Destin ... in pictures

So we took off for a quick and spontaneous trip to Destin over the weekend. It was soo great to get away for a few days. Abby saw the ocean for the first time and loved the sand on her feet. Ryan also enjoyed the sand, although he wouldn't go near the water. It was windy and choppy, so we didn't push it, but unfortunately it rained on Sunday so we didn't get to go back to the beach. So no actual swimming and we never got to stick Abby's feet in the water. Oh well, guess we'll just have to go again soon :) We took lots of nice walks, ate some good food (love me some mahi-mahi at Pompano Joe's!), played at a playground, walked the shops, etc.

Ryan's at school right now and his birthday is tomorrow, so I am off to work on his presents, so this is a quick post and you'll have to get the jist of our trip with the pictures below. And there's of course plenty more on my picasa page (although it's no longer public, so if you are reading this and can't see my photos and want to, send me an email and I'll make sure you get the special people link).

Ryan's fort

Ryan had a great time hanging out in his "tent" under the table yesterday. He enjoyed bringing way too many toys in there and having me close his door (blanket) when he was inside. Abby also had a turn in the fort, although she didn't share his enthusiasm. Neither did poor Sampson.

Ryan-ism III

Ryan's talking so much and so well that I can hardly keep up with all the silly things he says! But there was one yesterday that I thought was particularly funny ... Apparently we bribe him with t.v. too much. As we were driving home from church yesterday, Ryan kept asking to watch Super Why, his favorite pbs show.

"Watch Super Wise! I have been good!!"

compare & contrast

So we'll see if this works ... my goal is to have two videos show in this post, one of Ryan and one of Abby. A few days ago I was watching Abby jumping in the jumperoo and thought, hey there is a video of Ryan doing this, I should go watch that video and see how they compare. So I'm watching the video and I notice it's from Feb 25th and I do the math in my head and determine Ryan was 4 days shy of being 5 months old in the video. hmm, pretty close to Abby's age, how old is Abby today? hmm, hey, she's 4 days shy of 5 months old! Let's take a video! So I promise I'm not cheesy enough to plan this (or smart enough, too much else to think about these days), but yes they are exactly the same age doing the same thing. So how do you think they compare?

ps - I don't think Ryan really understands videos yet. He thought I was taking pictures, hence the repeated "cheeeeese" and the request to "see" the picture on the back of the camera :)
ps2 - yes, Ryan had batteries in his jumperoo and Abby does not. I am that mom. I am not afraid to take batteries out of noisy toys. :) Although honestly I have thought about putting them back in after remembering how much Ryan liked the noise and lights. So in reality I'm really just lazy.

Granddaddy!

We enjoyed a nice weekend with Granddaddy and Grandmom Jo-Ann here. Ryan adores them! He had a great time playing, playing, playing. We also enjoyed spending time with them, as well as having fulltime playmates / entertainers for our kids :) I could get used to being a stay at home mom with a nanny! Seriously though, it was a nice visit and we are looking forward to seeing them again tonight and tomorrow.

I lost the good fight

Help, I'm a minivan mom!! I fought it for years and years, swore I'd just drive a big ole' suv, and yet here I am. I have a house in the subarb, two kids, a dog, a cat, and now ... a minivan. Coleson has even volunteered to get me a soccerball magnet for the back. Good grief, I am old!

And yet, I have to confess that I love my van. It drives great - smooth and quiet like a car, but it sits up high like a suv. It is so roomy and comfortable and sits eight people. After driving the corolla around for the past couple of weeks, I can't wait to move all my junk into the van :)

Never say never I suppose is the moral of this story.

Ryan-ism II

Earlier today, we were driving to Nana's house to let Jed out for a bit. I'm pulling in their driveway and the garage door opener's not working too well. I end up taking the clicker off the visor, shaking it around a bit, and then it opens. Ryan's been watching all this from the backseat and as the door is opening says ...

"Go Mommy! Great opening it!"

Yes, I am super-Mom.

Ryan-ism

So this one had me laughing out loud for quite awhile ...

Monday we were getting Ryan back in the car after a quick stop to visit Mr. Kevin at Starbucks. Kevin had made Coleson a strawberry milkshake, and of course Ryan loved it. So, I'm buckling Ryan back in the car and it's kinda hot and Ryan comments on the heat. I said it's okay, we'll get the air on in a sec. But Ryan had a much better idea ...

"No, no air, ice cream. Ice cream make it all better!"

Georgia Bulldawgs

Saturday we enjoyed watching our Georgia Bulldawgs beat up on some Louisiana Lafayette Cajuns. It was Abby's first gameday and she looked super cute & spirited in her pink Georgia outfit. Ryan enjoyed his gameday too - he was allowed to watch a lot of tv and even eat lunch on the couch :) Go Dawgs!!

Then on Monday, we took a quick roadtrip to Athens. It was Abby's first visit and the first time Ryan's been old enough to understand. He was very excited to see where the Georgia Bulldawgs live & play football and he really enjoyed walking around the stadium. He kept talking about wanting to play football (I don't know about that!). It was a fun trip, although a little different from our college days - eating lunch downtown was a bit more stressful than is used to be! Abby cried hysterically; hands down the worst she's been in public yet. And Ryan freaked because his quesadilla had white cheese instead of yellow. Ahh, the joys. Overall though, good day.