I planned to leave during nap time (because the only time he drove well on the last trip was at night while he was sleeping....) which is rare for me. I do NOT like to drive during the day...would much rather leave really early in the morning, or at night because the sun gives me a huge headache while driving during the day. I also borrowed a DVD player from a friend in hopes that if he DID wake up, he would be distracted by Diego, Dora, and Praise Baby. THANK GOODNESS FOR MODERN TECHNOLOGY! That DVD player was a miracle! On both the trip there, as well as the return trip, he woke up after an hour or an hour and a half. Praise Baby and Dora definitely did their thing because he was perfectly content and during every restroom break he kept begging for more Dora and WANTED to get back in the car! YAY! =)
He only cried once, and that was because he woke up the first time with a dirty diaper. Other than that, he was perfect and we had the BEST trip together! We even stopped off at the gas station on the way there and he got to pick out his own BlowPop, which he LOVED (as was evidenced by the red, shiny, sticky residue all over his clothes and any visible skin on his body!)! It was so cute watching him peruse the candy ailse....it's a memory I will never forget! I guess ALL small children love the penny candy (or I guess quarter and 50c candy now a days) because that's what he went straight for every time we stopped at a gas station and he was in heaven. =) I loved it!! On our way home, thanks to my husband's advice, we stopped off at the Ellen Trout Zoo in Lufkin. I was born in Lufkin and lived there til the age of 12, so it brought back LOTS of memories (even though it's totally redone and is VERY nice for a small zoo). Brody LOVED the peacocks that are EVERYWHERE all over the park, as well as naming all the animals. I put him in the stroller at first, but after exhibit #2, he was walking all over the park on his own like a big boy, and I was pushing his backpack. =) Dave and I will definitely have to think about taking him back there on one of his days off in the future since it's only about 2 hrs. away (well, about 2.5-3 hrs with a 19 month old...) and the perfect size for this age.
The trip to my dad's usually takes about 3.5 hours when I drive straight through with no stops, but this time it took about 4.5-5 hours, which was totally fine. I took my dad's advice and got Brody out often to walk around, as well as gave him snacks every time we got back in the car. Leisurely trips are not my thing, but we actually enjoyed enjoyed this one. =)
My dad really enjoyed having us there overnight and seeing how much Brody can do now. He is in the process of remodeling his house, so he invited us to see all that he has accomplished since I had seen it last about 10 years ago (he just started remodeling it about 4-5 months ago and before that it was kind of neglected so there was LOTS to fix). I am very impressed with all that he's done on his own.....if only I had time for him to teach me a few things so we could make some things look nicer around our house. =) With all the disarray at his house, Brody sure had fun exploring and getting into EVERYTHING. Made his mommy VERY nervous! A bachelor's house that's being remodeled is not exactly the place for an 18 month old! =) He did surprisingly well though aside from the HORRIBLE night we had. I think he only got about 6 hours of sleep TOTAL. Much of that was in the car while I drove him around to try and get him to sleep....poor baby! =( I felt so bad for him because he was MISERABLE (I was, too, considering I was exhausted and only had about 3.5 hrs of sleep total!). The next morning we took him to the park to play, though, so he was much more himself and happy. I loved watching my dad play and interact with him. Before this trip, he called my dad and father-in-law "Paco", but during this trip he actually started to say "Gra-pa". It was fun hearing him say "Gra-pa, Gra-pa" when my dad would hide from him behind all the equipment!
Hopefully we will be able to make a trip back to see him in a couple months when my dad has everything finished. I am not scared about longer trips anymore...at least not the driving part. Now my only fear is the night times wherever we are visiting. Oh well, one step at a time, right?? =) Very pleased with the outcome of this trip because it could have been SO much worse!! It also gave me confidence that we CAN travel with him again............as long as we invest in a DVD player!! =)
This was our "before we left" picture....
I made sure he ran all over the yard for about 20-30 minutes before we left to get all his energy out. It was a BEAUTIFUL day!!
He was actually happy as we started out on our trip....
