Isle of Palms

Our neighbors, Michael and Erin, invited us along on a jaunt to SC a few weeks back. Michael's parents have a house on an island called Isle of Palms which is just outside of Charleston. So, we all packed into their car and made the 7.5 hour drive (9 with two kids under 2) and stayed for a few days.

As you can see from some of the pictures below, it was quite cool on the beach. The temperature actually wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for the wind. 2 of the 3 days we took him down, Gus had multiple layers on along with a winter hat and sunglasses (which blocked the flying sand as well as the sun).

Scott and Gus (in this super-cool wagon)

Amy and Gus, enjoying the sun

Erin and Matthew in the pool (on a warm day)
Michael and Matthew (on a cold day)

THE BOYS

Gus enjoyed having a playmate during our week away. Actually, he mainly enjoyed stealing Matthew's toys, so we spent some time working on that elusive concept called "sharing."

Gus 19 months

Matthew 10 months

Riding

Helping

THE BEACH

One day we took a short trip to visit Fort Moultrie and discovered a small beach nearby. The boys had a blast playing on the sand AND in the water!

Things were great until Gus fell. He hates being dirty (just like his dad!).

THE POOL

One of our last days turned out to be pretty warm, so we headed to the pool. Unfortunately, Gus did not enjoy it. We think he may end up being like his mother, who only swims if the temperature is somewhere near 100 degrees.

SUNRISE

We got up early enough one morning to catch the sun rising over the ocean. It was refreshing and beautiful to be out so early, plus Gus made a new friend.

NIGHT OUT

One of the perks of vacationing with friends is free babysitting:) We went out for some seafood and a chance to catch up with an old friend, Mark, in Charleston.

CHARLESTON

We all spent the morning in Charleston on one of our last days. We saw Rainbow Row, ate saltwater taffy and more seafood, and enjoyed the great weather. Unfortunately, we have no pictures except this one. Apparently, Gus has learned how to pose for the camera.....not quite sure how THAT happened:)



So thanks, neighbors, for a great Spring Break trip!

Snack time...with goggles

Hobbit Boy

Fatten Him Up

We took Gus in last week for his 18 month check up. He is healthy and hitting all his milestones! His verbal skills are way above average, and we even got a special note on his chart about it:) One big surprise, he is now in the 20th percentile for height! Previously, he wasn't even on the chart....

One non-surprise, he still is very, very lightweight:) Technically, he should still be riding backwards in his carseat. Shhhh, don't tell.

So, our one official instruction is to "fatten him up." Hence, this is a picture of our son's first whole milk, organic ice-cream, fruit and flaxseed (I had to make it just a tiny bit healthy!) milkshake mustache. Here's to high calorie treats!

Winter Break

During my winter break from school a week or so ago, we took a whirlwind trip to the mid-west to visit all of our "prairie-dwelling" relatives. Gus has now become a flying pro: he is so relaxed and calm and easy to entertain. We are VERY grateful for that. Our flight out went wonderfully.

Our first stop was Bartlesville, OK to introduce Gus to my grandparents and Uncle Tim. We had a wonderful afternoon together....Granny cooked us a delicious lunch, and then we hung out at the house, talking and giving Gus a chance to scope things out and play with a few new cars and other toys. Later, we checked out the neighborhood playground and walked around outside for a while. Considering that Gus was coming down with a cold and running a 103 degree fever, he did great!

Grandpa & Gus making music.

Tim and Gus.

Gus and Granny, checking out her gorgeous backyard (although Gus mainly just wanted to climb on everything!).

Thanks so much for letting us come visit! We had a truly wonderful time!!

Next, we drove over to Kansas City, KS to visit Scott's side of the family: Papa Gus and Grandma Judy. They were lovely hosts: we had tons of GREAT food, a pedicure, a trip to the absolute largest home/furniture store I have EVER seen and lots of relaxed time to catch up. Thanks for a fun and enjoyable visit!

Grandma Judy playing with Gus-man.

Scott and Gus playing a new game called "Tackle Dada!"

Other than a trip to the doctor to check on Gus, things went smoothly. Gus did an awesome job on the flight home, even with a head cold. And now we're back to life as usual....

Growing up

There wasn't much "blog-worthy" going on the other day, but I decided to take pictures anyway. Once I sat back and looked at them, I realized how grown-up Gus seems! I know he's almost 1 1/2 years old, but sometimes I forget.

Good morning

Today has been one of those mornings when I'm so content to be a part-time "stay-at-home mom." After a rocky start (Scott, I apologize for being so grumpy), things improved. Gus & I went to check out St. Elmo's new coffee shop, Pasha. It was great! Their coffee was wonderful, they've done an excellent job with the make-over of the decor, and I was excited to see their compostable coffee cups. That's right, compostable! This is exciting stuff for a part-time environmental science teacher:)

Mom happy? Check.

Afterwards, we wandered down to watch the big construction project on St. Elmo Ave. Scott had called on his way to work to let us know that "work machines" were out and about. So Gus spent some enjoyable minutes running around in the grass and checking out a dump truck and digger.

Kid happy? Check.

Once we got home, Gus had some fun doing some pudding painting, which, by the way, also doubled as snack time. I'm all about multi-tasking.

Cookies with Oma

OK, we're still catching up, so these pictures are old.....

While I was recovering from surgery, my mom came to help take care of Gus. It was such a blessing to have her here. She is amazing with little kids and came up with so many fun and educational activities for Gus. In fact, I think he's a little bored now that she is gone. Anyway, one of the highlights of her visit was the afternoon when she and Gus made cookies. She's a pro at this, having made many cookies, first with her own kids, and now with the grandkids. (Check out Gus' cousin Grace's cookie adventure here. )

Here's the story in pictures.

Oma shows Gus how to put the sprinkles on.

Gus takes over, making sure to get sprinkles on each and every cookie.

OK, maybe not just on the cookies....

Oma: "Wait, you can't eat them yet!"

Amy: "OK, Gus, now we put them in the oven and wait for them to cook."

Gus: "But, I want to eat them NOW!"

Oooohh, don't they look great?

Yum.