Wordless Wednesday -- Wrightsville Edition

Still working on getting photos together to fully describe our vacation, but here's an "awww" moment for the time being.

Wrightsville Vacation -- Overview

For vacation this year, we headed back down to Wrightsville Beach and stayed at the same place we did last year (I don't like change!), but we had a very different little boy with us.  Just like last year, I'll make this post short (as short as I can handle) and then get into more details with longer posts and pictures over the next few days.

This time last year -- less hair, less teeth, more interested in eating sand than playing with it, and was content to sit still or hold my hand and walk around (since he couldn't walk solo yet)

This Year:

Monday:
Lots and lots of rain led to not much being accomplished on Monday other than checking in, buying groceries, and taking an evening walk on the beach.

settling in

Tuesday:
We went out to the beach pretty early in the morning, splashed around in the shallow water, and played in the sand.

After showers and lunch, we went to Fort Fisher Aquarium, then walked around the Carolina Beach boardwalk.  Tuesday evening, we got sushi, then walked around some more.

Wednesday:
More beach, then we went out to Blue Water seafood restaurant for lunch (highly recommend!) and downtown Wilmington for the afternoon.  That evening, we went out for a long beach walk as the sun set.

Eating lunch at Blue Water.  This was my vain attempt to get him to smile at the camera by saying "Where's Mama?"  His response was to point at me with a quizzical "don't you know where you are?!?" expression

walking along the beach during the "magic hour"

Thursday:
We went out for brunch at Causeway Cafe (yum yum and cheap!) and to the Battleship before heading back to Raleigh.

"Wait, I've gotta take this call"

Like many people these days, we don't have a landline.  What does this mean for Tyler when he's in a room that DOES have one?  Instant infatuation.

We discovered this on vacation when Tyler would not leave the room phone alone (we almost-immediately had to unplug it).  So what did Tyler do on the phone?  "Call" Grandma and tell her various things from the trip.

My absolute favorite thing he told "Grandma"?

"Grandma, cookies all gone.  No more cookies."

Wallykazam Lovin'

We (and I do mean "we") have a new favorite Tyler show -- Wallykazam.  We had seen episodes about a year ago (before we cut cable), but Tyler was too young to be interested in it.  Well, after our recent trip to the beach, and at the mercy of whatever NickJr wanted to air, Tyler is hooked.

picture courtesy of nickalive.blogspot.com

Wallykazam is a show about Wally Trollman, who found a magic stick that can create anything starting with the letter of the day (or sometimes rhyming endings).  He has all kinds of adventures, along with his friends Norville the dragon, Gina the Giant, Ogre Doug, and the trouble-making Bobgoblin (my personal favorite).

picture courtesy of pinterest.com

So what does this show have going for it?

1) Fun characters -- I tried to find a clip, but Bobgoblin regularly says his name at the end of sentences.  He's kinda the Jason Derulo of kids' shows, but much less annoying!  Anyway, it's kinda become a thing around our house to randomly say "Bobgoblin!" 

2) Literacy -- Tyler has become obsessed recently with letters and recognizing letters.  This is the next step, teaching him the sounds words make.  "We can use a cushion or a pillow.  Which one starts with the 'c' sound?"

3) The songs!  Oh man, they are catchy, and unlike dear Dora, all their characters can actually sing.  (Seriously, Dora people, stop making songs in a key Dora can't sing).  Here is my absolute favorite one.  I find myself singing this all the time now, even when Tyler's not around.  Tyler even does the "No invaders, no dragons, no trolls!" in a Bobgoblin voice.  Well, he actually says "No elevators, no dragons, no trolls."  At least, that's what it sounds like.

LOVE this song.  Yes, I'm a full-fledged adult, and I love kid shows.  Sue me.

4th of July at Pullen Park

On Independence Day, we were decked out in our patriotic wear (well, as patriotic as we owned) and were ready to... shoot!  We forgot to make plans!  We knew we wanted to avoid festivals (9 million people in July heat?  No thank you!), and fireworks wouldn't be until nighttime, so what were we to do?  In the middle of our usual "What do you want to do?"  "I don't know, what do you want to do?" discussion, Jason thought to ask Tyler what he wanted to do.

"Playground.  Ride train!"

Looks like we have a Pullen addict on our hands, folks!

This trip went way better than a few weeks earlier with Nana and PawPaw.  I think it was at least 5 degrees cooler, and that made all the difference!  Everyone was a little more willing to be out in the sun and play before seeking shade and breeze on the train.

snack break in the shade

"Well, hellooooo, ladies."  Also, how cute is his "bee-doop" fireworks shirt?

"Who says this part of the playground is just for big kids?"

"Look, Ma.  One hand!"

Happy (belated) birthday, America!  From the all Selfs (yes, I'm in the picture, if you look in Jason's glasses)

Tyler's First Job

Last week, I got a text from my next-door neighbor who had a job offer for Tyler -- water her plants while her family was on vacation... with some Mom help, of course!

Other than trying to break into their house at every opportunity (maybe he was just double-checking that all their doors were locked!), he was very into watering the plants.  Our neighbor was really great, leaving already-filled water vessels under each plant that needed watering.  Idiot-proof.  I love it.

So, Tyler's first job.  Um, maybe we need to work on it a bit.

Tri-Cy-Cycle

About a month ago, we bought Tyler a bicycle (or "bi-cy-cycle," as Tyler calls it) on the SAS Bulletin Board.  He's a little too small for it now, but at $10, we had to get it!  We bought him a helmet, too, which he asks to wear.

Since it's going to be a while til he can really ride his bike, when a tricycle came up on the bulletin board, we decided to get that, too.  Here's Tyler's new toy.  The helmet is probably a little unnecessary, but he really likes it and wanted to wear it.

My favorite part is that it has a removable "parent handle" that we can use to push and steer until Tyler is old enough to pedal and steer all on his own.

Cheese!

Bubbles

Jason's parents gave Tyler a cool bubble machine that makes really large bubbles with small bubbles inside.  Tyler was enthralled before we even added the bubble mixture.

It took a bit of patience to show Tyler how to use the machine (especially because he kept insisting "Tyler hold it!"), but Jason did a great job.

Pullen Park

Nana and PawPaw came to visit over Father's Day weekend.  We had a great (if not HOT!!!!) Saturday visiting SAS (Jason's folks had never seen where he worked), Pullen Park, and Cameron Village (for lunch and Goodberry's).

It was super-duper hot when we got to Pullen Park.  Tyler spent a little time running around the sunny playground before we found refuge on the train.  $1 for several minutes of shady breeze?  Count me in!

We also really enjoyed the carousel.  I didn't get any pictures of this because I was enjoying the ride too much!  I did get a great one of the Selfs afterwards.