...and within 5-7 minutes of leaving, THIS is what I saw! YAY!!!! =) I was thinking, "wow, this might actually turn out to be a good trip afterall...."
WOOHOO! My old stomping grounds! So nice to see a sign for another state (especially this one) because it had been SO LONG since I had traveled!!
After about an hour and a half or so, he was awake crying. That made me VERY nervous. BUT, after I turned Praise Baby on, his cries turned into smiles!
I took this pic in the rear view mirror....
I love driving on the small country roads throughout East Texas. They bring back so many memories from my childhood. I have traveled back and forth on them for most of my life til I was married because my parents lived and hour and a half from each other while I was growing up, then I traveled from Missouri to Texas to see my dad a couple times a year after we moved when I was 12. It was fun seeing all the small towns and the landmarks we used to look for as kids! The red bud trees looked beautiful among all the new green growth....spring and summer are my favorite times of year because of all the GREEN!!! =)
These very narrow 2-laned roads always bring back memories of when I started driving....I was TERRIFIED to drive on them the first summer I helped drive with my mom to Texas after I got my license. I wanted to drive SO BADLY that I just hung in there and kept driving, but honestly, this was one of my scariest times driving (that, and merging onto the highway....YIKES!!). There was no shoulder and the cars in the other lane looked as if they were going to come straight at you! =)
The scenery still blows me away every time I drive through it! I had to constantly marvel at God's handiwork! He is AMAZING!!!!
After our 1st stop at the gas station, Brody continued watching his DVD....this time it was Dora. He LOVES Dora.
His lollipop gotee soon turned into this:
A lollipop BATH!!! =)
I'm still not sure WHY he started eating his foot (surely the sweet cherry sucker tasted better than his foot, but who knows???). But, I was very grateful for the stoplights in the small towns every 20-30 minutes so I could take pictures of this as it unfolded! =) I thought it was hilarious just how much he was enjoying himself (even though I had in the back of my mind at all times just how sticky he was going to be afterwards. LOL!).
Trying to hand me the gum that he chewed off the BlowPop. Glad he didn't want to swallow it... =)
These cute pictures were taken while we were at another gas station break....
SO......where you see SHINY, is where he was covered with sticky sucker "juice"...it was pretty difficult to get off with just wipes, but we managed. =)
Impressed with how much he ate/licked on his sucker! =) In case you are wondering, he is still a "licker" and not a "biter" when it comes to lollipops so fortunately this adventure lasted quite a while! =)
Perusing another gas station. My favorite pictures from the candy aisle were taken on my phone, so I just posted this one so I didn't have to go through the trouble of trying to find them, etc. He is so awesome at putting things back where they are supposed to go! He took down three bags and every time I asked him to put them back, he put them in the exact spot they came from. My little perfectionist! =)
Me and my boy on our 1st road trip!
About 30-40 minutes from my dad's house, I started seeing Indian Paintbrush wild flowers. This is a HUGE indicator that bluebonnets will be close by! Being from East Texas, bluebonnets are something we looked forward to every year (especially when I was with my mom because she LOVES them). I had totally forgotten that it was the perfect time of year for them until I saw the Indian Paintbrush. I immediately got into "Bluebonnet Search Mode" so that I could get some pictures of Brody in them for my mom for Mother's Day (don't worry...by the time she sees these, she will have already gotten her pictures--EARLY!). Apparently after talking with my dad later, it's not a very good bluebonnet season which is why it took me some time to find a decent patch. Usually they are EVERYWHERE! This spot had BEAUTIFUL wildflowers of all colors dotting the hillside. Like typical tourists (and locals at times I suppose), I pulled off on the side of the road to try and get pictures of Brody.
I loved all the hot pinks, oranges, blues, and yellows interspersed throughout the green grass! Gorgeous!!
This patch was definitely not the best I had ever seen, but it worked for what I wanted it for....
He wanted his "nack" (snack) so he didn't cooperate for very long at first...
