Afternoon at the Beach

This past month, we have tried 2 beach afternoons. The first one was an utter failure except for the fact that we did at least have good company with us, Ben and Jess. But Curtis did not like it. He liked the sand ok, but once Isaac took him down to the water, he lost it and never really recovered. We may have stayed a half hour before bailing because he was just too fussy. But this past weekend was completely different. Mom and Dad came up for the weekend so we decided to try the beach again because it's one of mom's most favorite places. Curtis actually seemed to like it. We let him just play in the sand for a while so he could get used to it, but after a little while, Dad took him down to the water and he seemed to be fine with it. Isaac and I were both surprised, but excited that he didn't break down. So the afternoon was a success. It was fun to see Curtis exploring the sand and figuring out what it was.

Also, bonus for the weekend. Isaac and I got a date night :) We love when grandparents come to visit so we can go out for a night. We tried a new restaurant in Norfolk, Island Krave (new to us, not new to Norfolk). It is my new favorite place to go. The food was amazing, the price was affordable and the service was friendly. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a dinner spot in Norfolk.

Here's some beach pictures:

The Perez's

This Family:

I love them. They are some of my most favorite people ever. Every single one of them. I love the story of how they met. I love the story of how they eventually began to date and then really just a few months later, married. I love how they wasted no time having sweet Lucy. I love that Brenna and I went through our pregnancies with Prudence and Curtis together. I love Prudence's story and how many lives, including my own, she has changed by her willingness to fight for her life. I love how this family gives every acknowledgement to God they can for the life they have. I love how God has been glorified through their story. I love how God uses them and will continue to use them in the future.

It is a privilege to know them, be apart of their lives and to be able to do life together (as much as 400 miles of separation will let us).

This is their first family of 4 photo shoot. It was a fun filled afternoon walking around Old Salem. As always, when our 2 families get together, it was a little chaotic with Lucy running around, Curtis talking and screeching trying to get attention and Prudence just chillin, taking it all in.

We took a few pictures of these 3 while Prudence finished her nap

Lucy is such a good big sister

She is one of the happiest babies ever

Seven Months of Blessing

Our Little Man is 7 months old today. I am amazed every time I write a blog how quickly time flies. It still seems like just yesterday the nurse was handing him to me. He was so incredibly tiny. And now, I wonder where did that tiny baby go. He's now this chunky, smiley, opinionated baby that barely even resembles that tiny miracle I held shortly after 7:20 seven months ago.

This seventh month has brought many new things with Curtis. He's starting to eat more and for the most part loves solid food. He has learned to screech very loudly and likes to entertain himself that way. He has learned to blow zerburts and will wake up doing that in the mornings. He is learning to crawl. He hasn't quite mastered it yet, but if he really wants something, he figures out a way to get it. Watching that is one of my most favorite things right now. And he has 4 teeth, so that has been interesting in terms of nursing him. He's definitely bitten me, so we're working on that.

I was reminded at church yesterday how much of a blessing Curtis is. It's very easy in the mundane routines of life to forget that. When we pretty much do the same thing, day in and day out, waking up earlier than anyone ever should, getting up during the night, having to plan any outings around nap time and praying he doesn't completely break down and start screaming where ever we do end up going. All of those things are worth it. I look at my sweet baby boy with his curious eyes, wanting to be in everything and know all that's going on and I know that I couldn't be any more blessed. Every day, even in the routine, is an adventure with him. I wouldn't trade the sleepless nights, and days spent having to hold him all day so he doesn't scream for anything. I don't wish for an easier baby because that's not what God gave me. God gave me my loud little boy who is all boy and I love every day that I get to watch him discover this world.

On another note, we just got home yesterday from spending a few days in NC with family. It was such a great few days! We spent one day with our friends, Juan and Brenna and their sweet girls at Old Salem. I did their first family of 4 photo shoot and will be putting those pictures up hopefully by the end of this week. We got to see Grandma Creed and Curtis just seemed to love her and it's always great to see her face light up when she sees him. We got to spend tons of time with Jonathan, Melissa and their girls, babysitting and letting cousins have their play time together :) We went shooting at Jonathan's house and I finally got to shoot Isaac's AR-15, which was tons of fun! The weekend was filled with sweet memories and I'm so thankful for our time there before Isaac's schedule becomes crazy busy next week.