Vacation 2014

Hello Blog Readers!  This is Rob writing this time, first time in a while.  Life has been so busy with Lydia!  Playing man to man instead of zone is exhausting.  Work has been busy too... So fortunately we were able to get away to Bethany Beach, DE for a week this June.  

We had never been to Delaware before and decided to go there because it was closer than the Outer Banks.  After the fiasco of the 11 hour pilgrimage last year, we tried everything to minimize travel time like going Friday to Friday to avoid a beach rush.  Letting the van GPS pick the "preferred" route was not a great decision, however.  It routed us around the DC beltway where we spent an hour in bumper to bumper dispite hitting the area at 1:00 pm.  So the ~300 mile trip took seven long and harrowing hours and we arrived after the rental place was closed and had to get our keys out of the lock box.  

We rented a house just off of the boardwalk that was rustic but had a nice layout.  Usual beach stuff.  House seemed to be built in the fifties.  Here are some pictures:

kitchen

kitchen

den

dining room

The one unusual feature was that the upstairs bathroom door was barred shut when we got there. Not locked, it just was stuck at the bottom and couldn't be opened.  It was odd and a little concerning:  did the cleaning person pull a Lane Pryce in our beach house?  The next day a maintenance man had to climb through a window - it turns out the access panel to the tub fell off and wedged against the door.

We turned in early the first night. Which was good.  Because the kids seem to think the eastern shore is in a different time zone and wake up every year at 5:30 a.m.  Only there was no Aunt Jerry to rise with the roosters.  

We like to settle into a routine.  Take the kids for a walk to get coffee and then hit the beach early.  Bethany was great for walking.  A nice coffee shop was 3 blocks away.  We hit the beach at about 10:00 the first day.  Lydia added a new wrinkle: an aggressively mobile speed demon that could not be trusted.  We also took sand toys to the beach for the first time.  The solution was for her to be tethered to one of us at all times.

Lydia with her tether and "tar" sand toy

Naomi of course loves the beach and in vacations past we took the jumper:

Stone Harbor 2012 

But she is bigger and we didn't rent a monstrous van:

Method of transport Nags Head 2013

She was very content to be on the beach laying on a towel

Cheesy grin

Bear

Wound up bear

Still wound up

Not as wound up

So most days we spent time at the beach from 10:00  until about 12:00 when Lydia went down for her nap.  The first day our friends Bill and Sarah joined us.  They have been on vacation with us almost every year for the last six:  they are gluttons for punishment!  This years special treat:  Lydia running around at 7:00 am  - dum dum dum dum dum, dum dum dum dum dum.  Lydia did take a shine to "Uncle Biwl"  They are great friends and very good with Naomi.

Lydia with her new pal

Aunt Sarah

That was pretty much the routine.  One morning we went to the park.  They had a really nice swing for Naomi.

Naomi in her swing.

And Lydz got in on the action too

"wing" ing with Dad

There was stretch out time with shows - especially on the day it was nearly 100 degrees.  That was the day we went on a road trip to Rehobeth.  We didn't last long.

There was lots of snuggling

Mommy and her girls

Lydia tried on some accessories

And learned to drink from a straw

Naomi turned Bethany into a nearly nude beach

And of course Daddy and Naomi we sea lions for hours every day

Lydia chose to get up one morning at 5:15 and I took her to the parking lot across the street.  She had a great time running around in her PJs and pointing and saying the letters.  

Naomi's hair got blonde and she got tanner than kids are supposed to

Goldilocks

Lydia got tan too- she climbed on the furniture

The week went fast like everything does.  Finally, Lydia was tired on the way home.

Another vacation in the books.  Here is the family picture.  Total chaos just like you would expect.

Late Spring Update

Where has the time gone?  We've been busy doing some big things for Naomi and not so busy just loving living with our two girls.  There have been many, many, many long afternoon walks with Mommy and the girls.  And many evenings spent wandering around the yard.  Naomi and Lydia both love being outside.  After all those months of that especially long, especially cold, especially snowed-in winter we had, we all just want to be outside in the sunshine and the fresh air.  We've been so busy having fun that we've barely taken any pictures of the girls.  Which I feel a little disappointed about because they will never again be the girls we didn't photograph so much these last two months, but sometimes it is nice to be fully in the moment and not behind the lens of a camera.  Oh well.  There are "disappointments" in life like not taking enough pictures and there are DISAPPOINTMENTS in life like your first born child never reaching any developmental milestones past the 4 month mark.  And we very well understand the difference.

