July

I figure I better record that this month existed before this baby gets here and life is never the same. July has been a very fun month so far, and hopefully will end with a bang! (Here's crossing my fingers.)

My good friend Alissa and I are due the same week, so our good friends had a "Tea Party" in honor of our soon-to-arrive little girls. It was beautifully put together and so much fun.


This was the table full of dainty and delicious treats. It was all amazing - blueberry scones, lemon curd, fruit preserves, cake balls, cupcakes, pink lemonade, strawberries, and all varieties of pink!In true tea party fashion, we had a "princess" competition, which included a fashion section. This was the lovely gown my team designed for me. Below is a picture of Alissa and I showing off our teams' creations. These are the cute outfits my sister-in-law Aubrey got for our little girls. I can't wait to dress her in it!Logan and I decided we'd better celebrate our anniversary early if we wanted to celebrate it at all, so we got away for part of a weekend to a cute bed and breakfast not far from where we live. It was a really fun 19th century mansion that has been renovated and is absolutely beautiful, inside and out. Our room used to be the second story porch, so it was mostly windows and was designed to feel like you were sleeping in a tree (as you can probably see in the picture, which sadly looks like something you'd see in a creepy story on Dateline.) It was a nice chance to get away. It's hard to believe it's been 5 years! And what a wonderful 5 years it's been, with plenty of adventures and blessings. Can't imagine what our future holds, but judging by our past together, it only gets more wonderful every year! (Call me cheesy, but the cheese is the truth!) Luckily Carli has been keeping busy having fun with friends. I've tried to overcome my laziness and overwhelming desire to recline at home in the air conditioning and at least do something fun with her everyday. On this particular day it was her little friend's idea to have a tea party. I tried to get a good picture after they dressed themselves in ALL of their princess attire, but that all just got in the way and was not-so-carefully stripped away before they could truly enjoy their lemonade and cookies. Funny girls.

We've had a few fun outings to this splash park. What a cute girl she is!

We have also enjoyed the free petting zoo a couple of times this month (when it hasn't been too awfully hot). Carli has absolutely no fear when it comes to animals. It makes me a little nervous at times, especially when it comes to dogs and the biting pony at the petting zoo. (Why would you have a pony that bites at a petting zoo???) Anyway, she is convinced all the animals there love to eat sticks, so she insists on feeding them.
We've had a few other excursions, including the children's museum and plenty of shopping. She has been such a good girl lately. She is so sweet with her friends, shares and talks so nicely. She definitely still has her 2-year-old moments, but she seems to be on her way to 3 quicker than I thought. We (I) lost her glasses last week and have an eye appointment this week, so hopefully we can get that taken care of. My favorite things she's talked about lately:

*Aunt Aubrey was trying to help her get her hands washed before dinner, which she didn't want to do, so she turned to me and said, "Mom! I can't work under these conditions!"

* I brought home some long stem roses that came with our breakfast at the bed and breakfast and Carli knew just what to do with them. She smelled them and said how beautiful they were, then said, "Are we allowed to have fresh flowers in the house?" Apparently a story she'd just read about a clean-freak mom who doesn't allow fresh flowers in the house because they make such a mess had influenced her.

* Sunday night Logan told Carli he was going to a Young Men's fireside. Several times that night she informed me that "Dad's at a firetruck." I corrected her after a couple of times and after that she told me he was at a fire station instead.

* Carli and I were talking about how excited we are to have a new baby sister coming to our house so soon. She exclaimed, "She's going to sit on my lap and I'll read her stories!!" I'm excited to see my little bookworm share her love of books with her little sister.

My weeks have been full of gathering, washing, making and shopping for baby supplies. Carli took me off guard when she came and I felt almost completely unprepared, so I did not want that to happen this time. I think pretty much everything is ready for this little girl to join our family. I have to play the organ on Sunday and play for the choir, and my sister gets here next Wednesday, so hopefully little "Gus" can wait until then, but hopefully not much (or any) longer than that.

Well, next time you visit this blog, you will be hearing the exciting news of birthday, name and the entering the world story (don't worry, I'm not too much into sharing the gory details here)! We can't wait!