4.23.2012

me and my boys... cast away

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day one. 
too late, too windy and too chilly to check out the beach. but that's okay. hangin' out on the lanai at tree-top level is just as much fun. especially when you are listening to some good tunes... from ennio moricone's film scores played by yo yo ma to the kingston trio to led zeplin and everything good in between. especially when ocean breezes play the palm leaves like an instrument, sending sweet sounds through the screens into our terra-cotta space. especially when there's good food, good drinks and good company to enjoy all of it with.

DSC_0646especially when your little guy is having fun and has handled the traveling like a trooper. especially when your heart is there, because home is where the heart is... so, though far from home, still very much at home.

long, long, long day! a good night's sleep with the alarm switched off was in order. rest would be needed for our exciting day ahead.


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day two.
off to the beach!... isaac's first beach experience. and what a fine place to begin his beach-going days! 

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i was thinking... it has to be so wild for a ten-month-old to see such vastness having never seen anything remotely like it before. the sounds. the wind. the openness. i could see it in his face... pure wonder and utter delight.
it was a short visit to the beach... just to see the sun set. but the sunset was not to be seen... rather clouds covering what was probably a fiery display. rain prevented us from spending the day in the sand. so that adventure would have to be our day three.


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day three.
cloudy again. and very, very windy. can you tell by the waves? having not yet played in the sand by day three is just wrong, though. so to the beach we went anyway... with backs to the wind so as not to get sand in our eyes {except for when i needed to get some photos, that is... and then, instead of eyes getting blasted, it was my camera lens}.

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isaac did like the sand... i will say that. but here is where i have to be honest and point out that vacationing by the beach with a ten-month-old is not at all what we envisioned... not the glamorous, picture-perfect time we thought we'd have. it is fun in some ways. but it's difficult and taxing, too. he's just not at an age where he appreciates the excitement of it all. he seems either quite overwhelmed or very underwhelmed. beaches and pools and airplanes and grandparents' condo are all just so new to him... beyond his comprehension.

so, what might appear to be ideal in pictures {'cause that's what we do, right?... we post the best photos} is really just a very tiring production and is nothing like the relaxing, sweet, fun time one thinks they are in for... unless you are the ten-month-old and you are floating in a little boat in the pool, being toted around by your dad. then, life is good! *wink* 

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{mr. b. thought he looks like a little cast-away washed up on shore here.
it was very sweet to watch him drift off...
which took all of three minutes once we got him in there.}
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don't get me wrong. isaac is having a wonderful time. i think it's pretty obvious in the photos above. he's happy, sleeping well in an unfamiliar environment, enjoying his grand-dada and grand-mama, eating like a rock star as usual, and taking it all in with a fine disposition. i think the part that seems more unglamorous than anything else is my outlook. i've never taken a vacay with him before... or with any children. it seems selfish to say, but vacationing with a little one who is very active and gets into everything {my in-laws have SOOOO many knick-knacks around} is not really a vacation at all. it's just doing what i do normally, but in a slightly sunnier and for-the-most-part warmer place. but at least i have those things... the sun and the warmth {for which i am grateful!}. and at least we're doing it all with the ones we love... the ones we rarely get to see.

still, i have to admit. i'm P.O.O.P.E.D!

i did not expect to blog while vacationing. i did not know how much access i would have to a computer. and i really didn't think i could do anything with my photos, because my father-in-law's laptop does not have photoshop. but i decided to give pic monkey a try while my baby boy is napping {in the pack-n-play, not the pool *wink*}. that would be the reason for the hodge-podge look of my photos... i had to try all the different processing tricks up their sleeves over at pic monkey. it's a pretty cool site! if you don't have photoshop, you should try it... especially now that picnik is a thing of the past.

anyway, this post is turning into a long one, and i truly only intended to pop in and post a few pics. i guess i'm finding blogging to be my little vacation from vacation. and on a day where it's too cold to swim at the pool or the ocean, that works out well.

it is supposed to warm up by tuesday, so i'm sure i will be back to vacationing... from home and blogging. and perhaps by then we will be much more in a groove of familiarity that will make things feel a little more restful and relaxed.

so here we are...

day four.
i'm grateful that the little guy is not so out of sorts that it would keep him from eating or sleeping as well he does at home. i've got slightly pink shoulders from my short time in the sun. i'm wrapping up this post. i'm looking forward to a dinner of tilapia, potatoes and green beans. i'm signing out to take a little snooze before the little squirt wakes up.

...and last, but not least, i'm hoping your week is off to a great start!

8 comments:

beth said...

vacationing with little ones takes on a whole new meaning....in everything you do !!

hopefully you can take him to the beach every year, to see how he changes with each year of growth and understanding.

wait until he runs into the waves, with his arms wide open....now that's something amazing :)
xo

Jennifer said...

Hi there! I actually found you on Baby Center in the postpartum joint pain thread - saw your blog in your signature and wanted to let you know I SO appreciate your posts on that topic - I'm going through that PP joint pain stuff now and found your insight incredibly helpful! I would love it if you could email me - it's jenpbarr and then at gmail. Dont' want to type all that out though so I don't get spammers. THANKS!

Nicki said...

Vacationing with children (regardless of their age) is much more taxing than when you vacationed while single/just a couple. Trust me, in time you will look back on these pictures and this trip and the exhaustion and 'less than' sensation you now feel will become minuscule; and what you will remember is the excitement of seeing your little guy's first expression at seeing the beach, his reception to playing in the sand, and the sweetness of him passing out floating in the pool. I've had family vacations where I thought I'd have to 1) shoot my tennis-shoes, 2) place both kids up for adoption, 3) crash in bed and sleep like Rip Vanwinkle. We have learned that not everything has to be accomplished in one vacation - take breaks during the day (still, and our kids are 16 and 19). Love the pictures.

Kathleen said...

I had to laugh -- I completely agree with the previous commenter. I saw your photos and was instantly transported back to the wonder of my son's first visit to the beach at about the same age. Until I read your words, I had forgotten how exhausting it was! Raising children is like labor itself, you don't really remember the difficulties and pain once you are past it.

Becs said...

Great photos - Isaacs hair is awesome! I found that vacations are not really relaxing until they get to about 4....still fun....just not very relaxing. Enjoy the rest of your trip, there is nothing quite like the beach, whatever age you are. :)

georgia b. said...

thanks, y'all. nice to know this is typical. i figured as much. i think the only way to have a vacay like the ones we had pre-baby would be to be wealthy enough to tote a nanny along. but then i would not enjoy it as much, i think. i'm realizing this just comes with the territory.

we are about to go on a walk with my husband's aunt, and that alone makes the trip worth it. he had never met her until this trip, and i look forward to him getting to know her and vice versa.

this just makes me look forward more to when he is older and can be a little more self-sufficient. it will free me up to enjoy his enjoyment. until then, i soak up every bit of enjoyment i can get while he is still a baby on his first vacation.

so i appreciate all the encouragement and cheering. and becs, i most definitely agree... there is nothing quite like the beach... no matter where you are. even with a needy child on hand, i am invigorated and made restful at the same time when i am near waves and wind and water.

stacey said...

So great!!! You will remember this always. First trip to the ocean. Love it. Hope you are having (or had!) a wonderful time!!

georgia b. said...

haha, thanks stace... HAD. and wonderful yes. but more tiring and exhausting and less-than-relaxing than it was wonderful... as the majority of the trip was not much different than what i described in my post. but still so so nice to see family... really, that is what made it worth it. it will be memorable for sure... i'll remember it as the least relaxing vaca i have ever taken and that i came back more tired than when i left. =)