I am a very, very planned person. My agenda book is always filled at least a month in advance (usually even further though!) so typically last minute things just can’t happen for us. Lucky for us though when the Murphey’s called to see if we could come visit them at their beach house in Jekyll it actually worked out!!! We were planning on leaving to go to St Simon’s with my family Thursday morning so we just left Wednesday afternoon instead and spent the night at Jekyll with them (which is only 20 min from St. Simon’s)!
It’s so funny how it’s been over 2 years since I used to babysit for them yet very little has changed. Madeline may be 12 (and looking more like 16) but she’s still sweet, fun, and giggly. Candler may be 9 now and tall as can be with his braces yet he’s still as goofy and silly as ever. I was a little nervous that things would be different since we haven’t seen them much over the past couple of years but it’s great how naturally things just went back to how it used to be!
Madeline was a HUGE help with Kye and it made me feel good that she had so much fun with him. She told me that I made her feel good because I let her carry him around everywhere and play with him. I trust her completely! I guess a lot of people freak out about younger people (sorry I do NOT consider Madeline a “kid” anymore!) holding their babies but I knew she wouldn’t drop him or something! She didn’t even mind when he spit up alllllll over her (luckily she hasn’t hit the vain teenage stage yet haha)
When we packed for the trip I asked Mrs. Charlotte if we could borrow her Bumbo chair because we totally regret not buying one! I bought a different brand of infant seat and it’s big, bulky, and not very comfortable. The Bumbo is awesome b/c it’s light and it’s medically proven to help strengthen the baby’s back! Doesn’t Kye look like a big boy in it?
We all had a blast together and stayed up super late talking and laughing in our mini-spend the night party (I slept in one bunk with Madeline, Zach in another with Candler…while Kye slept in another room…haha). Madeline and I whispered girl talk and the boys made “kick ya in da face” jokes. I was exhausted the next day but it was worth it to have so much fun with my favorite kids!
Zach even had a great time and said over and over again that he can’t wait until Kye is Candler’s age because Candler was so much fun. Those two were cutting jokes the whole time and even went to play golf together. Candler LOVES golf and I really hope someday mini-Candler follows in his footsteps and loves the game too!
On Thursday we hit the beach and I was so glad it was a cloudy day (isn’t it funny how things change..I used to PRAY for mega sun and now I pray for shade for my baby!). The beach is so nice there and the water felt great! We only went out for about 40 min and Kye sat in the Bumbo under a beach umbrella playing with a ball!
The kids and Zach had fun playing baseball…and I had my first experience of fear with Kye getting hurt! The woofle ball got hit hard by the bat and hit me right in the shoulder. And guess who’s head was against my shoulder at the time? I was so so so so so thankful that the ball hit me instead of Kye!!! Yes, it hurt but it’s then that I realized I’d take all the hurt in the world to make sure my baby didn’t hurt! I guess I’m a mom huh?
Before we went in I dipped Kye in the water and of course he loved it! Once we went back to the house we started packing up and made a couple of typical Zach videos because Candler really really wanted to! It was fun just to be together and laugh like old times.
This time when we left I didn’t shed a tear! Of course I still love “the kids” but this time I know we’ll get to see them again so it wasn’t as sad for me! Zach had such a great time that he said we really need to drive up and stay with them one weekend in Athens. I hope we can go while they are both doing some kind of sport (I know Madeline swims like crazy and Candler plays baseball and golf) so we can see them in action!
My work has been featured on Love What Matters, Today Parenting and Babywise.Life. I'm also honored to be a member of the Babywise Friendly Blog Network.
You can read more about our family on my About Me page. Also be sure to follow along with me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!
- Effective Parenting Tips to Discipline a 5 Year Old Child - September 24, 2024
- Happy 9th Birthday to My Daughter – Letter to Tess from Mom - August 26, 2024
- The Best Travel High Chair for Baby and Toddler - July 11, 2024
