Beach Vacation for "Spring Break"

I feel a little strange calling our vacation a spring break vacation, because I am a stay at home mom...so I don't really have a "spring break" exactly, but my mom does since she still works with the schools.  Therefore, our girl's (plus Walker) trip had to happen over spring break.  My mom's best friend from high school, Karen, had a family connection to this amazing condo in Venice, Florida.  She asked if we wanted to use it for a little get away.  Of course we jumped at the offer and coordinated flight schedules.  My sister flew from New York, we left from XNA, and Karen from Minnesota. 
We were scheduled to leave Friday afternoon, and in true Walker style he wakes up with a 101 fever Thursday.  I decided to call the doctor and get an appointment right away because the last thing that I wanted was to go to some random doctor in Florida.  We couldn't get in until 4:30 because of the "spring break rush," which I guess is a real thing in the medical profession.  Anyway, it is such a good thing that we went because it turned out that Walker had a really bad double ear infection!!  That is the last thing that I needed to hear to make me that much more nervous about the plane ride the next day.  The doctor was SO great and gave Walker a shot of antibiotics (to help it work faster) and gave us tons of advice of how to handle the flight and manage Walker's ears.

Even with his ear infections, Walker was amazing on the plane.  He did great going to Florida and coming back.  He made lots of friends and we had many comments about his funny personality.  He wanted to sit in my mom's lap the entire trip, which was fine because I got a nice break :)

Reading his favorite (and heaviest) book

Happy to be in Tampa

It is crazy the amount of stuff that you have to (or at least I choose to) take when you travel with a baby.  Luckily, it is free to check any baby item.  I checked his pack-n-play and car seat, and then paid for one bag.  I had his stroller, diaper bag, and my very large purse for the plane.  The diaper bag and purse were full of toys, food, and books.

He did awesome and slept in here all naps and all night

The condo was amazing!  It was right on the beach, with a balcony view of the ocean.  We were able to watch the most colorful sunsets every night.  One morning we saw a dolphin playing close to the shore.  Our day basically consisted of a lazy morning, lazy time on the beach, a nice dinner, and then lazy time before bed.  It was wonderful :) ...however, I use the word "lazy" loosely.  Things are not really that lazy when you have a one year old waddling around. 

We were on the 10th floor, the second to top.  The top is reserved for four penthouses.  The beach was not your typical fine sand, which was hard on my feet...but great for finding beautiful shells and much easier to clean off.

Venice, Florida is a cute little retirement community.  It is great for fishing and is known for finding shark teeth.  Camille, my sister, and I spent some time sifting the sand for shark teeth.  It was pretty cool because we found some and I am planning on making things for Walker out of them. 

 Massive overload of pictures:  You ready?

Walker's first time at the beach...he took a couple of days to warm up to it

He was very excited about his beach toys though, and there were tons of shells around to keep him entertained

That is our condo in the background.  It was perfect because there were only a few people on the beach so we had plenty of space.

Loving the beach...and maybe giving a "west side" shout out

sharing his sea shells

He loved being with his g-mama all week.  I definitely played second fiddle.

Aunt 'Mila

A quick little snooze before dinner.  It was perfect because I could read and watch the ocean, which cuddling my baby.

A gorgeous sunset (photo by camille)

(photo by camille)

These next pictures were taken by Karen Melvin:

Camille got pretty good at making Walker laugh

Karen and my mom

Walker's Birthday Party

I love planning parties and thinking of all of the fun details and decorations, so planning Walker's 1st birthday was a blast.  And Pinterest gave me lots of fun ideas, but did not help me with my time management. 

For Walker's birthday I decided on a construction theme because both of Marcus's sets of grandparents are in construction.  The Walker family builds houses and the Necessary side builds roads, etc.  Since it is mainly family that comes to a one year old's party, the construction theme seemed like a nice fit.  When I started searching the internet for ideas I saw that Oriental Trading had "I dig being 1" party supplies on sale for super cheap.  It was like it was meant to be.  Everything just went from there.

