Laurie’s 30th

We went to Lake Moultrie last weekend to celebrate Laurie’s 30th birthday! Laurie became my cousin when I married Justin. I’ve loved her since the day I met her, but when she moved to Columbia in October, it didn’t take me long to learn that Laurie would become a lifelong best friend.

So, off to the lake we went! I have to admit, I was a little worried about how James would do after our beach trip last year. Well, last year James was obviously just a little too young and little too colicky for the beach, because this year was a huge success! Mr. independent {well, sometimes independent} is now old enough to play like all the other kids!

From the moment we got there, James wanted to play in the sun.

Playing with a pail and shovel and pushing a “ca” {anything with wheels}, while saying vroom vroom provides quite the entertainment these days.

From the moment we drove up, he was surrounded by love. Literally.

.A plus for him and a plus for his parents, as we were actually able to take a couple of breaks. (Thank you, Sandy)

But what do Mommies do when they have breaks? They give other Mommies a break, and they enjoy the other little ones they love. Because once a Mommy, always a Mommy.

To my surprise, James absolutely LOVED going in the water.

He even got his first swimming lesson, which would make his Great Grandfather, ‘James’ Ratliff very proud. My Granddaddy was the track and swimming coach at the University of South Carolina and started all his grandchildren’s swimming lessons as babies.

James was most excited though, when he learned how to splash the girls.

James loves his cousins. I say, “Do you want to go see Catie and Ellie?” and he lights up and says, “hhhmmmm???”

The only fuss we got from him was when we took him out of the water, teeth-chattering and all.

He soon realized he had worked up an appetite and headed straight for the raspberries and strawberries (which he normally doesn’t even like!).

But why eat fruit when you can eat crackers that you personally dip in ranch?

After a little more eating and a little more drinking… from them {the kids} and us {the adults}…

…it was back to playing.

Then we sang to the birthday girl

and her two precious little shadows.

The day was winding down

so, we put the kiddies down and continued the fun. We did what all overserved cousins do: we posed for pictures.

And some of us saddled up.

Then our children woke us up early (mine, with an ear infection), and we paid for our late night. :)

Happy Birthday, Laurie! You are a dear friend, and I love you so much!

Baby Mugshot

I snapped a picture of James (still sleepy from his nap) the other day.

I don’t know if it’s the paci, the buttons on his tee, or his baby curls, but he just looked so babyish… which I was beginning to think was long gone for this 29 pound boy.

I know I’ve said it before… James, you will always be my baby.

Play Play Play

James is walking more and more all by his little self.  He has all of sudden discovered that playing outside is much more fun than being held outside.  Who knew?

And playing with friends outside is even better!

It’s just hard to get to them when you’re carrying a ball that’s as big as you are.

He plays with cousins, and he plays with friends.  Kids are absolutely fascinating to James, and I have literally asked my cousin, Laurie, if I could borrow her kids for an afternoon to entertain him.

After the Strawberry Farm on Monday, we went over to Callie’s house to play outside.

The only thing more fascinating than children are dogs.  James followed “Doc” around saying, “mmfff, mmfff,”  {ruff, ruff}.

And Callie shared her swing set and sand box.  Sharing is something to be proud of for a two year old.

Eating sand has also been a new hobby.

You know you’ve had a good day when you need a bath before your nap at 1:00.

It’s days like this that call for an ice cold beverage.

The Strawberry Farm

This morning we went to The Cottle Strawberry Farm with Erin, Callie, and Chloe to pick fresh strawberries! It’s only in business a few months a year, and I am so excited about doing fun things like this with my little toddler!

It really has just been in the last couple of days that James is getting comfortable walking outside by himself. Even learning to walk in shoes has been a transition! And I don’t blame him for being cautious; the boy falls every 30 seconds.

When we got there, I was thinking James might whine to be held the entire time, but he actually did great! We stuck together in the beginning until he got a feel for things.

The bucket seemed to hold most of the entertainment, though.

(I was standing there talking and looked down to see James had the bucket stuck on his head. Luckily there weren’t strawberries in it yet.)

Meanwhile, Callie went to the Strawberry Farm for one reason, and that was to leave with as many strawberries as possible. This girl was on a mission.

After a while, James no longer needed me. He had his strawberries, his bucket, and his friends.

It was funny to see James try to pick up the bucket of strawberries. It was so hard for him to do, but he was very determined to do it. It’s a reminder of how little these kids actually are.

He finally got it off the ground though, and might be sore for a few days. (I LOVE this picture.)

Erin, Callie, and Chloe, thanks for going to The Strawberry Farm with us. We had a great time and look forward to many more summer outings!