{Weekend Recap} Babies & Birthday Parties

Ladies, I am dragggging this morning. Last Monday I did great hopping back into the work routine but this Monday... not so much. I know I reset my alarm at least three times and even then I didn't manage to get up until twenty minutes after I was supposed to. ha It's a wonder I made it to work on time. But enough about that. Let's get to recapping our weekend.
Friday afternoon, instead of heading straight home, I dropped by my parents' house to chat and grab a snack. Never mind the fact, I would be seeing them for dinner just a couple of hours later. But hey, a girl and a baby need to eat (; I ended up hanging around the house until 5 or so then I made my way to pick up Harper from daycare. 
Friday evening we grabbed dinner with Mom, Dad, and my friend B at a local veggie place. We ended up chatting at the restaurant until closing time. Instead of calling it a night, we all headed outdoors and stood in the parking lot for at least another hour cutting up and carrying on. #goodtimes
Saturday morning Kevin had to wake up bright and early to head into work for another grueling twelve hour shift. I had all intentions of sleeping in but after hearing him moving around to get ready, I was up and at it as soon as he walked out the door. I'd like to say I got up at that point and tackled our mounting laundry, cleaned our unswept floors of two weeks, or even dusted the furniture enough to see the tops of it all, but if I did, I'd be lying. After getting up, I decided some time for myself was in order so while Harper spent the next three hours sleeping, I curled up with a good book and read it from cover to cover. And you know what ladies? It felt good! 
Sometime around 9:30, I finally got myself and Harper up and ready. We headed to a local diner to meet my parents for breakfast. 

A short time later, we headed back out to grab lunch and take it to Kevin. It's been a while since we've had one of our parking lot picnics so it was nice to have the opportunity again. While visiting Kevin's work, we wandered inside the plant and checked to see what all it was he does now at his new job. Harper was fascinated to watch everyone moving pallets and pallets of cans. Here's just a little sneak peek, friends. 

After leaving Kevin's work, Harper was dying to see her "other Nana" so we headed over to the in-laws where we spent a good chunk of the afternoon. While Harper drug Janet all around outside, I hung out inside with the brother-in-law and his girlfriend watching movies on tv and sipping on a Cookout Milkshake. #bestinlawsever

Saturday evening after Kevin got off, we headed to the hospital to visit some of our friends who just had a baby. It's funny looking at a newborn now that I have a toddler because all I could think was I don't ever remember Harper being that small. It was also surreal to think that in just less than six months, we'll be in one of those rooms holding the newest member of the Holt family. #cannotwait!
Sunday we were up bright and early to head to church. Following church we headed to my parents' house for our usual Sunday lunch. However, this week it was cut short as we had to head to a birthday party for one of Harper's cousins. The party was poolside so needless to say, Harper had a blast. Sadly, I didn't snap a single picture. #momfail
By the time we arrived home it was sometime after 5 and we were all exhausted. After giving Harper a bath, we decided it was time to lay down for a bit before grabbing dinner with friends. Apparently we were all pretty tired because we ended up sleeping through dinner. #oops Thankfully we had friends who understood. Sometime around 7, Kevin got up and headed back to church to play basketball with some of his guy friends while Harper and I stayed in the bed. We ended up eating dinner in bed and watched about ten episodes of Mickey. Usually that wouldn't be allowed but this pregnant mama was so tired I'd do anything to keep my little rambunctious toddler occupied so that I could get a little extra sleep. #sorrynotsorry

Hope your weekends were filled with fun, family, and friends! See you ladies tomorrow!

{Photos} Big Sister Training Camp

If you missed our big announcement on instagram last week or you didn't catch yesterday's post, you'll learn today that Kevin and I are expecting our second baby come March 1st. We are so excited to be expanding our little family and we couldn't be more excited about Harper becoming a big sister. Since this is such a huge deal for Harper, we decided it was only fair to have her make the big announcement for all of our family and friends. So the idea of having a "Big Sister Training Camp" was born and our amazing photographer, Amanda, put my vision to work. Here are some of my favorite pictures from our little photo shoot!

