Apparently Red and Pink Week

This summer with Joshua, we are focusing on colors because he has a strong interest in them. We are also doing a little bit with counting and numbers, because he has shown an interest in that too. This week is red week. Today our project was to develop fine motor skills by using tongs to move ping pong balls from the tub with red water to the red bowl. Except the water is definitely magenta despite the package assuring me it would be red. Depending on how concentrated it was, it varied between a dark purplish pink to what you see here. So not red. You expect better color identification from Crayola. Luckily Joshua has sisters so he really is pretty good on pink and purple so I don't think he found it confusing. He really struggles with red versus orange so at least it wasn't orange. He enjoyed this activity though he was more interested in dumping the water everywhere after awhile. I let him do some pouring, but when he started being a little too exuberant for inside the house, I made the decision to move on to a different activity.

My Almost-Army-Crawler

Hannah is definitely my most content child and the least motivated to move. She just sits around (literally) being super thrilled with her life. Which is a great quality to have, really. Both the other two started army crawling well before this age and were accomplished crawlers by now. Clara was pulling up by now and Joshua wasn't far behind. But Hannah just doesn't have a lot of motivation to change things up. If I were that happy, I guess I wouldn't either. However, she has recently been thinking there might be something more to life and shown some interest in moving. She can roll around to reach things. And lately she has been in this position quite a lot, which I think is called a "mini push-up" and is definitely a first step to mobility.

Today for the first time, I saw her scooch just a little and reach for something she was curious about. I don't consider this a full "army crawl" in terms of recording it for the baby book because she only moved one half her body and I think she needs to move both halves to count it, but she seems to be on the cusp of figuring it out. I am really excited to see her become more of a mover and watch her discover her world, though I am also glad she is staying my sweet cuddly baby for just a little while longer.

18 Months!

Clara turned 18 months old this past Friday. I planned to take her 18-month picture in Florida and packed the sticker, but unfortunately it disappeared sometime on the trip and we haven't seen it since. We also didn't end up having time to do the picture, so we delayed it until today. Clara is very active right now and very independent so it is pretty hard to get her to pose for pictures. Joshua was like that at 15 months which is why his picture looked like this. So these aren't the best posed pictures, but I think they show where she is in her development. She has gotten so verbal and has so many words. She will string together two words to make a phrase, but I am not sure if she is really doing that or just copying what she hears Joshua do. She wants to do everything Joshua does and will get irate if you don't give her the exact same food as him, even if she hates it. She has recently learned to say, "mine" and, being fairly possessive, has put this new word to good use. You can see her explaining that her toy is "mine" in the picture on the right. She has developed a little sense of humor and she cracks her self up. She loves her siblings. Hannah she just adores and tries to take care of her and pick her up (luckily Hannah is only a pound or two lighter than Clara so this isn't actually a danger due to it being impossible). Joshua she loves and they have so much fun together and she wants to be just like him.

18-Month Check

Today Clara and I went to the pediatrician for her 18-Month check. She is doing great and has gained two pounds since her last visit in March, which we are always happy to see. She is meeting all her milestones and, not surprisingly to those who talk to her, is very strong verbally. Of course she is a super tiny girl, and her weight is very low even for someone of such a short height. So we have been doing some labs and tests to make sure there are no underlying issues. So far everything has come back completely normal, but we had a few more blood tests to do and so I took advantage of Peg watching the other kids and took Clara to Children's Mercy after our pediatrician appointment to get the blood drawn. I am really glad to live in a place that has such a great children's hospital in town. Every experience we have had with them has been very professional and the lab techs are very skilled. Everything went smoothly and quickly at the hospital. We did have to wait around between tests so we went to the snack bar and got some juice. Clara had a bit of an issue drinking out of a tall and narrow bottle so I started pouring it in the lid for her to drink after she dumped a fair amount of juice on her shirt trying it the other way. She seemed satisfied with the solution and seemed to have a really fun time in the snack bar so it ended up being almost a mini-date. And because they are very efficient, I already heard back from them that the results of the blood tests came back normal.

