Busy week and lots to remember!

So, I missed my "Things I don't want to forget" post because I was enjoying a lovely week in Gulf Shores, Alabama. It was beautiful, if hot, most of the week and, until the last day there, we neither saw or smelled oil. Unfortunately, all that changed on the last day when it began washing ashore in little spots. It makes me so incredibly sad, and mad. The beautiful Gulf will never be the same. I'm sorry that Sprout will not remember the beautiful white sand and blue-green water.

But it was a great week, even though staying in a beach house with a bunch of in-laws is definitely stressful. We had our moments, but for the most part, everyone behaved well and had a nice vacation. Now, we are home with my 7 year-old niece who will be staying with us for about a week and a half. She is full of energy and a lot of fun, but she keeps us busy. It should be interesting.

So, to the things I don't want to forget:

1. Sprout got up to a sitting position on her own twice. I went in to pick her up from her nap one day and there she was sitting up (crying). She did it again another time when she was with DH, but we did not see her actually do it. I'm still waiting for that. We moved the crib down a notch. It kind of makes me sad.

2. Yesterday, when we finally made it home, she decided to commando crawl for the first time. Yikes! She is on the move. I predict that she will be onto a regular crawl soon. I am so not ready for mobility, but I guess that doesn't matter.

3. On our first flight on the way home, Sprout was crying when we landed and were waiting to get off the plane. When I stood up, I accidentally bonked her head on the overhead bin. I apologized and felt awful - then I realized that she had completely stopped crying. The passengers around us just laughed. Poor thing.

4. Speaking of the crying baby. We have 4 more teeth on the way. Sprout was teething all week, so she was a little on the fussy side constantly and very clingy. She was a trooper, though, and still managed to have a good time. The two top middle teeth are starting to poke through, and the ones next to them are definitely on the way. Poor baby. I'm also wincing in anticipation. I hope breastfeeding doesn't suffer (or more accurately that the breastfeeding mama doesn't suffer!)

5. Sprout met all 7 of her cousins on DH's side of the family. We had a big family portrait done with his dad, 3 siblings, and all of the grand kids. It was fun, but trying to get 8 kids under the age of 8 (6 of them under 5)to look at the camera at the same time, was definitely a challenge.

6. As you can see by the picture, Sophia has learned a new skill - the fish face. It is hilarious and kept us all laughing. She was hamming it up at a restaurant on our last night in Alabama and all the servers and front staff had to come by and see for themselves. I love that little girl!

I actually could detail our beach memories for hours, but I'll leave it at that. We definitely enjoyed the trip and feel so blessed to have such a good traveler.