Vacay: Days 3 and 4

You guys, I have a whopping 79 pictures uploaded for this post.  SEVENTY-NINE.  I have tried so hard to narrow it down, but I just love too many pictures!  Better go ahead and get yourself a snack and get comfy before getting started.  And then, get ready to feast your eyes on some really cute kids! Everett started Day Three out a little crabby.  But not bad-mood crabby, just super-cute-crab-pajamas crabby!

Now, you guys know I like a themed outfit better than anyone else, but Allison may have actually outdone me on this trip.  I lost count of Everett's crab outfits!  I thought we'd definitely win with two crab outfits and a crab bib, but I never even thought about crab jammies!!

I really enjoyed hanging out on the balcony every morning after breakfast.  It was the perfect spot to catch up on emails and whatnot before hitting the day full-force.  Katie Wynn enjoyed getting her belly full and then napping in the cool breeze.

She also loved the swings we hung up out there.  All three kids did, actually.  It's amazing how content they all were to just sit and swing. 

Poor Katie Wynn got caught mid-swing for a little manicure action.

Day Three is when we decided to try to brave the beach again.  Katie Wynn was not a big fan of it the last time we were there, so we weren't expecting to spend the whole day out there.

We plopped down our blankets and an umbrella and took a seat.  So far, so good. 

Gus loved the sand!  He went right to work building a sand castle.

The Dads.  I probably have this same picture of them from about 6 years ago.  Crazy how time flies!

As you can see in the picture below, the more time we spent on the beach, the more Katie Wynn hated it.  So much for warming up to it.

Doc took her out in the ocean and tried to keep her out there until she got used to it.  I'm not sure that it worked.  The little bunny just cried so much that she wore herself out and fell asleep in my arms.

On the beach, in front of a beautiful ocean, with a sleeping baby in my arms.  Peaceful, no?  Well, not if you're sitting under someone else's umbrella and in their vacant chair while they're probably inside having lunch and you're paranoid they're going to come out and catch you.

Less tears after her nap.  Hooray!

Sarah and Charlie having a little snack break with Gus.

We decided to set K-dubs on the shore to see how she'd like the sand.

Checking it out...

...and just like that, the tears are back.  Poor baby girl!

The guys played a little beach volleyball.  Gus wanted to play too!

Instead, little man got stuck hanging out with us girls.

Our trip to the beach really did not last very long.  It makes me sad that Katie hates it so much.  My fingers are crossed that she'll eventually come to love it.

Konked out in the swing after a day in the sun. 

We cooked dinner at the house most nights.  That was just a lot easier so we could put the babies in bed earlier and still get to hang out.  I think Day Three is when Chris and Allison cooked out burgers, and they were delicious!

The morning of Day Four, we made our way to the big community pool.  We got there early enough to claim some chairs in the shade.

Katie Wynn did some floating around the pool with her daddy.

Gus loves to jump in the water!  I think he probably gave his mama a pretty good workout that morning.

Sitting and resting before his next jump.  Love that belly!!

We all had a little goldfish snack before calling it a day at the pool.

Later that afternoon, Sarah and I decided to take our kids on a bike ride back out to the splash pad.  By the time we arrived there, we looked back to see both of them sound asleep!

 

 

We parked them in the shade while we did some window-shopping.  I'm sure all the passers-by were wondering who was responsible for the unaccompanied sleeping children, but we could see them from the windows the whole time.

They were OUT!  Yes, I did try to push Katie's head up but she just kept flopping it back down.  There's no way that was comfortable but there was no where else to put her.

That night was our big night out!  We decided to go out to dinner as a group - all 11 of us.  The plan was to head out at 5:00 so we wouldn't have to wait and kid still get the babies to bed at a decent time.

Everett and Gus were at the head of the table.

Note the crab bib...

There was a single chair up on the stage - I'm sure for their nightly entertainment - but we let Katie Wynn occupy it while we waited for our food.  She thought it was hilarious.  Maybe she'll love being on stage one day?

Finally, proof that Jenny and Darrin were on the trip with us! 

After dinner, Chris and Everett waited outside for the rest of us.

Before the trip, I knew I wanted the three kids to have a matching outfit for pictures one night.  My mom helped me make these turquoise seersucker bubbles.  I did the crab appliques on them and then she sewed them up for me.

I just love this picture!  They look like they're just talking and about to hold hands.

And then Gus joined them!  His outfit was a shortall instead of a bubble.

Obviously, it was impossible to get all three of them to smile.  I call this one a success just because all three are somewhat looking and no one's crying.

After those quick pics, we walked down the sidewalk to the town of Rosemary.

Isn't Gus just the cutest?

We found this little bench and thought it might be a good place to try to have a photoshoot.

