Two Weeks in SD aka CHRISTMAS 2014 PART 2

Visited the farm.  Helped set up big party for Ethan.  Celebrated at big party for Ethan.  Saw cows.  Saw new barn and building.  Froze butt off.

Christmas Day evening present opening

Snuggles

Family time!!

The party

Cows, the North farm, and special time with Grandpa

Four generations - visiting Grandma Little

Ethan LOVED to touch Grandma's face, but maybe not as much as she loved it (can you see it in her eyes!?)

Yep, a baby in a bar.  WING NIGHT AT THE DAGO.  Plus Grandpa and Ethan in matching hoodies, the baby's has a motorcycle on it.  Classic.

Happy Thanksgiving, and 10 Year Anniversary!!

We decided this year we were going to CELEBRATE our 10 year anniversary - which also happened to be Thanksgiving day.

So we packed up after work on Wednesday and headed to Panama City Beach, FL, to a condo right on the beach!!

OMGWELOVETHEBEACHSOMUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #SaltLife #BeachBum #lotsasunscreen

We immediately went to sit on the deck and enjoy the weather.

Side note - we always said we wanted to retire in the Black Hills.  Screw that.  I want a place at the beach!

Our condo had 2 bedrooms so Ethan could keep on his schedule while we still relaxed, sat on the deck, and watched TV.  It was perfect.  (We used VRBO again - love that!)

Watched shrimp boats and dolphins...

We spent the whole vacation basically catching up on sleep, looking at the amazing views, going to the pool, walking on the beach, and eating shrimp.

Although our condo had a kitchen, we didn't bother with cooking on Thanksgiving - we instead went to the Saltwater Grill which was both delicious and beautiful.  And forget turkey, we had salmon, shrimp, and sweet potatoes!  Even Ethan got in on the salmon - he tried a little bit and seemed to like it!

We took Ethan to the pool, which he loved by the way...

Nervous nellie momma had a bit of a meltdown when we would get water in his mouth and sputter, so that wasn't so cool, but I am slowly learning to deal with my anxiety better...slowly...we got in the pool again the next day and it went ok!...

Oh and by the way, Happy Anniversary to MEEEE!  Looky what Jeff surprised me with!  10 YEARS BABE!

We also discovered a new favorite place - Bayou on the Beach.  We ate there twice - they literally brought in fresh oysters and shrimp and wheeled it right by us en route to the kitchen!!

On our last day, we packed up and reluctantly said good-bye to the water.

But we just couldn't bear to leave and stopped for one last shrimp platter on our way out of town, looking out into the bay at Uncle Ernie's.

#FinalVacationSelfie

A Grandparents' Visit, plus Savannah

Grandma and Grandpa Hartman came to visit us before Thanksgiving!  

We introduced them to Chick-Fil-A.  Which they absolutely LOVED (good thing because we do, too!)

They went to the Delta Flight Museum

We spend some time at the airfield, flying Jeff's plane

There were snuggles

And...we all went to SAVANNAH!

We went to River Street for shopping and dinner, where the Gator Bites were not as well received as the Pralines!

We did a trolley tour AND a house tour at the Davenport House.

We walked to City Market, a perfect little collection of artsy shops, tourist stuff, and restaurants.

Ethan and Daddy, hamming it up

Grandma even got to see her beloved college football projected onto the side of a building.

Ethan was such a trouper - mama and baby plus Ergo meant staying up WAY past his bed time.  Worth it, for Leopold's Ice Cream!

Grandma saw her famous statue at Forsyth Park

 And also saw the old Fort Pulaski outside of town

We even managed to make our way to Tybee Island to put our toes in the sand.

Beach selfie!

Family time is FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN

Leaf Peeping at Black Rock Mountain

One of our absolutely favorite places to tent camp was at Black Rock Mountain State Park.  However, we're not so convinced our trailer will fit into all of the campsites, and since there is no reserving specific campsites, we haven't been camping there in a couple years.

So when a weekend opened up this fall (October 24) we jumped at the chance to rent a cabin.  

Much to our surprise, it was absolutely beautiful!  Old cabin but totally restored - new flooring, bathroom finishes, comfortable beds.  

We rented a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom cabin, which included a fully stocked, functional kitchen.  The centerpiece of the living space was a gorgeous fireplace (which we didn't use).  And we couldn't believe the view off the deck (20 seconds of Zen).

We had to of course take a selfie while Ethan napped.

I received this Bitybean carrier to try out and review, and it worked great for hiking this weekend.  Kept us both cool and sweat free, mostly - and was totally washable for when we were not sweat free LOL.

We did not hike very many, or very difficult trails, but we were still rewarded with amazing views.

Ethan LOVES to be outside, and we had a lot of really fun moments chilling on the back porch - listening to the birds, watching the leaves blow, and playing.

And a lot of playing.  Here's an almost 8 month old loving life...

We used the firepit off the front of the house all the nights we were there, and burned a lot of wood.  And ate a lot of smores.  What a great weekend to reconnect with the family and have some great memories!

Happy Halloween

Ethan's first Halloween - TIGGER!!!  

It's so nice in Georgia in October - the weather is cool but not cold, and it's usually sunny with leaves falling.  Almost perfect most days!

We went trick or treating with our friends, the Newtons, and their little one who is about a year older than Ethan.

E loved reaching into the bowls and grabbing stuff!  But of course no candy for him yet!!

My baby at 9 months old

When, oh when, did my newborn turn into a full fledged baby, like on TV???  You know, when you see "baby" on a show, they are sitting there, sucking on something and being all cute and alert and aware and engaged?  It snuck up on me.  Jeff keeps reminding me that he is not a helpless 3 month old anymore.  I think this may be how "mama's boys" are created.  (And I'm ok with that.)

Here's a glimpse into what makes Ethan, "Ethan", these days

He loves to watch daddies.  Like when we are at a restaurant, he will try to lock eyes with any dark haired, middle aged guy and flirt with him.  Hard core.

He has started pelvic thrusting all. the. time.  It is an iteration of his favorite physical activity, bouncing.  Bouncing in his jumper, when you hold him, while you hold him up standing...he loves it.

Clap, clap, clap.  You say "Yaaaaayyyyy", and he claps.  You clap and smile at him, he claps.  Patty-cake?  Oh yeah, loves it.  It's adorable.

If you get your head close to his belly, he laughs so hard.  Even if you don't blow on it.

When his diaper is being changed - if you're brave enough - to blow air on him to dry him up, he laughs.

He hates wearing shoes.

He's unsure about strangers.  Especially if he's tired.

Speaking of tired, he's an eye rubber.  No yawns, no sleepy eyes (although they still might get red), but he regularly has claw marks around his eyes.

He loves sweet potatoes.  And salmon.  And chicken.  And broccoli.  He has started projectile barfing if food gets too far back on his tongue.  Baby led weaning has not yet taught him how to eat :/ but he is doing well both with purees and giant pieces of food he can suck on and taste.

He still gets 4 bottles during the day, between 3-4oz each.  Mostly breastmilk, but supplemented with formula up to 4oz per day during a hungry day.

He takes 2-3 naps a day, and goes to bed by 7-7:30PM.  He usually sleeps till 10 or so, feeds, then (if we're lucky) sleeps till 5-7AM.  Otherwise he might be up once during the night.  (I hope I didn't just jinx us.)

He loves being outside, going for walks, and watching other kids and animals.

Can you tell we think he's the best?!?