Ocracoke (Part 1)

We've been waiting for a good reason to take a day trip this summer down to one of our favorite places in the world. We hadn't been to Ocracoke, NC since before Gwyneth arrived, and because it's about a 2.5 hour drive, it's basically a once-a-year, all-day trip. Just before we left on Monday morning, we decided to pack our bags and try to find a vacant hotel to stay the night on the island, something that we haven't done before.

We let Gwyneth sit in the driver's seat on the ferry...










I'll give 86 points to the first person who can make an educated guess as to what restaurant served us lunch.




Emily was actually our "good reason" to make our trip down the coast. She and her family vacation in Ocracoke every summer. We met Emily a few years ago...she and Tricia are about the same age, and she also has CF. We'll take just about any chance we can get to hang out with other CFers and their families.


Chillaxin' at our motel (another 53 points to the first person who can guess which motel)...it rained pretty much the entire first day we were there, which was cool with us.


A quick 4x4 drive out to the beach to take a look at the nearly full moon, and then off to bed...

Nate

Battle Ready

It might not look it, but this is a sign of trouble....


As most parents know, and as we're learning, once they start crawling and standing and exploring, the battle dominance and safety between parents and children over has only just begun. After over a month of putting it off, Tricia and I decided this morning (with Gwyneth's help) that our project over the weekend must be Gwyneth-proofing the house.

Just this morning our fearless, diapered, red-kneed trouble maker rediscovered the cat food, learned how to open the kitchen cabinets and decided that a very tall study lamb had to be more fun parallel to the floor. So, we're off to Home Depot and Walmart to stock up.

Got any tips, products, resources or creative battle strategies to share with us? Now's your chance to help us get starting with a victory!

Nate

Happy Face

Why are we so happy?



Because we're eating some awesome frozen custard from Kill Devil's! Gwyneth has learned how to lick the cold stuff, which is probably the cutest thing I've ever seen...her favorite is chocolate.




Nate

Rita's Tonight!

Tonight (Sunday) from 6 to 9, come to Rita's in Southern Shores (at the Market Place Shopping Center), meet some Dare Devil baseball players, and enjoy some awesome water ice and custard! 15% of the money spent on frozen treats tonight will go directly toward the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

As you know, I love Rita's, and I will personally buy a small water ice for the first five people (five people who I have never met before) who walk in and mention the blog to me.

Gwyneth, Tricia and I will see you there!

Nate

First Word!!!

Gwyneth said her first word last night! We're so excited! She's been babbling a lot lately, but we're pretty certain this is the first time she has said a real word and understood it's meaning at the same time...

Some of you may know that we're teaching Gwyneth to call me "Papa", simply because I think it's cute and we like to do things other than the norm. Gwyneth's speech therapist warned us that "p" is often more difficult for babies to pronounce, so we should expect her to learn other words first...

Well, Tricia was driving home last night, and told Gwyneth, "We're going home to see Papa"...sure enough, Tricia says that Gwyneth said "Papa" with a pronounced "P" a few times. I heard it myself a few times when they arrived home, and we tried to get it on video (via my cell phone)...she got so close to saying it again a few times, but around 29 seconds on the video below, you can clearly hear her whisper it...

It's been amazing to watch the light bulb turn on over the past month...she has done so many new things in just the past few weeks. What a fun age!

Nate

Eye Update

Gwyneth had another appointment with her eye doctor last week. Although the surgery in early March made an immediate difference, her right eye has reverted over the past few months to crossing and dipping again (it's more noticeable when she's focusing on something close to her face), nearly as bad as it was before. And, although we can tell that it is not affecting her vision nearly as much as it was before the surgery, it is still an issue that is slowing her ability to develop and communicate.

The pics below show what I'm talking about...although you may not be able to tell...I can see it most of the time, but Tricia does not see it so much.




We'll continue to patch her left eye a bit each week over the next few months and hope that it will fix itself, but we might be looking at another surgery in early fall. But, regardless, Gwyneth is as happy and energetic as ever, and we certainly don't feel like we have anything to complain about!

Nate

Peek-A-Boo

One of Gwyneth's new things is crawling on the couches...she loves to look for Meka and peek over the edge at her...

Nate

White Rose Blooming (18 Months)

This is a little late, but well worth it!

You are now 27 inches long, and you weigh over 18lbs!

Your past 6 months have been so much fun! You are turning into a mobile, chatty toddler so quickly! Just in the past few weeks you've gone from rolling around on the floor to sitting up on your own, crawling on all fours, and pulling yourself up to a stand. You love to explore the house, see what's going on outside, and follow us from room to room. You've also become even more vocal, "ba-ba-ing" constantly, and you continue to love "reading" books, perfecting the skill of turning the pages.

You are eating nearly everything we give you, although you've become very independent and prefer to hold your own bottle and feed yourself with sticky fingers. You love fruit and any kind of cracker, especially. You've also started to use a sippy cup, and you love to munch food with all of your eight front teeth and a few molars. And, you are down to just one daily medicine!

You've graduated from your first swimming lessons and love to be in the water, especially the bathtub and the pool. You've learned to tolerate the sand at the beach and would crawl right into the ocean if we let you. Your hair is bleach blond from so much time in the sun, but your skin stays fair thanks to lots of sun screen.

You are learning to play and explore with your little friends, like Evaine, LK and baby Nathan, and you have been spending lots of time with your grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We take lots of walks together around the neighborhood with Meka and Ralphie, and spend lots of evenings at home playing together.

In the next 6 months, we are looking forward to introducing you to more new people and little friends. We are going to spend as much time out in the sun and in the water as possible until it gets too cold!

We love you!


Compare our Blessed White Rose at:

2 Weeks
3 Weeks
4 Weeks
5 Weeks
6 Weeks
7 Weeks
8 Weeks
9 Weeks
10 Weeks
11 Weeks
12 Weeks
13 Weeks
14 Weeks
15 Weeks
16 Weeks
17 Weeks
6 Months
8 Months
12 Months

Bad Hair Day

Nate

Little Mermaid

Now that I got your attention, please read on to my post below...

Nate