I made the banner with my silhouette machine and then put up the pictures from 0-12 months.  I made the wreath out of the bags that our newspaper comes in and then put up some construction figures that I use at my office. 

This was the table in the entry way.  Each kid was allowed to get a favor tool box that had fruit snacks shaped like tools, a tool shaped water squirt, and an "I dig you" shovel with an eraser, sucker, and bubbles.  The grown ups got a picture of Walker that said "thank you for coming."

 This is a close up of the shovel.  I used the silhouette again to make the labels.

The picture favor

This is Walker's "smash cake" and one of his presents.  I tried to do this party on a pretty small budget, so I figured I would try and make the cake...he didn't know the difference :)  When I served it to him I took it out of the truck so it was easier to grab.  He loves his new toy almost as much as the cake.

These are some of the cupcakes that I made.  I found the tool cupcake toppers online.

The cups and napkins were $0.99.  I was so excited about them.

This is the table mostly ready.  I used my silhouette machine to make construction signs with fun names for the foods.

My mom made a delicious fruit salad.

The birthday man getting ready for his party.  I also used the silhouette to make his shirt...but unfortunately didn't get a good picture of it and it was a little small.

My mom and dad playing with Walker before the party.

Jennifer had these adorable cookies made for the party.  They were amazing!

He was so excited to have friends to play with!!

I set up his room like a "work zone."  I brought my building blocks, legos, play dough, construction trucks, and other construction toys from my office.  My awesome neighbors let me borrow their son's table for the play dough and legos.  There were also stickers and a construction scene picture for the older kids.  I think everyone had a good time.

Sharing his toys with Nora.

The grown ups hanging out and eating.

Trying to figure out how to dig in.

Getting the hang of it now.

I am sad this picture is blurry but it was on my phone.  I know someone got a better one, but this will do for now.

My dad and Alexia playing with Annabel and Addy.  I am pretty sure my dad wanted to take Annabel home.  He was calculating how old Walker would be if I were to get pregnant now, yikes.

Straight to the bath tub and then back to the party in new duds.

Some of his presents.  We asked for a donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in lieu of gifts, but I guess family can't resist.  I am so happy with the donation we were able to make though.

Playing with Dany, his babysitter.

I worked on a picture/video montage for the family to watch.  It was 17 minutes long, which was a ton shorter than it could have been...but I am sure some guests felt like it was still a little much :)  It took a lot of restraint not to include every single cute picture or video clip.  We watched the video while Walker devoured his cake. 

I think the party was a big hit.  I was exhausted when it was over and am thankful we have a year before we will do it again.  I guess I will go ahead and admit that I was a total mess all weekend about Walker turning one.  I am pretty sure I cried like 6 times.  They were happy tears of course.  I feel so blessed with our lives right now. 

Holy Cow, I have a one year old!

I can't even believe it has already been a year!  I can remember so vividly being in the hospital and getting to meet you.  I remember our first night with you and all of the wonderful, crazy emotions.  I will admit that I have been sort of an emotional wreck this past week before your birthday.  I feel like everything went by so fast and that you are getting too big :)  I treasure each day from this last year with you can feel so incredibly blessed that I got to be with you every day.  I know each year will be amazing and I will probably be a mess every year on your birthday......

Let's see if I can remember everything you did in February during your eleventh month.

We played out side a lot this month.  The weather was surprisingly pleasant and you absolutely love being inside.  You will scream and cry when we have to go inside 75% of the time.  You have discovered grass and love to pull it up.  I am sure your dad appreciates that :)

You celebrated your first Valentine's day, but were sick with an ear infection so you were stuck with me all day instead of going to mom's day out and getting to spend it with your teachers.  I didn't mind one bit :)  Your ear infection was not that bad, but you had a fever of 102 for 48 hours and it made us both feel better to cuddle.

