My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

One thing that I found out very quickly when I joined Jim’s family was that their vacations are anything but relaxing!  They pack so much into a week at the Jersey shore that I practically need a vacation from my vacation when we return home.  But now that I’ve gone every summer since 2002 (except the one when I was on hospital bed rest with the twins), I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I love every bit of the trip, from the frantic packing of sand toys and towels, to the late night runs for Ocean City coffee and soft pretzels, to the early morning walks to Bashful Banana for banana whips, to the bike riding for Brown’s donuts and afternoon shower to rinse the sand from our burned bodies before we hit the boardwalk for Hula Grill dinners.  And I love watching our children fall in love with the spot as well.  It really is as good as it gets from a kid’s perspective, especially when you throw in mini-golf, a water park, endless arcades, and more family and friends than you can fit in a wide-angle lens! 

Here’s a few of the highlights of our busy activities these year:

A surrey ride to breakfast, powered by none other than Jim and Jon:

The girls got their caricatures drawn as a wonderful surprise gift for me:

The kids flying kites for the first time ever:

Alli and Becky waiting patiently for our Hawaiian Chicken at Hula Grill:

The girls all gussied up before an evening walk to the amusement park:

A wild and crazy game of miniature golf with the four big kids, with each one perfecting their individualized swing and then shouting, “I got a hole in one!!!” every time they threw/dropped/rolled/kicked the ball into the hole:

We joined some of our family and friends at a local basketball court for some ball play:

Here were a few of the enthusiastic cheerleaders:

Bike riding for donuts:

A view of my early morning stroller walk with Danny, since he decided to start every day of the vacation around 5:30am:

Splashing in the puddles with cousins:

Posing at the water park on a beautiful sunny day:

How many days until we can go back? 🙂

Danny loved his first taste of sand (literally):

But his first dip in the ocean wasn’t quite to his liking:

He found the whole beach scene very soothing, since he took several naps in our family members’ arms:

Jimmy couldn’t get enough of the sand – in his hair, his diaper, his ears (he also couldn’t get enough of these sunglasses!):

And he thought his daddy’s beach chair with the built-in footrest was pretty great:

And he was very excited about the waves:

And the girls?  Well they were all about the water!

And Jim couldn’t have been happier with that!

I frequently encounter the phrase, “The days are long, but the years are short.”  That saying has never felt so true as it does right now.  The days can be quite long and exhausting with four small kids going in different directions, but I keep doing a double-take when I stop and gape at how grown-up they all look.  Here’s a snapshot of the kids right now, as we embark on the summer months of 2013:

Danny (9 months): He is such a kissable, roly poly, sweet and happy baby.  Ever since he learned to get himself into a sitting position at 7 months, his demeanor entirely changed (he was sitting independently at 6 months, but couldn’t go from laying to sitting on his own then).  Once he figured out that maneuver, he went from being fussy to smiley, cranky to content.  He has 7 teeth and he eats absolutely anything.  He nurses quickly and efficiently, usually 5 times a day, and he can also drink water from a straw cup and he takes formula from a bottle when I need him to.  When he nurses, he strokes my neck and face but also pulls my hair so hard it breaks off, so it’s alternatingly sweet and painful.  He crawls expertly now, and loves to get into the middle of his siblings’ games and toy piles, much to their chagrin.  He already loves to pull open drawers and cupboards. He belly laughs uncontrollably when he’s tickled, and it’s very hard not to tickle him all the time because he’s just a little adorable dough boy.  He is wearing 12 month clothes, although when I went to put him into brand-new 12 month pajamas last night, I could barely squeeze him into the shirt, so I went out and bought him 18 month ones today.  So he’s a linebacker of a baby!  He sleeps well all night, usually going to bed around 8.  His wake-up time is pretty random, but it’s been averaging between 6-7, sometimes earlier, sometimes later.  He takes a morning nap that usually lasts between an hour to an hour and a half, and an afternoon nap that averages around an hour and a half as well (I’m working on getting that afternoon nap to lengthen!).  He only recently dropped the evening nap because we’ve been so busy we just weren’t home enough for him to take one, although he will sometimes catnap in the car.  He adores his big brother, and thinks it’s hilarious anytime Jimmy laughs or makes funny noises (burps are his favorite – help!).  He likes balls and toys more than my other kids at this age (although not books yet), which means he’s easier to entertain.  He just started pulling to standing in the last week or so, and he’s thrilled when he’s on his feet. 

