Our trip to the Florida Keys!

Okay, Okay, Okay... so I've been lacking on the updates! So sue me!

I'm getting started with some pictures on our trip down to Key Largo... poor Collin was sick the whole drive down... lots of diaper and clothings changes (if you know what I mean). But other than Collin being sick-o on the drive, the trip was beautiful!

I learned a little something about the Keys... apparently they aren't that big of a deal to people here in the Midwest, or on the East Coast, for that matter. To them it's like going to San Diego; yeah, sure, it's nice and all, but everybody goes there on Summer Vacay. But I must say that to me, a tried-and-true, pure-blooded, West Coast Gal, they are exotic and wonderful. : )

Enjoy!
Love,
Mama Bean

The Florida Keys, well, Key Largo to be precise
(cue The Beach Boys.... off the Florida Keys... we'll perfect our chemistry...)

Here's on the way down... poor Little Bean... But Big Little Bean was in good spirits!

Collin and I frolicking in the pool.

By the way, that hammock and beach that you see behind us was our own private beach! So awesome... Obviously, Haleigh LOVED it! Here she is attempting to get used to her new snorkel mask :)
So the whole reason we were even there was for the White Wedding,
(and yes, it was a nice day for it :)
Here's Papa Bean and Darren getting ready to get the show on the road!
(Actually it was on the beach... but you know what I mean)

Here's Big Little Bean's beautiful hair and conch with flowers.

Even though this picture is just of the lot of us spectators, it's offers a great view of the AMAZING house that Darren & Stephanie rented for the week... Infinity Pool and all!



I love this picture of the Little Beans in their Thing 1 and Thing 2 outfits from Grammy!

It's hard to get a good shot with multiple chitlins...

But super cute nonetheless!

Long time no see...

Hey all! So we have been super busy with vacations, sickness and milestones that I have had barely any time to think straight, much less post on here... my apologies for any delay. But, as an incentive I have lots to post over the next week, so just wait and see!

Much Love,
Mama Bean

Hello Big Sittah!

A little note from a proud Mama! Little Bean sat up for the first time tonight! It was awesome!! Before he could sit up for a millisecond, but would quickly fall over. Tonight, he was sitting for at least 30 seconds, amazing! Also, He seems to be jumping on the teething bandwagon as well. We have officially busted out the cold teethers, and I am going to make my first purchase of Hyland's Teething Tablets. Although, he is having minimal behavioral changes... he's such a good boy. Can you tell he's teething? No, that's not a bad dye job, that's mega-drool.... Looks like I'm packing lots of bibs for the retreat this weekend!


Little Bean was a bit tuckered out after all of that sitting and decided to take it easy... flopping down pretty quickly, but Papa Bean caught him :)


Yay! All that practice that Papa Bean has been doing with him has totally worked! Awesome!

Much Love,
Mama Bean

So-So Sew Day

Hello!

So I'm getting ready for my booth at the St. Charles Farmer's Market and there is a ton to do! I have burp cloths coming out of my ears... well, at least I wish that I did. I have purchased most of the fabric I need to make them, laundered it, ironed it and cut it, but I haven't had the time yet to sit down at sew it. Mainly because I have been getting ready for the retreat, and also because I had some problems with some of the fabric I had purchased.

Here is a picture of some of the fabric before I ironed it...

And then after it was ironed and cut...

I can't wait to get crack-a-lackin' on sewing it! Oh! And today I picked up some non-sheer quilter's cotton that is kelly green with white polka dots, love it! I am going to use it to make a nursing cover for myself. While I was at the fabric store I also picked up a pack of d-rings for the strap that goes around your neck, as well as some belting, which will do the trick for the top part of the cover. You'll see how it all pans out when I'm done with it.

The St. Charles Farmer's Market starts in two weeks, so I'll be quite the busy bee until then... but that's okay, I love it! Here's the details on it... the market runs from May 15th through October 31st, opening at 6 a.m. (that is going to be painful) and closing at noon. I hope everyone can make it out to it! If you need directions or more info, be sure to ask!

At my booth (I haven't come up with a punny name yet) I will have burp cloths, nursing covers (duh), baby blankets, aprons for children and adults, and novelty onesies. We will also have an amazing selection of thank you notes, note cards, and gift tags from Paper Chic, Adorabows (get it adorable bows) that are the cutest things every little girl should have, and Grandma's Magical Green Goop, which is the best remedy for booty rash or any rash for that matter, and is oh-so gentle on baby's oh-so sensitive skin - plus, it's all natural!

Anybody else have suggestions for anything else we should carry?

