Top Ten from Beach Trip 2010

I've done it! I went through all 297 images, edited them, saved my favorite 60 or so, and then narrowed them down even further for this blog post. Here they are, my list of the Top Ten Beach Moments to share with you....


#1 Liam's very first ever feel of the ocean. It's not his first trip to the beach...but, it was the first time that he got down in the sand and water. He loved it the first time. Enjoyed the entire first day, really. But, as the days went on, he grew more and more tired of the gritty sand all over his little body, the hot sun, and the splashy-water. By the end of the trip, his best beach time was during his early morning walks with Aunt Dona.

#2 Watching Owen fall in love with the ocean. His relationship with the water was the exact opposite of his little brother's. Owen hated it at first. In fact, it took until day four before Owen happily set foot in the water. From then on, he just got braver and braver and had more and more fun. How could we leave after just one week when little man only got one good beach day (the last two were rainy)? We couldn't! So, my awesome family and very nice husband, let Owen, Liam, and me extend our vacation by another week. We moved into my family's house, said bye-bye to Daddy, and stayed on for seven more days of fun in the sun. Are we spoiled or what?

#3 Pa teaching Owen to fish. Little man had a fish on his hook when he got done reeling. Never mind that Pa had caught it before and thrown it back in still hooked.

#4 Daddy Q and Owen smashing eggs on the hot sand! This was all fun and games, until Daddy Q landed one right on Owen's forehead ;-)

#5 Awesome Afternoon Naps. Most of the trip, the boys took really good, simultaneous afternoon naps. Sa-weet!
#6 Owen taking over the camera one afternoon was a lot of fun. He was really interested in learning to work it. After showing him what to do, and getting his fingers set just right to hit the shutter button, Liam and I posed. Owen got this shot in the group... pretty good for a 2 year old! I love Liam's spikey hair in the photo. I had just put sunscreen in it and given him an SPF 50 Mohawk!

#7 The Boy and the Watermelon. I just love how this image turned out. Great lighting, colors, and expression. Love it, love it, love it.

#8 Evenings at the beach were a lot of fun. Some nights both Owen and Liam would be awake and we would enjoy some twilight time on the beach. But, some nights Liam was asleep and Owen and I were solo. I enjoyed all of the evenings. But, the times running and splashing in the evening light with Owen are treasured for sure. He seems to love the beach most that time of day. One night Owen had something other than splashing on his evening beach agenda. That night, Gerard, Owen, Liam and I all went down to the beach. While there, Owen started picking up seaweed and making a big pile by my chair. I asked him what he was doing. He was "making a bird's nest", of course. When finished, he placed a shell on top that he thought they might like to eat. Then, he started telling all of the gulls he saw where his nest was. It was pretty cute. He tried off and on for the next week and a half to get a tenant in there. No such luck.

#9 Peek-a-boo with Liam is the absolute best! He is absolutely adorable playing this game. I love to play with him. But, I love watching him and Owen play together even more. Hearing Owen's little voice say "Where is 'Wiam"? and then watching Liam pull down the blanket and hearing him belly laugh makes my day!
#10 Watching my boys play in the water, sand, and sun was such a joy. Trying to time when to go in, not so much fun. If we stayed out too long, I endured massive crying fits while getting them all cleaned up and ready for a nap. But, it was worth it. We all had a blast.

St. George Island, FL, Summer 2010, was a vacation to remember! I sure hope the oil disaster doesn't reach the, so far, unspoiled beaches of the island so that we can return next year. These last two weeks were amazing.

It was a splashin' good time...

After 2 weeks of fun in the sun, we are back at home. We had such a great time with our family at the beach and are sad to see the vacation come to an end. But, end it did.

Thank goodness I have photographs to remind me of the memories we made! I can assure you that I will smile as I recall the fun times captured in the 297 images from our 15 days away....

More blogging to come.

