Island Time!

Spring time in Florida is here and we kicked things off by heading to 3 Rooker Island this weekend!  Taylor hasn’t been since last summer and she loved it this time even more!  Even though the water was still in the 70’s (cold for Florida!), the kids didn’t mind…  They were out there ALL day playing in the water.

Packing up the car with all our gear left little room for Haden and Taylor to actually fit!  They got a kick out of it though and were good sports!

Having the option to hop on Marc’s boat anytime we want is such a treat!  Haden and Taylor were jazzed up to go; egger to put on their life jackets and hit the open water!  I was a little concerned if Taylor would like being on the boat, but she had so problem with it at all!  In fact, she’s quite the daredevil… every bump or big wave, she’d yell “woooohooo”!!

 

Taylor even got the chance to drive!!  AHHHH!

On a little side note, Tay is sporting one of her new baiting suits for 2014.  She went though a serious growing spurt lately and I had to buy a 5T!  **sniff, sniff** When did my baby turn into a 5 year old?!  I just love the swim t-shirts with the bikini bottom look.  It’s so handy with kids and keeps them covered up with an SPF 50 top.  Here is her new Oshkosh suit:

Miss Queen of the Island was difficult to lure out of the water until I pulled out the bag of Cheetos Puffs!  She was in her happy place all dry, under the tent, snuggled up, and eating her snack!

Despite the entire bag of Cheetos being consumed somehow, we were busy burring it off with building sand castles, ball games, and playing in the mini-boat.

 

We all look forward to going back as often as we can all Spring and Summer long! 

  

Happy Spring!!

Princess for the Day!

Taylor is one lucky little girl because she got to cut school today to spend the day with her grandparents at Disney!  How awesome is that?!  We are very blessed to have this opportunity and to live so close to the most magical place on Earth!  My parents have annual passes to Disney, so they just love any chance they get to take Taylor there (since she’s still free and all :))  This was an especially exciting trip for Taylor because she is now REALLY into the Disney princesses and Minney, so she’s really getting what Disney is all about.  She went today with an agenda – to see Cinderella, the castle, and Beauty and the Beast.

And, Cinderella she met!  It almost brings tears to my eyes seeing the joy and excitement in her face.  I am so happy that she got to experience this and I know it won’t be the last!

 

And, Princess Aurora… aka “Beeping Beauty” as Taylor would say.

Best part of all… is she got to pick out a dress-up outfit/Halloween costume at the Disney Princess Store!  The second the tried that dress on for me, her hands turn up like a little princess and she moved so elegantly.  It was precious!  I look forward to seeing her all dressed up for Halloween.  She’s going to have a blast!

The day was all about her – my parents love to go to the park for just a few hours, so once Taylor got tired, they were happy to pack up and head back home.  I’d say it was a successful day!  Taylor got in a nap on the drive home.  Notice the arm next to her in the back seat??  That would be GrGr riding in the back with her to keep her company on the way home.  Isn’t that sweet?  They sure do give her the royal treatment!

Love you GrGr and Papa – thank you for a wonderful day that Taylor will never forget!

Splish Splash!

Taylor has really made a lot of progress with her swimming this summer.  She’s gone from being a little concerned and nervous to be at swim lessons to absolutely loving it!  If only you saw her when she started to learn how to float on her back – she HATED it!  She fought her teacher for a few weeks, but low and behold, she is now one of the best floaters in class!  She’s probably the best swimmer too (and I’m not just saying that because I am her mom – I swear)! :)  She will kick, kick, kick herself right to the wall or anyone within 5 feet of her.  It’s so much fun to watch!

 

She’s really proud of herself too!  She tells me before class that she’s going to “be a big girl and not cry!”.  She’s also proudly saying,“I swim like a fish!”.  It’s just amazing to me how babies can learn to swim.  It’s like second nature to her.

She’s grown up and matured so much this summer.  I just sit in awe of her.  She never ceases to amaze me!

 

 

December at a Glance

Wow, December was one busy month!

God is blessing me immensely and everything, though hectic at times, has been falling right into place.  I am so grateful!!

Let’s see… in December, I moved into my new house (much more to come on that soon.), my family and I went to California to visit my sister and her family, my bother and his family came to here for Christmas, lots of home improvements, work and work trips, Christmas and New Years, and lots LOTS more!  It was an exciting month!

