Busy, busy, busy!

We have been crazy busy the last few weeks. Backing all the way up to June, we had Father's Day with PawPaw Cotton (also his birthday!), the Fourth of July with the Conlons, a weekend at the Tice's and Grandma Cotton's birthday. Phew! We're glad to be home for a little bit.

I'm playing catch up with the blog, so bear with me. This update will be a long one!

Peanut has been walking steady now for about three weeks. It's amazing how fast it all happens. First there were a few tentative steps and lots of wobbling, now she's running almost full tilt around the house. We've had to re-visit baby proofing the house. All the little stuff she used to ignore (like picture frams, electric sockets, drinks on the table, the DVD player) are all fair game now. As hard as we try to redirect her attention, Riley is fascinated (like all children are) by the electronics. Buttons, lights and any remote control draw her attention like a moth to flames. She at least tries to restrain herself as she walks up to the object pointing at it, shaking her head and saying, "N-n-n-no, no, no!"

And now that she knows how to walk, she refuses to be carried anywhere. In fact, she'll most likely dive out of your hands to get to the floor. Nevermind the drop. That just gets her there faster.

We've also discovered that Riley is IN LOVE with the water. We've always known that she liked the water, but it wasn't until we had her in the pool/lake that we saw just how much she LOVES playing in the water. And, she's completely fearless. She will literally just step off the edge of the pool into the water. You better be watching and ready to catch her because she's quick, too! She doesn't want to be restrained, despite the fact she can't swim (or hold her breath) yet. She dunks herself and comes up sputtering, choking and smiling the whole time. Ready for round two? I am!!

She's giving me gray hairs already.

As for our trips, we've had a great time visiting with friends and family. Father's Day was a special celebration for Daddy and PawPaw. The Cotton's hosted a fabulous cookout with many friends and all "the girls" with all the grandkids. Not only was it Father's Day weekend, but it was also PawPaw's 65th birthday. Retirement is just around the corner for the old man!

The Fourth of July was spent at home this year. We hosted a small cookout with the Conlon's (Carly, Kevin, Matthew's family-Carly's brother). It was small and relaxing. A perfect way to celebrate. There were a few fireworks from the driveway. Just enough to get a taste. There was an even better display later that night that we could see from our house over the tree line. Must have been the local show down at the park.

Two weeks ago, we spent the weekend with the Tice's. It was great seeing them and little Gregory. I can't believe Riley was ever that small and conversely how quickly the little man is growing. He's rolling, talking and sitting up on his own. The big boy is even started on solid foods. Seems he loves most anything. We got to catch up with Matt and Rachel, too. There was a bonfire, a day at the lake and lots of wine and laughs. The best part, however, was Rachel's special tequila soaked watermelon. So good and SO dangerous!! YUM!!

Last weekend we got to see Grandma and PawPaw Cotton again for Grandma's 58th birthday. It was low key with a simple get together with just the family. We saw Ashley Friday night and Lisa and Chris came over on Saturday with the Binhammer's for hamburgers on the grill. Weather was perfect, albeit a little overcast, but on Sunday we all went down to the Rivah! for a dip at the marina pool and to check in on the boat. Apparently, Aunt Lisa was kicking off her week long vacation and was getting away at the boat in Deltaville. We all had a blast soaking in a bit of sunshine. Riley and I stayed until Monday afternoon to have a little extra time with Grandma and PawPaw and really enjoyed all the relaxin' we got to do. Unfortunately, Daddy wasn't able to come down with us as he had to stay in NC to work over the weekend. We were very glad to see him on Monday. I believe there were a few squeals of joy when he walked through the door that night after work.

Now that we're home, we're playing catch up. Trying to get the house back in shape (Although, Daddy did an absolutely WONDERFUL job of cleaning up the house while we were gone. It didn't take us long to mess it up again.) and everyone back into their routines. Riley's been a bit of a fuss pot this past week, but I just found out she has two new teeth coming through that explains a lot of it. This brings her total up to 14 teeth.

Pictures to come just as soon as I get them all downloaded. You can expect a few videos as well.

Love to all!