We Bust Out the Family Tent

This past weekend we took Jude on his first camping trip. We found a secluded place next to a small lake with lots of trees. Jude liked it. He loves to be outside. And Mona actually stuck around. We didn't even need to tie her up. Judging by her behavior around Jude at the site, we think it might be because of him. She was very protective and kept checking on him while he was napping, etc.

I rarely (okay, never) plug products on this blog, but KidCo Pea Pod tops my list of baby gear, especially if you like to haul your little one out into the woods and to the beach. We call it his "baby tent", and it comes with a tiny, thin blow-up mattress. Jono's step-mom found it for $5 at a garage sale. We just plopped it under a nearby tree and let him nap in it. Didn't have to worry about mosquitoes or ants, and it provided adequate shade for him without being too stuffy. He even spent half the night in it. (Yes, half. But we'll get to that later.)

Above: Mona is "guarding" Jude while he sleeps in his baby tent.

All was well until night fell. It was still hot as the dickens, so we stripped Jude down to a onesie and tried to put him down alone in the tent. He cried. It was too hot. There were a bunch of bullfrogs around making an ungodly racket. After about ten more tries in various settings, we gave up and I held him in my arms until he fell asleep. Jono said, "Camping isn't as relaxing as it used to be."

Fifteen minutes after we put Jude down again, Mona got up from her spot in the dirt, sidled up to the tent entrance and whined. Apparently she knew her pillow was in there and was begging to go to bed. We joked that we were putting our two kids down in the tent together while we stayed up by the fire. What a dog.

After we turned in, Jude lasted an hour or two longer in his baby tent, but then fussed and had to be put in my sleeping bag with me for the rest of the night since it had now become quite chilly. So we laid there and shivered, then eventually sweated, all the while listening to the frogs croak all night louder than I knew was possible. A restful evening was had by all.

The next morning we woke up and it was Father's Day. Happy first year of being a daddy Jono. You're about as good as it gets :)

Here are the rest of them, plus a video where Jude tells Mona "no":

P.S. If you click on the album, you can see the photos nice and big, with captions.