Orange Beach Day 3

Saturday morning we had a leisurely breakfast and then a not so lesiurely time getting ready to go to the pool. Suiting up and getting sunscreen on 2 little people can be a challenge! But we made it and Will thouroughly enjoyed his time in the water.

I went Friday and got him arm floaties and a pool ring to use instead of his life jacket which was too tight. He loved them!


He had a blast swimming with Daddy. He did not want me at all!

Little Reed didn't have a choice. He seemed to like being in the pool.

After a little while it was time to go get cleaned up so we could go out to eat lunch.

Can you see Reed's fin on top of his hood?

The beach was just steps away. Many places in the area had double red flags but our condo only had one.

While Brad and I got showered and dressed, Gigi got Reed hopped up on caffeine!

Then we took in the gorgeous views from the balcony.

Will refused to be in a picture with us.

We headed to Tacky Jacks for lunch. The service was less than stellar but the food was good!

Reed wasn't too impressed. He thought his carrots tasted the same as anywhere else. :)

Will enjoyed his sweet tea with a bendy straw.

And he also enjoyed his 'ba' and sitting by Gigi.

We had to wait awhile on our food so Poppy drew a portrait of Will.

And Gigi entertained us by putting on Will's hat.

After lunch we took some pictures on the front porch of the gift shop.

I love this one of my boys.

But this one is the sweetest. They are smiling at their daddy (I think) and Will is holding Reed's hand.

After lunch it was nap time and then pictures on the beach...

Orange Beach Day 2

Please excuse my blogging break. We've been quite busy lately!

On our second day in Orange Beach, we woke up to find quite a bit of acitivy on the beach. The clean-up crews arrived! Will and I watched them work for a few minutes.

The beach looked pretty good, I thought!

Will and I did some quick shopping then we went to lunch at a seafood place. The food was so yummy but I was sad for the staff. We got there at 1:15 and there was only one other table there and they were finishing up. When we left there was one more couple eating. I know a lot of the workers are having a tough time with so few tourists coming to the area.

That afternoon while Will napped, I chased Reed around and took some pictures. He is such a little sweetie! And he loved this remote!

He recently got two bottom teeth and I was trying to capture them. You can barely see one of them in this.

He is so fast! I took a lot of pictures of him and got several of him crawling away from me.

I never tire of seeing this sweet smile! Though I often have trouble catching it on camera!

I took the boys to the beach and pool that evening. I realized after I got on the beach that I didn't have the memory card in my camera. Argh! So my cell phone had to do. Reed loved eating the sand and Will loved playing in it.

Brad and his mom finally arrived around 10:30 and Will was still awake to help me greet them. Will was elated when they got out of the car! He refused to sleep with us once he saw his Gigi though. We are 2nd rate compared to his grandparents.

Orange Beach Day 1

Brad's parents invited us to go with them for a long weekend to Orange Beach, Alabama. His dad and I left with the boys Thursday before lunch and got there around supper time. The condo was nice and the view was fabulous. Last year where we stayed was super nice but it wasn't right on the beach. This one was. And the beach looked great! See for yourself - no oil here!

After we unpacked some things and had a simple meal of sandwiches and veggies, I suited up the kids to go down to the pool. This little man didn't mind posing:

But Will... not so much. He was throwing a fit.

There were some cute houses across the street and some pretty houses on an island across the bay. (I guess it is called the bay???)

We got down to the pool at nearly 7pm so it was nice and shaded.

And we went for a swim! This was Reed's first time and he seemed to like it! Will liked it, too, until he tipped over head first into the water a couple of times. I was right beside him and grabbed him immediately but it made him a little water-shy. We ditched the vest for some floaties after that.

The sun started setting and the sky turned some beautiful pastel colors.

Doesn't this make you want to kick back and relax?

We stayed in the pool for awhile and then went upstairs, got cleaned up and dressed for bed and retired early... NOT. Reed went to bed without hesitation and his Poppy followed soon. But Mr. Will stayed up until 11:30!!! I was ready to drug him with Benadryl. I couldn't just go lay down with him because Reed was asleep and I knew he would be too loud but I thought if I let him stay up and watch TV he would just fall asleep. WRONG. That little stinker gave me a run for my money!

To be continued...

Independence Day

Brad and I were both on call for work 4th of July weekend, so it was hard to relax and enjoy ourselves. Brad ended up having to work Saturday, Sunday and Monday, but we did get to go to church together, have lunch with his parents and catch a Braves game.