You had your first visit to the eye doctor.  The pediatrician recommended that we get your eyes check out before you turn one as a standard for all babies.  You were not too fond of the exam but you passed and we don't have to worry about going back unless we see something concerning.

You got really good at crawling and cruising the furniture during the first half of the month, and by the second half you were full out walking.  I am a Nervous Nancy though because sometimes you fall and hit your head.  It is not fun to watch, but you are getting so fast.  Sometimes I will walk into a room to put something away and by the time I turn around you have snuck up right behind me.  You love to play chase and tag.  You will scream and giggle when we come and chase you.  You also spend most of your time at home chasing Ella.  She doesn't seem to mind though because she will come to you and then wander around while you try and catch her. 

You refuse to wear shoes, but have gotten better about keeping your socks on.  If I put shoes on your feet you hold your legs up and growl until I take them off.  It is kind of funny, but hopefully you will grow out of this soon.  I get some weird looks from people for not having shoes on you. 





I am still staying at home with you and we get to go to the park or do other fun things together.  Most of the time we run errands and go for long walks.  You love to be around other kids and watch them play, so a park is the perfect place for us to hang out. 

You are still such a good eater.  Blueberry pancakes are your favorite breakfast food.  You get so impatient with me when I am getting it ready because you are ready to eat.  You have also figured out how to sign "eat" and "more."  I am still working with you on "bath," "all done," "change," "drink," and "please."  You have almost transitioned completely to regular milk.  We still nurse in the mornings, but the other times are irregular depending on what we are doing or if I am home with you.  You have three meals and two snacks every day.  You still sleep from 7-7 and take a bath at 6:30. 

You love to share things with me when you are playing.  You will make a sound like, "eh" and then hand me a toy.  A lot of times I will have toys piled in my lap and you won't have much to play with.  You are too sweet.  You also love balls.  You like to throw them, roll them, and push them.  You then chase after them and play this until you are bored.

I have started doing more sensory play games with you during the week.  This helps keep me from getting bored, is great for your sensory processing, and I already have all of the stuff at my office.  One of the first things we did was yogurt finger painting.  It did not really go as I had planned because rather than playing and mixing the colors, you just ate all the yogurt :)  I guess I should have known that is what you would do.  We have also done sensory bins with puff palls and sparkle balls.  I look forward to doing more activities with you as your attention span increases and I can trust you not to eat the supplies.

You and I made a spontaneous road trip to Dallas.  Your Nahna (dad's mom) was having surgery so we packed up the car and headed out.  I was pretty nervous about a five hour drive with you because you are so active, but you did great.  I tried to keep you entertained with a couple of new toys and books, along with snack, and an hour lunch break to stretch our legs.  You were fabulous in the hotel and at Nahna's house.  She said she loved having us and that you made the surgery so much easier because she knew she would get to play with you once it was finished. 

sippy cups, diaper bag, bag of toys for the car, my purse, train to push around, high chair, and pack and play to sleep in.  Luckily, I have a large car and I was of the mind set that I would rather have something I need then wish I had brought something.  I was glad that I brought everything and we ended up using it, except some of the food.

our stuff packed up in the hotel

with Nahna

Hanging out at Denny's getting a break from the car

You got your second hair cut this month.  It had gotten really long again over your ears and the back of your neck.  This time it was a big boy hair cut and made you look so grown up. 

you love to eat spaghetti or anything with lots of sauce.

a family photo from nora's birthday party

playing at g-mama's house

Your weigh 23lbs and are 29 inches long.  That puts you about 60% for weight and 25% for height.  Your head however is like 85th percentile.  You get that from your dad.  Your eyes are about as blue as they can get and your hair is blonde.  Your skin has a bit of an orange tint, which the doctor says is because you like to eat your orange veggies :) You love to have play mates and are awesome at going to sleep on your own.  I am very thankful that we did the eat, play, sleep schedule with you when you were a baby.  I think having a routine in our day and staying on a schedule has really helped us during this first year.