Once I got his snacks (yogurt melts), he was more compliant...I love how his snack cup shows his age in these pictures! PERFECT!!! =)
Touching the bluebonnets (after MUCH coaxing--LOL!)
FINALLY a smile...because a motorcycle drove by! HAHAHA! I'll take what I can get!! =)
Once at my dad's house, we were given a tour by my dad of all that he had been working on lately. Quite impressive! He showed Brody how to mix mortar to put on the backs of the tiles for his bathroom. Brody was quite interested....
I love this one because my dad was so excited to show Brody how to do "manly" things and Brody was just as interested! =)
Hanging out on the ladder....that's what you are supposed to do when your grandpa is working, right?? =)
It's times like these when I am SO GRATEFUL for our high chair!! It's so easy to take and go. And when there is yucky stuff everywhere and no table, it's nice to have him belted in to eat! =)
I gave him this shape sorter for the first time this trip. He loves shapes SO MUCH. It was one of the first toys I bought for him before he was born...we had one growing up and I always loved it. I was going to wait to give it to him til he was a little older because I thought it was too advanced for him. Glad I brought it because he proved me wrong (once again)! =) He was so good at it...and learned a couple new shapes because of it. =)
He was able to put them all in on his own...eventually. This picture he obviously didn't know where the trapezoid went right away! =)
After a trip to Home Depot with my dad to buy some azaleas, we went and visited my step-brother, Chris, and his family. This is Jessica, the middle child.
Christi, the oldest.
Adam, the youngest. As you can see, Brody was NOT interested in the camera....poor thing was so VERY tired!!
Dad, Chris, and Monica talked, and talked, and talked. Well, mostly my dad talked! lol! =)
Brody had fun with the cat's toy....
The girls had the best time playing with Brody!
And all three of the kids enjoyed playing with Brody's toys! HAHA!
I had a lot of fun visiting with them because it's been over 5 years since the last time I saw them! All three of them have grown up so much and are so polite and fun!
Brody was SO TIRED that he actually fell asleep on my shoulder....VERY VERY RARE! I can't blame him though. It was after 10:30 and we didn't leave until after 11. My dad was having too good of a conversation to leave......little stressful for a mommy with a tired, cranky child! ;-)
He only slept in his pack-n-play for about 3 hours until he woke up crying and crying and screaming. I held him in my arms in the bed and he finally fell back to sleep while I was in the MOST UNCOMFORTABLE position so--of course--I couldn't sleep. I held him for awhile, but after I tried putting him down beside me on the bed, he woke up and couldn't get back to sleep no matter what I tried. He is NOT a co-sleeper, and never has been. That's great except on nights like this!! =) There was NO WAY he was gonna go back to sleep so I took him out for a drive.
Here is what he looked like for the next 1.5-2 hours. YES, I drove him around for that long.... =) I will sacrifice just about anything for that baby, especially when I know he is miserable!
After a another very long cry-fest after we got back home due to exhaustion, we ate breakfast and he started calming down. I'm sure my dad wasn't ready to get up, but neither was I! LOL!
While my dad worked on the computer, this is where Brody played...a true boy! Not exactly the BEST thing for him to play with, but of all the things in the room, this was the "safest" I think, and it kept him occupied for awhile. I was watching him the entire time because he was so amusing! He has some pretty funny quirks! =)
He took out every one of those and placed them on board, then put them all back, and did it all again. He did this several times.
Then he put them all through the handle hole and then put them back in the case, and then back in the hole again. He did them one by one, of course ! =) I love my little boy!
Brody and Grandpa Ed
My dad took us to bigger bluebonnet patch later that morning so I could try and get some different pictures of Brody in the bluebonnets for my mom. It was nice having someone else there to try and get his attention, and we were able to even get a couple smiles....
This patch was pretty good, but it took us several minutes to find a decent one. Dad said usually the sides of the highway are covered....but not this year.
This park was pretty cool...Brody had the best time at it!
Right away my dad entertained himself. He was a little disappointed that there wasn't equipment this cool when he was a kid! =)
Dad had the best time playing with Brody! I LOVED watching them!
