I guess it's that time...

Well, 6 months went by way too quickly. I go back to work tomorrow! We had a very busy..but very FUN time during my maternity leave. I am very thankful to have had the time with Lucy! She is my sweet little girl and I am going to miss seeing her all day every day! It's very bittersweet for me, but I know that we will both do very well! I am proud of our little girl and I know she will be so strong! Wish us luck this week!

Sweet little girl!

How cute are those buns?!

Happy girl!

 

It was an interesting weekend! Filled with good and bad times... Steven left for Charlotte on Thursday. We always miss him when he is away! When I picked Jack up on Thursday afternoon his teacher mentioned that he was not 100% himself that day. After bath I noticed he felt warm and then he was up several times that night. Friday he was pretty pitiful. He would perk up after he had some Motrin and then spike a fever again. After being up again Friday night, we headed to the doctor on Saturday (luckily the office is open on Sat. mornings!) He didnt have any other symptoms besides a fever, so we waited 24 hours before going in.. Well, he had strep throat! That's Jack's first time having it and he had never complained about his throat and was eating so I had no idea! The good news is that it was easy to treat and after about 24 hours of taking his antibiotic he was doing much better! I brought my sick little man home from the doctor and set him up in our bed upstairs to watch a movie and stay quiet (also mainly to keep him away from Lucy) He was so pitiful. It broke my heart to see him not feeling good. Now, on a side note...  Steven and I feel pretty strongly about Jack never sleeping in our bed (just a personal opinion and not a habit we ever want to have, but every family is different) and now I feel even stronger about it. Since Jack got to watch a movie in our bed while he was sick..he has asked the past two days to please get in our bed because it's so "comfy and soft"! Wow, I can't imagine if we had ever let him sleep there..even once! He also LOVED getting to watch that much TV! We were trying to keep him quiet and he did get to watch lots of it! We were back to reality today with the TV, but he has asked 100 times about watching another movie! So anyway... I am even more aware of how quickly a habit can be formed! Anyway .... We were VERY fortunate that Nannie was here for the weekend to help out! She was a big help and spent lots of good time with Lucy while I was taking care of the little man! Thanks so much Nannie! We even got to sneak away Saturday night for a MUCH anticipated James Taylor concert at Chastain. There aren't many things more "Atlanta" than a summer concert at Chastain! It was an amazing show and we had the best time! I was very sad that Steven missed it, but very happy to have such a fun date!

We met up with the Coopers and the concert!

This was a toast to Steven for not being there with us!

The weekend ended really great! Jack was back to himself and we went to the park to feed the ducks, we played in the backyard, grilled out hamburgers and hotdogs, and even made it to the pool this afternoon! Lucy LOVED her first trip to the pool! She splashed herself the whole time! It was a VERY nice Monday just the four of us! 

Nannie and Lucy at the park

Jack feeding the ducks

Lucy playing in the yard while Daddy grilled out

Brother and Sister!

First watermelon of the season!

...and how do you rinse off all that watermelon?! Take your clothes off and run in the sprinkler!

Swimming at the pool!

Lucy splashing!

Daddy and his babies!

Blue eyes!

Check out the rest of our pictures!

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A little adult time...

Steven and I had our first night away from both kids since Lucy was born! It was really wonderful! We headed up to Highlands, NC for the night with Julie and Scott. We always have so much fun and this time was no exception! It was very hard for us (more for me) to leave Lucy for the first time over night. I have only been away from her for a few hours at a time and it was hard to leave for the night.  She did really great with Poppa and Nunno which makes us so happy. Poppa called before we got to Highlands to tell us how she was smiling so big! That made our day and made us relax even more! It's always nice to hear that they are having a good time! And they ALWAYS are going to have a good time with Poppa and Nunno.
We did a lot of eating and shopping! Julie definitely helps me "pull the trigger" as she says with shopping. I am not a big shopper (I am sure most of you are laughing .. I KNOW I KNOW..I need to get better! I am great at buying Steven and the kids things..not so much for myself!) I found a CUTE dress for $15 and CUTE shoes for $18! Now even I couldn't pass that up! I even ended up going back to get that same dress in a different color! Two for $30! It was really nice to have no schedule and just walk around and talk! I think the boys did more walking around eating and drinking! There was no shortage of "free samples"! Everyone had fun! Thank you to Poppa and Nunno for that! It was so great for us!

(YES! That's my $15 dress!)

We got up and headed back to Gville Sunday morning to go to the Murphy Reunion (Dad's side of the family). It was nice to see all the family and Jack loved going to the "Big Rock" to play in the water with his cousins! By the time we got back to Atlanta it was around 4:30 and we were all wiped out. We literally couldnt wake up Jack to eat dinner.  Poor little guy! 

This is my last week of maternity leave... lots of mixed feelings about it, but no matter what it wont be as hard in a few weeks. Once we get back into that routine, I know it will be easier. The anticipation of leaving Lucy is hard.. I know it will get better! I have been so blessed to have such great time with the kids! We have packed LOTS into my time off and will continue to pack in lots on Mondays and Fridays! Today was our last Music Class. Both kids have really enjoyed it! I think it's our 5th session and everyone has been so fun!
Jack starts his new class this week and is excited about being "A Big Kid" in Miss Lauren's class! We will miss Miss Brittany and Miss Zanna! They have been so great!

