Friday, March 28, 2008

Beach Baby

This was our final day at the beach with my parents- we leave tomorrow and fly back to the 'Ham on Sunday. Georgia has really turned into a beach baby! Let me tell you how she spent her afternoon:

I lubed her up with SPF 50 baby sunscreen, head to toe, and put on her bathing suit with the little tutu skirt, and her wide-brimmed pink hat. I love that they make baby suits with the SPF 50 built in- I need one like that!

At the beach we spread out a large towel under the umbrella, and arranged our chairs in a circle around it, making a "playpen" of sorts. Within 10 minutes she was circling the "pen" on the outside, just to show us we can't keep her contained!

She spent at least 20 minutes shoveling sand- with the wrong end of the shovel- into a bucket, onto the towel, on her lap, in her mouth, and then brought me a big handful and put it in my lap!

We got her a big handful of shells and she spent a good while putting them from one bucket to the other, then shaking the bucket up and down so they'd all bounce out. They tasted good too and mommy got more on her lap.

We had brought a ducky-tub with the thought to fill it with water and make it like a little beach-pool... but then thought of all the sand around and decided wet baby + sand = Big Mess. So she just sat in it with her bucket, feet propped up on the edge.

Grammie and mommy took her down to the water and, after getting over the slight chill and the shells crunching under our feet, she was a regular mermaid! She really loves the water, but she'd been hesitant about the ocean- understandable, I think, since I am too sometimes! But today she got over it and was splashing, kicking, running into the waves with no regard that she can't swim or that they were going to knock her down, and, of course, drinking the water. (yuck)

Finally I rounded up my wet, salty, sandy, sticky (she'd had a bite of Grandad's ice cream) little girl, and after a quick dip in the pool to rinse off, took her to bed for a well-deserved nap. It's been fun to see her enjoy the beach, one of my favorite places. Now we have to break it to her daddy, who is NOT a beach-lover, that he has another beach babe!

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I forgot the cord to my little camera... come back to check out the 100 (or so!) adorable shots I took this week! But here's a few from our "big camera", including the local wildlife my dad found and shot (with the camera!)...

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Happy Easter



From snow to sand- the Hipps continue our Spring vacationing down on Captiva Island, FL, about 3 hours south of Tampa. We are down here for the week with my parents, brother Wes and Jen, his girlfriend. (Although Larry leaves this afternoon to go back to Birmingham & work :( )

We took Georgia to the beach for the first time this afternoon, and while she thought the sand was sticky, the water cold & the waves noisy- the seashells sure do taste good!

Enjoy these pictures, and hope you each are enjoying this beautiful day, full of the promise of our Saviour's resurrection!




Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Spring Break 2008

Well, loyal readers- we're back! For now...



The Hipps just spent the last week on our first spring break trip in awhile, and it was awesome! Larry and I went to Colorado for 6 days with our good friends Dave & Laura Broom and Barry Stalnaker. We skiied Keystone & Breckenridge resorts, went on a snowmobile tour up in the mountains to a spectacular view of the Continental Divide, went dogsledding where we each got to drive and ride and fall off! the dogsled, went snow tubing down some wicked runs, and ate and napped in the in-between times! Despite being 'beginners', Dave & Laura were skiing and Larry was snowboarding like the pros by the end of our trip, and Barry showed us you can have just as much fun resting by the fire with hot chocolate! We were all really sore every night, but ready for some more adventures by the next morning!

See all our ski pictures here.

Larry, Kathryn, Dave, Laura & Barry on top of Keystone Mountain.


Georgia had her own spring break trip to Tampa to stay with my parents. Grammie & Grandad loved the time with her, and tried not to spoil her too much! We have had to re-train her a bit in "No" since coming home, but they taught her some good things too- like eating more and sleeping in! She's been sleeping 30 minutes to an hour and a half longer in the mornings- I'm loving it!! She had fun going on walks in the FL sunshine, chasing my parent's 2 dogs and cat, and of course bath time in Grammie's BIG tub with all 30 of her duckies! It was great that they all had so much fun together and got to share that time with her. Both my brothers got to see and play with her some too, which was awesome.
I'm packed and ready to go, mom!
How many books should I bring?



I'm glad it's warm down here in FL so I can wear my cute watermelon outfit!


So now we're all home and trying to get back into our routines- for now! We leave again for a beach trip with my parents on Friday! It's a busy month for us, but we're just soaking it in! :)

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

11 Months


My sweet Georgia Kate,

You are 11 months old now (and a few days)- it happened all of a sudden! You are so close to toddler-hood now that I find myself cherishing these last baby days. I've noticed you growing up so much this last month. Here are some highlights:

~ You are a great walker now, and that it your main mode of getting around. You are even trying to run, especially as you like being chased, but you get caught up in your feet and end up on your nose. It reminds me of when Bernie was a pup and he was always tripping over his long ears!

~ You talk all the time, and I feel like we understand you and you understand us, even though we're not speaking the same language! The only word you say is "Ba", and the only one you call for in the house is Bernie- "Ba!". Daddy & I are still waiting for you to call for us!

~ You understand and follow most of our commands, such as bring it to me, go get the (whatever), sit down, come here, and No- when we tell you no or even when you're doing something you're not supposed to, like giving Bernie your food off your high chair, you shake your head "No"!

~ You still just have your bottom 2 teeth, but your top 4 are all trying to race to be the next in, which you're not happy about! We hope they'll hurry up and come, so you can be happy again!

~ You can eat all kinds of things, but you usually choose not to! You live off of cheerios, crackers & wheels, but also eat cheese, turkey, chicken, noodles, yogurt, peas & carrots, melon, pears, & cookies. You're like your daddy in that you're picky about veggies & fruits!

~ The biggest change in your apperance is probably on top of your head- your hair is usually in pigtails now since it's getting so long. The piggies drive the old ladies at church wild and you get your cheeks pinched a lot!

~ You still love to play and your favorite games right now are to walk laps around the kitchen with your arms full of toys, dolls or clothes, and also to get mommy to make your bear dance along the side of your crib. We have to do this for at least 10 minutes before you get up from your nap! And you dance & sing along!

~ You still love books- you get wide-eyed when we go to the library! You're getting better about reading the books and not eating them! We just got some new dog ones at a sale that you're enjoying.

~ I also think you're learning more about being affectionate, as you like to give kisses more and even snuggle a bit- but only for a minute then you're on the move again!

I'm enjoying trying to keep up with my busy girl and finding new ways to keep you going. It's fun to interact with you and see you learn each day. Thank you for being such a sweet girl and the sunshine in daddy's & my days. We thank the Lord for you daily and pray that He will continue to guide us as parents. We are amazed by His goodness to entrust us with a gift as precious as you, and know He wishes to continue to bless us as a family. This next month will be a busy one, and go by quicker than ever, and we will make even more memories together.

I love you baby girl! love, Mommy