Vacation, Part 2

And now, the part without the kids (our first overnight trip away from the kids since before Andrew was born-- maybe even longer!):

We saw 3 lighthouses in the course of 24 hours. (And we took silly pictures of each one.) Not many people were around at any of them, but we managed to find people to take our picture at at least the first two. First is Hatteras.

Then later we took a 40-minute free ferry to Ocracoke Island. It took about 15 minutes to drive to the part of the island with civilization, and then 1 minute later, we were at the other end of the island-- it's that small! We didn't find much to do besides the lighthouse, so we got back on the ferry within an hour.

Dinner that night was an adventure! Nothing is really open during the off-season on Hatteras, but we managed to find a dive not far from our beach house. It was actually a bar, and there was maybe 4 other people there the whole time. We paid way too much for fish sandwiches. The atmosphere was crummy. But-- we didn't have to cook or clean, or feed anyone else! And we have a funny story to tell.

The next day on our way home we headed to Bodie Island Lighthouse. Apparently they are doing some construction on it right now, but that didn't stop us from getting out in the freezing cold wind to take some pictures!

We had such a fun, relaxing, and renewing time! We are so thankful to Mom & Dad for watching the kids for us (and they did perfectly fine-- maybe just a little whiny for them), and to Sharon for loaning us the beach house for the weekend.

Vacation, Part 1

The part with the kids:

The day after we arrived in the OBX for our long weekend (Brett took off a week between finishing at our old church & starting at Newton Grove), we headed to a beach house in Hatteras, about 1 1/2 hours from my parents' house. It belongs to a member of their church, who rents it out during the summer season. Since it's February, we got to stay for free! And it was an awesome house. Mom, Dad, and the kids stayed Sunday night, then headed out Monday, leaving Brett and I more than 24 hours to enjoy the place on our own.

Sunday was a beautiful day and Leah couldn't WAIT to get on the beach. No sooner had we gotten out of the car than she was dying to run to the beach. Since it is, of course, February, we were the only crazy people braving Hatteras and there was miles and miles of empty beach. It was so pretty!! (The top pic of Leah shows our house in the background.)

[This little man, who hasn't slept through the night in months, slept from about 7 until 4 am. In a bed that wasn't even his own!]

We enjoyed hanging around the house some that evening, eating dinner, enjoying the hot tub, and playing games. The next morning Mom & Dad packed up with Leah & Andrew and Brett & I headed out to Hatteras Lighthouse to do some sightseeing.

Andrew @ 7 months

Andrew's growing up so fast!! He has definately been doing some teething or something lately, because he's grumpy often and not sleeping well. He will usually go to bed around 7:30 or so but then wake up once or twice within the next couple hours. He's easily consoled with a minute or two of rocking and he'll go back to sleep until 3:30 or 4, when he wakes up wanting to eat. (And it's difficult to let this kid cry it out, because when he cries, he CRIES!) Then he's up again for the day by 6am. He's been napping pretty well in the mornings, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, but then in the afternoon, he'll sleep maybe 30-45 minutes then wake up, want to "snack" then play and then maybe will eventually sleep another 30 minutes, or fight it even though he's tired. It's a little nerve wracking, but hoping it will pass.

"Napping is overrated."

He's up to 3 meals a day of solid foods, although with the teething he hasn't always been so hungry. He's tried almost all the fruits & vegetables and we've even tried some chicken (pureed, of course). Ideally I'd like him to have his "solids" just before nursing, but his schedule doesn't always work out that way (especially with his lack of sleeping) so often it feels like he's eating all day long. He still nurses about every 3 hours-- lately more like 2 1/2.

Sic 'em, Bears! (Showing off his Baylor jammies from Aunt Karen)

He's still not sitting up well on his own, but can do it if he has a toy or something to occupy him. (He did ride sitting in the seat of the grocery cart the other day-- he looked so big!) For the sake of time the other day, I tried bathing him at the same time as Leah. I had to hold him the whole time, so it was a little tricky, but still fun! We'll probably wait a little while to do it again.

It doesn't take much to make him laugh, as seen in this video, where I kept putting the paci on my head and letting it "accidentally" fall off...

Andrew is already very energetic, always has to have something in his hands, and-- like his sister-- he's extroverted. Both my kids are energized by being around other people. They act completely different, and then when the other people are gone, they're wound up. It's an interesting personality trait to see develop, especially since I, for one, am introverted. Andrew is very determined about a lot of things-- when he sees something he wants, he tries really hard to get it. And if I take a toy out of his reach, he will stare at it, almost willing it to come to him!

Valentines Day

Valentines Day was unseasonably warm, so we enjoyed some time outside. It was Andrew's first time really "playing" outside without being in a car seat or stroller. He wouldn't smile for any of his pictures, but probably just because he was too busy taking it all in. He does seem to love being in the fresh air.

When Daddy got home from work, both kids got a box of chocolates (Mommy & Daddy enjoyed Andrew's, but Leah is definately my girl and has already eaten almost the whole box!) and opened their cards from both sets of grandparents. Leah seemed to understand at least that it was a holiday, and loved coloring a card for her Daddy-- she was so excited to give it to him.

Brett & I didn't really do much to celebrate, but we'll have some time together on our upcoming trip to the OBX!

A House Filled With Laughter

Let it never be said that we don't have any fun around here!