More details on Baby Holt #2 to come!

{Weekend Recap} The Last Weekend of My Summer

Happy Tuesday, friends! I hope you're recovering from a wonderful weekend and an even better Monday. Yesterday was our first day of school. Unfortunately, I was sick as a dog but still managed to make it throughout the whole day. But you best believe by the time I made it home, I was in bed at 4pm and didn't find myself out of the bed until 6 this morning. Thankfully I'm feeling so much better today so I thought I'd sit down and share a little about our weekend since it's been a few weeks since I've done a weekend recap. If you're curious about my absence, you can check out the video I shared here on instagram that'll fill you in on why I've been gone (; 
Friday was our last and final work day before our students arrived. I spent the day working on plans for the next few weeks. I'm not sure how I did it but I managed to be out the door by 4pm, which happens to be the first year I've ever tackled that feat. Most years, I'm usually coming in on Saturdays to tackle last minute things. But the fact that I talked to the doctor's office on Friday and the sweet nurse told me our precious baby's gender probably had something to do with the pep in my step. I was so anxious to get home and tell Kevin Baby Holt #2's gender before he had to head into work for another long night. It's a wonder I wasn't stopped for speeding (; 
Saturday morning Harper and I met my parents for breakfast at one of our favorite spots. Since Kevin was still sleeping when we returned home, we decided to head over to Kevin's aunt and uncle's to hang out by the pool for the day. It ended up being a family affair as Kevin's parents showed up as well as one of his uncle's. 

Saturday evening, we headed to Greensboro to the Toyota dealership. The week before last we spent our entire Saturday at Rice Toyota test driving 4runner after 4runner. After looking at various models, Kevin finally decided to order one to his specification. Lucky for us, the dealership said they'd be able to get what Kevin wanted by Monday. Fast forward a whole week later and the vehicle finally arrived...or so they said. When we arrived we were so irritated to find out it wasn't at all what Kevin wanted and to add the features he wanted, they wanted to charge us an additional $5k! A whole $7k more than the original car we had ordered. Needless to say, we left disgusted and promptly told them we'd be shopping elsewhere. 
Thankfully our evening didn't continue on that bad note. We ended up grabbing dinner at Outback with Kevin's cousins. Watching Harper and Samantha interract is always a blessing as they're the exact age difference between what Harper and her sibling will be. I can only pray Harper will love her brother or sister as much as she loves her cousin.

Sunday morning Kevin and I headed to my brother's church with his parents and aunt and uncle. My brother's church recently moved to our town so for the last few weeks we've been visiting there. His church is comprised largely of couples our age and their youth group is booming. So we've considered making a transition to his church. So far we're loving it so we'll see how it goes.
After church we grabbed lunch at my parents' house then made our usual Sunday grocery store run. Might I add, don't ever shop at Walmart on the day before school starts back. It was a disaster and I felt like I was shopping on black Friday! 
Our evening ended with dinner at a local Pizza restaurant. After which Harper and I headed home to plop ourselves on the couch to watch Bachelor in Paradise while Kevin headed back to my brother's church to play a little basketball. 
All in all, it was the perfect ending to a great summer off! 

Holt Family Vacation 2015 {Part 2}

*If you missed part 1 of our vacation, you can read it here.
Wednesday Wednesday morning, we grabbed breakfast with Brooke and Bryan at Cracker Barrel before they had to return home. I've never had Cracker Barrel's breakfast before but I can definitely tell you that their blueberry pancakes did not disappoint. Harper most definitely approved as well!

We spent the rest of the afternoon poolside with the family. 

For dinner, we met up with Kevin's cousins, for dinner at California Pizza. It was our first time trying it out and I have to admit, it was pretty good. It was definitely no Sir Pizza, but it was a good second.  

After dinner, we made our way to Family Kingdom where we spent the entire evening riding ride, after ride, after ride. Without a doubt I can tell you that our child is going to fit right in with our adrenaline junkie family (; 

Thursday Thursday was our lazy day at the beach. We spent most of the morning sleeping in, laying around, and taking naps. Sometime after noon we made our way to the beach. 

