Vacation

After a bit of a hiatus, here I am!  We went on a wonderful vacation to North Topsail Beach, NC last week and it was a fabulous break from work and daily life.  The four of us rented a house right on the beach and had a great time.  James and Logan ended up loving the beach, while Mac and I are still more reserved about it.  While I was a beach bum kind of baby, as an adult, all the sand and sunscreen and salty air kind of annoy me.  But I sucked it up and everyone was happy.
Logan thoroughly enjoyed throwing himself into the sand, particularly after getting a fresh coat of sunscreen.  How else would he get so much sand coverage?  Children's sunscreen is really glue.
James took a day or so to warm up to going in the water, but once he did, he quickly turned into a daredevil.  My mom says that Travis, my older brother, was always more reserved in the water, while I was diving into the bath tub from 6 months on and jumping off the high dive at 2 years old.  I think James is definitely more like Travis and Logan is more like me in that respect.  Now that the boys are taking baths together and Logan isn't so restricted by his baby tub, he's always going head first into the water.  Talk about a major heart attack for his mother.

The Aquarium

This past Monday, Adam and I took advantage of our day off of work for President's Day and took James to the National Aquarium in Baltimore.  We have been wanting to take him for some time, but the aquarium doesn't allow strollers and we wanted to make sure that he could handle the walking.  Well, he COULD have handled the walking, but was a bit shy with such a crowd.  He walked a good bit, but also asked Adam to carry him a good bit too.  I had Logan in our Ergo baby carrier, so I got out of carrying the big boy!
We had a great time, but also learned a few things to keep in mind for our next trip.  One of those was not to take the Light Rail into the city, as it broke down for 45 minutes.  We also forgot to buy tickets online before we left the house, so we had to wait for our entry time.  Luckily, the ticket guy saw us waiting and let us in early.
The exhibits at the aquarium are great, we saw the Atlantic Coast, Rain Forest, and Jelly Fish, as well as the dolphins.  There is a 4D film that is also being shown right now, but we decided that James probably wouldn't sit through the whole thing.  I was a little disappointed that there is no longer a set time for the dolphin show, just times to watch their training and enrichment.  The dolphins were always my favorite as a kid, but at least we got to see them for a little while.
I was kind of amazed at the people at the aquarium though.  There were more people than I expected (which was silly, we thought going on a holiday would mean less people, but everyone thought that) and I was surprised at how pushy they got.  I suppose I should have expected that, but I always make such an effort to teach James to be polite and not run into people that I thought maybe others did as well? Silly me, having so much faith in the general public!  Another little pet peeve I had was everyone with their cameras/cell phones. There is no flash photography allowed, but everyone was snapping away on their phones with their flashes going off left and right.  Do you really need to facebook a blurry picture of a puffin?  Does Great Aunt Susie care about the tree frogs you saw?  Really?  I love to document things too, but in the end I was glad that I decided not to bring the camera and just enjoy the memories we were making.
Overall, it was a wonderful day and I'm glad we kept James home from daycare to go.  He has adjusted so well to being a big brother and he definitely deserved a fun day.  I can't wait until the weather gets warmer and we can go to the zoo.

"I'm a Grandma"

