Water Baby!!

Lily has discovered the next coolest thing in her little life, THE POOL. She is the perfect age right now for learning about the big swimming pool and she has found that it is so much fun. The first time we took her to the indoor pool she was a little ho hum about the whole experience. She was pretty little though so I really shouldn't have expected much. Well this past week we have spent many afternoons at the pool in our complex.



The first time Bob and I took her and she was a little on the nervous side. She was so precious because she just clung to me like the big bad pool was going to eat her.





It was so sweet because I got to snuggle her while we walked around the water. Neither Bob nor I pushed her to do much because we didn't want to traumatize her. We kept telling her how much fun swimming was and that she would soon adore it. Little did we know that "soon" meant two days later.

Grandma Jill came down and we have spent nearly every afternoon in the water. At first she clung to Grandma just like she had been doing with me, so we let her play on the step for a while.









She started to slap the water and discover that it was actually a lot of fun to make a splash. Jill and I started to hand her back and forth telling her to "swim to Grandma, swim to Mommy." After about 4 back and forths, she became totally enamored with the idea and started giggling and smiling. AH, officially a swimmer! Once she got into it she started kicking her legs like a frog and smacking the water as she was going back and forth.







It was just so precious! Every time we stopped to hug and snuggle her she would smack the water as if she was saying, "Okay Mommy, I love you too, but I am having way too much fun, lets keep swimming." Of course, I think that she drank half the pool every time she swam, but it didn't seem to bother her a bit.


Friday afternoon we took Bob with us and he got to see her swim around. We had a great afternoon handing her from Mom to Dad to Grandma. She just kicked her little legs, slapped at the water and moseyed wherever we sent her. Bob was so proud of her and we had such a great time enjoying Lily's newest discovery.

Swimming is just so much fun!

Holy Sleep Deprivation!

As a parent you slowly learn that with babies, nothing is certain. Actually, I take that back, one thing is certain: just when you figure it out, they'll change it on you. Oh my. That has been the case here at the Longmire abode. I do understand that teething causes drama, but seriously, this MUCH? I am amazed at how a 17 pound little bundle can disrupt literally the entire house and I am sure several of the surrounding neighbors. In retrospect, now that I have caught up on much missing sleep-thanks to having a Grandma in the house, it is kind of funny what happened here the other night. When it was happening, it was most definitely NOT funny! Here is the story.

When Aunt Jayne was here last, we started to discover that Lily just doesn't sleep as well knowing that she has a roommate. I don't know how she knows it, but it is like she just senses that there is another presence in the room which requires more screaming and less sleeping. No matter who is in the room with her, once they are in there, our nights go from okay to chaos (all the boys out there help me out with the whistling and explosion noise added for emphasis here) -----------------!@!$#@$%@#$#$!#$. I know this may sound dramatic, but it is the gosh darn truth. It's bad. So teething aside, I knew that she was going to have a hard night when our next visitor showed up. I braced myself and Grandma Jill upon picking her up at the airport. I put the full disclaimer on my Little Lily letting Grandma know that if she came here to sleep, she was in for a surprise. And Lily did not disappoint.

Tuesday night Lily went to bed at 8pm like normal. Bob and I were at small group so when we got home at 9 I went in and nursed her (it is so cute when she sleep nurses). We crawled into bed around 10 thinking that the baby would be good and full and we would have a good night. HA! 1:17am rolled around and Grandma brought the wiggly one into our bedroom. I got up, got to the rocking chair and nursed her, effectively putting her back to sleep and laid her dreaming form back in her crib. I pulled myself back to my bed and sank in with exhaustion. 2:44am-I heard crying and thought I was dreaming, NOPE, it was the baby. What in the world? I remember saying audibly as I was crawling out of bed "You have got to be kidding little girl."

