Oh what a night

Friday night we decided to bite the bullet and take Braedon on his very first camping trip.  It was a last minute decision as we were just going to meet a bunch of college friends at the camp site and spend the evening and then head home.  Braedon loves to camp!  He did really well, and even though he had a little trouble getting to sleep at first, which I don’t blame him, he slept like a champ.

Our first camping trip!

Baeo enjoying the campfire with the big kids.

Exploring the tent.

Derek and I were able to enjoy ourselves a lot more too because after Braedon went to bed we were able to hang out with everyone without having to worry to make it home in time for Baeo’s bedtime, which is early!  We had a great time!

Unfortunately, it was the worst night of sleep for me…as in I didn’t really sleep at all.  I’ve decided these days when I go camping I need a little extra cushioning and two pillows.  I could not get comfortable at all and I was also THIS close to just driving home in the middle of the night.

I don’t think the big guy snoring in the campsite across the street helped…nor did the couple who were doing the hanky panky….for what seemed like hours.  It sounded like we were in the same room.  I’m gonna be honest….it was kind of uncomfortable and all I can say is I’m glad Baeo had a noisemaker. 

Peyton decided that at 6 it was time to get up and greeted us with many kisses.

I looked across the tent, saw this and just started laughing!

Braedon butt!!  Here’s a closer look.

This kid cracks me up!  Eventually he was joining in on the fun with Peyton and started attacking dad.

I drove home and was rescued by a cup of coffee!

Despite the not so good sleep, I think the trip was a success and I am no longer worried about going on longer trips in the future.

Summer is back!

After a few days of very rainy weather, it has finally started to look and feel like summer again.  Today was 87 and the next few days are supposed to reach 90.  We took advantage of the nice weather and went to a state park on Saturday and then visited a gorge that was about a mile from our house today.  I am still amazed at the beautiful gorges that are walking distance from our house.  No pictures from Saturday since I forgot the camera at home but these pictures were taken today at the gorge.

Pretty, right?

Braedon loved playing around in the water and climbing over all the rocks.  He also loves to throw the dummy for Peyton.

What to you do when you get tired on your way back to the house?

According to Braedon, you just lay down in the middle of the trail even if there are others trying to walk it as well.  Braedon has the tendency to randomly decide he needs to lay down in the weirdest places…on the sidewalk, in the middle of a store, on the bathroom floor…you name it and he has probably laid there.  A little bit weird, but it cracks me up.

He suckered dad into giving him a lift.  Or maybe we were just trying to clear the trail of Braedon so people could walk by.

Sippy cups and smoothies

This afternoon I looked over at the coffee table and this is what Baeo was up to.

You can catch his balancing acts at a few different times throughout the day.  He only asks that you bring snacks, preferably graham crackers.

I also thought this scene was too cute and couldn’t resist taking a picture of my two boys enjoying their smoothies.

Cool drinks on a hot afternoon!

Round 2

Here we go again…the second year of grad school starts for Derek tomorrow.  I think that he is looking forward to starting back up again, but even more excited that this is his last year.  He has a pretty busy fall, but because of that his spring will be pretty light.  That means a little more traveling and visiting some cool places over here on the east coast.  However, in the mean time I’m going to be hanging out with this dude.

We’ll probably spend our days swinging on the porch (he spent over an hour at one time in it this morning), visiting the local science center, taking long baths while working on our letters and numbers (see previous post), going for walks, visiting the dog park, attending play group, and just chillin. 

Fun with letters

No, I did not put an L on my son’s forehead.

Okay, maybe I did.  We all know he is not a loser…Baeo is a cool kid!

Yes, he had his binky in the bathtub.  Braedon usually only uses his binky when I put him down for a nap and for bedtime.  However, he sort of got reattached to it on our trip home to Ithaca.  He used it in the car a lot…okay every second he wasn’t eating or drinking.  We are working on cutting him off and only using it for sleeping again.  Today he wanted it while he was eating dinner.  Things are going well.

Sigh….

We are finally back in Ithaca and I have to say it does feel good to be home.  Especially after being in the car for 4 days straight.  When I last posted we had a house full of about 22 people.  It was very fun and chaotic at the same time.  That number slowly dwindled and before we knew it, it was time for us to leave as well.  I’m just going to go through some highlights with you, okay?

Okay!

My cousin has a baby boy that is two days younger than Braedon and it was fun watching these two interact for 2 weeks.

We celebrated Derek’s birthday with our very first night away together since Braedon was born.  We went to Whidbey Island and biked around it and then just relaxed.

Braedon learned a new trick.

That is talent right there folks.

We drove all around Michigan on our way home and saw all of the Great Lakes.

We went through parts of Ontario, Canada.

Braedon came down with pneumonia a couple days before we had to leave and we found out he was allergic to amoxicillin part way through.

 

Poor thing!  He broke out in a horrible rash, but after a trip to urgent care in Duluth, MI, a change in antibiotics and a few doses of Benadryl, he was back to normal.

I saw the best thing ever!

Oh, and we also saw Niagara Falls…

which actually was a lot smaller than I expected.

We finally made it home and Baeo got right back to business.

He was pretty excited to see that his swing made it back home with us.

What is chaos?

22 people….

5 kids 2 and under….

A slow septic tank plus 1 porta potty…

All under the same roof!

Be back next week!!!