Family Vacation

Ty, Jake, and I flew to Florida this past week for the McCathran family vacation. We've gone the past three summers to spend a week with his Dad and all of his brothers and sisters. Eric, Ty's brother, has a condo south of St. Augustine on the beach near Palm Coast where we all stay. This year there were 16 of us including Jake and his little cousin, Elsie Jane. Jake did wonderfully on the flight until we started the descent--he is his mommy's boy...those ears started hurting him and he cried a bit until we convinced him to take a bottle. My ears always kill me on flights, and I have trouble equalizing. We had a very nice week and I think everyone was very impressed with what great babies Jake and Elsie Jane were. They both entertained us all and were pretty low maintenance all week. The two of them definitely bonded! Elsie Jane is so verbal for her age--just 15 months--and is talking up a storm. Her new favorite word is "Jake", and she constantly talked to him and kissed him. You can see the bath photo we got of the two of them...blackmail for when they're older :) It was nice to have Jolie, my sister-in-law, there so she and I could keep each other company with the kids. It was so hot all week we couldn't take them out much. By the time you put on all the sunscreen and clothes and spent a few minutes on the beach, it was time to bring them back inside. They loved the pool at night though which we used to tire them out for bedtime. Jake's Aunt Destin is an OT and she worked wonders getting him to eat. She had him eating his baby food in 5 minutes or so and now he's all about those pears and green peas! She also loved playing with Jake in the pool and getting him to sleep at night. His family couldn't get over how much Jake looks like Ty. They called Jake "Mini-me" all week long. Ty went with all the guys and Casey and Destin fishing one day and they caught plenty of fish for dinner which was delicious. Casey's boyfriend, Jose, also caught an 150 pound shark...they say it looked like Jaws :) Ty also went wind surfing with Jason, Zachary, and Matthew one day at Anastasia State Park. All and all we had a great trip and I think Jake liked his first big vacation. Now, I've got to "unspoil" him and get our routine back. The pictures are of our family, Jake relaxing in the pool, Jake with Elsie Jane, Jake on the beach, and then Ty, Jake, and his brother Eric (Jake definitely looks like his daddy and his uncle Eric).