I grew up venturing to Martha's Vineyard with my family, enjoying the beautiful island! So when my husband Chris & I decided to plan a yearly family vaca, I knew that would be the ideal destination. Chris is from New Jersey, so he had never been. I was excited to share all my childhood memories and create some new memories with my little family unit. So, last August, we packed the car and ventured on the boat and headed to Edgartown with a sweet and fat 6 month old boy. He was sooo cute and was so happy to snuggle in our arms as we sat on the front porch of our hotel admiring the beautiful harbor...and enjoying a few vaca cocktails!
Then when we would go out to dinner, Ollie would be more than pleased to sit in the bjorn for the walk to town and enjoyed smiling at everyone that would pass us, as they commented on the cute baby in the popped collar polo! HA! Soooooo, when we decided to make it the annual destination, we asked ourselves: will this year be easier or harder? Annnnnd the answer turned out to be a resounding: WAYY HARDER!
Oliver enjoys running alot. So much so that Chris and I are slightly worried he may have some attention disorder issues- he literally wants to run and climb and jump and touch and destroy all. day. long. And that is just what he did the entire trip. There was really not one tiny bit of relaxation the entire trip; mostly just daily plans of "how are we going to entertain/tire him out today" without the structure, routine and safety of home. Ollie flat out refused to be strapped into his new UppaBaby stroller. He refused to hold our hand when walking. He refused to eat almost every option we presented (unless it was goldfish or granola bar). Finally, the frosting on the cake was the start of full blown back-arching, yelling, red-faced, throwing-his-body-to-the-ground tantrums. Literally for no reason. We, being weak and embarrassed, were willing to indulge him in whatever he desired to end the tantrum...but it turns out that he just desired to exhaust us and make us swear we are never doing this again!!!!
Of course, the Facebook photos I posted of our vaca were perfect. Ollie was smiling, laughing or involved in a fun activity. He had clean, fresh t-shirts on that did not have Mad Martha's ice cream or red sauce from the linguine he threw across the restaurant, smeared on them. He was visiting great destinations and the family shots show a slightly sun burned red(ish)-haired family, blissfully happy. That's the trick of Facebook - essentially it's a total fraud. Little did my family and friends know that we were dying and ready to call MGH and check on their return policy 18 months postpartum.
With all this being said, on our last day we visited this quiet beach in Edgartown, where Ollie made friends with a big yellow lab named Tucker and his little 19 month sweet sidekick. We watched him play in delight, running in and out of the water, throwing the ball and giggling constantly at the "woof woof" that loved him right back. He would come back periodically and check in with mom & dad, sometimes even giving us his signature open mouth kisses. Our hearts swelled and we were so proud to be the parents of this sweet little goose that was entertaining the entire beach. We enjoyed it so much we started planning our third annual Earley family vaca for 2014 (hopefully with a newborn too! Cross your fingers for me!)
And there you have it -- just like giving birth, you forget the intense HELL you experienced and just can't wait to do it again!
Below are some "honest" pics from our vaca.
Aw the pic of him on the floor! I am so with you, as the mom of a formerly crazy 15 month to 3.5 year-old boy. All I can say is that it does get better. Now at 4.5 years old, Cole does listen (when he wants to) and I no longer think he has ADHD either.
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