Have Toddler, Will Travel.

In two days, we're leaving for a vacation in North Carolina. We're renting and staying in a huge beach house (6 bedrooms) with my family for a week. The agenda for the trip is to relax, enjoy the pool and beach, cook out, etc. Should be very enjoyable. We're planning to leave Friday night and drive through the night - long road trips are much easier with a sleeping toddler! Packing, however, is a bit daunting. This is not the first trip we've taken with Will. Last year, we took a similar vacation to a small cottage in Grand Haven, MI with my sister and brother in law... and we totally overpacked. So this time I'm trying to be practical.

The place has a pack 'n play for him to sleep in, which is a huge help. So here is my tenative list - I've been working on it for weeks so that it's complete and well thought out, to make packing less stressful:
1) car seat - DUH!
2) umbrella stoller
3) Ergo carrier (it's a baby carrier that allows me to carry Will on my front or back) - he's not an expert walker yet, so I figured this will be helpful for outings or morning walks on the beach
4) travel feeding seat - I LOVE this thing! Attaches to any chair, dishwasher safe removable trays, adjustable height - worth every penny
5) baby monitor - we're sleeping in the same room with him, but this should be helpful when we're outside during his naps
6) sheets for the pack 'n play, sleep sack (wearable cotten blanket), and a lightweight blanket for the car
7) sippy cups, kiddie silverware, bibs and travel snack containers
8) snacks: graham crackers, cereal bars, puffs, fruit (we're mostly buying food there, but I want to have some stuff on hand)
9) a few small, portable toys and books - for sure the stacking cups and his play cell phone
10) pool float and beach toys from his birthday, beach towel, bucket hat, sunscreen, rash guard, washable swim diaper, swim shoes (for the beach)... yep, I'm a totally overprotective first-time-mom, but hey, skin cancer runs in the family
11) bug spray
12) wet wipes, Tide-to-go stick, hard-surface disifectant spray
13) travel placemat for restaurants
14) 5-6 diapers per day (6 to be on the safe side) x 7 days = 42 diapers, travel changing pad, tub of wipes, butt paste, hand sanitizer
15) hooded bath towel (we have to bring our own linens), several baby washclothes (we use these ALL the time for meal clean up and baths), baby wash, lotion
16) toothbrush

Are you laughing yet? I'm fully aware that that list is far from short, but I really don't think I can scale back. Babies and toddlers require a lot of gear! And that doesn't even include his clothes or any of our stuff! Ah well.

Switching gears: here are some pictures from our dinner at the Riedemans last night. We cooked out for Craig's mom's birthday.


A kiss for mommy.


Look at this one - he looks so sweet and dainty in his daddy's old high chair:


But wait... the eating etiquette declines:

Priceless:






And I forgot his sippy cup, so this is what we came up with instead :) - it was the only thing a lid. He actually did pretty good!




Cute tootsies.


A birthday kiss for grandma.


"Where's your tongue, Will?" (with Aunt Kelly)


Playing with grandpa.