#18 Find something I love at a garage sale and buy it!

I found this great train toy at a garage sale drive by and I must admit that I love how much Lucas loves it. Every morning he crawls straight to it and squeals with excitement when it lights up and plays music. He has been using it to learn to pull up to standing and then sitting back down as well as pushing it while crawling. It won't be long before he is walking behind it! I would recommend this toy or something similar for all babies at this stage of development!

Camping

Our Columbus family met at Indian Lake for a camping weekend. Let me just tell you that I am not the outdoorsy-type of girl (I hate being dirty - and was even known to cry about being dirty when I was little) and I had my doubts about camping with a 10 month old who is a crawling maniac. Not to mention it has been a HOT summer and babies can have a hard time regulating their body heat. When my friend who is in her third trimester announced she would be joining us and was super excited about it...I knew I had to put all my doubts aside :) And I am so glad I did! With a little planning and some sweet new camping gear, my little family successfully braved the outdoors for 2 nights, 1 shower in the camp shower, 1 swim in the lake, all meals prepared outside, and countless smores. There was only one coffee run to macdo ;0)

I did lots of online research about camping with wee ones and prepared accordingly. Here is what I learned:

• Bring extra everything - diapers, wipes, clothes, pjs, towels, blankets, pacifiers


• Prepare for bugs - spray and thermacell's seemed to do a decent job


• Prepare for the weather - I brought a blow up baby pool for the campground that Lucas played in while we all sat in camp chairs sweating and watching him have a ball, I got a battery operated tent fan that I aimed directly at Lucas while he slept, a tailgate tent was great for creating shade


• Bring lots of food options and offer them regularly - There was so much going on that was out of the ordinary that Lucas was never focused enough to have a regular meal. He loved snacking on blueberries, edamame, black beans, and of course puffs


• Have a plan for crawling - At 10 months Lucas is pretty much over being held all the time and wants to be down exploring. I had a tablecloth that covered quite a bit of space and we sort of made a human barrier around it and the pool on one end. He had a ball crawling in this "playpen" especially when he thought he was sneaking out of it unnoticed :)


• Get a tent large enough for a pack and play and tall enough to stand and rock


• Do not overdo it yourself - this is especially hard when you are camping with friends you haven't seen in some time and you just want to stay up gabbing all night. You just can't do that with a little one who is going to get his 10-12 hours and be super energized when he is awake. Or you could opt to do what Ross and I did - take turns hanging out with friends...Ross stayed up the first night with the guys while I slept and then I stayed up the second night (admittedly he stayed up much later than I did)


• Have a sense of humor - Lucas got dirty, crawled on the grass, took a bath in the same pool water he had played in all day (yes, naked outside), and laughed hysterically at a fuzzy caterpillar crawling on our tent.

Straws can be amazing toys

Carrying the tailgate tent to the beach for shade

Lucas was so tired but did not want to sleep! Look at the determination on his face...I will not fall asleep, I will not fall asleep!

Lucas asleep in our sweet tent

Pie irons - the other camp item splurge I had to have. We made pizzas for dinner. YUM!

#25 Go to a concert of a band or singer I really like

NKOTBSB
My best friend and I went to the highly anticipated NKOTBSB concert in Cleveland this past week!! It was super fun to sing to songs I remember from way back, dance/jump nonstop for 3 hours, and scream at the top of my lungs (I mean, Donnie Wahlberg took off his shirt....what else was I going to do?). This concert was hilarious because the fans were mainly women (ages 20-40) and we were all acting like teenagers cheering for heart throbs from the past who were singing on a gigantic stage shaped in the most phallic shape you can imagine. We made some sweet 80's inspired shirts using fabric paint, stencils, and iron-on letters. Too fabulous for words!

Family Vacation 2

Checking out the new WWII memorial

Lucas looking at his future home :)

Mt Vernon

National Harbor

Lucas and I have become quite the travelers! We went with my parents to visit our nations capitol for a family vacation. It was sooooo much fun! We stayed at a nice resort at National Harbor - which is a new area near DC with lots of shopping, restaurants, and a convention center. It is in the first phase of six development phases so it was not too crowded or busy. I think it is going to be pretty amazing when it is all done but right now it has just the right amount of "city" for traveling with a baby.

