Memorial Day Weekend

Because the camping trip we took over spring break was so much fun, we decided to go again over Memorial Day weekend. We loaded up the car as soon as I got home from work Friday and took off. Maybe the thunderstorm that hit as we were leaving town was a sign for us to turn back, because this trip wasn't quite as enjoyable...Last time Jacoby went down to bed no problem - this time he was still up at 9:30 PM, and he goes to bed at 8 like clockwork! Finally Robert and I laid down with him in-between us on the blow-up mattress and went to sleep. Except we didn't really sleep. All night long Jacoby rolled around the mattress like a Tasmanian Devil. He finally settled down around 6 AM, but we were both agitated and ready to get out of that tent!
But we didn't drive all the way to St. Augustine to not go to the beach, so as soon as Jacoby got up (around 9:30!) we loaded up the beach bag and headed down to the ocean.
Jacoby was a little timid at first, but then was ready to jump in the waves!

After a picnic lunch on the beach we were all ready to get this vacation over with and head back home!
Back home the next day, Jacoby impressed us with his biking skills.
Somehow he's better at scooting backwards than forwards, but give him a little time and I'm sure he'll figure it out.
Fortunately we still had Monday to recover. Only 9 more days of school for me and then summer vacation, here we come! In fact, after 24 hours, Robert and I were able to actually laugh about the whole camping disaster, and believe me, we were NOT laughing on the way home :o) The whole awfulness of the trip got a little fuzzy and we decided to book another trip for Labor Day weekend.

Summertime (almost!)

It's definitely feeling more and more like summer every day here. The afternoon thunderstorms have started and it's incredibly hot in the middle of the day! To beat the heat, Rob went out and got us a kiddie pool that all 3 of us could fit in. I love coming home from work and hopping in with Jacoby to cool off!
He seems to enjoy it too...
I've signed him up for swim lessons with the YMCA and we start classes June 14th. He already puts his face in the water and blows bubbles. Clearly he's a prodigy. :o)

Also new to our lives is the booster seat. Jacoby was getting fussier and fussier about eating in the high chair, but he's not quite big enough to sit at the dining room table. He can climb up on the chairs, but dinner was turning into a high-wire act while he balanced, standing up and tried to eat. So starting this week he graduated to the booster seat. From the looks of things, he seems to like it.
He and daddy shared a McGriddle and the newspaper this morning.

Robert had the afternoon off so we headed over to my friend Minja's to hit the pool
Her neighborhood has a great community swimming pool. There's even a smaller "kiddie" pool that is perfect for all of our one year olds! It's maybe 18 inches deep, so they can walk around, but deep enough for moms to get in and cool off too.
Is he blowing bubbles or drinking that water?
And...time to go! All that swimming makes bedtime a breeze - as long as he gets a good dinner first!

Happy Mother's Day!

We had a WONDERFUL Mother's Day. Robert was able to arrange his schedule so that he had the entire day off - and that hardly EVER happens. This morning he made breakfast (waffles that didn't turn out quite perfect, but at least now we can say we've used the iron that we got as a wedding present) and even did the dishes.
Later in the day he sent me and Coby out to the Butterfly Museum so that he could paint the hallway. On the way home from the museum we stopped for ice cream - yummy!
You know you're a mom when you find yourself not batting an eye at sharing an ice cream cone with a slobbery kid.

We had to move outside because he started putting his sticky fingers all over the seats and wall behind us!

I'm telling you, I couldn't have had a better day.
This picture is from the day before - we went out to the Alachua Splash Park again. Great spot for moms and kids. A perfect place for a little cool down and boredom buster. It's going to be our regular place this summer. I promise that we brought toys (the tennis ball in the background is ours) but Coby found this water bottle laying in the grass and didn't put it down again. What a little garbage monster! :o)

Trip out to Alachua Splash Pad

We knew it was coming, but it was still hard to say good-bye to our babysitter, Charlotte. This weekend she graduated from UF and next weekend she's getting married and moving into their new home! She has truly been a blessing this last year and I don't know what we would have done without her! Case in point, when Robert got the news that he would be out of town Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of last week, she was able to come to the rescue and take care of Coby during the day. She also sings songs, plays music, and brings new and interesting toys to play with. We love her and will miss her so much. But...she is a Seminole and we hope to meet up with her in the fall for a football game in Tallahassee.

It's starting to feel like summer here in Gainesville. We were able to go without air conditioning until last night - it was 80 degrees inside! Only ran it until the house cooled down to 78, but what a huge difference! Instead of staying cooped up today, Coby and I drove a few miles down the road to Alachua. They have a splash pad out there that is perfect for little ones.
There were a ton of kids out there - all of them super friendly. Coby just jumped right in there with the "big" kids, running around, jumping in the water, and stealing their buckets.
He also enjoyed putting his mouth over the spout of water.
Jacoby's becoming very independent and doesn't really like to be told what to do....kinda a bossy little guy...here he was able to run around freely without me constantly worrying about him drowning!

I'm going to add this to our list of "boredom buster" destinations. Both of us had such a nice time AND got cooled off.