Gator Bait

Last weekend we headed to Ft. Myers, FL to visit MP's cousin Jessica, her fiance Aaron, and MP's Aunt M's.  Staying at Jessica's was better than any four star accommodations!  She was awesome - from all the little touches of well stocked guest quarters, including a great magazine selection (when's the last time I read a magazine...it was so great!), to the big stuff like a special trip to the grocery store to get all of MP2's favorite foods and having some toys on hand for him to play with.  Martha Stewart better watch her back.  

Anyways, MP and I wondered how the trip would go.  MP2 went to Morning Out as usual on Thursday morning, but we picked him up about an hour early to head to St. Louis and catch our flight.  Doesn't he look so cute sleeping in the car?  Yeah, this mean no sleep on the plane.  

So MP and I played Hot Potato with MP2 passing him back and forth for the duration of our two and a half hour flight.  I think I sang the Itsy Bitsy Spider about one million times.  He LOVED the airport - seeing all the airplanes, and he loved watching out the window at takeoff and landing.  He was such a trooper.  

The next morning while Jessica and Aaron finished out their work week, we were picked up by the Aunt M's and went to the beach by Margaret's place.  First we had time to take a walk around the pond in Jessica's backyard.  We'd been telling MP2 all about alligators, but luckily didn't see a single one in person on our trip!

Upon our initial arrival at the beach, MP2 was not so sure about the sand between his toes.  That apprehension lasted all but two minutes and from that point, he only had one speed - GO!  He loved the ocean, loved the sand, loved the boats.  I think he's a beach bum at heart!

 Thanks, Aunt M's for the pail and shovel!!  MP2 spent most of his time at the beach digging.  He had such a fun time.  MP and I could not believe the difference between our FL trip in August (which was SO much fun) and now.  Where has our baby gone, and where did this little boy come from?

At one point he took off running for the water (which was pretty cold) and waded around all on his own (well, I mean he decided when to get in and when to get out - we were definitely right there with him!  :))

We did not get nearly enough of the beach on Friday, so we headed back on Saturday (joined by Jessica and Aaron as well).  MP2 had just as much fun on the second day.  He loved playing with Aunt Mary!

 Posing for a photo, though?  Not so much.  Good work by Jessica though on reeling him in while maintaining a smile for the camera!  Glad to have one of the gang - Aunt Mary, Aunt Margaret, Jessica and the MP2 (Aaron, where were you?!)

 Fun with Daddy digging in the sand

 On Sunday, we stayed around Jessica and Aaron's house and enjoyed the neighborhood pool and park.

 MP2 made friends (okay, maybe a one-sided friendship) with Bella.  She was so sweet and patient with him.  Aspen was a little quicker in getting away when MP2 came around.

Thanks again to everyone for making our trip so so much fun.  We can't wait to come back (assuming our welcome is not yet worn out :))!

In Between Days

Winding down after Christmas was actually really fun.  We've spent the past few weeks enjoying our last "Winter Break" of MP's law school career.  The countdown to graduation is now officially on, with classes having started a couple of days ago.  It's pretty unbelievable how quickly this past semester flew by, and I suspect this one will be even faster.

MP2 calls both dogs Riley...even though he won't call her by name, we know he loves Tipper!  We're so glad he's comfortable around the dogs and they are cool to him as well.  He loves helping MP feed them and give them treats after their walk.  

 During the week between Christmas and New Year, MP2's Morning Out program was closed, so one day we met up with some buddies over at Going Bonkers!  We've been there a few times before, but always on weekdays when school was in session.  Let it be known, I now understand why it is called Going Bonkers! as I was going bonkers trying to keep my kid from getting squashed or jumped on or worse (in the "toddler's area" no less) by kids three times his size.  Furthermore, kudos to one of the other moms who joined me - she has two children...one not yet mobile and the other a bit too mobile.  I am learning from her that when kids outnumber parents, things can get tough...though she handled it like a champ.  MP2 loved "riding" in the race car with his buddy, Ethan.  They were fine as long as the car remained stationary.  Neither is up for the riding portion of this fun just yet!

 More good weather meant more trips to the park.  Though I have to say I am ready for MP2 to actually be able to play on some of the playground equipment!  Most of our time at the park is spent with my heart thudding in my chest as he narrowly escapes (or doesn't as you all may recall) injury at least 3 times every 5 minutes.

Family dinner night out at Broadway Brewery.  We're so glad MP2 is now able to again join us at a restaurant.  It was a rocky period from last spring until a month or two ago - we never knew what we were going to get at a restaurant, so we just stopped going.

 Finally, Lend and Learn opened back up right after New Years and we got to go before heading off to Florida to see Auntie M's and Cousins Jessica and Aaron (and catch some rays as well).

I didn't get any pictures on New Year's Eve.  MP and I rang in the new year (barely) just before drifting off to sleep.  Earlier in the evening, we had a family friendly delicious dinner with friends who graciously hosted.    Three kids under 4 didn't lend itself well to being able to have much in the way of adult conversation - in fact, I am not sure the four adults even sat down at the table at the same time...but this is the nature of our lives these days, and we had a great time regardless.

HO! HO! Horribly behind.

I gotcha, the excuses are getting old.  I am likely officially the last blogger to blog about Christmas, but hey, we were so busy having a great break I just couldn't get it all together any sooner!  

MP2 is getting to be more and more fun every single day.  I think I may say this every time I post, but we still have not reached the apex of cute and fun.  I am sure that all of you who had children long before me are chuckling and shaking your heads at my continued wonderment over my child when you all knew all along this is how it feels.

So, back to Christmas...Nana and Papa arrived a few days before the big one.  We took MP2 to Barnes & Noble where there is a train table set up that he could play on for hours at a time.  We had a hunch that Santa was going to have a train table out for MP2 on Christmas morning - by way of Connecticut - and wanted Nana and Papa to see how excited he would be about it.  He can spend upwards of an hour playing independently at this table.  It's fantastic.

Also, a far cry from last Christmas (though the snow last year was fun and beautiful), we were able to play outside every day!

 Knowing I had plenty of cooking coming up, we decided to go out for Mexican food the day before Christmas Eve...no bib, no problem. I think MP2 looks a bit like an outlaw bandit here.  An outlaw bandit who takes after his mom in his love of rice, beans and queso!

Riley almost caught Santa!  He left MP2 the great train set and kitchen (by way of Tennessee), and MP and I learned how fun it is to be a parent on Christmas Eve, just knowing how happy MP2 was going to be the next morning.

After a minor meltdown (perhaps video to come one of these days) at the foot of the stairs when MP tried to send him into the living room rather than the playroom - where he wanted to go - MP2 discovered, and ran full speed over to, the new train set.  He probably played with it for 3 hours total on Christmas!  It was a hit.

The kitchen was also a welcome addition to his toys!  He "cooks" stuff for us nearly every day, usually while I am making dinner.

 Playing with Papa.

 Reading what may be one of my all time favorite children's books - Good Dog, Carl.  MP2 really got into opening gifts.  He loved tearing the paper off of the packages, and helped each of us with our gifts as well.

 Out for a walk after nap

 Toddler meltdown since we were not walking where MP2 wanted us to go.  Poor guy.  Always being told what to do, can't tell us what he wants (with words, at least), and then we wonder why he has these little meltdowns.  Lucky for us, they seem to be few and far between at this point...or maybe not few, but definitely short.

 Nana and Papa headed back to Nashville the morning after Christmas, and we were sad to see them go.  It was the best Christmas yet, and I have a feeling they are only going to get better from here.