Finally---The Last of the Beach

C, M & C--Glad we got to hang out with you guys for so long--hopefully you'll be living in NC soon!

Thanks for having us, Mom & Dad!


My dad surfs. Pretty cool.

Matt is a Tech alum. This was Colin's doing, of course.

III

(Unsuccessful) attempts at a family photo. I deem this an impossibility.

Part II

Thomas seemed to enjoy himself all right, though he wasn't a big fan yet of the sand and water. He did however find great pleasure in beating up his younger (by 2 months) cousin, Carson. We'll have to work on that.

The Beach--Part I

We spent last week in Corolla with my parents, my brother (who my son now refers to as "Uncle Jesus" for some reason), my sister, her husband & their 5 month old son. It was always loud, often crazy, from time to time quite stinky (3 little boys in diapers--what can you expect...not to mention my parents' dog that enjoyed consuming the contents of dirty diapers), and of course a lot of fun. Due to Colin's schedule and the huge pain it is to travel with a baby & a toddler, we don't leave town much. But we'd been looking forward to getting away for a long time, and the trip did not disappoint :) I made a concerted effort to actually take pictures this time around, and I ended up with well over 100 somehow. So here you go...

Let's start with Will. He LOVED it all. Spending time with all this family he doesn't see much, dumping pool water on his head over and over, getting knocked around by giant waves (he's no weenie), covering himself with sand, go-carting with Granddad (though I believe he was slightly terrified by my dad's competitive streak against the preteens also on that track), peeing off the top deck of the house (look out below...), spending much time with his best bud (Daddy), and running after the ice cream truck with his special "Will's ice cream money cup" (my mom bought a label maker...) And we loved that he loved it. Another thing we adored--the car DVD player that entertained him for the seven hour drive each way.

I'll talk about the rest of us later. Here's our big guy living it up on the Outer Banks.

Sanity preserved

Today has been much more pleasant.

A morning at the children's museum (because what else is there to do in this unbearable heat), decent naps for both boys (leaving me time to iron without fear of scalding curious children), and just a few hours until Colin and I go out for dinner (a work-related thing for my hubby, but still) and leave the munchkins with a trusted babysitter.

Here's the haircut after I tweaked it a bit. Keep in mind I don't admit to be a talented hairdresser. At least we won't have to traumatize the child again anytime soon...it's shorter than it's ever been...



And can't forget this one.

One of those mornings

Don't you love it when you have to use every bit of strength, both arms, and both legs to hold down a screaming, flailing two year old for a haircut? While everyone else in the place glares and either wonders why I'm torturing my child or why he won't "behave" for a quick clip. And then the stylist can't quite finish, so he ends up with a buzz on top and longer sides and back. A mullet, more or less. As the baby wails in his carseat on the ground, his easygoing nature now terrified by his brother's apparent agony. The same baby that had thrown up his entire breakfast all over me and the floor minutes before.

And then we have to pick up some groceries. Fun.

And then we get home, get fed, and get ready for naps.

But after I get the baby into his crib, the toddler wanders in and tells me "mommy I poo-poo." Which is fairly obvious, considering he had one hand down his diaper and the other smearing contents of said dirty diaper all over his torso and face. I don't even want to know where else that hand wandered for those minutes I was out of the room.

And it's almost 100 degrees inside, so we're stuck inside for the afternoon. And Colin is working late all week. We just might be watching a movie...or three(?)...

But at least right now it's quiet. I need some ice cream and chocolate, big time.
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Updated 30 minutes later: It seems to be one of those afternoons too. Will decided he wasn't going to nap, so after shrieking in his crib for 45 minutes, he's up. And so, of course, is his poor brother, who can't sleep through all that nonsense. And who just got knocked over by his big bro, who moved his shrieking to time-out for awhile...a long while...

Early, early, EARLY bedtimes tonight.

Buddies

And yes, this is Will's first deposit on the potty...Maybe it's a tad gross to post this (don't look too closely), but this is a big deal for us. I have little hope that it'll happen again anytime soon, but I knew this needed to be documented. He was fascinated by his accomplishment, as you can see.