Family Beach Trip Part 2

The 2nd day at the beach was just as great!  Anderson slept like a champ and was in the best mood when he woke up.  After breakfast, we took a long walk on the beach and road.  While Anderson talked non-stop to himself, Mike and I dreamed out when we will be able to buy beach property.  I love dreaming with that man!

After a long morning nap, Anderson woke up to special visitors.  One of my best friends from high school, Tara, and her daughter came down to play for the day.  Anderson and Charlotte Hope began playing on the floor and I have to say...it was love at first sight!
We spent the rest of the day playing on the beach,eating lunch, great naps, girl time for me and Tara and playtime at the pool.  It was a very full day for both of the kids and I couldn't stop taking pictures.

It was so fun to be able to hang out with Tara and watch our babies play.  We always talked about having kids around the same time (5 year plan!!!) but I never really knew if that would happen.  Thankfully God knows I'm crazy pants and need lots of women around me that are in the same stage of life!

Saturday was spent about the same way...walk, house dreaming, beach, pool, naps and the park. 

We decided at the last minute to leave on Saturday night (instead of Sunday morning) so Anderson would sleep the whole way home.  Mike packed up the car while I got Anderson ready for bed.  We left the beach around 6pm and Anderson slept the entire 4 hours.  BLISS!

We got up Sunday morning and heard a powerful Mother's Day sermon and I was so thankful we decided to come home early.
Mike and Anderson did a great job showering me with love, food and gifts on Mother's Day.  I couldn't have asked for a better 1st Mother's Day.

(yes, I know I look tired in this pic)

We had a great vacation and I am even more excited for the annual Gibbs family beach trip!  Less than a month and I get to play with my sisters, niece and nephew on the beach.

1st Family Beach Trip

Hey, it's me, the worst blogger since becoming a mom. We are at the beach having a grand ol' time and I figured now was the perfect time to get a quick memory on the blog. I also just realized I never hit "publish" on Anderson's 10 month post- oops!

I started feeling bad on Monday and knew a cold or sinus infection was fast approaching. We prayed really hard and I took lots of meds so I would begin to feel better. Thursday rolled around and I was feeling about the same. We decided to head to the beach around lunch and hopefully the salt air would make me feel better. The trip down couldn't have gone better (hopefully I'm not jinxing the trip home). Anders played and talked for the 1st hour and a half. Then fussed off and on for about 30 minutes. He was so tired but didn't want to give up. Finally he passed out and slept for about 45 minutes. The rest of the trip, he played and watched his first episode of Caliou. I couldn't figure out what to download on the iPad and then thought I remembered Nate or Abby watching that show. It was 22 minutes of pure joy! It kept his attention and he was smiling and laughing the whole time.






When we got to the beach, mike unloaded while we played. Then it was time for the BEACH! The beach was across the street so we threw everything in the stroller and walked over.

We weren't sure what his reaction to the sand/ocean/breeze would be so I had the camera ready!
From the minute he touched the sand, he loved it. He crawled right to the ocean, played in the sand and could not eat enough sand. We let him sand in the ocean water but he started crying after a few minutes bc it was so cold. He was covered in sand and didn't seem to mind. I actually hate getting sandy so this will be interesting for me.
Disclaimer- he had tons of sunscreen on plus a shirt and hat most of the time...so quit your judging!










Nothing could be better than open-mouth, sand filled kisses from my little munch.


We let him crawl, walk and play on the beach before heading home to swing and go to bed.



It was a successful first day and I actually started feeling better on the beach!

One of my best friends, Tara, and her daughter, Charlotte, are coming today!! I am so excited for Anderson and Charlotte to swim (float) in the pool and play on the beach. More pictures to come...

Happy Friday!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

10 Months

Anderson,

You are 10 months old...how can it be?!?!  Some days, I am thankful the little baby days are over but other days I wish they were back.  The older you get, the more fun we have with you. 
Your personality is starting to shine through more and more every day.  We can see shades of mom and dad within your little self. 

On your 9 month birthday, you decided to take off with your push walker.  It was so fun to see and you haven't stopped since.  Every morning when you wake up, you look for your push walker and want to play with it before going to Miss Beth's.  It was cute the first couple of weeks, but now I'm ready for you to take steps on your own. 

You now talk all the time and we have no clue what you are saying.  We were eating lunch out the other day and 2 kids came up to talk to you.  You ran your mouth non-stop for a good 5 minutes.  You acted like these little 3 year olds knew exactly what you were saying.  It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen.  We can understand a few words you are saying: dada, dog, all done, bottle, hi and a few others we are trying to figure out.  As you can see, there's still no mama out of his mouth.  Maybe on mother's day you will surprise me.

You were sick for this first time this past month.  You had a really high fever (102-104) for 3 days.  You slept from 5:30pm-7:30pm those nights...you were so pitiful.  The last night, you woke up at 10:30pm screaming.  You were burning up, then you began to sweat and I knew your fever broke.  You were so upset and just wanted to snuggle.  Finally around 11:30pm you gave up and feel asleep in my arms.  I don't remember the last time that happened.

