1st Vacation

Before we get to vacation stories, here's a couple pics...

But, Dad I can help mow the grass!

Yes, this is how he sleeps!?!?

One of our favorite vacation spots is Maumee Bay State Park in Ohio during the first week of May. It's right on Lake Erie and is a nationally known area for birdwatching this time of year. Rarely do we miss this trip. Josh wasn't going to slow us down so we had to break him in.

It's about 4 1/2 hours away and he did GREAT on the way. We stopped half-way for lunch and let him blow off some steam on the indoor playground, then he fell asleep for the rest of the travel time.

We got to our campsite, set up, unpacked, and then it was time to romp

Look Grandma and Grandpa, I get into my chair all by myself!

On our second evening, we took him to the beach. WOW did he go nuts for that.

One thing we were worried about was how he would be around a campfire. Again, he surprised us and did GREAT. When he would start walking towards it, we would tell him not to get too close and he would stop and say "hot".

Here he is helping me get the fire ready.

He helped roast his own marshmallows.

Of course, eating the marshmallows was no issue at all!

Another Issue: How would Josh do walking around for a few hours? He, again, did pretty well. We would have to alternate walking, carrying, and riding with snacks but he got through. Of course, he waved to everyone we passed and said "Hi" to most. Keep in mind there are usually hundreds of people at this place so he had to say "Hi" to a lot of people. We got lots of comments on how cute he is and how good it is to get him out there and getting him started early (birdwatching). Several people stopped to talk and some were just doting all over him.

Here he is with his well practiced "Hi"

On another day we decided to take some leftover buns to the beach to see how he would like the gulls flying all around us. I don't know how the boy can get any crazier. He could have chased those things for days! Josh was so crazy for the gulls he chased after them right into the water and fell in. He didn't miss a beat. He got right up and continued the chase.


Another day at the beach... more gulls to chase.


We basically took a 17 month old and pushed him pretty hard all day, completely broke all the normal routines by being on vacation, and lived and slept in a new environment - the camper. All things considered, he did fantastic. It wasn't perfect but it was better each day. He fought bedtime less each night so that by the last night it only took 10 minutes to go down (having a twin bed was fun to just run around in instead of sleeping). He did better each day at staying with us while we walked so that by the last day he was nearly flawless. He also got better at stopping and coming back when told if he got too far away. It takes practice and he improved each day.

He is really being a chatterbox now, too. He is really learning many new words and pronouncing some of his old words better. Even others have noticed. We've lost track of how many phrases and commands he understands because there are so many. He can be told and shown something once or twice and he's learned it. It really is fun to see him in "sponge mode" as we call it. Our new favorite sound that he makes is Darth Vader! We will eventually break him into the Star Wars Trilogy. Oh, yes he will be!

Until next time, lots of love,

M, J, J