Bahamas Day 2 & 3

On our first full day in the Bahamas we decided to take the ferry boat to Nassau to check out the sights. It was pretty much like every other Caribbean tourist city with the countless souvenir shops, jewelry stores and street vendors. We took a stroll through the Straw Market only to be hassled and bombarded by sales pitches and offered illegal and counterfeit items. Ryan, being a patent attorney, was seriously disturbed by the seemingly lack of trademark law enforcement as we passed walls and walls of knock-off handbags just sitting out in the open. I was enamored with the black and white Chanel bag that I've always wanted being offered for only $35...but whats the fun in carrying around a designer bag if you know it's a fake?! We just looked and kept moving...

After wandering around for awhile longer, we decided to stop for lunch at Senor Frogs before getting back on the boat to the resort. Austin proceeded to meltdown in his high chair because it was well past nap time and fell asleep on the ferry boat almost as soon as we sat down. Poor little guy just wasn't used to missing his regularly scheduled nap time and was sure to let us know how displeased he was!

We topped off our Monday evening with a trip to The Poop Deck via the "party taxi" for an authentic Bahamian dinner...which was DELICIOUS!! I had the most delicious fried chicken I've ever tasted and Ryan's Grouper Fingers were a table favorite. Our taxi driver was waiting on us when we were finished and we piled back in for the ride home. The taxis in the Bahamas were hit or miss and the one that took us to dinner that night was a hit! It had mood lighting, tv screens and Michael Jackson music videos playing...it was quite the experience!

Tuesday was a laid back day. We strolled through Marina Village to check out the food, shopping and enormous yachts in harbor and then took off to a few of the many different pools and beaches for some fun in the sun! We especially loved the private Cove beach which had a strip of sand with ocean on both sides. It was the most beautiful and peaceful place on the island!

The cruise ships in harbor in Nassau
Ready to stroll around the city!
Some of the elaborate Christmas decorations
A school children's choir singing Christmas carols....too cute!
At Senor Frogs with his courtesy balloon hat!
Aunt Catherine trying to tame the beast!
Pooped out on the ferry boat before we even left the dock1
Balloon fighting in the room with Aunt Catherine
Dinner at the Poop Deck
Where's mine??
The Casino Royale yacht docked at Marina Village.
Riding the shuttle bus to the Cove...the bus rides were one of Austin's favorite activities on the trip!
The gorgeous private beach at the Cove
Austin wasn't too fond of walking on the sand...but he didn't mind riding!
A beautiful blue water backdrop!
Ocean on both sides...I just thought it was so beautiful and unique!

Bahamas Day 1

There's just so much to tell about our trip and so many pictures that I'm going to break it up into a few different posts.

Last Sunday we woke up at 5am in order to get ready, pack the car and drive to Atlanta for our 11am flight to Nassau. It was a hectic morning to say the least but alas we were waiting at our gate with about 20 minutes until boarding. We were very lucky that our flight wasn't packed and when we strolled up with Austin in tow, the flight attendant graciously moved our seats to a row of three with some extra room. However, the older couple sitting next to us saw us sit down across the aisle and they were very quick to ask for a change in their seats. I don't know why this bothered me...but it did. I'm pretty sure I gave them the evil eye...

So, thanks to the advice from Tonya, I gave Austin a bottle during take off and landing to prevent any ear troubles and it worked wonders. He didn't seem to mind any part of flying but he was certainly getting antsy and bored just sitting there in our laps for 2 hours playing with the same small toys and eating Cheerios. He fell asleep for about 30 minutes and woke up just before touch down. We were all VERY happy to get off that plane. Even though Austin didn't have a meltdown, the anticipation of one was making me frazzled. Our flight was successful but taking a toddler on a plane is something I prefer to do only once or twice a year!!

My sister and her boyfriend joined us on our trip but they left from Charlotte and their flight was about an hour behind ours so we waited at baggage claim for them to arrive. Once we spotted them we were quick to get out of that airport and in a taxi to Atlantis! The weather was beautiful and it was a nice, warm 80 degrees out. We got into our villa early afternoon and hurredly got settled so we could go explore!

Atlantis is HUGE and very confusing to first time visitors. We wandered around for a few hours, stopping to look at a few of the aquariums and pools and made a quick trip to the beach before it got too dark. We were back in our room by 7pm and decided to order a pizza since Austin was the only one who had eaten anything that day. We got settled back in the room, put a very tired baby to bed, enjoyed our pizza and company and then called it an early night and looked forward to the rest of our week.

