First Family Vacation

CLICK HERE to view slideshow of our first family vacation.

Jasper went on his first vacation ever in his life! :) Seriously, though, he did. And the last one we went on was 3 years ago, for our honeymoon. We went to Milton, VT which is 20 minutes north of Burlington, on Lake Champlain. We rented a small cabin via an online google search last Spring. We all had no idea what to expect, but the cabin was exactly perfect and charming. Its main room had a panoramic view of the lake which showcased beautiful sunsets. Outside under some pine trees, was a picnic table and a hammock in addition to a small deck. On the other side were 2 adirondack chairs set in a grassy area. The beds were terribly uncomfortable, but they sure beat sleeping on the ground! 

This was the first of many family vacations to come that we'll spend with my friend Amy, her husband Robin and their son Soren who is 3 months older than Jasper. Amy and I hope Soren and Jasper grow up thinking of each other as cousins...we imagine them looking forward to seeing each other and asking us when the next visit is...etc. etc. Anyway, both boys seemed to enjoy each other, Jasper being the non stop vibrating baby with bursts of flailing arms and excited vocals, and Soren being the Buddha baby, chill and steady, speaking little but saying much. Both boys were teething the whole week. Soren already had 4 teeth, and broke through another 2, while Jasper doesn't have any teeth yet, but it seems he's getting 4 all at once. 

Among the firsts this past week, in addition to teeth, Jasper has really begun to cross-crawl. He's been testing out his abilities, pulling up on his knees and reaching for things, and not quite knowing how to let himself back down or how to keep his balance, resulting in a lot of bangs and thuds, and, ultimately, crying. He began our vacation week not quite sitting up on his own, and since we've been back, he's sitting up quite well in few different positions. Verbally, he'd been saying a lot of "da-da's" and this week added "ma-ma's" and "ba-ba's." The new food of the week was acorn squash, which he enjoyed much more mixed with avocado or banana. (I found out though, that banana is binding, and after a day of traveling while eating only banana, Jasper spent the next day a little constipated - not fun (also a first.) His food repertoire now includes avocado, sweet potato, banana, apple, acorn squash, & pear (all in that order.) He doesn't like them all equally. Next week I am going to introduce Millet.)

All of this while on vacation.

We also took a lot of walks. The air was crisp and fresh with the scent of pine. It really felt like fall. One of my favorite parts of the walk was a chestnut colored horse with a white nose who'd come running over to us as we walked by. Of course we had to stop and pet her. There is an apple tree on the way from the cabin to the horse's house, so we fed her a couple of apples...I just love the feeling of their velvety chins nuzzling my palm as they take what's offered. 

We visited Burlington, a town none of us had ever been too. We had talked about a day trip to Montreal, but that never happened and I don't think the only reason was just because Nick and I had forgotten our passports. We played a lot of Yahtzee - a game I'd never played before and now love. And we cooked good food. Best of all, we visited Ben & Jerry's - something I've wanted to do since high school and never did even though I spent 4 years of college in VT. Silly, I know. I've never been one for things like the Hard Rock Cafe, but I love ice cream. Overall, our vacation was mellow and low-key. We love spending time with Amy and Robin. We all laugh a lot. 

Next year we hope to go the Cape with them. And we'd also like to go to Peru.