What I love most about vacationing with the Leslies is that it's no stress - we just go with the flow - no one has strong opinions about where to eat, what to do, when to take showers, etc. - we just plan our trip day by day and sometimes hour by hour or minute by minute. This laid back environment is a lot of fun! And, this trip was no exception - the three night trip was a perfect relaxing trip - just enough to get me excited about summer but rested enough to make it through the last 29 days of the school year!
Here are a few highlights of the trip -
First and foremost, in Luke's eyes, the highlight of the trip was Hannah. He absolutely adores Hannah. He hugs her, wants her to carry him, and wants her to take him to play. He frequently visited Hannah and Abbi's room in the condo. Hannah is great with him! She hugs him when he wants a hug, plays with him when he wants to play, and gets him anything he needs. Thanks, Hannah, for being so sweet with the Lukester.
Luke was a lot of fun on the trip! He was very well behaved. He did well in the car. He slept most of the time in the car and only really got upset the last 30 minutes on the way there. At mealtimes, he did great in the restaurants. It worked out perfect because he ended up taking a nap before dinner each night because he was tired after we got back from the beach. Because he was well rested, he was able to sit in his high chair and eat well without any drama or fussiness.
Luke did well on the beach but his favorite part was the pool. At first, he wouldn't even touch the sand, he barely would put his feet in it, but after a lot of coaching from the whole gang, by the second day, he would pick up globs of sand and put it in the bucket. He would also dig his toes in it. One afternoon, Landis and I walked down the beach and just let Luke walk beside of us. He loved running up and down the beach picking up shells. He wasn't a fan of the ocean water on this trip probably because it was so cold. I'm hoping that when the water warms up in July, he will like it.
The outdoor pool water was very cold also so the only time he would get in it was when I held him in my lap on a float. Thank goodness there was a heated indoor lazy river and a heated indoor pool. He loved both of these! We put him in his little red, race car float with the steering wheel and horn and he would "drive" around the lazy river for an hour at a time. He also loved jumping into the big pool. We would put him up on the side of the pool and let him "jump" in and make a big splash. He would grin so big! He also loved for us to take turns pushing him back and forth to each other in his race car float. At one time, all four of us stood around and pushed him back and forth. Can you just picture all of us being silly??? Here we have a 21 pound baby in the middle of all of us crazy grown-ups! We love every minute of it and so does Luke! We call Mark and Melissa, Aunt Melissa and Uncle Mark - he sees them just as much as his family and they love him like he's part of the family! ;)
Speaking of part of the family - because Luke would take a late afternoon nap, he would stay up as late as us grown-ups. The earliest that he went to bed was 10:00. We all found ourselves playing with a 16 month old in the floor or on the bed until 11:30 one night. Luke loves to be "rough housed" on the bed - we tickle him, turn him flips, turn him upside down, etc. He has a blast and so do we! But, by the time Luke went to bed, we were exhausted! :)
For me, there are a few highlights - as Luke's mommy, I, of course, am the one spending the most time with him - we always end up with some mommy and Luke alone time each day. These are often my favorite parts. On this trip, we spent some time having a giggling/tickling session sitting in the sand late one afternoon. I also played with him by myself in the lazy river and in the pool for awhile - he loved to watch me blow bubbles in the water! Luke is very affectionate - one of the sweetest things he does is give me these sweet little nose rubbing kisses. As we are playing, he will all of a sudden, reach for me and smash his nose and face up against mine - that's his kiss. It's almost like his way of saying, "I know you love me mommy and thank you for playing with me." I love that! He is my sweet, baby boy and, as you all know, I cherish these special, fast passing moments that I have with him! :) He's growing way too fast!
Both days, he took a fairly long nap on the beach. One day he slept on a towel next to the boys and then one day I held him while he was covered up with a towel and I sat next to the water. I don't get to hold him during naps at home because I'm working or on weekends, because I have something to do around the house - so, this was an extra special time for me.
A few more tidbits, Luke loved to be pushed on the luggage cart, so we let him each time we used it. On Sunday morning, Luke, Landis, and I took a long stroll up the strip and ate breakfast - just us 3 - and then strolled back. I really enjoyed this intimate family time. We just don't slow down enough for family walks at home. And, slowing down, that's what vacations are for, and that's what we did at the beach while LOUNGING WITH THE LESLIES!
Thanks for reading!
By the way, I have so many ideas for blogs and a ton of pictures from random adventures that Luke and I have had - I may try to do a mid-week post to catch up. So, stay tuned for some future blogs - Fun Day at Fair Grove, our trip to Gibson Park that we took today - you will love the open mouthed smile pictures that I got. We are having fun, ya'll - having fun!
Enjoy the pics....
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