9 is Fine!

Yup, that's right...this chunky monkey is 9 months old today! So hard for me to believe...3/4 of a year has already gone by. I know he'll be digging in to his first cake very soon! Let's see...what's new this month:

• Bowman is a crawling maniac...he no longer uses his army crawl; it's on all fours for this little man!
• He can pull himself up...we're still mastering this skill, but I do occasionally find him standing up!!
• 6 teeth are in. He has 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom...steak anyone???
• Speaking of food, finger foods are slowly becoming part of his daily diet. Bowman can finally handle puffs without gagging; this new trick now keeps him content for 10 extra minutes in the high chair.
• Talking, talking, talking: "dadadadada," "bababababa," and "ah-tha" are favorites!
• He loves to razz! And Bowman thinks it's hilarious to razz Mommy and Daddy when he has food in his mouth...we end up wearing it!!
• We're finally working on using a cup. I admit I've been a little lazy about it, but we do try to give it to him with meals.
• Pincher grasp is pretty much there...sometimes Bowman still rakes at his puffs, but most of the time he uses his pointer finger and thumb...oh, and he seems to be right-handed :)

Bowman had his 9-month well visit this morning. Thankfully, he only had to have one vaccine, but they did check his Hemoglobin. The doctor is always happy with anything greater than 11...we're happy to report Bowman has no problems in that area...his Hgb was 12! Here's how he measured up:

Weight: 20 lbs, 14 oz (63rd percentile -- and a whole pound bigger than Porter was at this age!)

Height: 29 inches (80th percentile)

Head circumference: 46 centimeters (77th percentile)

Dr. Cabiness seemed pleased with everything, and even suggested we might have a little linebacker in the family...talk about making Daddy happy!!!!

A Week in the Sun and Sand!

What a great week! We headed up to New Jersey for our annual beach week with my family; the weather was terrific -- we only had one rainy day, which actually gave us an excuse to head to the aquarium (more on that later.) Porter has been talking about the beach for weeks, and was very excited when we arrived. The drive was long, but the boys did well; poor Bowman is still turned backwards, so it was much harder on him...next year he'll be able to face forward like his brother and enjoy a DVD or two. We got to my sister's beach house and didn't waste any time hitting the sand...

Bowman was a fan of the beach as well. Not only did he love playing in it, he also took some great naps in the fresh air. We usually headed down there after breakfast, and Bowman would sleep for about an hour and a half. Then he was all play until lunch time. He's really getting around now; he was in constant motion in the sand...and was usually covered from head to toe!

My niece Emily was such a big help all week! Not only did she play with Porter, but she loved helping me with Bowman. She fed him most of his meals, helped give him baths, and loved on him all week. Craig and I joked that perhaps we could hire her for the summer...somehow I think she would totally take us up on it if allowed!!

Trips to the beach always means tons of fun reading. Not only did I finish two books, but I read tons of trashy magazines. US Weekly is always a staple; my favorite section: "Stars Are Just Like Us." Seriously, do we care that they smell soap or reach for the tops shelves??? I can read one of those magazines in about 20 minutes, but I still can't resist buying them! We also saw a few movies: The Hangover and the new Harry Potter movie!

Porter, Tyler and Emily were very busy finding hermit crabs. They are so easy to find, and the kids get excited with how many they catch. Emily even found one that was pregnant (I'm still not sure how she knew this...I'll just take her word for it!) And no worries, the crabs were always returned to water, alive and safe.

Porter showing off his latest find!

As I mentioned, Bowman is constantly in motion. We brought his little pool with us, so he could sit in water under the umbrella. Well, that only held him for about 20 minutes. I kept calling him "my little sea turtle;" he kept slithering out his pool and heading for the water. Guess there's no question whether he is a fan of the beach!

Porter also was a fan! The first day he was a little leary of the water, but soon he was jumping the waves! By the end of the week, he would go in up to his belly without a bit of worry! The water was a perfect temperature, and even I couldn't resist jumping a few waves. The waves were HUGE!!! And, unfortunately, the lifeguards had to rescue 3 people caught in riptides throughout the week...thank you again, Sea Isle, for having lifeguards!!



One of the staples of the week is spending an afternoon at the Ocean City Boardwalk. Not only is the food amazing, but there are 2 areas with rides for the kids to enjoy. And, since there was no baby on board this year, I actually got to ride a few too. The Log Flume was my favorite!!

Waiting to ride "Thomas" the Train!

The train ran above the park, so we got to check out all of the rides (and saw our family on a few of them!)

Thursday proved to be the only rainy day all week, so we packed up the boys and headed to Atlantic City. No, we didn't gamble...we took them to the aquarium. Though it was little, Porter had a great time, and particularly enjoyed all of the touch tanks. Sharks, starfish, and horseshoe crabs were all available to "pet;" Porter didn't hesitate in touching whatever animal he could!

SHARKS!!!!!!

Drooly baby...guess that's what happens when you get 6 teeth in a month!!!

Saturday, we headed to Delaware...every year, my sister and her husband host a BBQ for the entire Stearns family! It usually is the only time I get to see my Nana (let alone the rest of my dad's family), so I look forward to it every year. This year, there were new additions: my cousin Richard's little girl, Mirah, born in August, my cousin Mike's little girl, Adah, born in February, and Bowman. So fun these little people get to grow up together!