We had a great time this weekend at the pumpkin patch.  We went to Weber's Farm, which is only 10 or so minutes from my parents, and I think James thoroughly enjoyed himself.  It was pretty insanely crowded, but we really tried to over look the lines for everything and have fun with James.  That can be difficult, because even not pregnant, I am not a patient person.  But we looked at animals, went on the slide, and ate lots of snacks.  The sheer amount of people also lead to James wanting to be carried more, a task which fell largely on Adam, since the boy is a bit heavy for me to be packing around at 7 months pregnant.  The line for the hayride never quite subsided, so we passed on that attraction (James also told Adam repeatedly that the tractor was going to get him, so I'm not sure what that was all about.)  All that aside, we came home with lots of goodies: gourds (James decided pumpkins were too big), apples, apple cider donuts, and a couple of pies that I could have really done without.  Things seemed to be calming down a bit as we were leaving around 4 PM, so perhaps that is a better time of day to go.  In a perfect world, we could take off work on a weekday and go then, but that is probably not in the cards for next year.
Something a bit odd happened while James, Adam and I were looking through the pumpkin bins though.  It was a nice fall day, but James and I have both had a tiny bit of a runny nose.  I had a bunch of tissues (I initially forgot them, but stole a box to take with us from my mom) in my pocket.  James was digging through the bin, so I couldn't see his face.  Out of nowhere, an older woman (definitely older than my mom, but not ancient by any means) hands me a napkin and says "Here, I'm a Grandma".  I took the napkin, but gave her a puzzled looked.  She proceeded to tell me that I needed to wipe my child's nose.  When I looked at James, yes he did have a little snot coming out, but it wasn't anything crazy.  So I said thank you (At least I think I did, at that point, Adam and I were kind of looking at each other like, "Huh?")  I couldn't even get out the fact that I had a ton of tissues with me, just couldn't see his face, etc. before she launched into her 4 grandkids and all but showed me their latest report cards.  I know she was trying to be helpful, but I was a little taken aback.  I just can't imagine my own mom, who is also a grandma (duh, Chelsea), handing tissues to someone she didn't even know.  I mean, I'm sure if someone asked, she would be more than happy to help out in a pinch.  Maybe that's because my mom actually understands normal (well, fairly normal...) social interactions.
I guess the whole "I'm a Grandma" explanation annoyed me a bit too.  Like, does this lady know she's a lot of other things besides a grandma?  Maybe she's not, maybe she's a Grandma spyborg sent to Baltimore, MD from outerspace.  Overall, not the worst thing that could happen, but I thought it was an overstep.

He's a hiker!

Ready to go!

Yesterday we went hiking at the Jug Bay Natural Area in Upper Marlboro.  Its just north of the Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary, where I spent many weekends with my family when we living on Andrews Air Force Base.  PG County is a mostly urban mess, but there are some areas, near the Patuxent River that are still nice and quiet.

So we set out with Adam's dad, John, and his Golden Retriever "puppy", Snow and did some hiking.  Although, I should have put myself in charge of the map immediately, as John had us walk 2 miles extra due to some poor navigating.  But we had a fun time and James was all over the place.  Once we were away from the roads, we let him out to run and he was so into it.  Adam held his hand for some of the hike, but most of the time he was very independent and really enjoyed himself.  For awhile, he wouldn't let go of one of the maps, so that was pretty cute.  He probably could have read it better than his Grandpa...  

As I was taking these photos of Adam and James, I couldn't help but think how much I love these two.  

Adam hikes in a full length wool coat and makes it look good

Off he goes!

Mac, James, Adam, Snow, and John

Noodles & Co.

I had a great day with James today.  He was adaptable, happy, and very lovable!  No tantrums or meltdowns to report!  He woke up earlier than usual, so he fell back to sleep for awhile this morning.  Then we had breakfast, played, had lunch, and he went back down for his usual nap.  James was very sweet while playing with me this morning and wanted to be in my lap for a lot of it.  After his lunch, I put him in bed a little early, since we were scheduled to meet Jackie for lunch.  We ate at Noodles & Co., which is a favorite of mine.  James loves mac and cheese, so he was more than happy to share my lunch.  Jackie and I stopped at DSW so she could pick up a pair of shoes she had on hold and then headed to Target.  James was well behaved in Target, although I could tell he was sick of being in a car seat or shopping cart.  I did end up carrying him for some of the latter part of the Target trip, but he's so heavy that it really isn't possible for me to carry him for long.  We got home, played some more, and before we knew it Adam was home.  We ended up being pizza out at a local place in Arbutus and it was really good!  And we paid less than $14 for pizza, french fries, and drinks!  After that, we headed to Best Buy (the iPod arm band that I bought at Target earlier didn't work for my ancient iPod, now called a "Classic") and then back home!  It was a whirlwind kind of day and when Adam took the dog out, I changed James into his footie pajamas and gave him a sippy of milk.  Not 5 minutes into his sippy/snuggle time he pointed upstairs and said "Bed?"  Not to jinx myself, but the boy loves bedtime.  If he's ready to go to bed before you realize it, he will tell you.  We have a pretty strict bed time routine, so its nice to see the pay off.  Tomorrow is pumpkin patch day so I better go get some rest!

