Florida

 

The day after Christmas, we had an 8 am flight to Matt's parents' place in Florida. Yep, we're THAT crazy. Thanks to Mike and Jane and curbside check-in, the airport really wasn't much of a nightmare. And we got to see Kristen Cavallari at Midway which some of us found strangely exciting. It was Miles' first flight and he was amazing, especially considering how little sleep he was going on (that will be a theme of this post).

 

Brooke was also very excited to ride on a plane. She hadn't been on one since last Christmas, which I'm sure she didn't remember. She also did a great job. She spent her time coloring, reading books and playing with her new computer and the iPad.

A perk of leaving so early is that we were able to get some pool time in when we arrived in Florida. Brooke was a little fish and Miles was pretty happy, too. He actually enjoyed a few naps at the pool. I'm not sure if it was due to her or us, but that never would have worked with Brooke.

Brooke enjoyed taking her "binoculators" (thank you, Grandma and Papa T!) out onto the lanai to look for birds and alligators in the pond. We didn't see many this time.

I say it every year, but the Florida air is really good to her hair. I hardly have to brush it down there. It just curls perfectly.

Matt golfed for several of the mornings and a couple of those mornings we took walks to the playground.

More pool fun. There were a couple of cooler, cloudy-ish days, but we didn't let that stop us. And overall, the weather was beautiful. Especially compared to the frigid temperatures going on up here.

Brooke got pretty bossy in the pool, but it was fun to watch. She had the whole family doing "Ring Around the Rosy" and "Train".

Yep, he's in a white onesie. And a hat that's too small. I thought I had a rash guard for him, but I guess I was wrong. Poor second, male child. It didn't seem to bother him, though.

We also went to the beach a couple of times. Miles is at just the wrong age for it. He can't really move purposefully but can get far enough to grab fist fulls of sand.

The water was too cold to swim, but we did lots of walking along the water and building sandcastles.

It got a little tricky having four of us in a bedroom, especially with Miles napping twice a day. It helped having Miles nap in the laundry room, which he seemed to love. Seriously, he'd go down with out a peep and would sleep for at least a couple of hours at a time.

Brooke had fun playing with her aunts. They're great with her and they certainly saw her at her best and worst this past week.

Matt took Brooke out onto the golf course one afternoon to look for an alligator he had seen.

Matt and I took the kids to Royal Scoop and Miles enjoyed his first taste of ice cream. I'm still dreaming about the ice cream I had there - cinnamon ice cream with pecans and caramel. Mmmmm!

We also enjoyed going out to dinner several times and overall, the kids did great.

I mentioned that Miles napped at the pool a couple of times. Brooke also skipped her nap multiple times (after playing pretty hard all day) which led to some not-so-great behaviors as well as her falling asleep places she would NEVER normally fall asleep, like on Matt's lap at dinner and on the couch.

We had a great time as always and are so blessed to be able to spend so much time with family that we love in such a great place. Now brace yourself for the "Beach at Sunset" photo dump:

December Randoms

 

The kids are able to "play" together a little more each day and it's (usually) really cute to see. I may have mentioned this before, but I think that may change as Miles gets more mobile, but for now I love watching how Brooke can light up his face like no one else and how Brooke is always looking out for Miles.

At some point in December (it's all kind of a blur right now), we had a little Christmas party with Grace and Tye. The kids were much more interested in the toys than the holiday crafts we had planned. Which was okay with us as it gave us more time to talk.

My shopping sidekicks. I think I'll keep them around.

Happy Christmas

We arrived back from St. Louis on Christmas Eve night. This is the first year that Brooke was old enough to want to leave out milk and cookies for Santa. Unfortunately, because we were only going to be home for 36 hours in an almost 3 week period, Santa had to make do with Golden Oreos and lemonade. We also didn't have carrots for the reindeer, but they were happy with their apple slices.

The first thing that Brooke asked when we woke her up (finally, at almost 9 - of course) was if she could go get her computer with a pen. Fail for Santa, score for Grandma Audie. She was still very excited and appreciative of the things she got from us as well as the Calico Critters that Santa brought. I was relieved to see that. It's hard enough for me to maintain balance and perspective during this season, let alone try to instill that into my 3-year-old.

Ozzie was pretty excited about his stocking, too.

Isn't Matt romantic? Not really, but he is pretty funny.

After a quick breakfast of cinnamon rolls, we headed over to Matt's parents where there was more food and drink awaiting us (notice the sippy cup and bottle?).

Our annual photo. We're running out of room beneath the mantle!

I love this shot of her face! I'm not even sure what it was she was opening...

Checking out her "writing computer" from Aunt Jamie and Will.

Miles wanted to give Uncle Mike's new iron a try.

Awkward smile.

Miles got his own "Baby"!

Then, it was on to Grandma Audie's for MORE food and gifts.

I wish I had captured a picture of Brooke opening her computer. She was thrilled to say the least.

We went home for naps (and Matt and me frantically packing), then headed back over to Matt's parents' for dinner. Of course we had to get some photo ops before eating.

Jane and I missed the "red" memo.

It was a busy but fun day. Merry Christmas, one last time!

'Twas the Week Before Christmas

We headed down to St. Louis to celebrate Christmas with my family beginning the week before. We were able to watch Uncle Joel coach his team one of the nights. It was the first time I've been back to my alma mater in who knows how long? The kids were a little more excited by the mascot than the game, but I think we all had fun.

There were also a couple of nights spent hanging out at my parents' house, complete with makeover parties and movies. Brooke was so excited that Libby was able to "braid" her hair.

We got to visit Aunt Esther.

And Gigi and Grandpa Charlie.

This shot was the best we were going to get of all 6 of them.

We also continued a tradition we started last year. The whole family piled into my dad's full-sized van and we went to look at Christmas lights.

The girls especially had a great time. They got to sit on Matt's lap in the front as we drove through Santa's Magic Kingdom.

On Sunday night, we celebrated with my mom's side of the family at my Aunt Diane and Uncle Steve's house. Again, the kids had a great time playing together and the adult enjoyed some yummy food. Unfortunately, the only photo I have of that night is of the 3 girls piled on (newly engaged!) Uncle Paul's lap. I think they were looking at something on his phone.

Then, Christmas Eve morning everyone came over to my parents' again and we opened presents and had a great breakfast. We also got to watch several performances by the girls on their new microphones. We had a great time and already miss everyone!