{from the road}

we are on day four of our nine day combo vacation. the first three were devoted to spencer's travel ball tournament. now we are on leg two - our normal family beach trip.

i had high hopes of blogging on the go but nothing has materialized yet. however, i did decide on a ridiculously easy (and fun!!) way to document our days.

shortly before heading out of town, i discovered the (free) instamatic app and i'm totally addicted. if you are interested in following our lazy days of summer via uber photographic coolness, follow me on twitter, facebook, or flickr (all of my photos are posting at all three automatically). Oh, and of course, you could just follow me on instamatic.

gamecocks {smackdown in omaha}

we did it again. our gamecocks are the national champions of baseball. again. two years in a row. ruling omaha. again. back to back. you get the point?

deep down, i felt it. i knew this would happen. i knew they could do it. through all the extra innings. all of the loaded bases with no outs. i trusted them. and they pulled through.

there were long nights for the blackwell crew this week. but worth every missed minute of sleep.

roth. price. taylor. wingo. bradley. walker.
thank you boys.
and thank you ray tanner.

it's good be a gamecock.

celebrate {coleman - june 2011}

:: mommy and daddy went for a night away to celebrate their ninth anniversary. you stayed with aunt sherry. you love hanging out with aunt sherry, uncle chip, bo and teddy. sometimes you will recite all four of their names for absolutely no reason. it's quite cute. i love that you love them so much. and we are so blessed to have family close by that enjoys watching our little man when we need some help!

:: you are completely obsessed with hats. you know exactly where they are kept in your room and will go and get one (or several). sometimes you wear them around the house for fun. sometimes when we are about to walk out the door, you realize you need one and run upstairs to get it. of course, mommy has to interfere and try to get you to wear one that matches your outfit.

:: i feel like a broken record, but you are still totally enamored with baseball. it's actually gotten more intense. you insist on throwing the ball or hitting constantly. inside. outside. in the garage. if you don't have a bat and ball, you improvise (see above photo). you stay relatively entertained at spencer's ball games...actually watching the games. you also love to watch baseball on tv and often times will forfeit mickey mouse for a (dvr'd) game.

:: speaking of tv, you regained your love of mickey mouse, but are over the toy story movies. for now. of course, this happened right after daddy bought you a buzz lightyear toy and mommy bought you toy story shoes and backpack.

:: your bedtime routine has varied a lot lately. we used to have a pretty good thing going (teeth, bath, PJs, rock, crib). for some reason you are now quite opposed to bathtime, though you used to thoroughly enjoy it. you started letting us read books to you at bedtime, but we've had to be careful to keep that under control and make sure you aren't using it as a stalling tactic. most nights you go down very easily but on occasion, you've been giving us a little grief at bedtime. and sometimes, you skip the whole book/rock routine and go straight for the crib! you keep us on our toes.

 

:: you tend to be somewhat intimidated by large social groups. when we arrive at such an event, you spend plenty of time checking things out...staring people down. you cling close to mommy or daddy. gradually, you will loosen up and start to have fun. you just have to taken in your surroundings first. i hope this is a trait you will carry with you as you mature.

:: you are a stair climbing master. and have been for a while. i used to have mommy guilt about letting you scale the stairs on your own (which creates gasps from other parents). but i'm over it. at this point, i'm pretty sure it's more likely that i would fall down the stairs than you.

:: you have become very difficult to dress. we aren't sure what the sudden aversion to it is...but you fight the process with all of your might!

:: you had two field trips with daycare this month. during one of them, you took your first pony ride!!

:: you are still totally addicted to your pacifier. we are bad parents because we haven't enforced you getting rid of it. at daycare, you only use it at naptime. at home, you know we are suckers and you milk it.

:: you got ringworm. we have no idea how. it was very small and on your upper thigh. luckily, it didn't seem to bother you, didn't spread and because it was hidden by your clothes, no one else got it.

:: we dress you in one-piece pajamas almost every night. this allows us to lather you up with lotions, ointments and cremes...and keeps you from scratching your legs. the summer versions are kind of tough to find -- children's place (stores only) and old navy (online only) are the few sources we've figured out so far.

:: you love to slide. when you find a playground, that's really the only thing you care about. big slides, little slides, bumpy slides, curvy slides. you love them all. when we put up the backyard pool, you immediately ask for your slide, too.

:: some of your favorite foods include...cheese, edamame, chicken, hot dogs, grapes, oranges and grandmommy jo's brown rice. you also love popsicles.

:: you are completely obsessed with bracelets. it can be my bracelets, or the causal bracelets that are so popular, or whatever! you have started wearing my hair rubberbands on your left arm. you usually have 5 to 10 at a time and you literally wear them all the time. you also like to wear my headbands around your neck. after you insisted on wearing them to old navy, i started hiding them from you. i'm a mean mommy, i know!

all photos were taken in april 2011

***********************************

this post is part of a series highlighting the life and growth of our boys each month. spencer will be featured on the 15th of every month, and coleman on the 24th. 

