Beach Trip

Labor Day weekend, we took a trip to the beaches of Delaware! Thanks to some dear friends for allowing us to stay with them:) we had a great visit and enjoyed the beach time with the kid as well!

Heading out on the sand for his first time ever ... What is this stuff?


Wow, look at the waves!!!


Hmmm... those waves are really big and loud and cold! not so sure about this ...


Theres mom out there ... i don't think i'll be joining her!


I just hate that water!! and where is mom going again!!!?!?


Dad here, trying to distract me from the oncoming water behind us ... it didn't work...


finally took a break from being scared and smiled a little ...


digging holes with mom - fun! this is as close to the water i got on my own though ... it was too scary!


I sure love the sand though!!! and my beach ball ... even though the wind took it wwaayy down the beach ...


ahhh day 2 !


going on a quick walk down the beach...


posing with dad ... but i'm distracted. lots of large birds to see...


I had to get serious... my time was almost up ...


Wheres my sand?? its not the same here at home ...

footsies ...

People kept telling me he had little feet. I thought the shoes still fit. A quick stop in stride rite for a proper measurement for a size check, thinking he may need some news ones.

Husband and I chattered over one another stating all the facts about his footsies. Me talking about his foot being small or so people tell us, him falling and i'm scared of shoes being too big, but i just don't know his size and husband cutting in to say that maybe his footsies are fat, or tall, and short? and how much are the shoes, do they have coupons, and well, lets just 'suppose' we were to buy somewhere else with mentionings of ebay...

The young girl took one look at his feet. "He's a wide, " she declared as she put him into a sturdy standing position, before she'd even placed his foot into the cold metal sizer.

"A wide?! Well, ? how do you know...? "

"I can see it just by looking at them. They're wide," she says confidently. "And i've worked here over 3 years," she added. She looked 16. but probably wasn't. I'm sure parents question her and give her doubting glances that silently say 'oh what does she know, she's just a kid working in a shoe store'... she told us about their training each year, to learn about the new shoes. the facts about the shoes. the design of the shoes. the make of the shoes. 3 years of baby shoe training. wow. and she still works here.

As she finished up measuring his little footsies, I quickly flipped over each shoe on the rack, looking for the most affordable option.

49.99. okay. wow.

next one 49.99. okay.

try again. 49.99.

49.99... what the ?

49.99 !!!!

Husband beat me to it, "where do you put the sale shoes? or clearance?" he asked doubtfully, glancing around the store. I had already scanned the store on my own, spotting not one 'sale' sign much less clearance.

"All the shoes are the same price. and usually are. we don't have clearance items," she said, as she took his left foot out of the sizer. "Okay, he's a 4 1/2 wide!"

Oh My Lord, i thought to myself. I've had him in 2's and 3's!!!!!! BAD MOM. I swear his foot went in them! maybe a bit tight but i'd never imagined he was practically two sizes too small for them!! My poor child. Is this why his big toe looks a bit awkward? because i've been stuffing him in too small for his foot shoes?!? Sigh.

I didn't say a word. I just gulped.

"a 4 1/2 Wide!! Oh my gosh... we've been putting him in - " husband started and i quickly cut him off with a loud "OH WOW.... a Bit bigger than we Thought!!! Geeez!!! haha" being too embarressed with what he was about to admit.

According to our stride rite shop girl, he'll be this size for aprx. 2 or 3 months. So we left the store shoeless and heading home to the comforts of ebay for his odd size.

"Why did you keep talking about Ebay to her!?" i said as he came back with "Why did you keep cutting me off?!"

"Well we're going to look on ebay!" he said as I answered "i didn't want her to know we'd been cramming him in a 3!!"

Abram just looked on from the backseat. Grinning. and Barefoot. Fun times of shopping with mom and dad!! he must be thinking:)

Whew, a big Thank You to Ebay! We now have 3 pairs of shoes - all stride rites - on the way to our home now. Two 4 1/2 wides (one sneaker and another boot) and one 5 wide for the future. Also, a couple pairs coming from a cousin in GA too! Hand-me-downs! Yeaaaa!

