Mommy & Stryker Date Day!

After Daddy cooked the boys a yummy breakfast, we dropped Daddy at the Pub for a Man U soccer match and Stryker & I had a shopping date! Post Birthday money was looking to be spent and I needed some new clothes - the mall was our destination!

 

Photography by Stryker

 

 

Our first stop at the mall landed us at Palmetto Moon. And nothing says GAME DAY better than having your picture taken with your favorite TEAM(S)! 

 

Go Cocky!

 

Tigers #1!

 

We went inside to do some shopping and Stryker found this Cocky that he liked. "He has glasses like Daddy!" he says! :) Too bad Mommy doesn't buy Gamecock merchandise, this thing WAS kind of cute.

 



 

After dragging him through a dozen stores, trying on lots of clothes and a trip or two up & down the escalator, I rewarded my little man for hanging in there so well with a trip to Halloween Express! What fun that store is! I thought it might give Stryker some inspiration for a Halloween costume. Instead, I think he's more confused! There are a lot of options and I'm not certain he's quite sure yet on what he wants. He keeps saying Captain America, so we'll see if that sticks. In the meantime, we tried on some fun stuff!

Last year, Stryker was incredibly scared of all the moving (and non-moving actually) decorations around the store. Not this year! He was a tad hesitant to approach a couple things, but all in all, he wasn't afraid!

 

 

His favorite part you ask.... ZOMBIES of course!

After perusing the Halloween store (like an hour! I couldn't drag him out!) we headed over to Old Navy. JACKPOT on keepin-kids-entertained-while-I-shop!  The store was sponsoring a Fire Safety Day and Stryker was able to participate in some fun activities!

 

 

He enjoyed looking at the Fire Trucks,

LOVED jumping in the jump castle,

 

(yeah...totally renting this for his birthday!)

 

and met some cool peeps like the First Federal Squirrel and the Stingrays mascot (not pictured).

 

We had such a great time together! I was very impressed at his lack of  meltdowns during the shopping trip. He was not happy about leaving the jump castle, but I could understand that. After we left Old Navy, we went and got Daddy and had Chick Fil A for lunch, Stryker's pick for being such a good boy. You're growing up fast Buddy!

Play Hard, Get Clean

 

We have an All Star in training... and MAN is he good! He knows to keep his eye on the ball and can whip that sucker to the fence and not touch the tee anymore. We are so proud of our little athlete in training. He's pretty good at anything he picks up!

 

And after a round of baseball, you hop on your 4-wheeler and take a trip around the backyard. Careful though, you gotta give Mommy that 'hardcore' look when she whips out the camera!

After a rousing game of baseball and a trip around the world, it's time to get fresh & clean! This child is a hoot in the bath tub and likes to show me all kinds of new 'skills' he picks up. Like the dead man floating...

He keeps me on my toes this one!

It's My Birthday!

And while I may not be super excited about turning another year older (33?!?!?!!?), I do enjoy all the fun we get to share with our friends and family. And let me tell you... I have the greatest friends and family a girl could ask for!

Thursday night, Stryker & I made some delicious treats for my co-workers to share: Cake Batter Brownies! We made TWO batches because they smelled so yummy!

This recipe is SO easy! The brownies are SO yummy (albeit VERY rich!)! And the best part is your entire house smells delicious after they're done! Thank you Pinterest for another fabulous pin!

 

 

And speaking of Pinterest... We also did our Grandparent's Day gifts Thursday night! This picture was taken on our cruise and I LOVE it! It totally shows Stryker's personality and his adorableness! We painted his hand print for the opposite side of the frame and put the date on it. He had fun painting and was even able to make more special gifts of his own paintings for his grandparents.

 



                                   

After baking & crafting, a little boy can get tired! And this Momma sure doesn't mind a good snuggle to end a pretty perfect evening!

