Videos, Videos, Videos

I'm sure some of you were loving the 2 posts in one week, but now you're wondering what happened? LIFE! That's what happened! We've been capturing some pretty funny videos on Eric's Iphone lately and I thought I'd FINALLY share them on here. These videos were taken over the past two weeks and showcase some of Virginia's newest tricks.

I must apologize for our commentary and silly laughs, but who wouldn't think they're baby is the funniest thing ever?

The "Dairy" Queen

Like Father, Like Daughter

Shake Your Head

We are heading out of town this weekend to see my parents, and I am so excited! They are in for a big surprise Saturday! I can't say what it is yet, just in case they read this! No, Virginia is not expecting a new baby sister or brother. I'm sure that's what most of you were thinking! I'll let you in on the secret when we get back! Have a great weekend and enjoy the sunshine.

The Blackmans' Go Green

Yesterday was Earth Day and we celebrated by going green. Most cities have a curb side recycling pick up service, but LaGrange does not. While out exploring the city one day, I came across 2 recycling "dumps." One is right around the corner from our house, and it inspired me to do my part.

No, I'm not a tree hugger or environmental nut, but I do realize how much waste is caused by throwing out things that could be recycled instead. I knew that we needed a bucket of some sort to store our recycling in, so I hit up the Dollar Tree. I bought 3 small buckets to sort our trash into categories. One bucket for plastic, and the next two for aluminum and glass. I could've gotten more buckets, but I thought about what we consumed the most and narrowed it down to those three. After a little labeling with the paint pens, here's how they turned out.

Cheap and easy! My kind of crafting!

Next, I gathered all the trash that could got in our recycling containers. I washed the bottles, jars, and buckets, so they wouldn't be smelly.

After everything dried, Virginia awoke from her nap to help with the best part. Filling up the buckets! She loved the sounds that the bottles and jars made as they hit the buckets. You can see what she enjoyed doing more than anything!

Remember, I washed these!

Another way that helps the environment and helps me, are cloth grocery bags. Some of you may have these laying around your house and never use them. I did that for the longest, but once Miss Priss came along, I needed an easier way to haul the groceries in without making a million trips to the car. Here is a small stash of bags that I have acquired and use on a regular basis. The hardest part is remembering to take them with me to the store!

Hopefully our green day has inspired you to think about this lovely planet God has blessed us with, and do your part.

Then God said, "Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves. They will be masters over all life--the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the livestock, wild animals, and small animals." So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them. God blessed them and told them, "Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters over the fish and birds and all the animals." ~Genesis 1:26-28

East Coast Getaway

This past week, we returned from a 5 day trip to Amelia Island, Florida. Eric had a conference to attend, so it was a perfect opportunity for Virginia and I to tag along as well. We stayed here, at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island. It was beautiful! The resort was so elegant and classy. (if that can be said about a hotel) The service was top notch. Anytime we needed anything or had a question, the employees would go above and beyond to meet our requests. Now, it's back to reality and not having my breakfast delivered to me every morning.

Virginia learned how to stick her tongue out the day before we left. She enjoyed sticking it out at me on the ride down!

We were hoping to take Virginia out on the beach for the first time, but the weather didn't cooperate. Even though it's April and very warm lately, that wasn't our luck on Amelia Island. I think it was warmer in LaGrange than Amelia Island. The temperature stayed in the high 60's to low 70's all week. The wind was blowing about 15-20 mph, which made it a tad bit chilly.

Do you see how windy it was?

Virginia could hardly open her eyes for the wind!

Thankfully the Ritz had an indoor pool that was heated, so Virginia got to experience the pool for the first time.

I like to call her "cool cat" when she has on her sunglasses.

Swimming with Daddy! So fun!

Look Mommy! I'm splashing!

Yea! We're swimming together!

Sweet baby girl!

Can you tell we had fun in the pool? And that we couldn't get enough pictures/video of her first swim? I'm not ashamed and will probably be glad I took so many pictures, when I'm old and grey.

Can you tell I was a little ticked with all the kids kicking and splashing all around my baby? I now know how mama birds and bears feel when they think their babies are being threatened. Eric says it's because I haven't been in a classroom all year and that I haven't been able to get on to kids. The kids left soon after I got in the pool. Maybe it was all my teacher looks I was giving them!

Since we were in a hotel room for 5 days, feeding a baby food is hard without a high chair. My sweet mother-in-law found this seat before Virginia was born and it sure came in handy this week! Maybe next time I need to find one with a tray that will hold her in! Virginia was a wiggle worm in this seat. It did the job and that's all that matters.

Can you tell that she was all over the place?

Amelia Island is really called Fernandina Beach, Florida and is quite a historic place. One afternoon we all went exploring around the island. Downtown Fernandina Beach is so picturesque and beautiful. We picked up a local map to help us navigate our way around the downtown area. The map listed all the shopping and historical places. While looking at the map we noticed a house that we had to find! Can you guess who lived here?

Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Ephraim's Daughter Longstocking, that's who! On the map it said, "Pippi Longstocking's House," also known as Villa Villekulla. This house was used for the filming of the 1988 version of "The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking." Eric and I were beside ourselves when we found this! We both loved the Pippi movies growing up. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of Pippi, Mr. Nilsson, Old Man, or even Tommy and Annika. No such luck. All we saw was a rather large woman sitting on the back porch. Hopefully that's not what Pippi turned into. I would be so disappointed.

It was nice to get away together, but we're happy to be back in our little routine! Have a great week!

Easter Weekend

We surprised our family in Mobile this past weekend with a visit home. We decided to spend Easter with Eric's family, but didn't want to let them in on our secret surprise. Surprise it was! While they were having dinner at a restaurant Friday night we walked in and gave them a nice shock! Too bad I don't have pictures of their faces as they saw us.

