Sandestin 2011

FINALLY! A VACATION!!!

Last Thursday, we packed up the car, the kid, the grandmother and as much stuff as we could possibly cram into our SUV and headed down to Sandestin, FL. I was in desperate need of a relaxing vacation... what I got was a FUN vacation with little relaxation. Oh well, as long as my baby had a blast, that was all that mattered! And, boy did he have a blast! He loved everything about the beach... the sand, the ocean, the beach house, the pool, the golf cart. He LOVED it!

On the way down, I thought we were in for a long trip when Clay announced that he wanted to go home about half-way through. That's not good when you have a 6 - hour (or more) trip. But he was entertained by movies, his cars, and Nan's hat...

The house we stayed at was gorgeous! It was the perfect size for the big ole' group we had. There was 10 of us - our family of 4 (including Mark's mom) and then our good friends Jeremy and Emily, their 3 kids and Jeremy's mom. I had found it on VRBO.com and the lady who rented it to us couldn't have been nicer! Good thing... since my husband put a hole in the wall while trying to vaccuum. (Not his fault... the vaccuum wasn't put together properly and he was left holding just the handle as it came tumbling down the stairs). Luckily it was just the vaccuum that fell and not a person! The house was on the bayside and was very close to Baytowne Wharf. We had a 6-person golf cart at our disposal and made good use of it! It was a brand new house and I think we were the first ones to rent it!

The first night after everyone got in we ventured to Baytowne Wharf to eat at ACME Oyster House. It was hot... and kids were hungry and tired. The food was excellent and thanks to the strong drinks we ate until we were stuffed! Then it was off to bed for the kiddos and off to the grocery store for Emily and I.

The next day we planned to spend at the beach! We took the kids in the morning (well, it was actually lunch time by the time we got all packed up and ready to go) and it was crowded! Chairs and people everywhere! We found a small spot to park all of our gear and unpacked. Clay loved the sand and then wanted to venture out into the water. Daddy went with him and he was a little afraid of it at first. After he got used to it... he LOVED it! We had to hold his hand or hold him the first day... but the second time we went, he was all about being in the ocean by himself! After that first day of being out in the scorching hot sun, we figured out the best time to go to the beach with kids is after 4:00. Here are some of the many beach pics I got of everyone...

We also spent a lot of time at the pool. Clay loved the pool as well. He would wear his life vest (or boat jacket as he likes to call it) and swim all over the pool. He even got brave and started jumping off the side to me.

Saturday, we had "girl's day" and went out to eat at the Back Porch and then shopping at the outlets in Destin. The food at the Back Porch was FABULOUS! I had the seafood nachos and I highly recommend them! Here's a pic of me, Morgan and Emily in the big Back Porch chair...
Then that night we took everyone to Pompano Joe's which was right on the beach and kid-friendly. They had a Jimmy Buffet look-a-like singing fun beach songs which would entertain the kids (slightly). The wait was long and Clay got 4 splinters in his hand... so it was a little chaotic. Once we sat down, all was fine!
After Pompano Joe's, we got the kids down to sleep and the "big kids" went to Baytowne Wharf to enjoy a few drinks and a moment of peace while listening to a good band. (I would like to note, the we didn't leave the sleeping kids... the grandmothers stayed with them! Ha!) And we couldn't leave without getting pictures in the giant Baytowne Wharf chair...

Baytowne Wharf was a perfect place to stay for our families! There was so much to do... they had little playgrounds and nature trails. Clay loved playing on the Fort playground... and it was in the shade, so mommy loved it too!
And this is what happens when I give my husband the camera and ask him to take pictures of Clay and I...
I get lots of pictures of the random bird walking on the beach! See if ever give him my camera again! :o)

While the trip was exhausting and I need a vacation from my vacation, I still wouldn't trade all the memories we made for anything! I know Clay had a blast (and we did too) and he will always remember his first beach trip!!

June Birthday - 33 Months Old!

I think this past week was the busiest week of our lives! In addition to craziness at work, we also had VBS at church Sunday through Wednesday night! It's been a fun one, though!

Wow! Clay has done so much this month and is such a big boy now! The biggest accomplishment this past month is... he pee-peed on the potty!!!! We're really just in the "discovery" phase of potty training. I was putting him on the potty (the big one - no baby potty for us!) and he would just sit there and hang out. Then one day he hadn't wet his diaper for a while so I knew he must need to go. He hopped up on the potty... and went!! He's been at least 3 times since then! We got him a Cars 2 car for going the first time and now he's doing really good for McQueen stickers. We haven't gotten the "big boy underpants" yet, but that will come soon!