He ran back and forth along the paths....
...and went down several slides.
He actually swung on the swing for about 5 second on his own (for the first time) before he was over it and wanted down! =) Still not a big fan of the swings, unless he is just standing on the ground and pushing them.
He played with a little boy who was just a could months older than he was and they had a great time! It was funny because every time that little boy's parents told him to say something, Brody said it instead! LOL!
He LOVED this wobbly bridge...it was so slippery though that he had lots of trouble getting up it and almost slid off the edge a few times! YIKES! Good thing Mommy and Grandpa were there to help him!
NOT in a picture mood! =)
More playtime with his shapes....he sure loves that thing!
Then we played with bubbles out on the porch while Grandpa worked hard at cleaning out his laundry room.
Time to say goodbye! Brody was trying to calm down after getting knocked in the head by the car door...my dad didn't see him standing there and accidentally opened it on him. Poor baby! He had a rough night/morning! He got over it after about 10 minutes and was able to calm down enough for one last picture.
Me and my daddy! I love him so much!
The PERFECT picture of my dad! This is so typical! (In fact, I backed up his street just to get a picture of him! LOL!)
Brody climbed in the car and into his carseat all by himself! He'd been only able to do it once or twice before in the days leading up to the trip. It's amazing that he's already old enough to do so much on his own! Now if only he could buckle himself.... ;-)
Tired little boy! He was so tired he fell asleep playing with his alphabet toy. I just love how he crosses his legs when he's in his seat! =)
I think God had a hand in Brody's nap because he woke up after sleeping for an hour and a half....perfect timing because we were outside of Lufkin! I was actually grateful he woke up this time because I REALLY wanted to take him to the zoo! =)
One of the only pics I have of him in his stroller while we were in the zoo! He was SO GOOD AND OBEDIENT while walking around on his own!!! =)
Sleeping bear
Alligator
How cute is he?? =) Such a big boy!
Crocodile
One of the MANY, MANY peacocks in the park! His daddy would freak out being this close to any bird! =)
A self portrait that actually turned out just how I wanted it to.
This water fountain brought back so many memories for me! It was in the zoo when I was a child and I actually remember when it was new. I tried to get Brody to drink out of it, but he refused because he was actually scared of it! How funny since he LOVES lions! =)
Poor female birds...they usually are definitely NOT the prettiest birds! =)
I had never seen a white peacock before! How beautiful!!
There was supposed to be a rhino in the background, but I thought it was still at cute picture of Brody!
He did NOT care about the ropes! He tried to cross almost everyone of them, especially when there was a waterfall or a peacock! =)
My little water lover!
Chasing a white peacock! Fortunately they are pretty fast (and so is Mommy)!
a REAL lion!
Jaguar
This snake was funny because it kept following us around the window....whatever direction we went, he went. Thank goodness for the glass! Brody was uninterested in the snakes at all.
a Kookaburra...one of my favorite birds in the zoo when I was little because of the song! =)
Playing with the lights...I hope he didn't break them because they were lose when we left! Oops!
His only souvenir from the zoo...a pine cone! =)
I love how he can ask for and eat his "nacks" and eat them on his own these days! Independence is certainly a GOOD thing at this house!! =)
All in all a fabulous trip! So glad we were able to spend a day and a half together doing something we had never done before! And REALLY grateful for my wise hubby who reminded me to enjoy every moment with Brody! I certainly tried...even when I was driving him all over town to try and get him to sleep! =) Thank you, God, for such a wonderful and safe (and uneventful) trip!!!
1 comment:
Great shots of Brody in the bluebonnets - we'll have to keep our eyes peeled for a nice patch this weekend when we travel through Texas. Lufkin zoo looks pretty good - we may need to stop there sometime on our way back from Kenny's parents house (that's a long drive!). You guys might check out Caldwell Zoo in Tyler sometime; it's pretty nice, about an hour and a half away, and a good size for toddlers to enjoy!
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