I had the Rangers game on before Luke went to bed tonight. He was ready for bed, all we had left to do was brush his teeth before he went "night night". It was getting close to bedtime, so I said, "Come on, Luke, let's go brush your teeth and go night night."
He was sitting in the living room, watching the game. He replied, "No night night, Mama. Watch Ranger game."
Well, how could I say no to that one? The Rangers were batting and had already scored three runs in the inning to tie the ballgame, so we watched the rest of the inning. Once they had three outs and the commercials came on, Luke announced, "Okay, night night, Mama." So we brushed teeth, he climbed in bed and went right to sleep!
I am raising this kid right. He has his priorities in order - the Rangers come before bedtime.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Road Trip!
In case you didn't know, 12 hours in the car with a two-year-old makes for a very, very long day. We experienced this firsthand last Saturday when we set out on a cross-country road trip. Our destination was Pensacola Beach, Florida, for a week of vacation with my family.
We left the house at 6:45 am on July 18 and got to Pensacola Beach around 7:15 pm. While the day felt neverending at the time, I have to brag about Luke because he did fantastic on the trip. Even though he was stuck in the carseat for most of the day, he had a great disposition and never really fussed about it. What saved us was the fact that we were caravanning with my parents, so they had a carseat in their car and we would trade him out every few hours. That change of scenery, plus being stopped for a total of 2 hours, really helped.
Some pictures from the road...
Luke fell asleep before we got out of Texas. He'd been awake since 5:30 am. Unfortunately he only slept about 30 minutes.
Crossing into Louisiana:
The Mississippi River!
Crossing into Mississippi:
And into Alabama:
The U.S.S. Alabama, docked in Mobile, AL:
Yay! We made it to Florida!
Turning off to take the bridge to Santa Rosa Island, where Pensacola Beach is located:
As soon as we got there, we had to take Luke to see the ocean.
He loved the look of it
but once we got closer and he realized that the water was coming AT him, he was not a fan.
In fact, he did anything in his power to stay away from the waves!
We were very curious to find out what his reaction would be in the next few days - would he get used to it and love it, or still be panicked? Wait and see!! :)
We left the house at 6:45 am on July 18 and got to Pensacola Beach around 7:15 pm. While the day felt neverending at the time, I have to brag about Luke because he did fantastic on the trip. Even though he was stuck in the carseat for most of the day, he had a great disposition and never really fussed about it. What saved us was the fact that we were caravanning with my parents, so they had a carseat in their car and we would trade him out every few hours. That change of scenery, plus being stopped for a total of 2 hours, really helped.
Some pictures from the road...
Luke fell asleep before we got out of Texas. He'd been awake since 5:30 am. Unfortunately he only slept about 30 minutes.
Crossing into Louisiana:
The Mississippi River!
Crossing into Mississippi:
And into Alabama:
The U.S.S. Alabama, docked in Mobile, AL:
Yay! We made it to Florida!
Turning off to take the bridge to Santa Rosa Island, where Pensacola Beach is located:
As soon as we got there, we had to take Luke to see the ocean.
He loved the look of it
but once we got closer and he realized that the water was coming AT him, he was not a fan.
In fact, he did anything in his power to stay away from the waves!
We were very curious to find out what his reaction would be in the next few days - would he get used to it and love it, or still be panicked? Wait and see!! :)
First Day at the Beach!
We had a great vacation in Pensacola Beach, Florida. We were fortunate to stay in a condo that was right on the beach. The condo had three bedrooms and three bathrooms, which was perfect for us, my parents, and my sister and brother-in-law, who met us in Florida on Monday, July 20.
Our first real day at the beach was Sunday, July 19. We got an early start since Luke decided to wake up at 6 am. Both of my parents are early risers so we headed down to the beach so Nate could have some peace and quiet while he slept in. (After the week he'd had with Extreme Makeover and then the drive, there was no way I was going to wake him up!)
Before we left the condo, Luke got ahold of a Rangers hat that my dad brought and tried to put in on himself. The result was a rally cap:
The beach was pretty quiet that early on a Sunday morning.
