Friday Photo

Gator Riding

Grandpa has a Gator, and he's been dying to let Hampton go for a ride. Sunday, he finally got his wish when we went up to their house for a quick visit. Tanner is very protective, so she made sure that Bo was holding on to him for dear life! Tanner even went on a ride to try it out. It's not scary, but hey, you can never be too careful!

Hampton relaxing in his chair after an exhausting ride on the Gator.

Don't worry....there's no way anyone would let him ride back there!

riding around in their automobile...baby beside Grandpa at the wheel

Foley Train Museum

One of our favorite places to take Hampton is the train museum in Foley. Open for a few hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, it is really a little boy's dream place! And since it's free, how can you beat it? It had been awhile since we'd been, so we decided to take Hampton on Saturday. We got to ride the new train, which is adorable. The volunteer staff had been saving up their donations to get it, and it was definitely worth the wait. We also checked out the model train exhibit, complete with Thomas, and played outside on the small and life-sized train cars. If you're ever down this way, we highly recommend this fun little stop!

Hampton watching the trains on the 0-Gauge exhibit

playing in the "coal" that's inside the mini train outside

The new ride-on train car. The conductor makes this a very fun ride!

Just one tiny part of the model train exhibit. There's too much too see all at once!

Treasure Beads

One of Hampton's favorite "toys" is his pirate chest filled with "treasure" aka Mardi Gras beads. We keep them out of his reach, but he can see the chest in his bookcase, and about once a week he wants us to get them down for him. Which means we spend about 2 days with beads all over the house! He puts them on, drags them around, takes them out of the chest, and puts them back in again. He just loves them! We thought you'd enjoy seeing what he looked like as he appeared from his room all decked out in his finest. Don't worry.....he'll share with you if you'd like. He LOVES to put them on Mommy, too!

Dinner Out

One of our favorite places to eat is Lillian's Pan Pizza in Perdido Key. The pizza is wonderful and we love their back patio, especially when there's a breeze. Hampton loved running around the deck, since we had it to ourselves when we first arrived. Hamp was also entertained by his Thomas set and his grandparents while we waited on our yummy pizzas to arrive. You just can't complain when you're at Lillian's...even if Bo & Granddaddy did get a few rain drops on them!

Friday Photo

Who put the whole roll of toilet paper into the cat's water bowl?

Hampton.

Why are we blaming him?

The trail of Cheerios that led right to the crime scene!

Playing in the Park

It's a boy!

In case you haven't heard, we found out last week that we're having another little boy. We're super-excited, and since Tanner just KNEW the whole time, she really enjoyed saying "told you so" at the ultrasound! Our due date has been pushed up just a tad to 12/12, although we're hoping to get a little more space between his birthday and Christmas than that! We're now busy getting back out all the baby stuff and sorting through Hampton's baby clothes. Not that this baby will only get hand-me-downs.....you know his Grandi will be busy making him some special things, especially now that we are going to be able to have matching brother outfits!

Friday Photo

Is this not the cutest face you ever did see?

Teeth and Bites

Hampton is battling with some tooth pain, seeing how both his bottom canine teeth have made their debut. We've been told that these are the worst, but Hamp is being a real trooper. He's running a low-grade fever off and on, been sleepier than usual, and had a few of the most pitiful cries, but other than than those, he's been great. Add that tooth pain in with the itchy mosquito bites that are covering him and he's had a rough go of it! So we've cuddled a little more, had some tylenol, and a few extra cookies since they make everything better. Hopefully we'll be back to normal soon!

curled up watching Yo Gabba Gabba! with Daddy while chewing on those sore teeth

You Say Garden Hose, We Say Water Toy!

Hampton has found a fun new water toy in Granddaddy's water hose. It's designed for gentle watering of plants, but Hampton thinks of it more as a portable sprinkler. Especially when his daddy chases him around the yard with it! Just more proof that we can buy the coolest toys and the simplest things are what entertains little ones the most!

