Monthly Archives: June 2014

The rest of vacation

Posted on by
Reply

Our vacation to Florida’s Gulf Coast was, in a nutshell, awesome. Beaching with a baby is so different than beaching with just the two of us. We spent much less time on the sand and in the sun and much more time inside, relaxing and reading. We also took time for a couple of fun excursions in the area; once to the aquarium in Tampa and once to Clearwater for day beer-drinking and World Cup-viewing followed by crab legs. (I LOVE CRAB.)

Here’re a few pics from the week:

Janet and Jonah in the super hot beach cabana. (Note the naked baby - we had to undress him to cool down.)

Janet and Jonah in the super hot beach cabana.

Jonah napping in the cabana.

Jonah napping in the sauna – I mean cabana.

We moved him out into the breeze.

We moved him out into the breeze.

End of the day smiles.

End of the day smiles.

In the pool!

In the pool!

Morning hang out/dance party.

Morning hang out/dance party.

Dipping his toes int the ocean. (AKA - having his sea bath.)

Dipping his toes int the ocean. (AKA – having his sea bath.)

The look on Jonah's face is priceless. This fabulous painting was in our rental. We loved it so much that we contemplated ripping it off the wall and strapping it to the roof of the station wagon for a trip to Decatur. We resisted. It was tough to do the right thing, though...

The look on Jonah’s face is priceless. This fabulous painting was in our rental. We loved it so much that we contemplated ripping it off the wall and strapping it to the roof of the station wagon for a trip to Decatur. We resisted. It was tough to do the right thing, though…

Family pic in front of the piece de resistance.

Family pic in front of the piece de resistance.

We had such a great time! For a first beach vacation, we were very pleased with ourselves. Can’t wait ’til the next adventure.

Vacation!

Posted on by
Reply

The Blacktaels are on their first official vacation. We packed up the car Friday night, packed up the baby early Saturday morning, and took off for Indian Shores, Florida at the crack of dawn! We decided to get going after the baby’s early AM wake up, so that he’d go back to sleep for several hours in the car. Our plan worked brilliantly. Not only did Mr. Baby sleep for the first 4-ish hours of the trip, but we got out of Atlanta with very little traffic. Whew. Mr. Baby does NOT like a still vehicle. 

The drive was great, except for a few screaming fits from Jonah. Thankfully, Janet is limber and small, so she shimmied over her seat to soothe him. We rolled into Indian Shores just after 3, which was our target! Never before have we gotten to a road trip destination so early. 

We spent the evening getting settled into our rental. It’s right across the street from the beach! And it has a pool right by the bay! And the decor is right out of 1986! I love it! 

We had a lovely dinner at The Pub, a touristy place with pretty good food and excellent pina coladas.

Here are the only pics from the first day: (all of the baby, of course)

Image

ImageImage

 

I’ve already had a long walk on the beach this morning: something I always say I want to do, but never get around to. It was delightful. It’s gonna be a scorcher. I better start hauling all of the sun protection gear across the street to the beach – I’ll wish I had a beach sherpa. 🙂

More soon. 

Steph & Demi come for a visit!

Posted on by
Reply

We were so thrilled to have Stephanie and Demi stay with us over last weekend! Demi is about 6 weeks-ish older than Jonah, so it was so fun to see what we have to look forward to. She’s so smiley and interactive. And STRONG! She and Stephanie were a welcome treat after our long road trip home.

Here are Janet and Steph with Jonah and Demi - all together for the first time ever!

Here are Janet and Steph with Jonah and Demi – all together for the first time ever!

 

We hung out, relaxed, talked about babies, and just enjoyed each other’s company. Janet and Steph took a couple of walks together with the babies. Here they are before their second walk:

IMG_7250IMG_7254

Steph and Demi at brunch on Sunday morning at Folk Art. Delicious!

Steph and Demi at brunch on Sunday morning at Folk Art. Delicious!

Sweet Demory Anne!

Sweet Demory Anne!

 

It was a great visit, and we can’t wait for many, many more just like it! xoxo

Mr. Baby’s first road trip and first funeral

Posted on by
Reply

Janet’s Grandma Opal passed away on Wednesday, May 21. There was a visitation in Atlanta for her on Thursday, and then we all drove up to Sesser for her funeral and burial. The road trip was quite the undertaking for a coupla new parents and their six week old baby. We survived, and we actually did quite well, if I do say so muhself.

There were lots of firsts for Jonah. First road trip, first hotel (sorry if it was disappointing, pal), first funeral, first trip to Illinois, first time meeting Aunt Emily, first time meeting Maymie (Mary), first time being help by Grandpa Stu, first time meeting Erin and Kevin, first visit to his Grandma Susan’s grave, first time meeting Alex and Heather, and first time sleeping SEVEN hours straight! That last one only happened once, but we were SUPER grateful for it!

Here are some pics from the adventure:

Here's Jonah with sweet Debbie Greene at the funeral.

Here’s Jonah with sweet Debbie Greene at the funeral.

Janet, Emily, and Mary next to some giant farm equipment belonging to Cousin Bill.

Janet, Emily, and Mary next to some giant farm equipment belonging to Cousin Bill.

Janet and Jonah's in the car, driving by the family farm land.

Janet and Jonah’s in the car, driving by the family farm land.

Aunt Emily lovingly inspects Mr. Baby up close.

Aunt Emily lovingly inspects Mr. Baby up close.

IMG_7155

Uncle Steve gazes lovingly at Jonah while Aunt Emily looks so impressed with his cuteness and my photography skills. (??)

Cousins Kyle & (Uncle) Andy at the better restaurant at Rend Lake.

Cousins Kyle & (Uncle) Andy at the better restaurant at Rend Lake.

With Maymie.

With Maymie.

With Aunt Kay and Uncle Bill.

With Aunt Kay and Uncle Bill.

Visiting Grandma Susan's grave. We wish she was here with us so much.

Visiting Grandma Susan’s grave. We wish she was here with us so much.

Meeting Erin and Kevin for the first time! Look at his sweet face!

Meeting Erin and Kevin for the first time! Look at his sweet face!

Having a bottle with Grandpa Stu while Mama and Mommy are on a date!

Having a bottle with Grandpa Stu while Mama and Mommy are on a date!

With Alex in Nashville.

With Alex in Nashville.

 

It was a jam-packed trip. We spent a LOT of time in the car, but we got to see some good people and enjoy some sunshine. All-in-all: it was a good trip.