Postcards from the Beach ~ Ella

Hi Friends!

I just got back from a 9-day vacation at the beach. It was fun to get away and see new people and places.  My favorite part was swimming!  My mom stuck me in a yellow floaty and I just kicked back and relaxed.  It was dreamy.  Unfortunately, my mouth didn't take a vacation from teething.  On one particularly hard day, my parents took me on a walk (I LOVE walks!) and that helped calm me down.  However, it was like a million degrees really hot outside so, they just brought me inside in my stroller. I thought that was very smart!

  Aunt Kari got in on the action and gave me some pushes.

They even served me my tasty meal in the stroller.

Snuggles helped too.

I love this guy!

Ahhh, this brings back great memories!

I did my best to enjoy the beach but it was just so...sandy!

Thank goodness my grandparents had this shady hut for me to hang out in.

My Mom likes to take pictures of me so, I did some of my best poses.

 I thought this one was particularly classy!

I sure do love my Mama though!

Life is good at the beach! I would definitely go again.

Love,

Ella - age 8 months

Postcards from the Beach ~ Jack

Greetings from the beech beach!

Wow! I love this place.  I get to swim every day, eat snacks, play with my cousins and grandparents and visit new places.  I went to an aquarium for the first time and it was so much fun!

My cousin Audree and I saw alligators!

I even sat on one...okay, it wasn't real but it was still cool!

I got to help save a sea turtle that was very sick.

I released him back into the sea and I felt like a real doctor in my lab coat.

I'm glad I brought my Legos with me to play with during our down times.

I brought my Bobcat too.
It did a really good job digging at the beach. 

My Dad took me on bike rides and that was really fun!

I swam and swam!  

My parents thought I was a little leech but I did get braver and even learned how to paddle and kick my legs!

The beach was lots of fun too!

My Dad took me out into the ocean and we jumped big waves.

I loved it!

I really liked seeing all the lighthouses too.

Now that is what I call a vacation! I hope we go to the beach again someday.

Love,

Jack- age 2 & 3/4

OBX 2012

Ahhh, the beach!  We got to relax, enjoy some extended family time and get kissed by the sun.  Even the drive was amazing (which is saying a LOT).  I thought the kids adapted quite well to the change. I think the trick is to stick to their normal schedule with a few changes here and there.  We couldn't have asked for better weather either...sunny, warm and it only rained in the afternoon on our last day there (right, Dad? hehe!).

 The name of our beach house

One morning, my sister took some pictures of our family while my Mom did her best to keep a toddler and baby's attention on the camera (not easy).  I think we got some cute shots! We may use some for our Christmas card if I don't get some Fall pictures taken. Thanks Kari and Mom!

Our Family

Our sweet kiddos

Just to keep it real!

Outer Banks 2012

Happy 10 years to us! ♥

I will be back with some more posts on our beach trip...

8 Months!

Another month has passed already! Ella turned 8 months this week.  She now has 2 bottom teeth and is sitting up quite well. She also is sleeping through the night...finally!  I thought Jack was bad but Ella is definitely a mama's girl and she just loved visiting with me in the night...

Jack and I have started to teach her sign language. I was quite impressed when I asked Jack what "more" was and he remembered! He hasn't done that one since he was very little but he still does "please" a lot while saying the word.

Ella is eating baby food twice a day and drinking water from a glass.  She still doesn't seem to like our dinner ground up but hopefully her tastes will change soon.  She twirls her hands around just like Jack used to do (and me as a baby) when she sees the food coming!

She thought I put the sign there for her to play with.

I did my best to keep it just out of her reach!

She is crafty though so, I needed another plan.

A little scotch tape did the trick!

I love her sweet profile. ♥

My sister, Megan made this cute hair pretty when Ella was born. 

It took 8 months but it finally fits!  Thanks Meg!

Happy 8 Months Ella!

Fair Fun

On Thursday, we had a family day at the fair!

 Thanks to the library reading program and Jack's love of books we all got in for free!  We checked out the petting zoo again this year, the motorcyclists in a cage and of course the tractors.  My favorite part was the fresh lemonade and limeade, delicious! On our way out we even saw a rare albino alligator. Jack thought he should pet it. I decided we have had enough excitement with finger injuries and we could look from a distance. ;-)

 Checking out the pot bellied pig. 

 Jack is showing me the baby llama and her mama.

Ella did her best to enjoy the fair.  

As long as we kept on moving she was distracted from her teething.

Jack waving from his seat on the firetruck.

He was a little starstruck to be so close to one!

It is hard to see but there are 2 motorcycles in there.

What cracks me up is the person with their hands over their ears...it was really loud!

I think sitting on the tractor was the highlight of the fair for Jack. ♥

An Unexpected Visit

Last week, we made a trip to NY to attend Seth's Papa's funeral. Seth loved his Papa so much and has lots of great memories with him. We were very glad that we saw him this spring and he was able to visit with both of the kids. He will definitely be missed but we have great joy that we will see him again one day.

The actual driving part was a nightmare. Is it just me or is 81 getting worse? Maybe it is partly because we have kids now and it never fails, once one of them falls asleep we come to a complete standstill and it wakes them up. Jack has never slept good in the car but Ella has always done great, until this trip. She is getting 2 bottom teeth and she was a wee bit cranky. Thank goodness for our new van which made it bearable at least. On the other hand, since babies need to stop to nurse that means we got to do some shopping and I was able to find brand new summer clothes for the kids for $1.99! Oh, and I also got to read a book to Seth and then read a library book to myself when it was quiet soooo, I guess it wasn't a complete nightmare! ;-)

During his 15 minute catnap

Speaking of Jack, he had a pretty bad accident towards the end of the week. He got his right index finger crushed and lacerated in the stroller's hinge. It definitely needed emergency care. He had it glued shut or so we thought. Yesterday, we noticed that the glue had come off and that his cut was not shut at all. A trip to the pediatrician confirmed that since it was such a jagged, swollen cut glue could never keep it together. He says it will heal fine but it will just take a while and we need to be extra careful that it doesn't become infected. We did learn that Jack has a very high pain tolerance and earned the patient of the year from the emergency doctor. I also found out that our stroller has a recall on that part with over 100 reported cases of injuries including some amputations. My replacement part should be on it's way to us soon and we are praising God that it wasn't any worse than it was.

Our zoo plans got put on hold because his accident happened that morning. We did however, take a trip to the mall earlier in the week specifically so, Jack could go on his first carousel ride. I think he liked it!

Jack got a manly horse!

We also hung out on my parent's deck every day.

We drank iced coffee, chatted and read...it was lovely!

Ella relieved some teeth pressure or...

lounged in the hammock!

Jack got to go in the sprinkler with his cousins and to the pool with his Gammy.

A very generous family gave us a bike trailer that they were not using anymore.

We cleaned it up before we came home and now it is ready for our upcoming beach trip!

This Moment ~ Peaceful