Life's a Beach

This post is mostly photos, but I couldn't let our family beach vacation go un-blogged. 

Husband works a lot. A lot, a lot. As in, seven days a week, early mornings, late nights. He works so that we can live in a nice house and have the things we need. I appreciate him so much and am so thankful for everything he does to provide for this family. But, we also miss him. So, the one week he takes off in the summer for our vacation is huge. We never get that much uninterrupted time with him. C was beside herself with all the quality Daddy time!

This year, we ventured to Navarre. My parents were able to join us for a few days and we spent the rest of the week as our family of three with some friends. C loved everything about the beach, but she also loved all the mirrors in the condo. She danced in front of it, watched herself eat snacks, and played dress up with bowls. Apparently, we need to install wall to wall mirrors in our house. 

Things were a little different from last year's trip with 6 month old C. Going to the beach with a baby is hard work. I spent the majority of last year's trip going back and forth to the room for bottles, meals, and naps. Going to the beach with a toddler is so much fun. It's busy, but it's fun.

There is nothing like watching C run and play in the sand. She would have stayed on the beach all day long if I'd let her. Last year, we spent a lot more time in the pool, C perfectly content floating in her flower float. This year, she was not a fan of floating. She's somewhere in between wanting independence and being able to actually be independent in the pool. She doesn't want to be held, but she doesn't want to be in a float. She seemed to like the freedom of the beach more. 

So, we spent our days digging and climbing in the sand, going for walks and collecting shells, and sitting on the hard sand as the tide washed over our toes. C was in paradise. She had both Husband and I with her all day, every day, and got some quality beach time in with her CiCi and Poppa. Life was good.

We're already looking forward to next year!

49 and Fluffy

Seven years ago today, our spastic little spaniel entered this world. He was the only male in the litter and was a chunk of floppy ears and loose wrinkly skin. When we took him home at 8 weeks old, he wore a t-shirt that said "One Cool Pup." He cried the whole way home and peed on Husband's chest that night in bed.

We should have known from that moment that owning this dog would be an investment - in both patience and money- as he would cost us carpet replacement in two apartments and one home, would eat through his kennel, choose my favorite shoes as a chew toy, and convince us we were the worst "parents" ever by failing Puppy Kindergarten. 

But still, we loved him. And seven years later, though he is still the most spastic and out of control Springer Spaniel I have ever seen, he is the sweetest companion to our daughter, a snuggly giant lap dog with endless kisses, a co-captain on the boat, and a welcome wagon every time we walk through the door.

Happy Birthday, Banks. You are certainly one of a kind.

And, if you're thinking there's no way I could attach that dog to the stroller without him pulling it over, well, you'd be right. Approximately 2 seconds after snapping this picture, I was lunging to catch a jogging stroller + baby. Don't worry. I'm quite fast these days.

Car Nap

I'm currently sitting in my driveway, killing time on Facebook while the rain pours down and my little one sleeps.

Why?

Because she decided that last week she would go on a sleep strike. This involved no naps, very late bedtimes, and frequently waking up screaming in the middle of the night.

It was a really long week. It may have given me gray hair.

So, yesterday, she took a nap for the first time in a week and slept all night long. It was blissful.

This morning, we went on an outing to eat lunch with Husband and ride the carousel at the mall (and the escalator over and over and over again). She fell asleep on the way home.

Damn.

Under the current sleeping circumstance, I will not wake this napping child. So, here I sit, in silence, watching my baby sleep (and hoping I have to sit here for at least 30 more minutes).

Remembering it All

It's been a couple of those months where the living of life gets in the way of writing about it. Mostly for good reasons like a wonderful trip to Denver with Husband and a summer full of play dates and trips to the lake with Little Bit; but, partially due to some not so good stuff like my grandfather being admitted into the ICU, having major surgery, and remaining in the hospital for another week only to go to a rehab facility before going back home.

Everything is relatively fine now. After surgery and a stint in the rehab facility, he is finally back at home, healing and getting stronger every day; but, there is nothing like a call that your grandfather is in ICU to make you step back and take a look at things. Sitting in their home, surrounded by the photos and toys and memories of my childhood, I was suddenly trying to remember it all - trying to remember the feeling of waking up to ham and biscuits and hot chocolate on a Saturday morning; or staying up late with my sister watching I Love Lucy recordings on VHS and eating Bon Bons (no, seriously. Bon Bons). I wanted to remember the simplicity of days spent doing cartwheels in the grass and pushing each other on the rope swing my grandfather built in their backyard. I wanted to feel the crisp mountain air of nights spent catching fireflies. I wanted to somehow etch everything into my mind with the permanence of my name burned into the swing's wood frame. I wanted to remember the pure joy of spending time at Nana and Big Daddy's house before the reality of adulthood and responsibility and mortality sunk in.