Lydia has become wild and silly and affectionate and oh so playful and full of herself recently.  She loves to give us hugs, running toward us at full speed, arms out stretched and then taking a last flying leap in to our arms.  It's intoxicating to be loved so fully and unabashedly.  We soak it up, knowing that this season with her, like all seasons, won't last forever.

Naomi has been pretty good recently.  We have had her usual runs of 5something am wake up times for a week or so at a time, but she has been doing very little screaming recently, and for that we are thankful.  So very thankful.  The screaming grates against our compassion in a way that is very painful and difficult to endure.  She finished up her last year at preschool last Friday.  She has 6 days of summer school in late June and July, but her time there is essentially over.  It is hard to say good bye to that season in her life.  She has been so very happy there and so very loved and understood.  She has grown so much socially and emotionally.  Such a big girl these days.  And her teachers and staff were beyond wonderful in every way.  She had her end of the year performance last week too.  It's when the class gets together and performs a few songs and routines from their school day.  I always love it.  I went to school with Naomi one day the week before and was able to help her practice.  I am so glad I got to do that.  She was smiling and laughing the whole day.  Her teaches said she was that way for every practice.  Unfortunately, she got very upset for the actual performance and was ramping up to her fire drill sire scream.  I had to intervene to settle her and keep her calm.  I think she was unsettled by all of the people in the audience.  Naomi does not deal well with sudden change and the environment was different than what she practice.  We felt bad.  We can't help but wish she had been her silly cute fun self for everyone to see, rather than her upset, screaming, unsettled self. She did get to hold the flag at the beginning and was happy doing that part, but it was during the songs which she enjoyed so much every other time that she got upset.  Poor Naomi.  We so often feel like we can't win.  Plus, Daddy, Grandma, Poppa, Nanny and Grampy who all came to see her performance didn't get to really see her perform.  Oh well.  Like I said before about disappointments...
Lydia, Grandma and I, and Cousin Hannah, who has been going to school with Naomi as her aide off and on since she came home for the summer after her freshman year of college several weeks ago, all went to see a slide show of pictures from the school year on Friday and then went to a local outside ice creams shop to celebrate the last day of school.  Naomi declined the taste I offered her, but she did enjoy sitting out in the sunshine with all of her friends from school.
I love my girl so much.

Clementine and I are trying to watch a show already. 

Naomi participating in dying Easter eggs by  being in the room and not screaming, whining or crying.  Admittedly,  she was watching a show. 

Naomi with her kitty pillow the Easter Bunny brought her. Naomi loves kitties.

Naomi tasting a marshmallow peep on Easter morning.  She did not enjoy it and let it fall out of her mouth.  She also tasted chocolate.  It did not fall out of her mouth because it melted first. 

All ready to get on the van and go to school. 

Naomi proudly displaying her butterfly mask she picked for being good at school and getting all of her stickers on her chart again. 

Naomi relaxing in her bean bag chair and listening to her songs. 

Princess Naomi and Lydia going for a wagon ride. 

Naomi all snuggled up asleep with Kitty Duchess and her cozy blanket at night.

Naomi and Lydia on the swing set. 

Lydia requested that all of these ribbons be put her her hair.  She likes to do this. 

Mommy trying to calm and\ upset Naomi at her school performance.  She settled and smiled and laughed briefly and then remembered that she was upset.

Naomi being held by Mommy during her performance.  

Naomi and her friends getting their certificates.

Naomi thinks she is hilarious when she chews on her rag and won't let you take it out of her mouth.  She does this to Daddy at night when he tries to brush her teeth too.  She thinks that is even more hilarious.  

Lydia likes to perform for herself in the mirror.  

She also likes to run through the sprinkler in the garden and get covered in mud. 

Naomi is modeling her costume for her end of the performance.  It really was so cute. 

Naomi all ready for school on her last day of preschool.