Stay tuned for the rest of our week's adventures!!

Austin's luggage...he helped pack it himself!
Napping on the plane, a glorious sight!
Finally at baggage claim in the BAHAMAS!
View of where we stayed from across the harbor

Catherine and Nick arriving at our villa

A cute little seahorse in the Royal Towers aquarium

We found Nemo!
Austin enjoying watching the fish!
King of Atlantis!!
Our first steps on the Bahama sand!
First family shot on the island with the beautiful resort as our backdrop!
The $25,000/night bridge suite where Michael Jackson and Oprah have stayed!

Time for a quick update...

We're home from the Bahamas but still catching up and trying to recover from a wonderful and crazy week. While Ryan is busy catching up with work, I'm busy trying to keep up with an almost 14 month old while crutching around on a badly sprained ankle courtesy of one of the Atlantis shuttle buses and my pregnancy balance issues....

I can't wait to post pictures from our trip, but there is more important news to attend to at the moment because my 19 week ultrasound was yesterday and...

I can't tell you how thrilled we are to find out that we're having another precious little BOY! We can't wait to meet this little guy and for Austin to grow up with a little brother!

And by the way, Intelligender, I want my money back!!! :)

The weather is beautiful...

...wish you were here!

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

A little Thanksgiving morning love from Lucy before heading to Columbia for lunch at Mimi and Papas!

Black Friday ads, a staple on Thanksgiving Day!

Austin's 1st piano solo

Really lovin' the piano...

Playing with one of mommy and Aunt Catherine's toys from when they were little.

Tickle kisses from daddy!

Another oldie but goodie....the creepy hot pink ride on bear.
Back at home and ready for bed! Since Thanksgiving is almost over, time to pull out the Christmas sock monkey jammies!!

And just for fun, Thanksgiving last year, this was my little one month old!!

To whom it may concern...

Dear Austin's tooth #6:

Please go ahead and break through the gum already and quit causing us ALL so much pain! Austin is tired of having such a pain in the mouth and it is causing him to be a pain in the rear! We would all appreciate a happy and whine-free baby over the Thanksgiving holiday and in the Bahamas next week. Thank you in advance.

Sincerely,

Austin's Mommy & Daddy

Silly Faces

Morning play time on the couch is SO much fun!!

The Game!

What a bittersweet day in Clemson! Saturday was our last home game of the season (boo!) but the Tigers pulled out a win against the Cavaliers from Virginia which allows them a chance to play for the ACC title in Tampa!! We'd certainly be there if it wasn't for the fact that we'll still be in the Bahamas when the game takes place. We can only hope that we win our conference title and get to head to Miami for the bowl game in January!!

We took Austin to this game since the weather was nice and it was being played at 3:30. He was into everything at the tailgate and wouldn't hold still for a moment and I was worried he'd be the same inside the stadium...but he did FANTASTIC!! We could hardly believe it!! He played with his vibrating teething toy for about the entire first half while Ryan and I switched off holding him. He was engrossed in the game and the people around us...and that miracle teether! He had a snack, drank his milk and ate some soft pretzel during the game as well as flirted with all the women around us, played peek-a-boo with our neighbors, and laughed at the silly kids sitting beside us. About 4 different people commented on how well-behaved he was and we were honestly just as surprised as they were!! I think the fact that we've been taking him to sporting events since he was a newborn really helps and the fact that he loves to people watch and be outside. Our seats are in a very animated section where almost no one sits during the game. Both mine and Ryan's arms and backs were minutes away from snapping after holding our 25 lb. baby boy for the better part of 4 hours. I feel like we should both have the biceps of a bodybuilder by now!

Austin took a good morning nap before the game but his afternoon nap time fell during the middle of the game. (By the way, we're back on a 2 nap schedule now) He was a trooper and stayed awake until there were about 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Ryan was holding him and his head was bobbing around, eyes were glazed over and I wasn't sure if he was about to be sick or fall asleep! I laid his head on Ryan's shoulder and his eyes immediately shut. Since an impending celebrating was about to take place, I took him in my arms and we sat down so he could continue to sleep and Ryan's cheering wouldn't wake him. I was somewhat grateful for the chance to sit down and rest and I always love a chance to snuggle my sweet sleeping baby!