Fountain Fun

At the end of our road, there's a great shopping center with some restaurants and stores, but there's also a fountain play area tucked away from the road. We'd never been down there, but once we heard how much fun our friends had with their kids, we couldn't pass it up! So we loaded Hampton up in his swimsuit and went down late one afternoon. He didn't exactly know what to think at first, but he soon warmed up to it and had a blast running around and being sprayed by all the water. Since we had the whole place by ourselves, he loved just getting to do whatever he wanted. It was a really fun place to play, and we've already got some friends lined up to come with us when we head back!

July 4th--Grilling Out

On Monday, we headed over to Bob & Randi's for a cookout. Tanner made her famous black bean salsa, Bo made delicious key lime pie, and well........I'm not sure we've ever eaten as much yummy food! Hampton had a blast playing on his water slide and playing in the sawdust (which he loves sometimes more than the slide) while the guys supervised. It was a fabulous, and painfully stuffing, way to end the holiday weekend. Hopefully, we'll have lots of fun this weekend, too, because who wants to wait another whole year for that much fun?

July 4th--Fireworks at the Beach

Sunday night, we went to the beach to watch fireworks. Even though there are several different fireworks shows to choose from, this is always our favorite. Being able to play on our favorite beach and enjoy the coastal breeze, then watch fireworks over the water with the lights of the condos in the background just can't be beat! Add in watermelon and cupcakes by Grandi, and you've got a perfect night. We were excited that Grandpa & Grannie were going to be able to watch with the rest of us, but we were a little worried about how Hampton would act. Especially since they didn't start until 9pm, which is way after his regular bedtime. Of course, we shouldn't have worried at all, because he LOVED it! He got to play on the beach while we waited on the show to start, then he watched the show for awhile before getting back up and playing some more. Maybe the best part, though? Hamp didn't wake up until 9:30 the next morning!

July 4th--Patriotic Parade

On Saturday, Gulf Shores had a family-friendly Patriotic Parade. Everyone was invited to dress up and decorate wagons, bicycles, strollers, and whatever else. They had hot dogs and treats, a huge blow up bounce house for the kiddos, and music to enjoy. It started at 9am, and of course, we waited until 7:30am to decorate Hampton's wagon and head down there. Hampton had fun playing on the playground and riding along the parade route. Even though it was a little hot, we'll probably make this an annual event!

Getting everything ready to roll. This is as good as decorations get for no notice!

Bo and Hampton making a practice run along some of the route.

The front of the parade, led by members of the American Legion.

July 4th--Friday Night

Okay, we had so much fun this past weekend that we can't share it all in one day! So we're declaring it July 4th week, so we can share all the fun we had celebrating the holiday.

Friday night, we kicked off the weekend by celebrating at one of our favorite local places, Big Daddy's grill. Not only were we excited that a 3-day weekend was starting, we were celebrating the fact that Jan has moved down here full time. She retired from the bank in Pulaski on Thursday, and arrived at her new home Friday morning. And since nothing says "Welcome, Grannie!" like the best fried okra ever, we took them to the river front eatery. We had a great time visiting, eating the yummies, and watching Hampton play in the sand. What a way to kick off a wonderful weekend!

Hampton pondering the menu. He finally decided that he'd rather play than eat the burger we ordered him.

From our outdoor table, we had the perfect place to watch him play in the sand. They have the best setup, complete with all the sand toys you'd need!

Zoo Walk

Hampton loves to run and do his own thing, but he will also escape in the blink of an eye! After a suggestion by a friend, we bought Hampton a backpack harness. That way, he can walk around but still be safe. He absolutely loves it, so we thought we'd take him to the zoo and he could run around. Well, we thought he'd be unstoppable, but we almost couldn't get him away from the baby animal exhibit! He stood mesmerized for the longest time at the baby bunnies, ducks, and goats. We also thought he'd like to feed some of the animals, but he quickly became more interested in other things, leaving his daddy behind to feed the reindeer. We'll definitely be getting more use out of his backpack, and more zoo trips will be in our future, too!