Our Family on the deck in Loveladies, a town on the 18 mile island of Long Beach Island, New Jersey
Max playing in the sand.
Max sleeping on the beach, a daily activity.
Daddy and Max walking down the beach chasing the birds.
Max playing with his Dad and aaahhhh, outside showers. What fun!
Flickr is having problems uploading my pictures from the trip but I figured I would still check in. We had a wonderful time but I swear playing with a toddler in a different house, different town and on the beach is tiring and I even took my nanny but yes, I am pregnant and so on. I am not bitching because we are so damn lucky to have been at the shore for a week with amazing weather but damn-I definitely do not have the same energy as I did prior to being pregnant.
Max was amazing. He loves the beach and so do we. I let him have frozen yogurt a few nights and he had no reaction. Yeah maybe he is out growing the extreme allergy to cows milk. I am not one to give him cows milk for his milk but it would be nice to give him yogurt if he wanted it. Anyway, so he loves it and of course, who wouldn’t?
Max slept on the beach everyday for about 2 hours except the last day, when he did not nap. I think he missed the tired window and then he would not go down for a nap. I still get frustrated when he won’t sleep even though he is older and can handle a day without a nap but I think I need that time. Even though we took our nanny, I do not have the nanny put him to bed or anything or take him away from us-it is just to have an extra eye and an extra hand. And yes it was nice to have an extra hand to unload the car and help with laundry and all of that stuff. Plus she has become like a family member to us and we love spending time with her. It is nice because I feel like she has become a good buddy. I guess I am lucky like I enjoy her company.
While we were away I realized that I am not eating enough protein at home. For a while Scott was not eating much for dinner-just a salad and Max just eats eggs, brown rice and veggies and so I would eat brown rice and veggies but I was having such low energy and then we went away and I was eating protein for dinner and BAM-my energy came back. So last night I cooked and told Scott that he can eat what I make or not eat it-he ate a whole plate of chicken, yams and asparagus. It was nice to see my man eating my food again and plus I felt great today after having a good meal too.
I think Max has started to say more and yeah but he does not say it over and over. I knew with his personality that he would do it when he could do it perfectly. In Max’s time.
I was happy to be away but it was also nice to come home to our house. I love our house. Max played with every one of his toys yesterday and it was really cute to watch.
I guess it was just nice to get away and have a lot of time as a family. I am a lucky woman. Pictures to post tomorrow hopefully.
We had an amazing time. We actually extended our trip for an extra day and it was so much fun. We stayed here. The hotel was amazing and so damn nice. Max slept every day till 7:45 or 8 am and we enjoyed the huge shower and the baths all over looking Union Square. The hotel room was beautiful and I could have lived there easily for a while.
Max, Julia (my sister) and I would walk through Union Square and visit the open market, which had all farm fresh food and pastries and breads. We would go and get breakfast at whole foods and then walk though the park and people watch. On another day, my sister and I took Max to Battery Park, where there were tons of play ground equipment , sand boxes and fountains. Battery Park is so nice because it is right on the Hudson River and so you get a really nice breeze during the day. A nice break from the city. (This is a common type of play ground for NYC and I wish we had them in Philadelphia). We met a lot of really nice people and of course played and played. We took the subway and Max loved watching the trains go by. Of course it was not fun lugging a stroller and a kid up and down those stairs. (keep in mind only a few stations have elevators) How stupid! Anyway, Max loved it. On the way to Battery Park, we also visited the site of the twin towers, where they are building a large open green space with fountains for those who were never found in 9/11.
We also playground hopped, which is what a lot of people in NYC do for fun with their kids. We walked to Washington Square Park and played in those fountains as well. Washington Square is near New York University so it is really nice and the brownstone homes are beautiful. I love this neighborhood.
We had wonderful food and a great time. Max was such a great traveler and loved being in the city so much. I have never had him in his stroller for 20 or 30 block walks but he was amazing. And it was such a treat that everyday at 12 pm he would fall asleep in his stroller for 2 hours and my sister and I would stop for lunch and then walk and talk and enjoy each other’s company. It was a great vacation.
PS. The last 2 days Max has been fussy and irritated. I guess he brought home some NYC attitude. LOL
My best buddy, Lisa marie and her daughter, went to the beach with us for the day. We packed up the kids at 8 am and headed to McDonald’s for hash browns and egg mcmuffins for us. Yes, we are both pregnant. Otherwise I would not be letting myself eat that good garbage. But regardless we were on our way by 8:15 am. Luckily Max is a great car traveler. I am not sure of it is his personality or his love for TV but a DVD will always keep him happy for a while. We got into some traffic in the start of the ride and so the whole trip took much longer than we thought. But Lisa’s kid, Tyler, cried for a solid 45 minutes on the way down. It was painful and actually Max closed his eyes and went to sleep. I guess he just got sick of hearing her cry. He is just like his Daddy. When his Dad is just tired of it-well he takes a nap. LOL
So we arrived in Cape May and the we met up with a friend who has a house there and we all went to the beach. The water was so warm and so calm. It was the first time that Max did not have to hold my hand in the shallow part of the water. He laughed and giggled. We also got water ice and we all chilled out.
We headed back to our friends house to shower, which is Max’s new favorite past time since we rented the beach house a few weeks ago. Max and Tyler were both showering and Tyler kept pointing to Max’s penis and saying, WHAT? Then she actually grabbed it a few times and of course I got pictures but I did not think it was in my best interest to post them. It was too funny. We had to explain to Tyler that Max has what her Daddy has. Yeah she did not get it. Anyway, Max did not mind. LOL.
So we drove home and we were so tired. Thank goodness Lisa Marie drove because I could barely keep my eyes open. I passed out last night at 9 pm and slept so hard all night long. Even though I would not take another 2 hour one way drive to the beach just for the day-we both decided the giggles and laughter and the showering fun was all worth it. It was these moments that made the day totally special.
This picture of the 19 week baby belly was taken down the shore. You can also see Esther the Super Pug relaxing in her favorite travel dog bed. I was actually baking muffins that morning since it was foggy still and kind of raining but by 12 pm, it was so nice and sunny. We were so lucky with the weather.
Anyway, about the belly. I have started to feel this little girl kick. I was worried because with max, I felt him kick pretty early. The nice woman at the ultrasound said the little girl in my belly was in a position that made it so I could not feel until she was bigger. So I stopped thinking about it and now I can feel some kind of kick in the lower part of my belly. I love feeling the baby inside moving around. Max was a pretty active kid and he is still that same way.
Did I mention that she was on my bladder for two weeks. If you saw a pregger girl running or walking and then darting off into the woods to pee, well that was me. I would work out while we were at the beach and I would have to stop every 1/2 mile to pee. It was horrible and did not feel so good but I am sure it will only get worse.
I am feeling pretty good these days despite a teething kid that is not sleeping too well and a momma that needs more sleep because of a teething kid but all in all, life is good. I am counting down the days until we go back to the beach. 
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