VA Beach Vacay (part 2)

Monday morning was a repeat of Sunday morning. We met Annie and Michaela at the beach and spent the morning splashing in the waves, playing in the sand and collecting shells. I can't wait until Evan's more interested in shell collecting. It's one of my favorite things to do at the beach. I was glad to learn that Michaela was a fan... even if she did take some of the good shells I found for her and toss them right back into the waves. The jerk.

40. Collect Seashells

The beach wasn't in VA Beach proper, but in Hampton. And it wasn't on the ocean, but on Chesapeake Bay. As you can see from the pictures though, you would never know it. It was actually very nice because there were barely any waves and minimal wind. Plus, it was a beach park with a playground, pavilions and picnic tables, bathrooms/showers and plenty of free parking. Win, win, win. Annie's lucky to live so close to such a nice place.

Mr. Cool

Seeing them next to each other like this makes it not so
unbelievable that they weigh the same.
Skinny Girl + Solid Boy Forever

They look like they're about to solve a mystery. 

My favorite girls <3
Annie-Kaya

Salt Water + Sand + Baby Toes 

24. Splash in the Waves

We picnic lunched at the park and then went our separate ways for nap time.

After nap, we headed to Old Town Hampton. We visited Carousel Park, which is... wait for it... a carousel. We got there just 5 minutes before closing so we rushed to get on and were the only ones there. Evan loved riding the "horses". Maybe later in the summer he can get adventurous and get on one that goes up and down.

Weee! 

Could Annie and I be any cheesier?
"Uh, duh...hi?" 

25. Ride a carousel

After the carousel, we went to a local ice cream parlor. It's what I wanted for my birthday since we didn't do any sweets at Annie's cookout. I'm pretty sure this was Evan's first taste of ice cream. He was quite excited.

I think the picture speaks for itself. He liked the ice cream.

How do you know you're on vacation? You have ice cream before dinner. Boom.

After ice cream we went to a park called Air Power Park. It was sort of like an airplane graveyard, even though, I don't think that was the intent. There were probably 5-6 airplanes that hadn't had much upkeep and a small building (museum?) in the middle. More importantly, there was a field of clover and a playground.

I can't even begin to caption this. It's my fave.
Kids being kids. 

The kid has no fear when it comes to slides. 

Funny side note about that field of clover. It was filled with goose poop. I was walking with Michaela and told her to watch out for the turds. Later, she told Annie to watch out for the turds. Annie said, "OMG! Where did she learn 'turd'?" Haha...oops.

It was an action packed day. We had dinner and hauled everyone off to go to bed.

On Tuesday, Annie had to go back to work so we ventured to Virginia Beach. This is where our vacation took a turn for the worst. First, there was the packing. Our hotel was closer to Annie's house, which put us 30-45 minutes away from VA Beach oceanfront. Since we couldn't just run back to the hotel, we had to make sure to remember everything. And then there was the drive. And then there was the parking... hard to find, expensive street parking. And then there was the carrying of all the stuff while keeping Evan from running out into traffic. And then there was the hot sand on our feet. And then there was the tent (half tent, actually) building. And then there was the wind. Oh gawd, the wind. And then there was the kid who just wanted to climb on me... while both of our skin was covered in sweaty, sunblock-y sand. There's no feeling quite like moist sandy skin rubbing on moist sandy skin. I'd rather be dead. Apparently it didn't bother Evan though because he just kept climbing and wallering all over me. And it was hot. So, so hot. And did I mention the sand? And then there was lunch that was sandwich leftovers from the day before that no one really wanted to eat (but the seagulls enjoyed). And then there was the nap that Evan would. not. take. because of the wind and the heat and the sand. And then there was disassembling the tent and carrying all of our stuff across the hot, hot sand with overly tired and fit-throwing 2 year old. And that was the end of our beach time.

"This day is going to suck." 

"Hey, what are those birds doing?" 

"Throw us some more sandwich!" 

"Yep, this sucks." 

We're not really beach people. Everyone was much happier after a nap.

We played at the hotel pool that afternoon. Evan really enjoyed the pool. It made me excited to get our backyard pool set up for him and to take him to the pool/splash park up the street this summer.

Time to swim! 

We had our one and only seafood meal on Wednesday night. It was a total hole in the wall, but well reviewed on the interwebs. (What in the world did people do before the internet? Seriously.) Evan ate like a monster-- his fish and fries, some of my crab cake, some hush puppy, and a couple of David's scallops. The kid is a serious seafood lover.

Just hanging.

It was a very calm and relaxing afternoon/evening after our hot and sandy morning.

To be continued...

VA Beach Vacay (part 1)

Since we've been back from our VA Beach vacation for over a week, I figured it's about time I finally write a post about it. I'm so on top of things, eh?

