Mama and the Beach

Although the video above isn't the greatest example, Sullivan has definitely got the mama sound down pat! He pretty much says this whenever he wants something- particularly to be picked up. Of course, I fall for it every time!



We had a great vacation, but I must say vacationing with a baby doesn't really include much relaxing! I did read whenever Sullivan was napping, and I got a little alone time on the beach. Most of our time was spent applying sunscreen, putting on swim diaper, putting on swim suit, gathering all the bottles, diapers, gear, etc to go to the beach or pool. Of course, by the time you get there, you've got about an hour of happy baby time before he's ready to eat again or maybe nap or cool off. Still better than being at work though!

We ate some wonderful food (lots of seafood of course) and had great family time. The beaches were beautiful, as was the water. There was a good bit of seaweed the last day, but we'll take that over oil any day! I'm glad we got pictures and videos of Sullivan's trip to the beach since who knows what things will be like next year. Don't even get me started on BP. Our condo was wonderful! Had a huge pool that was 4-5 1/2 feet throughout except for one tiny part. It was great for kids and parents having to hold/swim with kids. Huge balcony with plenty of room for everyone to sit. Great bar/restaurant right on the beach for grabbing drinks or snacks. There were several pools on the property and we did try one at the spa one afternoon when it rained. Had the place to ourselves and it was great! I saw the gym the through windows and it looked great. That's as close as I got to working out despite grand intentions. :) On the same topic, I actually purchased and wore a bikini for the first time in I can't tell you how long. Sherri and Mom convinced me, it's basically only going to get worse from here on, so I might as well enjoy what I've got at the moment. It didn't kill me, so maybe I'm turning a new leaf. Still have plans to get back to the gym though!


Daniel loves to dress Sullivan just like him. It's cute.

Chilling with his Bebe!

My sister Sherri and her girls. My nieces kept Sullivan so entertained! They were a great help!

Lunch at the beach snack bar.




Yeah I still have my linea negra to some degree. Super cute.

Sullivan trying his first cracker. Can you tell how thrilled he is?

What happens when you say no dessert.



After Florida, we traveled over to Ocean Springs for a friend's wedding/reception. It was held at The Old Place in Gautier. Absolutely beautiful old home and grounds full of gorgeous oak trees right on the river. It was great to see old college friends!

Now for my usual baby updates. Sullivan is practically grown. He's getting so big! He was 20lb 2 oz about 2 weeks ago. He's had his first official earache and antibiotics treatment. He loved the bubble gum medicine. I'm pretty sure that was another food group when I was a kid. Tasty. He has been sleeping through the night (except for while on vacation of course). He is sitting up great and only occasionally falls when reaching for a toy, etc. He is ALMOST crawling. It is definitely more of a scoot still. He begins in downward dog position and uses his feet to push him along. Funny to watch. I'll have to try and get a video of it. He loves to watch the fish swimming in the tank by his highchair. The fish usually check him out as well. This does make it a little difficult to keep him on task though! He's still just about the sweetest thing in the world. Such an easy disposition. Calm and happy and we just love him more than anything! We are so happy and blessed!

Teething Much?

This is the video Daniel took during our drive down to the coast Memorial Day weekend. I can feel and possibly see signs of a tooth on the bottom, but not enough to say he's gotten his first tooth. Any doubts after watching this video that it's coming?

T-minus 3 days until vacation! Needless to say, this week is miserable and dragging horribly! I would love to go home and pack up the car, but that would be jumping the gun just a bit. We'll have to do another load of laundry before packing up I'm sure! Come on Friday afternoon!

Ipad demo

Trying out kent's ipad. It is hard to type on for sure. I am a fast keyboard typer, so it is weird to pick and peck! Over all it is cool, but for the things i would use it for i am just not sure. We'll see.

7 months old!

Tired of me being shocked by how quickly time flies? Me too! I had lunch with some sorority sisters this weekend, and one of them said, "Sullivan is like 4 months old now?". Uhh no, he's more than half a year old. I'm going to blink and he'll be in college I swear. SCARY!

Anyways, in honor of his 7 months, I decided post some naked baby pics! We've taken some naked baby video that will be saved for the first time he brings home a girlfriend or something equally embarrassing. We tried to keep these discreet, with just a hint of adorable baby buns! :) Ok, maybe more than a hint on this first one, but wth.




Our latest milestone achieved was our first trip to the pool! Sullivan seemed to really enjoy chewing on his pool floaty and splashing/hitting the water with his hand. On a side note, I really liked this 'Mommy and Me' pool float. It was nice for me to have something to float around on too. This way we could both comfortably float in the deep end to avoid any splashing, etc. I bought another pool float just for him, but then grabbed this one at Wal Mart recently. Glad I did!


