Visiting Nina and Papa

After saying one last goodbye to the cousins, we got DJP back into the car and headed to Florida. On our way, we stopped at Zaxby's, a fast-food chicken restaurant that would give Chik-fil-a a run for its money. As was typical of this trip, DJP got lots of attention from everyone. It amazes me how total strangers will strike up conversations when there's a baby around-especially the bright eyed and curious DJP!

We finally arrived at Nina and Papa's house, where some rooms were empty because they had packed most of the house and moved it to SC for the new house and were getting ready to settle on the FL house a few days after we would leave. It was bittersweet for Jason since he has a lot of memories there from college and lots of his favorite places are nearby.

We had dinner at Gigi's, Jason's favorite pizza place. They have the best thin crust pizza and little pepperoni. YUM!



We watched the Rays play on TV since they wouldn't be at the Trop until later in our trip.



We visited Jason's alma mater, Eckerd College, which also happens to be where his mom and his dad went to college. It's a bit ironic that I also wanted to go there (and recently found out that another college friend of mine had looked there as well!) and could have met Jason 10 years earlier!




We also had a chance to visit with some extended family. It was fun to watch M & M interact with DJP.

As well as DJP taking to Aunt Moon so well. We thought we'd have to bring her home with us-she didn't want to let him go!

DJP had a few firsts while we were at Nina and Papa's house too. He had his first meal in a high chair. He didn't seem to mind it at all, which was nice and easier for us to clean up!
And DJP had his first bathroom sink bath:
We also visited Selmon's (Leroy Selmon's restaurant, former TB Buccaneer) and the P. Buckley Moss art gallery, where Nina purchased a print, College Baseball Dreams, for DJP to celebrate his birth. Jason actually got to meet P. Buckley Moss, since we had to take a detour back to the gallery the next day. She will sign the glass of the frame for DJP.

We had a great visit with Nina and Papa and can't wait to see them when they come here at Christmas time.

Next stop: Grandma & Grandpa P's

Our Visit to SC

Our first stop was to visit DJP's cousins in Clinton, SC. (Yes, this tiny town has it's own website!) We arrived later in the day then we had originally expected since we bypassed Interstate 95 (to avoid the DC/Northern VA traffic) to take a more scenic route and we had to stop more to let DJP out of his car seat, etc.

Once we arrived at Megan and Stan's (Jason's sister and BIL) house, the boys were excited to see us and LKW was just taking it all in. We also were able to have dinner with Jason and Megan's cousin, Joel and his wife, Mariah who happen to be in Spartanburg, SC for Mariah's job. It was nice to see everyone and spend time catching up and just relaxing.



Jason's mom and step dad are moving to Clinton and have already purchased a home, moved some things from FL and have the house set up to live in so we stayed there instead of a hotel. The house is a few blocks away from Megan and close to the elementary school where the boys and eventually LKW will go to school.


We also got to visit the center of town which includes a McDonald's, train tracks (that divide the town) and some other businesses. We ate lunch at Steamers, a restaurant that is mainly open for lunch but has branched out to be open for dinner one or two nights a week. We also passed by Presbyterian College and Thornwell Home for Children.

It's definitely a small town where everyone knows your business (someone walking their dog one night stopped to chat with my SIL and asked how she was feeling after her mouth surgey) and there aren't the creature comforts like Target, Walmart and malls close by.

Next post: Arriving at Nina & Papa's

5 Months Old

From this:


To this:
DJP is 5 months old today! I cannot believe it's been that long and how much he has changed.

He is still teething with possible signs of teeth starting. Stuck my finger in his mouth to apply some orajel and there were bumps instead of smoothness on his gums. An the amount of drool has increased yet again, if that's even possible. (Still looking for a viable use for all this drool...)

DJP has rolled over from his back to his tummy however neither Jason nor I have seen this actually happen (he's done this at some point during the night/morning before we've gotten him and also on Grandpa P's bed but we think he cheated...)

He loves butternut squash-finishes the entire jar in one sitting! Definitely did not like peas (me either kiddo!) and is okay with green beans. Jason and I were wondering if DJP remembers the taste of butternut squash from last Christmas when Grandma P made butternut squash soup and mommy tried some?!?! Next up is either carrots or sweet potatoes.

DJP continues to smile easily (even when extremely tired like he was today since he'd only taken a total of an hour's nap all day), still not always sleeping through the night (dr. says 8 hours at a time...Jason and I laugh...it's about 5 if we're lucky! Kiddo wakes up with a hefty diaper and starving!) and is loving his exersaucer. He definitely likes the part where he throws toys on the floor and mommy picks them up (ha ha...that doesn't last long!)

