"On the beach, that's where I want to be. On the beach, baby come go with me."

Well, we are coming to the end of our vacation.  Usually towards the end of the week I'm ready to get back into my routine, but not this year.  I'm guessing that's because my toddler wont slow down for anything and I don't feel like I've gotten much rest at all.  C'est la vie.

Monday it rained, so nearly the entire day was a wash out.  Jeffery and I tried to take Carmie to the library late in the afternoon, but she was more interested in shadowing the librarians than reading any of the books.  After about the second or third time of stopping her right before she walked behind the librarian's desk, we decided to head out.

Tuesday was a bit better.  We were all able to get out on the beach, even Bennett!

Jeffery helping Carmie build a sand castle.

Bennett trying to avoid any sand Carmie might be flinging.

Although the day was a bit cloudy, that afternoon was beautiful, so we went out to take some pictures on the dunes.

Carmie was pretty excited to get back on the beach.

"I'm the king of the world!!!!"

Carmie and her daddy.

A beautiful afternoon on Oak Island, NC.

Our shoulders got a little pink on Tuesday, so Wednesday we decided to hold off on going back down to the beach until later in the afternoon.  We walked around Southport a bit and hung out inside util the heat of the day passed.  Carmie is such a little ham and is constantly on the go or getting into something.  This afternoon she realized that standing over a vent with air blowing will make your dress blow up!

The moment in a little girls life when she realizes dresses can do this!

Playing on the beach.  Still not so sure about the water, so we stayed up on the sand.

Nothing like a delicious meal to help you unwind.

I loved watching Carmie look at all these pictures.  They are of my sisters and me when we were young.  She studied them for most of the evening.

 Today was my birthday.  We celebrated by visiting the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher and grabbed lunch at Elijah's on the Wilmington river front.

Carmie was captivated by all the fish.

Jeffery and Carmie watching the fish.

Heading out of the aquarium and onto lunch.

Yummy crab dip with garlic bread appetizer at Elijah's.

It's truly been a great week and I'm not ready for it to end (I'm really not ready to clean up all the sand in the beach house from the dog and baby).  Can't wait to get back down here!

Five hundred twenty-five thousand Six hundred minutes, Five hundred twenty-five thousand Moments so dear. Five hundred twenty-five thousand Six hundred minutes How do you measure, measure a year? ~Season’s of Love, Rent

Can you pick the best day of your life?  Maybe you need to list the top three days.  Could you do it with five days?  Jeffery and I were discussing this topic last night.  My answer?  No.  I can’t.  Our wedding day was wonderful, surrounded by friends and family, but it was such a world wind I don’t know how much I remember of it.  What I do remember was sitting on the bed at the Thomas Walton Manor, with a picnic spread eating everything in sight because we were so hungry.

I remember the moment I gave my life to Christ and how completely safe and at peace I felt afterwards, but I couldn't tell you much else about the rest of the day.

I remember the birth of my child, but recovery from childbirth isn’t the most fun thing ever.  Was Camrie’s birthday one of the best days of my life?  I was surrounded by loved ones who came by, but I had no idea 24 hours after having Carmie how much she would mean. 

What Jeffery and I came to realize during our conversation was that it’s very hard to pin point a day.  So much happens in a day, both good and bad.  Moments, moments are what we should be counting.  I don’t want to be able to look back on my life and say, “Yep, December 8, 2007 was a great day because I got married” or “September 21, 2011, Carmie’s birthday.  That was a good day.”  They were life changing days, no doubt, but I want to remember all the incredible moments!

I remember getting lost in the car with Memaw and Meredith as we tried to find our way to the Asheboro Zoo.  

I remember my first kiss on a church trip and getting caught by our youth leader (thought I would die and she was going to kick me out of the church)!

I remember sitting on the beach with Jeffery one night after a thunderstorm.  We could see the storm and lightening miles off the coast.  It was one of the most beautiful memories I have.

I remember going in for a second kiss when Jeffery and I got married.

I remember the first moment I looked at Carmie’s ear (sounds crazy, I know).  How could something so tiny and so intricate be so perfect?

