Cape San Blas, FL

Almost 2 weeks back from vacation and I'm just now posting about it. Oops!!

We had a great time at the Cape. It is extremely laid back and seriously in the middle of nowhere. We didn't even have cell phone service most of the time. This is the kind of place where you go if you want to spend all day, every day, at the beach....because there is NOTHING else to do. So, that's what we did. We spent most of everyday at the beach. One day we went exploring down to Mexico Beach and the small towns in between, but that was about it. All in all, we had a great time, but I don't think it's a place we will go to again. At least not for a whole week. I think we need a little more civilization and something else to do. Even a putt putt coarse or something would have been welcome. We didn't find any good seafood, but on the last night a local walking down the beach started talking to Brent and we learned we should have been going into Appalachicola instead of Port St. Joe to eat. On Wednesday we broke out the fishing pole and caught a bunch of fish. Mostly catfish, but also some other small fish (no idea what they were). We night fished a couple times while Laura listened for the kids to wake up, which was a lot of fun. I think just getting adult time was fun, even if the fish weren't biting...but they were, so that made it even better! At night we enjoyed the company of our friends, Josh and Taylor, with some cold beverages and a deck of cards. I really enjoyed the evenings after the kids went to bed; laughing, telling stories, etc. Nate was sick for several days. He had a fever for 3 days and then a rash for 2 days following the fever. He was just not himself at all. He absolutely hated the sand and wasn't really a fan of the water either. He did fine in Hilton Head, so I guess being sick is what made him dislike it this time around. Laura was a huge help and I swear I'm never going on vacation without her again!

Here's some pics. Enjoy!! Sorry there's so many!

Well Check

Nate had his 9 month well check today (1 mth and 1 wk late). Just as I suspected, he's perfect ;) He weighed 19 lbs even (25%) and 29 inches long (50%). My chunky long baby is now skinny and average height. The only surprise we got is that he has thrush in the back of his mouth. He had a fever and rash for a couple days on vacation and the Dr said that probably upset the balance in his system. She prescribed us both stuff to get rid of it. Luckily I have no signs, but it spreads easily so they treat both baby and mom just in case. 7 weeks left of breastfeeding! Yay!

In other news, Nate now waves and claps. Laura and I stopped at the outlet malls on the way back from meeting mom to get her. A cashier waved at Nate and he waved back. Seriously, Baby Nate?? You wave at a cashier when I've been trying to get you to wave at me for MONTHS now??

We had a great time on vacation! I'll be posting about it soon.

It's working!!!

Nate only woke up once last night. He didn't stir or whine at any other time! Problem is, I seem to not be adjusting to his new schedule as easily. I laid awake for a while last night, I guess in anticipation of him waking at his normal times. I hope I adjust soon!!

I did get enough sleep that I'm skipping nap time today to sew. I'm making the kids a "Bag-o-Tricks" for the car ride to the beach. Just a cinch bag with their favorite things. For Logan I made sock puppets, a lap board covered with felt and I redneck laminated some stickers with layers of packaging tape and am adding velcro so he can make little scenes or whatever on the felt. Also some letters with velcro. I've also made him a crayon roll and adding a note book so he can draw. For Nate I'm going to add his favorite hand toys and hoping to make some felt and crunchy toys for him to explore. I'm also adding their favorite snacks and sippy. I'm trying to hide it all from Logan beforehand so it's all new and undiscovered so he's more interested in them. It's only a 5 hr trip, but if our 4 hr car ride home is any indication, it will probably take more like 7 hrs with stops for the boys to get out and stretch. I'm hoping my "Bag-o-Tricks" makes the stops a little less frequent. I'm sure you're wondering why I'm making it instead of buying? Well, I just wanted to see if I could...and use up some of my stockpile of craft supplies.

SLEEP!!

Seems like there *might* be a little sleep in my future!! I've been a mean mommy and have been letting Nate cry it out at night. I'm SOOOO over getting up and nursing every 1-2 hrs. Yes, no exaggeration...EVERY ONE TO TWO HOURS!!! Two nights ago is when I started it. He got up at his usual 9:00, 10:00 AND 11:00. When he got up at midnight I was officially done and let him cry. I went in after 10 minutes and talked to him but didn't pick him up and walked out. I planned on going back in 20 minutes but he was calming down by then and I was afraid I'd rile him up by going in, so I waited. By 30 minutes he was asleep!!! But he got up at 2 am and I didn't feel like fighting so I fed him. 2:00, 4:00 and again at 6:00. Ugh. So last night I said NO MORE! He stirred at 12 but went right back to sleep. He woke up again at 2 and 3 but went right back to sleep. At 4:00, it wasn't happening so I finally gave in a fed him. He slept all the way to 7:15 without waking. So I'm hoping tonight he either sleeps to 4 or only stirs and puts himself back to sleep all night. I'll wean him off the 4:00 feed in the next couple weeks as he adapts more to soothing himself to sleep and doesn't need his "pacifier" anymore. He can go 4+ hrs during the day, so there's no way he's hungry that much! He's also been putting himself to sleep for nap and at bed time for a while now, so that's been a stress relief too. Cross your fingers this works!!!