Vacation 2014

I'm finally getting around to posting about our vacation in June. Yes, it's almost August, I know. It's just been really busy around here. We've got full-on toddler messes to clean up daily, and it took me forever to find the time to edit the photos.

So here goes.....

First stop: Raleigh, NC
We got there on Sunday afternoon, June 8. Then on Monday morning, we headed out to Pullen Park. It was one of my parents' favorite places to take me when I was little. We met my aunt Marjorie, my cousins, Leslie and Amber, and their kids for a little fun.

On Tuesday, we left Dad's house and went to Nags Head, NC in the Outer Banks. It was our first time there, and we LOVED it. We just stayed one night, but we will be going back. Bryson was super excited to be at the beach.

As soon as we pulled into town, we stopped for lunch at Sam & Omie's. Then we went to the beach across the street at Jeanette's Pier so Bryson could run around after the long car ride. He was in heaven and immediately fell on his butt in the water.

After we chased him around a bit, we checked into our hotel, The Nags Head Inn. Bryson was still too excited to nap, so we got back in the car to explore a bit. We drove south to the Bodie Island Lighthouse. Bryson fell asleep right away, so when we got there we had a little fun taking photos from the parking lot while B slept in the air-conditioned car.

 

When we got back into the car, Bryson woke up, so we walked down the boardwalk to the waterfront.

 

As soon as we got back into the car B was sleeping again so we drove a little further south to see the huge sand dunes. After dinner, we went back out on the beach for some more fun.

Bryson really liked the hotel and running down the long hallways, yelling "Aaaahhhh!"

In the morning we were back in the car headed to Gloucester, Va., to see Scott's sister Emily, her hubby Eric and their two boys.

 We hung out and went to the park and checked out historic downtown Gloucester Courthouse.

On Friday morning, we were on the move again. Our destination was the Shenandoah National Park area. We stopped in Charlottesville for lunch on the way and walked around the UVA campus.

We rented a house in the Massanutten Resort, which has tons of houses, condos and a hotel, a ski resort, go-kart track, tubing hill, zip line, park, pools, golf and hiking trails. You really could stay in the resort for the entire vacation.

On Saturday morning we hiked one of the trails in the resort with Eric, Emily, James and little Aaron while Dad and Judy relaxed in the peace and quiet of the house.
 

 

We call this "the vacation of the deer." We saw them everywhere. At the resort and in our house's backyard. On Sunday, everyone but us went home, so we went to Shenandoah National Park to show Bryson a waterfall. In the parking lot, we saw more deer.....

 

We hiked down to Dark Hollow Falls from the Big Meadows area. Unfortunately, Bryson was not as excited as he had been on the trail the day before. He was teething in full force, so he whined and cried the whole way to the waterfall. We stopped for a snack beside the creek, and he cheered up a little. Water and rocks are his favorite things after trucks.

 

 We finally made it down to the falls. Bryson was happy to see that there were lots of rocks to throw into the pool under the waterfall.

That night was a rough one. Bryson hardly slept since he was teething. We even gave him Motrin and teething tablets for the first time. I felt so sorry for him. Soon after his fourth bottom tooth and one of his molars came in. And just after July 4th, two more of his molars came in, so I know he was in a lot of pain. We skipped a planned visit to see my mom's cousin Dan on the way back to Raleigh so we could get Bryson back to my dad's sooner. (Sorry Dan. Next time, I promise!)

Back in Raleigh, we relaxed and hung out around the house. My friend Sara Dowd visited too. It's always good to catch up with her!

We also visited the Marbles kids museum after a really good breakfast at one of our new favorite spots, Big Ed's, in downtown Raleigh.

Back in dad and Judy's backyard.....

our wedding hydrangeas in bloom

The next stop in our epic vacation was Garden City, SC, by Myrtle Beach where Kylie, Amanda and Sarah and their families were renting a beach house. It was good to catch up with my homeys and their kids if only for a night. As always we stayed up way too late playing catchphrase and reminiscing.

