A Walk in the Woods and a Swim in the River

A few weekends ago our little family headed back to one of our favorite places, Eno River State Park.  It's only about half an hour from our house, and it's beautiful.  Before we had kids, we would go and hike around all day, letting Rip dip himself in the river and chase sticks along the way.  Now, we don't quite make the distance that we used to make, but we still have a great time. 

Evan is beginning to be a good little hiker.  On this hike we had to head down quite a few steps to get to the river.  He was a trooper and walked the whole way.  He waited until we could actually see the cars on the way back to say that he was too tired to go on and needed to be picked up. 

(Evan waving goodbye to us as he forges out ahead on the trail)

So, our little family hiked down the stairs down to the river, Evan trotting along next to us, Ben in the carrier on Ian or I's chest, and Ripple running out in front of us as far as he could go until his extendable leash reached its limit and snatched him back.  Everyone but Ben was excited to see the river.  Evan and Ripple just stepped right in.  I was a little worried about Evan walking on all of those slippery rocks, but Ian stayed right next to him and made sure he didn't fall in. 

Meanwhile, Ripple turns into a maniac whenever he's at the river.  He prances and whines and dances around until we throw a stick into the river for him.  Nine times out of ten he can't even find the stick, and sometimes he still swim after it far enough into the river that the current catches him and we have to reel him back in with the leash.  We like to call this practice, "fishing for poodles".  He absolutely loves it.

(Throwing rocks into the water and fishing for poodles)

So, we played in the river for a bit and then hiked up on a suspension bridge over the river.  I honestly thought Evan would be more interested in this than he was.  Ripple just cowered and slunk over the bridge which was wobbling far too much for the small dog.  After our bridge adventure we did a bit more splashing, and Ben and I took a little tine for a solo hike on a short trail through the woods. 

(Ian and Evan cross the bridge.)

(Ben and I on our little hike--okay, okay, he slept the whole way, but I enjoyed it.  I thought this wasn't bad for a picture I took myself.)

The weather was beautiful, the company was great, and we're looking forward to our next excursion in the great outdoors.  The only part I'm not looking forward to is the clean up.  I've learned that the Davis family must keep many towels in the trunk at all times just to be prepared!

Another Water Baby

So, the first time we took Ben into the pool was at the beach.  I think it was a little too bright for him, he wasn't a very happy camper.  However, Evan loves getting in the water, so Ben soon had another opportunity to check out the pool.  We headed over there one afternoon with our friends Hilary and Carson, Carson's new little sister Amelia, and Hilary's parents.  I definitely can't go to the pool with the boys by myself, so I was thrilled to have the extra hands.
 

1. Ben and Amelia bask in the sun.

Evan got in quickly as usual and hung out on the steps.  He loves to play with his toys and splash on the stairs without getting in too deep. Sometimes he gets a bit nervous about heading out deeper with an adults, but once he gets out there he usually enjoys it.  On this trip to the pool, Evan had a bit of a breakthrough and actually got on his tiptoes and walked around the shallow end...big boy!

While Evan was hanging out on the steps, we decided to try again with Ben.  So, we brought him over to the water and began to dangle his little feet in the water.  This time he actually loved it.  He was perfectly fine when we brought him in up to his armpits and swam him around.  I think we've got another water baby on our hands!

2. The toesies are dipped in.

3. Ben loves the pool!

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Right now, Evan loves anything that "goes".  He loves cars, trucks, trains, boats, etc.  So, we try to give him opportunities to check out these things whenever we get a chance.  Boats seem to be one of the hardest to expose him too.  It's harder to find a boat and give him the opportunity to ride it.  So, we were excited when we found a place to rent boats at Lake Crabtree.  It wasn't too far away, so a couple of weekends ago we decided to head down there.

We got all ready to go, got in the car, and the drizzle started as we drove towards the lake.  We just knew that we were going to get rained out.  However, since we had already taken all the time to mobilize and get our whole little family in the car, we decided to continue. 

So, we made it to the lake and headed down to the boat rental building.  We had to choose what type of boat to rent.  I thought a rowboat or canoe might be the best choice.  However, the people who worked at the boat rental place recommended a two-person kayak, so that's what we went with.

One of us had to stay on the shore with little Ben, but he had a great time watching the views of the water.  There was a tower we could climb so he could look around from a better vantage point.  He enjoyed it, but it was apparently not that exciting because he fell asleep about halfway through the trip.

