15 months old!

Welcome, Fall. Summer, I hate to see you go...you sure were fun! 

James is turning into a little boy. He is walking nonstop now and trying to run and jump. He does some funny moves- walking in tight circles and some breakdancing moves that make me laugh! He's talking 24/7, but I don't really know what he's saying half the time! He's trying to do everyday things on his own like brush his hair, blow his nose, and brush his teeth. When he has a dirty diaper, I say "Shew-Ee!" and fan my nose. He does it now too! It's hilarious. I've cut his morning nap to 30-45 minutes to make his afternoon nap longer. He's such a great sleeper. He'll say, "ni-ni" and be so ready to lay down in his crib. The whiney/I want something but can't say it stage (a lot of "eh, eh") has hit. That's not real fun. Nor is the throwing everything stage (mainly referring to food). He's obsessed with anything with wheels, as most boys are. Usually if you just give him a car or book, he's pretty content.

I took him to his 15 month check up today. He weighs 21 pounds 5.5 ounces (in the measly 10th percentile), is 32 inches long (76th percentile), and his head circumference is 19 inches (79th percentile). 

I love a new walker's facial expressions

Adelyn is really maturing. For the past couple of days, she has asked to put herself down for her nap...and she does! I watch her on the monitor and she goes the bathroom, reads a couple books, and goes to sleep. She says the funniest things! The other day, she felt my legs and told me they were spikey (ok, time to shave). She's something else! Adelyn started gymnastics back up. We took about a 6 month break and we're happy to resume.

We went to Highlands, NC with our friends Chris and Andrea. We hiked Whiteside Mountain. It's a 2 mile loop and Adelyn did great! It was her weekend to take home Mango, her class mascot. She had to document what he did with her. 

Both kids are going to school. Adelyn goes three days in the 3 year-old class and James goes to PlaySchool on Wednesdays. So....on Wednesdays I have 4 glorious hours to get things done alone! The first day, I went to SEVEN different places- crazy how much you can accomplish solo. Adelyn loves school. When I pick her up, she tells me all about it- what they did, who misbehaved, and what she ate for snack. Then she asks what James and I did while she was gone. James has only been twice so far, but it's going well. Both times he's taken a little nap there. 

Adelyn stopped taking her paci around 14 months old and James has NEVER taken it. I've been going through baby stuff and they found these. They've been a hit. I would love for James to stop the thumb sucking and take this paci for real!

Smoothie Queen (and King)

I often clean out my fridge make smoothies for my children. 

Yesterday, they enjoyed (and I'm serious...ENJOYED) this concoction:

• Strawberry Gogurt
• Orange Juice
• Spinach
• Carrots (I heat baby carrots in the microwave in water for about 30 seconds to soften )
• Banana

It's super healthy and they both think it's a treat!! Adelyn loves to push the buttons on the blender and James can drink it in his sippy cup.

Win-win in my book!

TuTu is not required 

San Francisco/Monterey/Laguna Seca

Seth had a race at Laguna Seca on Saturday, September 8th. We took Adelyn and left James at home. He stayed with Martha during the days, Lynn during the nights, Paige the babysitter on Saturday night, and Melissa on Sunday....talk about a lot of transitions. Everyone said he did great and we are SO, SO thankful for everyone's help! 

We flew into San Francisco around 4 pm on Wednesday. Adelyn took a great nap on the plane. We played in San Francisco (Fisherman's Wharf, dinner at a sushi restaurant, and Ghirardelli Square) and drove on to Monterey afterward. We stayed at the Clement Monterey, which I highly recommend. On Thursday, we went to the aquarium. Seth's teammate's wife (Crystal), Beth and Eli Pombo (racing friend and her son), and my old Atlanta roommate Melissa and her daughter Sophie came with us. This is a wonderful aquarium! We saw them feed the fish (mainly sharks, tuna, and sardines). They also had a great kids' section and cute penguins! That afternoon, I went to Melissa's house and hung out with them. Her husband is in the Navy, so they're stationed in Monterey. It was neat to see their military neighborhood- very nice and filled with parks and playgrounds! On Thursday, Adelyn, Crystal, and I went to the track in the morning and then Adelyn and I met up with Melissa that afternoon. We drove into Carmel for a girls' shopping trip. We spent all day at the track on Saturday (Race Day!). 

