Kara and Mike's Happenings

10/18/10

Sand Baby

Somehow, I didn't get these pictures uploaded in my Bermuda beach post. Dylan was so cute playing in the sand and loved it so much, I just have to post them!

Little Footprints

Sandy Face

10/15/10

After yet another night with no one getting great sleep, Dylan and I went out for a walk so Mike could get in a morning nap (we alternated days on which parent go to grab some zzz's). We went to a park in Hamilton that had a big gazebo with a gate you could close. So Dylan and I hung out there and he had a fun time running around.....I had fun watching him and got a super cute self portrait of the two of us:

This being our last full day in Bermuda, it was time to hit the beach! Although our hotel in Hamilton didn't have beach access, it's sister property further south on the island, which we had full access to, did. The resorts had a ferry running between them but they were pretty infrequent and by the time we were ready to go we would have wasted an hour or so waiting for it. So, we opted to take the bus there.

We arrived at the hotel, had some lunch, explored their shops and kid playroom then changed into our swim suits and took the shuttle down to the beach (the hotel was on top of a very steep hill). This was Dylan's first time at the beach. I know, I know....it's horrible that we live close to so many beaches and never took him to one this summer. In spite of not getting to the beach, we managed to stay pretty busy in the hot months. But, hey, being able to have your first beach experience in Bermuda is pretty cool!

All the umbrella's were taken. For a pasty family such as ourselves, this was nothing less than a tragedy! Luckily, in talking with the beach worker guy about what to do (because he was trying to help us since we had a baby that needed to be shaded), a nice couple offered to let us share their space and take it over when they left. Crisis averted...we had shade!

Dylan dove right into sand play exploration. We had even remembered to bring the pail and shovel he had gotten for his birthday. While some kids aren't sure of the sand, Dylan loved it! He had a great time digging, putting it in his pail, picking it up and watching it drop back down...loads of fun. Walking in it didn't come quite as naturally. His first few minutes of walking along the beach were pretty comical. Lots of staggering, falling, falling and rolling, "uh-oh's" and other general drunken baby looking cuteness. I did take a little video of it...too much of a pain to try and edit and post but let me know if you ever want to watch it when you're in the neighborhood.

Beach Boys

Next, Dylan had to go into the water for his first ocean experience. I am not a water person. I am especially not an ocean person. Waves are not my thing and this beach had some strong ones. So my time in the water was brief. Mike, however, loves the water and was more than happy to take Dylan out into the waves for some fun. It appeared, at times, that Dylan is about as apprehensive about the water as I am. But, he did really enjoy his Dad tossing him up into the air over the water.

Water Boys

Mike brought Dylan back to the beach and we spent some time playing on the wet sand portion. At one point, Dylan was sitting safely out of the water when a wave rolled in and, though no more than an inch or two high, had enough strength to topple Dylan over on his back and get a mouth full of salt water. We waited for the cry but none came. He just sputtered, sat up and looked a bit confused. What a good sport that kid is!

Although we were all completely lathered, head to toe, with the strongest waterproof sunscreen known to man, we didn't want to push our luck (since we'd all avoided sunburn for the vacation thus far) and called our beach time to an end. Then the clean up started. Man, that sand is seriously pesky! It was everywhere and took a LONG time to get off of all of us. After much time and many showers at the beach cabana, we got dressed, enjoyed dinner back at the resort and had a nice cab ride back to our hotel (missed the last ferry back).

Our last morning there, I had hopes of getting in a little more sightseeing. It was not in the cards. Dylan was DONE with vacation! My sweet, laid back little boy was a whining mess all morning. Given that Mike or I were constantly holding and entertaining him, it took a ridiculous amount of time to get packed up. So much so that we only had about an hour to spare before we needed to head to the airport. Our concierge suggested we check out the post office and neighboring Bermuda Historical Society Museum which were about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. Mr. Whiny Pants fell asleep on the way there, so Mike and I quietly read some historical facts and viewed the cool old post office building before heading back.

