Two weeks ago Michael and I made a five-hour trek with our puppy to visit the in-laws in good 'ole Fayetteville. Overall we had a wonderful time, but I think I learned I never want to drive that far by myself with a demanding toddler and a car-crazy dog. We got to enjoy the Fourth of July, Pop's Birthday, and some time at the beach. Just in case this picture and the others from Monday weren't enough for you, here are some more!

Last week I was MIA in the blogosphere. Why? Because we took a spontaneous trip to Charleston, SC. It's the closest beach to us.

We were supposed to go in July. I was so excited because we were going to have a "real" vacation. But, as always, the real world trickled its way into my fairy-tale planning and I kept realizing that we just weren't going to be able to do it. The morning after Clark and I had this discussion, we loaded up the car and drove down.

Yeah. We're not good at paying attention to the real world much. Oops.

We had SO. MUCH. FUN.

The best part? Michael loved it. He wasn't exactly happy with the long car rides or the car rides around town, but whenever we got to our destination-- he was beyond thrilled. The pictures speak for themselves.

BTW, just so you are aware-- this is barely a glimpse at all the fun we had.
DAY ONE




DAY TWO










DAY THREE

At the beginning of this month, while we were visiting Clark's family, we took a day trip to the beach. It was impossible to be that close to the ocean (1.5 to 2 hour drive compared to 7 to 8 from home) and not go.

I was nervous. I was afraid we were going to get there and Michael wouldn't like the sane. Or the water. Or he'd get too hot. Or I'd forget to reapply his sunscreen. Or we wouldn't have enough food/liquids for him.

The list goes on.

Still, after doing some search through the blogosphere and google-ing the subject as much as possible, I came up with the Top Five things (in my opinion) to have for a baby beach trip.

1. Lots of Water
I know this may seem a bit redundant, but it is just as important to keep the little one hydrated as it is yourself. While Michael wasn't too keen on his water bottle, for whatever reason, he was very content to drink from one of our nice and cold ones. Perhaps bring a bottle with a sports top (or whatever you like to call it) so it's easy for the baby to drink from it.

2. Apply, Reapply, and Keep Track of Sunscreen
I will admit that one of Michael's legs got a little pink. And when I say a little, I do mean a little. He fell asleep under our cabana and the sun moved while he was sleeping and his leg that was in the sunlight got a tiny bit too much sun. KEEP TRACK OF WHEN YOU NEED TO REAPPLY! Since the baby's skin is so delicate, it's super important to make sure you apply whenever the sunscreen says to.

3. Hat
As mentioned in #2, the baby's skin is delicate. This being said, you should cover their delicate heads/faces. A hat is a perfect solution, especially if you have one that wants to go splash in the tiniest of waves (with you holding/sitting/standing close by, of course).

4. A Cabana, Sun Tent, or Umbrella
While Clark thought I was being a little dramatic when I said we had to have one of these things, I was persistent. Luckily his family had a cabana so we didn't have to go buy our own (yet). Just like #2 and #3, keeping the baby shaded is vital. If you plan on being out on the beach through his/her nap time, make sure you have a way to cover him. Sunscreen won't do the job completely... plus you want to keep him/her as cool as you can.

5. Snacks
For yourself and baby! We brought a cooler full of drinks, fruit, and more. We wanted Michael to feel as "at home" as possible at the beach. After all, if you enjoy something tasty, so will the baby. If he/she is under six months, just make sure your BM or bottle is readily available!

The last one that didn't make the top 5, but I thought I'd throw in as a suggestion, is a little baby pool. While Michael preferred to play in the "big bathtub", he did love that we had a little pool underneath the cabana. It was another way for him to cool down. Just bring a bucket to fill it up with water, and you've got another way of keeping baby happy close to you (in case you don't want to venture out in the sun for an endless amount of time as well)!

(July 4, 2012)

With all the traveling, family escapades, and so forth I completely forgot to post on July 7th. At least we had Swing on a Star as an interlude so you didn't feel like I had forgotten to let you know about the baby boy!

So, Michael is Ten Months Old!

We're guessing he's over 20 pounds, and I would imagine close to 30 inches long. We had to finally give in and get him a new carseat that was bigger than his infant carrier; since he kept kicking the seat so much we imagined he was too long (or close to it) for his old seat. He's getting heavier to tote around, and my back has definitely started to notice. Trying to find ways to remind myself to switch sides and use the sling less and less.

(July 6, 2012)

We celebrated Michael's new check point by taking him on his first beach trip. It was most convenient to be visiting Clark's family and only have to drive around two hours, rather than drive anywhere from five to eight from our current location. Needless to say, Michael had more than enough fun. He loved the fact that the waves would go away and come back. He also loved the sand (note it flying around in the picture above). I was afraid taking him to the beach would be difficult, but we went more than prepared and it went as smoothly as could be imagined (post to come about it).


Visiting family also gave Michael opportunities to try new things. He is positively in love with strawberries still. Nothing compares. He is also in love with cheese and gold fish... which I suppose makes perfect sense. I think, too, that Michael's Great-Papa may have slipped him some ice cream... it would explain why he was up until 11pm that night.

We have hit a glorious point in Michael's development where he takes long naps. Yesterday he slept for 2.5 hours in one setting and then was up until around 8:45pm. I probably should be pressing for him to go to bed earlier, but then he also slept until 8:30am this morning... so I'm not complaining at the moment.

(This lasted for just under two hours.)

Michael is more than comfortable at this point pulling himself up to sit up, pulling up on furniture, cruising furniture, and so forth. Yesterday he even pulled himself up on his bouncer (no picture, sorry) and commenced to play with it outside of the seat. He seemed to enjoy that more since there was more freedom to it. He also made it up a few stairs yesterday... even if they were concrete and made me incredibly nervous, he handled it with ease. I can't believe how big he's getting! Next on the list is definitely walking.

His two new favorite games are playing with light switches and doors. He'll push the door closed and look at us to say, "Closed!" Then he'll crawl forward, struggle a bit, and open the door and look at us to say, "Open!"

With the light switch it's the same thing. "On," or "Off!" He absolutely loves it.


If you couldn't tell, he tolerated me more than long enough for us to have an excellent Fourth of July photo-shoot. He was excited about the few fireworks Clark shot off at his parents' house until there was one that had multiple ones in a row... that officially brought on tears and we therefore retreated inside and successfully went to sleep immediately after that.

Note: Late night company + strawberries + (I'm guessing) ice cream = grumpy baby until fireworks go off and he's truly had enough to pass out for the night.