We're back!

We have returned home from our looooooooooooooooong vacation (2 weeks) to SC and FL. I think DJP's way of expressing the last hour was perfect-he cried/screamed and was just inconsolable. I told him, "Kiddo, Mommy feels the same way but she's not crying!" That's what happens when we've been stuck in the car for 10 hours...

We're happy to be home and able to sleep in our own beds since we had the opportunity to use 5 (yes, five) different beds on this trip. Last night, Jason said, "Just sit here a minute and enjoy the fact that this is our bed." I just laid down and sighed. Yes, it is our bed and went to sleep.

Cook-Out

When Jason lived in Raleigh, one of the places he would stop at on his trip home from Elon was Cook-Out which has burgers, hotdogs, fries, onion rings, hush puppies, and milkshakes. We were looking for somewhere to stop for awhile to get DJP out of his carseat when Jason saw a sign for Cook-out. Off the interstate we went. We found Cook-Out but there was a surprise. All the Cook-Outs that we had seen were only drive thrus-this one was a sit-down place. So we went in, had some burgers, fries and hush puppies along with some Cajun seasoning. Yum!

What we saw on our trip south

Unfortunately there is no photographic evidence of what we saw due to the fact that pictures taken at high speeds in a car with an iPhone would just be a blur.

First, traffic came to a standstill on 81 due to 'blasting.' The construction crews were out in force and needed to use some old fashioned methods to clear dirt and rock. We did not see nor feel anything except dirt and trees being moved. This was okay by us since DJP was sleeping.

Once traffic got rolling again and a half hour later we pass the Extreme Makeover Home Edition tour bus. A bit ironic since they were filming a few weeks ago in Baltimore while working on a girls' home (one of my cousins went to help out).

Another vehicular sighting was a semi-truck decorated as a Tootsie Roll! I haven't seen that in a long time. Makes me want to go buy a Tootsie Roll...don't think my teeth can handle that now with all the dental work.
All in all, the ride so far has been uneventful.

4 Months Old

DJP is now 4 months old (yes, it's been more than a month since I last posted...sorry DJP has been getting most of my attention lately because he's a tad bit cuter than the computer!).

DJP went to see the pediatrician on Monday and he currently weighs 15lbs and is 25 3/4 inches long. He also got the second round of shots for Rotavirus (one more round at 6 months), which was not much fun for him. It was interesting to see his reactions-the first needle he didn't know how to react and the second we saw him turn as red as our furniture and forget to breathe. He did seem to be a bit more irritated after this round of shots, but was fine again once we were home.

Currently, DJP smiles all the time, giggles, rolls over from his belly to his back (close to rolling from back to belly), likes to "stand" with assistance of course, enjoys watching lights and ceiling fans as well as cars and trucks go by if he's near a window, grabs small toys and attempts to stick them in his mouth (if they don't fit, he throws them down), and eats a bit of cereal (oatmeal is his favorite with rice a close second and barley is just nasty) two times a day in addition to his yummy formula. [Does this sound like a singles ad for babies?] Every 5 to 7 days DJP will be trying a new food-this week we'll probably try peas or green beans. So far, he's not disliked any of the cereals and enjoys making messes!


DJP has also been teething for a month. It started slowly, mainly in the evening when the drool factory would start and he'd want to put fingers (didn't matter whose they were) in his mouth. Occasionally, he will have his fist in his mouth and start to scream-this is when the baby Orajel comes in handy. He makes the best faces when he tastes this stuff, but it works especially in conjunction with teething tablets.

Another first for DJP was a mini-vacation! We packed the car and went to Ocean City, MD with Grandma Cass over the July 4th holiday. We took DJP out to the beach late one afternoon and let him feel the sand and the water on his feet. He neither cried nor giggled, but seemed to take in the experience especially how his feet "disappeared" in the sand when the waves receded.


DJP also had his first sleep over this past weekend when his Eckerd "cousins" M & J came to visit. He was in awe of M's walking skills (took copious notes for future reference) and J's napping abilities (3 hours! Mommy wishes for that every day...just once!). At one point, Aunt Niki came over, expecting mass chaos and the house was quiet-all boys were napping and so was Aunt Melanie! All in all having three children under a year and a half in one house went smoothly-helps when they are outnumbered by adults! It was sad to see M, J and their parents go home, but hopefully we will see them soon!


DJP's next adventure is a longer car ride to South Carolina to visit his cousins and then on to Florida to see Grandma & Grandpa P and Nina & Papa.