Wedding

The reason we went to Cape Cod was for my sister's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and I will always remember it. Her dress was gorgeous and her genuine smile didn't disappear all night.

Unfortunately the weather decided not to cooperate, but I think that just made the experience even more memorable. I heard that it rained 7 inches the night of the wedding thanks to a tropical storm. The Bed and Breakfast Jill and Rob stayed at was hit by lightning. Rain on your wedding day is good luck. Apparently it makes the knot harder to untie. 

Jill and Rob decided they still wanted to try to have the ceremony outside despite the weather. We waited for a "break" in the storm and bolted outside when that happened. It wasn't necessarily dry-- in fact, it started drizzling while the ceremony took place. It was beautiful though and the vows they wrote each other were incredible since they're both writers.

There were a few things that made the ceremony unique. The first was that my little sister, Jessica, played, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on her viola while the wedding party walked down the aisle. Also, my Dad performed the ceremony which was neat. (I guess he just had to complete something online and go to the county clerk's office in order to do this.) I loved one piece of advice that my Dad gave to Jill and Rob. Do something nice for your spouse daily. I have been doing this since the wedding and am enjoying it. (I think Andrew is too.) The final touch that made this wedding extra special was that my Mom walked my sister down the aisle!

Jill and Mom

Sisters and Bridesmaids 

There was a dinner following the ceremony that included a Mac and Cheese bar (among other delicious delicacies) which was heavenly. There was also an open bar which had Jill's favorite drink-- a dirty Diet Coke. After dinner, some of Jill and Rob's friends made toasts which were so heartfelt and added a personal touch. All of my siblings and I each said something we love about Jill & Rob. It was hard not to get emotional. I talked about how fun Jill is to be around and that the family isn't the same when she is in CA. I specifically mentioned our family trip to Puerto Rico and how after we got home Andrew told me he didn't know Jill was so much fun. I talked about how selfless Rob is and how just the day before he spent a long time taking everyone sailing which was exhausting, but he didn't complain.

Instead of doing a first dance (nobody in our family likes to dance), Jill and Rob sang a first karaoke song, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." It was so cute. After, there was a little break before anybody had the guts to go karaoke, so I nudged Andrew and encouraged him to go up. (Side note: Jill had been in the car with us earlier in the week when James was crying. Andrew and I sing to him to help calm him down. Jill couldn't believe the deep, loud, accent Andrew sang with and encouraged him to sing at the wedding.) Andrew jumped right up and sang, "I Would Walk 500 Miles." This is by far my favorite memory of the week and hard to put into words. (You had to be there.) Andrew had the perfect accent and excellent stage presence. People are still talking about it and I couldn't stop smiling/laughing the entire time. I can't wait until I get to see the video of his performance. He had the crowd into it. Several family members said they had never seen this side of Andrew before. It was epic and I couldn't be more proud of Andrew for getting the party going.

This picture doesn't do Andrew justice. He was jumping and having the crowd echo, etc.

Jill, Jessie, and I sang, "Sisters," but unfortunately the D.J couldn't get any of the lyrics to show up on the screen which was a big disappointment. We had even practiced, and I had been instructed several times not to be too nervous to harmonize loudly like I usually do.

James was on edge near the end, and we ended up leaving a bit early (30 minutes) which I was sad about, but I don't think we could have lasted much longer. I'm anxious to see the pictures from the wedding that the photographer took. What a fun evening. I'm thrilled that Jillian and Robert found each other and that we could celebrate them in Cape Cod!

Cape Cod

Flying across the country with a 5 month old baby was a new experience for us. Thank heavens we have the happiest baby on earth because our long trek to the Cape went well. We left on Saturday, August 12th at 6:15am to make it to my parents house and leave with them to the airport. We did not make it to Cape Cod until about 10:00pm Eastern time or 8:00pm our time. (Andrew had to wait in line for AN HOUR to get our rental car. No wonder it was so cheap...) It was a long day! James slept a decent amount on both flights though which was nice. The worst/hardest part was probably the two and a half hour drive from the Boston airport to Cape Cod. We finally stopped at McDonald's, so I could feed starving James. 

First plane ride. I brought baby earmuffs so he would be able to sleep through all the annoying flight updates.

Most of the week was spent in the water and I can't complain about that one bit. Rob's parents live within walking distance of the bay and this area was private. It made it so nice because there weren't big crowds. 

Worth the long day of travel

The bay was so warm-- like 75 degrees. It was interesting because the tide changes every 12 hours, so sometimes there was no beach and other times you could walk close to a mile out where the beach once was. I am proud to report that James, Andrew, and I did NOT have to deal with sunburns which was dreamy and surprising after spending so much time in the sun.

This picture shows the tide and how the water disappears

James misses all the attention

Chilling

Our baby doesn't mind getting dirty

Everyone laughed that Andrew went out floating on this.

It was even funnier when he was oblivious to the fact that he was headed right into trouble.

Rob took me sailing. The breeze was so nice!

This was quite the workout.