We were worried about whether Evan would like the boat ride or be scared.  He loved it!  At first he tried to row with a stick.  Then, he just left the rowing to Ian and navigated.  After a while the boys came back to shore and let me have a turn driving Mr. Evan.  I'd never been in a kayak before, so it was a fun experience. 

It's always great to try something new with the family.  We got a little wet, but I think that just made it more fun and more of an adventure!

(The boys enjoy their boat ride.)

(Boating in the rain)

Three Months

I remember when Evan was three months old, I thought he was so old, I thought he'd been around for so long.  This is completely the opposite!  I feel like Ben just got here, and the past three months has been a blur.

Ben has turned into such a big boy!  He has just gone through a major growth spurt.  He's always been a little bit of a skinny bean pole.  Over the past couple of weeks he's started to fill out and stretch out even more.  His toes are even pushing at the edge of some of his three-month sleepers.

He's also changing every day.  He's finally starting to pull his head up during tummy time and start to watch the world around him.  It doesn't last long, and pretty soon his head is back down and he's back to crying.  He is getting there though.

Ben is quick to laugh and quick to cry.  It doesn't take much to make his face break out into a huge smile.  Today he was even starting to do a little baby laughing.  However, if things don't go his way, his bottom lip sticks out a mile, starts to quiver, and then he starts to scream.  He certainly does wear his heart on his sleeve.

His days right now consist of a lot of exploring the world around him.  He loves riding around in his Bjorn carrier where he can face out and see the world.  He rides in the stroller on some walks with his brother.  Ben watches his mobile, the owls in his swing, and his rainforest playmat.  He also loves to sit in one of his seats and watch what's going on in the rest of the house.  He's also starting to grab and hold onto things, but only when they're put in his little hands.

We're having so much fun watching him grow and develop his own little personality.  Who knows what he'll be up to next!

Here's the car seat series of pictures.  He really looks a lot older in this most recent one!

(A few days old)

(One Month Old)

(Two Months Old)

(Three Months Old)

Last One, I Promise...

I know it's taken me long enough, but I promise, this will be my last post about our beach trip.  We just had so many great pictures that I wanted to make sure to share them all. 

About midway through our week at the beach, we were all getting a bit pruney from the water and decided that we needed to dry out for a day.  So, we headed down to the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher.  We knew that Evan and Ben would have a ball watching all of the fish and animals, and sure enough, they did! 

(Family day at the aquarium)

We started off checking out some turtles and crocodiles (one stuffed, one albino).  We especially wanted Ben to meet the turtles because we are always saying that Ben makes the best little turtle faces.  I wonder what he thought of his look-a-likes. 

(Gram and Evan liked the crocodile)

(But  I don't think Ben was so sure.)

(Evan...meet the fishies)

(Turtle...meet turtle-face)

Evan enjoyed looking at everything, but his favorites were definitely the tanks filled with all kinds of brightly colored fish and other sea creatures.  We saw sea horses, fish, sharks, and even a scuba diver swimming in one of the tanks!  His favorite tank was definitely the one with the jellyfish though.  They were under florescent lights so they would change color periodically, and Evan thought that was just fascinating.  Ben definitely loved the big tanks as well.  He was in the Baby Bjorn carrier so he could just look out and stare at them.  It was a great trip, and I'm sure we'll head back to an aquarium soon!

(Cowboy Evan rides a froggy!)

The rest of our week at the beach was spent doing more of the same...fun in he sun!  One evening while we were there, we all headed back down to the beach to try to get a few pictures when the light was good.  It was actually a pretty painful experience!  The boys were fussy from the minute we got down there.  We braved the sand and Evan quickly started running around in the dunes covering himself with sand.  I had the great idea to set Ben down for a few minutes in the sand.  While he loved it, he too became covered with sand. So, we spent the rest of our brief time down at the beach trying to not get covered with sand while getting pictures with the boys.

The great thing that came out of that experience though was that the pictures were absolutely fabulous!  I really think Gramps should get into the photography business or something.  You'd think he was a professional! :)  In the end, we got some great pictures of our family and it was all worth braving the elements.  I'll finish up my tale of the beach with some of those pictures.  (I won't post the family picture because you've already seen that one.)  Another year, another great time at the beach!

