Vacation, All I Ever Wanted...

We were fortunate enough to travel to Watercolor in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida this last weekend. Even though the weather didn't cooperate 100%, it was another phenomenal experience. Eli was not crawling at all the last time we visited, so this trip was much more exploratory for him. Unfortunately it rained on Friday, but we still managed to get to the pool and beach on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday before we left. Eli really enjoyed the beach this time around. He didn't eat much (if any) sand, but he did discover the birds. He loved to chase them (doing his best ape-walk, of course) once they landed on the shoreline. Of course they never let him get close enough so he could touch them, but he sure tried! He also got much more courageous regarding the ocean. Although it was too cold for him to go swimming until the last day, he would crawl to the edge of the water and start to 'chase' the waves a little. Lucky for him, he never got completely soaked.

Eli spent a little time in the pool also, and he was MUCH more adventurous there. He liked to crawl to the edge and put his hand down to test out the water. Of course, then he wanted to lower himself in. I've been trying to teach him how to crawl off of couches, chairs, stairs, etc. by turning around and lowering his legs down first, but that only works half of the time. One afternoon by the pool Eli tried to climb out on top of the water and ended up swimming by himself for a few seconds. He actually stayed up pretty well considering he had no help. Another pleasant surprise: he didn't freak out or get scared enough to cry.

We rented a 'co-pilot' attachment for our bikes again, so Eli would have a way to enjoy the bike rides with us. He absolutely loved it. Before we left today, Eli and I went for an hour-long bike ride through Seaside and Watercolor, and all I could hear the entire time was Eli singing, laughing and talking.

The house we stayed in was amazing. We rented it with three other friends which turned out to be a great arrangement because we could cook at the house, saving money on restaurants and such. We brought along one of Eli's walker toys, which he used constantly to explore the house. There were several large screened-in decks for him to play on; one included a small Adirondack chair just for him!

Our ride home was not terrible, but Eli only napped for 40-minutes the whole (5 1/2 hour) time. Since he's been in the larger car seat he has not been able to nap long-term. One of the payoffs to getting older I guess.