We spent the majority of this month preparing for, experiencing, and recovering from - our Beach Holiday!
Every other summer we join Charlie's mother's family for a week long get-away to Navarre Beach, Florida. This time, we decided to "brave it" with two Littles, so it seemed like a lot of preparations had to be made on the front end. Lists and more lists. What to pack, what to buy when we got there. What errands needed to be done, what bills needed to be paid. What "jobs" our neighbors needed to do for us while we were gone, and what chores HAD to be done before we left. Then there was the two-day 15 hour car ride (one way) with a two year old and a baby to think about. There was a list for that, too. Overall, I felt fairly "prepared" when it was finally time to go. And at least we remembered to bring the kids' suitcase with us this time...
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| running errands would be much easier if more stores had carts like these! |
One of the ways we helped Bruce get excited about our trip was to borrow practically every beach book from all the local libraries to read to him ahead of time. They got kind of repetitive as almost all of them talked about building sandcastles, looking for seashells and playing in the waves, but Bruce didn't seem to mind. I really liked how several of them talked about how at first the ocean seems scary, but it really is fun, too. I forget that for someone who lives in a land-locked state and is less than three feet tall, the ocean can be surprisingly loud, mysterious and somewhat unsettling. Bruce was incredibly fearful of the ocean when we went two years ago, and we really wanted to make sure he had the best possible experience this time around. Some of his favorite books were Miranda's Beach Day, Claude at the Beach, Going to the Beach with Lily and Milo, and Ladybug Girl at the Beach. We even did some activities with a couple of the books for our storybook blog.
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| convincing him bathing suits were normal was hard, but eventually he let us put one on him! |
We had been talking about our vacation to Florida for months it seemed, but the departure day arrived sooner than we expected! Charlie's mom met us at our house the night before so she could ride with us, and in the morning we all packed up and headed out! Considering they were strapped into car seats for the better part of two whole days, the kids were amazing travel buddies. I was expecting Abby to sleep a lot, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. There were no major meltdowns though, just a low-grade whine for the majority of the trip. I figured Bruce wouldn't nap at all (and he didn't) since the last few car trips we've taken he hasn't been able to, so I packed a travel bag full of things to help him pass the time and keep him amiable. There were new dollar store toys, and I made him some magnet and felt board activities and other fun do-dads to play with. Then of course there was the fully-charged iPad with four complete seasons of Peppa Pig downloaded on it and a bag full of new library books. He was awesome. His favorite game was a "which trash can is hiding the stinky fish" felt board activity I made en route after Charlie bought him a mini garbage truck at a gas station along the way. We made it to the "halfway mark" a little past dinner time and stayed the night at a hotel in Monroe, Louisiana. We were on the first floor and had a patio door that opened up to a nice courtyard area where Bruce ran around like a crazy person for a good bit before heading to bed. And Abby did great with her first night in a hotel! We got an early start the next day and made it to Navarre by late afternoon!
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| first impressions! |
There were over 50 family members joining the beach festivities this year, so we rented four houses/condos! We weren't in the "main" house, but the condo we stayed at was really wonderful! We set up camp with Charlie's mom, his older brother Willie, and his younger brother Frank and his family. AND, it was right on the beach. It was nice to have a little more quiet space since we still have napping children, and it wasn't too far away from the other houses. AND, it was right on the beach.
Let's just say that Bruce loved the beach this year. All of it. He loved making and smashing sand castles, having the waves chase his toes, and going for floats in an inner tube. One night he even got to stay up late and hunt for crabs with Charlie by flashlight. He was an expert crab-hole finder, and even caught a few crabs! Since Bruce has been in a pirate phase lately, we made sure to have a treasure hunt one evening to dig for buried treasure, too.
Abby's reaction to the ocean was very similar to Bruce's when he was her age. Beautiful from a distance, scary to touch. And sand is great fun for a baby until they decide to try to eat it, or rub their eyes... Abby best enjoyed the beach from the Bjorn carrier on our pre-dawn walks down the shore. In an attempt to let the rest of the house sleep a little longer, we had several peaceful morning strolls, and even found a baby shark that had washed up one morning!
Since we're all fairly fair-skinned, we spent the "heat of the day" off the beach or indoors. That made for some excursion opportunities! One day, Charlie took Bruce to the Naval aviation museum. The historical aspect was lost on Bruce, but man he had a blast piloting the display planes! They spent another afternoon on the pier. Bruce enjoyed an ice cream cone and thought the "dancing" fish that the fishermen left flopping on the pier were funny!
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| I always wonder what he's thinking... |
Watching Bruce experience the ocean was hands down the best part of the trip, but getting to spend time with our extended family was a close second. Charlie doesn't get to spend much time with his brothers, so it was good for them to share space for awhile, and I'm always eager to get to know my sister-in-law a little better. Our three boys are so close in age that it was fun to see them interact throughout the week. They are all so different! Bruce discovered that wrestling with kids is different than wrestling with Daddy, but it's still a blast, and his signature move was to just try and sit on them. He's only tried to sit on Abby a handful of times since, and she's finally big enough that I think that she can probably handle a little rough and tumble, so I'm not too concerned.
