Rodanthe Vacation

 As if it wasn't fabulous enough to spend a week in the Bahamas, we followed it up with a trip to Rodanthe, NC the day we came home from the cruise. Our friends were gracious enough to let us use their beach house and we invited our parents to come along as a 'thank you' for taking such good care of Jackson while we were away. Rodanthe is the most relaxing place for us and we always have such  good time there! The weather was perfect for walking on the beach, watching sunsets on the porch and taking many trips to Oregon Inlet to see the fishermen throw their catch on the dock.  We celebrated Jackson's first birthday with all four grandparents, so there was an abundance of laughter and toys!

This is how we get J dressed...teamwork

birthday boy in his birthday suit :)

family walk on the beach

McKays

Grandmother Beth

Grandad

with the birthday boy

love his daddy

my boys

hanging out on the dock

watching the tuna and wahoo on the dock

Happy Birthday Dear Jackson

Jackson,

Happy Birthday sweet little guy. To say we have loved this past year would be an understatement. We are constantly in awe that you are ours and that we get to be your parents. We love watching you grow, explore, laugh and show more of your personality each day. I love starting each morning with you, snuggling on the couch as you drink your bottle. I love singing to you and having you clap for me! I love watching you stack things and figure out shapes and cause-and-effect.  You are on the verge of walking all over the place, taking about 8 steps by yourself now. You have the strength to do it but you are still a cautious child. Thankfully, there have been no big injuries in learning to stand, cruise or walk (hopefully you aren't saving them for when you learn to run!).  Your new thing is getting up on your tiptoes and pulling yourself up onto high surfaces to see what goodies are waiting for you to play with. I guess we have to baby proof the entire house! 

You have such a sweet spirit and are happy most every day! You self-soothe yourself when you are tired by grabbing your front locks of hair and rubbing them through your fingers. We can't bring ourselves to give you your first hair cut and get rid of those gorgeous curls. You have sailed past your short separation anxiety phase, doing beautifully when we dropped you off with Grandmom and Pop Pop for a week. You didn't even think twice when we left which was good and bad for us. You go happily to new people and have never met a dog you didn't like. Your first sound was 'ah ah', directed at dogs but now we have realized that you use it towards all animals, but with a little more animation towards dogs.

You have changed from a hungry man to a picky eater, refusing anything green and most proteins aside from cheese. You still put up a strong anti-cup protest so we have decided to continue on with a bottle since you successfully transitioned to whole milk.  The kitchen is a wreck after each meal, especially when Lincoln is not around to be our dust buster. You are an amazing night sleeper, continuing to go to bed at 6 (or earlier on no-nap days!) and sleep until 6:30 or 7 recently. I find myself wishing you got up earlier so we could keep our running dates with the De Egg group, but I guess I should enjoy your awesome sleep habits while I can! This totally makes up for your 30 minute nap phase.

You have so much personality and love to entertain us. You look at us to make sure we are watching you before you do something you think is funny or impressive, like stacking several blocks. You now laugh when we laugh and sometimes on your own to get us to start laughing at you. You are a nut. You love your daddy so much and I can see so much of him in you. I hope you grow up to be just like him. We thank God for you, little J.

Cocktails in a Coco

We just got back from an amazing, relaxing week-long cruise to the Bahamas in honor of Dan Mazzio's 30th birthday. Cheers to Lisa for organizing such a great birthday party! We set sail on Sunday, spending a day at sea, two days in Nassau, one in Freeport and another sea day as we returned home to Norfolk. It was eight adults and no kids, so we all enjoyed much-needed time doing nothing. Most days were spent on a deck called 'Serenity', and it truly was. Read 5 pages, sleep for 30 minutes, have a cool drink. Repeat. 

On Tuesday we hailed a cab to take us to a public beach where the waves were incredible! They were selling cocktails in a coconut, so we all settled down on our towels and slept on the beach after getting pummeled by the waves.  Later that evening the guys accidentally discovered some of the more sketchy parts of Bahamian culture but everyone made it back to the cruise in one piece and now have great stories to tell because of it. Whew! 

Arriving in Nassau

Lisa, Bonnie and Heather enjoying cocktails in a coconut

the water was unreal! 

