Beach Baby

Olivia and I have been globe trotting recently. Well, not really globe trotting, more like region trotting. Last week, we joined The Martin Girls at the beach and had a blast! We went with Aubrey's two sisters, Donna and Christie, and his mom. Donna and her girls were visiting from Utah. The only two missing were Beth (Aubrey's youngest sister) and Amanda (Billy's wife). Still, those of us who were there had a blast. Olivia LOVES the sand. She didn't much care for the ocean, though. I think it annoyed her because the surf kept coming up and filling in her holes. Every time it washed up, she'd scream and shoo it away. She loved the pool, though. Even with her teeth chattering she didn't want to get out. Here are some highlights:

* We went to the zoo and Olivia assaulted a goat
* We went out to eat at Hazel's and I accidentally ate a fried oyster (I hate, hate, hate seafood)
* We went to an awesome park and Olivia monopolized the swings
* I took Olivia's 9-month pictures

After the beach trip, we spent one night in our own beds before going to Hawkinsville, Ga., for the Harrison family reunion. (Harrison is my mother-in-law's maiden name). We went to Aubrey's Aunt Cathy's house and had such a great time and constantly ate. I mean constantly. I'm not sure how many people were there, but only one family (Aubrey's Uncle Rodney) didn't attend. As for the Martin clan, it was the first time that I can remember when all the grandkids were together (there are 12). It was fun to see them all interact with each other. It was even more fun to see them all gang up on Aubrey! Needless to say, we were completely exhausted when we got home Monday. I've had so many things to do, and so many things to do still, that I'm lucky I'm getting this post up at all. Be warned that there are a lot of beach pictures in this slide show. Reunion pictures will have to come later!

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you all had a great Mother's Day! Mother's Day has always been a little tough for me, but this year it was absolutely wonderful! We went to Magnolia after church and had a really good visit with Aubrey's family. Then, he and Olivia gave me a gift. It is perfume called Mama Magnolia and it smells divine. It's made by an Alabama company called Southerness and the label says the perfume celebrates Southerness and Motherness. Aubrey says I'm a Southern Mama now, which is why he got it for me. He scored major points for being so clever. He also scored major points for getting it at my favorite boutique...Bow Regards. I love that place!

I am so grateful to be a mom! For me, it is by far the greatest miracle that has happened in my life. Some days I'm still amazed to know that Olivia is actually here and that she's mine. I absolutely love waking up every morning to hear Olivia talking to herself in her crib, waiting for me to come get her. I love to hear her laugh at anything and everything. But mostly, I love it when she pinches my cheeks and gives me her slobbery kisses. I don't deserve her, but I'm glad I have her!

Oh, and not to ruin this nice post, but Mother's Day did come with one other surprise. When we got home, Aubrey decided to move some furniture around. If you live in the south, you know that's just another way to uncover a bug graveyard. Well, apparently there was a dead roach underneath the chair. When I came downstairs, I saw Olivia crawling away from the living room and she was chewing on something. You guessed it. It was totally gross! I felt like I should make her rinse with mouth wash or something. About five minutes later, she dropped his leg from her hand. Yuck! I am repulsed just retelling this story! If that doesn't bring you crashing back down to the reality of motherhood...

String bean

I took Olivia in for her 9-month check up on Wednesday. She is 15 pounds and 27 inches long. Her doctor said that she is actually slimming out a little. What a tiny little thing! My prediction is that she will be tall and skinny and have her dad's metabolism, which she will be very grateful for when she's my age and trying to lose her own "baby fat". At least one of us will look good in a bathing suit at the beach next week!

Miscellaneous items of note

So, did anyone watch American Idol? Neil Diamond was the mentor!!!!!! I can't tell you how excited I was to see him there! David Cook, of course, was the bomb. Little David A. totally ruined "Sweet Caroline" and Brooke did a nice job on "I Am, I Said." Although, I'm not sorry to see her go home. Anyway, I cannot tell you how much I love Neil Diamond! If I was a groupie, I'd probably be his. I know, I'm pathetic.

I found some blogs today of my cousins. Most of you are aware, but for those who aren't, I have more than 50 cousins. On one side. Keeping up with them can be difficult and the blog world is really helping. I visited one cousin, Dalene, and discovered that her boys were old enough to go to Prom. What?? I remember when they were, like, five and chasing lizards. I also visited the blog of my cousin Robert and his wife Bonnie. Don't you love that name? He remains one of the few cousins who maintain the Western tradition of the Rex family. By that, I mean they own horses and actually ride them. I also read my cousin Jenny's blog and was comforted to know that she is still indeed Jenny. All of this catching up made me realize how much time has passed. And I'm not just saying this because I'm totally obsessed about getting older. We don't keep up with each other a whole lot. I mean, with more than 250 people (I think Olivia's #268 or something...I'm #68...Aubrey's #204, I think) it's almost impossible. However, we're still family and that means a lot to all of us, whether we see each other once a year or not. It feels really good to have ties like that.

Another item of interest...my friend Tracy is pregnant. Hooray! I can't tell you how excited I am by this news and the fact I can now talk out loud about it. When I think about all the people in my life who have really contributed to who I am, she's one of them. It's true, we don't keep in touch faithfully, but the bond is still there.

Also, of less importance but full of sweetness, I'm putting pictures of Olivia on my sidebar. A lot of people come to the blog looking for pictures of her faster than I can put them up. So, I'm putting her Easter pictures slide show on the sidebar. Maybe I'll update it soon. Maybe. But probably not.

Oh, and another thing, I started teaching piano lessons about a month or more ago. I have two students and I absolutely love it! They are both really fast learners and I have a good time teaching them. The opportunity kind of came up out of the blue and I'm really grateful for it.