Same old, same old...

Not too much has been going on with us lately, just the same old routines and life in general.  James is getting better and better at using a spoon, which is both adorable and messy.  He still gets some pureed veggies at dinner time, but we are trying to let him feed himself with a spoon.  I know, he's too old for jarred food, but sometimes its the only way to get some veggies into him.  Okay, the only way to get some veggies into him when Adam and I don't regularly eat any of them.  We've been trying to figure out ways to get James his nutritious foods when we aren't the best at it ourselves.  Most of the time, I give him vegetables in his lunch, then if we don't have any with dinner, at least he's gotten some for the day.  But the jarred foods have really helped him learn how to use a spoon.  On last night's menu was Carrots and Barley.  In addition to that he ate garlic bread and lasagna.  Right now James is really pounding the food away and I'm pretty sure he's in the middle of a growth spurt.  He's been sleeping and eating like a champ.  Of course now that I say that, he'll probably do the opposite this evening!

James and the spoon, last week

We are always very classy in restaurants

This is a long weekend for Rhonda, daycare is closed on Friday and Monday.  So I am taking off work on Friday to hang out with the boy and Adam will work from home on Monday.  I'm excited to spend the day with James and also to go have lunch with Jackie.  We've managed to get in a few weekend visits the last 3 weeks, but I still wish she lived closer.  But I will have to take what I can get!

How cute is this shirt?

On Saturday we're going to the Pumpkin Patch with my mom and step dad.  I'm sure James will have fun, there is a petting zoo, as well as hayrides and other fun fall activities.  I think I may be more excited about the new Peanuts Great Pumpkin t-shirt that I recently purchased for him, but you know, its the little things.  Its been some time since I carved a pumpkin, so we will be starting a family tradition for James.
Sunday I will be doing the Race of the Cure, as I mentioned in a previous post.  I am starting to get a little nervous, although I'm not really sure why.  But I tend to get that way when I don't really know what to expect.  I remember when I first joined the gym a few years ago and I was about to head out to my first class, I sat in our bedroom and cried.  I was so nervous that I couldn't really help myself.  I called Adam and he told me to calm down and that everything was going to be fine.  Obviously, it was, but I can be a very "Nervous Nellie".  My mom could tell you a similar story of when I just had to join the pom pom squad in first grade.  She dropped me off at the first practice and when she and my brother went to leave I just cried and cried.  Eventually she grabbed me, got her check refunded, and we all went home.  So I guess cheetahs really don't change their spots, because I still have the same tendencies as I did as a kid.  Although, I have to tell you that I did end up doing pom poms in fifth grade and in the words of Randy Jackson on American Idol - "It was just alright for me, dogg."
Anyway, I am going to leave the house around 6:30AM on Sunday morning and go run/jog/walk my 3.1 miles and be done with it.  So that is the quick update on life with the Bednarczyks!

Coming home from Hagerstown

Shopping is hard work.

Baby Alicyn

I've known my girlfriend Candi since I was a freshman in high school.  She was a sophomore and we bonded immediately, she's funny, sweet, and the biggest goofball I think I've ever met.  We've stayed in touch since then, I was in her wedding, and she was the first one of my close friends to have a baby.  "Baby" Cassie is now almost 3 (she and Adam share a birthday of November 11th).  Candi and Eric, her husband, just had their second little girl on Monday, the 10th.  I got to go see Baby Alicyn or Allie as they're going to call her, in the hospital yesterday.  And man, was I smitten.  Tiny babies are so precious!  Its hard to believe they're ever that small.  I was talking to Candi the day before Allie was born and it hit me that she and Cassie would be the youngest babies I've ever held.  I wasn't able to hold James for 2 days and that realization made me a little sad.  When I was visiting in the hospital it was odd, I could remember everything about my stay like it was yesterday.  It was so amazing, they let you have your baby in the room with you if neither of you is sick!  Anyway, enough about me...  Like I said, I was very taken with little Allie, she has dark brown hair and dark eyes.  She's already breastfeeding like a champ and looks just like her big sister at that age, although now Cassie has blond hair and blue eyes.  Candi is the most awesome mom and I know both her girls are so lucky to have her!

