Summer Fun!

We've had a busy couple of weeks around here.  I've sat down with intentions to blog several nights, but I have found other things to do.  After chasing an active Ansley around all day, I've been exhausted!  I wanted to share what we've been up to recently with everyone.

We started off summer with the annual M & J "spring fling".  Mitch's company has a family get-together every spring/summer, and for the past 3 years it's been at Lake Oconee.  The weather was perfect, and a good time was had by all.  We took Ansley this year too, and she had a blast.

Ansley also started swimming lessons.  She's doing a GREAT job, but she's still crying through most of it.  She really is a natural little swimmer, and I think she'll be swimming in no time!  I've been videoing her progress, but I did get this quick shot the other day.

Mitch and I took Ansley swimming at our neighbor's pool the other day too.  She had a great time floating around and playing with Mitch.

Ansley and I have had a few adventures together during the day too.  We ventured out to the park one morning before it got too hot.  Ansley had a blast.  She loved the swings and conquered the slide in no time.  

We met my grandma and sister for lunch one day too.  I took a picture of Ansley in the adorable bubble my mom sewed for her.

We also went to a birthday party for our cousin Layla.  Ansley enjoyed playing in the splish-splash bouncy house.

We've also tried a few new foods at dinner.....corn and ketchup!  

Ansley and Asher are a MESS together!  They are going to be double trouble as they grow up together!  I couldn't resist getting a few photos of this little time together.  "Ebony and Ivory" hanging out and eating Popsicles.

I had to share this!  We've been trying to use timeouts more often to show Ansley what she can and can't do.  I thought this was too cute.  After repeated, "No, Ansley!", she was sent to timeout for 1 minute.  Here she is  in the timeout spot.  This will be really cute when she's 18.  :)  She really is a GREAT girl, but we do have our moments!

I'm loving summertime and being off with my sweet girl. I am looking forward to more adventures together! :)

Memorial Weekend

We had a busy Memorial Day weekend at the Greer household.  Friday was my last day of school with the kids, and I was so excited to be done! :)  It's been my most challenging year of teaching so far, and I was more than ready to see it end!

Our friend and neighbor, Robyn, turned 30 on Friday, and a group of us went to eat at the Tic Toc Room in Macon.  Everything was delicious, and we enjoyed a night out with friends.  Ansley stayed with SuSu and Tim-o Friday night.

Saturday, Mitch left for the "Dehem Cup" golf tournament with his golfing buddies.  They went to Lake Oconee this year and played at Harbor Club.  Ansley and I had a lot of bonding time since it was just the two of us.  :)  We got ready and headed to a baby shower for baby Sexton.  Our friends, Hunt and Laura, are expecting a baby boy in July.  Ansley was wearing a precious dress that my mom made.

We're about to start working on getting rid of that paci!  Pray for us!!

On Sunday, Ansley and I went to my friend, Kim's, annual Memorial Day party.  Her street throws a multi-house Memorial Day party, and Kim invited us to come out.  They all have beautiful houses and pools, and we loved getting to go to the party.  Shana and Chad just moved to their neighborhood, and they were invited too.  Ansley and Asher loved playing in the pool.  I didn't take my camera because I knew I wouldn't be able to handle Ansley at the pool by myself and snap photos, but I did get this picture of the two of us.

We start swimming lessons Monday, so I am hoping that Ansley continues to love the water after we finish! :)

Monday, Ansley and I were pretty tired from all of the fun on Sunday.  We pretty much stayed at home and enjoyed being lazy. Mitch got home late afternoon, and we went to his parent's house to eat dinner.  I had post-planning Tuesday and Wednesday, and I worked on getting my classroom cleaned, organized, and ready for summer-shut down.  I snapped a couple of shots as I was walking out the door Wednesday.  I'll see you in 8 weeks, classroom.  I'm looking forward to making memories with my family this summer!

May Update...

I haven't been into the blogging routine lately.  Things have been busy around here, but I won't bore you with all of the details.  Nothing too exciting, just life's busy times.....work, softball games for Mitch, meetings, weekends out of town, Shana and Chad moving, etc.  I haven't documented many things on camera, so this will be a wordy update.

Mother's Day was last weekend, and it didn't go as planned.  Ansley woke-up Sunday morning with the stomach virus, so we missed church and both family celebrations.  Thankfully, Mitch and I were spared this time around from the virus.  (Thank you Lord!)  My dad generously watched Ansley for us on Monday so Mitch and I could go to work.  Ansley returned to her sitter on Tuesday, but it took until about Friday before she really started eating well and acted like she felt better.  Although my Mother's Day wasn't as planned, I am so thankful that I was chosen to be a mom.  Being a mother is truly a gift from the Lord and something that changed my life.  You definitely appreciate your own mother and the sacrifices she made when you become a mom yourself.  Ansley is back to her normal self and feeling great.