 

In the morning, our second Friday of the trip, we headed for Jekyll Island, Ga. We stopped for a quick and yummy lunch at my cousin Gray's house outside Charleston. (Thanks again Gray!)

On Jekyll Island, we stayed two nights at the Villas by the Sea in an oceanfront condo. Nice. And it was right next to the famous Driftwood Beach, which Bryson loved.

We went on a very scenic and very hot bike ride through the island's historic district, which has "cottages" er very big nice old houses once owned by the Vanderbilts, the Goodyears and the like. The island was once a playground for the rich and famous. It's now owned by the state and has limited development. It's gorgeous. We're planning to go back soon since it's only six hours from Fort Myers.

The extreme heat necessitated an ice cream break.

That evening we walked back out onto Driftwood Beach to take in the scenery one last time before our trip back home the next morning.

 There was a lot of chasing Bryson, who loved the rocks and the water.

On the way out on Sunday morning we stopped to check out the Horton House ruins at the north end of the island.

And we saw another deer. We actually saw several on our bike ride too.

It was a great trip! Bryson traveled remarkably well and came home with two new teeth. He was happy to sleep in his bed and play with his trucks when we got home.

15 months old

Bryson is 15 months old and learning more every day. He seems to know exactly what we're talking about all the time now. He loves to "help" us do things. If I ask him to put something away he'll usually do it.

We take him to the playground often, and he loves to climb and explore.

He also loves to go swimming at Nanny and Papa's house with Scott. That is their usual Saturday outing while I'm at work.

He actually slept for 12 hours straight the other night - a major feat that I was very excited about.

I took him for his 15 month check up a couple of weeks ago. He is now 22 pounds, 3.5 oz and 30.5 inches tall. He grew an inch and gained a little over half a pound since his 12 month checkup.

He's also increasingly OBSESSED with trucks and cars and tractors and construction equipment - anything with wheels. And books. Especially the ones about trucks.

Favorite foods include: yogurt with fruit, meat, avocado, and fruit. He's on a veggie strike unless I give him the pouches of pureed veggies.

Easter and more

Once again, I've fallen a little behind. But with a toddler practically running around here, it's hard to get a whole lot done.

Bryson is now 14 months old, almost 15 months. He loves to play games with us like peek-a-boo and even hides behind walls and in the closet for us to find him. Then he squeals with laughter.

He has an infectious laugh that melts my heart. Scott is so good at playing with him, and watching them together is amazing. I love watching them play together. This video is from earlier today when Scott got home from work.



I'm blessed with a wonderful husband, and on Wednesday we will celebrate our three-year anniversary! Wow. Three years already?! I've loved every minute of it, and can't wait for all our future adventures.

This month has been very busy. Scott's mom and dad were out of town visiting his sister, Emily, and her family as they welcomed their second son Aaron. He's so cute and has big squishy baby cheeks like his big brother James.

Since they were gone, I've been juggling Bryson and work. I've been working more late shifts, but when they have needed me earlier and assignments allowed, I took Bryson to work with me. So I was able to take him to the Naples Botanical Gardens, to a kid's show at the hospital and to the Edison home. He's a very good assistant and mostly patient while I work. I also had some help from my super awesome friends, Lindi and Megan, who watched him for a few hours on a few days. I'm so grateful to them, especially since they both have three kids of their own to chase around. They both welcomed Bryson with open arms. Literally, I think they both had to hold him the whole time.

At the botanical garden, I pushed him in the stroller while I worked. I had to take photos of their LEGO sculptures. After I was done, we went over to the Children's Garden to play for a few minutes.

He most enjoys the signs at the gardens. Go figure.

At the Edison home, he got to check out two of their most impressive trees while I was covering a story about Arbor Day.

A couple of weeks ago, Scott's best friend Jimmy got married. Bryson did great at the ceremony, which thankfully, was outside since he is happiest when he's outside. It was a beautiful wedding. We're so happy for them. But we're also sad since they are moving to Dallas. So a trip to Texas is definitely in our future.

