The Month of July

After we got back from the lake, we had a pretty low key rest of July, which this momma needed. Lots of playdates, trips to the aquarium, some pool time (when it wasn't raining....gosh!! I can only remember a few rainy Atlanta summers, but it is no fun when you have a two year old who wants to be out enjoying her pool!), trips to the zoo, and taking care of our big girls for the second summer in a row.

We enjoyed several trips to the aquarium with some of our favorite people, Tripp and Camille.

Sweet baby, getting too big too quickly. Seriously it went by fast for this sweet girl!

Checking out the fish. The aquarium quickly became a favorite this year. This was our first year having a membership, thanks to a Christmas gift from my parents. It is so nice to have something to do when it is yucky outside. Lyla loves going and the Dolphin Show is BY FAR her favorite.

These two are such sweet friends.

Our neighborhood had a pool party which was so much fun! We all brought sides and grilled out and had a great time catching up. The sun was out for literally 20 minutes before the skies let loose and poured on us. But that didn't stop us from having a great time. We hung around and eventually the kids were able to get back in the pool and swim a little more before leaving. We have lived here almost a year and it has been great to get to know so many of the people that live around us. There are so many fun, young families and I am so excited for Lyla to grow up here. I did not have kids my age where I lived, so I am excited that Lyla will experience having neighborhood friends. Our neighborhood does not have a pool, I am not sure if that is because so many people have their own pools or what, but we can have a membership at the pool in the neighborhood just up the street from us. We opted not to have a membership this year, so that we could try out our own pool, but I think once Lyla gets older and wants to be with her "summer pool friends" we will get a membership. I remember living at our neighborhood pool during the summer and having so much fun. I am sure Lyla will be the same way.

We spent LOTS of time at the zoo. Gosh, that membership has payed for itself over and over and over again. I seriously love that thing. As long as our schedule works out, Lyla and I try to go once a week during the pretty months. She loves it, I love it, you can't beat being outside. It is SO easy. Such a fun activity. We took the big girls a couple of times with us this summer as well and they love it just as much as Lyla does.

Lyla loves these girls! They are like big sisters to her and they cannot get enough of each other. Lyla always gets excited to see them and asks every morning "big girls comin' day?". Really they all entertain themselves.... 

My sweet big girl who is growing too quickly. I cannot believe the little lady she is becoming and how quickly she is loosing the "baby". Make my heart hurt, but I cannot believe how much I fall more in love with her each day. She is such a light.

One of our summer projects was to take some pictures of the big girls and surprise their parents with them. They were so cute about it. They had different outfit changes and made sure they were coordinating and everything. Their pictures turned out adorable! Lyla had to get in on the action. She was super cute about it as well. Each time the big girls changed clothes, she changed as well. She wanted her hair like theirs too. 

I mean seriously cute.

Lyla got to experience her first movie this month. Our movie theater right down the street is the best.hands.down. I have been to a lot of movies in my life and will never want to experience going to a regular theater again. We go to Studio Movie Grill. It is awesome. If you have not seen a movie there. Check it out. This weekend! You can get your tickets in advance and when you buy your ticket, you pick out your seat. No longer do you have to get to a movie 30 minutes ahead of time to reserve seat!! Awesome reason number one. They have a full restaurant and bar. And they bring it to you. Turn on your light and they take your order. You can eat lunch or dinner and sip your margarita while you watch your movie. Awesome reason number two. They have tables, either bar-top or round tables and the seats are super comfy. Awesome reason number three. And lastly, they also have groupon deals for tickets. $5-6/person. Can't beat that. Awesome reason number four. No other way to experience a movie now. I can't go back.

During the summer months, they have $1 movies at 11am for kids. They are all older releases but hey, cheap easy activity that the kids loved. It is $1 for each kid and $2 for an adult. They change the movie out weekly which is also nice. We saw two movies there this summer, but hopefully we can hit up even more next summer. The first movie we saw was 'The Muppets Take Manhattan'. Lyla was a little young for this movie. It was not animated and did not hold her attention very long. Next we tried Shrek and she loved it! She sat through the entire thing and asked to watch it again when it was over. Definitely a great activity for the kids with all the rain!

Ordering their lunch.

Ready for the movie to start.

We did lots of playing around the house. These cars have become a favorite!

We also went to Play Activity Center several times this summer. Again, gotta find those indoor activities with all.the.rain. Yuck. We love Play Activity Center. Sadly, they are closing in August and will not reopen. But I love this place. Small, clean, not crowded, inexpensive. They have a free story time, trampolines, jumpy houses, foam pits. And they have an imagination center with lots of activities as well. We will be so sad to see them go.

Here are the big girls pretending to have a vet clinic. 

We did lots of this as well....

Sitting by the pool for lunch or snack after a swim. Can I just say again how easy it is to have a pool right outside of the back door? I love it. And so does Lyla!

My little artist. She loves all things arts and crafts which is great. Painting is for sure a favorite. She also loves coloring and play-doh. I love that she loves it. I can see myself in her, when she gets frustrated or cannot do something perfectly the very first time, she either wants me to do it or just gives up. We are working on this. Since it is a struggle of mine, I know how hard it is to want to do it right the first time. I am hoping she will learn at an early age that there is no such thing as perfection, as long as she tries her best, that is all that matter.

As the summer finally started "warming up" and I use that term loosely because it was never SUPER hot, we spent a lot of time at the splash park. Gosh, what a great concept, what a great place. 

We even braved the pool a couple of times with the big girls, even though it was still SO COLD. They loved coming over to have a morning swim, eat lunch outside and then we would play games while Lyla napped. It truly was so great. I love having them around. They are so helpful and so sweet, especially with Lyla.

So that is July in a nutshell. Just filling our days with fun things here and there! Enjoying the summer.