Playdates

So what did Colin and Mommy do in Charleston while Daddy was away?  We went on lots of playdates!  Back in August when we were home for two weeks we visited the Palmetto Waterpark.  We had a great time with our friends Miss Becky, Jack, Lily, Miss Gina, and Jake. Unfortunately, I was only able to capture a few shots of Colin while secured in the stroller.  It's way too difficult to manage at 1 year old and a camera while in water.

Colin sporting his awesome dino bathsuit from Aunt Ellen and Uncle Jim.

Drying off with his special towel, also from Aunt Ellen and Uncle Jim.

When Colin and I returned to Charleston in September, I started up the playgroup for our squadron.  We have a small group of ladies who actively participate whom Colin and I have a blast spending time together.  While the weather was still nice we spent several Friday mornings in a row playing at the beach.

Colin and his friend Luca.

Loving Mommy's water bottle.

SO happy that he can finally WALK on the beach!  No more of that crawling stuff.

Ready to build a sand castle.

The perfect sized "ocean" for me.

Bliss.

Some adorable shots of Colin and his gal pal, Lily.  Notice how clean and neat she is compared to Colin whose completely covered in sand.

We've spent many Tuesday mornings enjoying story time at the base library.  Colin does a pretty good job listening to the story or at least keeping himself occupied while it is being read.  Sometimes after story hour we will head over to the playground on base to run around with our friends.

One morning we met up with our friends Miss Jennifer and sweet little Emma for an animal walk at Charlestowne Landing (the sight where Charleston was first founded).  It was an absolutely gorgeous day for a stroll.  The most memorable part of our walk was when we were first starting out on the trail. All of a sudden Jen yelled, "Oh my god, there's a BEAR!!!!"  We had no idea what to expect for the animal walk and did not know what was coming.  Colin was probably only a foot away from the bear when we first noticed it and definitely frightened. Due to utter shock, I wasn't able to catch any shots till the bear walked away.  Colin was literally trying to crawl out of the stroller to get away.

"Ok Mom, enough, get me out of here!"

We saw some more animals on a visit to the aquarium with Miss Gina and Jake. 

Colin loves to say "ssssss" for snake so he was thrilled to find this giant snake.

Always trying to sneak in places...this boy is constantly on the move!

One of the most anticipated playdates of this fall was seeing Disney on Ice!  Fortunately, the show lived up to all the hype my gal pals and I made out of it.  Colin enjoyed it too.

Watching the show with his sweet friend, Cheyanne.

The show was nearly two hours long and Colin lasted for all of it but the last few minutes.  He enjoyed the Toy Story scenes the best but since they were at the very end he was beginning to get antzy.  Mommy's favorite part was, of course, The Little Mermaid.

Spending so much time with other Air Force families really helped the time go by quickly.  It makes such a difference for both Colin and Mommy to have plans with our friends.  Not only did we have plenty of playdates in the mornings but we also got together for dinner time (our loneliest time of the day!)  We hosted a dinner party at our house one evening and then Miss Gina hosted one at her house.  It was such a joy to have some many little ones running around the house and enjoying the back yard.  We also went to the park with several of our friends for a picnic dinner and had an impromptu dinner at Miss Molly's house when we just needed to get out of the house!  Thank goodness for great friends, especially those who totally understand what it's like to be left at home for months at a time with a kid/kids all by yourself, hundreds of miles away from your family, and often unable to talk to your husband.  I heart my fellow Air Force spouses/mommies!!

**Just to put our life in perspective, Miss Becky, Jack, Lily, Miss Jennifer, and Emma have all since left (PCSed) Charleston.  They had become such dear friends of mine over the past couple of years and I am so sad to see them go.  Just more friends to add to the ever increasing, "See you soon" list.  My sweet friend Angela moved to Germany earlier this year and just had twins.  She was such a blessing to me while Tim was away after Colin was born.  I seriously don't think I would have survived without her.  I so wish I could repay the favor by helping with her precious baby girls.  I can't believe that I can't meet them and that our kids don't get to grow up together.  I'm definitely still getting to use to life military style!**