Connecticut Getaway

After taking Grandma to Connecticut when she visited at the beginning of the summer, the boys and I agreed that we needed to take James/Daddy there. It was the kind of setting we knew he would love and there was so much that we wanted to go back and do.
We split our time between staying at a hotel in Mystic and then visiting my side of the family in Stonington. Traveling with kids is never boring, the first night at the hotel involved Chase throwing up all of himself and the bed he and James were sharing at 1am. Thankfully we got him, and the bed cleaned up without waking Chase or Asher, I mean thats pretty impressive. We also managed to escape anyone else getting sick while we were away!
That first day we took it easy with Chase still not feeling quite 100%. We decided to visit the Mystic Seaport. I had been to Mystic back in high school and remembered this living museum being so much fun. We all had a great time exploring the big ships, visiting the fishing village and exploring the kids area.

The next day was beautiful so we decided to hit the beach for the day. When we had been to CT back in June, Ruth had shown us their town beach, and I remembered how perfect it seemed for little kids. And I thought right. It was small, not busy, zero waves and had tide pools for hunting crabs. Besides walking up into town for lunch, we spent the entire day there. We built sandcastles, explored the tide pools, swam in the water and played catch. We ended the day with dinner in downtown Mystic on the water where the boys could watch the train go by and boats come in and out of the marina.

The following day we visited the Mystic Aquarium. The boys were so excited to as they love all sea life. We were impressed as this aquarium had a sea lion show, which enthralled the boys and various other sea creatures that we had never seen before, except in a book. The boys favorite part was this huuuuge tank and inside was a puffer fish which just amazed them. My favorite exhibit was the beluga whale. I've never seen one in person and it was such a beautiful creature. That same day we headed to Ruth's house. The boys adored Ruth from our last visit and were so excited to see her again.

We couldn't go to Mystic and not take James to Mystic Drawbridge ice cream. It is the best I have ever tasted. I let Hayley have a little taste and she discovered her love for it at that moment. If i didn't give her more immediately she would yell at me, it was very entertaining for us and those sitting around us.

The kids were way over tired our last full day there in CT so we took it a little easier and headed to a cafe for brunch which was recommended to us, and it was so yummy. With full bellies we took a drive to Rhode Island while the kids took a well needed nap. In the afternoon we visited the Stonington Lighthouse. It's a small building but still fun to go in and look around. We ended our little getaway by going to one of our new favorite restaurants called Dogwatch Cafe. Any place that has backyard games to keep the kids entertained is a hit in our book.
The first half of this year, James has been so busy at work and we were well overdue for some quality time with him. I know it this trip was all what we needed, James had time away from him computer and phone, and we got to spend time with our favorite guy.

Asher rambles

Lately, around bedtime, Asher has been opening up, asking questions about the universe and telling us funny stories. I forget, from when Chase was this age, how all of a sudden they want to know everything, some of it is comical and other times just precious, either way I want to take note of these moments. So last night, James was laying with Asher when in the midst of random questions  Asher asked, "will Jesus still love me if I don't have hair?" What a great opening to tell him how he never has to worry if Jesus loves him. That he always will! No matter what! Obviously at almost 3, he has no clue how deep of a question he asked, but I just love that he I asking about Jesus and want to know that He loves us.

Hayley Ann Mae: Six Months

Half a year old! Say it isn't so! I was hoping that, being our last, time would slow a tad, but it has not, so here we are with a 6 month old already!
Hayley is just pure joy to be around! There is no other way to describe her. She is happy 99.9% of the time, and flashes a smile for anyone who looks her way. The newest thing she has learnt is to give hugs and kisses and it is my favorite thing ever! First she grabs my hair at the bottom of my neck with both hands, then lunges towards my face with her mouth wide open and eats (kisses) me. It is the most adorable thing ever and she gets so excited when she does it.
She is thoroughly enjoying food and is up to two meals a day. Over the next month we will be introducing pieces of food and weaning off of purees.
Even though we call her Lady Hayley, she is absolutely the least ladylike of all our children. Spit ups are multiple times a day, she needs a bath after almost every meal and I've lost track of the number of diaper explosions...good things she's super cute!
The first 6 months with Hayley have been nothing short of amazing and we can't wait to see all she does in the second part of her first year!