The only people out were those fishing and crabbing. One of the crabbers (is that a word?) tried to show Luke one of his catches, but Luke was very uninterested.
Footprints in the sand:
We also saw some dolphins! We were lucky to see some everyday we were in Florida, except for the day we left.
That afternoon we had many visitors. My mom's friend Georgia from Slidell, Louisiana, drove over to spend the night and then my uncle John (my dad's older brother) and aunt Betty and some of my cousins who live in Florida came to visit. We headed down for another walk on the beach.
Mom, Georgia and Luke:
Our little family:
My dad & Uncle John...this picture could also be called Eddie and his future self:
Luke was still not so sure about the beach, or the ocean:
Waving to an airplane:
Luke was fascinated by all the birds and at one point, he even ventured off from the group to try and chase them down. He didn't get very far, but I was just glad that he wasn't clinging to one of us like he'd been most of the day.
Where'd all the birds go?
Finally, we decided to take him in the water past where the waves were breaking. It seemed that he was scared of the water coming at him, so we figured we'd get away from that. Luckily the gulf was very calm that day.
He ended up having fun! He loved pretending to "ride the waves".
It didn't make him love the beach or the ocean the next day, but at least he had fun (and we didn't have to endure the whining) for a little while.
Behind the condos we were staying in, there was a pond with a ton of ducks, including some ducklings that were so cute, and swans. After dinner on Sunday night we took Luke out to feed the ducks.
The sunset setting on our first day at the beach.
This was taken from the balcony at our condo, looking back towards Pensacola.
Our first real day at the beach was Sunday, July 19. We got an early start since Luke decided to wake up at 6 am. Both of my parents are early risers so we headed down to the beach so Nate could have some peace and quiet while he slept in. (After the week he'd had with Extreme Makeover and then the drive, there was no way I was going to wake him up!)
Before we left the condo, Luke got ahold of a Rangers hat that my dad brought and tried to put in on himself. The result was a rally cap:
The beach was pretty quiet that early on a Sunday morning.
The only people out were those fishing and crabbing. One of the crabbers (is that a word?) tried to show Luke one of his catches, but Luke was very uninterested.
Footprints in the sand:
We also saw some dolphins! We were lucky to see some everyday we were in Florida, except for the day we left.
That afternoon we had many visitors. My mom's friend Georgia from Slidell, Louisiana, drove over to spend the night and then my uncle John (my dad's older brother) and aunt Betty and some of my cousins who live in Florida came to visit. We headed down for another walk on the beach.
Mom, Georgia and Luke:
Our little family:
My dad & Uncle John...this picture could also be called Eddie and his future self:
Luke was still not so sure about the beach, or the ocean:
Waving to an airplane:
Luke was fascinated by all the birds and at one point, he even ventured off from the group to try and chase them down. He didn't get very far, but I was just glad that he wasn't clinging to one of us like he'd been most of the day.
Where'd all the birds go?
Finally, we decided to take him in the water past where the waves were breaking. It seemed that he was scared of the water coming at him, so we figured we'd get away from that. Luckily the gulf was very calm that day.
He ended up having fun! He loved pretending to "ride the waves".
It didn't make him love the beach or the ocean the next day, but at least he had fun (and we didn't have to endure the whining) for a little while.
Behind the condos we were staying in, there was a pond with a ton of ducks, including some ducklings that were so cute, and swans. After dinner on Sunday night we took Luke out to feed the ducks.
The sunset setting on our first day at the beach.
This was taken from the balcony at our condo, looking back towards Pensacola.
Beach Vacation: Day 2
Part of the reason we went to Pensacola Beach is that some of our family friends have a beach house there, so my mom and her BFF coordinated for both of our families to be there at the same time. On Monday we went down to the beach at the Farris house.
Luke wanted Leo, Annie, June & Quincy to go swimming with him.
Isn't he adorable in that float belt? My mom's friend Ann told me about them so I picked one up at Walmart in Pensacola. I love that it buckles behind him so he can't come out of it - ever since my lifeguarding days that has been my biggest beef with floaties!
Even though he'd acted okay with the beach the day before, when we got out there on Monday Luke was still very scared. He kept saying "Uke scared. Water scary." It was so sad! When we would walk along the shore, he wanted to stay as far away from the water as possible.
