Fun Times in Destin

We spent last weekend in Destin...acting like a tourist family! We had a great time and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We stayed on the harbor at one of the older hotels, but the view was so peaceful. We walked down to HarborWalk Village on Friday evening. William loved all the noise and people. He kept wanting to dance with the music. Every time we passed a dog he would say "woof, woof" and wave. He loved all the boats and wanted to get on ALL of them all night! Too cute! We ended up crossing the street to have dinner at McGuire's and it was so scrumptious!! They have the best burgers...just order it as a Hamburger Steak... William was fascinated by the place! He just loves to be out and about and talks to everyone.

Mommy and William

Walking back after our family night on Friday

Saturday we were up early (toddler in a hotel room does not sleep in...) so we went down to the water to play for while, but it was chilly. William loved running after the birds and waving at the boats going by. We decided to go over to a local playground that overlooks the bay. It's a great little (actually big) playground and perfect for our little active boy! We were there over an hour and he played nonstop!!! He just loves the slides and is all smiles while we are at a playground. He did carry his little rattle ball with him and would throw it back and forth with his daddy a good bit. He's also getting good at kicking the ball too! He just loves being outside, as any child should.

Early morning on the harbor

So excited about the playground

Such a big boy! He couldn't get enough of the slide.

So....after the playground and a visit back to HarborWalk to walk around and watch more boats, we went back to the room. William started acting funny and I noticed he was cringing when I touched/moved his left arm. Basically his left arm went completely limp for over an hour. He just stayed right next to me in the bed and would not move. I called a friend (who's also a doctor) to ask her what I should do...I suspected the elbow or shoulder to be out of socket...she told us to take him to the nearest ER (being Saturday and all). So William had his first ER visit! So not fun!!!!!!! We waited about 2 hours and tried to entertain him as best we could, but he was getting tired and hurting. As soon as the doctor came in and we described the issue, he felt his elbow, bent it and it popped right back into place and my little boy (who for about 4 hours now had been either just limp on my chest or screaming his head off) immediately started laughing and smiling and reaching to give high-fives like nothing was ever wrong!! Such a relief! I'm so thankful that it was nothing major and that our ER visit was not due to a more serious issue...still scary to go through though!

After our trip to the ER we went to BoatHouse in Destin so Philip could enjoy some oysters. Great little place on the water...tables outside to enjoy the sunshine, but NO HIGHCHAIR!! It was too tight a spot for my stroller so I attempted to hold William during our lunch outing. He was a wiggle worm and wanted to get down and walk around in between eating his lunch. (but really, what do you expect) We didn't have his shoes with us and he was wearing an oversized t-shirt (remember, we were just coming from the ER) so I would not let him down on the ground. Philip did take him a little bit and walk around the dock to see the birds and boats so I could enjoy my salad. It's really hard to eat a salad and fend off cute chubby little hands that want to grab your lunch! The sunshine made it worthwhile. We just went back to the room to try and get William down for a nap. I crashed with him in the bed for about 2 hours and Philip left us to rest. He sat out on the balcony and read his book. Oh, how I love naps!!! I woke up rested, but a little sad b/c I didn't get to sit in the sunshine and soak it up (can you tell I LOVE LOVE LOVE the sun and miss it!!!!)

We did have a friend (Ann) come over to watch William on Saturday night so we could go to dinner. She's so sweet and William really likes her. He loved showing her all his toys and how he could run all over the room and climb on the couch. She was so kind to give up her Saturday night to come hang out in a hotel room with a toddler!! Thanks again Ann! Back to dinner...we went to my most favorite little place in Destin, Cio Bella's. I just love their house salad and homemade dressing...and their dipping oil for the bread...and their menu. It's such a cute little place and always so friendly. I tried something different and of course loved it! We left there and went across the street to Pat O'Brien's to check it out. We didn't stay too long b/c we were a bit exhausted from the day's events...and didn't want to leave Ann too long! I was thrilled that we got to keep our glasses with our drinks. I just figured that was only in New Orleans :) Now...I've got to find a place to put them, hmmm...

Such a cute face!!!

We wrapped up our weekend with church Sunday morning and then headed on home for lunch. William went right to sleep and slept almost 4 hours!! Upon waking up he immediately wanted to go outside to play. I got some GREAT pictures of him! (I couldn't narrow my selection down) He is such a ham and loves to say "cheese" when he sees my camera come out!! We just played and played and played in the yard before taking a walk down 30-A. It was such a peaceful afternoon so we ended our walk with some time on the beach. William loved it and was so sweet playing at the water's edge. He kept saying "weeee" as the waves came up to his little toes. He stomped around a little bit and laughed at me as I copied him. What a way to end the day! We live in paradise and I'm so thankful for it! There is nothing like sitting outside in your yard and hearing the gulf...it can ease any stress!

What a handsome little fellow??

Checking on our azalea bush

He turned around and said "cheese, moma"

How can you resist this precious little face?

It's raining so hard and lightening all over the place as I wrap up this entry, so I just sit here and reflect back to all the sunshine of last weekend and all the smiles and laughs with William. Hope you have a great weekend...despite the rain! Then again...rainy days are great too...they make you slow down and take naps! And we all know I love naps :)