Luckily, our flights there and back were fairly uneventful. Though Dylan didn't sleep on either, his ears didn't seem to bother him and he wasn't cranky or too disturbing to our neighbors. We landed safely back at home (obviously) and were all very happy to be there. One of the great things about vacations are getting back home!

A few more pics of our trip can be seen here.

10/13/10

Bermuda Baby - Part II

Day 3 was Sunday when apparently most of the island shuts down. Lucky for us one of the tops on our to see list was open - the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo. We hopped the bus up there after having a small breakfast in our rooms, courtesy of a stop at the grocery store the previous day.

The whole of it was not that big but Dylan had a great time looking at the fish, running around the natural history museum, eating lunch by the Tamarinds and exotic bird, and looking at some of the animals before passing out for a nap while Mike and I watched the seal feeding.

Harrington Sound (Beautiful Views From a Path at the Zoo)

Massive Galapagos Turtles

Mmmm....Fish!

Since Dylan was still sleeping and we couldn't get on the bus without waking him (they require strollers to be folding up), we decided to go for a walk to the Devil's Hole Aquarium. A woman we talked to on the street to confirm directions there looked at us like we were nuts wanting to walk all the way there (according to her, it was about 4 bus stops) but by our estimate, it was only about 1.5-2 miles. However, after getting there, seeing that it was closed for renovations and walking another couple of blocks to a bus stop, I suppose that is a really long way in Bermuda island terms - we had traversed the entire width of the island!

The bus stop we waited at was right by a public beach so Dylan had a great time playing in the sand while we waited for the bus (he woke up en route to aquarium #2).

We went back to the hotel, had some downtime and then decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at the pool. Dylan got in for just a little while with Mike but decided that walking around the pool was more fun. So, while Mike enjoyed some water time, I had fun following Dylan around the pool.

And that was quite enough adventure for the day....perhaps we were settling into island time a bit. Either that or we all were lacking in enough adequate sleep at that point that energy levels were a little depleted. In any case, we opted for dinner at the hotel again and then went back to our room for a low key evening of movies.

10/12/10

Bermuda Baby - Part 1

In mid September, we had a visit to Bermuda planned for our family. Unfortunately, hurricane Igor had a trip planned to Bermuda for the same weekend. We let him have the island that weekend and postponed for a couple of weeks. It's a pretty big bummer to think you're leaving on vacation the next day only to have to reschedule for 2 weeks later. C'est la vie in the Atlantic during hurricane season though. On October 1st, we finally got to embark on our trip!

Even though we strategically scheduled our flight during nap time, Dylan spent the entire trip jumping from my lap to Mikes lap, eating lunch and playing on the floor by our feet. Once that excitement was over, he fell right to sleep about a minute after we exited the plane so he missed all the non-excitement of going through customs. His nice nap ended just a couple of minutes before arriving at our hotel in the town of Hamilton.

After a long day of packing and travel, it was great to get to our wonderfully large hotel room with a spectacular view from our balcony:

Dylan's favorite part of the hotel, other than all the long hallways he had fun walking down, were the fish in the courtyard (which we could seeing when looking down from our balcony). They were really big!

Big Fish

And Dylan had a great time feeding them.....

I had thought that since we were getting there mid afternoon we would have time for some out of the hotel fun that day, but we were all pretty done and were content with unpacking, walking around the hotel grounds, walking around the town of Hamilton a bit and grabbing some dinner in one of the hotel restaurants.

Day two is was time to explore the island. Over our ridiculously expensive buffet breakfast at the hotel (that was the last day for that), we decided that the caves were top on our priority list and would therefore be the first stop on our travels. After breakfast, it was back up to our room to pack for the day, then a stop to the concierge for bus info\directions and we headed out. Unfortunately, we missed our bus by about 20 seconds. So, with some time to kill, we looked at the map and decided to see what Fort Hamilton was all about.

One of the first things I noticed about the island was the beautiful limestone. The entire island is made of it and you see it everywhere - on the cliffs down to the water, as foundation, as roofs, as retaining walls....it's a very striking rock (I know that's a weird way to describe a rock but I think rocks are pretty cool) and I just loved looking at it. Fort Hamilton is no different. All the walls in the fort are built with limestone. In the fort, there are great views of the town and of the water as well as lovely gardens to enjoy. It was a nice little place to wander around.

