Friday morning, we woke up bright and early to start our drive down to Corpus. We were nervous about how Hayes would do in his carseat for an extended period of time with his incisions still healing, but he did absolutely fabulous talking and playing almost the whole way there. In fact, the only time he really fussed was right as we were pulling up to my Aunt Jill and Uncle Kurt's house where we would be staying...but he quickly found his smile again as he made himself at home in their gorgeous abode.
Hayes with Uncle Kurt and Aunt Jill!
After we unloaded our massive amounts of luggage and had a quick visit with the family, we got back in the car to head over to the Texas State Aquarium, and I have to say - this place is pretty amazing! It has probably quadrupled in size since my last trip there many, many years ago, and Hayes had the widest eyes as we walked through each of the exhibits and soaked it all in. The only real downfall to the entire place was that they had dolphins...in captivity...and being forced to put on shows. I will go ahead and spare you my rant on this subject, but I will say that I am glad I did not do my usual research when planning our trip there. Because if I would have known about this, then we probably would not have gone. And Hayes would have missed out on the whole experience!
Typical tourist pose outside the Texas State Aquarium!
Inside, checking out the fish with Daddy...
...and the birds with Mommy.
Hayes absolutely loved the dolphins that were being held in captivity.
(Sorry, had to throw that in there one more time.)
And he thought the stingrays were pretty cool too.
But his favorite was...
...those silly otters!
Oh, and the shark attack in the gift shop!
And a whale spray on the way out too!
Needless to say, we were all pretty exhausted after the drive in to town and our fun afternoon at the Aquarium, so we just had a quiet evening at my aunt and uncle's house before turning in for an early bedtime. And thank goodness...because Hayes woke up on Saturday morning ready to play! One great thing about my aunt and uncle's house (well...besides the delicious food, comfortable surroundings, and great company...) is that they have two perfect playmates to keep Hayes busy.
Cooper - who loves to give kisses and snuggle.
And Madison - who just cannot get enough of playing ball!
Those three kept each other entertained for the first half of the day. Which was perfect...because that afternoon the real festivities started! Carl, my cousin, and Staci, his girlfriend, were also in town to celebrate both of their birthdays, so they decided to have a great, big birthday bash right at my aunt and uncle's house. All of the local family came by to celebrate, and Hayes was so excited to meet most of them for the very first time. (Unfortunately, I only snapped these two pictures the whole evening. I guess I was too busy visiting with everyone myself!)
Hayes with his cousin Lisa and Uncle Paul.
And his Uncle David too!
After a late night of celebrating, it was tough to drag ourselves out of bed on Sunday morning. But the beach was calling our name! Cody and I have both spent a lot of days at the beach in our lifetimes, so we really had to push ourselves to imagine what this experience was going to be like for Hayes - seeing the vast, gorgeous ocean for the very first time. But what we had prepared ourselves for did not even come close to our sweet little boy's reaction. He loved it. I mean, absolutely, completely, head-over-heels LOVED it! As soon as we set him down, he could not walk into that salty water fast enough. (And it was so hard to keep him only knee deep in the water. He wanted to swim...but his incisions were just not healed quite enough yet.) We spent all morning out there splashing in the water, picking up seashells, and digging in the sand. It was the perfect ending to a perfect family vacation!
Hayes's first steps into the ocean.
Feeling the water on his legs...
...and the sand in his toes!
I think he likes it, don't you?
Splashing in the water and hanging out in the sand.
Hayes even built his very first sandcastle (with Daddy's help, of course)!
Thank you, Carl and Staci, for coming with us on this beautiful day...and for such a fun weekend too!
The Davis Family
Corpus Christi Trip, Summer 2012
1 comment:
Can you tell by the look on my mother's face that she is excited to be a grandmomma??? ;) Love the pictures, Kelly!
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