Finn's First Vacation

Today (Saturday) at 2:30 a.m. Michael, Finn and I left for our first family vacation. When we put Finn in his carseat he got super excited. We thought that he would sleep the whole time it was dark outside but we were wrong; he was way too excited to sleep. When it was time for me to go to sleep he got really fussy. For some reason he didn't want me to sleep at all. He would "Mommy" over and over again. Then we ask me to hold his hand (hold a hand, Mommy). He did end up sleeping until for about and hour and half. At 6:00 we stopped at a McDonald's (only place open) right outside of Birmingham. For breakfast Finn and split a breakfast platter; I ate the pancakes and Finn ate the eggs and hashbrown. After he ate breakfast we let him play in the play place for a while before we made him get back in the car.







The second leg of the trip was much more pleasant. He didn't cry at all. He quietly in his carseat, listened to chess and read his books. Around 10:00 we stopped at a museum right off the side of the road to let Finn play. There was an old train onsite and several old cabins. The museum had an outrageous entrance fee so instead Finn spent his time shoveling gravel and looking at the train. After making another quick stop for gas we were back on the road again.










During this leg of the trip both Finn and I napped. When we woke up we stopped at a Hardees for Lunch. 45 minutes afterwards we arrived at our condo in Panama City. Finn thought it was pretty neat that we drove all that way and Grandad was there waiting for him. I have to say that Finn did great driving all the way to Florida. We were really worried that the drive would be miserable but we had a great time.

Next we all put on our swimsuits and went down to the beach. Finn was really nervous at first, he didn't want to be put down at all. The first day was really seaweedy and the seaweed bothered his feet and legs. He ended up getting in about waste deep (as long as someone was holding him); he loved watching Gigi get pummeled by the waves. Then he found what he really loved doing - playing in the sand. Again, I have to give Finn credit, he decided that he liked the beach the very first day.







In true Finn fashion he was cautious, but he still had a noticeably good time.

Next we went to spend some time at the pool next to the condo. Finn loved the pool. He started running toward the water and looked like he would jump in whether anyone was around to catch him or not. At the pool Finn played in the water, he splashed us with the supersoaker and he jumped off the side of the pool. By the time we got out of the water it was 5:00. Gina and I went to buy the groceries for the week, while Finn begrudgingly took a nap. When we got back dad grilled the chicken then we ate.

Before bed Finn watched his new VeggieTales video that Gigi brought for him and he went to sleep without a hitch. We brought his pack-n-play from Victoria's house, his fan from home, his star turtle and his blankets. I think recreating his room at home helped him to sleep. Unfortunately we woke up at 1:30 and said, "eat somethin." Finn sleeps in Grandad and Gigi's room so Gigi got up and made Finn some oatmeal.

It was a great first day.