Reed was in patriotic fare for church:
Sunday evening we went to the Mississippi Braves game. It was packed. Brad's parents kept Reed for us since we knew it would be pretty late before we got home. Will spotted the inflatable play area as soon as we entered the gate so we let him jump for a bit.

Then he wanted to 'lide'. He climbed all the way up by himself, which looked to be quite a feat. He started his trip down quite nicely.

At about the halfway point, he started to lose.

And then it was over with. I wasn't even sure I had gotten it on camera because I was shocked as he tumbled. But apparently my finger kept going for this shot:

Poor little man. He landed and was crying pretty hard but he got over it and we were able to enjoy the game.

Scratch that. We were able to go get our hotdogs, corndogs and drinks and make our way toward our seats when Brad got called to work. We decided since the place he needed to go was 15 minutes away that he could take the car and go then come back after. It was still about 30 minutes to first pitch so we figured he wouldn't miss too much.

In the meantime I met up with some coworkers and their kids.

Anna, Noah, Mia and Will.

Me, Kerry, Mellicent and Amy

We ended up hanging out with them and standing behind the section I'd actually bought tickets for. Our seats were good but there was a man sitting two seats down from us who had a case of being loud and obnoxious. I tolerated his chatter until he started using some profanity, then I asked him to cut it out. After a little bit of back and forth, my friends motioned for me to join them and I was glad to leave the loudmouth. Many people looked annoyed with him, too, but nobody spoke up when I did. It's a shame that one person can ruin something for a lot of people.

Will's night wasn't spoiled, though! He had a blast playing with water.

And his hats.

Brad finally made it back with 1 inning left. The game finally ended around 10:15 with the Braves beating the Diamond Cats 8-0!

Finally it was time for fireworks!

Will seemed to enjoy watching them. I was quite surprised he made it through the whole game and fireworks without falling asleep!

After sitting in traffic and stopping by Taco Bell for a late night snack, we finally made it home at 11:11pm! Brad and I never stay out that late anymore! We ended up letting Will sleep with us since he was pretty wired. Brad had to get up and go to work the next morning and Will and I slept in a bit and then went to his parents' house to get Reed. It turend out to be a baby exchange because Will refused to come home with me! A little while later Brad came home and then we went back to his parents' for some yummy lunch. It was a good weekend!

Watch out now!

Because this little man is on the move!

He can play baseball with his brother.
And get into the dogs' water bowl (which thankfully was empty this time).

And get photo-bombed by his big brother!

Why yes, those are Dash pants. Thanks for asking. Will has been working on potty training for the past 8 weeks or so and is doing great!

For Erin T.

Here is Will's haircutting face. He and Sydney would be good friends, I think.

Things I learned about my 2 year old today

Today I had the privelege of spending the day with my babies. Though if Will could read this he would certainly inform me "I not a baby, mama!"

I learned a lot about my little man today. Some things I already knew, but haven't shared with you.

1. He calls a pop tart "pop tark". It is adorable.

2. He does a decent job of picking out his own clothes. Exhibit A:

3. If I get out the single stroller with the intention of putting Reed in it, he will demand to sit in it.

4. He will attempt to shoplift a stuffed monkey from a store if I am not paying attention.

5. He likes to dip his fries in polynesian sauce like his mommy.

6. He can stay dry for 4 hours and use the public potty. He even wants to flush it!

7. He loves expensive kiddie rides. Look - it's his favorite song - "The Will's on the bus!"

7. If I get out the double stroller, he will refuse to ride in it.

8. He will follow me pretty well until I walk into GAP and then he will keep walking until a nice lady directs him toward me.

9. He picks off the m&ms from his cookie and eats those first. If he drops an m&m/cookie chunk under the seat, he will pick it up as I am telling him to leave it. And then when I tell him not to eat it, he will turn away and hide as if I don't realize he is eating it.

10. He flips out if I don't buckle him in his carseat. We were parked too close to the car next to us for me to strap him in so I put him in on the other side and was going to turn around in my seat to buckle him. I guess he thought I forgot about him and he started yelling for me to buckle him in.

11. If I get him on the potty when he says "My tummy hurts", he will poop in the potty!

12. He is one of the sweetest, smartest and funnest two year olds I have ever been around!


I enjoyed being with this guy, too!