Beach Pictures!

Erin with Erin Kay Photography has posted a "sneak peak" of our beach photos on her blog. I can't wait to get the entire set of proofs. They look great so far!! I just love looking at my baby's innocent face and bare feet in the sand. Pictures are priceless to me as they just capture the moment and allow you to freeze that image in time. There are many days when I think I just want to freeze her and keep her small forever. We are having sooo much fun these days watching her grow. It's just amazing how quickly they learn new things and do something different every day. Link over to http://www.mckneelyspace.blogspot.com/ to check out some of our photos. Here's two I have already purchased for my website to showcase a few new items. Love them!!

More Dresses!

I recently learned to make pillowcase dresses. I made this grey and pink one for Laura Beth! I just love it and wanted to share! I also have this new fabric seen below. I make both style dresses. Notice that the a line dress is reversible. One side has the flowers and the other side is polka dots.

The Lake With Friends

Before we left for the beach we spent the weekend in Tennessee with some friends. We went with the Swearingins and the Fullers. They both have sons Laura Beth's age -- Parker and Jack. Laura Beth loves them both!! She's constantly saying "Parker" and "Jack" at home. They had a blast together. Laura Beth likes to act like their little mother hen. She's constantly trying to tell them what to do. We spent Saturday on the Lake on a boat. We had the kids on the boat from 10:30 until about 5:30! They did great! Landon and I enjoyed some adult time with new friends.

Hilton Head 2008

We headed to Hilton Head last week for a final summer vacation. We had a great time. Laura Beth especially loved the pool and playing on the beach. At the pool she had the most fun climbing in and out and socializing with everyone. She kept going up to everyone and saying "hi." On Thursday, Mom, Papa Randy, Erin, Kevin, and Aubrey joined us. Laura Beth just adores her Nana and Papa and had a blast playing with Aubrey. They were too funny!! My favorite memory was when Papa Randy got there and said his usual "hey precious" to Laura Beth. She replied "hey precious" and kept saying it all weekend. Sooo cute! She even hugged Aubrey once and said "hey precious." :) The guys squeezed in some golf and I enjoyed some alone time with Mom and Laura Beth shopping. Erin took our pictures on the beach and they seemed to turn out great. She will probably post a "sneak peak" of them on her blog soon. Check it out at http://www.mckneelyspace.blogspot.com/. She is really doing well with photography. If anyone is looking for some great photos at reasonable rates, give her a call!! Well it's back to the real world. We were happy to get home and sleep in our own beds. We spent today around the house. Landon cooked some homemade lasagna and garlic bread. He has so much more patience with cooking than I do. My idea of lasagna is stouffer's!!

My Models!

Check out how cute the kids look in their outfits! Here are some beach outfits I made and a birthday shirt being worn by the recipients. I love seeing them in their outfits!! It makes all the hard work worth it. My website is on its way! It's up but I am working on building the pictures and text. I will let everyone know when I feel it's ready!

Vacation Here I Come!!

I don't have any cute pics of Laura Beth to post this week. Not too much exciting going on. Last weekend we went to Kaden's 2nd birthday party in Flowery Branch. Laura Beth enjoyed the kiddie pool and water slide. The slide was meant for the bigger kids but we couldn't get the babies off of it. Of course Laura Beth went down a few times! Landon's been busy at work and Laura Beth and I have been enjoying what's left of our summer. I have been quite busy with my tutors and monogramming. I currently tutor 3 little boys going to 3rd and 4th grade. I am working on reading and writing with each one but their needs vary greatly. It's something I love doing! My new tutor Sean has only been working with me for a few weeks (6-8 sessions I think) and for those of you who understand teacher lingo... on the first day he read 49 wpm (words per minute). Today he read 72 wpm!! What a great feeling! We haven't even worked on reading fluency the entire time because his writing skills are so severe. I was so proud of him and that just made my day. I hate to see kids struggling with their academics. It truly breaks down their soul. And I admire the parents that take action and get their children the help they need before they fall tooo far behind. I feel like I can open the gates for these kids to share all they have to offer with the world. This particular boy is so bright but looking at his paper you'd never know it. I am so excited and optimistic about his progress!

And as for my little student.. Laura Beth! She's keeping us on our toes and making making me laugh and grimace each day. I just grin at her silly personality and all that she does. I grimace at her strong willed, stubborn ways. She's full speed ahead and learning more and more every day! Yesterday Landon said, "when did she start that?" I turned around to see her trying to walk down the stairs instead of her usual scooting on her bottom. Of course I then witnessed her tumble down the stairs. Oh my girl! She must have decided that if Mommy and Daddy can walk then so can I. :) She continues to be obsessed with food, dogs, books, and going outside. She also recently started calling Landon... "Landon" instead of Daddy. It cracks me up but he's not to fond of it. If she can't get his attention she'll revert to "Landon." This week she picked up more letter sounds. Yes, I said letter sounds. O.k. I always worry about bragging but Landon and I just look at each other in amazement each day. Laura Beth is like a sponge! (I am sure every parent thinks their child is so smart :) She can now tell us the sounds of all but about 17 of her letters. Only 9 more to go! I am going to have to get it on video so we can watch back someday.

Well we are off to vacation tomorrow. We are going to the lake with some friends-- 2 couples and their one year old boys. Then next week we head to Hilton Head for the week. I can't wait to be at the beach! We decided we must squeeze in one more beach trip before school starts since Laura Beth had such a blast last time. And of course it's mommy's favorite place ever !! I'll have lots of pics when we return!

July 4th

As tradition holds we stayed here for the fourth of July. Landon always picks that holiday to work half a day. I am thinking we may change it up next year and go to the beach or something. Meme and Poppy (Landon's parents) came to visit. We grilled steaks and Laura Beth played in her pool. Laura Beth loved having her Meme and Poppy at the house and stayed by their side. I enjoyed being able to have my space as LB is attached to me when no one is here. In the pictures below, Laura Beth enjoyed some toast and jelly with Poppy... o.k. just the jelly. She was sucking it off of the toast. And we pulled out her barbie fishing pole for a quick casting lesson. :) Poppy can't wait until she's old enough to go fishing with him. Saturday night we visited Ben and Paula at their new home. It's just beautiful. They have spent the last year designing and building it. Every detail is just wonderful and I they must feel so blessed in their new home.

Other than the fourth I have been busy teaching at a summer camp and tutoring. Laura Beth is spending three days a week/half days with LaNae. She absolutely loves going over to "Nae, Nae's." She's all smiles and "getty" when she wakes up and I tell her we need to get dressed to go see Nae, Nae. When I pick her up she doesn't want to leave. Such a huge peace of mind! The summer is quickly passing us by and I can't believe I go back to teaching in less than a month. I have mixed feelings about. Time will tell .... I just hope my daughter doesn't suffer any while i figure out what's best for me/us. I am also continuing with my monogramming and designs for "The Whimsical Woods". Here is another bag I completed and a tablerunner for Kaden's birthday party.