Oak Island, Week 3

I know we returned from vacation over three weeks ago and so much has been happening (will give an update of things later) but I thought I would give a close out of our trip. 

Oh my goodness, do I ever have a bunch of photos from our vacation. This post is going to have a lot of them. For our final week at the beach and our final week of "vacation," Pearson was able to join us, as was everyone else in the family. Although, I might be a broken record, this time at the beach was pretty spectacular. The weather unfortunately was less than spectacular. We didn't have as many great beach days as we would have liked. One was down out right chilly and a few others brought a lot of rain, which was just another excuse to hit up Planet Fun. 

This was the week that we also finally decided to employ the babysitters we found. Being at the beach with my kids is for the most part fun and exciting but it is hands down exhausting. Just putting sunscreen on the kids and struggling to put bathing suits, swim diapers, and sandals on them left me tired. And when we got to the beach, there was always something. I made the mistake the first couple of times of hauling a chair to the beach for myself. I never sat in it. I know, I know all this time with young kids is fleeting and there will one day be a time when I can sit in my beach chair and read while my kids play but not now. Reason why god invented babysitters. We hired them one day so that all the adults could sit, talk, and hang out (code word for drink) on the beach. We had such a lovely evening with my sisters and their husbands. The night was capped off with dinner at Duffers (the restaurant at the gold course). 

To sum up our vacation, it was pure joy. With that said, I don't believe I have given my parents enough appreciation for buying the house at 30 Augusta Drive. All this joy would not have been possible without their dream to one day own a second home at the beach where their family could come and be together with no cares or worries. My parents have spent the better part of the last six months working on this house that is now a home. They have painted, cleaned, purchased, negotiated and managed contractors, floor people, kitchen designers, plumbers, and electricians. They have visited Lowe's more times then they ever have cared to, they have purchased and bought furniture, bath fixtures, pillows, carpets, patio furniture, and a garage door. They have made numerous trips from Alexandria to Oak Island where their cars were filled with stuff for the house. Subsequently, they have hauled all that stuff from their cars to inside the house. The memories formed at 30 Augusta Drive and the countless ones to come are all because of my parents love for their family and friends. They want all of us to know that a home is more than the things in it and that the beach provides unique and unforgettable moments of laughter, happiness, calm, and restorative power. Thanks Mom and Dad for working your asses off for the last 40 years and saving to make this all possible. 

Baseball on the beach. 

Julie and Beef making sand castles for Mae and Whitaker. 

Whitaker and Mae destroying those sand castles.

Whitaker thinking destruction is so much fun. 

Aunt Julie and Mae. 

The night Aunt Julie and Uncle Beef gave baths. 

They decided Mae and Will should be sharks. 

Not wanting her photo taken. 

Chilly day on the beach. 

Scooting to the beach. 

Early family morning on the beach. 

Deciding if she wants to jump in, in her clothes. 

She does!

Whitaker deciding to go in the water in his PJs. 

Collecting seashells. 

Awww, bro in law love. 

Julie & Matt

Napping on the beach is so peaceful. 

Pretending he is a star quarterback. 

More pretending. 

Julie & I

Sisters! 

Another pretender. 

Baby John. 

Trying to get a family photo. 

Another attempt. 

AND yet another attempt. 

Heather, Baby John, and Grandma K. 

Whit pretending to take a nap under the umbrella. 

Trying to figure it out. 

Something both my kids discovered a love at the beach - gatorade!  Cousins enjoying a beverage. 

Whit convinced Uncle Beef to take him for a ride. 

Family fun at the beach. 

Pearson being the "wave" as the kids take a ride. 

Will enjoying it and trying to hold on. 

Mae's turn.

Thoroughly loving the ride. 

She could have done this all day. 

Trying to get a picture of all five kids prior to the water balloon fight. Whitaker refused to stand still. John was upset that he was being held in the air by big bro Luke. And Luke didn't want to hold John anymore. 

Julie holding on to the water balloons so none of the kids would get to them before the fight began. 

Despite me laying out the rules that no crying was allowed even if you got a balloon thrown at your face, she didn't listen. 

Luke ready to unleash the fury. 

Grandparents and Grandkids. Yes, we could not get anyone to behave for it. 

Water squirter fight! My dad got in on the action. 

Mae squirting Heather. 

This pretty much sums it all up. Whitaker always was trying to eat the suntan lotion and he was successful on many tries of opening the tubes with his mouth. 

Mae's Birthday Celebration

Just getting around to posting (and showing) what we did to celebrate my now 3 year old. I still can't believe she is 3. I know that all parents are in shock and disbelief wondering where the years have gone and looks like I am no different. 

First off, Grandma C came into town to celebrate the big event, which in itself was a present. She also brought with her a very big present. We started the morning by opening presents from Grandma C and us (although we didn't get her much this year). Grandma C bought her a scooter, which she had become very fond of while in NC. Following breakfast and presents, Grandma C and Pearson and the kids headed up to the park for an hour to test drive the scooter and give me some time to get ready for the party. 

This year, we decided to let Mae have 3 friends (since she was turning 3) for a drop off birthday tea party. Her 3 friends were Nora, Lucy, and Zoe. I didn't really have much planned except for lunch, cake and a water balloon fight. I don't know if the girls had fun but Mae seemed to enjoy being the birthday girl.  She particularly loved being able to blow out her candles. Following all the cake and candy consumption, Mae went down for a nap. After nap, we headed to Lake Washington Blvd. for some more scooting by Mae and a family walk for the rest of us. We then decided to hit up Skillet Diner for dinner. The food was excellent the kids were less then happy to be contained at a table for dinner. We then capped off the night by visiting our local ice cream shop. 

All in all, it was a great day with great weather and more importantly the greatest little 3 year old. 

Saying Goodbye is So Hard

From the title of this post, you might think something very, very horrible has happened in the Cummings Family. Thankfully, in my mind it hasn't but if you polled the 3 year old who resides here she would probably answer differently. Last night, the paci fairy came to our house to take Mae's pacis away "to deliver to all the new babies, who are in need." Pearson and I braced ourselves for a very LONG night. You must know that Mae loves her paci, I actually think that she would go to college with it if we let her. She has used it since she was born. However, for the last two years she has only been allowed to use it for napping and nighttime sleep. It has brought her much comfort and security over the last three years and has for the most part made for regular napping and easy bed time, however, with her 3rd birthday it was high time to give it up.

Surprisingly, last night went ok but that is not to say there wasn't difficulty getting her to sleep. She resisted falling asleep until way past 10 pm and she kept telling Pearson and I, "I need something in my mouth." However, after falling asleep in our bed with me (Pearson moved her right afterwards), she didn't ask for it once throughout the night. Today, we had no success with napping (I expected it) and she is still upstairs crying for it right now (it is almost 8 pm). I refuse to cave and know that this will pass but damn is this ridiculously annoying listening to someone cry and repeatedly say, "I want my paci." Also, she has been particularly in a foul mood today. I have been cursing myself all day and this evening of why I let her use it this long. Hopefully, this will all be forgotten by the end of the week and we will get back to some trouble free bed time.

Happy 3rd Birthday Mae

Today is Mae's 3rd Birthday and we are celebrating this incredibly spunky, adorable, unique, energetic, smart, talkative, and funny little girl all day long! 

More pictures and how we celebrated later.