It reminds me of how permanent the smallest memories can be. My grandparents have taken countless trips with us. They have helped put my sister and I through private schools, purchased safe cars, and taken us on shopping sprees. But, even after a life full of being spoiled, my favorite memories are still the simple ones. They are full of love and sheer happiness. 

It's easy to try to be perfect. It's so easy to get caught up in the world's expectations and forget about your own. It's so easy to compare yourself to the seemingly perfect people on facebook and tv. But, those people aren't real. And the reality is that people get sick and bad things happen. The reality is that life is not perfect. There is never enough money or enough sleep or enough time. There is rarely enough patience. But, there is always enough love.

It doesn't matter what we buy Catherine over the years. It doesn't matter how fancy her school is or what trips we take her on or how fabulous her wardrobe is or what car she eventually drives. What matters is that she lives a life full of happiness. What matters is that she knows that no matter what, she is loved. I hope we can give her a life full of simple memories.

So, in the essence of remembering it all, a peak into the past couple months of our lives, Cliff's Notes style, so we can get back to the present:

• Husband took me to Denver for a long weekend. We ate delicious food and he surprised me with tickets to The Avett Brothers concert at Red Rocks. It was so freaking awesome, words are insufficient. It's nice to remember that we like spending time with each other. And sleeping through the night uninterrupted. We missed C tons, but she had so much fun with her CiCi and Poppa, I'm pretty sure she forgot we were gone.

• My sister turned 24. But, to me, she'll always be 7.

• Our newest nephew, Major Andrew, was born to Husband's brother and sister-in-law while we were in Denver! That is one handsome little man. :)

• We made a day trip to meet Major and spend time with Husband's side of the family. We squeezed a lot of togetherness into a few hours!

• Spent the weekend at the lake with my family and forced C to look patriotic and adorable for a mini photo shoot. (photos being held hostage by Husband's work computer)
• We had a slight lapse in sanity and filled a baby pool with 600 plastic balls in our living room. It is still there and she plays in it daily.

• C watched the Olympics in her custom made London bubble. My mom is awesome.

• C entertained Big Daddy in the hospital.

• We bought a membership at the McWane Science Center and have enjoyed every minute of it!

• We spent lazy weekends at the lake.

• I turned 28. My family gave me way too many presents and I spent the day celebrating with my favorite little lady followed by dinner and cupcakes at my sister and brother-in-law's place. Getting old isn't so bad...

That pretty much brings us up to speed. We just got back from nine glorious days at the beach. Stay tuned for adorable photos of a happy baby playing in the sand...

Work Related Injury

So, this afternoon, as I was putting C in her carseat to go home from our Barnes and Noble outing, it was raining. And because it was raining, I guess I was moving a bit faster than usual...and not paying attention... mostly because I was kinda distracted by this guy sitting on the porch drinking his coffee and reading the paper (not because he was attractive or anything - I just found it odd that he was sitting in the rain drinking coffee and reading the paper). Anyway, I was not paying attention at all, turned quickly to hop in the driver's seat, and BAM! I knocked myself out with my own door. Right above my left eye. It started to bleed.

If you have children, you know that any reaction you have, they have. If you cry, they cry. So, I started to sing a song to C because it was the only thing I could think of that would distract me from my throbbing and bleeding brow. I guess it worked because there was no crying (besides my silent crying inside my head) and she is now sound asleep at home, giving me ample time to obsess over my teeny tiny, throbbing boo boo.

P.S. I took a picture of it to share and then realized how pathetic it made me look because (1) I am not wearing makeup and really need to be and (2) it is the size of a pin head.

P.P.S. I'm a wimp.

P.P.P.S. It still hurts.

Informal Poll

Anyone else frequently finish off their toddler's leftovers and call it lunch?

Just checking...

Note: the coffee was NOT part of my toddler's lunch.
Just the applesauce. Sometimes, I feel I should clarify 

Dinner of Champions

Husband called while I was mid chop on a shallot to tell me he would be late tonight.

So, I put the partially prepared dinner for tonight in the fridge and C and I had hot dogs, grapes, and chocolate milk for dinner.

I'll take my Mother of the Year award now, please.