Florida Part Deaux

A few weeks ago we made our second trip to Florida this summer.  This time we went to Pensacola for Tom and Mecklin's wedding.  We have never both been away without the boys before so we went back and forth about whether we would leave them behind for the wedding.  We really wanted to enjoy the wedding without having to worry about chasing after the boys and not having to leave early because they were tired but on the other hand we thought it might be fun to go on another beach vacation with them.  After much going back and forth we came up with the best of both worlds!  We brought Aunt Kasey with us.  It worked out really well because we were able to enjoy a little vacation and we were able to have a good, child-free, time at the wedding!

Once again the drive went pretty well.  Nolan pretty much watched movies the entire drive and Henry is content to just chill out in his seat.  This time he had a little more human interaction with Kasey being in the back.  On the way there poor guy only got out of his car seat at lunch time so when we arrived in FL he looked so stiff when he first started walking around.

We stayed at a nice little condo right on the beach.  Like earlier in the summer we found a little sand bar to hang out on when out on the beach.  Nolan didn't "swim" too much this time around but he was happy to run in and out of the really shallow water.  Henry was happy to sit in the really shallow water but he also liked it when we would carry him out into the waves.  He kept pointing out farther and farther.  He also was very brave walking right into the surf.  We had to scoop him out of the water a few times.  He didn't like getting the salt water in his eyes though.



Our little play area



The boys



Family picture

We played putt putt one afternoon.  It was fun but really hot!  Nolan would do his first hit of the ball and then go pick up his ball, place it a few inches from the hole, and hit it in!  He probably ended up with the best score because of his cheating!  Henry just liked to hold onto the golf balls.

There is a zoo not too far from where we were staying so we made a trip there as well.  It looks pretty rinky dink but it ended up being pretty cool.  There are a lot of animals that you are able to touch and feed.  There were even 3 giraffes that would eat right out of your hand.  The only negative was that we kept telling Nolan that we could see a gorilla, as the website for the zoo really promoted that they had one.  Well, as it turns out you can only see the gorilla from the train which would have been an extra cost per person.  Luckily Nolan didn't really know any different and believes that we saw the gorilla.

18 Months

Henry turned 18 months last week.  He is such a happy little guy.  He is into everything and seems like he might be a little more of a trouble maker than Nolan was.  He is a decent eater and will eat a few fruits and vegetables.  Just like Nolan he loves dairy.  He eats a lot of yogurt and cheese.  He uses a fork and a spoon pretty well.  Sometimes he ends up with the food all over him though. 

He has started to make some silly faces.  He makes his mouth into an "O" when he hears a loud noise.  He knows that this face makes us laugh so he has started to do it more often.  He also likes to dance.  Sometimes he will just spin in a circle until he gets dizzy and falls down!  He tries to wrestle with his brother. He also tries to bite when he doesn't get his way...this is not a good thing!  He likes to color but usually ends up eating the crayon.

Henry has at least a dozen words but he still hasn't had a language explosion just yet.  At his 18 month appointment Dr. CS said he is a normal 18 month old though.  He babbles all of the time and most definitely understands what we say to him.  There are a few words that he says pretty regularly like "bye bye", "bubbles", and "ball" and then others that he can say but is stingy with.  He is just learning banana and when we ask him to say "Nolan" he sometimes says a word that could pass for that. 

For a while bed time was going great.  He would just lay himself down in his crib and we could walk out without hearing a peep from him again until morning.  Ever since our trip to Florida last week it is taking a little more effort to get him down again.  Hopefully he will go back to putting himself to sleep because that was so nice!

Henry is a big boy.  I think he weight is actually a pound or two heavier than what the doctor said the other day.  Kevin said he was 27lbs when he went in for a sick appointment a few weeks ago.  I certainly don't think he lost weight.  The nurse seemed to have a hard time getting the scale to balance and I think she finally just went with something.

Henry @ 18 months:
Weight: 25lb 11oz (71%)
Height:  32 3/4" (62%)
Head: 49.5 cm (94%)

Nolan @ 18 months:
Weight: 23lb 8oz (20%)
Height:  33" (75%)
Head:  50cm (90%)


Enjoying a crayon on his 18month b-day!



Friday Night Lights

Last night was the SHS vs. MHS football game.  Katherine had mentioned about a week ago that they planned on going if we were interested.  I was supposed to have plans with some friends but after those fell through we thought it would be fun to take the boys to their first football game.  Since the stadium is so close to home we just decided to walk up to the game.  The boys had a great time!  We only stayed through half time because Henry was starting to get pretty tired.  We promised to go to another game once temps have cooled off a bit.



At the game.  I couldn't get a picture of both looking at the camera.

This was probably my first game to go to since I was in high school.  It was fun to watch the Spartanaire's and reminisce what it was like when I was one.

Other than the game, summer has just been trudging along.  Nolan is still in love with sports and seems to be focusing more on baseball lately.  I just bought him his very own batting helmet on clearance at Target.  It is a little big, but he can grow into it.  He has also created his own catchers mask as seen in the picture below.  He got a new bike from Nonnie that he has been riding on the block as well.

Henry had a week of scary high fevers last week.  He went to the doctor 2 times and we were originally told it was viral and would just need to run its course.  After he continued to reach temps of close to 105 he went back again for bloodwork which determined it to be bacterial.  Luckily a round of antibiotics has him back to normal again.  He goes in next week for his 18 month appointment.  I am interested to see his stats because he is a big boy!  Unlike his brother he will eat some fruits and veggies.  Currently he loves grapes!  I am happy that we have at least one good eater!



Nolan on his new bike that Nonnie found for him!



At another Skeeter's game with the Carrigan boys.



Playing in the rain with Uncle AB



Cool Dudes



The black in Henry's teeth is from a crayon :)