MA trip and other summer happenings

Another summer is hurtling by me, and my toddler has been keeping me very much on my toes, but I've been working on this blog a little at a time. We made our annual summer trek to Massachusetts from June 28 to July 5 -- already over a month ago.😲 It's always so great seeing everybody up there, and there's so much to do, which makes it a fun change of pace. Since I'm having a hard enough time finding the time for this blog -- at the moment I'm letting Thomas empty out a desk drawer -- it's going to be mostly a photo dump.

We hiked Purgatory Chasm again with some unsavory characters who thought nothing of bypassing the "closed" sign. (It was closed as a precaution after heavy rain the day before.) I said my kids would have been appalled had it been my idea, but they didn't bat an eye since it was their cousins.' They act like they're dying if I enter a store through the wrong door. 

Thomas and I went out to dinner with Grandma and hung out at home while everyone else did some game room and Go Kart place. 

I personally enjoyed the lake days best of all, and I was super excited to see that my first choice of activity back when my niece surveyed all of us -- the waterslide place -- made it onto the list. That ended up being second favorite for me this time, though, the first being the lake in Hopkinton where they could paddleboard and kayak. Carolyn, Thomas and I found a nice spot on the beach and just watched him play for the most part. It was VERY toddler-friendly, just a big puddle for him to splash in. Another family lent us a little truck for him to push around--they must have noticed I was very unprepared--but he was mostly happy with rocks and dirt. For me, being able to enjoy the outdoors in the summer is the best, especially if I'm in the vicinity of water on a beautiful day.

I recall now as I look through these photos again, that Thomas was not doing his best on this trip. He had a cough and sniffle the day we traveled there, a fever a day or two after that, which ended up being on and off for the duration, and he was not quite himself at any given time. It was too bad, but I do think he ended up having fun too, even if he needed more rest and cuddles than usual.

Tim participated in the Chris Foley Memorial Golf Tournament, along with other friends and family of Chris, who passed away a few years ago from cancer. Tim grew up with Chris and his twin brother, and the other guys in these pictures. The tournament raised money for Camp Sunshine, which is a retreat in Maine for families with children who have a life-threatening illness.

Funny story: You might notice that in the picture above, Tim is wearing his very weathered  Birkenstocks. His golf shoes, purchased who knows how long ago (he doesn't golf much), exploded at the first or second hole. He thinks the glue had weakened from being stored for a long time. He had to go to the car and swap them out for his Birkenstocks, which made him the object of ridicule all day, but he says they actually made for great golf shoes.🤣 In fact, I don't think there's a single activity he wouldn't do while wearing them. He wore them to work with socks for awhile, until he finally found some closed-toe shoes his feet could tolerate. I'm pretty sure Birkenstock makes shoes that are more suitable for work and golf, but you know they don't feel as good as some old broken-in Arizonas.

I donned a sundress, left Thomas with his aunties and cousins, and joined Tim and everyone else for dinner after the tournament. It was so nice catching up with everyone, and also strange to see us through their eyes. It is mindboggling to them that we have five kids, and that the last one was born just last year. Most of them have two, and they're all at least teenagers. 

We had perfect weather for the lake and waterslide park. Joey was on and off the waterslides nonstop the entire day. He slipped and hit his nose at the edge of the pool as he was getting out one of the times, and came walking up to us with blood running all down the front of him. He wasn't hurt that badly, but it was a very startling sight for us to see, as you can imagine. Tim was disappointed I didn't get a picture, but it was hard to remember to get a picture when I was checking him out and making sure he wasn't going to die.

Annie says her favorite thing we (they) did was the game room, and Timmy's was the Go Karts. The Go Karts were also at the game room, I believe. So that was a big hit with the kids. 

Annual wiffleball tournament

All the grandkids. Top row L-R: Juliana (20), Alexa (19), Sofia (18, almost 19), Annie (14), Thomas (1), and Natalie (14). Bottom row L-R: Delaney (15, almost 16), Timmy (11, almost 12), and Joey (7)

We celebrated Delaney's birthday a few days early. The aunties and cousins didn't want to miss the chance to spoil her on her "sweet 16."

"Sushi" treats made by Auntie Kathy

The challenge is always to see how many memories can be made in just five short days, until it's time to go home. I think everybody did a great job!