A Bittersweet Celebration

Today we went to Mom and Ron's house for a graduation party for Joanna and Kirk. They've had a big month with Joanna's birthday, their wedding, their graduations, and their upcoming move to Houston. The party was well-planned and was fun. We had delicious Jack Stack BBQ, shrimp cocktail, tasty cupcakes, and more. Kirk's parents were able to make it, which was really nice. It was great to celebrate their accomplishment of graduation, but it was also a little sad knowing it was the last time to see them before they move and that we're only going to see them a few times a year going forward.  She's such a great aunt to our kids, and I can tell Kirk is going to be a great uncle based on the the interactions I've already seen him have with the kids.  We wish they were going to be closer, but we also understand the reality of the situation and that they'll be back some day.  I'm super proud of Joanna for everything she's accomplished, but at the same time it's also a little sad to think that those accomplishments mean my littlest baby sister is now in no way a kid anymore and is an official married, graduated adult.  But I am comforted to know that she's with a great guy whom she loves and that will treat her well.  So we say good-bye for now, but we know we'll see them in a month or two when Julie and Andrew's baby arrives.

Terrence and the Evil Pinwheel

When we were in Florida, Joshua saw a pinwheel in the front of Meghan's parents's house.  Seeing how much he loved it, they gave it to us.  I stuck it in the landscaping area in the back yard today while I grilled, as it was a windy day.  Joshua really liked it, but most of the rest of the creatures were indifferent.  Except Terrence.  He apparently believed it was possessed by some sort of evil spirit.  Every time it moved, which was often since it was windy, he ran down by it and angrily barked at it.  The pinwheel was undeterred by this and kept happily spinning, making Terrence even madder.  He would sometimes try to get close, but would then get scared and would back off and bark more.  Here he is trying to show the pinwheel who's boss (for the record, it seems like the pinwheel might be the boss here), or exorcise it of its demons, or maybe fend it off as a potential intruder.  After all, you can never trust those shifty pinwheels.

The Long Drive Home

Today was the day we had to leave to drive home. Our condo wasn't perfect, but there were a lot of great things about it. I took a few last pictures of it, including the pool which hadn't opened yet for the day.

Meghan and I were up by 5:30, and by 8:00 we had the kids up and ready to go.  We took one last look at our condo as we drove away.

We took a different route home, since we wanted to be able to stop for the night in St. Louis if needed.  Retracing our route to Florida would have put us in the middle or the Ozarks at night, which didn't seem desirable, so we headed north.  We stopped for lunch in Alabama at Whataburger, and we made a mid-afternoon stop at a truck stop in Tennessee.  The huge parking lot was empty, so we let the kids run around for a bit to stretch their legs.  We later stopped for dinner at Panera.  The somewhat frustrating part was that every stop seemed to take nearly a full hour.  Whether it was a stop for food or just for gas, snacks, and diaper changes, it took way longer than we wanted, but that's part of traveling with kids.


We went this route to allow for us to stop in St. Louis for the night, but as we approached it, we felt awake enough to keep on driving, at least with the help of our friends Sugar-Free Red Bull and Diet Mountain Dew.    By the time we got home, it was nearly 4am, which made it a 20-hour trip, including stops.  The kids did so great on the trip, but since it was the middle of the night by the time we got home, they were super tired (well, I guess we all were).  It was a great vacation, and all in all it turned out to be better than we expected.  We look forward to more family vacations in the future.

Last Day

Today is the last day of our vacation that doesn't involve driving. We spent the early part of the day at my parents' house, so we could see them one last time before we left.

Both kids loved rocking in this rocker, which my parents have had my entire life. Clara especially took ownership of this chair (she recently heard Joshua tell her something was "mine" and really latched onto that word. I think she was happy there was a word to express something she so deeply believes in)

My dad grilled us a yummy lunch while we had fun in the backyard. Joshua unfortunately decimated some of my parents tomato crop, but otherwise it went well.

The kids ate picnic-style and Joshua enjoyed his corn.

After lunch, we took a walk around their neighborhood to see the bay and give the kids an energy-outlet. Clara really enjoyed walking by herself with my mom.

After our walk, we had a little time for Grandma and Grandpa to be silly with the kids.

But then it was time to say goodbye. Besides saying bye to my parents, Joshua had to say farewell to his new very good friends: Katie and Charlie. Clara warmed up to the dogs as well (they are a little bigger than the dogs she is used to), but Joshua absolutely loved them.

After we got home, Jason, Joshua, and Clara went swimming in the pool one more time before Jason and I put the kids to bed and started packing. It has been such a fun time here and so great to see my family. I feel like I have always been sad to leave every vacation place, no matter how long we have there and this is no exception. Tomorrow we start our drive home. We plan to drive to St. Louis tomorrow and then drive home Sunday morning.