Austin slept in my arms through the rest of the game and post game celebration, he stayed asleep when I transferred him to daddy's arms for the walk back to the car, he continued to sleep all the way back to the car and didn't move a muscle as we took off his jacket and put him in his car seat and drove home. Talk about one worn out baby!!

Austin supporting the Tigers and his favorite candidate!

I was trying to get Ryan to get a picture of Austin giving me a kiss...but he was more interested in daddy holding the camera...since that's quite the rarity! :)

Ryan made me do it...

The buddies hanging out...even if only for a few seconds before Austin went running through the lot checking out all the other tailgaters.

CJ at the top of the hill...look sideways...I don't know why I can't get this picture right side up...

"Balloons, balloons, balloons make me happy..."

Game time action!

Austin with his trusty teether. 30 minutes of straight entertainment right there!

Me with my sleeping baby at the end of the game.

Post game celebration!

Clemson Tigers...Atlantic Division ACC Champions!!

Thursday Night

Let me just preceed this post by saying that parenthood is not for those with weak stomachs...and if you have a weak stomach, make sure you have a strong and take charge kind of husband to help out when needed!!

So, last night we drove out to Liberty for the Pickens County GOP meeting to hear our friend Neal speak about his campaign. In case you've missed his other mentions on the blog, Neal is a close personal friend of ours who is running for Congress. Austin went with us and boy were we surprised at how well he did sitting in a small, quiet room with about 40 adults for an hour while 3 politicians got up to speak! We did, however, have to revert back to the pacifier because keeping him quiet is a lot harder than keeping him still, believe it or not! But he did great much to our surprise and we now have faith that our 2.5 hour plane ride next weekend will be a piece of cake! (Ha!) At least we don't have to keep him still AND silent on an airplane!

Anyway, after the meeting we headed back to Greenville and decided to stop at McAlister's for dinner since none of us had eaten yet. I got Austin out of his car seat and we headed inside. We stood at the counter and the cashier asked if we were dining in. Ryan said 'yes' and at that exact moment, Austin turned his head into my chest, coughed and then projectile vomited down the front of us both. As I stood there stunned, Ryan turned to the guy and said "Uh, nevermind!" and at the same time, Austin vomited a second time. We were rushing towards the bathroom by the time he started up again and we had just made it through the door for the fourth and final blow. I was just standing there clinging to my little boy, covered in vomit and feeling quite a bit queasy myself when Ryan came through the door. Luckily he knew what to do because I was still frozen in a state of shock, worry and feeling (I hate to admit it) pretty grossed out. Now, if I had to choose anyone it the world to have throw up on me, I would choose my son, but it was still a bit hard to handle. Pee and poop I've grown used to, but I haven't made it that far with blood and vomit just yet...

Ryan stripped Austin down and headed to the car but since half naked babies are much more accepted in public than half naked women...I had to walk out into the restaurant covered pretty much from head to tow in baby throw up. It was a lovely sight for those enjoying their dinner, I'm sure. We quickly apologized to McAlister's for coming in just in time to gross out their guests and use their floor as a splat mat...and they were very kind about the whole thing, although the guy with the mop didn't look too thrilled...

We made it home, cleaned ourselves up, got Austin ready for bed and tried to give him a little applesauce since the poor thing STILL hadn't had anything to eat by 9:30pm and he wasn't acting sick in the least. The applesauce came right back up and thus we settled in for a long night. However, 30 minutes later he kept down some Pedialyte and in another 15 minutes took some more with no problems. We kept him up for observation until the poor little thing couldn't keep his head up anymore and then I sat in his room for another half hour to make sure he was sleeping safely.

He woke up at 8am his happy and usual self and has kept down 2 meals and 2 cups of milk so far. I don't know if my child just has a stellar immune system and kicked a stomach virus to the curb in less than 6 hours or if the throwing up was caused by something else I can't even imagine right now...but thank the Lord it's over and he's ok!

And here's to hoping that daddy is holding him the next time he gets sick since he joked with me all night about how bad I handled the whole thing... :)

By the way, the pictures below are the "Before" pictures of Austin after the GOP meeting playing around while we were waiting to speak to Neal. He loved climbing the steps to get on stage and walking around and beating on every chair in the room.