Growing Up Cade

Tonight is the first time in over 4 years that Cade did not ask me to rock him before bed. He instead asked me to lay down with him in his bed while we read and while he fell asleep. 

I know rocking had become cumbersome - he's too big and he's uncomfortable, but I laughingly said I was going to rock my baby as long as he would let me. And, so, it looks like this sweet time has come to an end.

Just like that.

I'm so proud of how big he's getting, and he's even maturing a little here and there. 

But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little sad. 

He's fast asleep now, and I have to admit I feel sort of happy too...there's just something really natural about him growing up that feels almost like an accomplishment of sorts. 

I love him, and he's still the best little boy on the planet to me. 

Lyla took this at tball today:

The Long Ride Home

It was an early morning. We carried the kids down to the car in their pj's, hoping they would go back to sleep...and, of course, they didn't. Lyla looked up at me when I told her it was time to go and said, "Already?", and Cade just smiled all the way to the car: "The sun isn't even up yet, Mommy!"

We got a great head start and decided since we made the initial 3 hour goal, we would stop for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. 

Big. Mistake. We probably should have considered it was a holiday weekend, Sat at 8 am. It took forever! 

We were gifted with 1-2 hours of stand still traffic a little later: 

But, we watched Zootopia, ate too many snacks and made it work. 

Cade finally gave in to sleep:

We stopped for fireworks at Nervous Charlie's on the way home:

And, about 19 miles from home around 7:51 pm, Cade tearfully stated, "I want to go back to the condo." 

It was a hard vacation to leave behind, but as soon as they both saw home, they were overwhelmed with happiness to be here. Cade has already torn his room apart reconnecting his wires, and Lyla immediately started playing with her dolls. 

And, to celebrate" being home, Lance let the kids pick a few fireworks to light. 

Home is a good place to be. 

Last Day

Last days of vacation are just sad...no matter how happy you are to go home. It's just the letdown of the long anticipated trip ending...but what a wonderful trip it's been! 

These 2 have kept us moving every waking moment, and they're moving into a phase of life that's so exciting...listening to Cade scream with giddiness about winning 50 tickets at the arcade, and watching Lyla glide across the deep end by herself are things that make this trip so different from vacations past. Our babies are becoming real people, capable of enjoying so many different things. It's not sad, either, it actually makes me giddy with excitement. 

We spent the morning at the "quiet pool", where Cade happily met up with his Alabama friend. They love playing police and jumping into the pool together, and they're particular fascinated with the shower/hose next to the pool. Of course. 

We took a break from the pool this afternoon to have one more round at Fat Daddy's arcade. The arcade has been a big hit this trip, not necessarily for the video games but to win tickets - as many as possible. Cade doesn't even care if he plays the games himself - if Lance can play more effectively, he's just as excited.

So, we ended up with these - a little over 1000 tickets. The kids had a shopping spree in Fat Daddy's toy store, and they were never so happy to get their hands on slime and plastic worms.

I managed to get everyone out on the Beach after dinner, which was a bit of a debacle. First of all, it was way too early and the sun was too bright. We needed to finish, though, because we wanted the kids to have as much time as possible to swim before bed. 

Secondly, our camera lense was foggy due to the drastic temp difference between the inside and outside. Lance handled this very well - I was pleasantly surprised with he pulled out a microfiber cloth to wipe the lense instead of throwing his hands up in the air proclaiming that our camera was "broken". 

We didn't get anything great, but we got something, and that was all I cared about.

I love these people, squinty sun eyes and all. Beautiful...inside and out.

Our evening swim was, again, perfect, and all that really mattered.