gap? levi's? no...huggies!

What a wild goose chase! In a town sprawling with many, many, many Target and Walmart superstores you would imagine that it would be quite easy to find a package of diapers! "Yes," you might say, but the answer is a loud and resounding "no" when the particular package of diapers that you are hunting are Huggies "denim" diapers! Apparently, these limited edition diapers are all the craze because they were no where to be found in the size that Eli needed. Finally, after several phone calls and even a few store visits, we finally found the coveted size 3 denim diapers at where else, but Babies 'R' Us! This should have been my very first phone call!

Why would we buy these you might ask?!? Besides the fact that they are ultra cute, complete with seams, back pockets, and belt loops, we had Eli's six month pictures taken this weekend and were going for the "I'm only wearing my diaper" look in lots of the pictures. Because we simply could not put a pair of ruffly bloomers on our sweet boy as a diaper cover, we opted for the swank, rugged, and very boyish denim diapers.

What a cutie our little Eli is sporting his "denim"!

our doctor's appointment.

Eli and I had a very special doctor's appointment today! We visited daddy at work! After seven months of asking, Eli and I finally made an appearance at the James Brown Caner Center in downtown Louisville. What fun we had meeting and chatting with Andy's colleagues! After our special visit, Eli and I went on a lunch date with Andy - again, a very special first! We enjoyed a great lunch at Brownings, a restaurant attached to the Louisville Slugger baseball field and museum. How nice it was to spend some fun time with Andy during the day today! We are truly proud of the wonderful physician that he is, but are even prouder of the husband and daddy that comes home to us each day!

a break in the heat.

Whew! Our Louisville weather has been hot, hot, hot! Sadly, it's been so stifling hot that Eli and I have taken comfort indoors. Stroller walks, zoo days, and park visits have been put on hold as our recent warm weather simply takes your breath away. With the threat of rain all day on Sunday, the sun took refuge behind the clouds in the late afternoon and we were once again able to enjoy some pool time in our backyard! Filled with less water this time, Eli's inflatable pool was just the perfect spot for him to cool off, splash, and play on his belly! Awww...we just love these summer moments!

Our happy swimmer loved kicking his legs and splashing with his arms while laying on his back in the cool water...just practicing his backstroke!

one "ruff, ruff" day.

On Friday, Carmen had, in the world of a dog, a pretty "ruff" day. Bright and early, Eli and I loaded our precious pooch into the car and dropped her off at her salon, Shaggy Paws. Ms. Gerri, the owner, just couldn't be sweeter. Taking extra care, she makes her own slings for small dogs to hang in when getting groomed, rather than putting something tight and uncomfortable around their small necks. Three hours later, Carmen was hand delivered to our car so that I didn't have to get Mr. Eli out of his car seat (remember, I told you Ms. Gerri is too sweet), with her usual seasonal bandanna and matching hair bow. While we love, love Ms. Gerri, these bandannas and bows are quickly removed when we get home as little Carms dislikes them and looks like quite the "sis" with her hair pulled up in a tulle and feather "hair bow". As if the trauma of a bath, trim, blow dry, and other goodies weren't enough for Carmen to endure, ironically her annual veterinarian appointment fell on the same day. That night, because of an annual dental vaccine, Carmen's shoulder was quite sore. While she refused to take her pain medication with cheese and/or peanut butter, she gave in as I mixed a crushed pill into a plate of warm chicken stew Benefuls...but... only if I fed it to her off of a spoon. After Carmen's "ruff, ruff" day, I didn't mind one bit!

i'll sit when i'm ready.

Andy and I are quite aware that babies meet developmental milestones when they are ready. While sitting up is a six month old milestone, Eli has been, let's just say, quite lackidasical and uninterested in sitting up or practicing sitting up for that matter. He simply would rather sit in his exersaucer and jumperoo with ease, roll from wall to wall, or play with his dangling toys on his playmat. However, to our delight, we have seen a big improvement in his sitting capabilities this week! Focusing on flashing lights in front of him, playing with colorful blocks, and watching Carmen chase her toys back and forth, back and forth have given him just the incentive he needs. Fingers crossed for a sitting baby soon!

feeling hot, hot, hot.

Not much fun nor good can come when the outside temperature is in the 90's, the heat index is over 100 degrees, and sadly, your cooling salvation, your beloved air conditioner, is on the fritz! This predicament becomes even worse when you add a six month old baby into the equation whose bedroom temperature reads in the low to mid 80's and your entire family lives 6 1/2 hours away...ugg! To make a long story short, our home has been swallowd by heat on and off since last Thursday afternoon. After two visits from an air conditioner technician and two repaired leaks later, cool air is once again, for now, flowing through our home. We can not even begin to thank Jim and Jessica enough for their enormous friendship and generosity as they allowed us to borrow their cool home while they were out of town visiting family. Thanks again, Jim and Jess, you were definitely life savers!

So, how did we beat the heat, while Andy was already home from work early due to this mess and patiently waiting for our home to begin to cool yet again?!? We cooled off with Grater's sorbet of course!