Stats: weight 17lbs 1oz (72%) height 26.25 inches (72%)

Sleep: Not too much has changed she sleeps 12 hours at night and most days takes 3 naps, sometimes she will take 2 if her last nap is long.

Social: Everyone comments on how alert Hayley is and it's true, she doesn't like to miss a thing. If she is in the mix of things she is one happy girl.

Diet: Hayley is down to 4 bottles a day with two meals, breakfast and dinner. In addition to the foods she tried last month, we have added plums and apples, peas, carrots, and butternut squash to her diet.

Skills/Milestones: Completely sitting on her own is at the top of the list here. She has rolled over back to front. Has said Dada/Daeee. 

Favorites: Mummy, Daddy, Chase, Asher, Cisco looooves music and being sung to, enjoys bath time, her exersaucer, playing in water.

Weekend Recap

This past weekend was full of fun, family time and summer sun. Saturday we decided to get out of the house and normal routine and do something fun, so we headed to Dutch Wonderland. James had been when he was a child but neither myself or the boys had been, but we've heard great things. Just in case the boys decided they didn't like the rides we purchase the twilight tickets which gave us access to the park for the last 3 hours of the day, and with Hayley in tow that was the perfect amount of time for her to be toted around in the stroller. Mom Mom and Pop Berry came along for the fun also! We had the.best.time.ever! As soon as the boys had finished their first ride they were on a roll. They loved the spinning hot air balloon ride and the motorized car ride. We even got them on the log flume, Chase wasn't so sure about it, but Asher was all about getting wet! Needless to say we all want to head back there soon to try the rides we missed and hit the water park!

The fun continued on Sunday with a day spent at the pool with Dad, Jen, Naomi and David. The weather was perfect, the boys jumped into the pool for an hour straight while shouting "INCOMING!!" and Hayley cried every time we took her out of the pool. We rounded out the weekend with dinner at Red Robin, ice cream sundaes included. 

Granny is Here: Week 4

We are sad for this week to arrive as it was Grandma's last week with us. I remember when Grandma booked her tickets to come over and she suggested a month, I thought yeah that's a great amount of time, it won't go by too quickly etc. How wrong I was! We were adamant to not left her impending departure ruin our last week together, so we finished strong, making many more great memories.

One day we met up with Lauren and her girls for a trip to Oregon Dairy Farm out in Lancaster. They were having a family fun day complete with planting seeds, petting animals (including the cutest chicks), tractor rides and farm tours. Oh and free chocolate milk and ice cream for all!!!

Unfortunately Saturday was pretty crummy weather so a trip to the Aquarium sounded perfect. The boys had been asking to go so they were pretty excited we were finally getting there. We spent most of the day there; petting the sting rays, watched the penguins being fed and got to see the hippos close up. Everyone enjoyed walking through the shark tunnel, even Hayley got to partake, waking up from her nap just in time. We ended our time there with a walk across the shark bridge. All of the boys loved it so much that they had to go back and do it a second time.

Grandma's last full day with us was also Father's Day. If you come visit us during the summer months a trip to the beach is always a must, so we loaded up the van and headed down to Lewes for the day. It was our first time to the beach with 3 kids and boy that one extra little being needs sooo much stuff and I'm not going to lie the first hour was a tad chaotic. However the boys settled in and Hayley found a comfy spot and we all had the.best.day!!! Chase and Asher spent 90% of their time in the water swimming around like fish. Hayley dipped her toes in and couldn't decide if she liked the waves or not. Grandma was happy to spend her last day in full sunshine and working on her tan. Before heading home we wanted to get some dinner. We have a couple of restaurants that we usually rotate between but decided to try some where new this time and it didn't disappoint. The Crooked Hammock was ah-mazing. The food was good but it was the atmosphere that sold it for us. Lots of backyard games, playground and live music kept us all entertained. We ate slowly, drank plenty (not me I was driving lol) and soaked up every last minute with each other that we could.

We were all so sad to see Grandma/Granny leave. We had all gotten into our new routine and none of us wanted it to end. The boys loved loved loved having her here and I'm so glad they got to spend so much time with her and really get to know her. And for her to get to know them of course. I can't explain how much I enjoyed getting to spend so much time with someone, who I got to see multiple times a week as a child. I got to hear stories about her and Grandad that I had never heard before.
We can't wait for her next visit, and next time maybe she will stay even longer!!