Florida Keys 2010

Last week we left for our first real family vacation. It was just us going somewhere just because we wanted to. We had frequent flier miles and were able to fly for free to Miami. We found a great family resort half way down the keys called Hawks Cay. It was really perfect!!! We stayed in an awesome 2 bedroom townhouse with a spa tub on the deck. The tub was the perfect addition because while Maeve was napping or I was reading, Noah could just play for hours in his own pool!!!

The resort had so many options... a saltwater lagoon, dolphin waters, a fishing pier where we fed fish, an ice cream shoppe, a children's pirate pool, three other regular swimming pools, a playground, mini golf, life sized chess and checkers.... it was awesome!!! They also had tons of daily children's activities like water balloon tosses, shark necklaces, tie dye, and more.

We took one day and headed to Key West to see the southern most point and walk around the town. We took one day and went to an animal theater (which I was upset with after I realized what kind of place we were at),we went hiking through mangrove forests, and we spent some time at the beach at a state park.

Noah had a list of animals he wanted to see while we were in Florida: dolphins, egrets, alligators and flamingos. He saw them all but flamingos (apparently the hurricaines in 2005 wiped out much of their population). We also saw tons of other birds, tons of fish, a pelican, a sand dollar, crabs, frogs, tons of lizards, a sea lion, an iguana and lots more...

Both kids were amazing on the airplanes and in the car. We had a very happy and sunny week.

Somehow during the week both Noah and Maeve decided to take some leaps and bounds. Maeve became much more confidant in standing and took a step here and there. She started saying more words, and she started climbing in and out of the pool and up and down steps.

Noah randomly started doing addition and subtraction with his fingers so we were able to run with that and teach him how to add and subtract. He also has been doing swimming lessons since 6 months of age but has recently hit a stumbling block and wasn't willing to try anything new. Some other kids at the resort were diving for items in the water and Noah wouldn't take off the floaties. We finally convinced him to dive to the first step, then the next and next. Then we threw the items far in the pool and he was able to get them. Once he realized he wasn't going to drown he just took off swimming everywhere across the pool. Of course, then it was a battle to get him out!!!!!!

We were not ready to come home and wanted to stay and enjoy the sunshine and water forever....

If you want to see all of the pictures click on our flickr account!!!

Happy First Birthday Maeve -- Owl Party

Our little sweetheart turned one on Father's Day, June 20th.  Here is her first morning picture being 1 year old at breakfast:

                  

 

After Church we had some family over to celebrate Maeve's big day.  She loved her  chocolate cake and kept putting it into her mouth.  She was thrilled to show us how much she liked the taste!

The following Saturday we had her actual birthday party and invited her family and super close friends. We continued with her owl theme from her nursery and experimented with fondant for the first time.

We served the food in nests and hung paper flowers instead of balloons. It was a hot and festive day. Maeve got lots of beautiful clothes, toys, and a gorgeous doll house for her big day. She did a great job helping to open the presents and enjoyed her second cake. The first year flew by so quickly, but it was wonderful. We can't wait to see what's in store next!!!

Summer Lovin'

I am so in love with summer.  Not because of the pool or the sunshine or the playground.  Because of the vegetables.  It's only week 3 of the CSA and I am beside myself with joy.

Today I cut up the world's largest napa cabbage (it wouldn't fit in either crisper drawer) and it filled two huge salad bowls for an asian salad for our party tomorrow.  I filled it with fresh scallions, purple cabbage, carrots, and onions.

For dinner I made some penne pasta and sauteed squash, onions, tomatoes, kale, and swiss chard to go on top.

The tastes are crisper, more exotic, and just plain fun.  I have fallen in love with summer all over again...

Ice Scream for Summer Days

Happy Birthday Little Girl!!!

Last year on June 20th at 5:57 AM we welcomed the most precious little girl into this world. One year has passed so quickly and Maeve has been an amazing and perfect addition to our family.

Her in utereo photo complete with her adorable button nose:

At 1 year old, Maeve is chattering quite a bit. She still has her handful of words but she is mimicing many things we say. She can stand alone and do things while standing but hasn't endeavored to take any steps yet. She is a mighty fast crawler and loves it when she has something she shouldn't and you chase her.

She is a very smiley and happy little girl but is spirited and demanding at the same time. We love her personality and her groans and noises. She is quite independent and likes to try and do new things on her own. She will crawl herself right into the play room and play with Noah's toys. She loves shoes, keys, and bags. She is generally quite content and is happy to watch the older kids play and do things or run errands with me.

Surprisingly at 1 year she is still napping a ton. Generally she takes a 2.5 hour morning nap and another 2.5 hour evening nap and then goes to bed at 7 until 7 AM. She is sleeping much more than she is awake, it seems!

She is eating all normal people food, though we're moving away from a milk based diet as she seems to be struggling with dairy right now. Her favorite thing is blueberries and she would live on those alone if she could!

As we enter the summer together we are excited for many days of the pool, the park, and the beach with our little girl!!!

Happy Birthday beautiful one! We love you more than the sun and the moon and the stars combined...

Zoo Day

Today we went to Herr's Potato Chip Factory which is right down the road.  The Herr's family is a wonderful local family that does a ton for the community.  Each year they bring in tons of animals from a local zoo and have a zoo day.  Noah was thrilled, of course!  Here he is being scared by the turkey!!

Camping!

Over Memorial Day Weekend we attempted our first family camping trip. It was wonderful! We headed out with our friends Ben and Jen and their kids who are the same age as our kids. We went to Lums Pond State Park and set up camp. Paul and I have so many memories of camping with our families as children and we wanted to pass on these memories to our children. They both loved it so much.

We bought a huge new tent that is sort of deluxe. It has lights and shelves and you can even charge your phone in it. What we didn't know is that it has a doggie door and Sophie snuck out in the middle of the night!

Maeve spent a lot of time in our hiking backpack.  She just loves it in there!!!  And we broke out our bike trailer for the first time ever.  We got it right after Noah was born and we never used it!  This weekend it was used almost non stop -- everyone wanted a turn!!!

     

Erin's family did this trip last year and they let us know that they brought fishing rods.  We got Noah a children's rod and he really liked it.  We could see the fish in the water.  We also saw lots of snakes and turtles!!!

   

On Sunday it was so incredibly hot and we had the water hook up on our site.  We let Noah and Erin have a huge water fight and we even got the neighbors involved!

It was a little overwhelming for both kids at times... staying up late, all new experiences, but overall we did a great job. We're already looking into going another weekend!!!