Mommy's Little Helper

The Cutest Laundry Ever!

So here are just some random shots of Wesley last weekend.  Chris was outside doing chores and I was trying hard to get some things done inside...including laundry.  I was folding laundry and needed an extra set of hands to hold Wesley.  He loves his bouncing saucer but I can only put him in there for so long.  This was the perfect soft, spot to contain and entertain him just long enough to complete my chore.  Couldn't help but turn it into a photo shoot! 

The Biggest Bathtub Ever!

The Pool At Last!!!

We have not had an extremely warm summer to date (until today, it is currently in the high 90s) so our pool has not been all that inviting.  Couple that with a late opening and that is our excuse for not having introduced Wesely until now.  Right after my sister's visit, the weather warmed up and so did the pool water.  We took Wesley for a swim and he LOVED it!  His favorite thing to do is SPLASH!  He doesn't care who gets wet including himself and his face, he just likes to make noise and throw water!  His favorite spot is on the stairs if you hold him facing out so he has a huge canvas of water to throw his arms about.  He has gotten his put his face in a few times but we haven't really gone "under".  We'll get there...baby steps!

He has a float as you can see but doesn't really LOVE it.  I think he is still a bit small for it and it offers some wiggle room and isn't as secure as if we are holding him.  With a little more growth I am sure he will learn to enjoy it. 

The best part of the pool is that he gets to have a bath afterwards.  We have challenges with Wesley in the tub because he splashes there too, and he is a wiggle-worm.  Our latest solution if we are coming from the pool is to join him!  Why not! 



Starting to get my "splash" on!



I find the TAG on EVERYTHING!!!!

My favorite spot so I can splash, splash, splash!!

Rub a Dub, Dub...two KIDS in a tub!

A Visit from Texas!

Cousins, Cousins, Cousins!!!!

My sister, Clai, her husband, Brian and their three children made a stop at our house on their final leg of their East Coast Tour.  They currently live in Dallas, TX so we don't get to see them but once or twice a year.  We were so excited to see Clare and Ian but even more thrilled to meet their newest addition, Graeme Larsen, who is ONE day older than Wesley.  You can see the three boys playing below which they did very well! 

The weather was unseasonably chilly for a June day so our plans for a big Pool Day didn't come to fruition.  Clare made sure that she got her time in the water, however that resulted in a very cold little girl and pretty chilly Daddy!  (Chris and I hadn't even been in the pool yet this season b/c it has been so cool) Clai offered to take her in until she realized how cold it was so Brian got the privelage!  Apparently he played several rounds of golf on their trip so Clai figured it was only fair!  He wrote us a thank you email after their visit thanking us for the opportunity for he and Clare to "freeze their a$$es off" in our pool!  I admit, it was pretty cold!  Ironically, the next day was a typical Summer day and warmed up the pool very nicely thanks to our solar heater! 

I didn't get many pictures but here are a few of the kids.  We didn't have a lot of time to do much but everyone seemed pretty entertained playing with one another!  We certainly were glad they came and so excited to meet Grame!  Hopefully it will be sooner than later before we get to see them again!  We miss them all very much! 

All the boys!

Clare!




Warming up after a dip!

 


Cousins...ONE Day apart in age!!! 



Ian!!

Daddy's Day!!!

I Love My Daddy!!!!

Our First Father's Day turned out to be a fun day eventhough we didn't make any real plans for the day.  Wesley and I let Chris sleep in a little bit and you can see Wesley was very excited when he woke up!  Chris got a new surf fishing rod for Father's Day which he hasn't had a chance to try out, but hope to soon.  He also got a handmade gift from Wesley, thanks to Mrs. Sheila.  The card below says, "High Five Daddy" and has Wesley's handprints-too cute!  We had a big breakfast of blueberry pancakes with mimosas...somebody was worn out before too long! 

We skipped lunch since we had such a huge breakfast and then walked up to the local Mexican restaurant for an early dinner.  While we didn't get to spoil Daddy as much as we would have liked, we enjoyed a great day together (and ate a lot).  I will be the first to say that Chris is a fantastic Dad...always two steps ahead of me and then also there to push me along when I fall behind.  I can say Wesley is a pretty lucky baby and I am a pretty lucky Mom to have him!  It gives "single parenting" a whole new perspective and one that I would never survive!  Thank you for all you do...We love you, Daddy!

I will have pancakes next year, rice for now! 

We didn't even make it fishing and Wesley was tuckered out! 

A Little Sand Between My Toes!

First Summer Day at the Beach!!!