He's also really into music and loves to make up his own songs. I was rocking him a little before his nap and he started making up songs about Daddy, Mommy and Monte. Then he was singing some crazy song and said it was his "Funny Song". He's also started associating songs he hears with different things. We were in the car and the song Dynamite by Taio Cruz came on and he said "That's Nana and G's song!"... have no clue why, unless he remembers hearing it in Nana's car when we went to see them last. Every "fun" party song that comes on, he always says "This is mommy's song". The other day we were listening to my iPod and a Muse song came on and he called it the "Wookie" song (he likes some Star Wars). He also LOVES to sing to mommy's songs. His favorite one right now is "Party Rock" by LMFAO. And hearing him sing "Blow" by K$sha is hysterical! I think he's going to love his music like his mommy!

He is also blossoming into quite the performer. When we were at VBS this past week, he did not miss an opportunity to hop up on the stage and do a little dance or song in front of everyone! Definitely not an introvert! I can't wait to see him in future church plays!

I think he is the most obsessive child in the world! When he likes something... he REALLY likes it! We went from Elmo to Toy Story and now we are on to Cars. He is very excited about the new Cars movie coming out in a few weeks. It's going to be his first movie in the theater! We've been getting him the new cars so he knows who they are. I can't even take him to the grocery store anymore since everything has Cars 2 plastered all over it! The other day we came back with Cars juice boxes, Cars mac and cheese, Cars fruit snacks, and Cars Cheez-its. We've also got Cars graham crackers and Cars yogurt. Good job, Disney! You're getting all of my money!

So now I will leave y'all with a few pics from VBS. I've been so busy lately that I haven't even pulled my camera out! Thank goodness for camera phones!

At VBS, I helped with the preschool age kids. We identified everyone by their colored bandanas. Clay insisted on wearing his like a thug. Nice!
See all the other litte kids had theirs on so nicely...

We quickly figured out that in order to make it to each station with all 11 preschoolers, we needed to keep them together some how. Clay's school uses a rope that they hold onto, so we implemented this the 2nd night and it worked out quite well!

So I guess it's now time to start planning the big 3 year birthday party! I've kind of been putting it off because I'm making sure he is absolutely positive he wants a McQueen party. I think it's pretty evident with his obsession that we are safe doing a Cars themed party! Let the planning begin!

Our Memorial Day Weekend

I need a vacation from our Memorial Day Weekend extravaganza! It was packed full - lots of food, boat rides, sun, On-Your-Butt Punch, and sleeping late! Thank goodness for my iPhone, or I would have absolutely no pictures from this weekend and the only ones I got were on the boat!

Saturday night we had our 3rd Annual Memorial Day Shrimp Boil. It was a blast! It was kid-friendly so Clay had all of his buddies over to play! He was WORN out! There was WAY too much food to eat and I was stuffed! I made a new appetizer which I'll share in another post (Buffalo Chicken Pizza Bites- YUM) and it was literally gone in about 10 minutes. People were asking where it was because they never got a chance to have any. Guess that recipe is going to be a staple at my parties from now on!

The next day we went out on the lake with some good friends of ours. They have 2 boys - Clay calls them the Star Wars boys because they introduced him to Star Wars last Labor Day on the boat.

Clay enjoyed sitting on the front of the boat throwing the rope in - he was pretending to fish. Hey... whatever keeps him occupied!
And that's a fancy, new life jacket he's wearing! We've been meaning to get him one of these because it's so much more comfortable and it keeps him cooler than a big life jacket. He seemed to like it...

He was obsessed with his buddy's shark swim cap.

He wore sunglasses long enough for me to get this picture! I keep trying to get him to wear a hat or sunglasses, but he's not a big fan of either!

With all the mess of the party, at least we had a little help. Clay did pull out his broom and sweep a little bit.

Then on Memorial Day, we had our good friends, Emily and Jeremy and their boys over for Shrimp Boil part 2 and a boat ride.

The Captain...

Emily, Wyatt and Jeremy

And it was this little guy's first trip on the boat! Is he not the cutest thing in his little bathing suit and hat?!?!

So now I need a couple of days off from our Memorial Day Weekend vacation! I'm burnt, sore, bruised and tired! It was rough! :o) Hope everyone had a great weekend as well!

First Boat Ride of the Summer!