Our adventure was cut short when we saw that Rob found a horseshoe crab, so we rushed back to see 

My Mom holding the crab

Going to the ocean was harder than expected. Lots of the beaches in Cape Cod seem to be private beaches which makes sense because it's such a ritzy place. We tried to go, but couldn't park there because we aren't Massachusetts tax payers. (I guess we could have parked in a far lot and taken a shuttle to the beach.) What we ended up doing was renting bikes and riding on a beautiful trail to the beach which ended up being about 8 miles. My Mom was in "nana mode" and offered to play with James, so Andrew and I both could go which we really appreciated. We enjoyed it so much that two days later we rented bikes again and did the same thing. The beach water was freezing! I believe the sign said it was about 60 degrees. We dipped our toes in the water, but we were spoiled after basically sitting in bath water at the bay.

A walk on the beach? Yes, please!

Mom told us to send her pictures when we made it to the beach while she was back watching James. This is what she got.

Second bike excursion. Andrew stayed home and watched James. Pictured Mom, Me, and Heather.

Talking about Cape Cod without mentioning the food would be a mistake. Unfortunately I'm not much of a fish/seafood person, but I still found plenty of things to love. There was an ice cream place that I miss so much. It was right by where we stayed and we went at least 3x. I could really use a scoop of their reese's peanut butter cup ice cream right about now. Rob's family had us over for dinner twice and they are huge cookers. They spent the day making homemade pasta sauce, french bread, meatballs, etc. so we could have a taste of Italy. 

My parents rented a large home for all of us to stay in. It wasn't as clean as it should have been and ended up having mice, but it was fun to all be together. James got to try out a swing for the first time in the backyard which was a success. Jess, Jill, and I enjoyed the hot tub as well. 

Pure joy

We almost forgot to take this pic and when we did, James was sad. Look at those red eyes.

The trip home was even longer with a layover that was 3+ hours long and a delay. The journey from Cape Cod to the Boston airport also took about 3 hours with traffic. Being away for a week made me extra excited to come home and sleep in my own bed. Having a baby on vacation was different than what I'm used to (and may have made me grumpy/stressed at times), but it was wonderful to have so many hands to help. James couldn't have been better though and slept like a champ while we were there which Rob's Dad, Dave, attributes to the fresh air. Cape Cod is beautiful and I will always cherish the memories we made there. Stay tuned for Jill's wedding post.

Big James

I missed posting this in July, but I did have lots of this post saved as a draft and never got around to finishing it until now. I guess I'll have to post 3x in August so I can achieve my goal. 

James is growing so much! His personality is really starting to show! People often ask who James looks like and we tend to get mixed reviews. Lots of people say that when James smiles, he looks just like his Dad. I pulled out Andrew's baby book and some baby pictures of me to compare. 

Andrew

Me

James

I think overall James is a pretty good mix of both of us. He used to have more hair and continues to lose it, but I think it might come back in blonde? James is getting more and more fun daily and continues to learn how to do new things. Here are some things I adore about his stage right now:

• James' laugh/giggle. He is such a happy baby and lots of people comment on his demeanor. 
• James' long sleeping stretch at night. I love getting an 8 hour stretch in myself. 
• James' curiosity. He is much more alert and awake now. He can't get enough of his surroundings and loves going on adventures to new places.
• James' grip on toys/books. James can kind of "play" by himself now because he can hold onto things. It is nice!
• James' ability to roll over both ways. He doesn't love to do this trick on demand, but he is a strong kid.
• James' storytelling skills. I think he will be a BIG talker when he is old enough. He loves to say, "goo-goo."
• James' love for books. He now looks at the pictures and grips the book while I read to him.
• James' love for music. He loves doing actions (with help) to "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man," "Book of Mormon Stories," "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes," "5 Little Monkey's Jumping on the Bed," etc. 
• James' energy. Someone told me I need a baby treadmill for him. He constantly kicks (not surprising after feeling that in my stomach for months) and you know he is excited when he kicks even harder and faster.
• James' love for bath-time. James is probably the happiest when this nightly routine happens. He looks in the mirror while waiting for the bath to fill up and is so thrilled to see himself.

Some things that have taken some getting used to:

• Daily blowouts. (Not an exaggeration.) Some days there are multiple, but when I'm lucky there are none. We have tried different diaper brands, I've moved him up a size, you name it. Finally, I brought the blowouts up with my doctor and he said it is very normal for a breastfed baby to have so many blowouts. It was comforting to hear that the blowouts will slow down when he starts eating solids.
• Church. James used to sleep through the majority of church and it was easy. Now that is not quite the case. 3 hours is a long time for adults, and even longer for babies! Andrew and I both get our exercise leaving and re-entering Sunday School and Elders Quorum numerous times. Getting a good nap in at church is challenging.
• James pulling my hair frequently. I now know why the "mom haircut" exists and have never been so tempted to get a new do. (For now, I'll stick with a ponytail.)
• Constant comments about how "hefty" James is. "He sure gets plenty to eat."

At his 4 month appointment, James was in the 94th percentile for height, 68th percentile for weight, and about the 85th percentile for his head circumference. He is a big boy!

Sometimes James prefers that we push an empty stroller, and carry him on walks. :) 

I promise he loves his 2 giraffes. Just not in this pic.

We sure do love our baby boy and can't believe how fast he is growing! It's hard to remember life without him. It seems like he has been in our family for much more than 4 and a half months.