I always order a "kid size" portion of sorbet and because of my request, they even add the cute kiddy faces for me...so fun!

Eli just loves touching Daddy's face. What fun they are having blowing raspberries at each other, while Andy and I enjoyed our cool treat!

just ducky...quack, quack.

How many times have I browsed through the baby bath section at Target or Babies 'R' Us, studied "the" duck bathtub, and continued walking because it just didn't seem right for us?!? After hearing the cheers from some of my super mom friends, countless times have I looked and countless times have I just scooted our cart by...that is, until now. Recently, Eli seems to be outgrowing his baby/infant tub. While he is still giddy over bath time, splashes with the best of them, and continues to submerge his whole body in the warm water (notice above that the duck did not stop this), he could use a little more room to soak, but is just not quite ready or stable enough to be the king of the huge tub. Knowing this, I have scoured local stores to try to find a "baby bath ring" that suctions to the bottom of the tub, with zero success. While I was able to find one online to order, needless to say, I went another route for my own reasons. Thanks to my mother, the other route, you guessed it, was the giant, inflatable, quacking duck. How could my mom resist purchasing this inflatable tub when each time the duck "quacked," little Eli smiled one of his huge smiles and gave a little giggle?!? To my complete surprise, the duck is the perfect transitional tub for Eli! Big enough for him to play in the water directly in front of him, while giving him extra space, but yet small enough for him to feel secure while sitting up in a smaller area (remember, he's still a bit wobbly), the duck is just great! For all of you who praised this tub - you were right! The Freeman Family now gives the once passed over duck tub, two "feathers" up...quack, quack!


Rub-a-dub-dub...there's a quacking duck in my tub!

six incredible years.

On Saturday, June 19th, Andy and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary! While it seems like just last year that we were dancing the night away at our reception and honeymooning at the beautiful Royal Hideaway, we just can't believe that after two final years of medical school, 4 years of residency (the end is in sight), a move to Louisville, Kentucky all on our own, a beautiful baby boy, and my new job as a stay-at-home mother, six years have passed so, so quickly! We love the life that we are building together and are so thankful to our Heavenly Father for our many blessings.

To celebrate our six wonderful years, Andy and I enjoyed a special day, spent as a family of three, and later, a "date night" at Lilly's . From start to finish, our day was perfect! I truly have such a thoughtful, thoughtful husband, as he was full of loving surprises all day!

Always ready to lend a hand, LeeAnn, our dear friend and "Louisville Mom" kept a watchful eye on our little Eli! Thanks again, Ms. LeeAnn for your help! We certainly enjoyed our few hours of "together time", and sought peace in knowing that Eli was in such loving hands!

****
13 years ago, I knew he was a keeper.
13 years ago, I knew I found my best friend.
7 years ago, I knew we would be together for the rest of our lives.

What I didn't realize 13, 7, or even 6 years ago was just how much we'd help each other, fix each other, grow with each other, pray for each other, mend each other, comfort each other, and celebrate each other.

Six years ago, I married my match, my friend, my love, my husband.

After 13 special years together, I look forward to the next 50!

a day for dad.

Eli and I are very, very excited to celebrate Andy's first Father's Day on this sunny and hot June day! We just can't imagine our home without this special Dad and are forever blessed to love him each morning, noon, and night. For the way that he makes Eli giggle, for the way in which he helps refill humidifiers, diaper baskets, and wipe containers, for the way he lays out jammies, lotions, combs, and sleep sacks each day, for the way in which he still continues to help in the middle of the night without being asked, for the way he makes up silly songs, and for the way that he loves his little boy with his whole heart, Eli is forever, forever blessed to call Andy his"daddy".

Happy, happy Father's Day, Andy! We hope your very first Father's Day was as special as you are to us! We love you!

****

To celebrate Father's Day, Eli, with my hand-over-hand help, made our favorite Dad a very special, heartfelt, and homemade card to be framed. What fun we had using finger paint to create Eli's first "masterpiece". We think it turned out pretty cute... if we do say so ourselves!

...the very proud (and oh-so-cute) artist...


****
Happy Father's Day to Andy's father and my wonderful father-in-law, Jim! We love you and can't wait to see you very soon!

****
We send lots of love and hugs to Papaw Joe Beymer, for whom our Eli Beymer is named! We love you so very much, Papaw and are counting down the days until our next West Virginia visit! Happy Father's Day! We love you!

****
...and finally...

Yellow roses grow in heaven; Lord, pick a bunch for me. Place them in my father's arms and tell him they're from me. Tell him that I love and miss him, and when he turns to smile - Lord, place a kiss upon his cheek and hold him for a while. Remembering him is easy, I do it everyday - there's a big ache in my heart that will never go away...

...as we lose, we gain a deep knowing that with a relationship with Christ and in the presence of faith and grace, love is eternal...

look who came to swim today.

Take a peek at Eli, the swimmer, in action!