Sullivan and his Dad hittin' the bottle together. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.


Beach trip updates. Sooooo, we briefly allowed the media to freak us out about our trip and cancelled. When we called back to rebook the same place, we ended up getting 1 night free and an additional 20% off and a total refund if beaches get closed. We ended up saving $500+. Not too shabby! If the beaches are bad, the pool, big kahunas, outlet malls, food, and relaxation will keep us occupied.

What Sullivan is up to these days: still lots of rolling and really enjoys hanging out on his belly/pushing up. He mainly rolls/scoots to get where he wants to go. Definitely doesn't qualify as a crawl yet. He's been sleeping like a champ for the last 2 months-ish. I didn't want to say much about it since every time I do, he quits. I think he's truly in a pattern now though. I'll let you know tomorrow if I've jinxed myself once again. He goes to bed between 7:30 and 8, sleeps until 5 or 6am, has a bottle and goes back to sleep until 7:30 or later! Wow, it's been so nice! He's doing great with his eating (except he still won't eat any meat products). He hardly makes a mess at all these days! He'll copy me saying 'mmmmm' after he eats something tasty! Doesn't care for a sippy cup yet, but we'll slowly keep trying. He LOVES to watch you speak, sing and make repetitive sounds. He'll watch your mouth to intently and usually smile alot. I have a feeling he's just absorbing it all and plans to start replying in full sentences one of these days! He is extremely curious about new things and anything you might be doing while holding him. He smiles at new people, but usually gets teased and hides his head in your shoulder once they start smiling back at him. He loves to watch you clap, sing, or dance. And nothing makes him laugh harder than his daddy 'having a baby sandwich'. Basically involves Daniel holding him on his back and 'biting' him all along his side and belly. I'll have to post video of this soon. Very cute.

Memorial Weekend Coast Trip

Well, we survived Sullivan's first long car ride to the Coast! He actually did really great! We stopped once on the way down for a quick bottle and diaper change, so made decent time. This long weekend was certainly not relaxing, but it was very nice to see lots of friends and family. Our first stop upon reaching the Coast was to Daniel's Aunt and Uncles house/B & B, Chateau Blessey. We enjoyed lovely drinks and appetizers on the front porch while watching the gulf and the schooners going by. Sullivan got his first look at the ocean! After unwinding from the drive a bit, the Blesseys fed us a wonderful meal (as always)!


getting some loving from Aunt Katherine


getting love and a bottle from his Nanna!




Sullivan was very entertained by Uncle Walter!



On Saturday, Sullivan got to meet his other Great Grandmother, Boosha, for the first time! He was quite a hit at the assisted living home! The residents kept wanting to hold him and talked about his sweet disposition, and his good looks, of course! My favorite line of the day: Kids are just like dogs, they know when people like 'em! :)



This is Mr. Hall. He is retired air force and was a elementary school principal for 20 years. He is 94 years young and has all his own teeth. He LOVED Sullivan! I sort of feel like a pageant announcer with that description. :)



Saturday night Sullivan got to 'eat' at Jocelyn's in Ocean Springs for the first time! It was wonderful to see Ms. Jocelyn and her grandson, Patrick again. The food was outstanding as always!


Sullivan and his Nanna worked very hard on blow bubbles together!


Sunday morning we moved on to Mobile to visit MORE family! They were so excited about our arrival, they planned a shrimp boil party for us! I didn't get a photo of all the lovely decorations the girls made and put up, but I sure wish I had! It was a great party with lots of wonderful boiled shrimp with all the fixins!


Uncle Daniel's attention and lap were as in demand as always! My nieces love their silly uncle Daniel!


Madeline was a wonderful help with Sullivan. She had him laughing so hard! My Mom got a video, so I'll have to see if I can get it and upload it here! It's awesome!


All in all, the trip was great! I think Daniel and I had shrimp at every meal except breakfasts! Gotta love the Coast! The return trip was a little long, but we made it! It was good practice for our beach trip which is just 3 weeks away! WooHoo!

On the milestones topic, Sullivan starting rolling from back to front and front to back like he'd been doing it all his life. I don't know what clicked, but he now loves rolling from back to front and then scooting over to whatever toy is out of his grasp! Our days are numbered before crawling kicks in! Lord help us then! Sullivan also has a white speck on his gum where a tooth is popping through! I have another hilarious video of him rubbing his Sophie giraffe along his gums.