HHI Part One

Okay folks, our HH trip in review is going to have to come in two parts - the first with the commentary and the second with the pictures. I just can't find the time to do both together...we have like a million pictures to go through so that alone will take more than a few minutes. Instead I will give you the HH highlights and the pictures will be to follow.

First and foremost our thanks go out to Mia and Freddy for letting us stay with them in their beautiful new HH home. What a gorgeous place...near the pool and beach, perfect golf course views (wonderful for critiquing golfers who are way Way WAY better than me but I can still comment on their swings from behind the floor to ceiling windows), and even deer sightings as they pranced across the fairway. So cool!

The highlights:

1. Luke has been "in" the Atlantic Ocean before the 3 month mark. It was just some feet soaking but we made a big deal about it...he was wearing his bathing suit! Full on bathing outfit for some wet feet but the bathing suit is too cute to not wear. The sand was a big hit too.
2. Luke "loves" to swim. He was in the ocean a couple of times and in the pool as well...right now it is much easier to have him in the pool so he "swam" there more often. Let me clarify "loves" to swim. When Luke was in the water with us he did not have a single change in facial expression. No flinches, no smiles, no giggles, no crying, no whining, no screaming. It was as if he was not soaking wet up to his shoulders in somewhat chilly water. It was hysterical!! He just swam along straight-faced...too cute! In fact the only reaction (crying) we got was when we took him out of the pool. As KW said "He is a fish!"
3. L and I got two nights out by ourselves. It was the first time in three months that I have been away from Luke. I'm gonna be honest...it was wonderful. I knew Luke was in good hands while we were gone so the worrying was minimal and L has been traveling so much lately that it was just so nice to spend alone time together. We limited "Luke talk" and really enjoyed ourselves. Our lives are completely consumed by Luke and when L gets home from work he is immediately bombarded with family stuff. It was nice to talk about work, travel plans, friends, gossip, etc. It was a good thing and like L tells me...time away from Luke occasionally will make us better parents. A beautiful restaraunt with sunset views. 2 hours and we missed him.
4. Riggs conquered his fear of the ocean. He loves water but for some reason he was really timid near the ocean...due to the wave action we assume. Anyway just like my mom said, by the end of the first week he was in the water and enjoying himself. My dad did his part in luring him in by catching fish after fish...with the occasional shark and throwing them back...Riggs' short term memory took a back seat and his was in the water hoping to get lucky and find one of Dad's catches. He never caught a fish but he did get over his fear. By the end of our stay we literally had to drag him off the beach..seriously....drag! He had a blast!
5. Riggs has a new girlfriend...sorry Sadie! Her name is Piper and they pretty much had a nightly date on the nrumber 2 hole of the golf course right outside Mom and Dad's house to play together. They would tear up and down the fairway and spend a little extra time racing around in the sand traps. It was too cute and Riggs was in his glory.
6. HH Brew Fest. Enough said. L will be there next year! :)
7. Freddy's idea of taking Luke for a bike ride. Brilliant! Luke is still too little to ride in the bike trailer so instead we put him in the front pack (one of his favorite places to be anyway) and off we went. Either Dad (if L was working) or L would wear Luke and off we would go...he stopped traffic (literally) he was so darn cute. He stayed awake on all the rides and just enjoyed the scenary. He looked like superman flying around!
8. Shrimp...a minor highlight but I love shrimp like nobody's business.
9. KW's news...so thrilled!
10. Seeing Daney - two weekends in a row. She, for some reason, can distract Luke better than anyone which was fantastic when he was protesting burping. Daney was a huge help to me when L was out in the field. Thanks Daney!
11. Sushi with Daney...can't wait for the next time.
12. Seeing family. Two sets of my aunts and uncles came to visit my parents at their new place. It was so nice getting to see them and they oohhhed and aaahhhed about the house (and Luke) just as much as we did.
13. Luke's menu has increased...we are on to rice cereal and he loves it. He requires superspeed delivery however so my spooning and serving technique has really gotten quite speedy. :)
14. Luke's superior skill of sleeping in the car. Thank you little guy...we love you!

It was a wonderful trip. L worked really hard and we missed him while he was gone but he was able to spend a little extra time with us on the weekends...what a great place to unwind. I think he was glad to know that I had some helping hands at the house with Dad taking over with the Riggs duties and my mom helping me out tirelessly. We were all a little bit more relaxed...a much needed feeling. A beautiful place with my beautiful family.

Smooches---K