I LOVE riding on the boat!

I wished we did it more often! We took the boat out for the first time this past weekend and went on a quick little ride.

Clay is doing so much better on the boat this year. Last year he was all over the place and I was certain he was going to fall overboard. He was just content to look at the water.

And eating Toy Story Fruit Snacks out of his sand pail...

And relaxing while drinking some juice!
I have a feeling we're going to be spending a lot of time on the water this summer!

32 Months Old - Or Way Too Close to 3

My sweet Clay... you are so close to 3 it's starting to make me very sad! I look at pictures of you now and the "Baby" is completely gone! You have one speed - light speed! You do not stop and definitely keep Daddy and I very busy! You are definitely "all-boy"! Your new favorite thing to do outside is dig up rocks. We go out to the field behind our house and you dig up the biggest rocks you can find and save them in your wagon to play with later.

Someone's got some major bed-head here!

You say the funniest things!

The Friday night before Easter we went to the local wing joint to eat dinner. You are typically a very good dinner companion, but his night your were AWFUL! When we were driving home, we were explaining to you that you made Jesus very sad with how bad you acted and you needed to tell Jesus you were sorry. A few minutes passed and we heard your cute, little voice say "I'm sorry Jesus. I'll be good so I'll get a prize." Not exactly what we had in mind, but it was hilarious!

Another time I got a call from your daycare saying you had a strange rash on your back. I came and picked you up and took you to your doctor to see if it was anything to worry about. While we were in the waiting room, you told me that you had the "Chicken Pops". The teachers at daycare had mentioned it so you decided that was what you had and made sure everyone we ran into knew it. It, of course, was not the "chicken pops".

Another cute thing happened the day of the tornados... we were driving home from picking you up from daycare and had the radio on. They were telling everyone in Marshall County to take cover. You piped up from the backseat and said "I'm a Marshall!".

Your 32nd month birthday happened to be on Mother's Day this year. Just spending time with you on Mother's Day was all I needed! We even managed to take some cute pictures (obviously, Mark and I took turns taking the pics since there is not a family pic).

This picture makes me sad because you look so grown up!

A couple of fun pics!

Pictures with your daddy.

My absolute, FAVORITE one from the photo session! So sweet!

I've started planning the big 3 year birthday bash. I originally thought we were going to do a Toy Story party... but it's looking like it might be a Cars party. With the new Cars movie coming out next month, I'm sure you are going to be completely obsessed! I'll ask you what kind of birthday party you want and you tell me you do not want a party... Hmmmm... if I really thought that was true, it would make my life a lot easier! Nah... I LOVE party planning!

Easter

So I was going to fake all 3 of you who read my blog out by back-dating my posts so it didn't look like I was as lazy about updating my blog as I have been. Actually, between the storm knocking our power out for 4 days and piles and piles of work, the last thing I want to do at night is get on my computer and blog. But, I must or I will forget everything that's gone on in our lives because I have the worst memory!

So back to the point of this post...Easter... which was more than 2 weeks ago! My parents came over from Atlanta and Mark's mom, sister and our 2 nieces came over as well. I took the easy way out and sent my hubby out to pick up some BBQ and all the fixins'. I didn't want to spend the day in the kitchen when I could be visiting with family. I don't get to see my parents all that often, so it was nice to spend some time with them (Ha! Little did they know that in a matter of a couple of days after Easter we would be moving in with them for a little while!).

My nieces hid Easter Eggs for Clay to search out in the backyard. He's mastered his Easter Egg Hunting skills this year with participating in at least 3 Easter Egg Hunts. He's a pro at it now!

Another thing I was lazy about on Easter was taking pictures so I apologize that these are not the best in the world.

Here's my mom and dad and Mark hanging out watching Clay hunt for eggs.

Clay worked up an appetite hunting for eggs... and this big plate of cookies and the BEST chocolate covered pretzels IN THE WORLD were not helping! Oooh... very tempting...

And he goes in for the kill!

As I noted in another post, we let Clay pick out his Easter Basket this year and he opted for the Elmo basket. I'm glad he did because it makes a nice, warm hat that we can use for next winter...

And I completely forgot to mention that Clay did manage to be good enough for the Easter Bunny to visit our house. The Easter Bunny was very creative. He brought Clay a tent and some "play" camping gear to play with. He also brought him some little cars from the Cars movie (new obsession alert!!!) and some Thomas the Trains in Easter Eggs. So he made out pretty good! Happy Late Easter!