We had another easy travel day -- Tim with four of the kids in the car, and Thomas and I flying. We flew out of Providence this time at Tim Sr's request since he's the one taking us to the airport and he knew in advance about some major traffic problems Boston was going to have. After flying out of Providence, I have to say, where has it been all my life? I might never go back to Logan. Everything is nice, like really nice, even pretty bathrooms. And it was dead. The only gate that had anything going on was our gate, and the rest of the concourse was empty. I let Thomas have the run of the place.

Back here in New Bern, a busy summer is coming to a close. Delaney got her license right after her birthday, and that has been a gamechanger around here. Having her able to drive herself around, let alone anyone else, has been a huge help to me. Marching band has been a big commitment, and then I've also been delegating to her a few of the errands I would otherwise be doing myself. Yesterday after I asked her to go fetch Joey from a friend's house in the neighborhood when his mom wasn't answering my text, Annie said to her, "It must be fun having your driver's license." I said, "You'll find out yourself soon enough--you're next!" Delaney has also just been hired at Harris Teeter, so she'll be starting her first job soon. Cheer practice has kept Annie busy since we got back. It was one week on, one week off for July, but for August it's at least a couple days a week, including a day camp they hosted for little kids in the area. Timmy has been enjoying a very laidback summer of videogames and a couple soccer practices a week. Joey has been living his best life, swimming with one friend, going out with another friend and his family on their boat, and spending very little time at home in general. (But at least he doesn't need to be driven around because his friends are all right here in this neighborhood!) I'm actually feeling a little bad for him that school starts for him and Timmy this Thursday. Then there's my buddy Thomas who makes sure that I'm planning my days well and not wasting any time, and really cherishing my moments of reading or relaxing by the pool.

It is truly a wonderful life. 

Topsail 2023

Good luck making it to the end of this one! It is always a challenge to narrow down the hundreds of photos we take, down to maybe...fifty? We had such a good time, and it was beautiful.

We love our beach sunsets, but we couldn't go out there every evening because strangely enough on this trip, high tide was REALLY high, like lapping the dunes, and it was mostly in the afternoon/evening. So on most days, we had very little beach left by about 3, and none left by dinnertime. Fortunately, this year we were in a house that had better views of the beach and a nicer deck, so when we were on it we felt like we were right there. The deck had gates that latched too, which was key to enjoying it with Thomas who likes to explore and to escape if he can. Not all decks have that, and it wasn't even something I was looking for when we were deciding where to stay. Maybe Grace was, because she helped me find ours. Anyway, very grateful for that.

Different duplex, same Grace with my morning coffee😎

He could wander when he had someone willing to wander with him.

The water was a little chillier than the adults would prefer -- it's taken North Carolina a little extra time to warm up this summer -- but you know it didn't faze the kids. They were in it every day for hours. I think Mom would have liked it if it had been hotter if only so that she could have gotten the boys into the shade more often. They liked being toasty in the sun. 

If I recall correctly, among other things, we were talking about a conversation we had last year this time, about how Scotty and Faith are the "fun bus," Grace said they're the "struggle bus," and I/we were the broken-down bus. (Tim might tell me to speak for myself on that!) This year I decided we're the trailer. We can hitch ourselves to the fun bus. Just a silly conversation. 

Grandy loved getting to spend time with Thomas.

I love Mom's smile and the sunset reflected in the window.

That's Mom with L-R David (Sophie's), Taj (Grace's), and Caleb (Sophie's). Mom and Dad took Sophie's kids to the beach this year because she and Michael didn't go. We were missing Anna and her family too.

We're accustomed to seeing our Marine friends flying over the beach, but one time they flew right over the houses!

My beach buddy

Grace and Israel. Israel is a month older than Thomas.

Dad and I

Beach hair don't care!

The obligatory family photos, on the deck instead of the beach this time.

The kids changed a lot in a year.

Israel, Thomas and Taj

I love this one of Grandy and Israel matching.

Damien (Sophie's oldest, he's 10 now), Joey and Scotty III

Scotty and Faith and their kids, L-R: Jaden (15), Roman (17), Aspen (17), and Scotty (13). 

Grace and Joey and their kids: Lotus (15), Elise (8 next month), Taj (5), and Israel (turned 1 in April)

We had just enough beach to walk on that evening.

Grace declared our last day the "most perfect last day" we've ever had. The weather and the tide cooperated, and even the music on my Pandora shuffle stations. We soaked it up. I even rode a couple waves on a boogeyboard. That night the babies did not cooperate for us, however. It took me over an hour to get Thomas to bed so I could say goodbye to everyone and hang out with Grace on the deck -- just in time for Israel's little head to pop up on the baby monitor.😜 As a relative on Facebook always says (as in comments on every post), "Babies... gotta love 'em!"