Now that Carmie is changing so fast it’s hard to remember all the small, funny things she does.  Moments go by so fast.  I guess that’s why people say “don’t blink.” 

Here are some of my favorite moment… enjoy!

Lots of baby bottles!

Hanging out with daddy.

Sofie the giraffe was always close by.

Blowing raspberries.

Tiny, perfect hands.

Bath time

Sweet baby giggles.

First trip to the beach.

First painting.

Seeing her right after nap time.

First birthday photo shoot.

Christmas lights.

"I'm gonna watch you shine, Gonna watch you grow. Gonna paint a sign, So you'll always know. As long as one and one is two, There could never be a father, Who loved his daughter more than I love you" - Father and Daughter, Paul Simon

As 2012 has come to an end and we enter into 2013, I have been reflecting on the past year of the Hunter household.  In thinking back on the year one thing remained constant, how awesome a dad my husband is.  As I finished dinner tonight Jeffery took over bath time.  Later he had to run an errand and as I put Carmie to  bed and turned off the bathroom light I noticed this.

It caught me off guard since it's not very often you find writing on your shower wall (not to worry, it's a bath crayon and will wash right off), but I thought to myself how lucky Carmie is to have Jeffery as a dad.  As I think back I want to share some of my favorite daddy-daughter moments.  Enjoy!

Carmie's 4 month trip to the doctors office.

Getting ready for bedtime.

Trying to get daddy up and moving!

Getting ready for Carmie's baptism.

This was our beach week in May.  We made sure Carmie was in the shade and had on lots of SPF!

At the NC Aquarium.

Jeffery typically handles the bedtime routine.

Helping Jeffery open Father's Day gifts.  Candy boxes make excellent rattles.

Hanging out around the house.

Carmie had bad re flux as a baby.  However, it never really bothered her.  Can't say the same for Jeffery.

Trying to coax Carmie into walking.

Carmie's first birthday.

The UNC TV tent at the State Fair.

Carmie trying to feed Jeffery something she'd already been eating at Jack's birthday party.

Settling down for bedtime.

Working off Thanksgiving dinner.

The tree lighting at North Hills.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail Hoppin' Down the Bunny Trail

We sure have had a good time this month.  The last weekend of March, Mom, Meredith and I decided to travel to Atkinson to visit Meemaw, Anne and Pug.  I love visiting the country and Aunt Pug always does an amazing job of making us feel welcome.  We had a delicious lunch that Pug prepared and spent the afternoon playing with Carmie.

During our visit Aunt Pug showed me the dress we will be using for Carmie's christening.  She made the entire thing by hand; there are many hours of love poured into that dress and you can tell.  It's so beautiful, but because it's so long and fluffy it took a small army (OK, just mom and dad) to get her in it.

I found a photographer who did beautiful studio pictures, but she charged $300 for only a few printed pictures.  I decided that with my new camera and a little ingenuity, I could take some that were almost as good.  I found a large white sheet and with a few binder clips fastened it to a flat surface (my parents 60" TV).  Mom had a white wicker chair that we used as a prop and "voila!" instant studio.

With a little help from Picnic.com (a photo editing website) I even had Wallgreen's thinking I was a professional photography.

The next weekend was Easter.  The bunny brought Carmie a Radio Flyer wagon to take to the beach this summer.  We tested it out and she seemed to really enjoy it, or at least the Easter grass I put in the wagon.

We headed out to the NC State Arboretum and took some more pictures of Carmie in her Easter outfit.  She had such a good time playing in the warm sunshine.  Mom came along too to help with with Carmie; Mom did a great job until she let her fall over in the dirt!

This afternoon I had a lot to do around the house.  Carmie was not interested in sleeping.  She played with her bear, rolled around, and talked to herself, but sleeping was not part of her agenda. 

 Ms. Carmie wanted to be in on the action, so we separated laundry.  She helped me with the whites.

Unfortunately, without getting her nap in she was tired and fussy, so she went to bed early, but we had a great day and a fun couple weeks.  Keep and eye out for more adventures from sweet Carmie!