We had our 18 month appointment this week, and Ansley weighs 20 pounds.  She was actually 21 pounds the last time we weighed her, but I'm sure the stomach virus had something to do with her losing a pound.  She checked out great though and is showing a lot of progress.  She's just now starting to talk, and I LOVE hearing her talk.  She FINALLY says "mama".  She's been saying, "dada" for a while now, so I love hearing her say my name.  She also knows a few words that she says regularly.  Some of them sound clear and others not so much.  She says the following words: please, ut-oh, cookie, juice, Toby, bye, hey, Nonny, Pappy, SuSu, nana (for banana), shoe, eat, paci and thank you (although they don't sound like paci or thank you!).  She knows a lot more than she can verbalize though.  She understands a lot of what we say, and she will do just about anything you tell her to.  We love to give her her milk cup in the morning and tell her to go sit in her chair.  She goes right to her pink chair in the living room and sits down.  It's so cute.  She loves to point to things, especially pictures in one of her favorite books.  She can find several things: shoes, bottle, banana, ball, brush, bathtub, strawberry, airplane, and kitty.  Sometimes she's really in the mood to find things, while other times she just wants to flip the pages.  We've also started a few fit throwing, which is always fun to be around! :)

School will be out soon, and I can't wait.  We have swimming lessons scheduled starting in June and possibly a mommy-and-me class at KidsAmerica.  I'm looking forward to being able to hang out with my sweet Ansley each day.  I promise to document more of our summer life through pictures!

Here are a few pictures that Mary Jane Kinnas took.  My friend, Mallory, owns the Sugarplum Tree in Perry and asked Ansley to be a "model" for their website.  She gave me the CD with the prints, and they were precious! :)

Obviously this was pre-mullet haircut. :)

Fun with Friends

This past week our friends, the Todds, were in town from Augusta.  We all had a little adult hang-out time on Friday celebrating Joe's birthday at Houston Lake.  Joe rode us all over on the pontoon boat, and the ride was so relaxing.  On Saturday, Joe invited us over to his parent's house for "pizza and playing" for the kids.  Nathan and Emily also joined in on the fun, as well as Mitch's parents.  We had 6 wild kiddos under the age of 5....wow.  I don't think any of us sat down the entire time.  We had a fun boat ride on the pontoon, and the kids wore themselves out!  We have a Greer-Todd-Greer beach trip planned for the summer, and it's going to be a wild week together!  We're looking forward to the madness! :)

Eating a little dinner before the big boat ride.

Ansley and Kate playing.

Deep in conversation.

Mrs. Beverly and Kate.

Joe and his two co-captains.  Ansley and John John. 

Her favorite spot on the boat...with "Uncle Joe".

Ross hanging with his daddy.

The back of the boat crew.

Ansley spotted something.

The crazy crew.  Notice Ansley...ha.

Mitch and Matthew playing together. 

Kyle and Candace's Engagement Party

Saturday night, Kyle and Candace had their first wedding celebration party.  An engagement party was hosted at the Aunt B's home.  Aunt Brenda is Mitch and Kyle's aunt.  She and the hostesses did a wonderful job setting everything up, and it was absolutely gorgeous.  The weather was perfect, and the night was fun.  Here are a few pictures from the evening.

Some of the beautiful tables.  The flowers were so pretty.

A view of some of the crowd and the bar area.

Brothers - celebrating Kyle and Candace

Our sweet friends and neighbors.

Amy, you made the blog.  :)

Candace and her sweet mom.  They could pass for twins!

Candace's family.

Mothers of the Bride and Groom.

The couple of the night...Kyle and Candace.

My new soon to be sister-in-law.

Mitch and his dad.

Mullet Cut...

So as cute as Ansley is, she had something that has been driving me crazy...a mullet!  Some curly mullets on kids are cute, but stringy mullets are just plain redneck!  I've been wanting to get her mullet cut for a while, and I finally took care of it today!  Wedding festivities are beginning this weekend for Kyle and Candace, and I couldn't have my baby looking like a redneck for the guests! :)  I took her to Susan at Season's.  She cuts Mitch's hair and also specializes in kids' hair.  Overall, Ansley did okay.  You can see her face in the pictures...she's not so sure about the situation.  She whined the entire time, but she never had any real tears.  She looks so cute in her new hair style.  I hope it starts to grow more evenly, or we'll be back to take care of that mullet! 

Before...nappy mullet - not cute!

Please excuse my nappy hair too...it's Spring Break (and it was raining today!)

Close up on the action.

Not sure at all!

All done!