Top 5 (FIVE) : Beach Edition

5 (FIVE) – Days we went at Nags Head beach! We had such a great time…it was David’s first beach trip and…………….HE LOVED IT. He loved the waves and cold water – He giggled hysterically when we played a 1-2-3-dunk game with him. He loved the sun (and his sunglasses) and seems to have his mommy’s tanablity (I put sunscreen on him often, but he got a nice little baby tan the first day. He did not so much love having sunscreen slathered on him though.) Loved (ate) the sand. He played happily in his little baby pool for most of the day (which meant I actually got to enjoy my book!)

Also the number of people I love that we got to hang out with! ( Bekah, Tim, Caitlin, Cary & Nicole – Transniderpalooza 2010) It was fun getting some quality time with our siblings+.

• We had fun in the sun (tan/burn),
• made some good food (Spaghetti, Tacos, *Tomatoes*),
• ate some DELISHICIOUS food at The Black Pelican (our one night out to eat, lots of fun),
• drank some goooood coffee (Dunkin Donuts),
• watched a chick flick (Love Happens…..well it does)
• rode some fast jet skis (perks of brother being a Kitty Hawk Kite manager),
• watched some World Cup (me not so much, but I had one happy husby),
• had a great home church discussion (living the true Gospel),
• played some fun games (Taboo, but no Beach Olympics this year),
• run up the dunes (oh that sand felt so good!),
• went Kayaking on the sound (another freebie from a KHK brother),
• went shopping at TimBuckII (cute shops).

4 (FOUR) – horses we saw on the Corva beach. We drove on the beach in Cary’s pick up (FOUR girls in the back, boys in the cab) It was so pretty there, with nice, soft sand. Then these horses just slowly walk down the beach our way. OF COURSE we’re taking pictures, and they even stopped and got in a line and posed for us, so cute, then went on their way. Beautiful.

3 (THREE) crabs. 1.) one pinched me in the ocean which made me a little nervous/jumpy which made me jump into my husband’s unexpected arms. Er, I tried to climb up him and didn’t so much work…resulting in a stubbed toe for him, bruised arm (my grabbing fingers) and a huge bruise on my ankle which connected with his toe during my vertical escape from the water/crab. 2.) so I ate his brother on Saturday night when we went out to the Black Pelican. I thought maybe it was just because I was so hungry, but Stephen assured me it was the best crab legs we’d ever eaten. Mmm, revenge is a dish best served dipped in butter. 3.) David has the cutest, sleeveless crabby shirt. And that is the end of my crab story.

  2 (TWO) – pairs of Tevas I got at KHK with brother’s employee discount (woohoo!) I have been wanting some of these forever. They are very comfy, I think we will get along nicely. I can’t wait to really break them in and make them form to my feet. These are my simple joys.

 We also got David a Life is Good baseball hat that has a dinosaur on it and says “Big Guy.” Ok, yes I got a little snifflie when he first wore it, because A.) He IS getting to be a big guy B.) He is sooooo daaaarn cuuuuute. C.) I am a sentimental cheesy mommy so what so what?!

1 (ONE) – reason, and maybe the only reason, I do get tired of the beach: Sand. It’s stinking everywhere. And then it gets into everything and it sticks to you and it’s hard to vacuum up. Even though I had a great time, I was ready to get home, to My home, sand free. We’ll get more sand later this summer when we come back here with my family.

7.4 million (SEVEN POINT FOUR MILLION) – dollars it costs to buy this beautiful Spanish style mansion for sale. I dunno, maybe I’m saying this because I’m poor, but I think EVEN if I had the money, I don’t think I could bring myself to buy a house like that……….beautiful yes, but too decadent. As we were driving past all these beautiful houses Stephen said his family always stayed in sketchy places, I reflected on how my family always stayed at nice places (not THAT nice of course) when we went to the beach every year. Which is funny, because that’s so not like my (usually sketchy) family. *laugh* We didn’t do a whole lot during the year (like eating out, clothes shopping, et cetera) which is why we could do a nice vacation once a year. I’m looking forward to our future trips to the beach with David and our other kids someday. I hope they will have really wonderful childhood, family memories of the beach like we do.

Top 5 (FIVE)

5 (FIVE) – wonderful years I’ve been married to the Love-Of-My-Life. Stephen whisked me away to the beach for a long weekend. We dropped David off with Stephen’s parents on Friday afternoon and then went on our way. YES, this was the first time I’ve left him overnight. I got my cries out the night before and then I was good to go. YES, I talked about him a lot (sorry Stephen) and thought about him even more. MOSTLY I thought about how much fun it will be to take him to the beach next month. We had a great babyless time. Lazing on the beach, eating great food (crab legs are a great way to eat melted butter) read, slept, went to see a movie, et cetera.

4 (FOUR) – number of teeth my baby will have very SOON. They’ve already started cutting through his gums. Oooh, this will make his love bites hurt even more. *sigh* I can’t complain too much though, I totally understand where he’s coming from – I am a biter myself. Anyways… once those two suckers are fully in he’ll be even better at Corn-On-The-Cob.

3 (THREE) – books on my nightstand that I am reading. I am a multitasker par excellence.
Parenting: Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp – Pretty good. Parenting is heavy stuff. I need all the help I can get!
History: The Real-Life Adventures of David Crockett by Buddy Levy – Davy has always been a crush of mine. I’d like to read his autobiography next.
Fun: The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks – I am a girly-girl and what girly-girl doesn’t love her some Nicholas Sparks?!

2 (TWO) – grandparents that watched our son while we vacationed it up. Nanna and Poppa had a great time spoiling David and he was a very happy spoilee. He seemed to really love his time with them, I’m so thankful to have such great in-laws that are so good to my baby! I’m glad he did so well. I DO think he missed me though – this morning he was very snuggly and cuddly (don’t mind that at all!) and after he nursed at 7:30 he then wanted hugs and kisses followed by a nice long nap with mommy. *sigh* a girl could get used to this.

1 (ONE) – more month until my sweet little boy is ONE year old! Ahhhh, where has the time gone??? Last night at church we were having a celebration for the ending of our small-group meetings until the fall… one of the guys from our group got up and said some really sweet things…about how neat it was seeing David grow up in our group – then he related it to how God must feel as he watches us grow and change and delight in Him. I feel the same way. Motherhood has given me even more insight into the depths and dimensions of our Father’s love.

238,571 (TWO-HUNDRED-THIRTY-EIGHT-THOUSAND-FIVE-HUNDRED-SEVENTY-ONE) – times I have kissed my baby since seeing him again. (yes, I had a little Davy-withdraw)