Dewey Beach Slideshow

Dewey Beach Trip 2008

This year marks the eighth year Todd and I have been going to Dewey Beach, DE with the Aston-Reese bunch. We always have a great time, but this year was different, not because it wasn't fun, but because we had Jocelyn to share the experience with.

In planning the trip with a baby, a husband, and a very small vehicle to make the trip in, I thought it was hopeless that we would be able to take everything we needed. Todd and I filled the car with our stuff the past 7 years. I wondered how we would fit all the extras a baby requires...the pack-n-play, the travel highchair, the stroller, the extra suitcase with baby clothes, the family beach cabana, among other things. Luckily I inherited my dad's ability to see these items like a puzzle and pack them tightly into the trunk and car. We did it. We fit everything we needed. We did not have a spare inch for anything extra, but we had the things that were necessary.

After a trip that seemed to take forever, we finally arrived last Saturday night...or was it early Sunday morning...I can't remember. All I remember was that everyone was tired and just wanted to go to bed. Seems simple, but the darn pack-n-play was effectively packed into the best spot for it...the very back of the trunk, behind ALL the other things. So everything had to be unpacked first, but it got done with help from Grampee and soon all the beds were ready for some very heavy sleeping. And that's just what we did...

Sunday...Let the vacation begin! OH POOP! It's raining! Our first beach day wasn't a beach day at all. So we sat around visiting, spending time with each other, and waiting for my parents to arrive. That was another thing that made this year different...my mom and dad decided to make the 10-hour-trek north to go to the beach with us. They have been invited for years, but decided to accept the invitation this year. Todd and I have a hunch that Jocelyn had something to do with that. She must be something special because they can drive about 3 hours and get to a beach much closer to them! Days 2-4 were much better beach days, although the first two of them, in my opinion, were a bit too cold to be labeled the perfect beach temperature. Jocelyn didn't mind the beach at all. I think she actually enjoyed it. She didn't like the ocean much. We tried dipping her feet in it but she cried. I don't blame her. I don't go into the ocean either. It's WAY too cold! So Todd made about 20 trips back and forth from the ocean with two little buckets, filling a little pool for Jocelyn to play in. Jocelyn enjoyed the pool! She used buckets and shovels to scoop and splash in the water. Jocelyn got her first little beach tan. Her tan lines could be seen in the little white creases of her wrists. So cute! We did everything on the beach. The family beach cabana was our best purchase of the year. It zipped for nursing privacy, it opened for cross ventilation while Jocelyn was taking naps, it aided in protection from the sun. Maybe a little too much protection seeing as how you can't even tell I was at the beach. I'm still the whitest person of anyone I know. Oh well, no sun-induced wrinkles for me! Another thing I should mention is how Todd and I (and everyone else on the vacation) get spoiled for a week with my father-in-law's amazing grilling expertise. All I can say is WOW. Everything is always amazing. Steak night, rib night, hamburger and hot dog night. YUM!

Jocelyn had some new eating experiences too. She enjoyed garlic mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, and most of all, Planet Ice (see picture below for Planet Ice lips). YUM again! Oh yeah, and Jocelyn cut two more teeth while we were there. It's really funny how she gets more teeth every time we go on a trip! That's three trips and 6 teeth. Two teeth for each trip! So, all-in-all, we all had a great time once again. There's never a bad time in Dewey Beach. Thanks Will and Carolyn for making it possible for us to vacation and have such great times and great memories. We really appreciate it!

I wanted to put a picture slideshow here, but I am having technical difficulties. I will have to make another post with the sideshow...

Lucky Babies

Ok, maybe these babies are cooler than me!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,400821,00.html

Happy Birthday Aiden!

Happy 6th Birthday Aiden!

I can't believe you are already 6 years old...

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Aiden, Happy Birthday to you!!

We love you!!

August 10

Happy Birthday Uncle Zach!!

On August 10...

• 1821 - Missouri is admitted as the 24th U.S. state.
• 1948 - Candid Camera makes its television debut after being on radio for a year as Candid Microphone.
• 2005 - Lee Seung Seop dies from exhaustion in South Korea after playing the computer game StarCraft continuously for 49 hours.

A Wonderful Pair!

Since I won't be able to post on Monday...

Happy 1st Anniversary Bert and Trish!

August 11, 2007

Congratulations on your first year together! We all love you!

7 Months Old!

Another month has come and gone and Jocelyn is seven months old now. I can't believe how fast the time is going. I can completely see why people always tell parents with babies to enjoy them while they are young because it goes so fast.

7 months on 8-8-08. The only thing that would make today cooler is if she were turning 8 months on 8-8-08, but then she wouldn't have had the 01-08-08 birthday that I was hoping for. 8 is my lucky number...my favorite number. I think of the babies that will be born today and how cool it would be to have this day as a birthday. They will always grow up hearing the same thing as me ("Wow, that one is easy to remember".). My birthday is pretty darn close to being as cool, hey, maybe it's even cooler because 08-08-08 babies won't be turning 8 on the 8th day, of the 8th month, of 1988...but then again it's pretty hard to be cooler than me anyway!

