Our Little Fish

Sorry I haven't been holding up my end of this blog deal. When I set it up, my goal was to update at least once a week. Seems like my average is more like once a month. Since my last post, we have been to the lake with Todd's family and then again for the 4th (we did work & go to Teesee's in between). We LOVE the lake! What is it about just being near, on, in, or around water that is so relaxing? I feel like there are no worries and nothing that HAS to be done. Baths are optional, bedtime is flexible...it's the one place where I relax (sort of...the definition of relax has changed a bit for me since Beau came along!). Not to mention that there are always family and friends who love spending time with Beau and help me out so much. I didn't do a great job taking pictures the last few weeks, but here are few. As you can tell, we do a lot of swimming!

Daddy, Beau, and cousin Nathan (we have no pictures with Nathan of Beau looking at the camera because he couldn't take his eyes off him!)
Daddy & Beau

Hanging out on the dock with GiGi

Swimming with Mom

Swimming with DaddyD

Happy Dad's Day!

Me and my Dad


Kicked back at the Mexican place...this is where I was picking up chicks!

Daddy and me on our family outing to the Louisiana Purchase park


Mom got to go, too.

Father's Day was bittersweet for our family as it was Todd's first as a new dad but also his first without his dad. We kept busy and surrounded ourselves with family. It is hard to be sad with our little funny man, Beau, around. He is a hoot these days! He keeps us laughing all the time with his million expressions and infectious giggle. He is quite the ladies man, too. We went to Papa Pablano's (our favorite Mexican restaurant in Hot Springs) Friday night. Our table was right by the busy door. He watched every single person coming and going. Then there was a blonde girl waiting for a table who didn't pay Beau any attention. He started waving at her! What a flirt! Like father like son!

Like my mohawk?

Whitney kept Beau today and she emailed me this picture. Our little man was sporting a mohawk after swimming this morning. Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen?! Our other big news - he's officially crawling! There's no stopping him from getting anywhere he wants to go now, so I have my hands full! He is trying to pull up on the furniture, so cruising is not far behind.

Fun at the Lake

My 1st swim with my Nee Nee (Aunt Whitney)

I was kicking like a little fish!

Lounging on the dock

My 1st boat ride

Worn out!

Driving the boat with Daddy D

Trying out my new chair. It's just my size!

We are so glad summer is here, and we finally had a weekend with NO rain! We have spent the last couple weekends in Hot Springs at Daddy D and Gigi's house. Beau has been on his first boat ride and taken his first dip in the lake. He likes the boat! Swimming was fun, too. The water was a little cool at first, but once he got used to it he started kicking his feet like a little fish. I think we have a water baby for sure. Of course, it's not like he had any choice in this family!

Beau is 8 1/2 months old now. He is such a busy little bee...always, and I mean ALWAYS on the move. He still isn't officially crawling, but he can get to whatever he wants pretty well. He scoots around on his bottom or pushes backwards on his belly. As much as he likes to stand and walk with help, he may just skip crawling!

He has 4 teeth - the middle bottom two and top two. Getting those top teeth is really changing how he looks. We had some relief from teething for a couple weeks, but the runny nose and nighttime fussiness is back, so we think another tooth is on its way. He's slimming up a bit. I'm not sure exactly what he weighs now, but I'm guessing about 22 lbs.

Our life with Beau is an adventure and so much fun!

New Shoes and Barkley the Best Dog Ever

Beau got to wear his new shoes last week when the weather was so warm. He was lookin' good in his big boy shoes and plaid shorts! Come on summer! We're ready for the lake!

Have we mentioned lately how much we LOVE Barkley?! He has been an outside dog lately, because the shedding is ridiculous. When he got to come inside yesterday, no one was more excited to see him than Beau. He thinks Barkley is the greatest entertainment, and Barkley is so patient with Beau. We'll see how long that lasts when Beau starts pulling on his tail!

(BTW, look closely at this picture and you can see little white teeth on the bottom. A top tooth has started to poke through. It has been a bear trying to get those top teeth in. Everyone will be glad when they pop through!)

We'll miss you, PawPaw.

We have heavy hearts this week. Beau's PawPaw (Todd's dad) passed away last weekend. Mr. Larry was loved and respected by so many. The outpouring of support from the DeWitt community and from our friends everywhere has been overwhelming. We have been lifted up by prayer. Please continue to keep our family in your prayers. Here are few of my favorite pictures of PawPaw and Beau.

7 months old!

Beau turned 7 months old this week. I can't believe how fast this first year is going. We had a good Easter. Beau was kind of sick, but that didn't stop him from checking out all the goodies the Easter Bunny brought! We have been dealing with cold/allergies forever it seems like. He just can't seem to shake a cough and runny nose. We've been through a round of antibiotics and other various medicines, so now we've decided it is allergies. I hope this doesn't last forever - Beau sure loves to be outside!

I had his picture made Monday. He did great - really hammed it up for camera once he warmed up. I can't wait to see the proofs next week. Oh, our latest big news is teeth! Beau now has TWO bottom teeth. They popped out at the same time. I haven't been able to catch a picture with teeth showing yet, but will be sure to post one when I do.