My brother-in-law modeling these hilarious visors with hair that my Uncle Rob brought!

Bowman and Adah

Mirah!!

My Top 10

We head out to the beach this week...Very exciting you say, right? Well, when people ask me where we're going, they usually give me an odd look when I tell them we're going to New Jersey. Yep, that's right, we making the 10-hour drive to the Jersey Shore. Why, you may ask, would a resident of South Carolina, drive an impossibly long drive with 2 small children when she's only about 2 hours from the beach?? Well, 2 reasons actually: 1) my sister and her husband own a super-fab 5-bedroom beach house, and 2) I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Shore (that's what the locals call the beach -- just thought I would introduce you to some local lingo.) And why do I love the shore, you may ask? Here goes:

1) Minus a few years in high school and college, I've spent almost every summer there. My grandmother always had a beach house, and we would often spend most of the month of August there.
2) The smell -- yeah, the marsh in Beaufort is definitely amazing, but nothing smells better to me than the sea air. When we cross over the beach in to Sea Isle City, I have to roll down my window and breathe. Totally amazing!!
3) The boardwalk -- At least one day is spent in Ocean City, walking along the boardwalk and finding as must room as I possibly can for food. Taylor Pork Roll with Cheese, Bob's Lemonade, Kohr's Ice Cream...my mouth is literally watering just thinking about it.
4) Lifeguards...ok, get your mind out of the gutter!! Yes, back in the day, they all seemed rather dreamy. 'Course, now that I'm in my 30s, they are just kids...but I love the fact that 7 days/week, there are 2 extra sets of eyes on my kids while I'm on the beach. There is definitely a lot of comfort in that.
5) Nickelby's -- This little store has been in Sea Isle for as long as I remember, and has always been in walking distance from where we are. Nothing's better than heading down there for a cappucino, sandwich, or just to peruse their supply of Sea Isle stuff.
6) SCOOPS!!! There is also a fabulous ice cream stand just a 5-minute walk from my sister's house. Growing up, it was called "Dippin' Dons." It's under new management now, but is just as tasty!
7) My great-grandfather was the mayor of this town. Just head down to the museum, and you can learn all about the Van Hooks...that's about as close to a celebrity as I can get!
8)My grandmother's beach house is still standing!. Even though she passed away almost 7 years ago, I love the fact that I can walk by here house every day on my way to and from the beach.
9) The memories...Like I mentioned before, I've spent about a million summers down there...the times I've had have always been awesome. I'm so glad my kids will have the same opportunity!
10) And finally...the food! There are so many things that are just better up north: pizza, subs, sticky buns, salt water taffy, and corn just to name a few! I will probably be as big as a house when I get back, but it will be an amazing 9 days that will end too quickly!!!!!!

A Fun-Filled Fourth!!!

This weekend, we packed the boys up and headed out to Chapin for the day. The original plan was to spend the day on the boat, but unfortunately, Pop-Pop's boat was down for the count. So, we came up with an alternate plan...thankfully, Porter and Bowman are easy to please! Porter was very excited to learn that Maylee was in town, so he was chomping at the bit to get out to Grammy and Pop-Pop's house. The weather was still HOT, so we set up some pools in the backyard. Maylee and Porter played in the big pool, while Bowman got the other pool all to himself. Bowman loves to hang out in his pool, and is content with only a few toys and people to watch. I think he managed to wade in the water for a little over an hour. He's becoming quite the little fish! Maylee and Porter, on the other hand, played in the pool ALL day. They were non-stop, leaping in and out of the water, chasing each other around the backyard, and laughing constantly. As usual, there were very few arguments....and thankfully, no one was injured! I swear, their stunts get crazier every time they're together. But, we all agree, until someone screams or cries, we pretty much just let them be.

Nature Moment: Craig found a cicada skeleton...the kids were transfixed!

After lunch, Aunt Leslie got the kids together to make homemade peach ice cream...YUM! The ice cream maker actually requires "manual" labor to get the ice cream made. The basic idea is to fill the ball with the ingredients, roll it back and forth and PRESTO...Ice cream!!! Porter and Maylee rolled the ball for about 5 minutes, and then moved back to the pool. So, the work was left for Leslie and I...I must say we did a pretty good job....the kids apparently liked what we made!

After dinner, Craig, Leslie, Jonathan, Porter, Maylee and myself drove out to Dreher Island State Park to watch the fireworks. Now, Porter has never seen fireworks live and he hates loud noises, so I was pretty sure they would not be his favorite thing. But, we talked about fireworks all day, and he started to get really excited about going. We got to the Park about an hour before the "show" was to start. The kids passed the time eating blueberries, reading books, and looking up at the stars.

Frozen blueberries...YUM!!

Just a side note: Porter was once obsessed with the book "Goodnight Moon." We read it every night for months. Since then, he's always been under the impression that when the moon rises, it's time to put on jammies and go to bed. This theory works GREAT in the winter, but tends to suck in the summer. We were at the state park when the "moon came out;" Porter was insistent on putting on his pjs. Well, who am I to argue?? I'm just thankful I had them with me.

The fireworks started off with a bang -- no pun intended -- and Porter basically hit the deck! He initially insisted on going home, but once he got cozy in my lap, he was okay. In fact, he started to doze off at the end...until the finale, that is!!

He's probably going to kill me for this picture one day, but c'mon...how cute is his face!?!?!