We tried really hard for a good shot of all three of them together.  Even with 8 adults singing and clapping and whooping and hollering, this was about the best we could get.

So we tried for family pictures instead.

Look at that cute grin!

Thumbs up from Darrin!

I love this one.  I think Charlie wanted to be the screaming baby.  :)

Ready for the best part about the bubbles/shortall that we made?  They're reversible!  We flipped them over to hide the crabs and show the babies' names instead.  And then we tried for another picture of the three of them on the bench.  Once again, these can only be called a success because all eyes are open and no one is crying.  But where are their smiles??

Darrin seems to be somewhat of a baby whisperer.  Everett was all smiles in his arms.

After pictures, we hung out on the lawn for a while so Gus could run around and play.

Love that little sashay from his bootie!

Catch him if you can!

Doc caught him and took him for a spin.

The smaller babies just sat on the ground together and watched Gus.

These pictures of the boys laying in the grass are my favorites!! SO CUTE!

We headed back towards the town for some ice cream at the Sugar Shak.

My girl and I waited as patiently as we could while Doc got us some treats.

Such a cute family, and always so darn photogenic!

Darrin, once again being the baby whisperer.  Katie Wynn is in a bit of a clingy stage and doesn't let just anyone hold her anymore, but she seemed fine with her new buddy.

One last picture before calling it a night on Day Four. 

I wish we could go back right now!  We had such a great time the night...the weather was perfect, we ate delicious food, and the kids were all happy.  Just the way vacation should be!

Vacay: Days 1 and 2

I think the easiest way to break up the 1,000 plus pictures from our beach vacation will be to go by days.  Three posts total, maybe?  We'll see. Techincally, this post should be called Days 0, 1, and 2 but I'm not really counting the day we got there as a full day.  Doc, Katie, and I were the first ones to arrive and had the house to ourselves for the night.  It worked out wonderfully because we were able to grocery shop and get the house ready before our friends arrived.

I won't lie, I was SO dreading the car ride there.  Katie wasn't the biggest fan of being in the car that long on our last trip, and that was with two extra people (my parents) in the car to entertain her.  I assumed I would have to ride in the back with her the whole time and act like a fool to keep her happy.  That was not the case, though.  She was a total CHAMP in the car.  She slept so much that I kept checking to make sure she was breathing.

She traveled in her jellyfist shirt so she could get excited about a beach vacay.

Plus, those ribbon tentacles are just really fun to chew on.

We were terrified she'd be up all night after napping all day, so we put on her swimsuit and tried to wear her out in the pool.  I love that she can stand on this little corner step and play and splash by herself (with an adult watching, obviously).  I only wish the step was bigger!

"Why are we getting out of the pool, mama?"  I dunno, baby.  I ask myself the same question all the time.

Her clip-on highchair is perfect for vacations!  We just clip it on to the bar and she's got a designated spot for the week.  Here she is just dining alone...

The bulk of Sunday was spent running errands while we waited for our friends to arrive.  We had breakfast out at Panera for Father's Day (because "I cooked" for Doc) and then bought groceries and a few other things to have around the house.  We also painted a small fence that morning.  We wanted to get all of our house maintenace chores done before the others got there!

That afternoon, our guests finally arrived!  We all immediately changed into our swimsuits and jumped in the pool.

The oldest of the kids on vacation was Gus at 18 months old.

Gus is so much fun to be around!  He's such a happy little guy.

Gus brought his daddy, Charlie, along for vacation...

...and also his mama, Sarah (seen here chatting with Everett).

Everett was the youngest vacationer, but not by much.  He's just three weeks younger than our Katie.

He's a fun little guy too and loves splashing with his daddy, Christopher.

Katie bug was, of course, there for the swim too.  This is the picture I posted on Instagram that afternoon.  Gotta love a swimsuit that comes with a matching swim cap!

More fun pictures of us playing in the pool...

I loved her little cap but, bless her heart, she had the biggest indention on her head from the elastic when I finally took it off!

On my way in from the pool I snapped this pic of a bright green lizard.  We saw these little guys all week long.

And we have officially made it through my pictures from Day One.  You should be glad I narrowed it down to just 23.

Mornings on vacation start a lot earlier when you're traveling with little ones!  We did sleep in a little later than usual, but still got up pretty early considering it was vacay.  The kids enjoyed playing in their jammies while we made breakfast.

I think my new favorite place to hang out at the house is on the upstairs balcony.  We finally have furniture out there and I hung two baby swings for this week.  There's always a nice breeze up there...it's the perfect place to sit and chill.  Especially since the babies were always content to swing!

Clothing is optional on the balcony.  Day Two included a nekkid nap on the balcony for Katie Wynn.

Everett was on board with the no-clothes-required rule.

Mr. Gus Man got to go on his first bike ride in our bike trailer!