 Friday was my actual birthday and while I DID have to go to work, it was nice to be greeted with this at my desk:

 

Don't I wish Ashley :) It was also nice to receive my Annual Birthday Bouquet from my Mommy! We have a tradition of sending each other flowers on each other's birthdays. I look forward to this each year!

 

 

Friday evening, Dan took our little Man to spend the night with Nana, Poppa & Granny in Summerville. He then treated me out to a little birthday fun with 30 of our closest friends at our favorite Pub. Again, I can't tell you how lucky I am to have such an amazing group of friends! We all had a blast!

 

Saturday morning I was up bright and early for GAME DAY! Both teams were playing at noon & I also had lots to prepare for the dinner I was cooking for the family. After a quick trip to WalMart, I set up the Game Day Bloody Mary bar and our friends started to roll in! 

 

Choose Your Team Cup!

 

The Alexander's, The Cortes' & Pat were over all afternoon to watch the Gamecocks, Tigers and Volunteers play. Around 3:30, Nana, Poppa & Granny showed up with Stryker. He was super stoked there was a house full of people and asked if this was my birthday party.... :) SURE BUDDY! We enjoyed a great dinner all together! BBQ chicken, Steaks, Mac & Cheese, Potato Casserole, Salad and of course cake and ice cream for dessert! The Grant's joined us after dinner and the kids played for another couple of hours, wearing each other OUT!

 

Stryker just LOVES his 'Miss Kinley' and takes every opportunity to make her smile! AND he loves capturing this smile via my IPHONE.

 

Photography by Stryker

 

 After a long day/evening of football, everyone called it a night early and Stryker headed off to the bath. He must have some swimmer aspirations... this is his Michael Phelps pose!

 

 Silly boy! But after being all nice and clean, he curled up on the couch to watch a movie on Daddy's computer; complete with ear buds (his newest obsession!).

 

 

I ended BIRTHDAY WEEKEND snuggled on the couch and in the bed the majority of the day Sunday. My sinuses decided to wage war against me and won :( Overall though, it was a fabulous birthday again this year! I can't thank everyone enough for how much they love me! 

A House Divided/Labor Day Weekend

 

Once again, our darling boy jetted off on another vacation without us! Stryker went with Nana, Poppa, Aunt Lorie, Peyton & Maddison to the mountains for the Labor Day weekend. They had lots of fun picking apples, seeing the Apple Festival, playing Nintendo 64, watching movies and playing in the Creek. I was glad he had fun, but was glad when he was back :)

 

 

 

Mommy & Stryker before he left us AGAIN

 

 

Thursday, August 30 marked the beginning of a season - COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON! With no little one in town, we headed out with some friends to watch the Carolina Gamecocks take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Gamecocks ended up pulling out a 'W' for the first game of the season: 17-13.

 

The Hearthstone Crew rolling out for some college football

 

Dan & I watching the game

 

 

Friday night we hung out at the Alexander's with some other friends watching some Tennessee football. It was fun to catch up with everyone as well. Saturday was an early day for Dan & I and shopping was on the agenda. We headed to Tomlinson's in Summerville to stock up on Clemson gear for Stryker & I. We spent the evening with our friends at The Grant's house watching more college football including the Clemson/Auburn game. What another nail biter! We were able to win though, 26-19! WOOT! WOOT!

 



 

Our House is Divided!



Sunday we relaxed around the house and did some house cleaning, laundy and I caught up on my DVR :) That evening Dan had a fantasy football draft to attend so I went to dinner unexpectedly with Mike & Tiffany and then met some friends for a night cap. Monday we headed to Columbia to get our boy. We were so excited to see him after his long weekend away!!

Weekend Family Fun

 

Back from vacation and right to being busy again. This weekend we had lots of fun with family!

 

 

Aunt Lorie called me at work Friday morning and asked if she could get Stryker from school for a day with his cousins. OF COURSE! How fun! And what a surprise! They were headed to Monkey Joe's, so before jumping all that energy out, I met them for lunch at CiCi's Pizza. I didn't get a lot of pictures, but I sure did love having a surprise lunch with my boy, Lorie, Peyton & Maddison!

