Carolina Beach 2009 Memories

We had a great trip to Carolina Beach with Mike, Allison and Caroline. The highlight of the trip was taking Landon to the NC Aquarium. You can see his delight in this picture. He just loves fish of all kinds and names then all fish from the movie Nemo. Let me say that seeing him at the Aquarium was a pure delight- better than chocolate chip cookies. It was one of those times as a parent that I just sat back and thought, this is good. So good. Thank you God for the privilege of being his mother.

We also enjoyed a great time on the beach where Landon and Caroline ran "around and around and around" as Landon describes it. Stan and Mike built a little pool for the two of them that they ran around in, sat and kicked their feet and just had a blast. They even SHARED it with another little boy! That was quite an accomplishment for two 2 year olds (the other boy was quite a bit bigger though...)! We had 4th of July Funnel Cakes (homemade). We went to Landon's first fair with a Ferris Wheel... And had Landon's 2nd full ice cream cone. Let me say that I DID get all of it out of his clothes, possibly my greatest accomplishment in laundry to date. Notice the sign he is pointing at, I hope this is not foreshadowing of our future...

And, try as we might have, I think this is the best picture I have of Landon and Caroline together...What can I say, they are 2. Landon sure does look like he knows he is a rascal in that picture...

Perhaps another highlight of the trip was that I was able to reflect a bit on this challenge of raising a 2 year old who is...let's say..."Spirited". I wouldn't change him for anything, but I have been in need of some quite time, good talks with Stan, good books, time for reflection and prayer and support of my best friends on how best to teach him to be respectful, mindful and disciplined while still being allowed to be a curious 2 year old. I got all that this weekend and...a good cry. You know how, sometimes that can be the most cleansing thing? Well, it was. We are doing great post-vacation with new and consistent discipline techniques in place, Stan and I are on the same page and have once again shown each other that through the challenges, our love only grows stronger. I am so thankful for Stan and to God for our family. I am also grateful that we have had this opportunity to spend some time figuring Landon out before our next little buddy arrives. Make no mistake, I know I have a lot to learn, I just feel a lot better about where we are now than before we left for the weekend. Happy Summer to all.