The summer of firsts Part 1

Fall is now upon us. Time to put away the pool toys and start enjoying the cooler weather. I'll admit I'm usually sad to see summer go. Summer has always been my favorite season but this year I'm really excited about fall. I can't wait to take Kemper to the pumpkin patch, out trick-or-treating, spend Thanksgiving with the family.... So before get all wrapped up in Fall and I forget, it's time to do our summer recap. It was way too fun to leave out.

It was a summer of many firsts for Kemper. So many special moments and experiences. I think he grew up so much this summer. It's bitter sweet watching my baby grow into a little boy.

 K's first airplane ride.
 I have a very close family, so soon after my cousin announced she was getting married we booked a flight to Florida. All of our family was going to be there so we decided to extend our tip past the wedding and make it our first family vacation.

Even though this was his first big trip he acted like a a seasoned traveler. Passing his time playing on the iPhone with his girlfriend Minnie on his side. ( she's another story on her own) ;)

We decided to splurge a little, so Kemper also had his first time flying first class.
He loved eating dinner on the plane. He's gonna be in total shock the next time we fly and we are sitting in coach without a hot dinner.

As soon as we landed we headed to the beach. We just left everything in the car and made a run for it. I almost got teary-eyed watching his first time putting his toes in the beach sand.

After a quick trip to the beach we met up with my parents. They had rented a few condos on the beach for the rest of our family. This was K's first time ever to stay at a hotel/Condo. He loved it, he kept calling it our "Florida house" He was so excited that his cousin "lived" next door, and that if he went one more door down he was at his grandmas "house"!

It was wonderful. we could open our front door and see the pool and beach.

Once we unpacked our bags it was time to head to the beach again. K got to build his first sand castle and take his first dip in the ocean. It had taken us about an hour to convince him to go in the water but then it took us two hours to try and get him out!!

Kemper and his cousin digging for buried treasure. They are both really into pirates and treasure so they were excited to find the chest of gold that my sister had buried earlier. ;)

 X marks the spot!!
 K kept singing the theme song from the cartoon Jake and the Neverland Pirates: 
Yo Ho mateys away...!

Just some of the fam. hanging out on the beach.

Father like son.  All lubed up in sunscreen and practically covered from head to toe. Those whities don't stand a chance in the sun!

It was so beautiful. Can we go back?!

Blame it on Mexico!!

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This is where we spent a lot of time on our vacation, taking naps along the beach.



We took a few naps here too...


This was our friend Coco Loco, he always had a way of showing up to help cool us off.



Most vacations you don't want to spend time in your room, but we kinda liked ours. We didn't even have to leave to go to the pool.



Don't worry we didn't spend too much time napping and resting. We went for a few walks along the beach...



...and got a massage.


The accommodations we really nice, and so were the views.



Like I said, not too shabby ;)


Time to rest again.


Date night, every night!


My two Coco Loco's



Our favorite lunchtime spot.

Our friend is back.

Checking up on the munchkin back home.

We came home to this little devil angel and he loved helping us unpack. My velcro rollers were a hit.


As you can tell we took a little time away from baby little K to celebrate our third year wedding anniversary. We spent 5days and 4 nights in Riviera Maya, Mexico. It was the first time since K was born to leave him overnight. I was very nervous about leaving him. In the nights prior to our departure I would wake up with horrible anxiety attacks. I knew he would be safe with my parents and family but his cochlear implants were my main concern. Would they notice right way when his batteries went out?. Would they make sure he was on the right settings? Would they know when to adjust them if he was uncomfortable? What if they lost one? So many what ifs.  I  then realized that I was making myself crazy and I really needed this vacation! We both needed a little regrouping time. I know becoming first time parents is not an easy thing, but wow we definitely did not get the "easy" baby for sure. First came the hearing loss diagnosis, then the colic, the reflux, teething, sleeping problems, sensory integration issues, cochlear implants, his consistent clinginess, I could go on and on. K and I pretty much cried all day and night for the first nine months of his life. Now at 15 mo we still deal with the whining and crying ( much better after implants) but we are now finally able to have our heads above water. We love that boy, but we needed a break!


Our vacation was great and just what we needed. We did exactly as we planned, nothing.  We ate lots of food and lounged around the pool and beach. Our internal clocks are set to "K time"so we slept in until 8am, but stayed in bed until 9 because we could. We are so thankful that we were able to spend some time alone  to say I love you and remember why we married each other. It's something we often forget in the hustle and bustle of daily life.

We returned home to find our son safe and sound. He had a wonderful time being spoiled rotten. He was so happy... until he saw his parents. He apparently was very angry at us for leaving him. He wanted nothing to do with us at first. He cried on and off for about five hours, until he went to bed. The next day and since then he won't leave my side and his stranger anxiety is at an all time peak.  I can't even get up from a sitting to standing position with him going into panic mode. Yikes! we're in trouble now. Blame it on Mexico!