 



 

Enjoying their pizza from the buffet

 

 

 

Auntie Crazy & my girl Maddison! I love her so much!

 

 That night we had dinner with The Alexander's at Little Tokyo for some sushi. Stryker loves entertaining 'Miss Kinley' at dinner but we didn't get any pictures this night. After dinner, we headed over to their house for a relaxing evening on the porch.

 

Saturday, we dropped my car off early in the morning for new tires and came back for some house cleaning & laundry. That afternoon, Mom & I went to Emily's baby shower to celebrate the arrival of Baby K with friends and family. Lorie & Maddison were there (Peyton said it was a 'girl' party and he was staying with Grandpa!) and I captured this cute picture! Little Miss was flirting with this handsome young man! What a couple of cuties!

 

Saturday night, Stryker went back to Granny's house with Nana for the night and Mommy & Daddy had a little adult time out.

 

Sunday we drove to COLA to celebrate the very first birthday of Camden! What a handsome little fellow! He really enjoyed his cake and had no problem digging right in!

 

 

While Camden devoured his cake, the other kids played and had some fun. We were lucky enough to have some more time with The Honours since we were in COLA. Anytime loving on this gal is much appreciated!

 

 

And all time with the boy cousins is always fun! They are a dynamic duo these two!

 

After cake, Camden tackled presents. He wasn't so interested actually, so the big kids got to help and they loved that. He got all kinds of awesome clothes and toys. Happy First Birthday Camden!

 

 

After the party, we headed back down to Aunt Lorie's house to spend some time with them. The boys played, Nana & I went to get Pizza & Salad and we had a very nice dinner all together. Since it was getting late on a Sunday night, we threw the kiddos in a bath together before we headed back home. These will be oh so valuable one day :)

We didn't get back to Summerville until 9ish. You can imagine who was a tired little guy....

 

We had such a family packed fun weekend! Spending time with our cousins and grandparents is so special! 



Day 5: Last Day At Sea

Waaaaahhh! Vacation was almost at an end :( We used our final day on board having lots of fun & relaxing! Grandma & I woke up early and went to the SPA for a massage & facial. Wish I could start the day that way all the time! Afterwards, we met up with Stryker & Daddy for breakfast in the dining room. Once again, it was very good and we were stuffed. We headed to down to the listen on the instructions for the next days debarkation and then back to the water park for a final day of water fun. 

 

 

 

 

Stryker wanted to listen to Daddy's IPOD... Isn't he the cutest! And I have no idea what's with throwing up hand signs when he poses now.. I guess he watches us too much! 

 

 

Stryker really liked the Drink of the Day cup, so we ordered him a Fun Ship MockTail in the souvenier cup :)

 

 

After a couple hours of sun, we headed down to lunch buffet and then back to the room for a shower. Daddy wanted to try to catch the opening game of his favorite soccer team, Manchester United. We walked around the ship and found it on in one of the lounges. The boys loved that!

 

 

After swimming, soccer, shopping and then heading back upstairs once again to pack, it was time for the pre-dinner show. All that fun = no nap. And no nap = sleeping as soon as the lights were dim :) Stryker missed out on a Beatles musical the Carnival dancers and singers put on. It was very entertaining. 

On the way out, our cruise director Matt posed for a picture with a sleepy boy.

Once across the ship back in the dining room, Stryker was back to full force (yeah.. it was long walk :)). He took pictures with my camera, and some pretty good ones too!

 

This was Anthony, our head waiter

 

This was Leslie, our assistant waiter

 

That's a funny Daddy face!

 

That's Stryker's model face again

 

 

After dinner, we took one last stroll around the ship and headed back to the room. Needless to say, little man passed out quickly. This was such a wonderful vacation! I'm glad we were able to spend the week with Grandma and Stryker and really enjoy each other as well as have fun on the ship. I love cruising and I hope we can do it again in the future. Stryker really enjoyed himself!