3/4/10-3/7/10 ~ St. George Island

Lauren and I left on Thursday March 4 and headed 2 hours east to St. George Island for a Baby Club weekend and Chili Cook-off! Eric stayed behind one extra day to work (thanks, Eric) and joined us on Friday night. We were so excited to explore a new place and we were not disappointed. This quaint island town has breathtaking sunsets, "old Florida" squeaky, silty beaches, tons of whole shells and beautiful water. And it's only a 15 drive over the bridge to my favorite oyster town, Apalachacola!
We were with Bailey, Anna and their parents and Lauren really loves being with these girls. Vivian and her mom and dad came Friday night for a short stay, too. These girls were so sweet the entire weekend and we all simply enjoyed relaxing with our girls inside the house and on the beach.
It was a bit chilly with wind, but the sun was shining the entire weekend.
Anna and Lauren on the beach. I wasn't sure how Lauren would react to the sand. Daphne, all I could picture was Evan's reaction at Rosemary Beach--total disgust and fear! Well, she was very curious of it but didn't seem to mind it on her hands and feet--or mouth! A little sand in the mouth (sans dog poop/hand-foot-mouth disease) never hurt anyone, right? :-)
"Oh, glorious day here at St. George Island!"
The 7/7.5 house we stayed at.
Good morning, everyone!
Not a bad view, huh?

Lauren is now eating 2 jars of baby food for both lunch and dinner with a 3rd occasional jar if she still seems hungry, especially if it's Gerber Yogurt. She LOVES yogurt!
Eric cooking bacon with a lovely view of the Gulf of Mexico.
Bailey and Daddy
I'm having so much fun, Mommy! The house was awesome with plenty of space for everyone to spread out and relax.
Playing Catch Phrase with part of our group.
The real reason that all of us traveled to the island was to support Holly and Wanda with their Chili at the annual Chili Cook-off! Congrats to both girls! Holly placed 10th and Wanda placed 2nd out of 75 entries!!!
Walking around and enjoying the festival!

Our view from the 3rd floor balcony. Eric and Lauren took at walk on the beach while a few people played a game of horse shoes.
Beautiful sunset
"Aren't you glad our mommies and daddies brought us here, Bailey? Where are they going to take us next? We should think about The Cove for our 2nd birthdays! Woop-Woop!"
On Sunday, we 3 had lunch at The Owl in Apalachacola and walked around a little bit. Old Florida is such a nice way to spend a weekend. Full of relaxing, visiting, playing and mostly doing nothing except being with each other.

Thank you, Melzers, for planning a glorious weekend with beautiful weather and fun times! Can't wait until next year!

Guess what!! Lauren will be staying at her house next weekend...shocking, I know!

Lauren Does Breckenridge, CO...and loves it!

On Friday February 26, we left for a 5 day snow skiing trip to Breckenridge, CO with Gigi, Pops, Aunt Kay, Mitchell, and Heath. Like so many other new "firsts", I had no idea what to expect from Lauren or how she would like the extreme cold weather, long flights, and exposure to snow. I was pleasantly surprised when she was as sweet as can be the ENTIRE trip! I think she noticed that we were in cleaner, fresher air and loved every minute of it! More so, I think she enjoyed being the center of attention from all of us and strangers and being on the move constantly. She loves seeing new things and being out and about, even if it is 20 degrees outside.

Our group--so excited to be here!

We left our house at 3:00 am Friday morning to catch our 6:00 am flight from Ft. Walton Beach (yes, we live within 1/4 mile of the terminal in Panama City, but this is another story). Lauren seems to have no problem with take-off and landing. I did nurse her, just in case her ears didn't equalize during take-off and I gave her puffs or yogurt melts during landing (once again, yay for puffs and melts!)

During our lay-over in Memphis, I pulled out my Girl Scout rigged zip-lock baggie filled with the right amount of oatmeal and benefiber, added fluoride travel water and a jar of fruit and squeezed the bag to mix it up. Who says traveling has to be hard, right!!?? Ha.

Lauren has started eating/gnawing Mum-Mums Rice Rusks. We LOVE them too and they seem to be the safest for little babies with no teeth. They dissolve so fast, but rarely leave a mess on her face.