On Wednesday we went to Sandy Toes on Rose Island. Bonnie found this gem of a retreat which included a 45 minute boat ride to a private island. We snagged sun chairs, a welcome-drink and passed out in the sweet Bahama sun until it was time for lunch (in a tree house) and snorkeling! I was fairly terrified to try snorkeling. I prefer not to go in the water, and if I do, I don't want to touch anything or know what I am touching! However, this was an incredible experience. We donned our fins and snorkels and dove off the dock into 10-foot deep water where we saw neon-colored coral, hundreds of different types of fish and a sting ray! We agreed that we would snorkel again if the chance presents itself.  Guess we'll have to schedule a tropical vacation again sometime soon :) 

lunch in a tree house overlooking the ocean

We are so grateful that our parents were able to watch Jackson for a week while we enjoyed our first vacation since his birth, almost one year ago. It was a great time to strengthen our marriage and have fun together as Jonathan and Heather, not just mom and dad. We're hoping to make this a yearly tradition (maybe not with a week-long vacation) of getting away from the stresses of every-day life really enjoy each other. Jackson had a great time and we are sure that he would rather be back with his grandparents who completely spoil him!  

with my handsome husband on formal night #1

1st cruise, 2006 for our Honeymoon

6 years later, on our second cruise

The weather was pretty great all week and on the last sea day we got to see a water spout! Look at the water and also at the sky on the left. 

Finally, Jonathan provided our entertainment all week in the Karaoke bar and was chosen to perform in the show on the final night as Garth Brooks. He had a dress rehearsal, costume and professional escort. Jonathan completely stole the show with his bass voice singing "Friends in Low Places".  People came up to him after the show to get pictures with him! I could enjoy being the wife of a famous person :) but I would have to get him a professional stylist 

Garth's fan club

All in all, a high-five worthy week! 

Extra pictures from the first few weeks of October

Here are some more pictures from last week, taken by Val which is why they are so good!

baby blues

best buds, Jackson and Sofi play with Legos for the first time

we love to look at flags

Children's museum in Portsmouth

not a hat guy anymore

Sofi, Ellie and Jackson

my little pumpkin

Mary and Ellie, Jackson and me, Val and Sofi

Getting Dressed

We love to laugh with Jackson. Recently, our house has been filled with clapping (Jackson's!) and laughter as we get him dressed each morning. It's still like a wrestling match to put on a diaper or any clothing so it's nice to have a partner. Each of us puts one arm in the shirt and then we tackle the pants. One person holds Jackson and the other holds the pants open for jackson to be dropped into the pants.  He gets a kick out of it! He does love to get shoes and socks on and sits nicely in my lap for those each morning.  

J is so busy and he has the dirty body to prove it. We played around on Kaitlin's porch last night and he had legs covered in soot and a mouth full of soil. Looked like he chomped on an oreo and he was just grinning like crazy. As if the oatmeal wasn't enough, he tried to eat a smoothie with his hands the other morning. When he is not eating (which is most of the time lately), he is feeding Lincoln from his high chair.  Our freshly-washed dog (courtesy of JB who was cleaning Lincoln of his fleas and the poop he rolled in) was soon covered in chicken nuggets, sweet potato and carrot shavings.

See below for happenings from our busy week!

J loves the zoo with Liz

Eating his first apple

bike ride! 

at the park with Brooke, 4 months

Front porch sitting

We have had a ton of fun lately, courtesy of Val and Sofi. First, we started with the GUMP consignment sale last Saturday where we got a truck-load of stuff including J's first Tonka truck and a car ramp. We had a third baby with us this year, since Chelle had her sweet baby boy! 

Consignment sale with Val and Chelle

Then we took advantage of National Free Museum Day! Working part-time has allowed me to enjoy more of what Hampton Roads has to offer. We went to the Children's Museum in Portsmouth and it was awesome. The kids enjoyed science experiments, crawling around a fire truck, and sitting in the world's largest chair. One of the best parts of being a mom is getting to do fun things that I think are really awesome too. I learned so much at the museum and can't wait to go back. Plus, there is this great coffee shop that I need to check out in downtown Portsmouth, and I need to ride the ferry for the first time.  

Children's museum with Val and Sofi 

Finally, Val invited us to the Children's Festival at Town Point Park on Saturday. We were pleasantly surprised that there were so many things for little kids. They played with play-dough and legos for the first time, listened to live music, watched ballet and hip hop dancers and played basketball. We are looking forward to many more days like this!

Children's Festival with Sofi

Punkin' Chunkin'

If you don't' recognize the title of this post, it's from Modern Family, one of the greatest shows. You should check it out!

I have the greatest friends who fill my days with joy. Many thanks to Val who called our attention to a Groupon that otherwise did not catch my eye. However, it was a well-spent $7 for over an hour of good fall fun and a huge pumpkin to decorate our front steps! We discovered quite the gem at Eggleston Garden Center, a location that employs people with special needs. It is tucked away by the zoo and has an amazing assortment of fall plants, pumpkins, cute yard art and kind staffers.  

  

We all showed up with our kids dressed in coordinating overall totally by accident...I guess that is what happens when you spend so much time around each other?! Get ready for some serious cuteness. 

Jackson and his ladies...he is always eating

Ellie with her signature bow

our little pumpkins 

Val (the amazing photographer) and Sofi

Clapping! 

someone will need a bath tonight