BYE-BYE BINKY!!!

Here is the last picture with Ethan with his Binky! He officially gave it up on June 3!!!!! YEAH, ETHAN!! The Binky-Fairy came and took all the binkies that we put in an envelope in the mailbox, and left him a horse stuffed animal. He has only asked about it a couple times, but has done pretty well without it. He has regressed a little though, as some of the literature out there discusses. I think that he is just having to learn how to comfort himself all over again without his "crutch"!

Mommy got a new bike and a seat for Ethan. It's been really hot here the past couple weeks, so we haven't been able to go out like we would like to, but we're very excited to have a means to getting to the pool and playground other than having to drive in the car to only go a mile down the street. We tried the seat that attaches to the back of the bike, but prefer this seat which places Ethan right between my arms in the front. He is much more interactive, talking the entire time we're riding around, and it feels so much more stable having him in the front! Beware though, if you think of trying this seat...they can easily reach the gears. It only took a couple times of Ethan changing gears mid-ride for him to realize, "hey, maybe that's not a smart thing for me to do!"


We had the Suess family over for a cookout, and a dip in the pool on June 7. It was 101 degrees outside!!!! We had a great time despite the heat!

Ethan was so worn out by the end of the day (neither he nor Sean had a nap!), that he fell asleep in his high chair mid-dinner at 7:15....and slept through the night!!!!

A ride in the Camaro

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. These were pictures from several weeks ago...before the nasty hot weather came along, we had a couple BEAUTIFUL weekends, and we took advantage by going in a ride in Roy's Camaro. Ethan really enjoyed the convertible top!

A visit from Grandpa

Ethan was so excited to have his Grandpa come visit last week. We had beautiful weather, and went to the park to work off some energy and have a Chick-fil-a picnic lunch. We can't wait til he comes to visit again.

You can't catch me!

Who's that handsome devil?

Roy and Rachel's 8th anniversary

Roy whisked me away for our anniversary weekend to an undisclosed location. He knows how much I love surprises, so I didn't know where we were going until we were there. It made packing a little difficult, but it was well worth it!! Here is our little stowaway, telling us that he wanted to go on the secret getaway as well!

Our destination was the beautiful Greenbrier Resort in White Sulpher Springs, West Virginia. What a gorgeous place! Roy and I had a wonderful time walking around the grounds, and playing tennis and swimming.

-my handsome hubby-

Since where we were going was a secret, I decided to keep the new dress that I bought for the formal dinner a secret from Roy. It was so much fun dressing up, since my usual stay-at-home mom wardrobe consists of capris and tees. I felt like I was going to the prom again!!

Sunday was overcast and rainy off and on, but it didn't deter us from shooting sporting clays at the beautiful shooting range at the Greenbrier. We got rained out, and weren't able to see all of the course, so....we will have to go back!

A great day for a picnic

For the past couple weeks, it has been a fight to get Ethan out of his jammies...he has just wanted to stay home constantly. This past weekend, Roy and I went to the NASCAR race here in Richmond while Grandma Barnes watched him all day Saturday. It was very therapuetic for Ethan to spend some time away from Mommy, and he seems to be out of his funk, and more willing to venture away from home now. Thank God for Grandmas!!

The weather has been so beautiful here in the Richmond area lately... so we were thrilled when we got a call from Marcie and Joshua Meighan on Tuesday inviting us to the park for a picnic lunch!

A day at Kings Dominion

A couple Saturdays ago, we decided to go try out our season passes to Kings Dominion that the Suess family gave us for Christmas. It was a beautiful day, and a much-needed family fun day!

-Ethan under the Eiffel Tower-

Daddy & E

Mommy & E

Helping Daddy drive the old-time cars

...the rest of the day, Ethan only wanted to get into green cars

driving another green car!

...and another

...he even wanted the green swing!

-trying out his strength to win a prize-

Ethan won a basketball, but he really wanted to take the big hammer home...bummer!We'll be back!

Once again, having trouble posting video clips. Will update later!