As Easy as Riding a Bike

The communities along 30-A (Rosemary Beach, Seacrest Beach, Alys Beach, Seaside, Watercolor, etc.) are famous for the abundance of bicycles.  This is because there is a bike trail that is near the road that goes for miles and miles.  There are a lot of places to rent bikes, so at any time of day you'll see many people, often entire families, riding bikes.  I decided I wanted to do this with Joshua and Clara using one of the bike trailers.  So today I rented a bike from the shop with the brightly-colored bikes as well as a trailer.  It only holds two kids, and Hannah wouldn't have enjoyed it much anyway, so she stayed at home.  We rode quite a ways up 30-A and back.  The kids seemed to like it well enough.  They were screened in which protected them from the sun but also gave them a breeze, though by the end of our 12-mile ride we were all a little hot and tired, so we stopped in Rosemary Beach at the Sugar Shak for some ice cream.  We then went across the street to the Summer Kitchen again (which made Clara's third time there this trip) for lunch.  We then rode back home for naptime.  I went for a run this morning (unfortunately the only one I was able to get in during the trip), so I was pretty physically tired at this point.  Meghan and I took advantage of our respite and sat and relaxed on our patio for a couple hours.  We later all went to the pool again, which is now our go-to activity whenever we have time.  We hadn't planned the bike activity ahead of time, so that was a pleasant surprise addition to the trip and something we'll definitely do again if we go back, but probably by then Hannah will want to go too, so Meghan would have to end her two-decade biking drought.  But they say you never forget, right?

Just The Two of Us

The main point of this vacation was to go somewhere as a family.  We chose everything based on that idea: the location, the specific condo, and the activities.  So far it's been really great in that regard.  But Meghan and I were still hoping to get a little time to ourselves, and thankfully Meghan's mom generously offered to drive over to our condo (they live an hour away) and stay with the kids for the afternoon and evening today so we could do have a date day.  As we mentioned, our time at the beach on Monday wasn't all that great, so we took advantage of our opportunity today to go to the beach on our own terms.  We relaxed in beach chairs, lounged around reading books and sipping drinks, and spent some time in the ocean.  It was great and was everything we love about the beach.  They call this area the Emerald Coast due to the stunning water color and the white-sand beaches, so it made for a perfect beach day.

In the evening we went to a nice restaurant, Onano, in Rosemary Beach, which is a neighboring community to Seacrest Beach, where we are staying.  Our food was great.  The only downside was our outside table was right next to the curb, where a giant GMC Sierra parked right after we were seated.  For dessert we went up the street to La Crema, which specializes in tapas and chocolate. We had fondue, one white chocolate and one peanut butter chocolate.  Again, it was delicious, and again we ate outside enjoying the fantastic weather.  It was a really fun day, and it was wonderful to have a break from parenting for a bit.

Date Day and Fun in the Pool

Today I had a date day with Clara in the morning. Right now she really likes walking by herself without being in a stroller and without holding hands. There aren't very many places I can do that with her, but we went exploring in nearby Rosemary Beach and there were several places that were away from the road that I could let her roam. This included a butterfly garden. We didn't actually see any butterflies, but we still enjoyed the flowers.

Later on, we got a snack at the Summer Kitchen and went grocery shopping, which Clara loves. Here she is in her car seat, holding our receipt.

After naps, we went to the pool. This went much better than the beach. Here are the kids in their swim gear.

The kids took a little while to warm up to swimming, but once they did, they seemed to really enjoy it. Well, Hannah didn't so much enjoy it as find it super relaxing. It was hard for her to stay awake in her floatie. We had a really fun day today and I was glad the kids enjoyed the pool.

A Bummer of a Beach Trip

Today we went to the beach. I had high hopes because Jason and I love the beach, but the kids weren't really fans. Joshua was okay with it, but too scared of the waves. Clara hated every part of it from the sand to the water. Hannah did her part by staying in the shelter and napping a bit, but overall it wasn't that fun. Maybe next year when the kids are older, they will see how awesome it is. I think we will try the pool tomorrow.

After nap,we walked to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Seacrest Beach. It was a very nice night and we were having a great meal, but the girls kind of ran out of steam since it was a late dinner and our food took forever on top of that. I ended up getting my food boxed up and took it home so I could put them to bed (part of the beauty of a walkable community). Jason and Joshua got to have a fun little mini-date as they finished their dinner and also got ice cream for dessert.

Except for the kids not liking the beach, which I found a little disappointing, it was a great day and we had a lot of fun.