Seth and Dan finished 11th....not terrible, but not the results they were hoping for. There's just one more race at the end of the month. We flew out of SFO on Sunday morning. Again, Adelyn took a great nap and was a super kiddo! It was awesome to spend so much one-on-one time with Adelyn and show her a new part of our country. 

Here's Adelyn on a trolley. The line was really long and it was getting late, even for CA time, so we didn't actually ride it. 

Sushi dinner- Adelyn eating tuna sashimi

Ghirardelli Square

San Francisco Bay

Ice cream sundae at Ghirardelli- she devoured it

Seriously...THE MOST beautiful rainbow I've ever seen (and it's a double!)

Eli and Adelyn at the Monterey Aquarium

Ah, loved Carmel! This chair is shaped like a cowboy boot! It was in a wine tasting room. Ever done a wine tasting with a 38 week pregnant chic and your 3 year old???

Watching Dan qualify at Laguna Seca

Adelyn thinks she's one of the guys. 

Some of my favorite people!

Melissa looking incredible at the Fan Walk 

It was slightly windy watching the race at certain parts!

These 3 were best buds!! Adelyn, Eli, and Sophie had a great time playing together 

Corkscrew at Laguna Seca

Adelyn wants to be a Ballerina Racecar Driver Mommy when she grows up

Isle of Palms, SC

Warning: Picture overload from our trip to Isle of Palms (about 30 minutes outside of Charleston, SC). I can't help it though...kids are TOO cute on the beach! 

We had a fun-tastic trip with my parents and brother. It was a little cloudy at the beginning of the week, so we took the kids to the children's museum and the aquarium. It was nice being on the beach without it being blazing hot! Don't get me wrong, we got plenty of sun! I feel pretty tan right now (for my white self). We spent beach days building sand castles and playing in the waves. The kids LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the beach. It took James a little while to truly warm up to playing in the ocean, but he never once disliked the sand. We ate the majority of our meals in our condo, which was way easier with a 3 year old and a 1 year old. 

It was my mom's 60th birthday, so it was wonderful to celebrate with her. One of my gifts to her was a cooking class in Charleston. We learned how to make cornmeal encrusted flounder, cowpea succotash, and lemon blueberry pie. It was fun! Seth and I (and usually Joseph) went out several nights. We went bowling, heard a Reggae band, or just had a drink once the kids went to bed. Seth and I also had an overnight date night. We stayed downtown at The Mills House, ate dinner at Il Cortile del Re, and had dessert at Kaminsky's (and I'm sure I gained 10 pounds!). 

This is kind of a stupid story, but when I was little my mom would let my brother and I pick out whatever cereal we wanted on our annual beach trips. We were never allowed the junky, sugar-loaded cereals at home. On this trip, we let Adelyn eat Lucky Charms almost every morning. It brought back memories watching her enjoy her "beach cereal". We all enjoyed ourselves, but I think the best part was watching our children enjoy themselves!

Adelyn and Seth at the Children's Museum rolling golf balls down the ramp

James's favorite activity: painting with water on the chalkboard 

Adelyn loved searching for seashells

Help! I'm buried alive!

Aquarium

Family picture at the Aquarium (Cooper River in background)

My little Matilda Jane model

Daddy and James wading

Nana and Adelyn

Uncle Joe and Grandeddy playing with Adelyn

James took good morning naps in his tent! I'm glad he could still fit in it.

We bought Adelyn a boogie board!

I was relieved that James could care LESS if he was filthy

My brother reading on the beach- this is the true Turner beach position

James loves to play with doors. Luckily, he couldn't open this one!

We built a "swimming pool" for the castle every day and the kids played and played in it!

James towards the end of the week....he would crawl towards the waves!

Dark picture...this is the only night we all went out to eat (for my mom's birthday). Morgan Creek Grill overlooks the waterway and a marina.

I swear, they didn't plan on matching outfits!