Cape Cod 2013...Finally!!!

This post is long overdue! I found out I got the job I have been waiting to hear about for the WHOLE SUMMER in the middle of the week, prompting full back to school mode when we got home!  School starts this week, but I'm off today and forcing myself to post this!

We had an incredible week of fun family time with my family in Cape Cod for the week.  With my sister living in Africa, and the craziness of everyone's lives here, it was awesome to all be away together.  We all vacation the same too-very relaxed and flexible-which makes the week very relaxing (minus the whole having two kids under 3 factor!) and laid back.  The kids were really very good considering we ate out most dinners, they had virtually no schedule, and were in a different place, etc.  By the end of the week we had some whiners, but for the most part they were good.  Brayden is a fish and LOVES the water, beach, and all things related.  Tucker took a day to really get comfortable in the water again (he would only really go in with an adult the first day), but then he was swimming around by himself (floaties on of course!). They also were a HUGE fan of playing in the sand and with Papa, Nama, DD, and Uncle Chris. They both had so much love from everyone for the week and loved being with everyone for the WHOLE WEEK (Tucker was so confused for awhile afterwards that no one special was here when he woke up)!

Here's a TON (as usual) of pictures of our awesome week:)

Our super great house

The street was private and so was the beach so it was wonderful! Just a few houses down to the beach.

 We had to get the kids up bright and early to leave CT...they were excited for vacation! Tucker just kept saying "GO BEACH!"

 We went to Sesuit Harbor for breakfast...still in PJ's...when we finally got to the Cape. Luckily the traffic wasn't too bad since we left so early.

 Everyday except for one was a beach day!  This was a beautifully relaxing view

 Lots of fun on the beach and in the water

 This little pool on the beach for Brayden was awesome! He's such a content kid...and super cute!

 Our first day on the beach Tucker got bit by something. Two hours later his ankle became VERY swollen. I gave him Benadryl just in case, and then the next morning the swelling moved to his whole leg! We went to the Walk-In to be safe and the Dr. said he had a significant reaction to some kind of bite.  After some steroids and an attempt at an ACE bandage (not sure why they thought that'd stay on!), his cankles started to disappear the next day. He was loving the Sesame Street in the exam rooms!

 Our house had a roof deck that we used every day for "libation time".  Tucker had his on binoculars so he could look out like Papa.  

This cutie loving the roof deck!

 Some libation hours consisted of corn hole, frisbee in the street, and soccer in the yard.  Here Tucker is schooling everyone-probably because all the adults had drinks in hand:)

 These two Apple Astronomers using their star app to find constellations on the roof one night.

Side note: Max slept on the roof one night. He thought it would be fun. Not sure why, but he did it.  He survived. 

 The view from our roof deck! Ahhhhhhh

DD cuddle time with Brayden

We went to the Chatham Squire one night for dinner.  We had a long wait so we strolled around town.  Love this picture:)

 I found these two gems while we were walking around Chatham:

 dinner at a super fun pizza place called Ember in Harwichport.  Tucker must have run a mile around the fire pit before we even sat down for dinner!  The food was awesome!

 Sundae School for dessert! Cute mom:)

 We had a sun porch which was the perfect place to enjoy coffee and some breakfast.  This guy was so happy all the time!!

Tucker had fun playing in the yard too! He found this shell and started pretending it was a phone...the apple doesn't fall far from the tree-he must have learned it from Papa!

 My dad rented a kayak one day and we went for a little jaunt with Tucker. He loved it!  We'll have to bring him out on my parents here too.  He even fell asleep-those nice ocean waves:)

One of our afternoon libation/activity sessions. Frisbee in the street on this day!

Dad getting "up"

This was legit

this one too!

we packed the Pilot to the brim every night when we went to dinner...good thing we're all close! 

I love my bro and sis!!!!

mini golf night:) My awesome parents chased Tucker around for an hour instead of playing...bet they wish they played.