Jimmy (2 years old): Where do I start with this guy?  He’s crazy, and adorable, and absolutely a hurricane-on-wheels.  His talking has exploded, and he just started saying 2 word sentences a few weeks ago, and now says even more together.  He loves life, goes a million miles a minute with whatever he’s doing, and has a smile on his face the whole time (unless he’s throwing a temper tantrum because you’re not giving him what he wants!).  He wants to touch/pull/push/tear/break/open/slam anything within reach.  He’s reached an independent phase where he wants to do everything himself, even things he’s not quite physically capable of doing (like buckling himself into his carseat).  But he’s still a cuddle bug and loves to be held. He’s constantly laughing or squealing with excitement, especially when we’re in the car and he’s spotting motorcycles or boats or trucks or Jeep Wranglers along the road.  He wants to be outside all the time, and is very sure-footed so he actually doesn’t get hurt as much as I would think he should, given how he runs with abandon and loves to crash into things.  He wants to be with his sisters constantly, but he does cherish the rare one-on-one time he occasionally gets with his parents or grandparents.  He still takes an afternoon nap for 2-3 hours every day, and he loves to suck his thumb and roll around in his bed, surrounded by favorite objects – his two blankets, and rotating paraphenilia that currently consists of a picture of a trike, a hat, a spotted stuffed purple leopard, and a toy ATV.  He wears the same size Crocs as his sisters because his instep is so tall that I can’t cram his feet into the next size down.  So when he runs, it looks like he’s a duck with his feet flapping in the wind! 

Susie (almost 5): She is 5 going on 30.  Not a day goes by without her mentioning about how she’ll be when she’s a “mama” or when she’s married, or how she’ll let her kids watch whatever TV shows they want.  She’s very much a follower – not that she doesn’t have a strong opinion of her own, but it’s very important to her that she’s doing things like other people (or sometimes, she really wants others to do things like HER!).  She is incredibly outgoing and makes friends any time we go to the park or the mall play area, or even just the grocery store.  Looking nice and wearing fashionable clothes is important to her (poor thing, she has me for her mama!).  She’s very sweet and gentle with her brothers, and loves to dote on them.  She’s doesn’t like to watch any kind of remotely scary scene in a movie, so I’ll sometimes find her peeking around a corner as she tries to keep up with the story while still hiding her face.  She’s cuddly and wants to be held, especially when she’s upset about something.  She stopped sucking her thumb cold turkey sometime in the last year.  She loves her bed to be piled high with her possessions, and she likes things to be neat and in their place.  She’s pretty even-tempered and bounces back quickly from setbacks or the occasionally tantrum.  She adores going boating, and is extremely brave on fast tube rides, squealing with delight as she gets flung around the lake! 

Becky (almost 5): She is my logical, inquisitive, sensitive, high-spirited eldest child.  She’s a natural-born leader who loves to give directions and initiate games (and subsequently change the rules if she’s not winning!).  Her imagination and ability to weave fairytale stories out of thin air continue to astound me.  She radiates energy and excitement, and loves to meet people, although she can be shy for the first few minutes of an encounter until she warms up.  She loves to dance, and wants everyone to watch her.  She’s very agile and climbs at the park like a champion.  She is completely smitten by her baby brother, and is very good at playing with him and looking out for him.  She always has “ants in her pants” and rarely sits still, unless she’s watching a movie or TV show, in which case she’s slack-jawed.  She loves to draw, color, practice letters or do academic workbooks (which is a real change from a little over a year ago when she was bored easily by workbooks).  She loves to be outside and take hikes and see new things.  She’s adventurous when it comes to roller-coasters, although she still passes on any sports where she might get her face wet (so no tubing yet).  She is a talker, and loves to narrate absolutely anything to make REALLY sure you know what’s going on.      

Any time Jimmy disappears for a bit, I have a good idea what he’s up to these days.  He’s invariably copying his daddy’s handy-man skills and finding something to fix in the new house with his beloved tools.  It won’t be long before he’s actually putting things together instead of taking them apart!