Vacation in the Outer Banks

Last week, the Heselton clan (Jenn's fam) took over a beautiful 7 bedroom home in Corolla, NC in the northern outer banks. We had a blast! Seeing the five children interact in their different ways was so fun! The cousins are sure going to love each other as they grow up. Coby loved all the attention he received from everyone! I think he will likely have to sleep most of this week in order to recover. In addition to the attention, Coby got to experience new things: the pool, the beach, sunscreen, sunglasses, and more. It was so fun to see how he enjoyed these things! I will attempt to share some of the best pics and introduce all of Coby's cousins.

The cousins:
Saideh (pronounced Say-dee) is the youngest besides Coby so far~ she belongs to Joy and Doug. She turned one in May and is very, very active and loud. She loves her daddy and the pool too!

The oldest one of the pack is Naomi at three and a half~ she also belongs to Joy and Doug. As you can probably tell from the picture below, she is super ornry. She loves the beach and her grandpa.

Aviva, also just over three, belongs to Gabe and Em. She is a doll as you can see (despite my computer doing something to the picture). She has an amazing imagination and has become quite a talker. She also loves her grandpa!

Gabe and Em also have Sander who is nearly exactly one year younger than Coby. He turned one in March and is one of the happiest kids you will ever meet. Watch out during mealtime though~ if you are too slow with the food, he will let you know!

Beach=Baby Bjorn :) Our days at the beach were limited usually to not more than an hour or so since we wanted to keep Coby out of the sun as much as possible. However, I couldn't resist a walk or two and the chance to watch the kids play in the sand. So, Coby spent much of his beach time in the baby bjorn where he would relax and even... sleep- yes, most of the time, he would fall asleep in the bjorn!

Sleepy Boy!
Our Little Family

One Cool Dude (sunglasses were added mid-week for fear of retina damage from the sun)

Pool Moments: the first time in the pool, Coby was so-so about it at best. The second time, he LOVED it! The third time, he hated it! The pictures are all from day one.



One very special blanket: before Coby was born, I found the most cute beach outfit at the Patsy Aiken attic sale. It is swimsuit material, but in the form of shortalls~ perfect for the beach and they even had a matching hat! The best part~ they also sell the fabric. I wanted to make the perfect matching beach blanket for Coby. Just a few days before leaving for the beach, I finally got it done! It is so cute! I love it. Coby enjoyed it as well!

Other pics from the week:

Warming up in the sun with Grandma: Coby had goosebumps the first day on the beach~ it was breezy and even a bit chilly under the umbrella!
A sunset over the sound. The outer banks allows great viewing of both sunrise and sunset~ despite vacationing here many times, this was our first sunset viewing~ absolutely stunning!

The first night we celebrated Saideh's first birthday a bit late. So fun- she was adorable the whole week!


The pseudo-parents taking a break~ Katie and John were huge helpers to all of us parents this week~ not sure what we will do when they have kids of their own.

Naomi and Doug in the surf~ perfect!

What a great week! Wish it could have lasted just a bit longer!

New Fun

The next several days I will have to catch everyone up on the past couple of weeks. We returned from our family vacation on Saturday, and I have tons of pics to share. First though, I wanted to show off Coby's new fun with a pic from right before vacation. Coby is not quite the recommended 4 months for the exersaucer, but we noticed he is much happier in the "standing" position. Unfortunately, he is getting so heavy and is hard to hold up for long periods of time. So, we decided to try out the exersaucer~ he LOVES it! This weekend, he discovered the seat rotates~ now, he moves around in circles as well as laughing at the toys. Glad this is a toy that he can enjoy for a while to come!

Thank You Auntie Joy!

Dear Auntie Joy, Uncle Doug, Naomi, and Saideh,

Thank you so much for my new lamb chair~ I just love it, and it matches my farm bedroom perfectly! I am not quite big enough to sit up in it myself (and train its head to get out of my way), but I am enjoying exploring it! Mommy loves it because she managed to get a picture of my tongue while I was sitting in it. I love my tongue right now~ it is my favorite toy! I can stick it out real far just like a lizzard, and it makes everyone laugh. I love you guys and can't wait to see you this weekend!
Love,
Coby

Dedication Weekend

I am a little behind in posting this, but a week and a half ago, Alain and I had the opportunity to dedicate Coby in front of our church. This is a special, formal display of our commitment to put Coby before the Lord always. Of course, the service is just a moment in comparison to the actual commitment made to pray for, model before, and truly to raise our son in a home that is centered and led by Jesus. What a true honor the Lord has provided for us to be able to parent this beautiful boy and to teach him and lead him. We are beyond blessed! This weekend truly reminded us of the wonderful friends we have to share in this responsibility~ what a great time of prayer from our leaders and friends at the church!

Along with the dedication came a visit for Lola, Abuelo, and Auntie Angelica. Coby had a lot of fun playing with everyone and went to sleep for a whole day when everyone left. It is fun to see how interactive Coby has become; however, he will no longer sleep anywhere- he is so afraid to miss anything and will fight sleep anytime people are around. It is really funny to watch him sleep with what I call "one eye open." He will scan the room from a half open eye and decide whether or not to wake completely or not. Needless to say, as soon as we return from vacation in a couple of weeks, Coby will be learning to sleep in his crib for naps to ensure he gets good rest during the day!

Isn't he a Beauty!

While in Ohio last month, we had the opportunity to hang out with my good friend, Karla, owner of Banks Photography. This of course included a photo shoot of my little beauty. Coby truly looked perfect. We are in love. Here is just a small sampling of the pictures she took:

Isn't He A Beauty!

We are one happy family!

Like Father, Like Son...