After landing in Denver, we found our shuttle and headed toward Breck. (BIG NOTE: Please don't comment on the forward facing car seat--I know. This is what the shuttle company supplied despite my 2 calls to double check that they had us down for a baby car seat that would hold a rear-facing 17-pounder. Let's not talk about it.) Lauren and Aunt Kay playing with one of the many I-Phone applications for babies. Another thank goodness!

Lauren stayed right on schedule for her nap. Her bunny always seems to help too. If you enlarge this photo, you can see the bunny's ears are stained by Lauren's mouth and prune juice. She will suck on the one or both ears while she is falling to sleep. Yes, it's gross and sometimes gets smelly, but... Bunny now gets a bath in the washing machine once a week.

Once we landed and got settled, we went to pick up our ski rentals. Lauren was on her 3rd nap at this point.

Super Daddy! Carrying Lauren and his helmet/skis/boots/polls.

Aunt Kay and Mitchell

The weather was beautiful the entire weekend. Hi's in the low 30's that made skiing so enjoyable. My mom, Eric, Kaitlin and I took turns keeping Lauren in the condo. It was a ski-in/ski-out lodge so it made it extra nice to come in at lunch and swap out.

Gigi and Pops

Heath, Pops, and Gigi

No, this is not the sunset. Unfortunately, Lauren slept horribly every single night we were there. I read about ways to avoid altitude sickness with infants and I tried to keep her hydrated and her nose moisturized, but for whatever reason she woke up multiple times every single night. This is the sunrise that Eric saw out our window our first morning there.

Despite not being happy during the night, this is how she looked during the day...every day. She was such a happy baby.

Gigi and Lauren on Main Street, just a short walk from our condo.

Aunt Kay kept Lauren Sunday morning and Eric, Mitchell, and I went to the TOP of the summit: over 12,000 ft! Beautiful views from above and double black diamonds coming down. Crazy, I know, but this was my favorite run of the entire mountain. One day, we'll take Lauren. :-)

You can really see their favoritism here. So sweet...both of them make my heart pitter-patter. :-)

Aunt Kay had a photo session with Lauren on her babysitting day. Lauren is so lucky to have an aunt who absolutely adores her like Kaitlin does. One day very soon, I can tell it will be the other way around too. Lauren lights up every time she hears Kaitlin's voice and will laugh sometimes at something funny that Kaitlin does.

"Daddy, I love you."

Watching it snow. Lauren loved sitting on the window seat and watching the skiers go by. Gigi said that she would scream and wave her hands the first time she put her there. She kept trying to get everyone's attention outside. That's my Lauren!

We went to a French Bakery twice while we were there. They had the most delicious, fresh pastries and sandwiches. On this visit, we sat down with our desserts and drinks and gave Lauren her Rice Rusk and bottle. I think she felt like a big girl sitting there eating with us.

Walking on Main Street and warming up by the fire. She loved the Bjorn and didn't seem to mind the cool wind on her face.

We let Lauren get into a bath water temperature hot tub and I can definitely say that she is ready for Crystal Lake this summer. She liked splashing (a little bit) and after a little while, was very relaxed as you can tell.

When we go out when there was a heavier wind and colder temps, we put this hat on her. So funny!! Her cheeks are filling out a lot (thanks to the 2 jars of baby food then sampling food from our plate at EACH meal) and the hat would push them together even more.

At Mi Casa. You know Eric and I can't go anywhere without eating Mexican food!

Photo shoot with Mommy...

...and Lauren seems to be thinking "OMG! When is this going to end! I'm so over this cold white stuff!"

Getting a taste of fresh snow

Not quite sure if she loves it, but she didn't protest.

One last picture before we call it quits

Having fun in the shops on Main Street

Lauren's wave is very much perfected at this point. She waved to everyone in the airport, Main Street, at the skiers...everybody! That's my baby! It won't be too much longer and I can start working on hand shaking!

I always hate to say good-bye to Colorado. I love being there with all of the beautiful skies, scenery and snow. Until next year!

Lauren's palette at the airport. Little baby needs to stretch and play before the plane ride in mommy and daddy's laps.

New game: Peek-a-boo! Where's Lauren?

There she is!

I'm so glad that we got to go out west this year and loved every minute of Lauren being there (well, except maybe the nights). Having a baby makes everything that much sweeter and funner. Can't wait to see what she will do next time we go.

I almost don't want to say this because you may think that we have lost our minds, but...

We'll talk to you after we return from St. George Island next weekend (48 hours after we return from this trip). Why slow down, right? I'm glad Lauren likes to travel!