First Trip to the Beach

On our second full day, we loaded the boys into the wagon, headed down the boardwalk and hit the beach.

(Apologies for the image quality in these. My camera lens fogged up as soon as I took off the cover.)

There was a ton of seaweed on the beaches during this trip unfortunately. I did some reading up. Apparently they used to clear it from the sand all the time but are now leaving it more often to prevent beach erosion.

The boys didn't seem to mind though. They were having a great time just enjoying the ride and checking out the water & birds.

Such cutie patooties!

We stopped to let the boys dip their toes into the water. Joseph is such a water baby! He loved every second of playing in the waves.


Luke was a little more apprehensive. He was okay with just checking it out from the safety of mama's arms thankyouverymuch, but he did let me wet his toes.


Joseph, on the other hand, wanted to dive right in.



That is, until that salt water hit his diaper rash. Then it was the end of our beach excursion. Poor baby. :(

We will have to come back to the beach and let the boys go wild. Like when they're no longer in diapers. And can swim like fish.


The boys are one year & 4 days old.

Pool Time

After cake and the smashing thereof, it was time to test out the pool. This condo complex has an a-maz-ing multi-level swimming pool (with cool slides, hot tubs, and a swim-up bar I might add - bonus!).

The boys took a pass on the pina coladas but were totally up for some splash time.

Mom! MOM! Look at me! I'm swimming and stuff!

Don't let go!

The best thing about our condo? Ocean views = no neighbors = plenty of outdoor nekkid time. Oh la la!


Nothing like air drying in your birthday suit after the pool.




The boys are one year, 3 days old.

Birthday Smash Cake

It's birthday time!


And what's a birthday without a little cake?


I had emailed a local bakery last week to order a beach-themed birthday cake for the boys. Well, mostly for us but we were finally going to relax our rules and let the boys get their first taste of cake!


Greg was going to let them dive right in, but I explained no, no! I want to eat some of this deliciousness too! They get a slice. One slice with a birthday candle.

So we sang them the song, blew out the candles and let them go to town.


Or not.


They didn't seem to have any idea what to do with cake. They mostly just stared.


Luke finally braved a taste.


But Joseph needed a little more coaxing.



He wasn't too impressed.


In fact, he seemed to enjoy the plate more than he enjoyed the cake.


Luke, on the other hand, fully embraced the spirit of the smash cake and destroyed his slice in style...


...making sure to squeeeeze it between his fingers and smear it across his tray.


Oh, the joy!


I gotta be honest. I never thought Joseph would be the tidy one. :)

Now, how are we gonna hose this mess down?


The boys are 1 year and 3 days old.

Beach Time!

To properly celebrate the boys turning 1 year old, we decided to take our first family trip to the beach!

We stayed in the same condos where my mom always took us as kids. It's out of town, halfway down Mustang Island and right on the beach. Oh, and I have to mention that this place has an amazing pool...


...and views of the ocean and protected dunes from the condo balcony.


The first order of business was babyproofing. We asked for a condo with minimal decor and knick-knacks, but it's still amazing the amount of rearranging that needs to be done with two trouble-making curious babies. Glass-top coffee table and end tables? I don't think so. Into the closet everything went. Thank goodness for huge closets.

Next order of business? Cleaning. Because these boys find every little bit of fuzz and twig on the floor and more often than not, it ends up in their mouths, especially Joseph's. Have I mentioned how much the boys looooove vacuum cleaners? Weird, huh.


Ok, NOW it's play time! Wheeeeee!

Joseph being tossed around by Uncle Trav

Joseph thinks being tossed around is the best.

I just added this one because he's cute.

A cute, little trouble maker

I never get to do this it at home, Mom! Yay vacation!!!

Oh, and bubbles. Don't forget the bubbles.

We have the next 5 days to tear it up at the beach. 5 days to spend with Mimi & Uncle Trav. We may even get to squeeze in a date night or two. WooHoo!


The boys are 1 year & 2 days old.

Happy Birthday To My Boys!!

Guess who has a birthday today!

My babies are ONE year old!!!!

One!

One. Wow.

God.

How did we get here?

Just last week we were in the doctor's office hearing, but not comprehending, her tell us there were two precious, little beating hearts in there. A few days later I was holding my huge belly in complete awe & amusement, watching it bounce & dance. Then just yesterday we were in the hospital meeting for the first time these two impossibly tiny, little miracles.

And now they are my big boys.

I am bursting with love, pride, and just a wee bit of sadness. But honestly, not much. These fellas are too much fun to be sad for long.

Happy birthday to my snuggly, giggly Joseph! Happy birthday to my brave, sweet Luke! I love you guys more than you will ever know.

Love,
Your mommy

Sprinkler Park

The boys and I met up with a bunch of mamas & babies at the sprinkler park.


There's a little button you can push that will make water shoot out of the ground in long, arcing streams. Most of the babies weren't too fond of being sprayed in the face. Others ran right up to the spouts and waited eagerly for it.


Joseph started making his way across the battlefield...


...and got caught in the cross-fire of 3 different water streams and was none too happy about it.


But as you can see, he quickly got over it.


And the peasants rejoiced.



Luke wasn't interested in getting wet. Instead he spent the afternoon fixated on his monkey.


After making eyes at each other all day, they tried running off into the sunset. But never made it too far under Mama's watch. I think I'm in trouble if we ever lose that damn thing.


The boys are 11 months, 2 weeks & 2 days old.

One Sleepy Baby

Apologies. I'm getting pretty constant reminders of what a bad blogger I am (Mom!) so just wanted to say sorry about that! It's shameful, I know.

But to make up for it, here's a pretty cute video of Luke about to pass out at dinner.



Poor baby. Their naps have been all messed up lately, trying to drop down to one per day but not quite having the stamina for it yet. Luke has always needed a bit more sleep than Joseph, and today he just could not hang on for a second longer.

I scooped him up, hoping to get him through bath time & changed for bed as quickly as possible.

And, ummm, not so much...


All he was interested in was rolling over onto his belly to get comfy and falling asleep. I managed to get him out of his clothes, changed his diaper and got him into pj's without a single peep. Sweet boy. :)


I have lots more that I've been meaning to post, and I promise to work on those soon. Look for some sneaky back-dated blogs to come. Sorry again for the hiatus. And, FYI, mobility is highly over-rated.


The boys are 11 months & 2 weeks old.

Post-Bath Ritual

Every. Single. Night.




Oh, but he's not done yet. Until there's nothing left, he won't let us put on a diaper or his pj's.





It's a losing battle so we've resigned ourselves to defeat.


The boys are 11 months, 1 week & 4 days old.