I got into her room, re-pacified her, hugged her and laid her down, only to have her crying again before I left the room. Okay. So I took her into the living room thinking, maybe she just needs a change of scenery plus, Grandma and Bob needed to sleep! I laid her on the floor as she was rubbing her eyes and curled up on the couch only to have her in a screaming, crying fit. So I got down on the floor with her. She settled and tried to sleep for about 15 minutes only to end up in a screaming, crying fit again. Okay now I was a little frustrated. "What was up?" Lily was making so much uncontrollable noise that my sleep-through-a-hurricane husband came out to the living room to survey the scene. We made her a bottle, gave her some Advil and, Praise the Lord, she fell asleep in my arms. Of course it was now 3:45am. Carefully, I took her to her crib, covered her with a blanket and headed towards the door. Before making it to the door (4 feet from her bed) she screamed again. OMG!!!!! Okay, so much for sleep, now the only goal was to keep her happy so that everyone else could sleep. I have this brilliant idea......her car seat! Yep, we went down for a parking lot road trip. I grabbed a blanket strapped her into her seat, crawled in the front seat and prayed she would sleep. Not 10 minutes later she was out. Seriously???!!!????? So we hung out in the car from 4am to 6am. I slept, but not well. I kept remembering that we recently got a note from our leasing office warning us of recent break ins. Then I laughed thinking "If they break into my car they will get a screaming, crying baby. Yeah, I think we're safe."

I have no idea what that was all about, but it was quite a night! Upon waking up, Bob came into the living room at 7am, looked at me, hugged the baby and said, "Yep, the little terrorist has arrived."

No kidding!

My first TOOTHBRUSH for my Two Tooths!

So aside from the fact that Grandma Feddy keeps Lily Grace dressed in the cutest clothes ever (no joke, Mom, I get compliments everywhere I go!), she is a dental hygienist and very excited that Lily is beginning to sprout tooth buds! She was so excited in fact, that the day after I told her teeth were coming in she quickly shipped a baby toothbrush out to us. Now when I say that teeth are coming in, they are little buds popping through the gums. Barely enough to see let alone any surface area to brush. Never the less, I have been given careful instructions to start teaching her to brush early and often, so we have added nub brushing into our nightly routine.



At first, she saw the toothbrush and instantly wanted it. After all, Mom was holding it and it looked like something yummy to chew on. She loved the brush part and how cool it felt on her gums.



She did manage to get the wrong end in her mouth at one point. Oh well, at least she is getting that it goes in there one way or the other.


Lily has definitely decided that teethbrushing is her new favorite hobby!


Thanks for the toothbrush Grandma Feddy!

7th Heaven and a Daddy Too!

7 years ago Bob and I stood up in front of many of our family and friends and excitedly proclaimed our commitment and love to one another. We said our vows, exchanged rings, kissed for the first time and were announced Mr. and Mrs. Robert Longmire. Bob carried me down the aisle and we started our married life together.



Every year is a celebration not just because we have reached another milestone, but because we are more in love and more committed to each other with each anniversary we celebrate. The Lord has placed us in situations and places that we never would have dreamed we would be in. He has lead us through some dark and uncertain valleys and brought us to the top of some of the highest mountains. We have been blessed with friends and family all along the way no matter where the Lord has lead us. We have lived on the West Coast and the East and visited many places in between.

We have fought and made up, disagreed and resolved, been frustrated and loved. Our marriage journey has had many tears, but has been surpassed by the joy, companionship and intimacy that we have discovered along the way. Each year has brought us closer to the Lord and closer to each other. This year will be one of the most memorable anniversarys because it is also a celebration of fatherhood. What a gift to be able to celebrate our seven years on the same day we celebrate Bob being a new Daddy to little Lily Grace. I am humbled to think about where we were 2 years ago when we were dealing with infertility and the thought of possibly never having a baby. God's plans for us were good, they were for prosperity and they were hopeful even when hope felt fleeting.

Today we celebrate not only our relationship, but our family. What a day it is!





We spent the morning at church and then headed over to the gym for a yoga class. Bob and I bought ourselves a gym membership for our anniversary. Ever since leaving Arizona we have really missed having a gym where we can take classes. I am so excited about it because with the temperature outside rising, running is becoming harder and harder to do more than a couple times a week. So, we are once again gym members. Lily is teething and getting fussier by the day. She stayed in the kids club but managed to cry herself silly so the attendant had to come and get me. Poor baby. The second she was in my arms, the tears stopped. After the gym we came home and Bob and her played with the laundry baskets.



She got put in "Baby jail" and had a surprisingly good time for a while. In short order, however, it became apparent that she was headed for naptime. Lily needed some sleep in a bad way.