James' Deep Creek Dunk

Ready for the beach

I started to title this post "The First Swim", but really, this post isn't about James' first swim.  He had a little taste of the water back in July when he went swimming with Jackie.  But he was grumpy, and teething, and not really sure what was going on that day.  So we weren't really sure what James would do when we took him swimming in Deep Creek Lake on Tuesday. 

Overall, James was pretty underwhelmed with swimming.  He didn't take to it right away (I've always been told stories about my immediate love for the water), but it was fairly chilly for swimming on Tuesday.  In the mid-80's and a fairly windy, it definitely wasn't ideal weather.  But we took a quick dip and James screamed with each dunk into the lake.  He could cling on me, then we he'd decided that I was the mean parent, he'd reach for Adam.  When he realized we were both the mean parent, he was cold and turned on the drama, chattering his teeth as though it was below freezing. 

Such a tired boy

On Wednesday, we gave the lake another go.  James had more fun on his second swimming adventure, actually smiling and squealing when we'd lift him all the way up in the air and then lower him into the water.  I'm not sure that James has a future in the Summer Olympics, but I think next summer he will have more fun in the water.

Deep Creek Sneak Peek!

The view of Wisp Resort from our house

On our way to go swimming

Cool dude

Sleepy boy, post swim

We should go on vacation more often...

Vacation has been very relaxing and fun so far.  On Sunday we drove to Deep Creek and set up our house.  Adam, James and I have the basement floor of a large, 3 level house near Wisp Ski Resort.  Adam's parents are on the main floor, and Michelle is upstairs.  On Monday, Jackie came from West Virginia to visit with us.  We had some hot tub time and took James to the Deep Creek Lake Discovery Center.  He was relatively unimpressed.  Later, after Jackie went home, we went to dinner at the Santa Fe Grille.  Its in the building that used to house the Deep Creek Brewing Company, making me long for one of their micro brews, but the food was still very good.  Today we attempted to let the dogs swim in the lake (don't even ask my why my poor Sheltie needs to swim, but apparently that's important),  Now James is napping, Adam is kayaking, and I am figuring out the rest of the day.  I love vacation!

Almost vacation time!

Well, James (and his parents) seems to have survived his first sleepover!  He had a great time with Charlotte, Grandpa, and Aunt Michelle (Adam's 15 year old step-sister).  He didn't have a good time with Snow, the puppy, because they were kept separate while James was there.  Snow is in the "I'm a teenager dog" phase, so he's still not trained enough to be with the baby without running him over.  But James went to bed around 7, woke up around 6:30 and was a very good boy, from what I'm told. 
Adam and I had a great time on our evening out.  We ate dinner, walked over to Merriweather Post Pavilion, and watched My Morning Jacket.  The concert was amazing and I know Adam really enjoyed seeing one of his favorite bands.  We got home around 11 and since Adam woke up with the dog and then went to pick up the baby, I got to sleep in until 10.  It was amazing.
Today we're just trying to pack everything up for our trip to Deep Creek Lake tomorrow.  James is napping right now, so I am taking a little break.  We will finish packing this afternoon and spend the rest of the day relaxing.  I love vacation!

Vacation shopping!

We leave to go on vacation in Deep Creek Lake, Western Maryland on the 14th.  We found out yesterday that our rental home is under construction, so we had to pick another home last night.  Adam is calling the realtor today to let her know our decision.  If it was me, I would asking for some of our rental fee back, since it was kind of a pain in the butt, but we'll see if Adam gets aggressive!  Before then I need to do the following:

1. Buy James sunglasses (well I need to do this before Friday, his eye doctor appointment)
2. Buy James Crocs or other beach friendly shoes (even though he's not walking, I don't want his little tootsies to get hot)
3. Buy James a baseball hat for the car ride, his floppy hats tend to fall off in the car and I thought a baseball cap would work better
4. Buy Adam another swimsuit and a pair of cargo shorts
5. Get a pedicure

I hope to get most of this done today, note that I am only buying things for the MEN in the house.  Blasphemy.  And I may not get the pedicure done, but a girl can hope, right?

