We're back from Edisto! Imagine 8 adults, 5 kids (FOUR in diapers), one house, and a big ole' ham- for a whole week. There were some rough moments where I felt like I might strangle someone, but we made it. And we enjoyed one another so much that we'll take a vacation together next year!
Anna Kate. One of my favorite pictures!
Hartley did really well.. for the most part. There were times (or a whole day) that was thrown off with short naps or extremely early morning waketimes. Mollyanne, I don't know how you that everyday. And I'm pretty sure she went on a nursing strike. She would nurse 2 minutes and pitch a fit for the next 10 minutes. So we gave her lots of bottles. She didn't act like she was starving, so I guess she got enough. That's the difficult part with nursing, though.
Hartley loved playing with her cousins, especially Bess and Anna. They would get in each other's faces and talk. Hartley would chomp on their noses and pull their hair and SQUEAL! She had fun. Next year she'll be the same age as Isaiah and Caleb (almost 1.5 years). That's a good age for the beach. We won't have to stick around the house all day while she sleeps. She'll be able to actually play on the beach. And we can go on all the fun adventures!
Classic grandkids picture. Anna crying. Isaiah sticking his hand in Bess' mouth. Bess with her hair in her face.
Marshall and I were able to get out a little bit. There were a couple of evenings just the two of us went swimming. We would put Hartley to bed, bike down to the beach, and fight the undertows. Those few hours were probably my favorite parts of our "vacation." We took Hartley to the beach a few times. We found around 5pm to be the best time for her.
Highlights from the Trip
Monday
We took Hartley to the beach for the first time. It was in the evening and she seemed so content. We helped her stand up and let the waves wash ashore onto her feet. We took many pictures!
Tuesday
This was a really difficult day. Hartley would not nap very well for us. We tried to take Hartley down to the beach in the afternoon and we weren't there for 5 minutes before she got really upset. The entire walk back to the house she cried and took forever to calm her down. But she finally took a good nap and Marshall and I were able to fix dinner (it was our night to cook).
Bess, the fish of the family.
Wednesday
The entire family went out to eat that night and took family pictures by the beach. Prior to leaving the house I had the most embarrassing moment of the trip. At the last minute I changed my mind about the outfit I was wearing. After being informed by my brother-in-law Jason that everyone was ready and waiting for us, I hurried up in the bathroom and ran into our bedroom to change my shirt. Knowing that everyone was downstairs, or so I thought, my shirt was halfway over my head as I rushed into the bedroom. I was able to glance and see "Marshall" hovering over Hartley as I ran in, but it wasn't until I was blinded by my top that I heard his voice coming from a completely different side of the room.
"What are you doing?!" Marshall said.
I FROZE.
Jason then walked out of the room. I had a hard time even looking at him for the remainder of the night. He only saw my back, but it was sooo embarrassing.
Caleb. The wonderful Jason in the background. [awkward]
Amanda, Marshall, Hartley, Isaiah, Janna, Bess, Kent, Anna, Rebecca, Jason, Caleb, Autrey, and Jean
"The Brooklet South Moore's"
Thursday
I have no idea. This week was such a blur! We probably let Hartley swim around in the plastic pool. She loved it! We spent a lot of time putting puzzles together. I think we took Hartley to the beach that day and, even though she was covered with a hat, she got a little too much sun. She had a very distinct pacifier line. It almost looked like a white goatee. It's faded, whew! Hartley also rolled over from her back to her front. I could tell she was really wanting to, and she finally did it. Then she did it again, and again, and again!
Hartley also realized she could suck on her toes.
Friday
Marshall and I went out for dessert, just the two of us. We got some ice cream and went for a stroll on the beach. It was perfect weather. Even though we didn't spend much time on the beach during our honeymoon (imagine that.. or don't imagine that..), it made me think back to our newlywed days at St. Simon's.
Saturday
We took one last trip to the beach with Hartley. It was rather windy, so the pictures a stranger took weren't very pretty.
Sunday
This was not a fun day. On the way home, the truck decided to mess up. Something with the radiator and a hose, whatever. We were almost to Savannah and we had to pull over. We let it rest for a few minutes. It was actually good timing because Hartley decided to start screaming and wouldn't calm down. We managed to make it to the next exit and pull into Wendy's. Fortunately, Rebecca and her family were only an hour behind us and were able to tow the trailer and take me and Hartley home. Marshall stayed behind and fixed the truck.. and also picked up the dogs that were staying with our friends. Hartley napped a total of 1.5 hours that day. She was incredibly fussy the remainder of the evening. I kept telling her there better be a mouthful of teeth in the morning. (There wasn't.)
Gnawing on my legs. A new pastime.
As much I did enjoy the trip, I'm so glad to be home. There's nothing better than sleeping in my own bed. Not having to worry about noise disruptions/distractions. Being able to nurse in the living room without covering up and watching whatever I want on tv. You have no idea how happy I am about that!
Now that we're home, we're working on getting our schedule back. We're going through some really rough teething, a growth spurt, and a little girl that rolls over in her sleep and wakes up highly upset because she would much rather be on her side. Yay.
