Sweet Summertime

We love summer, and we're taking full advantage of the sunshine...and the showers (because they leave behind super-fun puddles)!!!!!

 

D-Bird

 

Jack-A-Roo

Everyone we know that has a pool has had a visit from the little Prices this summer!

 

Boating, our favorite hobby, has taken a backseat to our newborn and our new home, but we've already been daydreaming of next summer when we can get the boys, and our sweet Mango, out on the water in the salt air and sunshine!

Are we crazy?

"Are we crazy?  Katie and I decided to jump into the deep end and embark on a total renovation of an old house!" was Justin's Facebook Album description....

 

HA!  With a just-turned-three year old and a 5 month old to entertain...I am tempted to say, "We have to be crazy!  What were we thinking?!" 

 

Visiting Grandma Price

Not to mention that our family business, Price Fire Protection, is just over a year old and growing beautifully, (congrats, Justin) and it's my "crazy busy" time at work...I am tempted to say, "We have to be crazy!  What were we thinking?!"

 

Every business has fire extinguishers!  Call Justin for a quote!

 

Oh, and there is the fact that we have already sold our house and are living here as squatters lessees until the end of July..."We have to be crazy!  What were we thinking?!"

 

Crazy or not, we have an awesome support system to help with paint choices, manual labor, and babysitting that make this crazy idea do-able.  We have a super-awesome cheering section!

 

Armed with YouTube tutorials, the DIY Network, friends and family, and a decent amount of common sense we are going to get this licked!

 

Front Exterior

Living Room

Kitchen

It's a house that was built in the 50's, and from what we've been told, it was built for an executive at a local concrete company.  It has a sample of all of their products from the time, and was used to wine and dine clients and out of town guests.

We are super-excited to wine and dine all of our family and friends that have helped us with the renovation with one helluva thank you party...lol, but we have to finish the reno first!

We're super-crazy-busy, so...

"If the phone doesn't ring...it's me!" ~Jimmy Buffett

Love!

Welcome to the family, Jack Michael!

On January 13, 2012, at 11:59am, Justin, Daniel, and I got a sweet little 5lb 6oz/19 inch surprise!

{Jack Michael}

 



Jack Michael made his debut a whopping two months early!  He came out crying, which was a fantastic sign, but his little lungs still needed time to mature, so he camped out in the NICU for almost a month.

 

The NICU nurses are paranoid of germs (who can blame them - they're protecting our babies), so Daniel did not get to meet his baby brother until we brought him home.  I took a small video (shhhh, the nurses didn't know) so that Daniel could see Jack moving around and Daniel watched that video over, and over, and over.....

 {Brothers}

 

Daniel is adjusting well to life as a big brother!  I will catch him holding Jack's hand in the car when Jack is crying, and when he introduces Jack, he says, "This is my little brother, wanna touch him?" 

{This is Jack mimicking my expression when Daniel invites strangers to touch his little brother, lol}

 

We are slowly but surely re-adjusting to life with a baby at  night, but, during the daytime, life with a baby and a toddler is a whole new ball game!  Although challenging, we are LOVING it!

 

Welcome to the chaos, Jack Michael!  We are so glad to have you along for the ride!

The Big Boy Bed

Tonight's the night! As I type this post, our little Dapper Doodle is drifting off to sleep in his big boy bed!!!

He went to school all day, then he came home to help Daddy build his bed...

They make a great team, although DAP figured out, rather quickly, that Daddy's tools were way more exciting than his, lol

Daddy and I watched him over the baby monitor for about 15 minutes, and he was almost asleep.

We are so proud of our little boy!

Fishin' Momma, Fishin'

We didn't think DAP knew anything about fishing.....until he came down the hall, fishing pole in hand, headed for the back door. 

Somehow the fishing pole made it past 2 ceiling fans and through 4 doorways in one piece!

He kept saying, "Fishin' Momma, Fishin'.  Bye bye!".  I wish I could have gotten that with the camera!

Bimini Bread

I brought the recipe for Bimini Bread home from a trip to Bimini last summer....and I tried again, and again, and again, and agin to duplicate it at home. 

Soon conquering the Bimini Bread recipe became an obsession!  What was grandma's trick?!  What did I miss when she was teaching me?!

Perhaps this little Doodle Bug had me a little distracted from my Bimini Bread lesson....?

I was about to throw in the dishtowel and beg Grandma to show me again, but on my 30th birthday, it rose!  I finally got it right (8 months later)! 

Waking at 5 am is hard, especially on the weekend, but this Saturday I was able to get my sleepy head out of bed to make some bread!

And boy, was it yummy!

Nanny

When I reflect on the women in my life, I am awestruck at all the beautiful, strong examples that I have been blessed to witness.  I recently posted about my mom and grandmother, and today I post about my Nanny.

My Nanny, Ruth Richardson, passed away last Tuesday, and her funeral was today.  Funerals are never easy, but it's refreshing to go to a funeral that celebrates a long, well lived life. 

I had a dream that a sweet little old lady was trying desperately to get my attention.  I sat down with her and she told me that my Nanny wanted me to remember to, "love yer babies". 

She was a very special lady, and her life was a message of love.

She loved all her "chickadees" with a sweet, un-failing, selfless, simple, and unconditional love.

Thank you, Nanny, for teaching me how to live and how to love.  I will call on your example of how to "love yer children", and I pray that your example will live on through me and that my little Dapper Doodle will feel as loved in my arms as I did in yours!