Amelia Island and First Birthday

The past week has been pretty action packed and exciting! First, our family was able to vacation on Amelia Island at the Omni Plantation Villa Resort with paid accommodations courtesy Warrior Vacations. It's a great program, sponsored by estate owners on Amelia Island and participating hotel chains (like Omni). What a great little getaway this was, and a great time for many firsts for Quint! Seems appropriate :). He was ready to go!


The Omni was a gorgeous resort. We were on the 6th floor with a view of the beach and the ocean right from our room. Logicall, one of the first things we did was hit the beach with the Q-man and boy did he love it! The sand in particular. Especially eating the sand. By the gulpful. Will and I tried to stop it, but he was too quick and he was really enjoying himself so we stopped what we could, but he was able to shovel in quite a few mouthfuls.


Definitely made for a very grainy diaper. Boys are supposed to be dirty. And how could you stop a little fella when he's having this much fun?


Not quite a first, but also a very special time was going out for coffee and a stroll downtown Fernandina in the early morning hours. By early morning I mean 8am, but it was still early enough for all of the shops (except coffee!) to be closed and the streets to be empty. I think Will thought it was a bit boring, but I loved strolling through the empty streets, coffee in hand, peering at the cute little crafts inside the stores. It was also a great opportunity for some photo opportunities!






We were also able to hike through Fernandina's state park and see Fort Clinch. Quint really enjoyed being outside and I liked using our little backpack carrier for him! The day was perfect for hiking. It was partly cloudy with a slight breeze and about 75*. And the trails were just long enough for a late morning/early afternoon stroll with a picnic lunch! I love state parks, but sometimes it is really nice to casually stroll through the trails without spending the entire day doing that. Plus we were able to see Fort Clinch and the United States Army Corps of Engineers in action! Beach, forest trails, historic sites, family and engineers. I would say that makes for a good start for a great day.


Right after we returned from Amelia Island it was time to get ready for Quint man's first birthday! G-Daddy, Marmie, Ashley and Annalee all made the long trip for this special occasion, and really helped make the day a fun success.



I didn't think I was going to do anything major since he won't remember it anyway, but I kind of got carried away. We made concrete "garden stones" of the kids hands and feet and planted little take home basil plants. I wanted the kids to have fun and get a little dirty! It was a boys party after all. The babes were also able to go on little Burlee bike rides, courtesy of G-daddy.
This was the sand, water, spikey thing table that Will made for Q for his birthday. He loves it and loves feeling all the different textures.


For his birthday I made a carrot, banana cake with whole wheat flour and sweetened it with dates. Sounds terrible, I know, but it was actually pretty good! Very dense, but Q loved it. Oh- the frosting was a maple creme frosting.


These are some of the macaroons I made for some munchies. They tasted pretty decent, but they aren't as pretty as professional macarons are supposed to be. Maybe one day. I am on a macaron making hiatus however. Those little buggers are time and labor intensive!