Cars and Butterflies..What More Can a Boy Ask For?

One last adventure to document, and then I think my vacation blogging is finally complete....

We came back through St. Louis after Florida because our niece was turning one, and we surely didn't want to miss the party! 

Happy 1st Birthday Lily!

It gave us the opportunity to visit with family and friends (not to mention relax a bit) for just a few more days before heading home for good!  My parents had wanted to do something special with MJ, and since Mat and I were a little pooped from all the traveling, we decided to sit this one out, get some rest, and let GiGi and PopPop enjoy some special time with their grandson.  They certainly didn't disappoint!

First stop was a visit to one of MJ's all time favorite cars....Mater, of course!  :)  Thanks to Debbie for spotting this guy and letting my parents know about it.  It sounded like MJ wasn't quite sure what to make of a real life size Mater.  Maybe he just couldn't be dooped.  Pretty cute, I think!!!

Next, they were off to the Butterfly House.  I haven't been to the Butterfly House in years....I really don't remember it much at all, so after seeing the pics I definitely want to go sometime soon.  Looks beautiful!  MJ wasn't so sure about butterflies landing right on him, but he was definitely mesmerized by watching them and just walking around.  He is still "talking" about it because every time we read a book that has a butterfly in it he says, "GiGiPopPop" (all one word) like he remembers exactly who took him to see butterflies.  Precious!

 I spy a butterfly!

 Getting a closer look with PopPop

 Just beautiful!

 Taking a quick rest with GiGi (I'm impressed they got him to sit still for this) :)

What outing would be complete without lunch and a yummy smoothie?  Thanks GiGi and PopPop for a fabulous day!

MJ is definitely blessed with grandparents, and great grandparents who adore him.  We always enjoy our time in St. Louis just watching him soak up that love and attention from his Mema and Papa and GiGi and Pop.  It's fun now that he's getting old enough to talk about them often when we're at home ,too.  I have such fond memories of times spent with my grandparents as a child, and it often makes me sad that we don't live closer for him to experience it even more often, but I just love to see these loving relationships growing and growing despite the distance!

Fish, and Sharks, and Whales-Oh MY!

We decided to break up our road trip from FL to St. Louis a bit, and I am SO glad we did!  I honestly felt like it was the most relaxing part of our trip.  It was a few days of just the three of us, shorter driving days, and really watching MJ enjoy himself.  Mat had the idea to take him to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.  Coolest aquarium ever!!  It opened in 2006, so it's still nice and new and it is quite impressive.  We spent the morning and early afternoon there, and could have easily spent a couple more hours but MJ tuckered out.  He's not one to ever nod off in a stroller, so once crabbiness set in, we headed out.  He really enjoyed his few hours there though, and we made some great memories.  Highly recommend it to anyone traveling through the area.  I know it will be somewhere we'll be sure to stop by again!

 Wide eyed waiting for the dolphin show to begin! 

 Viewing one of the huge tanks with mommy

 Lots of fish to look at with Daddy

 Ready for our 3D animated movie...ready for the 3D glasses?  Not so much

 A cozy seat to stroll in through the shark and whale tunnel

 I've seen a lot of stingray before, but never one this BIG!

Photos just don't do it justice, but MJ was in awe of the huge whales, bass, and sharks.

Beach Babe

MJ's toes in the sand at 12 weeks old-his first trip ever to the beach (St. Pete Beach, FL)





MJ's toddler toes in the sand at 28 months old-his second trip to the beach (Siesta Key, FL)

Those little toes have grown a bit, huh?  His first trip to the beach he was shortly before we moved away from Florida.  We were excited to return now that he was old enough to run around, play in the sand, and splash in the water, to see how he would enjoy it.  Luckily it was a hit!  He wasn't much of a fan of going out in the water with one of us, but he loved to just stay at the shore and play in the sand and shallow water.  When the waves would come rolling in, he'd quickly back up or run away. 

We visited the beach a couple times to swim and play and a couple times just to walk and take pictures.  You know it's a good thing when you've been back from vacation for a bit and your toddler is still talking about it.  He still says "beach" and "mamadadabeach" reminding us that we took him there. 

A few favorite beach pictures from our vaca:

 MJ and mommy on Venice Beach Pier

 Daddy and MJ taking in the sunset at Venice Beach

 Beautiful sunset!

 Daddy and MJ walking and playing at Lido Key Beach

 Running from those waves! 

 The Grover Family-our friends and housemates for vacation

 Our little family on Siest Key Beach

Kisses for MJ and Abby

MJ Hugging mommy and baby

 19 Weeks Pregnant at Siest Key Beach

 Playing in the sand with my little man at Sieta Key Beach

MJ digging some of the most beautiful sand ever!



A Little Slice of Car Heaven

Of all the things we did on vacation, I'd be willing to bet this was probably MJ's fave!  Before we left Iowa, we found that there was a classic car museum in Sarasota and knew that we just had to take MJ.  This boy loves his cars I tell ya, and it sure was cute watching him check out all the cars and just soaking it all in.