Firsts: 
-2 more teeth for a total of 8
-you went down the slide at the playground and now want to do it over and over again
-got new shoes this month.  You like to eat them, awesome, and tolerate wearing them
-You have started trying new foods and have gotten better at picking up your foods.
-At at Ihop for the first time and downed some pancakes
-discovered the washing machine and it is now your favorite toy
-swinging on the porch swing with nanny

10 Month Stats:

 Weight- I think around 20 lbs

Length-31 inches (we think)

Clothes-12 month

Eating-4 bottles a day and 3 meals

Naps-napping twice a day (usually 1-2.5 hours each)

Night time-6:30pm-6:30/7:00 am

Happy 9 Months!!

It has taken me 9 months, but I am actually ON TIME with your monthly post!  That basically means, it has taken me 9 months to get somewhat organized...pathetic.

Your 9 month check up is on Monday, so I will have to remember and update all your stats. I can't wait to see your measurements.  You've gotten heavier but I'm not if you have gotten taller.  We will see!

You are a very busy boy...not sure if it's "early onset" ADD, but we hope not.  You have become a speed crawler this past month.  If I blink, you are already in a different room.  TROUBLE!  Your favorite places to crawl are either to the staircases or bathrooms.  You learned to crawl up the stairs all by yourself (thanks to Miss Beth).  The front stairs are all hardwoods and you tend to slip a lot on those and it makes mommy a nervous wreck.  The back staircase has carpet and those are your favorite.  You will crawl about half way up, and turn around to make sure you have an audience.  
You LOVE being in the bathroom.  You like to stand up at the bathtub in the master bath and play with the faucets.  The master tub is a great baby playpen.  I can throw a few toys in the tub and take a nice long shower.  Don't worry, there's no water in your tub. 

You love your playroom!  You spend hours up there...crawling all around, playing with toys, pulling up on everything and rolling around giggling.   You now do the downward dog a lot and I think you are trying to stand up on your own.  Or will get on your knees and act like you might stand.  Just today, you decided you wanted to walk around the playroom with your push walker.  You have really only taken about 6 steps with push walker, but today you basically ran.  You circled the room so many times and were so proud of yourself.  Your dad and I could not believe our eyes!

You now have 6 teeth and a 7th that was just spotted this morning.  There are 4 on the bottom and 2 on the top.  Having your front teeth makes you look like a toddler and that's not okay with me.  Your new little chompers have started biting me (hopefully not on purpose) and it hurts.

You learned a new word this month...NO!  Yep little buddy, you now understand what that word means.  If we are up in the playroom, you will race to the top of the stairs and we will quickly say no.  You immediately stop, sit and stare at us.  It looks like you are processing whether you will obey or not.  Once in a while, you will begin to sob like we just beat you.  I'll give you a second, then ask if you are over it.  You stop crying and look at me...then start to smile and crawl somewhere else.  You are a drama king and it's hysterical (sometimes).   

We got to celebrate our first Easter with you.  You "loved" your Easter basket...or anything in it that you could immediately put in your mouth.  You attended your first friend birthday party.  Your buddy, Austin, turned 1 and had a fantastic party.  It was fun to see you play with other kids and you did a great job at the party.  JD introduced you to bubbles for the first time and it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.  Your dad and I could not stop laughing as you tried to figure out the bubble machine.  You kept crawling closer and closer while more and more bubbles hit you in the face.  We will need to invest in that amazing $10 bubble machine!

You got to hang out a lot with your buddies, Emerson and Mac this month.  I think you and Mac are really starting to like each other.  You both giggle together, you like to rub his head at Miss Beth's house and sometimes try to hold his hand.  It's fun to catch you staring at Emerson while she plays...I just wonder what you are thinking!

You continue to LOVE food and get excited at every meal.  You have slowly started picking up food but would prefer us to feed you with a spoon.  Hopefully you will enjoy finger foods more this month.  This morning you did great picking up a few pieces of dried fruit and yogurt bites.  You have no problem eating crackers or teething biscuits but we need to work on moving to finger foods. 

You learned to stand in your crib this past month.  You stand up every time we put you in...and then proceed to "eat" the crib.  Why did we not buy a metal one?  Love looking at all the teeth marks on your beautiful crib.  I see a lot of sanding and refinishing in your daddy's future.

O'Malley stayed with us for a week and you adore him.  He is so patient with you and for that, I am very thankful.  You poke, pull and try to crawl on him and he hasn't snapped at you yet.  You woke up this morning and immediately looked for O'Malley while you were eating.  Too bad he is back at nanny and poppy's house :(.

You began "talking" a lot more this past month.  You still say dada ALL.DAY.LONG!  But you are starting to say other things...it's mostly just babbling.  You are saying things that sound (to us) like, "hi", "dog" and "all done".  Still no mama, let's hope that comes before he goes to college.

You continue to love balls, anything that lights up, your lovies, stroller rides around the neighborhood, swinging, bath time, riding in the shopping cart and your activity table.
 

9 Month Stats:

 Weight-will find out Monday

Length-will find out Monday

Clothes-9month and 12 month

Eating-4 bottles a day and 3 meals

Naps-napping twice a day (usually 1-2.5 hours each)

Night time-6:30pm-7:00am.  We are trying to push your bedtime to 7pm.  Some nights you are happy to stay up 30 extra minutes, other nights you are ready for bed!

Anderson, we love watching you learn and explore this crazy world.  You find complete joy in the smallest things and it is a great reminder for us.   We are so thankful that God chose us to be your parents and can't wait to watch you grow up!  We pray daily that we're not screwing you up too much :)