Jack and Lucy with Miss Kim at Music Class

Lucy covered in drool and rice cereal (she LOVES it!)

Sweet big brother stopped to check on his baby sister

Jack playing Musical Chairs at his "End of Year" party at school (with the ladies!)

Mommy with her babies at Jack's school party

Jack and best bud Andrew with Miss Brittany and Miss Zanna (Andrew is our neighbor! They are best friends!)

Enjoy our new pictures!
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We got SLOBBERED!

What a FUN day! If you haven't been to the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain..you should add it to your list! It was TRULY WILD!

Sunday, we got up and successfully made it to the 8am church service (after a late night out at BON JOVI and having to pack the family up for the whole day before leaving the house... I wasn't sure we would actually make it! BUT we did!) We really enjoyed the early service and both kids did great in the nursery playing. (So proud of Lucy... I didnt think it would go so well...we have been keeping her with us during the service..which means we dont get much out of the service) We then headed down the road to spend the day with the Coopers..and the animals! Caroline and Jack really had fun, but I think Daddy and Uncle Scott had the most fun! They were in the front of our luxury van. The windows in the front were the perfect size for a HUGE cow/bull/buffalo to fit it's head through! Literally, their heads were in their laps! They were COVERED in drool, slobber, dirt, food, etc! I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes... the pictures will not do it justice! Of course, the fact that we had our 5.5 month old with us on our adventure was pretty scary funny too! Luckily, Lucy was a very good girl and was entertained by our screams and laughter! We fed cows, buffalo, deer, pigs, horses, donkeys, llamas, zebra...and who knows what else! They all come right up to the van (open windows with just a small bar to protect our precious toddler's fingers! Luckily, they had a healthy fear of some of the larger animals. Jack would just say, "NO thank you cow..this is for the deer!")
There was also a part that we could walk and see animals. Most were caged and pretty scary! Lions, tigers, giraffes, bears, hienas (VERY scary looking), baboons, alligators..all kinds of things!

The Adventure team!

Our Safari guides..Jack and Caroline!

I wish this had sound effects (Jack imitating a sheep!)

Feeding the animals!

This giraffe was very nice.. but it also tried to eat Jack's shirt!

Mommy and Jack (notice the cow in the front window with Scott!)

Feeding a llama....seconds before it sneezed RIGHT in his face! Luckily, he thought it was funny!

Backseat fun!

Lucy enjoying all the excitement (from the safety of the center of the van!)

Hello Daddy! Mr. Buffalo got a little close!

The Leonards with the safari van

Our Brave Backseat Toddlers!

It was very exciting! I definitely think it will be something we will try again some day!
Lucy ended the adventure with a VERY dirty diaper (All the way up her back to her neck)...so we were now all literally covered in mess! When we got home...EVERYONE had a bath or shower immediately! Both kids were tired (and both parents), so we got in comfy clothes and watched Peter Pan. Lucy was asleep at 6:15 and Jack was in bed at 7:30! Whew...that much fun is tiring!

On another note...I go back to work in two weeks...it is very bittersweet for me. I am really hurting about leaving Lucy. I have loved my time with her and fall more in love with her everyday. BUT...I am also excited about getting back into work and having some time to be me and do something that I enjoy. I also feel like there were so many things that I didnt get done during my maternity leave. I feel very blessed to have gotten the time home with Lucy and to have some time just us. Our sweet little man is just loving school and about to start a new class! He is excited about it and continues to do so well! I hope that I will remember that Monday and Friday are my time to be with my children and not to catch up on all the other "stuff" there is to do.

Check out all the pictures! There are TWO albums..definitely check out both! Too funny!

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Not quite sure...

Sweet Lucy tried rice cereal this morning for the first time (We fed Jack at about 4.5 months...Lucy is 5.5 months... I think we are putting off everything with her trying to keep her a baby longer! It's just going to fast!) She wasn't quite sure about it! Hopefully she will like eating soon! Jack was so excited to help her! He has been so great with her and wants to "teach" her everything. She has been really paying attention to us eating lately and reaching for food in our hands, so we thought it was about time! She got to use her new (her very own!) Peter Rabbit bowl that Aunt Elizabeth gave her! She was cute and was quite messy!



We have had a good week and looking forward to a fun weekend! Today is a family day at the house (we really need one of these and especially because we have lots of weekends planned coming up!) and tomorrow we are going to the Wild Animal Safari at Pine Mountain! We are so excited! Hopefully Jack will enjoy it as much as we think he will! Tonight.... watch out Philips..... Elizabeth and I are going to Bon Jovi! We got some very last minute tickets offered and are taking them for a girls night out! Wooo hoooo! The only disappointing thing about the night is that Richie Sambora is not touring with them right now.. But I think we will manage to have fun anyway!

Here are a few more cute pictures!
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LOVE my Exersaucer

Sweet happy girl!

Hmmmm...might want to work on some more lady like manners!

Just because...

...we picked up Chick Fil A and had a picnic at a park last night for dinner! Sometimes it seems that during the week we get into a routine of cooking dinner every night and not really changing it up! The weather was so perfect last night and we went to a local park and just hung out, ate some fun dinner, and played! It was a really nice time just the four of us! We should do this more often!