***********************************

product recommendation {faux tan}

i don't recommend product very often. but, once in a blue moon i find something that i love so much, i have to share the information...this is one of those times.

i first learned about faux tan by bare essentuals last summer when my (equally pale) sister used it and i was totally impressed by her natural-looking, yet fake, tan. when spring rolled around, i decided i needed to invest. unfortunately, it truly is an investment, as it's pretty pricey. but, i have found it's totally worth it. plus it's way cheaper than a tanning bed if you are considering that route. and the stuff works so much better than any other sunless tanning product i've used (and i have tried several over the years).

i tried to find photographic evidence...this doesn't do it complete justice, but hopefully you get the idea.

this first photo was taken in june of last year...i'd had some sun exposure and developed somewhat of a natural "tan" (no tanning bed...this was 'dark' for me). 

and then this was taken in may of this year...no tanning bed. any natural sun exposure was with 50 or 70 spf sunscreen. this is all faux. 

if you are interested in purchasing the product, i highly recommend qvc. you get more product than elsewhere, making it a better value, PLUS you get a brush for applying it, which is really awesome (and i think it's exclusive to qvc).

the product is far from perfect. i still struggle around the tough areas (ankles, knees, etc)...but it is by far better than any other i've tried!

complete sidenote: if you look closely, these photos also are a pretty good representation of my weight loss. i didn't realize how much thinner my face looks. 


{{cheers}}

celebrate {spencer - june 2011}

:: you wrapped up your season of rec baseball. you weren't thrilled with your team this time around, but were basically participating for extra practice. you were a good sport for the most part, but did get pretty upset with your coach a few times. it's all part of being an athlete, i suppose!

:: you have SUCH a silly side. it keeps us all quiet entertained!

:: you decided that you wanted coleman to call you by your actual name, as opposed to "bubba". turns out that coleman's pronunciation comes out more like "shepa". but you got your wish. at baseball games, coleman will yell "go, shepa, go!!".

:: you completed sixth grade. your first year of middle school. your last report card was 3 B's and 1 A (in academic subjects). you didn't love the academics of the year...and weren't particularly fond of your teachers. but you had a good year and we are proud of you!

 

:: you've been pitching a lot more with your travel ball team. you are doing so well!!!

:: you wear a size 14 pants, extra large shirts, and size 6.5 shoes. you recently got new reeboks and are pretty excited about them!

all photos were taken in april 2011

***********************************

this post is part of a series highlighting the life and growth of our boys each month. spencer will be featured on the 15th of every month, and coleman on the 24th.

***********************************

story {x1 carolinas}

earlier this year, we learned about a new baseball facility - x1 carolinas - and they were developing teams in all age groups. 

spencer tried out...and sure enough, he made the 12u team. we were so excited and proud...as was he. 

fast forward a few months...spencer is happier than ever. his coaches rock. he gets along great with the kids on his team -- kids he had never met before. 

he has been completely dedicated to the sport. this team combined with rec ball for a few months...he had games or practice 6 out of 7 days a week.

we were worried about burnout. and though he had a few tough moments, all in all, he pulled through - completely passionate about the sport.

at the beginning of the season, spencer spent most of his time in the outfield and rarely pitched. 

his hitting was better than last year, but not stellar.

a few months of hard work, good coaching and lots of practice....

now he has spent many innings on the pitcher's mound...

and his batting has improved ten-fold...

including a triple...and his first home run

sitting on the sidelines...watching his growth...

it's been an amazing experience. 

we are not just happy that he is improving his skills...

but we are so happy that he has found a team and a facility where he feels at home.

it's a family of its own. a place where he belongs. 

a few trophies along the way...

that's just icing on the cake.

thank you x1 carolinas. thank you spencer. it's been an awesome spring and we are looking forward the next two months as we round out the 2011 season! 

testing {blogging on the go}

please pardon this test post. i am doing this from my iPhone. thought it would be fun to post from the road while we are on vacation in two weeks (granted, probably much more fun for me than you!!). so wanted to see if it would work.




last night we watched the gamecocks play in game one of the super regionals. they beat uconn 5-1. Coleman loves watching baseball and likes to practice his swing along with the batters on tv.

you can also see Xander in this picture. he is the son of our friends and just turned one. he is on the move and adorable! Coleman decided to say his name for the first time last night.

story {mickey mouse magic show}

when i saw that the mickey mouse magic show was coming to charlotte, i knew we just had to take coleman! he is so obsessed with mickey mouse clubhouse! we were lucky that matt happened to be off so the three of us could go to the afternoon show.

this was the first time coleman had gone to any type of show like this. overall, i think he did really well for a two-year-old. he sat still at times and was antsy at times. sometimes he paid attention, sometimes he was distracted. part of the time he was totally enthralled and other times he was indifferent.

he definitely enjoyed the popcorn and his new (overpriced) light up toy. lots of fun and so glad we did it!!!

***cheers***