Thomas: 12 Months

Finally the last of the blue blanket pictures...

They told me back when I was expecting Delaney that the time would fly, and it did (and does); but the way the time flies when you have a baby in your forties -- that is something else entirely!🤣👵

He is such a cute little rascal -- very busy and curious, leaving a mess in his wake everywhere he goes. He loves his baths, and as soon as I say it's time for a bath and start to fill the tub, he starts making impatient noises -- "mmm--Mmmm!" -- and trying to get between me and the water (as I'm waiting for it to be the right temperature), like I'm in his way. 

I can't get him down for naps much anymore; he sleeps when he's inclined to sleep, usually in a moving vehicle. Sometimes I will come home from an errand and keep driving a little longer in the hopes that he will conk out. Then I lug him in his car seat into my room and he continues to sleep another hour, maybe two. That car seat sure is heavy with a big baby in it, but I can't beat the convenience of it. It's been a source of frustration to me that a nap schedule continues to elude us, and it makes my days hard to plan. I end up winging it which works I guess, but I'd like for him to be better rested, not just catching 20 minute naps on the fly. Bedtime, and nighttime in general, remain a guessing game. One thing we know for sure is he will end up in bed with us every night, almost always by 1 a.m. Oh well, he won't be little forever, as I'm reminded constantly by looking at his big siblings and remembering their baby days.

He loves his siblings and eats up whatever attention they give him. Just the other night, as Timmy handed him to me, Thomas cried as though his heart were breaking. He can be very dramatic. He wanted big brother, not mama!

He hasn't said any new words, just continues to use the words he said last month, mostly "uh-oh" and "da-da." It's not a wonder he likes "uh-oh" since we say it so many times in a day! I heard Timmy explain to his friend David that Thomas calls both me and Tim "da-da," and says something that sounds like "mum-mum" whenever he wants something someone is eating. When he looks at your food and says "mum-mum," you know you must share. He's really not an eater though, still. He'll taste it and then play with it mostly.

He's still mostly crawling and practicing walking whenever he's in the mood -- standing and taking as many as eight steps at a time. He's learned how to (safely) get off our bed, as I discovered this morning as I was saying to myself, 'I'd better go get him, it's time to take the boys to school.' Just then my bedroom door opened and he crawled out. I hadn't seen or heard anything on the monitor, but I might not have been paying attention. I've been teaching him to get off the bed feet first, and I assume that's what he did since he wasn't crying! He can also go down stairs feet first too, but we try not to let him do that without supervision. You know our Thomas has to learn some survival skills.😉

I'm going to wrap up this 12-month milestone post now, and then I think I'll make a separate first birthday post with those pictures and other things bouncing around my head that I'd like to share.

Thomas: 11 months

I have to say, I think my luck has finally run out with getting good pictures of him on this blue blanket. I'm really surprised it held out as long as it did, considering he's been mobile for some time! I will just need one more now.

He's got a couple more teeth just starting to pop through on either side of those top front ones. I love his toothy little grin.

He took his first step on April 1. He can stand on his own for a few seconds at a time, and takes one to three steps toward one of us whenever he happens to be in the mood. Crawling and cruising are still his favorite ways to get around, but I have a feeling not for much longer.

He's getting to be a talker too. He says "mama," "dada," "go," and "woo-woo" (for a dog barking). In fact, anytime we say, "Where's Willsy?" he starts going, "Woo-woo." It is sooooooo cute. One day we took them for a walk, and as we passed our neighbor's house, his dogs were barking at Willow, and she was barking back. Thomas barked in his little baby voice all the way down the street. On the same walk, after Delaney told Willow to go, Thomas said, "Go-go-go" for a while. I can't take it. He's gotten a lot more interested in talking, I can tell, even when he's not saying a word. He's watching us talk to him, and I can almost see the wheels turning. He's thinking of things to say even when he's not saying them.

Look at the difference three months made for his hair. Below, in January, he had just one curl.

Now he's got a whole mess of them! And I'm in love.

What else to report...? He's just been a busy guy, going around looking for messes to make every waking minute. He loves baths, walks in the stroller, being read to, climbing the stairs, getting into the dog's food and water bowls, and treating us like human jungle gyms. He wakes up from almost all his naps cranky, and his naps are still not at predictable times. He still nurses mostly, but is starting to eat a little bit of solids for me here and there.

The hair!

We are just so smitten with this boy.