Hellllooo Sarasota Classic Car Museum, MJ has arrived!

 The museum was set up in a circular shape, and MJ walked round and round just taking it all and pointing to his favorites! 

 A favorite red car with Daddy

 Taking a quick rest with Mommy

Even loved exploring the history books about cars!

Saying "cheese" with a favorite blue car he found!

A favorite was viewing all the pictures and small cars in a glass case.

It will be interesting to see how long his love of cars lasts.  He sure is mesmerized!  We're thinking of updating his nursery into a bit of a big boy room with what else but a cars theme!!





Wa-Wa!

The day before we left for vacation MJ wrapped up his swimming lessons here in Dubuque.  Little does he know he was originally a FL baby and was in our pool beginning at 8 weeks old, but since we'd left FL he really hasn't had much of any water exposure.  He's loved taking baths since birth and loves to play in the "wa-wa" as he calls it oustdie...baby pool, sprinkler, hose, you name it, but we weren't too sure about big swimming pools. 

Swim lessons were everyday for two weeks.  Mom or dad had to be in the water with them.  We learned that MJ definitely takes a bit to warm up to things.  He wasn't the kid jumping right in or trying everything they asked him to do.  He cried through most of the first day, but then began to warm up each day.  He was always happy to go to swim lessons and a bit bummed to leave, but he definitely wanted mom or dad right there the whole time and often hung on for dear life.  When we were in the shallow end, he was fine and confident to explore on his own.  I think he just didn't like the feeling of not being able to touch or do it on his own.  Overall though we were really pleased with the lessons and the progress he made.  We were hoping this would help ease him back into the water as we traveled for the next few weeks and it definitely did! 

The hard part was finding a flotation device small enough for my skinny little guy.  Finally found an infant sized life jacket that worked well! 

Ready to swim at GiGi and Pop's neighborhood pool in St. Louis.  Getting in some extra practice before we head to Florida!  He loved going back and forth from the kiddy pool to the big pool, and started getting comfortable jumping to us from the side if someone held his hands as he jumped in.

We rented a house, with our dear friends The Grovers (who have two little girls-5 and 1) on Siesta Key for the week. The house we stayed at was perfect for our two families and had a beautiful pool and hot tub!  It was great for cooling off each day and keeping us all entertained.  MJ started gaining more and more confidence.  He wanted to jump in OVER and OVER and OVER...and no more hand holding.  He thought it was the best thing ever!

Jumping into Daddy...no hands!



Pool time with Abby



Jumping to Uncle Jeff! 

We had a bit of a scare towards the end of our trip, and honestly I am thankful I wasn't outside to witness it!  I'd went in to start preparing lunch and Mat and MJ were outside drying off.  Mat was sitting in a chair and MJ was at his feet on the ground playing with some water toys.  He plopped right into the water after one of them.  Luckily Mat saw it happen and dove in after him.  Somehow he didn't seem to choke on water, but it definitely frigthened him a bit, but I think it scared Mat even more.  It just goes to show how quickly it can happen.  Scared us to death, but just so thankful it wasn't any worse!  



And a couple videos....

Mema and MJ feeding the geese at Grant's Farm

Grant's Farm

During our first trip through St. Louis we visited Grant's Farm for MJ's first time.  We were able to meet his Mema, Bobi, and our niece Lily and her mommy Peggy there for some family fun!  It was quite a hot day (temps near 100), but we were pleasantly surprised-between all the shade trees and the misters to cool off in, we managed to stay pretty comfortable and the kiddos did great.

I was so impressed with Grant's Farm!  I hadn't been there in quite a long time and wasn't sure how well a two year old would do but it was PERFECT for his age!  It's small enough that you can easily do it in two hours, or probably even less, and still feel like you saw all the important things.  It's so close up and hands on that the kids get some great up close experiences.  Everything is close and compact, so MJ was easily able to walk around the park on his own.  He couldn't have loved it more!  I'm so glad we went because it really was a special day.  He loved seeing all the animals and of course getting lots of love and attention from his Mema. 

As soon as he saw Mema, he ran and got scooped up for a big hug!!

Our niece Lily did great in the heat, too!  Aren't those blue eyes so pretty? 

MJ was just enamored with the goats and excited to feed them their bottle of milk. 

I couldn't quite capture it, but he had the sweetest smile on his face here.  I think he was in heaven!  We never even went in the goat pen; he was perfectly happy feeding them through the fence (where they couldn't jump on him).

My fave picture of the day!  He looks like such a big boy here, and so serious as he says hello to the tortoise, or "tur-tll" as he says so well!  He stayed like this for a bit just starting at him.

Waiting for the bird show to begin with Daddy.  This was a bit over his head though and he ended up being more interested in playing with Lily or walking around in the aisles. 

Riding the tram back with Mema.  What a great day!