I think it is probably pretty easy to get swept up in the tourism hubub of a big city vacation but we tried really hard not to do too much and overwhelm Lucas. I did not want to become that parent who was hauling around a tired and cranky child. What is the point of trying to fit in a million sites that he would not even remember? So, we would let him get some crawling/play time in during the mornings and then take off to see one or two things after his morning nap. We would come back to the hotel for a late afternoon nap and then go out to dinner or order some food in. With this restricted schedule we still saw a lot! We visited Alexandria (and the pharmacy museum), Mt Vernon (where Lucas saw his first movie in a theater), the National museum of Natural History, and a bus tour of the monuments. The best part of the entire trip was seeing Lucas interact with his Babby and Grandpa. He is one loved little boy :)

At the peeps store

Playing with Grandpa

Learning to look up to see those T-Rex bones!

At the Natural history museum

Babby playing with Lucas and his new snake stuffed animal

Car ride home - check out his hairdo!

The Big Move

We moved! Ross finished up his three year commitment to the US Navy and we packed up and headed back "home" to Ohio. This is the primary reason I have been a little slow of the blog posting :) I moved several times as a little girl and also a few times after Ross and I married. But no past experiences could have prepared me to move with a baby and two dogs. I am so thankful that my mother was able to come and help me! The packers took 2 days to pack up the house (I guess we have acquired more than our fair share!) and it was really hard to find a quiet spot for Lucas to take naps with all of the tape ripping and the paper folding. When he was awake he wanted his Mommy to hold him. I think this is because he could have a better view of what was going on. On the third day they packed us onto the truck - what a whirlwind that was! I was glad the dogs could go to doggie day care so they wouldn't be locked in the backyard all day while the front door was perpetually open. After they finished my Mom, Lucas, the dogs and I hopped in the Rav and headed to Ohio.

We made a trip of it - staying the night in a hotel and stopping at rest stops as needed. Archie refused to go to the bathroom the entire trip! I was so worried he was going to get a UTI. You know the thing about hotels that allow dogs....they aren't very nice. My mom and I had a difficult time sleeping because the dogs were hyper aware on guard duty barking at every door slam and loud noise. Boy am I glad that night is behind me!

Now we are (almost) settled into the rental I found - seriously one rental with a fenced yard that allowed dogs in 6 months of searching. It is huge! It has 5 bedrooms and was probably glorious in its hey day but years of renters and an inattentive landlord has really worn on it. I may complain that it is my own personal frat house I get to clean up but I am really thankful for the location and to have a roof over my head. And having a pool isn't half bad either :) One of the best features isn't even a feature at all...Garry and Kippy live around the corner so Lucas will get to see them more! I am so glad he will get to grow up seeing his grandparents (one set in town and another just a short drive away).

Archie didn't know what to think about the move

Lucas had fun discovering all kinds of packing supplies

Family Vacation!

It is official! I am way behind on what has been going on in the Gille household! And a LOT has happened in the past month+! I will begin with our family vacation to Virginia Beach. Garry and Kippy (Bompa and Nonni) rented this awesome beach house with enough room for the entire family - plus a pool :) Lucas had a great time meeting and playing with his cousins and we enjoyed the camaraderie of the adults. There is just something about spending time with family that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside (especially after living away).

Lucas and Wesley in the makeshift playpen

Lucas and Annie

More playing

Beach time with Gretchen

Taking in the site and sound of the ocean

The 3 story house with a pool! I have secretly always dreamt about what one of these houses might look like on the inside and now I have seen one!

Gretchen and Annie in the pool (it took a million shots to get this one)

Lucas in the pool - on day 3 he finally smiled in the water :)

Funniest picture ever...Uncle Clint with all the kids at the end of the photo shoot. As you can see most of them had had enough posing for the camera.

Duke, Part 2

Lucas did great at his last appointment with the pediatric gastroenterologist. He was really quiet and still while Dr. Lin listened to his gut noises and didn't fuss too much when his abdomen was being felt for abnormalities. According to the Dr. everything seems normal...if it weren't for those pesky liver enzymes that are still elevated. After the appointment we had to take Lucas for some more bloodwork to test for thyroid issues, muscular dystrophy, and celiac disease. The muscular dystrophy results were slightly elevated but not enough to confirm a diagnosis. Just another piece of the puzzle :-/ The next step is to go to a liver specialist at Cincinnati Children's...Here's hoping this will be the end of this medical nightmare.

I must make a special mommy note here - it is not fun having to hold your child for routine care like shots and otoscope investigations. It is even less fun having to hold your child for countless blood draws. I find that Lucas is harder to hold now that he is mobile and screams louder. I can remember a time that he slept through a blood draw! Oh how I miss that. His little cries make me want to crawl in a hole and cry but as the parent I have to be strong. sigh.