Meanwhile i have a pair of fours that truly seem comfy on him (i swear!) and he's wearing them until this first order arrives... and we've sent a note to daycare they can take his shoes off if they feel they aren't comfortable for him. no other details disclosed ha.

That night, while putting him to sleep, i was singing to him, the usual round of songs we do. As he was dozing off, i kept on singing while flattening out his big toe between my thumb and forefinger, straightening it to a normal position... i've been doing this each night since.... and he wriggles it away if it tickles.

"Give me back that toe little man .... " I tell him as i switch to the other foot. "I can't have you with crooked toes... your father will never forgive me."

water balloons and bubbles

Its tough to feel like we get any 'quality' time during the week... by the time work is done, the kids home from daycare, and we've managed to get a half decent meal in our bellies - it seems like its bedtime! so we've been making an effort to do a little something fun somehow during the work week. this night here was husband's idea - water balloons!

helping dad fill them up with the water hose ...


wheeling them up in my new wheelbarrow...


Wha!?? what just happened?!?


I'll give it a try!


it didn't bust so mom helped me out on this one...


Then another night we got into the bubbles on the deck just before bed... he wasn't as into bubbles as water balloons but it was chilly so bubbles were warmer ha...

attempting to blow bubbles on my own - never had any luck!


catching them...


So fun!


Some beach pictures to follow and on another note, abram is 16 months old - TODAY! and as you can see above, he does still have all his teeth:) a red sea miracle.

falls and teeth...

I debated whether to do it or not. Should I? Shouldn't I?

A. Why not - it will only be a few hours! B. But why - its only a short appointment, so take him along!

I guess its how moms analyze each little (or big) decision to be made for their child.

Sometimes theres a right decision. and a wrong one. Other times its just a decision, being right nor wrong. just two options, A and B, and you pick one. So you pick B, and later think - dammit! i knew A was better! ahhh hindsight - a great thing. if only practical, right?



I decided to take him to daycare last friday. even though i never do. i went with husband to an appointment and wanted to sit in a doctor's office without pulling abram away from the magazine racks, hushing him as he yells hi to other patients, and racing over to keep him away from the open outlets. So i dropped him off. For a whole three hours. and later realized i really should have gone with A!

Thirty whole minutes after drop off, he fell and hit three of his front teeth on a wooden bookshelf. There was blood and tears!

After a morning appointment with husband, i spent my afternoon at an emergency pediatric dental appointment. Good Times!

Yes. Three teeth injured and knocked loose. They did an x-ray. pushed and prodded and confirmed what i feared. Yikes. i've taken all his other little injuries in stride, but this one made me sick!

We go back in 5 weeks so the dentist can check them and he said its very possible they will tighten back up! i hope so! his orders were for the kid to not bite into anything for the next 5 weeks or use hard top bottles or sippy cups. the sippy cup thing - no problem. the not biting into (or chewing on) anything hard part - HA. He's a teething 15 month old boy. keeping things out of his mouth = next to impossible! but we're trying!!

So there was no right or wrong decision i made... i'm trying to remind myself, crap just happens! And i'm glad it was no worse than it was ... and i suppose its just a small dose of the many million more times i'll feel guilty about my kid in the years to come...

a family visit...

In early august, we had a great weekend visit with the kid's pap and mamaw... aka, husband's parents:) abram didn't miss a beat with them - he acted like he knew exactly who they were! he really enjoyed the company as did we! every chance he got, he was coaxing pap or mamaw either one to take him "out" "out" and "out" ... either just on a walk together or in his lovely blue car. he loves being outdoors! and he was just too cute to say no to i think. so a lot of their visit was spent out in the yard or wandering around our neighborhood.

Walking with Mamaw...


Posing with the grandparents...


Wrestling around with Pap...


And Car Time!! Yes!!


It went by way too quick! they were surprised about how much the little guy had changed in just a few short months - their last visit with him was the second weekend of May. Its crazy how in three months (at this age!) so much changes!