Amy, Robert and Bryson: April 2011

did not go so well. He hated it, but I'm hoping it's just because it was something new. Hopefully the next time we go down, he will have more fun. We drove down Friday April 1 after we both got off from work. We made it to Steven and Jessica's in Gulf Shores some time after 11 pm. Bryson did great on the long car ride. He slept for about 3 hours so of course when we got there, he was wide awake. Our little party animal stayed up until 1am! The next day we slept in a little since we went to be so late so we got a late start getting to the beach. We didn't head out until it was Bryson's lunch and nap time. I think that was our mistake. We drove to the ATM and to get some lunch to eat on the beach and he fell asleep in the car, so he was a grouch when we woke him up. When we got set up on the beach, I tried putting Bryson in his tent to finish his nap but he wasn't having it. So then we tried lunch, and that was it. He was hungry. Once he had a full belly he was happy for a little bit, but not long. He hated the sand, hated the water, and hated the sun. After an hour of hearing him scream and cry, I decided to take him back. Once we got back to Steven and Jessica's house, he was so happy. That night we ordered in dinner and Robert and Steven went out to the Florabama while me and Jessica stayed back and had us some girl time. It was very nice sitting up and having some girl time like that. It's been way too long.
On Sunday, we tried the beach again, but this time we went to a place called Waterford park. It's one of the only places at the beach where dogs are allowed so Steven and Jessica took the dogs. There wasn't as much sand since it was on the bay but Bryson seemed to like it a little more. He still hated the sun but was a little more interested in the sand. He kept throwing the dry sand all over him and getting it in his eyes, so we moved him to the wet sand closer to the water. He really enjoyed playing with the wet sand. Once he seemed happy, Robert decided to try to get him in the water. The other good thing about this place, the water was maybe waist high. He wasn't too crazy about it to begin with but after a few minutes of crying, he finally got used to it. I would say that our Sunday trip was way more successful then Saturday. After the beach, we went to dinner and then headed to the Track so Robert, Steven, and Jessica's son Jeffery could ride the sky coaster. It looked like they had a ton of fun.
We headed back Monday afternoon and Bryson did great in the car. We gave him a few toys and books and he just sat back there and played. When we stopped to eat in Montgomery we went on and put his PJ's on since we knew he would fall asleep, which of course he did. Here are some pictures from the trip.

Enjoying lunch on the beach

First time to get in the water

Not a happy baby

He looks so little

Sunday at Waterford Park

First attempt of the day

Still not liking it

He did enjoy walking around looking for seashells

He almost started to like it

Tired baby after 2 long days at the beach

At the Track

Watching daddy ride the go-carts

Getting ready for the skycoaster

Watching daddy on the skycoaster

We had Bryson's first birthday party the weekend of March 6th. His favorite show (and ours too) is the Backyardigans so we decided to do the party with that theme. The very first episode we watched together was a pirate episode. Of course I love pirate stuff so we did the theme based on that. We had Amy make both cakes and since Pablo is our favorite, Bryson's smash cake was Pablo. We had the party at our house and since our house is small, we just invited our immediate family and a few friends. We had about 25 people crammed into our little house. It amazes me every time we have a party just how many people fit in our house. I think everybody had a great time. Bryson got a ton of gifts, but he won't have another holiday to get toys again until Christmas so while he doesn't play with everything just yet, I know he will soon. Here are some pictures from the party.