Ampersand, part 2 - boating & wildlife

When you're not in the water, you might as well be on it! We also did a good bit of boating this year, despite it not being the ideal activity for little ones. Mostly, we went for rides on the float boat, as it eliminates the possibility of tipping and allows for more movement from the squirmy little ones. It also makes for a lot of great photo ops :)


We went on one canoe ride with Ryan, and he did really well - it helped that we saw some baby mergansers along the way and we let him drag his hand through the water as we went... simple pleasures :)


Atticus had his first row boat ride, which he didn't appreciate very much on account of the life jacket.


Ryan also went tubing again this year with Mason, and enjoyed it so much more than last year!


One evening, Ryan was desperate to go on a boat ride, but it was nearing bedtime, so Nana offered to take him on a short ride in the Lucy Avery.... a very old boat that belonged to my grandfather (right, Mom?). He loved it!


... and finally, I have to include this one of my dad sailing. We got new sails this year, and I think they're so pretty!


Boating also allows for wildlife sightings, which tends to be pretty high on our list of goals when we're at Ampersand.

Ryan, with Aunt Monica

The loons were plentiful this year:

There was even one sitting on a nest! This was the first day Mom got a photo of her...


... and this was a few days later. We were very concerned that something had happened to her, because her head was so low. We generally try not to bother the wildlife, but we got to the point of tapping on the canoe just to try to get her to move. She finally did. Maybe she was just playing dead to try to get us to leave. Clearly, it didn't work!


Here is a group of mergansers that we scared off on one of our visits to Paradise Bay:

While I don't condone the practice of fishing, just to prove that there are in fact largish fish in the lake, here you go:

We also saw plenty of wildlife on land, too. It was not a big chipmunk year, much to our disappointment (and it was way too buggy to try to sit outside & train them anyway), but there were lots of red squirrels and bunnies. Neither would eat out of our hands, but they came pretty close!



We also saw some ADORABLE baby wood ducks with their mommy at the outlet.


And finally, not too exciting for most of us, but rather thrilling for Ryan, was the snake.

Ampersand, part 1 - in the water

Well, when you have over 600 pictures from 10 days of vacation, it's hard to know where to start. I'm definitely going to have to do multiple posts because there is just too much to document. I'm sure other people have better cutting abilities, but I love pictures so much, that I could only get it down to about 150 of share-worthy photos. And while you all might get tired of them, I definitely want them for my own memories, so here we go...

This year, it was very warm the whole time we were at Ampersand (although not compared to North Carolina heat & humidity!). Though it had the negative downside of lots & lots of bugs, we took advantage of the heat to spend a lot of time in the water. The water itself was pretty chilly, so we weren't sure how the babies would take it, but they loved it... especially Atticus!

our first dip in the lake - Papa, Ryan, Nana, Atticus, Aunt Ryan, Kaeden, and me


There are two "beaches" at Ampersand - neither one has a whole lot of sand, but they're great places to hang out & swim nevertheless.

Here are some photos of a morning at Joan's Beach:


Ryan latched right on to Uncle Dain. It always touches my heart to see these two together. Even though we don't see Dain all that often, he always makes an effort to reach out to Ryan and bond with him and they have such a sweet relationship. Anyway, Dain very quickly became Ryan's swimming buddy at Ampersand this year, and they (at least Ryan) had so much fun.

Climbing rocks - apparently, Ryan asked if they could go in "the jungle"

I just love this picture. Don't know what else to say!


Meanwhile, the babies had fun splashing & playing in the sand & water (and being held by their mommies!):







Another favorite Ampersand activity is picnic lunches at Paradise Bay. The weather was so beautiful that we did this a couple of times while we were there.

Kaeden enjoyed playing in the sand and with his Papa:

Atticus had his first picnic lunch at Paradise:

The bees were plentiful, but thankfully didn't sting:

and Ryan had some more fun times with his Uncle Dain. His favorite game was stealing Dain's hat and hiding it in the water for Dain to find.


Kaeden with Nana. He adores her:


and a special moment in the lake with Mommy:

Atticus enjoying some more time in the water:

On our second visit, Ryan & Mason swam out to "whale rock" - a large rock under the surface that we always swam to when we were kids. From the beach, it looks like you're standing on the water :)
All around, great times!

And I do believe that wraps up today's edition of Ampersand 2011 :) Lots more to come!

8 months

Dear Kaeden,

You're 8 months old! Time sure is flying by and I am loving every second spent with you.


We've had a more low-key month, spent entirely at home. In general, I would say that is your preference. One benefit has been that you have gotten into a good nap routine. You are fairly consistently taking two 1 1/2 hour long naps each day, which is great for you, but makes it somewhat tricky to get out of the house. Ryan & I have had our share of stir crazy days this month, but we've also been enjoying your morning nap time to have some special one-on-one time, so it works out okay.


You have become such a happy baby! Sometimes I forget now how fussy you could be just a couple of months ago. Now, there has to be something obviously wrong for you to be fussy - usually, it's just a matter of Mommy being too far away!


You love to eat! We've been working on puffs & cheerios this month, and you're doing well with them. Occasionally, one will still get caught on the back of your tongue and you'll gag a bit, but in general you can handle it. You'd still rather eat the mush, though.


Pulling up is your latest trick. You've mastered crawling, so I guess you decided you needed a new one. You don't play with toys that much anymore, unless it's something you can stand up on. You'd rather crawl around the house and pull up on every surface you possibly can. It definitely gets you in trouble sometimes, but you're loving your independence... and the ability to chase your brother around.





You're not babbling yet, but I'm hoping that will come soon. Your favorite sound to make right now is "sss" or "shh"

You got your first two teeth this month. Here's the first one popping through (you weren't too thrilled about me messing with your mouth right then!) Your top ones don't look like they're anywhere close, so I'm hoping we might get a break from teething for a while.




I got a big pool this summer for you boys to play in, and you've been enjoying it fine. You like to splash, but not when you splash so much that it gets in your face. And it's even more fun when cousin Atticus plays with you :)


Things I love about my Kaeden: the way you clap your hands when I come to get you in the morning; that Ryan can make you laugh more than anybody else; the sound you make when you're getting ready to nurse; your hugs & kisses; your peach fuzz head


And here are your 8 month photos... you were very cooperative this month :) Thank you!