BTW, I love comments!

Love,
Mama Bean

Ladies Retreat Here We Come!

This weekend is the annual Matthias Ladies Retreat, and boy am I excited! Little Bean and I are packing up and ready to go... hopefully it will be Collin's first and last women's retreat! : ) I am interested to see how Little Bean will do while we are there... since we are in "family style" accommodations that bunk 5 or 6 to a room, it might be a little tricky with LB's night waking. Luckily, he's only waking up once in the middle of the night (which can be anywhere from 1:30 a.m. to 3:00 a.m) and then waking up in the morning around 7 (at which point I feed him and lay him back down for about an hour or so). He will be in a portable crib, so at least that is somewhat similar to his sleeping environment at home, although everything else about where we are staying will be totally different.

The location of the retreat is at Windermere Baptist Conference Center, it's about three hours southwest of us in a town called Roach, MO... what a name for a town, huh? Anywho, the grounds look like a ton of fun, as they have tons of recreational activities, like para-sailing, a zip line, fishing, a pool, and beach volleyball, to name a few. There's this big lakish/riverish thing (I think it's Lake of The Ozarks) that the grounds run along so it will be nice to see some clean water... not that the Missouri and the Mississippi Rivers aren't clean their are just dirty. It will be great to get away for a weekend and spend some time with my friends from Matthias.

So I've gotten word that the theme for the weekend will be something along the lines of rebirth, awakening, etc. A dear friend, Michelle Williams will be the speaker for the weekend. She was a student at Columbine High School when the shootings occurred. I don't know the whole story, but I am sure that she will share her entire testimony at some time throughout the weekend. The bit that I do know is that she was able to escape during the shootings, but they were unable to find her younger sister. Her family believed that she had been one of the people killed, since immediately no identities were released and no one knew the exact number of students massacred.

Michelle's family grieved through the evening, truly believing that, since she hadn't come home, that she was dead. They prayed for her. They wept for her. Miraculously, late that night Michelle's sister arrived home. She had been one of hundreds of student who had locked themselves in their lockers, fearing for their lives as the shooters prowled the school. I have read that the students were so afraid for their lives that they didn't make a sound, and were in there for hours - even after SWAT teams invaded the school. With the 10 year anniversary of that horrific day landing just a couple of weeks ago, I'm sure her version of the story will be heartbreaking. I can't wait to here what she has to say!

If you get the chance, be sure to pray for us this weekend... I'll have my work cut out for me! :)

Much Love,
Mama Bean

Here's a pic of Little Bean for ya... enjoy!He's very skeptical when it comes to the camera....

Operation: Organization

Hello all! Over the next week or so, I will be doing what I call... (dramatic music).... Operation: Organization! I took a bunch of pictures of the spaces in our home that need to be organized, and as I organize them, you'll see the finished product.

First up, here is the diaper changing area... messy before... lovely after!

Little Bean says, "Thanks for stopping by!"

Our First St. Louis Easter...

Easter this year was wonderful! It was the first Easter since we've been married that we've been able to be together! Last year, I worked ALL DAY, from sun up to dinner time. But this year was totally different: Papa Bean and I got to hide eggs for Big Little Bean, we went to church, and then spent the rest of our day with our friends Penni and Dave. It was perfect!

Here are some pictures that Papa Bean took in the morning before church...

I love Little Beans "Blue Steel" look... a little Derek Zoolander!

This one cracks me up! BOTH of them had their eyes closed :)

Little Bean gnawing on his hand... he does it all the time now

Big Little Bean looks so cute in this picture

When we were out to lunch, Collin had what I like to refer to as a "Poop-spolsion." And if you are wondering what exactly that is, use your imagination. Let's just say that the handsome button up shirt that he had on underneath the vest could have been classigied as nuclear waste... :)

Here he is at home, loving his bare arms.


Macho, Macho Man!


He loves looking at the camera... "What is that thing..."


Happy Boy! Hanging out with Mama!
This outfit barely fit that day! A Carter's 6mo!

Then, later in the day, we were at Penni's Mom's house... it's Easter Egg Hunt time!

All the girls getting ready for the hunt.. from left to right... Sydney, Paige (Penni's neice), Haleigh (aka Big Little Bean), Delaney and Avery.

Here's Haleigh and Sydney posing for a cute shot mid-hunt.
Oh yeah, Haleigh has a Mater Easter basket... it's Little Bean's :)

It's important that we remember why we even have Easter... Jesus Christ rose from the dead to where He now sits at the right hand of the Father. Thank you Lord!

Enjoy the pictures!

Love,
Mama Bean