His dad pulled him while his mama followed.

I really can't remember what all we did on Day Two, but I know that evening Gus and Katie went on their first [chaperoned] date.

Doc and I joined the Kinsers for an evening bike ride through the neighborhood.

And before we knew it, we found ourselves parked at a fun little splash pad.  No swimsuits?  No problem.

Both Gus and Katie were a little hesitant at first.

With the help of his mom, Gus got brave enough to touch the water.

And then he got really brave!

Gus ran and touched all the little fountains of water!

Sometimes even going so far as to lay over a spout...

We had so much fun there!  Katie mostly just sat and took it all in, while Gus's diaper just got bigger and bigger from all the water. :)

We let 'em ride commando for the ride home.  It was gonna be a short ride...until we rode passed an ice cream shop and decided we need to stop for a treat.  The kids just hung out in the trailer while we ate, and we evenutally looked over to see them holding hands.  Our little love birds...

Days three and four are next!  And if you thought this post had a lot of pictures, just you wait!

Sleeping Beauty

I was going through all of our beach vacation pictures when I started to notice a theme.  Seems I take a lot of pictures of my baby girl sound asleep...and she sleeps anywhere and everywhere! She tested out our new balcony furniture with a quick catnap on the love seat.

At some point she took another nap on the balcony, but this time in her swing.

It only got cuter when she lost her paci.  Mouth wide open - just like her mama. :)

She hated the beach again this time, and all her crying and carrying on put her right to sleep in my arms.

Swimming apparently wears her out.  She napped by the little pool at our house... 

...and in her Daddy's arms at the big pool in the neighborhood.

We went back to the pool again the next day and yep - you guessed it - she fell asleep again.  Can you see her parked way back there under the shade?

She even fell asleep doing fun things like going on a bike ride with her buddy, Gus!

I don't think Gus was offended since he fell asleep too. :)

I am so thankful that she'll nap anywhere!  It makes being on the go much easier since we don't have to be confined to naps in her crib.

But even though she's flexible in her napping locations, her very favorite place to sleep - by far - is in her Daddy's arms.  Especially if Orange Monkey is there too.

I'm Back!

I was so proud of myself for knocking out four posts in a row and then bam! I fell off the wagon.  Just disappeared for more than a week without even saying goodbye.  I apologize. To make it up to you, here are some completely random bullets.

  • One of the main reasons for my absence is that we were at the beach (AGAIN) all last week, but this time with some of our favorite people.  We had an absolute blast and I fully intend on writing all about it.  But, I took over 1,000 pictures and it's taking me forever to get through them.  It might take 20 posts to share it all because there are just too many cute photos that I can't cut out!
  • I also still need to blog about Doc's half birthday.  Soon, I hope.
  • Does anyone need a book recommendation?  Because I've actually gotten to read a few books lately and they have all been really good.  I loved The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.  Also, The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh was SO good.  I really wish it had a part 2 because I didn't want it to end.  I just finished Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill and it was good too.  It reads a lot like Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (which is another good one if you haven't read it yet).  Currently reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed.  I'm only about 20% in and I'm totally hooked.  Now, what should my next book be?
  • My baby girl is growing up so fast!  She's 9 months old now so she's officially been "out" as long as she was "in."  I'll have a post all about her - with monthly pictures included - coming soon.

I'm sorry this was a short, quick post.  I'm ready to get back to clicking through beach pictures!  Plus, Pitch Perfect is on so I'm having a hard time concentrating on what I'm typing. :)

Back soon!

Beach Weekend

The weekend before last, Doc and I loaded up Katie Wynn and joined my parents for a very quick trip to the beach house.  It was what I like to call a "maintenance trip."  We had lots of things to do around the house - mostly pulling weeds and minor repairs - but the biggest thing we wanted to accomplish was getting furniture for the upstairs balcony.  That was one thing we had never finished last summer so we really need to get it done. This was the first time we've traveled so long in the car with Katie Wynn since she was a newborn (and sleeping all the time).  I was not sure how it was going to go.  Overall, I'd say it wasn't perfect, but it was much, much better than it could have been.  She did pretty well.  We rented a minivan so that we could all comfortably ride together so that meant both me and Mom were in positions to entertain her.  And entertain her we did!

I managed to make her favorite monkey ("Orange Monkey") balance up on the back of her seat and she thought it was hilarious!

When the appeal of Orange Monkey (and a gazillion other toys) wore off, we started feeding her puffs.  Feeding herself still takes a pretty good amount of concentration, so it keeps her occupied and wears her out.

It also produces lots of bubbles and sticky fingers.