(This was at the end of our photography session...both boys had had enough, but I wanted to make sure we had a shot of Gram and Gramps with their boys.)

(Father and son)

(Evan and his beach)

(Baby on the sand)

(Love...)

(Love...)

(Love...)

(I absolutely love this series of pictures!)

Baby at the Beach

In my reporting of the beach trip so far, I have not really mentioned how Ben fared, except for brief notes about how we would take turns staying upstairs with him.  While it's true that he didn't spend much time in the water or sand, he still had a great time at the beach whether he was playing upstairs with his parents or Gram and Gramps or taking a brief foray into the great outdoors.

Ben made it down to the beach once during our week.  I took him down in the stroller which was great for wheeling him across the boardwalk, but not so good for the sand.  I got stuck directly after the boardwalk and abandoned the stroller in favor of just carrying the carseat.  We hung out under the umbrella most of the time where Ben happily snoozed.  However, he did think that the sun was a little bright and the wind was a little disconcerting, so he could never fall into that deep of a sleep. 

(Ben and Mommy watch the waves.)

(Beach Baby)

(Peaceful dreaming on the sand)

I think he preferred the beach to the pool though.  Maybe that was because he could relax at the beach.  In the pool, his parents kept trying to stick his feet into cold water!  He would have none of it! 

(Why do they keep dangling my toes in when all I want to do is sleep?)

(Well, maybe it's not so bad when Mommy's here.)

Ben's favorite part of the great outdoors at the beach was definitely the balcony of the condo.  He loved to watch all the sights from the shade and comfort of the porch. 

(Baby+Bumbo+Beach)

I'm sure that next year his trip to the beach will be quite a different experience!

Fun in the Sun

There is lots more to tell about our week at the beach so I'll get on with the story.  Each of the days were filled with lots of fun out on the beach or in the pool.  All of the days were beautiful, maybe a little hot, but that doesn't matter when you're at the beach!

Some mornings Ian and I would get up for a morning run on the beach, other mornings we would sleep in.  Fortunately, we had some willing grandparents to entertain Evan and Ben while we relaxed a bit.  Once we got back, we mobilized to head down to the beach.  We would usually pick someone to stay upstairs with Ben while the rest of us headed down.  Ben plans to fully take advantage of the beach next year, but for now he's a bit small for too much sand time, but more on Ben's beach trip later.

We all had a ball on the beach.  We actually had a canopy to sit under this year.  While it added some drama with assembly and constantly trying to blow away or get carried away into the ocean, it was so nice to have because it gave us enough shade that several of us could easily sit under it and read in peace. 

Evan wanted nothing to do with reading, however.  He was always on the go.  We were very lucky because Wrightsville Beach has these wonderful tide pools on the beach when the tide is low.  This gave Evan a great place to play without having to brave the harsh waves.  He would paddle in the pools, try to catch fish, hunt for crabs, build sand castles, find shells, and all of the other things that you're supposed to do at the beach.  He did this, of course, with the help of his parents and grandparents who were also having a great time playing around.

While Evan didn't really want anything to do with the waves, the rest of the family enjoyed them!  Of course, Gramps is a fish and spent a great deal of time body surfing through waves that I wouldn't even get near.  I don't know how he does it.  Ian was equally competent with a board, and Jennifer would get out and ride the waves too. Not growing up by the Carolina beaches, I'm a little more timid around the big waves.  I got out in them every day, but I liked when they were calmer, or we could find a spot where they were not breaking right on top of me.  I did try my hand at riding the waves on the boogie board, but after ingesting several gallons of water and almost losing most parts of my swimsuit, I decided I would leave that to the true North Carolina natives!

After coming up from the ocean, we always had to walk by the crystal clear pool.  It always looked so inviting, so of course, we took a few dips.  Evan headed down with his grandparents several times, and Ian and I even got to head down by ourselves once. 

Every night we came in tired, but happy.  We would spend the evenings putting the boys to bed, enjoying good food, playing some games, doing some puzzles, and just enjoying each other's company. 

I can't wait to see how much fun both boys have enjoying the beach next year!

(Loving the sun and sand!)

(Tent wrangling)

(Father and son relax in the tide pool.)

(Evan finds an older woman and captains his way through the tide pools.)

(Hmmm, is this the right place for a sand castle?)

(Fishies splashing in the pool)

(Gramps instructs Evan on the finer points of sand castle construction.)

(Heading out to the sea)