Thursday Beach Nights

Our very busy summer continues and I have sooo many pictures to put on this blog after just one week!  The pics and video I am posting are from my Thursday night beach volleyball game.  This is my third summer playing and I am enjoying it more this year than ever.  Some nights I go there by myself which is a treat just to get away for a few hours and not have to get the stroller out and pack a million things.  But the real treat is when Matt and Callie come too.  (And Michelle!)  This past Thursday was one of those nights and it gave us an opportunity to get a very hesitant Callie Mae used to the ocean and sand again.  She was nervous at first, not even wanting to stand in dry sand.  And when we took her down to the surf she stood like a flamingo on one tip-toed foot trying to avoid the waves.  But something clicked, maybe just the confidence she gets from Daddy being there, and all of a sudden, she LOVED it!  Matt and Michelle took her to the playground area while I was playing and Callie decided that she would rather play in the water so she walked all the way down on her own (with them close behind, of course!).  She would hesitate momentarily when she reached different textures of sand but once she got near the water she took off.  I later took her back down in just a diaper so that she could get in further.  After we dried and changed her, Matt fed her a peanut butter sandwich while I played in another match and then he took Callie to the wall of the boardwalk to look at the carvings.  She surprised everyone by scaling the wall and then walking along the outside of the boardwalk rails.  Needless to say, we had a really fun night and she slept well that night and even took a four hour nap the next day!  Thanks to Michelle for being the photographer for most or all of these pics!  Make sure you scroll down to watch the two videos I have attached after this post.

Not quite sure about the sand...

...but she loves playgrounds!

Starting her turtle-pace migration to the ocean, which if you haven't seen VA Beach lately, is a really long walk!

Daddy, let me go!

Beach belly.

Testing the new texture...

Loving the waves and constantly trying to go deeper.

Playing v-ball

Scaling the wall--with daddy hands as footholds.

Matt told me not to use this picture but I think it is adorable how he stops to fix her diaper wedgie so she won't be "indecent"!  Her shorts were soaked from earlier and I didn't pack an extra set of clothes --mommy fail!

walking the wall.MOV

splashing in ocean.MOV

Callie's Expanded Kingdom

I guess I can't deny it anymore.  Callie is a toddler.  Other than nursing once before bed, she does mostly big girl things now.  She eats very well (LOVES peanut butter sandwiches - no big surprise there!)  She sleeps through the night consistently now.  (Oh, how I have looked forward to the moment that I could post that!)  And she now has the whole house as her kingdom to destroy.  We have permanently retired the fence that used to contain her to the family room.  I decided that it was time for her to learn some limits and I was also very tired of stepping over that fence or the baby gate and having to clean around it.  There are some rooms she is still not allowed in.  I have to keep the bathroom door closed to prevent her from crawling in the bathtub with her bath toys.  The other bathroom is usually open but she rarely goes in there unless Ollie is in the tub.  I do find the occasional toilet paper pile.  Daddy's side of the bed and our closet are still very popular Callie hangouts.  One day I will find all the missing paci's in one of my winter boots or stuck between Matt's crossword puzzle pile.  And I have strategically placed toys and interesting objects inside most of the  kitchen cabinets to distract her from pots, pans and tupperware.  All this new freedom is leading to a few naughty moments.  She loves the kitchen trash can and will probably always want to put her hands in the cat water.  But she is learning "no" and she is starting to understand when she is in trouble.  And she seems to respond well to reprimands.  She does throw an occasional tantrum, and I know this will get worse, but for now she gets over them quickly if we just ignore her and not cater to them.  (Take note grandparents!)  She used to throw her cup at meal times but now she knows she will get in trouble so she nicely sets it on the table and then looks for one of us to notice and praise her for it.  She is such a smart girl, and adventurous.  Matt discovered her standing on the arm of the big chair in the family room reaching into the opening to the kitchen to grab things off the counter.  Maybe we could get one of those trained dogs to follow her around, pick up after her and bark when she was doing something dangerous.  Right now it is taking both of us to keep her out of trouble and, I know, I know, this is only the beginning!

She loves buckets!  They have so many uses.  But they are not good protection from the "tickle bug"!

A favorite activity is playing outside with them.  Sometimes I fill them with water, but only if I don't mind her getting soaked.  (Notice the pigtails!)

I think she looks a lot more like me when she has her hair up.

We have a teepee, tunnel and playhouse outside, but sometimes it is fun to have a tent inside.

Chester agrees.

Everyone is enjoying the table and four chairs that I bought at a yard sale.  I have even sat at it several times to do artwork.  I plan to paint the legs and chairs...when I find the time!

We made a quick visit to Pa's house Sunday afternoon.

Sending Logan our Love!

Please keep praying for Matt's cousin's son, Logan.  He is recovering from chemo and a bone marrow transplant to treat a rare form of Leukemia.  Since the transplant, he has been battling Graft vs. Host Disease in his intestines which has caused an ulcer and he has had to recover from at least one staph infection.  I probably don't have all the details right, not being a medically minded person, but the gist of it is that he has had a very rough time of it so far and things are finally starting to calm down.  His parents are more than ready to bring him home from the hospital and get their life with their sweet baby boy back to some kind of normal.  Callie sent him this Yo Gabba guitar.  Hopefully by this time next summer he and Callie will be running around at Pa's house together, competing for his attention.

Longer Sea Legs and Flippers

We are loving this warm swimming weather.  The pool is open on the weekends until school lets out and we have even gotten to spend a weekend swimming at the lake.   We spent four days over Memorial weekend there which gave Callie plenty of opportunities to conquer the last of her water fears and hasn't looked back.   She was very uneasy when Nana and I both tried to put her feet in the water.  But once Daddy took her in, she was back to her normal water baby self.   You would think that all the splashing and flopping would mean great sleep but instead, she stayed up a good portion of three of the four nights we were there.  It was like she was way too excited about where she was to sleep.  And then there was a very unfortunate vomit incident on the way home that we still haven't figured out the reason for.  But we are all back to normal now and she is not a bit shy about the water at the pool and loves that she is not tall enough and capable of walking around in the kiddie section. 

Every body wants to throw Callie around!

Splashing Papa is still her main priority.

She just splashes a little bigger this year than she did last summer.

She hasn't met a sprinkler she didn't like.

Such a show-off.  My fault since I follow her around with a camera constantly!

Nana kisses were abundant.

She practiced riding in Nana and Papa's wagon so she would be ready for the Calliewagon that Grampie is fixing for her.

Last year the boat seemed to bore her.

This year it is much more exciting and she is tolerating the life jacket better.  She can make anything look good!

And to think summer is just beginning!