It was definitely not as early as we thought it would be before Wesley got to stick his little toes in the sand for the first time, but it was worth the wait.  We were lucky to meet up with my Aunt Stormy at Sandbridge; she was in town visiting with friends.  It was a pretty hot day and Wesley did great.  He had all of the protection he needed; shirt, hat, sunscreen and seemed to enjoy the day.   He got a little tuckered out with all of the excitement and took a short nap.  We hope to have many more beach days this summer!!!  (We love visitors so come join us!)

I love my Aunt Stormy!

Nothing like a nap on the beach!!!

What Tornado?

A First That We Hope is also a Last!

The last post explained the reason why my "race day" never happened.  As you can see from the photos below, it was for very good reason.  Our awesome yacht club was heavily damaged by an EF1 tornado that seemed to have it's eye on the club and a few other spots in Hampton.   The regatta party was interrupted (luckily) by someone who was able to shuffle everyone inside to safety.  We were fortunate to have returned to our friends' (Dave and Leigh Chapman) home minutes before the tornado hit.  Their house is only two blocks away and we saw the signs although looking back we all think we would have been too late had it been right over us.  Regardless, I grabbed Wesley out of his pak n' plan, Dave grabbed their son, Will and we all headed for the basement.  It was one of the scariest evenings that I can remember in a long time.  We lost power at their house which was really the worst thing we experienced.  As you can see from the pictures, there were a lot of people that didn't have as much luck.  We did sustain a good bit of damage to both the boat and the trailer (brand new-less than 2 months old all the way from Georgia, trailer) but all of that can be repaired.

The folks at the club were all very fortunate as well and there weren't even really any reports of injuries.  The cars in the parking lot were all battered; most had one if not several windows blown out.  One of the buildings lost a roof, the windows of the main dining area were blown out, the iron fence was picked up like a toothpick and boats were thrown about like rag dolls.  It was certainly an experience that we would gladly never like to experience again...I don't think I could live in Tornado Alley or out west.  At least Hurricanes are predictable and give a bit of warning!! 

The dining room/bar area of the Club--floor to ceiling windows provide an amazing view of our marina...GONE!

Notice that the boat is on top of the van!

Our trailer...not our boat on top of it! 

 

Hard to see but our hatch was blown out...

This is where the party tent WAS.  It later ended up a 1/2 block away up a telephone pole.

Our friend, Alan, in his J/24...not the one he was racing.  Someone should have told him he had too much heel!

The day after...Wesley was worn out (and so were we) but there were still parties to attend! 

Boat Baby!

Another First for Wesley...

Chris and I have not gotten the boat out at all in the last year (or more) and thought since life was now more hectic than ever that this would be a great time to try to get ready for a regatta!  Southern Bay Race Week aka Black Seal Cup is a three day regatta hosted by our club, Hampton Yacht Club, and in recent years has drawn about 100 boats.  Most are local but we have quite a few that make the trip down the bay from Annapolis or from neighboring yacht clubs like Fishing Bay.  Anyway, we were very excited to get the boat back in order and more importantly for Chris to get back behind the helm...something he misses greatly! 

It was also a great opporunity for us to catch up with all of our Hampton family.  Our good friends, Dave and Leigh Chapman, were kind enough to let us crash at their house for the weekend so we didn't have to go back and forth.  There were parties planned each night after sailing with live music, cold beer, rum punch, sailing stories...basically a really fun weekend.  I was really looking forward to introducing Wesley to a lot of our old friends as well.  We don't get back to Hampton as much as we'd like so this was killing a lot of birds with one stone! (introducing Wesley, sailing on our boat, catching up with friends, etc.)

Chris worked hard  for several weeks leading up to the event cleaning up the boat, getting her race-ready and getting everything in order for the three day weekend.  For three whirlwind days, we had a lot of planning and time involved before we even arrived in Hampton.  We had a stellar crew lined up including the "Mommy Team".  Since we work full time and have Wesley in daycare, it wouldn't be right to leave him another three days while I went sailing.  So we got creative and enlisted two other moms to share as "one crewmember" for the regatta.  Our friend, Jane, (pictured below) was the Friday girl while her husband watched her three children.  I was the Saturday girl while my friend Leigh was to watch Wesley.  Then Leigh was Sunday girl while I was supposed to watch her son, Will. 

The next post will illustrate exactly why Saturday and Sunday girls didn't get there day on the water.  Hampton, more specifically, Hampton Yacht Club, was unfortunate to bear the brunt of an EF1 Tornado on Friday night which caused a lot of distruction to buildings, boats, trees and the surrounding area.  Needless to say, the regatta was cancelled.  Thank goodness, no one was injured. 

But way before the storm blew in, Wesley and I went down to the Club to greet Daddy and his crew when they got back from racing on Friday.  This was Wesley's first time on the boat although we didn't leave the dock.  We sustained a little bit of damage to the boat but hope that once it is repaired we will get back out on the water and take the little guy for a true sail!