Having Fun at the Beach

This past week, we loaded up the new car for a trip to Destin, Florida for a beach vacation with Jon's brother Dan and his wife Heather and Kenna and Jon's cousin Jeremy and wife Lindsay and daughter Izzy.

We drove halfway on Friday and loved the new dvd player in the car! JD actually wore the headphones so we could still listen to music on the radio while he enjoyed watching his favorite movies. The headphones also acted as a bit of a noise barrier so he took some good naps along the way!

On Saturday, it was rainy and chilly and we were all a little worried that it was going to be bad weather all week. But by Sunday afternoon, the weather was great and stayed pretty all week!

Our condo was right on the beach and had access to a pool, which is where we spent a majority of our time during the week. JD really got into jumping in the big pool and wanted to try swimming every time we got in the water. He loved splashing around in the kiddo pool and playing with the water toys.

The beaches have soft, white sand and the water is green and clear. JD was a little worried about the sand being taken away by the waves, but he got over it! All of the kids loved playing in the sand.

We took the kids on a dolphin watching cruise one day. I think JD liked being out on the water on a boat. He even got to drive it for a little bit!



Our last couple of days, we spent lots of time on the beach! The kids (we) couldn't get enough!

On the last night, we ate at a local seafood restaurant on the beach and got some good pictures of the sunset and our little family. It was such a fun week and went by so fast!

We drove straight through on Saturday and I think all of the week's activities caught up to JD! Thank goodness for a comfy car to sleep in and watch movies! We can't wait to do it again!

Fun with the Fish

This past Saturday was a very rainy day around here, so we decided to take JD down to the aquarium where he could have fun running around and looking at all the fish!

We took the public transport train down there, which for JD is half of the fun! He loves to look out the window and hear the train say "Bing Bong" when the doors open and close.

Once we got down there, it was a couple of blocks of walking in the rain to the aquarium and we discovered that it was not a unique idea. I think most of Dallas decided to come to the aquarium that day too!

JD really enjoyed seeing the turtles and penguins and all of the wildlife that the aquarium had on display. He was mesmerized by the fish tanks and loved to see the big sea turtles and stingrays swimming by him.

He also thought the shark tank was pretty impressive. It was a little disconcerting to be walking underneath them!

We were a little disappointed that there weren't any "Nemo" clown fish on display, but I think JD still really enjoyed the overall experience.

After a yummy lunch at Landry's Seafood, we took the train ride back home and I'm pretty sure JD enjoyed it just as much as on the way down!

JD's Playhouse

For JD's 2nd birthday, we got him a new backyard playset with a playhouse, slide and swingset. Since he had definitely outgrown his other one awhile ago, we passed it along to his cousin Miss Kenna to enjoy.

Jon and his brothers Daniel and Josh came over to help put it all together, which was a major undertaking with lots of different pieces of wood and screws.

But they got it all together and it was worth the effort! JD loves his new playset!! He calls it JD's house and wants to play out there all the time!

JD has figured out how to climb up the slide already...

He also likes sending his cars down the slide and then coming down behind them!

Early Season Splash Time

Today, we had a Baby Boot Camp class at a local park near where we live. It happens to also be a park that has a great splash park with a huge jungle gym. We have come to play on the jungle gym in the past few months, but it has been a year since we went to the splash park part.

Little Sidenote: Here is a pic from last year (right around May!) with his buddies Margaret and Cole when we went with Baby Boot Camp for a playdate. I can't believe how much they have all changed!!

After a great workout, the mommies took the kiddos over to play. JD wasn't too sure about the water splashing around, so he went to the area that he knows and loves so well first. We played on the slides for a bit.

Finally, I convinced him that the splash park was like a shower (which he loves) and he got right into the action!

He loved the "Nemo" fish that squirted water too.

I had to drag him, kicking and screaming, when it was time to leave because he loved it so very much! We will have to go back again soon!

Lazy Sunday

A couple of weeks ago, we actually managed to get ready for church, not only on time, but early! This has pretty much never happened since JD was born.

So we hung out for a bit and watched some Sunday morning home improvement shows.

Here are my handsome boys, chillin' and watching some tv together.

Any resemblance???

I love my boys!

JD + New Car = Sick as a Pig?

I've been dealing with JD nap issues pretty much every day. He hasn't been sleeping well or at all during his naps. Most of you expert mommies will tell me this means he is ready to give up naps!

I'm not ready to believe this because JD (I) needs his naps still. Seriously though, when he skips his nap, he is miserable and exhausted all afternoon until bedtime. But we have had quite the battle at naptime this week!

Then on Wednesday night, Jon did some research and surprised me with a visit to a car dealership to look at a new car. After I got pregnant with JD, I inherited Jon's Yukon to drive, since he has a city vehicle to drive. I never loved to drive the Yukon which always felt like a big truck. And it definitely didn't have very many family-friendly features (since we bought it long before we even thought of babies).

So after a 3 1/2 hour haggling, negotiating process (by my husband) and a 3 1/2 hour babysitting fest for me at the car dealership, we drove away in a new Toyota Sequoia! I love how kid-friendly it is with so many fun features - third row auto fold down seating, pull up screens for all of the windows, bench seating with a middle section that pulls WAY up (great for passing stuff back to kids), a mirror above the rear view mirror to see the backseat, etc, etc.

JD has warmed up to the Sequoia and calls it the "new car" everytime he gets in. He also tells us it is "red, not black." (Our Yukon was black and the Sequoia is burgandy)

But the downside is that between the lack of naps and JD's late bedtime on Wednesday (and quite possibly all of the nasty dirty toys at the dealership that he played with for hours), he now has a cough, runny nose and a slight fever. Hooray!

And for anyone who has even glanced at the news, you can't escape the swine flu paranoia overload. I'm not usually given to paranoia, so I'm going with my old standby - JD has a cold.

I'll let you know if I start hearing JD oink in his bed or something.