Looking Down the Cannon (And Our Kitty Friend at the Fort)

Dylan and I Hanging at Fort Hamilton

As to not miss another bus, we wrapped up our visit there pretty quickly and walked back to the bus station. This time, we actually got on the bus and made to make our way to the caves. Dylan had no interest in sitting in our laps...he wanted his own seat! We sat on the very back row of the bus where the seats were elevated higher than the rest. After that, it was the only place he wanted to sit when traveling.

Big Boy Traveling By Bus

Thanks to our ill advised concierge, we apparently took the longest route available so it was a long ride but we had spectacular views of the water the entire way. Finally, we made it to the caves.

One of Bermuda's most popular tourist attractions is the Crystal Caves. The location now also boasts a second cave you can also enter nearby, Fantasy Caves. We got the combo package and waited for our tours. First up was Crystal Caves. We walked down a long ramp to a stairway and headed down. Other than a landing at the base of the stairs, the tour through the caves takes place on a floating walkway. It was pretty cool.

Ever since I was taken to Natural Bridge Caverns in San Antonio as a child, I have thought that caves are about the coolest natural formations to see. I really dig them. Each time I've had the pleasure of seeing one since, I'm still absolutely in awe of the beauty and coolness of them....pretty much a child like excitement. Now, I doubt Dylan's old enough to know what a treat that experience was, but he did seem to enjoy it....if nothing else then for the relief of the cooler air.

The Family in Crystal Cave

The Gorgeous Crystal Cave!

After that tour, we went back up to wait for tour #2 and Dylan took a nap break. One thing about these island vacations I'm not good at is getting on island time. I found it a little frustrating that after getting a late start and taking the longest bus route there, we had to wait about 20 minutes for the first tour and then 45 minutes for the second tour. You'd think that it being a business it would have been a little more finely tuned machine. But no, it's island time and they're in no rush. So what should have been an hour and a half experience turned into 3. So much for getting any other sight seeing in that day! Sigh.

But I digress. Next up was Fantasy Cave. We walked to the other side of the property and, along the way, got to see a pretty amazing Banyan tree:

The entrance to Fantasy Cave was pretty cool....88 narrow, winding steps down! Some of the unique features of this cave are the petrified tree roots that can be seen hanging from the ceiling and the soda straw chandeliers:

It was a hot day and we were getting hungry after our time in the caves (and waiting for the caves). Around the corner, by the bus stop that would get us home quicker, was an ice cream place! What luck! We all enjoyed great treats and Dylan got to run around for a while before we hopped the bus back to the hotel.

After a long day traveling in the heat, we weren't feeling super adventurous for dinner. However, we weren't up for dinner at the hotel for a 2nd night in a row. Without any good naps during the day, we didn't think Dylan would do well sitting in a restaurant for any stretch of time so, we opted to go to the sushi place, just over a block from the hotel, get something to go and enjoy a meal in our rooms. It was the perfect plan since Dylan couldn't even sit still while we were waiting for our order (he and I went for a little walk while Mike waited). And man was that some excellent sushi! Yum, yum!

With full bellies, it was time to put Dylan down for the night. Sleeping in the hotel room was tricky for all of us throughout the vacation. We tried to angle the crib and our bed away from each other enough so that Dylan couldn't see us...otherwise he'd never go to sleep. The 2nd night he went to sleep pretty quickly (it was about a 2 hour process the first night) but he was up in the middle of the night for several hours. The next morning, we found that the first of his molar's had popped through!

10/8/10

4 Great Years

Four years ago today, on a gorgeous Fall day, I married my best friend and had a great celebration with our family and friends. Since then, Mike and I have been enjoying life with each other and have added another little person to our family to enjoy.

Cheers to many more happy years!

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

10/6/10

15 Months - Vocabulary Explosion

Today my baby turns 15 months....and he is quickly becoming less of a baby and more of a little boy. This month his walking has been perfected. He has learned to walk up inclines and down declines much more fluidly, has picked up his pace so much he's almost running everywhere and even learned to walk in the sand (more on that in the next post).

