Sunday, June 28, 2009

Last Ones :)





Still More!





More Photo Shoot





June 27th Photo Shoot





Ocean City Girls' Weekend - Day 3

Monday was the day Emily and I had to leave (Dan was nice enough to take the day off to watch Owen). We decided to head to the beach early so that we could have some fun before taking off. Of course, that was the one day Emily decided to sleep in - 8:30! - and it was the only day we had sun before 4:00 p.m. It was overcast at first, so mom, Emily, and I went to the jewelry store that mom and Aunt Sharon always go to. They get charms for their bracelets there, and mom wanted to look at them. I ended up getting a charm bracelet for my birthday and 4 charms to commemorate our girls' weekend. Then we hit the beach, and the sun came out! We took the opportunity to get some family pictures:


Emily once again wanted to be near the water. She also enjoyed playing in the sand, but I have a feeling this girl will be a swimmer!
The last time we were all at the beach together was for my bachelorette party 4 years ago. That time, mom and Aunt Sharon thought it would be fun to run into the ocean together. However, if you've been to Ocean City, you know that the beach drops off pretty abruptly once you hit the water. The two of them ended up face first in the shallows. This year, they decided to give it another try, and the rest of us were ready (note Amber in the background with another camera; Megan was beside me with a camcorder). The two of them began running at the top of the hill and didn't slow down until once again plummeting face first into the surf. These two sisters still know how to have fun together :)
Amber and I got into the water then to swim; we both love swimming in the ocean, and we are usually the only two that will get in (yes, Berwager sisters, I'm calling you two out!) Emily and I had to leave at lunchtime to get bathed and packed. Our drive home was uneventful, although Emily - who was exhausted - refused to sleep in the car because she was busy pointing out all the trucks and busses to me (two of her favorite things). When we got home, Emily couldn't get over to Owen fast enough - she really missed her baby brother! She sat down beside him and didn't leave his side until she went to bed.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Ocean City Girls' Weekend - Day 2

Sunday the 21st was Grandma's 78th birthday, so we began the day by giving her cards and singing her Happy Birthday. We headed to Layton's for breakfast, where Emily spent the entire time watching the train go around the window display. It was funny, because she'd get excited every time it came by us, then as it went around the rest of the display where she couldn't see it, she'd loudly ask "Where did it go?" Emily also discovered a love for ketchup thanks to Auntie Amber who allowed her to dip potatoes into it from her plate. After breakfast the sun made an appearance (probably thanks to Aunt Sharon's lucky sunshine pants), but by the time we got back and got changed, it had begun to rain yet again. We put Emily down for a nap and played some games until mid-afternoon. While it wasn't sunny, it wasn't raining either, so we decided to brave the beach. Emily had a little beach chair all her own thanks to Grandma and Grandpa March:


The wind was blowing and it wasn't very hot, but we decided to make the best of it.
Emily loved the water, and she and mom were in for quite awhile! We finally had to pull Emily out after a rogue wave smacked her in the head. Her lips and feet were purple, and she was shivering, but she still complained when we made her come back to the blanket.
Luckily, Amber's brother, sister-in-law, and their daughter Rowan joined us, so Emily had a little playmate on the beach.
Around 4:00 (of course, as we were getting ready to pack up), the sun came out. But, we had big plans that night, so we had to go back to get cleaned up and ready for dinner.
Our group headed to Higgins for All-U-Can-Eat crabs that night to celebrate both Grandma's birthday and mine, which was a few days later. Emily discovered corn on the cob...I only wish I'd thought to bring my camera to the restaurant! She had fun eating and coloring while the rest of us enjoyed hardshells, crab legs, and steamed shrimp. At the end of the meal, the waiters and waitresses came out to sing to us for our birthdays; Emily was more interested in the whipped cream the candle was in :) We turned in relatively early (compared to the night before) with plans to hit the beach early.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Ocean City Girls' Weekend - Day 1