Taylor went on her second trip to California this year to visit my sister and her family.  It is such a joy seeing our kids interact!  Taylor took to my sister immediately and wanted her to hold her everywhere we went.  It was a nice little break for me.  :)

Since we weren’t together for Christmas or Thanksgiving this year, we celebrated an early Christmas together one night we were there.  Anna cooked a big traditional dinner complete with turkey and all the fixins!

Taylor insisted on sitting in her stroller for the picture, so we just went with it.  What my baby wants, my baby gets, right?! :)

We took a day trip to Santa Monica – went to the pier, the promenade, had some delicious fish tacos (YUM!), and went to the beach.  I love love love getting back to California and seeing the Pacific ocean and just being a part of the unique culture that Cali has to offer! 

It was a perfect day on the beach.  We let the kids get all dirty and muddy.  Taylor had a ball playing in the sand in just her diaper. 

The kids cracked us up with their fun silly ways.  Aiden and Taylor played in his “fort” and built legos one lazy morning…

All that alone is enough to fill a month, but there’s more! 

John and his family came later this month to visit from Austin.  They haven’t seen Taylor since she was 8 weeks old, so it was a much needed visit!  We spent the whole week together  and had a blast.  Taylor got to see all of her cousins this month! 

One day, we headed to the beach and to Tarpon Springs for shopping and some Greek food!

We are so spoiled to get to enjoy the beach in December.  It was a beautiful day to walk around and find sea shells.  I couldn’t get Taylor to stay put for a group picture with her cousins, so I snapped this as she quickly crawled back to momma... 

 

 Taylor is doing her new thing – while riding in her stroller, she is all about holding hands.  She snagged up the hands of Claire and Avery here and is holding them tightly.  She is such an affectionate girl! 

Well that is about it for December – told ya it was a busy month!

Tay’s First 5k! Well… kinda!

I know what you’re thinking, “but, Taylor just started walking a few months ago, how could she do a 5k already?!?” HA!

What I mean is Taylor rode along in the jogger stroller while I ran the 5k.

There is a running group that meets every Thursday at the outdoor mall and runs a 5k around the mall.  It’s tons of fun and over a 100 people show up each week.  Some are even crazy enough to bring their babies in strollers, so I thought, what the heck and tried it too!  I find it more difficult to run with a stroller, but I guess it just takes practice.  It was just tough running all around  since it’s 90 freakin degrees every afternoon here - rain or shine.  Good thing Baby Girl had her snacks and a sippy cup with her along for the ride.  She didn’t have to lift a finger.

After the run, everyone ends up at the Brass Tap for a nice cold beer.  We had to skip that part since I had a 1 year old in tow, but that’s all good.  We went to Moe’s to get a burrito instead.   

 

I take it that you’re not cool unless you have neon running shoes these days… Everyone has them!  I think the Olympics must have made them popular.  I am dying for a new pair of running shoes but they are so darn expensive!  I want Nike’s next because they will sync up with my iPhone app for running distance and speed.  That will be so handy! 

 

Happy running, or walking, or whatever you like to do!

Taylor’s Party {Part II: The Guests}

We are so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives that love and support us!  Taylor is one loved and adored baby!  All of her little friends and our family came to take part in her Birthday Extravaganza!

Cam hammin’ it up!

 

Reesie Pie :)

Kelly and the happiest, most smiley baby, Samantha!

My gal pals :)

Cole & Cooper, or is it Cooper & Cole?! 

The girls, just chillin in the heat :)

Taylor and her boyfriend, Brooks.  Look at her grabbing his had for the picture.  Ahh… young love!

Taylor going in for a sweet Clara kiss.

These two cuties became BFFs after meeting for 5 minutes at the party. 

 

Again, a shot out to the great Cass Russ for capturing these priceless moments! 

• Part 1 of Taylor’s Party {The Shoot}

Taylor’s Party {Part I: The Shoot}

It’s no surprise the pictures that Cass Russ took of Taylor’s Birthday Extravaganza turned out just beautifully!  She does wonders with photography, plus it helps to have a gorgeous subject like my sweet Taylor! :)  I literally have hundreds of pictures of her party.  I intend on making a photo book of them for Taylor to have and look back on.  These are a few of my favorites of our shoot.  I’ll be doing a post of her friends and family that attended the party and later, a post of the the details of her party, so stay tuned!

I especially love this picture! (above)