June 29, 2010

Fun at the Park

It was a perfect day here today so after the girls woke up from their naps we headed over to the park.

Cara LOVED swinging today!


She laughed the entire time.

Lila always loves swinging.


And even Ian got in on the action.
(Oh, and I took all of these pictures on my phone. Not too bad, I think.)

June 28, 2010

Wheels!

Lila loves her tricycle that she got for her birthday. She took it for a spin today and I finally remembered to take pictures. She is doing great at pedaling all by herself! She only needs a push when she's going up a hill or over a bump.

June 26, 2010

Turtle-ly Cute


I've been saying for quite awhile that Cara looks like a cute little turtle with her chubby cheeks and pointy nose. I found this shirt at Gymboree yesterday that said "turtle-ly cute" so, of course, I had to get it for her.



Specifically, I think she looks like Toby the Turtle from Disney's Robin Hood. Anyone else see the resemblance?

Cara and Lola

Jaline and Lola came over today for a visit. Cara and Lola played with toys quite a bit and definitely seemed interested in each other's toys. While they are too young to play together they both seemed excited to be so close to another baby.


Lola gave Cara a super cute picture frame with her initial on it to display pictures of her and Lola so we had to stage a mini photo shoot of the two girls together. I arranged them both on the chair, took Cara's bib off and stepped back to take pictures. As soon as I backed away Cara slumped down and let it all hang out. Not attractive, Cara.
This is the best one.



Then Lola started laying her head down.


And finally Lola decided they'd had enough.

Visitors

My cousin Lena, her husband and their two kids, along with my Aunt Gay and Uncle Bill, were in the area visiting family and stopped by one morning for a visit. It was the first time Lena had met Chris, Lila and Cara and the first time I had met her husband, Rob, and their two kids. Needless to say with that many people/kids in the house it was a little chaotic so this is the only picture I took. Lena is reading a book to Lila and Natasha, while baby Nathanael hangs out in the bouncy. Cara was upstairs napping so she missed the photo op.


My friend Beth and her family were up here this week for Beth's brother's wedding and yesterday we were able to meet up. We took the kids to a small zoo with local animals in the morning and went out to lunch. Then, Beth and I ditched the kids and went shopping! This is Lila and Beth's son Jackson after lunch.

June 19, 2010

Catching Up

Chris's birthday was last Friday. Lila helped him open his present which was a Cubs washers game. We had a cook out with family to celebrate.


Cara learned how to feed herself Cheerios this week!

Chris and I haven't had a picture together in awhile and this one is decent.



June 10, 2010

Seven Months Old

Hard to believe, but Cara is already seven months old! She is very curious and wants to be in on all of the action. If she could get up and run after her big sister she definitely would. She has started giving hugs and big, open mouthed kisses. She's also gotten very chatty and especially loves blowing bubbles.

She's been working on the sippy cup for a few weeks now and finally has it figured out. I opted for the cups that look most like fountain Diet Coke cups because she is always lunging for mine.


Um, I ordered Diet Coke. This is water.


June 9, 2010

One More

A guy on Chris and Ian's dive trip e-mailed some pictures from the dive to Chris tonight. That's Ian (and Chris's legs) behind a barracuda. Very cool picture!

More Vacation Fun

We got back from vacation last night and I think everyone had a good time. I would definitely go back to Clearwater Beach and I don't know that I'll ever stay in a hotel with kids again, renting a condo was FANTASTIC. We used www.vrbo.com and had a great experience in case anyone is interested.

Ian and Chris went scuba diving on Sunday. They were scheduled to go on Friday, but the dive master had to cancel due to storms and choppy water. Luckily, Sunday was much better weather and they got to go. They saw three baracudas and each of them collected a few shells. Chris said Ian did great and I think they both had a good time.



On Friday when it was raining Chris took Ian and Lila to the local aquarium while Cara napped. It was a small aquarium that focuses on rescuing injured marine life, namely a dolphin that lost its tail. The kids got to touch stingrays and starfish and watched the dolphins do some tricks. There were some decorative turtles outside of the aquarium and apparently Lila wanted a whole photo shoot with them. Here's one sample that includes Ian.

Ian with his sand fort.

Cara and Lila ready to go to the park while Chris and Ian were scuba diving.



Swinging at the park to create a breeze. Does anyone in Florida bother to put makeup on in the summer? I did before our trip to the park and it was gone in 2.5 seconds!

Splishin and Splashin

All three kids had a great time in the swimming pool at our condo. Lila, who was already a good swimmer for 3 years old, made major strides in the pool. She was letting go of the wall and swimming under water and on her back all by herself. Her swim teachers are going to be so impressed on Saturday!

Cara also seemed to love the pool. She relaxed as soon as she got in and really enjoyed floating around in her floatie. I started calling her a short, chubby Michael Phelps because as soon as I held her in the water she put her head down and started kicking. I also had her go under water a few times each day and while I wouldn't say she loved it, she didn't cry and wasn't bothered by it.

I took this picture from the balcony of our condo!



Lila liked her floatie but didn't spend very much time in it after the first couple of days.

The only picture of me on vacation, too bad it isn't cuter.

June 3, 2010

Dolphin Sightings

Lila has been talking about playing with dolphins in the water ever since I first told her about our vacation. I have no idea where she got the idea but she was set on it. I looked into swimming with dolphins but all of the places I found had seven as the minimum age, plus I was worried she would FREAK OUT as soon as a dolphin came near her. Then, I discovered the Dolphin Encounter cruise. Perfect! We stay on the boat and the dolphins swim nearby--pretty much like whale watching, only with dolphins.





Cara waiting to get on the boat.





Ian, Chris and Cara enjoying the sea air.




Lila waiting in eager anticipation!





Looking for dolphins.



We saw three different sets of dolphins. Two sets were right next to our boat and swimming in the boat's wake. Ian was the first one to spot the third set of dolphins! Lila LOVED it! She told the first group of dolphins, Happy Vacation! The second group was far away and so she yelled, "Come over here dolphins! You know you want to play with our boat!" And she told the third group, "Thanks for playing with our boat!"



The Beach!

We are on vacation! Our trip down to Florida was uneventful. All three kids were good travelers; Cara only fussed for a few minutes on the flight and slept for about an hour. We lucked out and the flight wasn't full so they let us bring Cara's carseat on the flight even though she was a lap child.


Our condo is amazing! It is perfect for us. Everyone has their own room and their own space. We are a 5 min walk to the beach (and 4 minutes from McDonalds. Hello, Diet Coke!) and our balcony overlooks the complex's swimming pool.



Yesterday was our first full day here. Chris took Ian and Lila to the beach in the morning while I stayed at the condo to pack everyone's lunch while Cara napped. When Cara woke up she and I headed down to the beach. This picture is from the 2 min she was happy on the beach yesterday. Let's just say she wasn't a fan and she and I headed back to the condo a short time later. We did take her in the swimming pool after her afternoon nap though and she liked that much better.





Lila, on the other hand, loves the beach! She kept wishing us a Happy Vacation on Tuesday night. Yesterday she woke up early but agreed to go back to bed for awhile as long as she could wear her sunglasses! She is having a great time!


Ian is also having fun. Here he is doing his favorite beach activity, burying himself in the sand.






I told them to smile and they did. Just not at me.




Today was a much better day for Cara at the beach. She went in the water for awhile, played in the tent for awhile and sat and ate Cheerios on my lap for awhile. All with minimal crying!