Kiawah 2011

At last year's beach trip, I had just found out I was pregnant. That meant I couldn't enjoy the all-important wine/cheese cocktail hour or the hot tub, but we did enjoy talking about the "blueberry" growing inside of me. Well one year later, here's our blueberry ready for her first official week in paradise.

I love everything about our week at Kiawah- the endless options of yummy food, lounging under the umbrella at the beach reading a good book, exploring the island via bike and generally escaping life and all its stresses by relaxing with the fam in one of my favorite places on the planet. Some favorite shots from the week (warning they are baby heavy, can't help it)...

 

 

She had fun playing in her tent on the beach...

Fantastic landscape shots taken by my sister, the photographer...

Me and Collins on the boardwalk...

And a couple of firsts happened for Collins while at the beach...

First dip in the pool...

First forray into solid foods with some rice cereal (determined this was necessary after a few sleepless nights)...

First t-shirt...

And first attempt at standing...

It was an awesome week!

A Good Man

My Papal passed away this past Saturday. He was loved by many and will be missed very much. In my mind, he exemplified what it means to be a good man. He was loyal, loving, humble, funny, sweet, giving, and a good servant of the Lord. He led a long, happy life surrounded by a throng of women who loved him so- he had two daughters, four granddaughters, and two great-granddaughters. He was a man of few words (and I often wondered if that's just because he couldn't get a word in edge-wise- the women in my family can TALK!), but when he did say something it was always funny or sweet.

Many happy memories will stay with me of Papal- piling all the granddaughters in the car and taking a road-trip to Dollywood in TN, willingly dressing up as Raggedy Ann and Andy with Baba at Halloween, proudly distributing the moutain of presents under the tree each Christmas Eve as we gathered at their house, helping the men of the church cook Easter breakfast after the Sunrise service, his funny one-liners, his penchance for Frostys from Wendy's, and doing everything in his power to attend my wedding even after being sick in the hospital (the picture above is from the wedding).

But most of all, I will remember two things about Papal- his love of Carolina athletics and his love of Baba.

He was a huge Tar Heel fan and loved watching their baseball, football and basketball games. In fact, I owe my life-long allegience to the Heels to him. Some of my earliest memories were watching Carolina basketball games with him, and that led to my love of sports in general and to the easy decision that I wanted to attend college in Chapel Hill. It was always fun to talk with him about Carolina's latest win. I will always be grateful for that connection we had.

But the most special thing about my grandfather was his intense love of my grandmother. They would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in October, and what a love-filled life they had together. I will always remember how he laughed at Baba's stories and praised her cooking. How he loved making her feel special by giving her a pretty piece of jewelry at Christmas and how even at the end, he couldn't sleep at the hospital because he was worried about Baba sleeping at home alone. They were very lucky to have had each other, and we girls were lucky to have such a good example of enduring love.

We are all sad right now, but can celebrate the fact that Jack McMahan led a great life and that we were a part of it.

The Godfathers, One and Two

Brian's good buddy Adam asked him to be a Godfather to Austin, one of his twins. The christening was this past weekend in Charlotte, and how good those boys were! I think all of us new parents were pretty nervous going into that church service, but all the babes behaved themselves. It was a nice day!

A bunch of Davidson boys...Brian with Austin and the other Godfather Graham, with Blake. Dad Adam is behind them.

Adam and Helen with the boys, and Collins joins in the picture.

Bored on the car ride home...

Libby Gets the Laughs

We took a road trip to Charlotte this past weekend and got to hang out with Jen, Jack, Libby and the newest member of their adorable family- baby Paige! Paige was born on May 27th and is already showing early signs of personality- she is a laidback cutie who likes to eat a lot! According to Libby, baby Collins is PAIGE's friend, but she might also be Libby's friend based on how funny she thinks she is. Brian and I have gotten little bits of laughs here and there, but Libby made Collins belly laugh over and over again. It was the cutest sound I have ever heard. Who knew the trick was to scream out, "ice cream sandwich!!!"???

Paige and Collins' first play date. It's only a matter of time before they're tailgating for Carolina football games. Collins also got to meet Rach for the first time and showed her what fussy looks like. Good thing she is so cute!

We are really pushing this onesie to its limit...

The warm-up act...

Now for the laughs...

Rolling Over

It happened so fast that I almost missed it. She was on her playmat trying to look at the birds above her head, and she rolled over (tummy to back). I ran and grabbed the camera, and she did it again! Since that time, not so much. But we're still practicing and hoping for lots more rolling.

Hickory Visit

We went to Hickory last week to visit my Papal. I'm not sure who was most excited to see the baby- Papal, the large female contingent in my family, or the two pups.

Collins was not in the best mood after a long road trip...Kristy was the lucky recipient at this point.

She was pretty fascinated by Mom's dogs Zoe and Lilly and vice versa. She didn't get scared, even reaching out to pet Zoe!

Up in the Air

Her newest thing is to fling her legs up in the air. She assumes this position at most times throughout the day. In general, she has suddenly just gotten very wiggly and has even taken on the project of trying to shove her toes in her mouth. This new-found freedom with her legs keeps us laughing. Here's what it looks like...