With that walking thing now a piece of cake, he's moved on to words. In one month, we've seen his vocabulary explode! Ok, it's less than 20 words but considering he maybe only knew 4 a month ago....that's a huge percentage increase in vocabulary in 30 days! In addition to saying uh-oh (for many reasons), more (for food), ball and dog (pretty much all he could say last month), he says:

5) Up - His current favorite to use for many reasons; wanting to be held, to get down, to get out of his seat, etc.

6) Fish

7) Hot - This applies to the stove, microwave, and all food

8) House

9) Out - He likes to use this a lot too since the boy is a natural outdoorsman and always wants to go "out" the door.

10)Bubble - One of his favorite books is about bubbles and he thoroughly enjoys playing with them too

11) Hat

12) Light - Which he loves having turned off and on...great entertainment

13) Nose - He also likes to stick his finger up yours while pointing at it

14) Eye - Careful...he'll try to poke it out

15) Bird - One of his favorite activities is to fill the bird feeder with his daddy

16) Shoe

Those are his consistent verbal words but he's also picked up a few signs to help let us know what he needs. He signs "more" and "eat"....we see them quite a lot too as the boy is still a pretty good eater most days. During meals, he enjoys trying to pick up his food with a fork. It's still a big challenge but he does spear his own sometimes without our help. He's also got a little more help to get that food chewed up. As of last week, he's got his 9th tooth, a molar, and 3 more look to soon follow.

While his vocabulary is still pretty limited, he obviously understands a lot more than what he can say. In the last couple of weeks, he's been able to follow simple instructions. One that we have him do a lot is to pick up and bring us back things he's "dropped" (ie thrown on the ground) like food and toys. After dinner, he's helping to clean up after his own mess and we're trying to teach him that throwing is not acceptable behavior but having him retrieve the toys that have magically ended up on the other side of the room from out of his hand. And while he won't stand for us to hold his hand while he's walking, he generally follows our lead and will walk behind us when out and about around town.

Dylan - 15 Months

10/5/10

Two Seasons in One Weekend

I meant to get this post up before we left for vacation but, as usual, vacation prep causes a lot of hustle and bustle and it didn't happen. Now, we've been to Bermuda and back, have that to report on and have an approaching trip from Dylan's Texas grandparents. So, I need to get caught up on our events before I have even more to post.

Two weekends ago we had plans to go to NH for the weekend and see if fall had started to change trees further north. However, Dylan had a bit of a cold all week that was giving him some sleep troubles so we opted to not travel and let him get better. So, we had a full unplanned day!

Just before Dylan was born, a friend of mine from high school moved to the Boston area. She and her then 6 month old came to my baby shower. After that, we had several unsuccessful plans to connect but with us each having two young children and full time jobs...well, it just hadn't happened. With a free day and a zoo pass, we invited Beth, her husband Sean and son Ian to go to the Franklin Park Zoo. The last minute plans worked out, the weather was warm, and we had a great time at the zoo together. We had such a great day that we extended the festivities with dinner at our house and vowed to not let so much time go by before seeing each other again. Although we took lots of pictures during the Indian Summer day, none with both of the boys (or anyone else in the group) were that great. Which means, as usual, here are a bunch of pictures of Dylan.

Riding the Cow

Driving the Tractor

Feeding the Budgies

Running Around with the Budgie Food Stick - Great Fun!

Driving the Safari Truck (Into the Lion Enclosure)

After a warm Saturday, Sunday decidedly felt like Fall. By lucky coincidence, we had the perfect Fall activity lined up for that day - apple picking! We met up with Mike's cousin Eric and his family at Honey Pot Hill Orchard. Apparently the rest of the world had the same idea - that place was crazy! We were in line for quite a while just to get into the huge parking lot...and I can't even begin to describe how long the line was for their famous apple donuts. We avoided the crowds as much as possible, picked a bag of yummy apples, saw the animals there and called it a day. Great fun. And, of course, here are lots of pictures (this time, some of people other then Dylan):

Apple Trees!