Last weekend Bryson had his first Easter egg hunt......I helped him, but he does like to put things into baskets/bins, etc., so it wasn't hard to get him on board. The other kids scooped up most of the eggs before we could get to them, but he managed to get two on his own, and a really nice dad ahead of us threw down a few eggs that his son grabbed so that Bryson could pick up a few more.

So that was our month!

A few more notes on Bryson:
He loves trucks (especially fire trucks) and buses. He love pushing his trucks around the house.
He also loves pushing the buttons on the TV/cable box/Blu-Ray player and remotes.
He's becoming much more coordinated and nimble and is climbing more.
As noted before, he would be outside all the time if he could. He now knows when you say outside and runs over to the door and beats on it until you open it for him. Sometimes he even melts down in a tantrum if you don't take him out fast enough.
Books are another favorite. If you ask he will bring you a book to read to him or flip through them by himself.
He has also started sorting and stacking things.
If I ask him for my shoes, he will go get them and bring them to me. Such a good helper.

Growing and learning

Our boy is growing and learning more every day. He's now 13 months old. He's cutting two new top teeth. He's nearly running. He plays peek-a-boo with us, and loves to be chased. A simple "I'm gonna get you," sends him into a giggling fit and he rushes out of the room. Then he peeks around the corner to make sure you're following.

He insists on going outside all.the.time. He goes to the door, grabs the handle and says "ot, ot, ot."(out).
We have to keep the deadbolts locked because he can open the door by himself now. And when we do take him out in the front yard he, of course, makes a beeline for the middle of the road. He's getting really fast.

He loves going outside on Friday mornings to see the trash and recycling trucks pick up the bins. They have a big mechanical arms that lift the cans and dump the trash/recycling into the back. He watches the trucks all the way down the street, and sometimes the drivers honk the horn when they see us watching from the end of the driveway. His word for truck is "utck," which he repeats excitedly.

Scott takes him to the park just about every afternoon. They swing and slide and explore the woods or the river depending on the park. Bryson picks up sticks twice his size to carry around and chases the pigeons by the river. His hair is getting more and more blonde from being out in the sun.

At home he often brings us books (or throws them at us) so we can read to him. His favorites are Dear Zoo, Where is Baby's Bellybutton?, The Hungry Caterpillar, The Going to Bed Book, Are You A Cow? and Little Blue Truck and Tickle Time.

Though he still wakes once or twice a night, I love it when he falls back to sleep in my arms. He's so relaxed and content. All is right with the world in those quiet moments. And even though I'm so tired, I'm overcome with love for the little guy. He'll only be little once, and I'm trying to appreciate every minute that he wants me and needs me.

As for his eating habits, he still loves meat, avocado and fruit. Especially strawberries. Broccoli - not so much. And he really likes putting his feet on the table.

We eat eggs for breakfast most mornings, and when I give him sausage, he devours it. I've started giving him a little yogurt some mornings, and I have to spoon-feed that to him because if he gets the spoon, the yogurt goes flying everywhere.

We can't seem to stop him from throwing his food on the floor. And he loves to put his avocado-covered hands in my hair when I bend down to pick up the food on the floor. He thinks it's really funny.

 He's mastered the sippy cups and the straw cups and can drink pretty well from my cup if I hold it for him. We've started giving him whole milk some, but he doesn't like it nearly as much as my milk. He also really likes to drink water and the occasional sips of juice from my glass at breakfast. For lunch and dinner, he gets some variation of what we're eating when it's appropriate.

I can't say enough about Baby Led Weaning. He's been feeding himself since we started giving him food at six months. Though it can get messy, we just put small pieces of food down, and he eats all he wants. I love that we can mostly just let him do his thing at mealtime, and we can eat right beside of him without having to spoon feed him. (except for the yogurt. haha) And I think his fine motor skills are better for it.

playing with the coin-operated cars at the mall

 A couple of weeks ago, we took him to Lakes Park for the first time to play at the kiddie water parks. He was apprehensive at first, but quickly figured it out after observing the other kids for a bit.

After all he's done in the last couple of months, we still can help but wonder when he will clap and dance. He just refuses to do either one. Maybe he's just not that impressed….. He does love listening to his Veggie Tales CD though.