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| Bruce and his cousin Daniel |
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| Bruce and his cousin Matthew |
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| Daniel and Abby |
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| shows no mercy! |
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| Yvonne with all the grands |
The worst part of the trip was that Abs was sick with a fever for most of the week and was miserable and super cranky. I brought her to the walk-in clinic twice for a possible ear infection but both times her ears (thankfully) looked great. Even though the fever was fairly high, since she didn't have any other symptoms, the doctors figured it was probably just teething. After her fever finally broke a few days later, she broke out in a rash, so we're fairly confident it was actually a roseola virus. Still no teeth. Nine months old and not a one.
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| sunrise baby selfie |
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| poor babe, not feeling well... |
On Saturday morning we loaded everything up in the van - with much more than we came with it seemed - and began the trek home. Abby, who was feeling much better, took better naps this go around, and was a lot less whiny. And Bruce was such a good sport. No naps really, but a great attitude considering. We stayed at the same hotel in Monroe, Louisiana (same rooms even), and I think we were all in bed before 9:00. Tuckered out. Another solid day of driving, and we were back home by dinner time. We made it, and made some great memories along the way!
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| "Take my picture!" - leg stretch break on the way home |
Immediately upon arrival home we were in agreement that the kittens had to go... now. Our neighbors did an above-and-beyond job caring for our furry, feathered and finned friends (did I ever mention that Bruce saved up his money and bought himself a beta fish? It's turquoise and red and named Goldy) while we were gone, but having eight cats inside our little house is insane! They shredded one end of our couch, chewed a button off our lounge chair, ruined our shower curtain, and pooped on our bed and in baskets of clean laundry! Not to mention both mamas were in heat again... So within a few days, we had all but one kitten adopted and brought the mamas in to be spayed. Now they can go back to being outside cats, and hopefully we'll find a home for little Toyota soon. I can breathe again.
We've been home for about a week now. The laundry is as caught up as it ever can be, and the car and suitcases are finally unpacked and things are as put away as they ever can be. It's been nice to settle back into our "normal" for a bit but now we're getting geared up for Grand Adventure #2. A great friend of mine is getting married this week, so we're heading west to the Rocky Mountains! Wish us luck!
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| a piece of our normal |
Quick non-vacation updates on the kiddos:
Abby is crawling now! Just army style, but she's a mover! And she's a stinker, too - always getting into everything she's not supposed to! Because I don't always intervene quickly enough, I'm always fishing things out of her mouth. There's the more natural variety of goodies like grass, leaves and cricket legs... And then there's the non-natural treasures she finds like carpet fuzz, coins, and an assortment of tiny Bruce-toys... I don't know which category cat food falls under. The girl does not stop. She can also sit on the floor by herself now, and tumble somewhat gracefully back to her belly. She can't get into a sitting position on her own yet, and she's not pulling up on furniture yet, but it's not for a lack of trying! The other main new thing for Abby is that she has started "talking" this month. In addition to whines and coos, she can now babble with some dee-di-das and other basic pre-word sounds. It's been a lot of fun hearing her real voice!
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| got...to...have...it...in...my... |
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| ...mouth! |
I don't have too many "milestone" updates for Bruce, but I did want to brag on him a little about some sweet character traits that we've noticed really standing out lately. He has become so expressively thankful these days! And that is huge for us. I realized about a year ago that the phrase "thank you" wasn't really a part of our family's vocabulary. Not that Charlie and I don't show appreciation, it has just usually been more subtle than always saying the words themselves. So over the past few months we've been trying to be more purposeful with our thank yous, hoping it would rub off some on Bruce. Well, let me tell you, that little guy is the one who is modeling a thankful heart around our house these days. It catches me by surprise sometimes what he's giddily thankful for. He always uses the sweetest voice inflections too, "VANKS Mama! Vank you!" I want to be like that.
The other thing I wanted to mention is really small, but I think speaks volumes about something that is developing inside him. Several times this month, when someone has come over to our house, even if it is just for a minute, one of the first things Bruce will do is get some of his plastic cups out of the cabinet and fill them up with water from our bubbler. "Don't you want some water?" He'll say as he comes fumbling into the living room trying to juggle one cup too many. Where did he learn that that's what you're supposed to do when you have company? It's not like he's seen me entertain guests recently. I'm not sure, but his attitude of hospitality is something I definitely want to encourage!
Oh, and he's tall enough to turn the light switches on and off, can do somersaults, and he can wink now - who doesn't love that?
So, if you're ever in the area, stop by and we'll have a cup of cool, refreshing water ready for you!