Our Girls' Weekend began early - everyone arrived at my house by 6:30. The car got packed up, everyone got loaded in, and off we went! We hit rain by Baltimore, and we didn't see the sun at all during our drive. Still, we were determined to have sunny skies by the time we got to Ocean City. That didn't quite happen, and although we arrived by 12:30 (there was a breakfast stop along the way), we were kept inside by ugly weather. The sun finally came out just as Emily was beginning a late nap at 4:00, so Aunt Sharon, Megan, mom, Amber, and I had some pool time while Grandma napped with Emily. That night, we headed up to the boardwalk for some junk food, rides, and people-watching. Even the tornado warning couldn't stop us, and Dopplar Amber (as she was affectionately called all weekend) assured us we'd be safe. Here we are on the back deck before leaving:
Emily had never been on a ride before, so one of the things I really wanted to do was see if she'd get on some. We started with the carousel since it seemed pretty tame. Aunt Sharon and I got on with her, although only one of us stood with Emily...the other was having fun riding beside her :) At first, Emily seemed a little nervous, but as we spun around and around, she got more excited. By the end, she was loving it, and Aunt Sharon and I were dizzy and a bit sick to our stomachs (who knew those things turned so fast???)
Since I needed time to gather my senses after the crazy carousel, Megan volunteered to take Emily on her next ride, the balloons. Emily liked this one even more, and when we tried to get her off, she cried :(
So, Auntie Amber and Megan distracted Emily to get her to stop crying. Still, there was one more ride that looked fun. Again, Megan got volunteered to go along since the seating was a bit tight on this one.
I'm sure Megan's co-workers at Frontier will appreciate that she took her niece on a flight :)
After rides, we worked our way back up the boardwalk eating ice cream, chicken wraps, crab balls, toffee, and french fries for dinner. We felt sick, but that didn't stop us from eating even more while hanging out playing games later that night. I think I was up later than I've been for a very long time, but we all had fun.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Beach Bound!

I am in the process of packing up suitcases for Emily and me because we're heading to Ocean City tomorrow morning! As a way to celebrate my grandma's (78th!) birthday, the ladies of the family are going down the shore. My mom, grandma, Aunt Sharon, cousin Megan, Emily, and I will be spending the weekend hanging out on the beach, swimming in the ocean and the pool, playing games, and eating crabs :) We're also staying right across the way from Amber, so she'll be joining us for the fun too. Right now, I am in shock as to how two people can require 3 suitcases. One is for my stuff, one is for Emily's clothes and shoes, and the last is for everything else that is required to take a 2-year-old to the shore. Her potty chair seat, her diapers, her books, her toys, her doll that she sleeps with...whew! I am super excited to get Em on the beach; last year while visiting my Dad and Shirley, she LOVED the beach, but she wasn't walking yet. Now, she's not only walking, but running, hopping, and galloping. We had her in the ocean a little last year too, but I'm sure this year she'll be more aware of it...I hope she loves swimming in it as much as her mommy and Auntie Amber do! I'll be sure to post lots of pictures after we return!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Water, water, everywhere

And here is Emily's new favorite toy: the water table. She doesn't seem to get that the water is to stay in the table. Instead, she pours it everywhere...on the ground (which became a soggy mushy mess in a matter of minutes), on her, on her daddy, on me. But, she had fun. Lesson learned: Emily should wear a bathing suit when we play with this one!





Our little fish


Emily has decided the water is her new favorite place to be. Whether it's bathtime, in the pool, or splashing in her water table, if there is water involved, she's happy. This was Emily's first pool experience this summer...and she loved it! She even would flatten out and kick her legs. I think next fall/winter, we'll do some swimming lessons - she seems ready!



Smile!

One of the best sights in the world: Owen's smile. He's been smiling since last month, but it was difficult to get him to do it long enough to capture it on camera at first. Now, the little guy is a smiling machine, and we love it!



Thursday, June 4, 2009

Welcome, Schuyler James!

My nephew was born yesterday at 5:55 p.m! I've seen a picture, and the little guy is super cute. I can't wait to meet him in person; it's times like this that I wish my brother and sister-in-law lived closer to us. Still, Auntie Courtney will just have to love him (and his big sister) from afar :)

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

How Will I Wait Until November?