Christmas gift so that we would have it in time for Seamus's arrival, that was in December and I have really been wanting to learn how to use it and get the best pictures that I can. Having a little one really makes you want to take lots of pictures and since they move and grow so fast you don't always have a second chance at a great picture. That said, here goes the first lesson on basic aperture:

For this first picture I used a low aperture setting. I set my aperture at f4.5 and you can see that just the front rock is really in focus.

For the second picture I set the aperture at f8. You can see that the trees in the background are more in focus and you can also see some pine straw.

For the last picture I used an aperture of f22. In this picture you can see clearly all of the trees in the background as well as the pine straw.

I took all of these pictures at my parent's house on the new rock wall/patio that my dad has been working on. On to next week's lesson :)