Brayden was a trooper on my back while I played...and came in second:)

Tucker and I took a walk to the beach one morning when it was cloudy.  Love my boys!

I was able to run every day almost...it was so nice when there were 5 other adults there to watch the kids! I think I only ran with them once! Was a nice break from pushing the double stroller.  Found this view one of the days-gorgeous!

We went to Arnold's in Eastham for lobstah one night...Chris and his 2 pounder.  At one point Tucker kept telling me, "don't do that mommy" when I was cracking the lobster. I think he thought I was hurting it or something...it was cute.

 This cutie sporting his new Vail Ski Patrol shirt that DD brought back from Caroline from Colorado.

some photo booth fun with DD

I randomly threw this chair for Tucker in the car. So glad I did because he sat in it often...he also loved to carry the umbrella around. He sat here for awhile after his lips turned purple from a long swim one of the days.

Brayden getting some Papa love and playing in the water-his fave place:)

D and I got some tubes for us to float in-Nemo was for Tucker. She wore them all then ran, Baywatch style, into the water. Classy:)

Of course Tucker had to do the same thing...until he realized he couldn't move and was done with that game:)

Love our little family:)

(we figured out a way to have the kids float with minimal assistance so we could relax...it was one of our smartest moves of the week!)

T & DD fun

We went to the Chatham Lighthouse on the cloudy day. 

Love these pictures, but I had water smeared on my lens that I didn't notice!

This boy has to be the happiest little baby! He just smiles SO much!!!

Such a fun vacation:)

Last night (with my family at least)-back at Ember!

This was the best picture we got of everyone-we had such a fun filled week we kept forgetting to take pics until the last night! And they were on my phone and didn't come out well.

Our great friends Lauren, Ryan and their daughter Willa were coming up for a couple weeks to the same town we were in, so we stayed a few more days with them! During the changeover, we went to visit our brother-in-law Michael's mom where she lives on the Cape! She has LOTS of grandkids so Tucker and Brayden were having a blast playing with her and all of her toys.  She is always so gracious to us when we stop in with TONS of food, beverages, and even gifts for the kids:)  Thanks so much Nancy and Dryden!  

Tucker was loving riding the Thomas toy-and apparently wearing all of the bead necklaces too!

 We had a blast visiting Lauren and her extended family on the other side of Dennis. It was neat to experience the Bay side of the Cape (we'd been on the sound side) and so fun to hang with her family.  Her daughter Willa and Brayden are the same age and had a blast with each other.

Tucker partaking in the happy hour festivities.

The beach was HUGE when the tide was out. Tucker and I made a little sand castle town...until we stomped on all of them:)

 This guy just sat in the water until we had to move him. Waves in his face-he didn't mind. He also started to crawl a LOT so he was doing that in the water too.  I just love him and his sweet personality so much!

Having fun with Willa!

Lauren and I share the same cousins, and Robin came to visit while we were there! So fun to get to play with her too.

After 10 days, we'd had a blast! Ready for home, but could have lasted a few more days first:)  

So thankful for this wonderful week with family and friends! We can't wait to go back!!

This is my life:)

WARNING: THIS DEFINITELY CLASSIFIES AS A "TMI" POST SO IF YOU'RE NOT INTERESTED IN POOP DETAILS, YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO READ:)