If you want to just scroll through the pictures, here's the gist: fun vacation; Evan was amazingly good the entire time.

And here's the first part of the long story...

Since Hawaii was off the table for this year, we chose to visit Annie in Virginia Beach this summer. Virginia Beach, Maui Beaches... practically the same thing. Not.

For the drive, we planned for the worst. I mean, with eleven hours in the car with a toddler, how could we not? For the drive down, we had all of his favorite snacks, new toys and new books ready to entertain him plus all of his comforts of home-- his blanket, his sleep sheep (white noise machine), and several old standby stuffed animals. The drive goes through a lot of rural Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia so I mapped out locations about every 1-2 hours that we could stop for food, gas and/or parks.

Evan was perfect. He chatted and watched traffic, napped, chatted and snacked, looked at his books and played peek-a-boo with the passenger. We only stopped three times. Once for a leisurely lunch, once when he tricked us with his new favorite phrase, "diaper change", and once to stretch our legs. The leg stretching stop was in Charlottesville, VA at the grounds of Monticello.

Snoozer

Country Roads

Monticello Stroll

It was late when we got to our hotel but Evan had been cramped up in the car all day and, of course, Annie and Michaela were excited to come for a visit. The kids took no time at all to warm up to each other.

Checking out the hotel amenities

Sharing! 

Hugs <3

Enjoying the 7th floor view

I love how he looks at her like, "Okay, Boss. What now?" 

42. Visit Loved Ones

Side story: There was a carnival in the convention center parking lot across the street from the hotel. That first night, before I went to bed, I noticed a ton of police and ambulances. It was chaos and I wondered if something had happened with one of the rides. The next day, there was a huge sign: "Carnival Canceled." We looked it up on the local news. There was a shooting. Five shot, one dead. I'm so glad we chose such a safe hotel. 

The first full day of our vacation was also my birthday. My wonderful guys got me a spa gift certificate and a homemade gift certificate for one night in a hotel alone. That means no baby crying, no husband snoring, no dog licking her butt, no cat climbing on my legs. It sounds so glorious. I can't wait to take advantage of it. (Luckily, I have some travel coming up so I'll save it for a while so I can spread them out.) 

After breakfast, we headed to the beach with Annie and Michaela, aka "Annie-Kaya". Evan was interested in the sand but wasn't as crazy for it as I would've guessed. We spent a perfect morning playing in the sand and standing in the waves. He wasn't to excited about the cold water or the way the sand washes away under your feet when the water goes out. 

43. Wiggle Our Toes in the Sand

Evan's first walk in the sand

Love these two

Working hard on sand castling 

Beach Baby

I believe this is how I would like to spend every
birthday from now on: my toes in the sand, the cool
breeze in my hair and my two favorites digging at
my feet

We all got lunch together (free Firehouse sub for my birthday, woot!) and then parted ways to get the kids napping. After nap, we headed to Annie's house for a cookout. The kids had a great time playing while Annie grilled us some goodies. Michaela got me a gigantic balloon for my birthday. Such a sweet kid. This is how life should be-- going to each others' houses for dinner, the kids playing in the backyard while the adults chat. I wish we could live closer to each other.

Happy Birthday to me!

Needless to say, Evan slept like a rock that night.

To be continued...

99 Days of Summer

...Vacation post coming soon...

I've seen this thing around the interwebs. Mostly, it's stay-at-home moms, but I see no reason why I can't do it myself. What they're doing is making a summer bucket list of great things to do with their kids. Since Evan's young and not in school, he doesn't have a "summer vacation" but I consider summer to be Memorial Day through Labor Day.

So, we'll be doing a 99 Days of Summer Bucket List and I'll put it in the sidebar to keep myself accountable. 

In no particular order...

1. Get soggy in the backyard pool
2. Throw rocks into a creek/river
3. Go for a bike ride
4. Eat birthday cake
5. Catch bugs
6. Go out for ice cream
7. Touch a truck
8. Take a nature hike, collecting sticks, rocks, etc.
9. Play catch
10. Play in the rain
11. Roast marshmallows
12. Visit the library
13. Eat dinner outside
14. Swing by the river at Riverscape
15. Invite friends over to play
16. Take a picnic to a park
17. Blow bubbles
18. Visit the zoo
19. Go berry picking
20. Visit three new parks
21. Eat cherry tomatoes straight from the garden
22. Practice bike riding
23. Make/mail postcards
24. Splash in the waves
25. Ride a carousel
26. Try two new fruits and two new veggies
27. Finger paint on canvas outside
28. Visit the pool/splash park
29. Clear off the patio and go crazy with sidewalk chalk
30. Go to a festival
31. Visit the Butterfly House
32. Eat from a food truck/ice cream truck
33. Have a water gun fight
34. Kick a ball around
35. Get face to face with a giraffe at Idle Hour Ranch
36. Splash at a splash pad
37. Build a fort
38. Slide the long slide at Shoup Park 
39. Fly a kite
40. Collect seashells
41. Go to the races
42. Visit loved ones
43. Wiggle our toes in the sand
44. Roll down a hill
45. Watch a parade
46. Take a weekend vacation to the lakes
47. Pet goats at Young's Dairy 
48. Lay on a blanket and look at clouds
49. Visit Boonshoft Museum
50. Take family pictures

Big Boy

He's growing up too fast.