Nate ended up putting him on one of the boogie boards and taking him out past the waves.
He had fun, but it pasted quickly once he got up by the waves again.
Here's Ann (Mom's BFF), my mom and Georgia:
There were lots of minnows and fish near the shore and Luke found this toy fishing pole that belonged to one of Ann's granddaughters to play with. So Nate took him out on the board again.
We saw more dolphins today! There were a bunch that swam right in front of the beach.
My dad loves to look for seashells and he was using a net to pick up little baby shells. Ann's older grandchildren were intrigued by what he was finding.
Luke, all dressed for dinner at the Farris', pretends he is boogie boarding in the floor of the condo. He was much happier this way.
Family pictures!
One of Ann's granddaughters is only five days older than Luke. They had a blast together!
Luke wanted Leo, Annie, June & Quincy to go swimming with him.
Isn't he adorable in that float belt? My mom's friend Ann told me about them so I picked one up at Walmart in Pensacola. I love that it buckles behind him so he can't come out of it - ever since my lifeguarding days that has been my biggest beef with floaties!
Even though he'd acted okay with the beach the day before, when we got out there on Monday Luke was still very scared. He kept saying "Uke scared. Water scary." It was so sad! When we would walk along the shore, he wanted to stay as far away from the water as possible.
Nate ended up putting him on one of the boogie boards and taking him out past the waves.
He had fun, but it pasted quickly once he got up by the waves again.
Here's Ann (Mom's BFF), my mom and Georgia:
There were lots of minnows and fish near the shore and Luke found this toy fishing pole that belonged to one of Ann's granddaughters to play with. So Nate took him out on the board again.
We saw more dolphins today! There were a bunch that swam right in front of the beach.
My dad loves to look for seashells and he was using a net to pick up little baby shells. Ann's older grandchildren were intrigued by what he was finding.
Luke, all dressed for dinner at the Farris', pretends he is boogie boarding in the floor of the condo. He was much happier this way.
Family pictures!
One of Ann's granddaughters is only five days older than Luke. They had a blast together!
Another Day at the Beach & Sand Crab Hunting!
Beth and Justin got to Florida on Monday evening and Luke was so happy to have his Aunt Bee and Uncle Justin there. As soon as he woke up Tuesday morning, he had to go find Bee. She was sitting out on the balcony with my parents so he climbed up in her lap.
Back at the beach, Luke pretended the beach ball was a soccer ball. He LOVES the soccer ball heading game on the Wii Fit so he had my dad throw the beach ball at his head.
This was a common expression on his face when we were down by the shore. Unfortunately.
He was much happier eating Goldfish with Justin.
Nate tried to wave surf or whatever it's called.
Back at the condo, Mammie & Luke were on the lookout for dolphins.
That evening, we went sand crab hunting! I loved doing that when we went to the beach when I was a kid. We had flashlights to see the crabs, long spoons to scoop them up, and a big pan to put them in.
Found one!
As usual, Luke was not too sure about this experience.
He was happier when he was holding Boppa's hand.
We found lots of little bitty crabs, but there were some bigger ones thrown in there, too.
The hunters.
I think the funnest part was the very end, when we let the crabs out of the pot and they scattered.
Back at the beach, Luke pretended the beach ball was a soccer ball. He LOVES the soccer ball heading game on the Wii Fit so he had my dad throw the beach ball at his head.
This was a common expression on his face when we were down by the shore. Unfortunately.
He was much happier eating Goldfish with Justin.
Nate tried to wave surf or whatever it's called.
Back at the condo, Mammie & Luke were on the lookout for dolphins.
That evening, we went sand crab hunting! I loved doing that when we went to the beach when I was a kid. We had flashlights to see the crabs, long spoons to scoop them up, and a big pan to put them in.
Found one!
As usual, Luke was not too sure about this experience.
He was happier when he was holding Boppa's hand.
We found lots of little bitty crabs, but there were some bigger ones thrown in there, too.
The hunters.
I think the funnest part was the very end, when we let the crabs out of the pot and they scattered.
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