Will You Accept This Rose?

Last night I had a few of my gal pals over for a night of watching The Bachelorette. We enjoyed cookies, cupcakes & red wine as we watched. Cheryl surprised us by bringing over four roses; one for each of us! Little did she know we were going to re-create the rose ceremony after the show!!



The roses are set & ready to go!



The ladies anxiously awaited to hear their name called by the dashing bachelor, Mike. Some of us nervous, some excited & some just reflecting on their journey.



As our bachelor gazed down at the vibrant red rose in his hand, pondering which bachelorette he would choose, we heard the first name called. Cheryl. Cheryl, will you accept this rose?



And as you can see, she couldn't have been happier to accept that rose.



Lauren G. Lauren G, will you accept this rose?



Lauren B. Lauren B, will you accept this rose?



I was the last to be standing without a rose & only one rose remained. Who would be picked? Would I receive a rose? The anxiety bubbled within my stomach as I waited amongst the rejoicing girls.



Allison. Allison, will you accept this rose?



Why yes, of course I will! And I'll also accept your proposal. And why not have a baby together too?!



We all celebrated our victory in winning Mike's heart last night!

A Rebirth!

Tonight as I laid on the living room floor, Cam kept trying to push me over so he could crawl under my back. I thought it was quite odd, but I went with it & we all ended up cracking up over his goofiness.













Yes, this picture is a tad odd & disturbing, but as Cam was wriggling around under my back, he suddenly popped up & we all cracked up as I pretended he was a newborn baby being born.



As I gave him a bear hug, I yelled, What a special moment it is to finally meet my baby! And he's even wearing clothes & shoes & he has teeth!!



This moment was a lot less painful and awkward than the real deal!! I was laughing hysterically the whole time & Cam was being an utter goofball.



And Nemo was even part of the birth! Who knew I had a clown fish growing in my belly too!



Airplane!





Then it was time for Cam to have some snuggle time with his daddy!



This kid is seriously too much! About fifteen minutes after all of this went down, it was bedtime & Cam just passed out!

Flocking with the Fishies!

Saturday afternoon when Cam woke up from his nap, we packed up the car & headed to the Florida Aquarium.



Cam had such a great time looking at all the different fish; probably even more so now that his favorite movie is Finding Nemo.



So many things to discover! It's so fun watching his face light up as he sees new & exciting things.





This little fella is a FL owl who happens to be full grown.



And this floppy fish is a blond trout!







Cam would've made a nice snack for this guy!





Can't stand jelly fish after being stung by one in Key West, but they sure were pretty to look at!





EEK! This crab gave me the heeby-jeebies; looks like a massive spider!



The ghouls came creeping out of the mist! OO-OO-AH-AH!

Time with the Grandmas

Cam is one lucky boy since he'll be taking a two week hiatus from daycare starting this week. We were off as a family for the holiday weekend on Monday & then my mom came to visit & watch Cam on Tuesday & Wednesday. It's very rare that my mom is able to spend quality, one-on-one time with Cam since she's typically working long hours, six days a week. She gets a summer break from her job so I was thrilled that they were able to bond while we were working. And they had such a great time, going to the mall, playing in the kid's area, having lunch & just playing around the house. Cam was an absolute angel for my mom which made me very happy!



Then yesterday afternoon, Cam's Grammy Pernecky & Auntie Erika flew in for a ten day visit. It's so nice to be working, knowing that Cam is in great hands & spending time with his family. We're so lucky that he's surrounded with so many people who love him. And as he's getting older, he's so much fun to be around; that kid keeps everyone laughing!



On a side note, we were so lucky to have a professional fireworks show in our friend's neighborhood over the 4th of July weekend. There we were, enjoying the beautiful night, hanging with some neighbors when all of a sudden this amazing slew of fireworks started going off. We seriously couldn't believe our eyes! It was such a great, long weekend & that extra day off from work made a world of difference! Too bad every work week can't be only four days.

Such a Boy!

My little man is now 21 months old! It's so hard for me to believe that he's coming up on two when I feel as if we just celebrated his first birthday. Cam is such a boy! He loves to climb, run, wrestle & he has absolutely no fear. That lack of fear is the reason why I'm so thankful that I'm able to retouch my pictures... there are a constant supply of bruises, cuts & scrapes all over that kid's face! People probably think we beat the little monkey! And I assure you, we don't!



Cam loves to open/close doors, play with his cars, climb on the furniture & stand there with a mischievous grin on his face because he knows we don't want him there. We're starting to read our first book on discipline since we're not always sure how to handle him. When we tell him no, he often laughs hysterically & does whatever it is he's doing that much more. We're reading 1, 2, 3, Magic so we'll see how it goes. We won't implement the things we're learning until he's two, but at least we'll be armed & ready!



Cam is starting to say a ton of words which has been a lot of fun to hear. He's a pro at saying "D" words, but not such much "B" words. For instance, he waves goodbye and says, Dye, Dye! He often says that to one of us as he's shutting the door in our faces. In other words, go away & leave me alone so I can get into some trouble in privacy!



The picture above has been retouched but the pictures below have not been. You can see the cut below his eye where he scraped his face with mulch at daycare. You'll also find an array of bruises on his forehead from God knows what!





Cam is your typical, rough & tumble boy & we love him to bits & pieces! We're having so much fun watching him rapidly grow & change right before our eyes.





Anyway, hope everyone has a safe & fun holiday weekend. God bless the USA!