Myrtle Beach

(Pics to come later)

So this year we went with Blake and Lauren and Caleb to Myrtle Beach for a week!

The guys drove down with all the stuff, and Lauren and I flew with the boys. The flight down was a little hectic, with having to wait in security for an hour, and getting to our gate five minutes before the plane left. (See bottom for things I learned about flying with a toddler.) We made it safe to Myrtle Beach.

We stayed in a condo complex that was SUPER nice. It was called Ocean Keyes, and it had several buildings, five pools with baby pools and hottubs. We were a five minute walk to the beach, and a ten minute walk to a park with a toddler playground. Lauren and Blake took the big room and Caleb slept in his packnplay in the walk in closet. (I know it sounds terrible but he slept great in there! :) Drew and I had our own room, and Brayden was in his pack n play in the kid room. There was a big kitchen, living room, and a screened in porch.

The boys had gone grocery shopping, and we ate all but three of our dinners in the condo. This saved us a ton of money, and hassle without having to worry about the boys in a restaurant.

We got into a routine daily. We would go to the beach in the morning. Brayden liked the sand a little. The ocean he HATED. He would walk up to it, and the minute the waves would take the sand from under his feet he would scream. So then when we go to the beach he would immediately start running towards the street. Since we traveled so far to come to the beach we did go several times, but it never lasted long! I got to swim in it one day and it was so nice!

We would then have nap time, and lunch and then head to the pool. The pool was SO nice as well. It was warm, almost too warm! The boys went between the baby pool and the big pool in their floats. Then it was another nap, and we would wait and have dinner.

Three nights we went out to dinner. This was the only time we ate out! We went to Dick's Last Resort which is hilarious! They put hats on you with crude sayings, and throw stuff at you and are generally rude to where it is funny. The boys enjoyed it because it was loud. We went to a Brick Oven Pizza place one night that was yummy, and to a Buffet. (I am totally not a buffet fan, but that is what the Drew and Blake wanted so we went.) Brayden actually loved it because he could have as much as he wanted!

We usually went to the park after dinner for the boys to play. This park was kind of hidden, but I was asking around for a playground, and someone told me about the park. It had a walking trail, pond, and a toddler playground. It had teeter totters for babies, slides, swings, tubes, trains, airplanes. They LOVED it. It was something easy and fun for the boys to do.

Then the boys would go to bed, and we would stay up playing cards and games on the porch. We got the game Partini and I recommend it to anyone looking for a fun new game!

One afternoon Lauren and I went shopping at the outlets, and the boys went the next day. We went to Barefoot Landing one night (which has restaurants, shops, and boardwalks) and the boys rode the carousel and walked around there.

Caleb and Brayden were hilarious together. There were definitely hard times when Caleb would scream for fun which would make Brayden scream and cry and they would do it over and over usually in the car. Caleb is also used to older kids taking toys from him so he took advantage of being around a younger baby and took anything Brayden had. Brayden did pretty well, and it was a good learning experience for all! By the third day they realized that they could be friends, and enjoyed running in the condo together. Caleb would hide in the blinds, and Brayden would find him and they thought this was hilarious. They went out of the room and it got quiet, and I found them splashing in the toliet. They generally loved running from room to room together and yelling baby talk at one another. It was so sweet to see our boys play and it made me sad to see how big they are getting.

The last day we went to the airport and Blake and Drew dropped us off. After waiting for our flight we learn that it has been cancelled. I was a stress ball to begin with and it sent me over the edge, I was crying and Brayden was crying. After waiting in a huge line we go back to the ticket line and they tell us that they booked us for a flight the next night. All of our stuff was in the car with the boys on their way home so I told them this was impossible. They send us in a van taxi two hours to Charleston and fly us home from there. Thankfully being upset got us home that night! Brayden went all day with about a 20 minute nap, and we made it home!

Besides the airport experience, we had a wonderful trip! It is so great to have friends to spend time with, and time with Drew and Brayden all together.

Things I learned on this trip:
1. Flying is not single parent friendly- nearly impossible
*I had to pack a survival backpack with bottles and toys and books, have Brayden in his stroller. They make you take the child out of the stroller and put it up for security. They pull you aside and test all of your juice.
*The survival bag kept getting taken away from me by flight attendants because they said you couldn't have anything at your feet-which defeated its' purpose.
*One seat isn't big enough for the two of you. Last year Brayden was 8 weeks old when I flew, and he slept on me. This year he was wanting to climb all over me and my poor neighbors.
*MOST people are very understanding and nice. Some are not.
*Lines are ridiculous. crazy.
2. Putting two one year olds together in the back seat of the car side by side might seem cute, but not a good idea
3. Having good friends on a trip makes it more fun!

Brayden is ONE!

We had Brayden's birthday party on Saturday! We had it at my parents' house, and had about 50 friends and family that came. There was a play area for the babies in the yard with toys and pools. Ivy and Ella and a few cousins were too cute playing. Brayden wore his birthday outfit, which thankfully fit, and was adorable.
We ate hotdogs and tons of sides, and Brayden loved it. He opened his presents, while sitting on top of his new car. (Krisi gave it to him.) He LOVED the car, and had to be wheeled around. Thank you Brooke and others for pushing him around! With his cake (which was made by Drew's aunt) he was very dainty and only had a few bites before pushing it away. What a fun day!

Today he went to the doctor for his 12 month checkup.
Weight- 24 lbs
Height-29 inches
*one finger prick + 2 shots= screaming
We will work on when we get back from the beach getting off the bottle. (He only takes one a day)
He is RUNNING now!
Loves water (playing in it), food (fruit, hotdogs, grilled cheese), music, dancing, books
Has a MEAN temper when he gets frustrated
So loving

Gatlinburg

Brayden and I returned today from Gatlinburg. We went with my parents and sisters. We stayed in a cabin up in Pigeon Forge.

Brayden had some trouble adjusting to his new place to sleep. It took a while for him not to be scared of sleeping in the cabin. He had a ball though playing in the hot tub, swimming in the baby pool, and playing on the playground. My dad and sisters and I went horseback riding one morning. That was fun! We had to keep the horses on the trail, and it was a beautiful ride through the mountains. My family went to some shows at night, and I stayed back with Brayden. He is not quite ready to sit through a show!

It was such great quality time to spend with my family. We joked that a lot of the things we did could have been done in Georgetown, but we knew that it was just taking the time to do them.

We were supposed to stay another day, but my great grandmother "Gran" passed away and we had visitation and funeral tonight and tomorrow. It is always sad to lose a family member, but she was 96 years old and lived a long life! She passed in her sleep and is now in heaven with her husband.

Drew left for Phoenix yesterday for work. He will be home late Friday night. It has been so hard not having him around. I can't wait to see him again!