Little Stinker - 11 Months Old

Liam David is a whopping 11 months old this weekend. I can hardly believe it! I mean, he just seems so much older than that ;-) Ha. You thought I would say something about time flying and that he just can't be this big yet, didn't ya. Well...this little one is 11 months going on 2 1/2. He thinks he is just as big as big brother. That is, if you were to judge his age by his craftiness and diet.

Liam is a toddler in a baby's body. Just look at the picture below. Doesn't it look like he is rolling his eyes at me? As if he is just too grown up to be posing for an 11-month photo on a baby scale?

I think so. Especially after what he did next. He tested the sturdiness of the scale...

...rocked it a little. Then, rocked it a little more. Then, a little more. Until....

...he tipped the thing over...

...looked smugly at his mama behind the camera....

...and quick-crawled to the playroom to hang with brother and Daddy Q.

That little stinker.

It doesn't stop there. Little bit has figured out now that when the toys that he walks behind run into a wall, piece of furniture, family member, etc., all he has to do is walk around it to the other side and push in the opposite direction. For some reason, I am very impressed that my 11 month old has worked that out. Especially since he has Owen to come over and rescue him anytime he needs it. Determination, I suppose.

Little Bit sure does know what he wants to eat. This last week, he has swiped Owen's PB&J sandwich, grilled cheese sandwich, and a slice of pizza--and gone to town with all of the aforementioned. Parker left a piece of cantaloupe behind when he went to swim yesterday....Little Stinker swiped that, too. Emma had a granola bar at the park last week...well, until Liam saw it. Oh my word.

If you are really wanting to eat your food your self...don't set it down too close to "baby."

Owen is catching on and keeping hold of his favorite foods now ;-)

Happy 11 months, Pudding Pop. You sure are keeping us on our toes around here.

Last Day of Preschool

When I took Owen's picture this morning to document his last day of his first year of preschool...
I didn't think he looked much different from the one I took on his first day. Until I uploaded the picture to the blog. I guess he has grown ;-)
For one, he is now strong enough to hold up that big 'ole back pack! But, he has grown in many, many other ways, too. He talks more (a lot more), sings songs all by himself (especially cute to hear him sing Jesus Loves Me while pushing his grocery cart at Market Street), is potty trained (the regression is behind us), knows his ABCs and recognizes/knows about 25% of his letters (his favorites are "O" for "Owen" and "R" for "Arrrggghhh"), counts to 12 (sometimes he does forget 5?!?), and has become a little teacher ("No, Mom. Do it like this. See?"). My toddler is now a mini-boy.

Thank you so much, Marina and Jane, for loving and caring for my sweet boy on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We sure will miss you!!!

'Brella Boy & the Barefoot Baby

Weekend with Family

The little boys and I took a roadtrip this weekend to see Grammie, Pa, and Aunt Julie. Saturday night, we went to a concert in the park. It was a late night; but, was so much fun! Julie got lots of Liam time...he fell asleep in her arms....I think that was her favorite part of the night.

Liam being Liam...cute as can be!
Me with my hands full. I wanted a picture of me with the boys...but, they don't stay still long enough for Grammie to hit the shutter button ;-0

What's that strange thing in the air???

We all wanted to know. So, Owen and I went over and asked the man with the hot air balloon that was attached to the fishing pole...found out it was a video camera.

Then, the music!

Sunday was a lazy day for me! I got to sleep until 9:15, then got a 3 hour nap in. It was great!!! My family is so good to me!!

Pa taught Owen how to use his duck calls.

Then, Owen taught Julie how to use Pa's duck calls.

And then....well, I don't know what Owen was thinking here. He can be a little strange.

We tried going to the park around noon. It was so hot and humid that we didn't last long. But, when we returned that evening...perfect park weather!

Thank you for driving over to Grammie and Pa's to see us, Julie! We had a great time with everyone!!

