San Diego

Whew!  We made it home from San Diego and it was bittersweet.  I was glad to see Mikey and of course Grady was too, but I missed Katie and Anna Cross as soon as they drove away from the airport!  We were gone for 22 days which didn't seem like a long time to me when I booked the trip, but when you're away from your house for that long, it does seem like a long time.  But I am so thankful that I was able to go and spend so many days with them.  And I'm thankful that they let me!  I know it's hard to have a houseguest! 
While we were there, we went to the San Diego Zoo, the Wild Animal Park, the beach (Coronado and Mission Beach), Balboa Park, Old Towne, La Jolla, Belmont Park, Kate Sessions Park, Cabrillo National Monument, Los Angeles/Hollywood, and "Let's Make A Deal".  I also experienced my first earthquake on the same day we arrived!  California is beautiful... I think it's so cool that one state has beaches, mountains, deserts, and snow.  It's so amazing. 

Anna Cross and Grady had a lot of fun together, even though Grady is a little dominant and definitely has the only child syndrome going on!  Anna Cross is just so sweet and has the cutest little voice ever.  Every morning, when Grady would wake up (he'd wake up first most of the time), we'd walk out of our room and he'd say "Shhhh"... but as soon as AC woke up, he would RUN to her door and they would both just squeal when they saw each other.  They also loved to wrestle around on the floor and dance... so fun to watch!

Anna Cross also had her first birthday party while we were there, so we enjoyed celebrating with her.  They splashed in the pool and loved the slip and slide, too.  Samantha made the cutest cake and several matching cupcakes.  Anna Cross dug right in!

Of course no trip is complete without some kind of "emergency".  I noticed some small bumps on Grady's hiney about a week after we were there and since he's had MRSA before, I worried that's what it was.  I had decided to wait until the next day to take him to urgent care, but later that afternoon, I saw a HUGE blister/ulcer on his tongue.  I took him to the doctor and he gave him a prescription for MRSA, said the ulcer was just viral, and gave me a prescription for a topical ointment for that.  The next day, I saw a blister on his foot and one on his hand, so I assumed it was actually Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease.  I took him back and the doctor confirmed it and said there was nothing to do for it.  So 2 copays and 2 prescriptions later, we were stuck riding it out!  He really didn't seem too bothered by the blisters, but the ulcers complicated meal time and he was drooling all over the place!  Luckily, they cleared up within a few days.  What a mess!

The Sunday before I left, Katie and I went to LA to go to Let's Make a Deal.  We didn't get to be a contestant, but it was still really interesting to see the TV production process and see Wayne Brady in person.  Beau kept the kids for us (super dad!) and everyone was in one piece when we got home and having a blast!  Thanks Beau!

There are just too many details to share since I was gone so long!  We just really had a great time and it was a great way to end my summer vacation.  I go back to work in two weeks.  Thank you, Katie and Beau, for having us and being such great hosts!  I can't wait to see you again soon!!!

Here are tons of pics... we took over 1000, so it was a process to weed through them all!

We've arrived!

Katie's House

The seals at La Jolla

La Jolla

Grady checking AC's diaper!

Hugs!

Anna Cross's First Birthday Cake (by Samantha!)

Balboa Park

Coronado

A few from Old Towne:

Belmont Park:

Kate Sessions Park:

A few from Cabrillo National Monument:

Wrestling!

Balboa Park Rose Garden (Anna Cross's First Birthday portraits were taken here, so we tagged along and got some of our own!)

Let's Make A Deal!

Having Fun:

Fourth of July Weekend

We had a great 4th of July weekend, with beautiful weather and good time spent together. Mikey had off work Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday so we have been able to spend a lot of time together! As I mentioned in my last post, he switched hours at work, so he is no longer going to have to struggle with the night hours! Hopefully he’s been able to catch up on rest the past few days!


Jenine came for a visit this weekend. On Sunday we went to the Blackwater River State Park, and it was better than our expectations. There are Cypress trees, long boardwalks, pavilions, and even the sand is white like the beach. The water is clear and shallow, but it does have a swift current, so we definitely had to help Grady out! We really enjoyed our day at the river and plan to go back soon.

