Outer Banks
July 4- July 11, 2009
With much anticipation the date finally came! We were on our way to the beach! We left late Friday evening, July 3 hoping our little man would sleep through the night. It was so strange packing during the day knowing I still had hours and hours until we actually hit the road.
Neverless, the clock finally struck 11:30pm and we scooped up our sleeping baby and buckled him in his car seat. He was wide awake for a litte while before he finally nodded off.
Neverless, the clock finally struck 11:30pm and we scooped up our sleeping baby and buckled him in his car seat. He was wide awake for a litte while before he finally nodded off.
Mommy and Case both slept in the car, waking up every time we hit a toll booth, and when Daddy got gas. However, much to our surprise he did great! Case is such a good sleeper, but he isn't such a great car ride sleeper...so we were pretty nervous.
We were almost to Raleigh, North Carolina where Matt's Step-sister and husband live, when the sun rose...it was so refreshing. We got to spend some time with Eric and Erica, stretch our legs and let Case crawl around and play before hitting the road again...we still had about four hours to go before we reached our beach house. Case's Nanny and Poppy also met us at the apartment, Matt took a quick cat nap...and we were off again!
Well, Case was a trooper on the last leg of our trip...and finally we were there! Matt's Mamaw and Papaw arrived minutes after we did, so everyone made it safely and we were ready to begin our vacation!
It was beauitful. Matt's family and I visited the same house 2 years ago, but this time it was a little different. Matt's other step-sister Kelli wasn't able to make it :( The other teeny tiny detail....we had a baby this time! :)
We were so excited to take Case to the beach, what's better than a baby seeing the ocean for the first time?
We spent our days relaxing, reading, swimming in the pool, fishing...well Matt and Papaw at least. :) We had a couple of beach days...one of which Case slept on my lap for 2 1/2 hours. I was in absolute heaven, Case never sits still these days unless he's sleeping so I held him and watched the waves, and the big beautiful ocean...which never ceases to amaze me.
Well, as most first experiences go with a child, Case seemed a little worried about this massive blue thing, that was very loud and throwing water in his direction...and was surrounded by this odd shifty ground... However, by the end of the week...he still seemed a little worried, but didn't seem scared and he even let us dip him in the ocean a few times! The first time we tried that...he let us know that that was not his idea of a good time.
Case even learned a few tricks that week! He began crawling on his hands and knees, instead of his previous army crawl. He also learned how to pull himself up! My favorite though...he learned how to say "Mama". Melts my heart.
We headed to Ocracoke one day, and to the Outlet Mall another. We played board games and cards. The girls even did some scrapbooking one night, which I really enjoyed because I had never tried! The boys played Risk that night, and well...let's just say the girls were glad they had something else they could do!
It was just so nice to spend so much time with the family.
Above: At the fish fry! Mamaw, Papaw, Matt, Liz and Case. Sally, Roger (aka Nanny & Poppy) Eric and Erica.
Here are a few of the memories we captured...
We had so much fun, and will always keep these memories close to heart. We can't wait to take Case back to the ocean each summer and see how his reactions change with the years. You never know, next summer he might even smile a little while dipping his toes into that big scary blue thing. :)