Some Days

Most days with my two boys are fun-filled, smooth, and quite easy considering their ages. But, some days are really trying. Some days my nerves get so rattled by the endless requests from my not-even-two-and-a-half year old. He will ask me for fruit snacks. If I say no, he asks for a cereal bar, if I say "no....wait until dinner" then he asks for juice. no? how about turning on the water hose so I can water the plants? I mean...he just goes and goes until I say yes to something, anything. It isn't really about wanting the "thing" itself. Its about wanting the "yes." Oh boy. Drives me nuts. If that's all I have pushing my buttons, I can usually make it. But, on a day like today, when Liam was tired, but wouldn't nap well. Hungry, but didn't want anything a normal 10 month old might like; but, instead the snacks that his older brother was relentlessly asking me for. On a day when both of them are a bit out of sorts. I go a little nuts.

To get through these days, I find that I turn to my camera. Through the lens, I search for the cute, sweet, awesome-ness that my boys really are. Even on days when those moments seem fleeting, they are there. And, I can capture them on film...er, memory card. Its therapeutic. It reminds me of how very much I love them. How sweet and young they are. And, it gives me peace and patience. Its gets me through the day in a much better mood.

This is my therapy. And, its free (unless you count the cost of the lenses, memory card, software, etc. ;-) Oh well...at least its less expensive than a licenced therapist ;-)

Enjoy the moments I found in our day today...I know I sure did when I uploaded them tonight.

Owen watching the pinwheel spin in the wind.
Liam crawling around the pool in his crazy style that seems to be unique to him...I haven't seen any other kiddos crawling like this. He's a little bear cub.

"Say 'Arggghhh', Mama. {he laughs} That's punny."

Liam insists on eating the rocks at the playground. I know it won't last; but, darn its annoying. We only played for about 5 minutes before I got fed up and we left. But, man, look at those blue, blue eyes.

Tonight I did something I haven't done since I was in college. Really. Seriously. I made Hamburger Helper for dinner. It was just as I remembered....not so great. But guess what. This was the VERY first time, EVER, that Owen said to me "This is good, Mama. Thank you for making my dinner."

Arrgghhh. Now, that's 'punny,' Owen. Really? You compliment me for the first time on Hamburger Helper night? May I just sweetly remind you about the braised pork tostadas topped with fresh avocado and lime, served with homemade mexican rice I made for you a few weeks ago? You know...the dinner that took me almost 2 hours to complete, but was worth E.V.E.R.Y. S.E.C.O.N.D. it was soooo out of this world yummy? Arrgghhh.

Liam, however, didn't care for it much. That's my boy. He tossed his Hamburger Helper down to Toby and laughed the biggest, cutest belly laugh he could muster every time she took a bite. Ha. Now...that, Mister Owen, is "punny."

And, just thought I would finish the post with a sweet picture of Liam all wrapped in the beach towel ready to go home from the pool.

And, now I can't wait for these little ones to wake me up in the morning so we can start over. Gosh, I love these boys.

RVing: Now That's Country

For Mother's Day Weekend, we had an adventure that was new for all of us. My step-dad won an RV in a fishing tournament about a year ago. After trying to sell it to no avail, they have opted to keep it! This was the "Maiden Voyage" -- unless you count the time they took it and parked it in a friend's yard, but didn't use anything but the bed ;-).
They brought the RV (or, RB as Owen calls it) to the town where Daddy Q and I recently bought some land. We found an RV park about 4 miles from the land and set up camp. After a couple of hours spent getting everything hooked up, buying parts needed to finish connections, and settling in, it was clear that we are natural RV goers ;-)

After merely hours, we looked as if we had done this our whole lives. Especially Owen. He couldn't have had more fun.

Liam will enjoy it more when he can walk. There isn't much to do out there for a crawling baby...well, except snack. And, Owen sure did keep Liam's snack supply going. That made Liam a happy camper.

Owen and this can of Pringles was inseparable. He carried it all the way down to the pier stopping along the way to feed a few chips to a "neighbor's" Bubba.

Both boys really enjoyed the grilled corn. See?

Even Little Bit got into the corn on the cob.

Like last time, we didn't get nearly as much "work" done on the land as we hoped. But, we did meet a road contractor and made plans to get the road and RV pad set up this summer. Larry and Gerard also put up the Purple Martin House....

...it will be interesting to see whether it is there next time ;-)