Coast to Coast

I love vacation!! During one week's time, Dustin and I have been to the Pacific Ocean then Atlantic Ocean. I know that I'm quite "behind" in my blog, and I hope to catch up, but I thought I'd post some pictures hot-off-the-press.

Like we do every third week in February, we went to Chick-fil-A's yearly Seminar, located in Long Beach, CA in L.A. County. Children are not allowed to come, so Levi got to spend some quality time with Grandpa and Grandma during those 4 days. We got a flight from Cincinnati that connected in Atlanta so that my parents could get a gate pass. We handed Levi off to them with his bags, and had only 10 minutes to get our connecting flight. He was very happy to see them, reaching out for Grandma and giggling as he kept waving at Grandpa. I teared up to leave my little boy behind . . . It's the longest stretch I'd ever been away (2 days previously). I brought plenty of pictures with me and called multiple times during our trip to check in on him.

Of course, it was nice to have some time to get away with just Dustin and I.

Catalina Island--26 miles off the coast of Long Beach.

Dustin touching the Pacific Ocean for the first time!

Catalina Island, as we were leaving on our boat. A beautiful and fun ride.

Sun setting on the coast of Industrial-Long Beach.

Of note, during the Seminar, it was announced in front of everyone in the Northern Region of Chick-fil-A that Dustin was selected as the Owner/Operator of the new Freestanding Store, "Houston Road FSU", in Florence, KY. The new store will be in an amazing location and about 20 minutes from our house.

Exhausted Grandpa and Grandma passing Levi back to us at the airport in ATL.
Thank you for letting Mom and Dad go on their vacation!
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We got back in town on Thursday with Levi, then set back on another plane Saturday to St. Augustine Beach, FL for our first family vacation with just the three of us.

View from our hotel balcony--right on the beach! :-)

Levi's first time at the beach!



Levi LOVES the sand. He kept playing with it, digging in the sand and watching it fall through his hands.

Levi and Daddy relaxing together.

Levi's Great Grandpa and Grandma, who have been staying in their RV right on the beach in St. Augustine Beach since late December.

Great Grandpa and Levi exploring a local antique store together.

DiChiara Beach Bums.

Turned Upside Down

Levi will be going back to daycare--today being the first day. Unfortunately, things did not work out with Brittany to continue taking care of Levi. It is too bad . . . I, however, praise God for His provision in allowing one more open spot available in Levi's age group at the daycare in such short notice! Usually, people are on the waiting list for 3-6 months. God is gracious in providing for us in this quick transition.

I am sad for the change in care and nervous about the unknown. The uncertainty of how Levi will do in daycare and WHO will be taking care if him (I have yet to meet these new people; I am currently working 12.5 hour night-shifts . . . ) is difficult for this working mother. Up to this point, it had been nice to have Levi with someone that I trusted to provide excellent care, where I had a handle on how things were going with Levi's "routine," thus alleviating any worries I would have while working. Now I have to enter a new phase of developing that trust with new people. I also pray that Levi will still flourish in a 4:1 ratio of teacher-to-child setting (vs 2:1). I hope the transition is not too difficult on him. I also hope he is able to nap well and eat well while there. [Currently he's napping 1.5-2 hrs 3 times per day while at home and 45-75 min at Brittany's. He's drinking milk 4 times per day, now 7 oz., and taking in solids 3 times per day.]

In honor of the past 4.5 months under Brittany's care, here are some recent pictures of Levi and Ruthie (courtesy of Brittany).

Levi is always just content sitting there playing with/gumming toys while Ruthie is moving and crawling all over the place.

Ruthie is telling Levi, "This is how you do it!"

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I am confident in the Lord's goodness and provision for our family. I know that He will watch over Levi, and He is the One that truly has Levi in His hands.

Happy Eight Month Old Birthday!

He's such a big boy! Just wanted to share some pics on his day. :-) We spent it in Birmingham visiting Dustin's family (my mother and grandmother were also able to drive to come visit).
[I'm sure I'll post more pics from that trip a little later.]