Since we headed out so late, we didn't spend long outside before we had to head in and get ready to do a little shopping at one of the local malls and grab dinner at Texas Roadhouse with the in-laws. 
Friday On Friday, we grabbed breakfast with Kevin's grandparents at the Golden Griddle, a local pancake house. 

Following breakfast, we headed to Kevin's uncle's place to hang out with them. Unfortunately, we didn't call ahead and upon arriving, we discovered they'd made their way to the outlets for the morning. So we caught up with Kevin's uncle's in-laws before heading back to our place and hitting up the beach and pool for one last time. 
Shortly after six, Kevin and I headed to the outlets where I snatched up some capris from Banana Republic for just $15 each (I'll take every color, please and thank you!) and grabbed Harper some fall clothes from Carter's. We then grabbed dinner at a local Mexican place of which I'll never return. Note to self: don't try hole in the wall restaurants at the beach. 
Since Harper was winding down and it was still early when we returned home, we decided to pack up the car and head on home. I wasn't exactly thrilled to call our trip to an abrupt end but knowing Kevin was going to have to return to work on Sunday, I knew he'd appreciate all day Saturday to recover instead of making the long drive home Saturday and returning to work the next day. So like a good wife, I obliged. 
We ended up not leaving until close to 11 and made it back home sometime around 3am. And can I just add, my bed never looked so welcoming! 

Holt Family Vacation 2015 {Part 1}

Kevin and I arrived at the beach shortly after midnight on Sunday morning. By the time we arrived, most of the family was already snoozing in their beds, so we quietly found our way to our room and unpacked our things. Before calling it a night, we snuck into my in-laws room and gave Harper a quick kiss. (We'd sent her to the beach with the in-laws since she was a bit too young to enjoy the wedding festivities that took place that day). 
Sunday Sunday morning we woke up bright and early to the most amazing view. Seriously, how awesome is God's gorgeous creation?!

After eating breakfast, we made our way to the beach where we learned right away that Harper was not a fan. We managed to convince her to play for a few minutes but she quickly realized she was being tricked with toys and adamantly asked to go to the pool. 

We finished off the evening with the family at Cracker Barrel. Of which, Harper couldn't leave until she got to play with the checkers and try out all of the rocking chairs. Goldilocks, anyone?

Monday On Monday we spent our morning laying around the condo before heading out for an early lunch with Brooke and Bryan. Brooke's birthday took place the week prior to our trip but with wedding festivities and a vacation to prepare for, we never made it out to dinner to celebrate. So per her request, we grabbed lunch at Margaritaville. Harper was obsessed with the atmosphere and she fell in love even more when the lady on stilts volunteered to make her a balloon animal. The best way to her heart. 

Following lunch, we browsed some of the shops at Broadway where I seriously almost purchased some fake glasses. 

Then we made our way to the pavillion where Kevin, Brian, and Harper took on some of the rides. 

The rest of the evening was spent being lazy before we grabbed dinner at Sir Pizza. Which just so happens to be my absolute favorite pizza in the whole wide world! Unfortunately Harper missed it as she slept through the whole dinner... 

We finished off our night in front of the television watching The Bachelor finale. Anyone else #teamshawn? Whoop whoop!
Tuesday We braved the beach again Tuesday and thankfully, Harper did a bit better. We were able to spend a few hours on the beach before Harper asked to head to the lazy river. 

Tuesday night, we met up with Kevin's uncle and his family for dinner at Nakatos; the family's absolute favorite Japanese place ever. (Again, if you live in Charlotte, NC, Atlanta, GA, or Myrtle Beach, SC...go check it out now!). Harper slept for the better part of dinner but at the sight of her friend Elijah, who was dying to sit beside Harper, she woke right up and gobbled up her noodles, rice, and shrimp. 

Following dinner, we made our way with Kevin's uncle's family back to Broadway to do some more browsing, ride a few more rides, and enjoy the firework show they put on each night. 

Part 2 coming soon...