James goes to college...



"This sign tastes pretty good!"



You might remember that James took a trip to Towson University with Jackie, back at the beginning of July.  Jackie had to get some transcripts to send to College Park to get her Masters of Library Science started (do I sound like I'm her proud mama too?  Well, I am!  haha)  Here are the pictures that Jackie took, maybe one day he'll be a Towson Tiger!  According to Jackie's report, James was well behaved and charmed all the ladies in the office.  I am not shocked at that, James loves the ladies.




"Aunt Jackie, is it time to go now?"

 

So much more room for activites!

No, this is not a post about bunk beds (if you've seen Step Brothers then you get this reference), although we do have bunk beds in our guest room and they free up a lot of room for activities.  This is a post about going to visit Jackie, James' godmother*, in West Virginia over the weekend.  Jackie and her husband have a lovely summer get together every year.  We went last year with our tiny, 2 month old and this year we brought our crazy, active almost 14 month old!  I was a little worried about the trip for a number of reasons, mainly the fact that it takes almost 90 minutes to get there (not that long, but I didn't want to bring a tired, cranky toddler to a party).  I was also concerned because James can be a little shy and I didn't want him to cry at people all day. 
But both issues ended up being silly worries.  The morning of the party we kept James up a little while later than usual, let him sleep about an hour for his morning nap, fed him lunch, and then put him in the car a little later than his usual afternoon nap.  So he slept all the way there.  When we got there (a little early) James had time to get acclimated before more people showed up.  Jackie's house has a huge amount of space on the main floor.  The living room, kitchen, and sun room are all very open, so James had plenty of room to crawl around.  And once he realized that he could go where he wanted, he was all over the place.  So much more room for activities!  We had fun and so did he, crawling around, smiling at people, and getting fed (a lot!).  I think James might have eaten more than I did.  He had pasta salad (and he even ate the peas in it, which I picked out), hamburger, hot dog (oh no, not hot dogs!), cupcakes and so much more. 
James really was a ham, smiling, "talking", and laughing.  I'm glad he had fun and wasn't grumpy, because I don't want to be around a grumpy kid and he's mine, let alone inflict the grump on others.  Jackie's grandmother, Mavis, was there and she was a labor and delivery nurse for a long time (30 years or so), so she obviously loves babies.  James sat on her lap for a minute or so before he decided that he wasn't into being held.  We left around 6:30, James' usual bed time.  He fell asleep in the car, but the sun going down (and shining in his eyes) woke him up about 20 minutes before we got home.  He made a little noise, not really screaming, just letting us know he was ready to be out of the seat.  It was 8:00 by the time we got home, and after some milk and cuddles, James went to bed.  Overall, it was a really fun day and I'm glad we all got out of the house!



*Side note on the whole godmother title:  Jackie is James' godmother, but its sort of funny because James has not and will not be baptized or christened or whatever until its something he wants to do.  So really godmother is a way of saying "extra super special nonrelative that we love and loves our baby".  When talking about having more kids with Adam recently (no, I'm not pregnant...) I told him that Jackie will have to be the next baby's godmother too, because she's awesome and it wouldn't be fair to the second one.

How his day with Aunt Jackie is going

Happy boy!

Jackie sent me this picture from her phone...

So I guess they're having an alright time. 

Eastport a-Rockin'

Today Adam and I took James to Eastport, in Annapolis for their annual music festival. Jackie and Sarah came with us, since Sarah actually lives in Eastport! We had a good time, wandering around, eating yummy food, and listening to some great music. James really loved sitting by the water and swaying to the beat. It was a beautiful day and we all avoided getting sunburned. I was happily surprised by how well James did in the crowd and am excited to take him on more outings in the future.


James getting a better view of the stage