Sunday evening, we went over to Elaine’s for sparklers, snaps, and fried chicken. Grady LOVED throwing the snaps down and listening to them pop! When we came home, we sat outside for a while with the neighbors while they shot a few fireworks in the street. He was wiped out and just sat on my lap in a daze.

Today, after two beautiful, sunny days, it rained again, but that was ok with us… we are just thankful for the nice weekend and time spent together… I leave for California on Wednesday! Here are some pics from the weekend…

18 Month Well Check

Grady had his 18 month well check today and the doctor said he is doing great. Height, weight, verbal skills are all on track. He joked with me last time we were there and said he had his ear plugs in when he saw Grady was coming because Grady screams the instant he sees Dr. Hensley. He hates going to the doctor. He was impressed that Grady understands and follows verbal directions so well, like when I say "Go put Mommy's shoes in her closet". Hey, I'm ready for him to start some chores and pick up after us himself. He's a fun little boy and I am definitely enjoying my summer with him.

Here are a few pics of Grady... he had a haircut, by the way.  With the clippers, not scissors.  Almost buzzed.  Whew!  Didn't mean for that much to go, but I'm getting used to it.

Opening Mikey's bday card... loved the music it played

New train table... Craigslist, where else?  :)

Crawled right in the toy chest...

Yelling, "HEYYYY" at the top of his lungs... has to make sure I see him!

First time with a belt... checking it out...

 
Nothing too new is going on, we are just staying busy and out of the house as much as we can so Mikey can sleep!  He is actually changing shifts starting this Tuesday.  He'll not be working nights anymore, but his hours will still be different than mine.  I'll look forward to the weekends when we can see each other and he'll hopefully be well-rested.  Night shift is NO good!  So I'm glad that is over.

Grady is still going to Gymboree and still LOVING it.  We spend a lot of time at the park, running errands, and finding new things to do around town.  We usually go out for lunch together after spending most of the morning out and about, then we come home for naps before Mikey wakes up.  (Yes, I have been enjoying afternoon naps as well!)  This summer is so much different than last summer because Grady can interact with me more and we have a lot of fun together.  That's not to say it's always fun... today he screamed the entire time I was at the mall returning something.  He wanted to play in the driver's seat of the car and was mad that I would not let him do that.  So he didn't get over it for a while.  If I have any errands to run that involve clothes or mostly browsing around, I have to wait until he goes to bed at night and then I go out.  But no toddler is meltdown-free, so that's to be expected! 

We leave for San Diego on Wednesday.  I am so excited to see Katie, Beau, and Anna Cross!  We are staying for three weeks.  We are going to miss Mikey and I don't know what he'll do without Grady for 3 weeks!  Catch up on sleep, I hope!

Surprise!

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures! Yesterday, I threw a surprise birthday party for Mikey.  His actual birthday is on Wednesday.  We had lots of fun and he was very surprised!  We boiled crawfish, had Conecuh sausage, pasta salad, a garden salad, watermelon, fruit salad, brocolli salad, chex mix, chips and dip, french bread, dirty rice, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something else! 

Here he is walking in...two of his friends, Mike and Jeremy took him to lunch while I got the surprise ready and guests arrived.  He is holding a basket of peanuts he took home with him from the restaraunt... guess they were really good peanuts!

Crawfish in fighting stance before we boiled them....

My friend Michelle's daughter, Marlee, playing with the crawfish... she loved them!

Rinsing the crawfish to get them clean...

Andy and Mikey

Mikey and Elaine (his mom)

McClain (Michelle's little boy)

Grady loves the birthday candles....

36 candles!

About the blow them out...

Stephanie and Michelle

Jeremy and Mikey (this was late in the evening!)

Last night, Grady went to stay overnight at his Grandma's house!  That's the first time I have let him stay away from home, and I have to say, it was nice to not have to worry about him while we were enjoying our company.  And he did just fine.  :)  We didn't pick him up until about 3 o'clock this afternoon.  Thanks Elaine! 

And happy birthday, Mikey!