Vacation? Not So Much!

Let me just start off by saying that family vacation definitely takes on new meaning with a baby! There is no sleeping in every morning, or staying out on the beach under the umbrella all day. We still had a great time, just different! Ever since I was a little girl, maybe 10 or 11 years old, my family has taken our summer vacation to Ormond Beach, FL. Ormond is just north of Daytona, but far enough away to not be crazy crowded. It is a very family oriented place. After feeling out some different places, we settled on one particular condo complex and started staying there at the same time every year. Turns out, there were several families with kids our age that stayed there at the same time. So we kind of "grew up" together at the beach. I used to get so excited every year to see my beach friends. Well, this year we went in August, instead of July and stayed at a different place, because we needed a 3 bedroom and there isn't one at our usual place. It was so not crowded, which was nice because we never had to wait at a restuarant! I had not been to Ormond since the summer before dental school, so it had been 7 years. I love it there and so does my family. Cameron got pretty sick of us always talking about Ormond, so I think he's kind of over it and could not care less if he ever goes back. Oh, well! His loss!

I love how wide the beach is at high tide. Lots of room for Reese to crawl around!

It rained a lot in the afternoon and it was really neat to see a storm come up on the water. There were always a few shrimping boats out there that just stayed and rode out the storms.

One afternoon after the storm, there was a gorgeous full arch rainbow over the water.

If you look very closely you can see it was a double raindbow! It was so pretty since it was still so dark over the water.

The condo was very nice! It was 3 BR, 3 BA and had an extra little room that was a study, which worked great for Reese's pack n' play. Reese really liked exploring and could usually be found in the corner of the kitchen pulling bags and boxes of ziplocs off the shelf.

Reese did a lot better with the beach this time. He loved crawling along the shoreline and splashing in the tide pools...as long as he was away from the waves. Still a little unsure about the waves and noise! But he sure did enjoy trying to eat the shells and seaweed.

Feeling the wet sand.

Hey, this is actually fun!!

Off I go!

Our good family friend, Ashlee (at http://www.acrossthebranch.com/) and her hubby, Brad, and little girl, Blair were down there at the same time for a little while. Blair was so sweet and loved sharing her toys with Reese. Reese, on the other hand, was not so willing to share! He could use some lessons from Blair!

One of Reese's favorite games was to climb on the foot of my chaise lounge and then climb off it. One time he tried to do that with noone sitting in the chair and ended up face-planting in the sand. He was so pitiful, but it was just too funny to not take a picture!

Swimming like a big boy!

Playing with Aunt Emmie.

It was definitely different, but we still had a good time. Now, if only I got a vacation to recover from my vacation!

Time to Wake Up!

Lately Reese has been napping really well and I am so thankful! He's consistently sleeping 1.5hrs twice a day, give or take a few minutes. However, when he's ready to get up, he's ready to get up!! He has gotten to where he yells "Mama!!" when he's ready to get out of his crib. Whether he does this on purpose, only he knows. I, of course, think he means it. Here's what we see when we open the door:

He throws his pacis on the floor all in the same spot and then stands at that end of the crib waiting for us to come get him. It's really actually kind of funny!

How can you resist this face!?

10 Months...A Week Late

Dear Reese,

Sorry, your Mommy is not the most prompt when it comes to your monthly updates! Maybe it's because you are growing up too fast and I'm just trying to prolong it. You have learned so much this month, it's hard to keep up! You move so fast sometimes I feel like I'm chasing you. If there was an equivalent to running with crawling, that's what you do! Most of the time you crawl with your left knee down and stepping out with your right foot. You love to follow us around the house and also like being "chased". You will often crawl away really fast and then sit up, turn around, and look to make sure you are being followed, giggling the whole time. You are doing a few new things now. You are using Mama and Dada more, and actually meaning it. You are saying one more "word" now, too! Everytime we show you your rubber ducky, you get a huge smile on your face and start saying "du, du, du, du". You are also kinda starting to learn what the word no means, although most times you choose to ignore it! Reese, you have learned how to turn the pages in your books. But you have also learned to tear the pages, so we only have out the cardboard books now...but you love them!! You are getting better with the sippy cup, but still really just like to chew on it. You are standing a lot by yourself and love to let go of whatever you are holding onto. You can stand without holding on to anything for close to a minute. You are also very deliberate about sitting down. You rarely just plop down anymore. You like to walk behind your Learning Farm and are getting pretty good about controlling the speed...especially on the hardwood.

Eating is getting a little more difficult. We have tried some more meats and a few stage 3 foods. You are not crazy about the texture of the stage 3 foods. If you don't like something, you will spit it out! We won't give up, though Your current favorites are macaroni and cheese and Hawaiian fruit smoothie (which is pineapples and bananas, mostly) and if we'd let you have those every meal, you'd be a happy little baby! We have lowered the amount of your bottles by 1 oz each, so now you are getting four 6 oz bottles a day. You seem to be a happy, content little boy.

Mommy and Daddy love you very much and love watching you grow and change everyday (even though we can't stop it!).

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

As Promised...The Freckle!

It's not very big, but to two parents with lots of freckles, it's a pretty big thing!! It's on his right arm, BTW....

Reese's First Dental Convention

Last weekend we ventured to the Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island for the Annual Meeting of the Georgia Dental Association. I feel certain this will be the first of many for Reese. I grew up going to these as long as I can remember. It was always so much fun because I got to see the same people every year, so we kinda grew up together. Now a few of us are dentists and still going and now are bringing our kids. We got to see some friends we haven't seen in a while, so that was nice. I was surprised with how many people that we went to school with (but not necessarily in our class) have kids close to Reese's age. In a few years they are all going to have so much fun together!! The idea of the convention is to provide CE courses, vendor exhibits, and functions for socializing. We are also well informed, through various meetings, of the goings on of the GDA and what they are doing for practice of dentistry.

Reese did a little better this time with the trip. He slept better in the car, but still whined when he was awake. He's just so busy and gets soooo bored. He still did not care for the sand or the ocean. But that's okay...we stayed in the shade most of the time and got in the pool several times. He did great keeping on schedule most of the time. Most days he would nap on the beach or by the pool for at least one nap. Someone gave us the genius idea of putting his pack n' play in the bathroom so we could shut the door and be able to have the lights on and watch TV. It worked beautifully!! He did wake up and cry a couple of nights, but overall he did well. Maybe when we go to the beach for a week next week he'll be a pro! And he got his first freckle! The kid didn't stand a chance to not be freckled...picture of that to come!




What is this place Daddy?!

Mmm...cardboard just tastes better at the Ritz!

Just chillin' with Mommy one evening

I know this is dark, but I loooove the expression on Reese's face!