We spent the weekend hanging out and going to all our favorite stores, while in the "big city." Sadly LaGrange doesn't offer the same shopping as Mobile, so I enjoyed my time in Target, Tiny Town, and Babies R Us!

Virginia also had a wonderful time playing with all her uncles, aunts, grandparents, and great-grandparents. They equally enjoyed her, if you can't tell!

We enjoyed Easter Sunday services at the People of Mars Hill church. Sunday was such a beautiful day to worship the Lord and thank Him for all that He has done for us. Virginia looked so precious in her first Easter dress. This sweet dress was made just for Virginia by a sweet lady who attends my parents church in Wetumpka. I picked the color and told her to do the rest. I'm not picky and I knew she would know just what to make. It turned out prettier than I could've imagined.

I hope you enjoyed your Easter weekend as much as we did. If your town is like ours, it's covered in a blanket of yellow "snow," called pollen. V and I are opting to stay in as often as possible to keep ourselves dust free. There's rain in the forecast for tomorrow, so maybe it will wash all this yellow away.

We're Alive......

We haven't fallen off the planet....yet! We've just MOVED! That's right, we've done it again. This time we've made the move a little farther east to LaGrange, Georgia. This is where Eric has been commuting to for the last 7 months since we've lived in Auburn. Thanks to family and a great group of movers, we successfully made our move to LaGrange last Thursday. This move seemed much easier to me than the last one. Maybe it has something to do with having an 8 month old instead of an 8 WEEK old! Virginia did so good during the whole packing up and moving part. She's such a good baby. We really can't complain!

Sorry, no pictures of the new house yet. I don't think it's camera ready, unless you like decorating with moving boxes! While unpacking Virginia's room, we came across her MANY bathing suits that she will be able to use over the summer. Since the sun was shining yesterday, I decided to try some of the bathing suits on her. These shots aren't great quality. My Iphone is all I had handy at the moment.

Did someone say swimming? Oh yes!

What is this skirt on my bathing suit, Mommy?

I can't wait to get in the pool!

Maybe the sun is shining in your corner of the world today!

ATL Bound

We just got back from a quick 2 night trip to Atlanta. Eric had a conference to attend, so V and I decided to tag along. So glad we did! It was great to get out of the house and our "normal" routine. Virginia did SO well traveling and going in and out of places throughout our time in ATL.

While Eric was in his conference all day Wednesday, Virginia and I hit up the good shopping in Atlanta! Thanks to this trusty device that Eric got me (us) for our anniversary, I was able to navigate my way around Atlanta. Without it, I probably would've spent most of the day at the hotel.

First, we hit up our all time favorite store, "The Maxx." Sadly, this Maxx was not great, so we moved on to bigger and better things. Eric and I discovered Ikea when we went to Atlanta a few years ago. Each time we go back, we always stop by Ikea. I don't love their style of modern furnishings, but I always seem to find some sort of neat gadget or doo-dad! Here is just one reason why I love shopping at Ikea.......

Since having a baby, I have become a lazy parking lot parker. (If that's such a phrase) I will drive around the parking lot until a spot close to the entrance of a store becomes available. If you have a baby or are referred to as a "Senior Citizen," then you know what I'm talking about! I've found myself to be quite aggressive if I see someone trying to steal a spot from me. No Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates character from Fried Green Tomatoes) incidents yet. I'll wait until Virginia is not in the car for that. Anyways, Ikea has these great Family Friendly Parking spots available right next to the front entrance. I was in love, so I took a picture to prove it! Not only are these spots in prime places, but they're oversized parking spaces for people with babies in strollers. I have the hardest time in regular parking spaces when I have to get V out, then put her in the stroller, all without dinging the car next to me. No such problem at Ikea. Most of the people that I saw parking or leaving the family friendly spots were truly families or mommies with kids. However, when I came out, there was a girl trying to pull her car into one of the spots and I saw NO children in the car. I wanted to give her my "teacher look" as Eric calls it, but refrained.

Next, we headed to Atlantic Station, which is just down the street from Ikea. It was time for Virginia to eat, so we stopped here for a lunch break. Didn't do any shopping here. WAY TOO COLD! This is an outdoor shopping mall, and the wind was so bad, that we just ate and left. After Atlantic Station, we picked up Eric and headed to Lenox Square Mall. Good shopping there too, but no success for me.

Ready to eat!

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel. V and I were spent from our day of exploration and shopping. It was time for Virginia's dinner. After I feed Virginia each night, she gets "real food." Imagine trying to feed an 8 month old in a hotel room with no high chair. FOOD FIGHT! Just kidding, although most of it ended up on the blanket we put under her. Here are some before and after shots of dinner time.

Before

After

Virginia loved playing in the hotel room. I think she loved that Eric and I could be on the bed with her at the same time. She hammed it up for us! Here are some pictures from playtime in the hotel.

Ready for bedtime

Wild Thang Mane

Wild thang! That's what I'll call Virginia's hair these days.

Yes, we do wash, comb, and decorate her hair with lots of bows, but it still ends up looking like this.

Virginia seems to be growing hair like a maniac these days. New hair is coming in by the minute, I believe! We think she looks so cute with her new hair, but why wouldn't we? I've been told about a hair lotion called Nestle's. I've found it online and am very tempted to order some to tame this wild mane.

Do you see my crazy hair?

I took this picture this afternoon while we were watching USA vs. Canada hockey game, in the FINAL 2010 Winter Olympic event. Needless to say, Eric was very into it! Can you tell? Virginia, not so much. We have LOVED watching the Olympics these last 2 weeks. We're sad they're over, but looking forward to London 2012!