After nap, our sweet friend Grace brought little Jancsi over and they watched Lily (well Grace watched while Jancsi-2.5 months supervised). Bob and I headed up to our favorite Bonefish Grill restaurant and enjoyed calamari and smoked salmon with a side of mojito! We did have a giggle when Bob decided that instead of fancy fish with a side of froo froo, he ordered fish and chips. We took our time and then moseyed on home. We got Lily bathed and Bob spent the last few hours of his Father's Day snuggling his sleeping daughter. Such a sweet moment.


Our 7 years have given us great joy and we cannot wait for the next 7. I can only imagine what they will hold.

Auntie Jayne Comes to Town

We had a special treat this past weekend, Aunt Jayne came to town! It is always wonderful to see grandparents, but it was extra special to be able to spend a couple of days with my sweet Aunt. Jayne was over in North Carolina for a massage class (Side Note: for those of you who live in Colorado and are not seeing Jayne on a regular basis, you are missing out on the most incredible massage therapy in the state. Run don't walk to her office!) and we got the benefit of her staying with us. Grandma Feddy was initially going to come as well but then at the last minute wasn't able to. We were all a bit bummed, but then I told Jayne that at least she wouldn't have to fight Grandma off for Lily time. She agreed wholeheartedly and got to have Miss Lily all to herself.


We dropped Jayne off at her class up in Durham on Saturday and headed out for our running routine. After the half marathon I have found myself in somewhat of a running slump. I have to admit that I am kind of bored with running. Actually I think that it has far more to do with the fact that it has been hot, humid and miserable here which makes running kind of dreadful. Anyways, we got out there and went our 6 sweaty miles. Lily was so cute either talking up a storm or sucking her big toes (yes, she has discovered that she can do that!). Later that night Lily and I worked on dinner while Bob headed out to get Jayne from her class. Lily does a great job entertaining herself, but sometimes she gets bored with the same locations ie. High chair or living room floor. So I put her in the kitchen right by Rocky and she quickly discovered my purse!



It was like Mary Poppins' bag, just an endless supply of random things to play with, chew on, pound on or talk to. I know, I know all of you moms out there are looking at my kitchen floor with disgust, but if it makes it any better I did thoroughly bathe her later.

Once Jayne walked in my responsibility of the baby quickly transferred to her and she got to head to the bathtub for baby scrub down time. Before that she sat down with the baby and started doing the “Forehead knocker, eye winker, tommy tinker.......” rhyme, song, thingy.


Bob looked over at her and says “Bethany does that, did she teach that to you.” Jayne had a great laugh because, No Honey, I didn't teach that silly thing to her. Actually that is like an antique baby rhyme, song thingy that was probably around before my Mom or Aunt Jayne. Nuts to the teacup song we are bringin' back the oldies! Jayne then ushered her into the bathtub and enjoyed scrubbing down the little dear. It is just so much fun to snuggle a wet, fresh smelling baby! Auntie Jayne got her all lotioned (massage included) and dressed in her PJ's.




The next morning we were all up bright and early with our baby alarm clock (she started scream singing at 5:30 or so..........awesome). Jayne fed the hungry little bird while Bob and I got ourselves ready for church.


It was a great day even though we were all over the place, Jayne at class, Bob on the golf course, me with the baby. Later that evening we picked Jayne up and headed over to PF Changs with Uncle Sherman.


What a wonderful time to reconnect the cousins (Jayne and Sherman) and enjoy celebrating family. Lily is approaching the “don't take her anywhere nice phase,” especially now that she screams and screams often. All dinner Bob and I dealt with a wiggly, screaming worm while trying to have good conversation and not get kicked out of the restaurant on bad behavior. Let me tell you, I was sweating by the end of the evening.

Monday was truly a special day. Bob had to go to work, but Jayne, Lily and I got to spend the entire day together.




Jayne is an awesome listener and beautiful woman of God. We started our day with a walk around Lake Johnson and then we headed down to Greenville for a chance to catch up with the family down there. Aunt Bev made us all chicken kabobs and rice and we enjoyed catching up. Jayne got to see her cousins Sandy and Josh and we all had a wonderful evening.





The weekend was special but short. Tuesday we had go to the airport and say good bye to dear Great Auntie Jayne! Thanks for coming to visit us and we miss you already!