As soon as we made it to town, Mom and I left KW with the boys and headed out to run errands.  We wanted to get most of our necessary shopping done as quickly as possible so we'd have at least a day to relax and enjoy ourselves.  One of the things we picked up at Target was an umbrella stroller which was wonderful to have while we were in town.  We put it right to use when we got home.  The guys were starving so we walked to the Mexican restaurant that's just a block away from the house.

We had a little bit of a wait so we killed some time by the splash pad fountains.

I got her out of her stroller to see if she'd like the water but I'm not sure that she was feelin' it.

I put her hand in one of the sprays of water.

Not too excited about a spray of water in the face!

Pocket tee times three.

We were getting closer to our time to eat so we wandered in to wait.

Apparently we weren't entertaining enough for Katie bug.  She needed to see what everyone else in the restaurant was doing.

Then we got a table and ate delicious Mexican food.  We walked home and went to bed.  The end for day one.

Day two started at the pool.  Aww yeah!  We couldn't get in the pool, though, until we were completely accesorized.  Of course.

Our doodle bug's first time ever in a pool started out in this little raft I bought her.  Since it was early in the morning and kinda overcast, we opted to leave the shade visor off.

I mean, is she a diva or what?

Just acting like she owns the place.

Criss cross straps!  Also, I wanted to kiss those shoulders all over.  Sunscreen is the new chapstick, right?

We took off her shades and I'm sure I instantly became blindingly white to her.

After getting good and accustomed to the water, it was time to learn how to swim!

She actually kicked her legs a little!  Sorta.  Kinda.  Maybe.

Guess she approves of swimming in the pool.

Nap time was approaching so I got her out and put her in this super cute (and super too big) jellyfist shirt that I appliqued for her.  The tentacles are ribbons.  So cute.  My camera lens fogged up after going from AC back out into the humidity.  Darn blurry picture.

This one's a little less blurry I guess.

That afternoon we decided to go to the outlet mall (um, duh).  The jellyfish shirt and shorts were so big she looked like a hoodrat, so I changed her into my favorite summer bubble.  I had overpacked anyway so I was trying to justify having so many clothes there.

Also, I really wanted to put this bubble on her since it matched the sunglasses I had snatched from Target's dollar bin.  I could just eat her up with all that cuteness!

According to Katie Wynn, the outlets are exhausting.  I've really got to work on her shopping stamina if she expects to keep hanging out with me.

We rewarded her shopping patience with another dip in the pool.  

This time she was really brave and would even hang on to the side by herself!  I think she's going to be swimming for real in no time!

Doc and my dad worked on putting together the new patio furniture we had purchased.  The box it came in quickly became Katie bug's favorite place to play.

Just playing with some cardboard.

And then of course we all had to try out the new furniture, wet swimsuits or not.

We played musical chairs so we could all sit on each piece.  :)

We ordered dinner in and ate it out on our newly furnished balcony.  Can you tell Katie Wynn is begging for table food these days?  She's worse than the dog!

Day Two ended with a walk to the yogurt store for some nighttime treats.  8:30 pm, still awake, and eating ice cream.  We break all the rules on vacation. :)

We woke up on day three - our final day - and decided to hit the beach early.  We spent about an hour slathering on sunscreen and then headed that way.

Katie's daddy picked her up and headed straight out into that big, loud ocean!  She gripped on to his shoulders for dear life.

I can't believe I'm putting this family picture, complete with bed hair and paleness, on the internet.  But, here ya go.

Little tiny toes in the sand.

Overall, I think this picture most accurately portrays what Katie Wynn thought of the beach.

Her Mimi rescued her from the sand while we picked up all of our stuff.  Nothing like a fifteen minute round trip to the beach!

Back to gripping on to Dad's shoulder for the walk through the sand.

We made the walk back and plopped her into her floatie, her new happy place.

That afternoon, Mom and I left the boys with a honey-do list and we walked to town to do some window shopping.  Our window shopping turned into real shopping - mostly all for my baby girl - and once again, she just couldn't hang.  Girl's a light weight, I tell ya.

One of the things on the honey-do list was to hang up a couple baby swings that I had purchased for the upstairs balcony.  I asked Doc if they were able to get them up and how they looked, and he said, "Um, you might want to go see for yourself."  Looks like we may have to buy some chains to extend them because they are pretty high up!

Katie Wynn says porch swinging is fun no matter how high up your swing is!

More playing on the patio. 

We went out to dinner again for our last night in town.  I couldn't take any pictures during the meal because I was too busy picking up thrown toys and napkins and straws and anything else my girl could get her hands on.  Here's one of her and her poppy (both with crazy hair!) after the meal. 

We got up and hit the road early again the next day.  We managed to shave at least an hour off our drive on the way back...Doc wasn't stopping for anything!  We had a good, quick trip there and I can't wait until our next trip that's right around the corner!  Hopefully she'll like the beach better by then...