The routine goes something like this...

Me: "It's dinnertime. You need to wash your hands. Get your stool."

He carries his stool from the living room to the kitchen sink. We wash and dry hands.

Me: "Ok, put your stool back and get in your chair for dinner."

He carries his stool back into the living room, drops it off and sprints to his high chair to eat dinner.

He doesn't always follow directions that well, but when it comes to dinner, he's a pretty good listener.

Match & Cheese

Me (at Target): "Evan, do you want mac & cheese for lunch?"

Evan (all the way home, at home while cooking, while sitting in his chair waiting on lunch): "Match & cheese...match & cheese...match & cheese!!!"

I scoop the mac & cheese on to his plate.

Evan: "Hiiiiiiii, cheese!!!!"

And he would've eaten about four times the amount I gave him if I had allowed it.

21st Month and More

It's been too long. Did I miss month 21? Well, here's a little of what's been up...

Evan is talking so much. He's starting to put two or three words together, which is really cool for us. He can pretty much repeat anything, which is something that we need to be constantly aware of. He's transitioned from "Mama" to "Mommy" and from "Dada" to "Daya". Occasionally he'll say "Daddy" but he really prefers "Daya". Weird. He calls himself Eba.

He's recently started saying, "I love you, Mommy" after I say "I love you, Evan." Melt my heart!

When asked, "Who's at home?" when we're driving home, he answers Lars and Laika (and Daddy if it's just the two of us.) When asked, "Who's at daycare?" or "Who are you going to play with today?", he starts naming his classmates. When we pull out of the driveway toward the west, he starts saying "Meijer". Apparently we go there too much. He knows the outside of Meijer (obviously) and Target and likes to announce where we are.

Every morning, he runs out into the driveway to look for the moon. When it rains, he sings "Rain, rain..." but that's all he knows of the song. He's fascinated with umbrellas, but also a little bit scared of them. He laughs out loud when the wind blows in his face.

He points out airplanes when they fly overhead. He likes to stand at the door and watch for motos (motorcycles) and buses. He watches traffic while we drive and says "vrrrroooom!" and "beep beep".

He knows his shapes and colors, counts to 10 and says his alphabet, but usually stopping around i and saying random letters. He can identify some letters.

He can throw mega fits, but he's mostly happy and funny. When being held, he'll say "flip!" to get me to flip him onto the ground. He'll also say "baby" because he wants me to rock and sing to him and then toss him to the floor when I get to "Down will come Evan, cradle and all."

He loves puzzles and still enjoys books. Although, he's not as book-crazy as he used to be. We have a Scholastic DVD that's almost like books on tape but with the pictures, that he loves. He loves his animal and dinosaur magnets that he sticks to the doors and fridge.

Lately, we've been all about playing outside. Even when it's chilly, we just bundle up. We spend most of most evenings outside. We've had play dates with several friends.

One, with twins that are just a few months younger than Evan. It turns out that two year olds don't really play together. So, when my friends (the twins' parents) and I managed to get out kids to play on the same thing at the same time, we got to chat. Otherwise, we were all just going in different directions. Specifically, I spent most of my time around the puddle.

Scooping up the water and drinking it. Gross kid.

We also played with some older friends. They are 5 and 6 years old. Evan loved, loved, loved following them around. And then they started jumping off of things. Evan was ready to go for it. He repeated their names for days after they visited.

(picture by our friend, Leah)

When we're not playing at the park, we like to chillax in the backyard. Evan had a great time picking the dandelions when they were yellow, and now likes to pick the "blows".

First, he looks at them...

Then he smells them...

Then he tastes them...

Then he throws them. 

Watch out! Here comes a highly professional business kid.

When we're not playing outside, Evan likes playing with the latch board I made him. I'm pretty proud of it.

Or, just lounging around. 

Or reading with Dad.

Sports Car Magazine, of course. 

We've started giving Evan jobs. It's never to early to let kids know that they need to contribute to the household, right? Every day when we come home, his job is to let Laika out of her jail. In the mornings, his job is to take Laika her treat. When we're outside in the evenings, he helps me water the garden. We each have our own watering can. He has to pick up his toys before bath each night. (Not usually all of them, but enough for him to know that it needs to be done.) And, most recently, this...

Reminder

He may be turning into a big boy, but pictures like this remind me that he's still my chubby baby.