Back in May my mom's house sold and the buyers wanted to take possession on June 12th. Jason had to stay here for work and his Aunt and Uncle were kind enough to offer him a place to stay, however, we didn't want to impose our entire family on them until the big move to Birmingham (which wasn't going to be until July 1st). So, Eli and I instead decided to impose ourselves on Jason's family out in Myrtle Beach. If you're going to be an imposition, you might as well be one to someone who lives in a great vacation spot! We were there for pretty much the entire month of June, I was supposed to come back on the 30th once Jason's project ended so we could move on July 1st, but instead his project was extended... first to July 14th, then to July 28th and now to August 11th. We don't really know when we'll ever move to Birmingham, but we do know that school starts on the 16th, so hopefully before then! We keep making plans but wrenches keep getting thrown into them so I've decided we're just going to "plan to be surprised." Also, the contract fell through on the house sale so we're not homeless anymore. Thankfully it re-sold, but we don't have to be out any sooner then we were planning to.
Anyway, while in South Carolina we went to the beach quite a bit. Eli's been before when he was only 2 months old, but I think he enjoyed it much more this time around. I was nervous that he would try to eat the sand because he's still in the stage where he wants to put everything in his mouth and, he did! He treated the beach like an endless buffet, going from sea shell to sea shell putting one after the other into his mouth, setting them down, picking up the next one and so on... it made me cringe but he was so happy I let it slide.
Since Myrtle Beach is just 8 hours from Alabama, Jason's mom and I decided to take a trip down to Birmingham for a few days and look at some prospective homes for when we move. This was officially the longest time Eli has ever spent in the car. With stops included, the trip was about 10 hours, plus all day everyday that we were there we just drove from place to place looking at apartments. It was a lot of time in the car. Fortunately, he did great! I think it had to do with his giant new car seat/La-Z-Boy recliner that we got him. It is seriously gigantic compared to his little infant carrier that he hates and cries every time we put him in it. Now he loves going in the car, I wish I had upgraded him to the convertible seat sooner!
Anyway, I had never been to Birmingham before but my first impression was that it is going to be a great place to live! It's very beautiful, there are giant trees everywhere, everything is green, gorgeous rolling hills, friendly people and most importantly, the best barbecue in America! Well, we didn't actually have any but that's what I've heard. Another great bonus is that it has a temple... a very tiny one that I think you have to call and make appointments at, but still!
After a very strenuous 3 days of house hunting, we were finally able to find a great condo to move into. Of course, it was the last place we looked! Now that living arrangements have been made, we can officially be excited about the move and beginning this new adventure!
Back in Myrtle Beach:
Just some random pictures...
Eli recently developed an attachment to his "banky." He couldn't be without it the entire trip and sometimes he would just randomly stop whatever he was doing, curl up on the floor to snuggle his blanket and suck his thumb for a few minutes, then go back to what he was doing before. It was pretty cute.
Pre-birthday celebration:
We were very surprised when we stumbled upon this 1st birthday shirt in a 3 month size! It must be proof that other babies as small as him do exist!
Grandma did such a cute job of decorating and making the cake. Eli loves bananas and chocolate, so she made him a banana chocolate cake. It was so yummy!
Ever so carefully picking off the M&M's... not sure what to do with the cake though.
We finally had to shove his hand into the cake to get him going on it.
He never did get into the cake much, but you'll notice there's not a single M&M left!
All clean.
Unwrapping his present from Grandma and Grandpa
It's a car that plays music and drives when you shake the rattle.
I think he likes it!
Eli just keeps getting cuter and cuter! We miss you guys! Sounds like you have been doing good. I hope the pregnancy is going well. We hope we can see you guys in the near future!
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