A Trip to the Zoo

The Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium

Jocelyn and Dara

Yesterday Jocelyn and I went to the zoo with Jocelyn's Godmother, Dara. Dara thinks she is moving to Idaho in a few short days, but little does she know there are plans to have her kidnapped and held captive as to not allow her to make the long journey across the country to live in the land of potatoes.

Anyway, Dara has some time off before she goes and she wanted to go to the zoo with Jocelyn. I thought Jocelyn would like seeing animals because she loves watching our cats, but really, she had no interest at all. Well, she did enjoy people-watching...

Here is Jocelyn with the elephant. I thought if she was able to look at any animal, it would be the elephant since it is so big...since she wouldn't look at it we just turned her around and snapped a photo.

My favoriteThe animals Jocelyn did not like were the monkeys...go figure! She cried in the monkey house. She didn't cry at all any other time, but she did cry in the monkey house. Oh well, she must have heard all the bad things her Aunt Di says about monkeys while I was pregnant with her.

Although she didn't see any animals on her trip to the zoo, Jocelyn still had fun. So did her mommy. Daddy was a little upset he missed Jocelyn's first zoo trip, but maybe he will be able to take her for her first trip where she actually sees the animals...

Jocelyn's Many Voices

Jocelyn just started to really babble last weekend. Todd and I were doing some outdoor painting, Jocelyn was in her stroller a lot, and I guess she was bored enough that she discovered that she could make sounds like ba, da, ha. It's the sweetest sound I have ever heard...Jocelyn's little voice!

In this video clip you will hear her many voices. Some of her growling sounds are pretty funny! I couldn't catch a great babbling session on video, but you'll get the idea...

Another One...

Happy Birthday Jimmy!

On August 4th:

• 1693 - Date traditionally ascribed to Dom Perignon's invention of Champagne.


• 1971 - The US launches first satellite into lunar orbit from a manned spacecraft


• 1991 - The world's largest hamburger, weighing over 4 tons (about 3750 kg), is made at a county fair in Seymour, Wisconsin.

Eating Hassles

We're done! Jocelyn and I are taking a break from starting solids. It has been a month now and it has been getting worse and worse. Jocelyn doesn't want to take even one bite of solids anymore, and from what I have been reading online, it's not good to force the issue or become frustrated...those things will only make it worse.

Our solid routine:

I started out with rice cereal. Jocelyn took to it well, eating a couple of bites right off the bat. She began eating a little more and then slowly started to reject it. So, we switched to oatmeal. She seemed to love it at first, eating 5-6 bites. Slowly, she started taking less and less. I have tried mixing it with breast milk, I have tried mixing it with water. Water seems to work better. I have also tried bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, peaches, and applesauce. Not exactly in that order, but still. I have tried giving her the fruits and veggies alone, I have tried giving them mixed with cereal or oatmeal. I usually get a face that look like this:That is NOT Jocelyn in the picture, but that IS the face she makes with everything...even bananas. Did I give her a chance to get used to the new tastes you may ask. I did bananas for a week straight, three times a day mixed with her oatmeal. No change. Still the sour face every time. So, I have tried to let her get used to the new tastes, but she never gets used to them and rejects eating altogether.

Another thought. She hates baby food. Maybe she just wants to move on to table food or finger food. That would be great. I tried to give her Rice Krispies the other day and you would have thought I was trying to kill her. Then when I did get one into her mouth she gagged for about 3 minutes straight. She doesn't have the pincer grasp developed yet, so she can't pick up food on her own. Maybe once she has more developed fine motor skills it will get better because she will be able to feed herself. Maybe this food thing is going to be a struggle. All I know for now is that we both need a break. Jocelyn won't allow my finger anywhere close to her mouth anymore. I can't even feel if that fourth tooth is all the way broken through yet or not.

Ah teeth, maybe that's the issue. Who knows. What I do know is that we won't be trying solids for another week or two. Maybe she will be ready then. Maybe not. We shall see. Eating is an important fact of life. It's something I surely enjoy. Hopefully Jocelyn will come to enjoy it too.

EDIT: So, as Todd and I ate dinner tonight and Jocelyn sat in her highchair watching, she looked so sad. She really seems like she wants to participate in eating with us, but she doesn't want that goo I've been trying to give to her. I had a box of biter biscuits in the kitchen to try. These kiddo "cookies" are kind of hard, big enough to hold in a little hand, and turn to a soggy mess while being licked. Even though it says it's for infants 10 months and up, I opened them up and handed her one. She started out licking it and making her sour face, but she kept licking. Eventually the faces stopped and she really seemed to be enjoying herself. SO, maybe that's just it...she wants to be able to feed herself. She just needs a little time to get her motor skills in order. Fingers crossed!

Birthdays Galore

Zachary,