Max is away this week for a couple days (comes home tonight!!).  He's been traveling for work for the past 4 or 5 years pretty regularly.  About one week a month I am on my own.  I used to somewhat enjoy it.  I really missed him by day 3, but the first few days I enjoyed being able to enjoy a nice glass of wine while watching P.S. I Love You (and bawling my eyes out) and NCIS and any other show that  he wasn't a fan of, by myself:)  Things are different now.  We have kids-TWO kids.  Two BOYS. They are great!  They are full of energy! They never stop moving! It's what keeps me moving and I love it.  Some nights though, when it's just me at home, I yearn for those times when I curled up on the couch at 7:00 to watch a chick flick, wine in hand, and some delicious Lipton pasta packet for dinner:)
Tonight was that night.
If you know our family well, you know our first son has some problems producing regular BM's, or as they're called in our house, deuces.  I flood him with apple juice, water, and he even takes daily Miralax for periods of time to expedite the "process".  He will go for a few days often without deucing.  Today was day 3 (I think-maybe longer). We had a nice dinner of french toast and scrambled eggs.  I was excited because we were done and hanging out by 6:45 and I thought to myself, we should go for a quick 3 mile run now before baths and bed!  Max and I are training for a Half Marathon and today was supposed to be 3 miles but do to sleeping in and really long naps by the kids we hadn't made it out yet.
WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?! I ran out to get the stroller out of the garage and came back in and T was pooping! Great news!!! I thought, no biggie-we'll run after you're done.  Clearly I had forgotten how long it had been since he'd pooped.  The following events panned out of the next 90 minutes:

7:00 Mom thinks, let's go for a run
7:05 T decides it a good time to poop
7:06 Mom thinks, we'll just wait
7:15 T is still working things out (me: poop all done? T: no mommy, more poop)
7:20 Mom notices a wetness forming on the back of T's shorts, outlining his diaper
7:20 Mom: DO NOT SIT ANYWHERE T!
7:21 Mom runs around trying to get towels for baths and putting stroller away because we clearly are not making it to run now!
7:22 Mom reenters kitchen and T is sitting.  Fail. Quick Soap and Water and wash cloth to clean up the "residue" left behind on the floor after he gets up"
7:23 T is carried to B's changing table for a big change (thank God B is so easy going-and thank God he stayed in his room while I was changing T...he's pulling himself up on everything and even stood for 2 seconds tonight-probably a fluke, but the kid is on the move!)
7:24 Operation biggest deuce ever taken/changed in this house is underway
7:27 I finally have him all cleaned up and go to wrap up the diaper to throw it out.  Diaper is so large it won't wrap up. Keep trying. Get poop on my hand. Oh crap (no pun intended). clean that off. Try to wrap diaper again.
7:28 Wipe falls off pile of poo diaper. Pick wipe up. Huge chunky/slimy poo stuck on changing pad. Trying to maneuver to wipe it up with a wipe and more chunky slimy poo is falling out of the diaper now onto the changing pad.  Ugh! And on the changing table!
7:29 I decide there is no salvaging this and I need to get a bag. Run back to room and while I'm putting it in the bag more stuff drips out, etc.  You get the VERY disgusting picture! See B with garbage pail on the floor and playing with the other dirty diapers (thankfully just pee ones!)
7:30 get T & B to bathroom for baths.  Go to take B's diaper off: Poop! Back to his room to change it.
7:31 really in the bath now.  Thankfully they love baths. B just kept trying to stand up in the tub so that was fun!
7:40 back to B's room to get everyone ready for bed.  Boys in PJ's and I look on floor and see what looks like a wood chip...go to pick it up...not. a. wood. chip. Poop chunk! Gross!
7:41 I tell T not to touch it (B has crawled out of the room so i'm not worried) while I run to kitchen to get a wash cloth and some Resolve to clean floor. On my way back, I witness B standing at tub (emptied) and then slips and falls awkwardly hitting his head on the floor-cries ensue.  I pick him up to soothe him, walk back into the room just in time to see with his finger near his mouth, looking guilty
7:42 Me: T did you just touch the stuff on the floor? T: Yeah. Me: Did you just put it in your mouth? T: Yeah. Me: (trying to hold back the puke while quickly cleaning his mouth out with the still clean washcloth because I haven't managed to make it back to room without an injured baby and a poop-eatind toddler) We don't eat poop. That's gross. Don't eat poop anymore.  And then I thought to myself, "yet another sentence I never thought I'd utter in my lifetime."
8:15 after finally cleaning up the rug, getting both boys in PJ's, and making it upstairs to T's room, B & I put T to bed, I put B to bed, clean up the ATV course/fort/all the couch cushions on the floor, wash the poop off all affected clothing, etc., clean sink out from washing of poop clothes, etc., throwing everything in the laundry, I walk back through the living room to find a remnant chunk...washing hands and cleaning up poop AGAIN!

