Galveston 2014

We recently returned from an awesome beach vacation with the Dotson family.  We drove up Monday morning, the day after Mimi's birthday, and were able to celebrate with her in Galveston.  Knox was so excited when we arrived at the sea wall and could see the water.  

We arrived at the beach house, got unpacked and hung out together before starting dinner.  While making dinner, we were in the living room watching television when Knox walked in and tripped, smashing his lip/face into the corner of a glass coffee table.  I watched it while it happened and would really like to not have to see something like that again.  After 3+ hours of it bleeding and keeping ice on it, he finally turned a corner and was able to get some sleep.  It was very swollen and cracked most of the trip, but he was a champ and still enjoyed the vacation to the fullest.  I was very proud of him.  Once we returned from the trip, I had the doctor take a look at it at Blakely's 4 month.  He said we got pretty lucky that it healed as nicely as it did...he severed the skin that attaches your lip to your gums and had a 2.5cm slice out of his gumline, just above his teeth.  All seems to be well, and it looks great, so we're thankful!

Daddy made the nights fun with shadow puppets, and he quickly forgot he was injured!

Our first full day we went to the Theut's beach house and enjoyed lunch at the country club.  Stephen took Knox out on the jetski in the bay, and I even took a little spin.  Blakely enjoyed being outside in the breeze, watching us speed by!

 Aunt Kelly arrived Wednesday afternoon, and we enjoyed having so much time all together.  We spent our days at the pool, beach, in the hot tub, at the house and even an afternoon walking around the Strand.

Knox loved getting to splash in the waves, burying himself (and daddy) in the sand and building castles.  He would have stayed on the beach 24/7 if we let him.  I'm sure every summer is going to have to include the beach from now on...he's obsessed!

Blakely did great while we were away.  She slept like a champ, and enjoyed naps in her rock n' play listening to the waves come in.  We are really fortunate to have an easy baby that goes with the flow...it was a breeze!

On Sunday we celebrated Father's Day and had a great breakfast and then headed home.  We are so lucky to have Stephen in our lives, and the kids are so blessed with him.  He's such an active part of their lives, and the whole house lights up when he walks in.  It was special to be able to celebrate with RP, and then my dad once we were back in Austin.  Knox and Blakely have some amazing role models in their lives!

We had such a great trip, and as always it was over too quickly.  Thanks, Dotsons, for a great trip!

{Blakely}: 4 months

Sweet Miss B turned four months old while we were in Galveston.  She is such a little joy, and we love her so much.  Once we got back, we had her check-up with Dr. Temple.  There's nothing better than hearing your doctor say your kids are perfect...I could hear that all day :)  

Looking back at Knox's 4 month (here), they are pretty much on par with each other.  It's so cute looking back at Knox at 4 months, but also makes me realize how different they look.  I'm excited to see what these next few months bring...lots of milestones!

Blakely loves to: 

Suck her thumb

Chew on her hands

Play with/chew on her feet

Smile and laugh at her brother

Being outside

Bathtime

Blakely hates:

Being cold

Being hungry

She is such an easy baby.  She goes down at night around 9pm and we don't hear a peep from here until about 8am.  A dream.  She takes three naps, each about an 1.5-2 hours long, and is getting more and more active during her awake times.

We just love our little miss.  

Orlando and Disneyworld

Back in May, we combined a little work trip with a lot of fun with the family.  Stephen and I attended a trade show in Orlando, and we had the kids tag along.  Knox was so excited to get to Disneyworld, but really I think he could have just flown there and back and been happy...he LOVED air travel.

Once at the resort, we had a few days of a trade show to attend, so my mom was a saint and entertained the kids while we were busy with work.  Knox had a heck of a time, seeing fancy race cars, playing games at the arcade and swimming with sis!

The night before Disney, we went to Benihana's to eat dinner.  He loved the "ninja" preparing the food and especially loved the Mickey ears made from rice.

We only had two days for Disney, so we started on Thursday with Magic Kingdom.  We got there as early as we could with a preschooler and baby, and made the most of our FULL day (8am-11pm).

We took pictures all over the park, and I stole these off the Disney website (which is why they are a little out of focus).

Highlights of day 1:

Buzz

Lunch near Buzz's lair

Driving race cars

Seeing Mickey and Minnie (and the rest of Disney characters) at the mid-day parade

Meeting Winnie the Pooh characters at dinner

Seeing the laser show at the castle

And the parade

And of course the fireworks...incredible!

It was a packed day, and we were all exhausted.  After a semi-good nights sleep, we headed to the Hollywood Studios for day 2.

Highlights included:

The Disney Junior show, complete with Mickey's clubhouse, Doc McStuffins, Jake and friends and Sophia the first

The best part of the trip, per Knox was seeing Lightening McQueen and then watching him race at the stunt show

We did a little Hollywood movie tour boat ride, but Knox just thought it was loud

The Toy Story 3d Ride/Game was a hit...but it had a long line.  At least they made the line fun with lots of things to see

 

And at lunch, he saw a Stormtrooper.  He hasn't ever seen Star Wars, but he's a fan now!

On the way home, the past two days caught up with him...

And these were the two nuggets when I tried to wake them up to catch our flight...

We had so much fun, and have memories that will last forever.  So thankful we were able to do it all, and look forward to doing it again once Miss B is old enough to remember!