8:30 here I sit with an overly full (WT as my friend Emily calls it) glass of red wine and watching NCIS, trying to relive the good old days!

I apologize if that was too much information (which it totally was) but this was a hysterical night for me-one that I couldn't help but laugh at-one that despite having to wash my hands 20 times in an hour, I am incredibly grateful for:)

Brayden 9 months!

This post is WAY overdue, but every time I went to do it, there was some issue with blogger or my computer...and then we went on vacation, and i didn't bring my computer. So here we are, back in CT, with my laptop:)

Brayden continues to be an adorable and extremely pleasant little dude.  He LOVESSSSSSSS Tucker. When we go up to get him from his nap, Brayden starts kicking his legs and flapping his arms when we get to the top of the stairs, and then he has the biggest smile when we open the door and see T.  It's so cute.  He's gotten more mobile so Tucker likes to chase him or play tag...the army crawl is fast but not the best for tag yet.  This also means that B can get into T's toys even when Tucker doesn't want him to...so Brayden is providing Tucker numerous valuable lessons in how to share.

He is still eating three meals a day and taking 4, 6 oz bottles, although they've been a bear to get him to drink lately.  He's still spitting up, but it gets less and less all the time (Max hates it!) He's started to eat puffs and yogurt melts.  It only took me two days to let him eat the whole puff...i'm doing much better about the whole choking thing!  He doesn't have any teeth yet, so there's a limit on what foods I can give him without it taking an hour to eat a meal because the pieces are miniscule.  

He's still a champion napper, but really likes to be in a bed of sorts.  He usually goes from 930-11ish and then 2-330/4ish.  He and Tucker nap at the same time in the afternoon now so I can get a break which is nice:) And he's sleeping from 8-7ish which is also a great treat!

He's super squirmy and is borderline TORTURE to change his diaper lately.  I need an arsenal of toys/distractions when he gets his diaper changed!  He's got a great army crawl going and is starting to pull himself up on things (see the crib picture below). He's gotten very good at going from his belly to a sitting position and vice versal.  His increased is mobility is wonderful. I know i'm about to enter the "can't take your eyes off them" stage, but I love the excitement that he has when he gets that much closer to being able to do what Tucker does.  And although I'm sure I'll regret this, I'm excited for them to be running around with each other.  Tucker never stops moving as it is, so what's one more crazy kid in the mix!?!

He is still quite loud and has this killer screech thing going on...it's a happy screech thankfully, but a loud one. T and B like to communicate with each other by screaming/screeching at the top of their lungs it seems. Brayden is less entertained by his baby toys and more entertained by Tucker's trucks and cars.  We've had to make a Brayden safe truck bin for Tucker to share with him...much to T's dismay:)  He also loves to pull the magnetic letters off the dishwasher. When they aren't on he'll stare at his reflection and laugh...so cute.  He's also followed in Tucker's footsteps of eating people's shoes.  What is it with babies and dogs eating shoes?

At his 9 month appointment he really porked up! He's 29 inches (75th percentile) and 20lbs 11 oz (50th percentile). He jumped a growth curve in every measurement which is great, because he had dropped a bit at his 4 month appt.

We love this little boy who brings us, and apparently everyone he sees joy with his sweet smile and fiery red hair. And contrary to some initial thoughts, it is VERY clearly here to stay! He even has a few curls popping out from time to time.  We have a frame on his wall that says "I could eat you up, I love you so." We put it up before he was born-before we even knew he was a he!  It is so fitting for this little guy:) Love you lots B!