Friday, June 15, 2018
This has been the month of traveling! Or, at least a few weeks of it. Maddie finished preschool (I can’t believe it! So many emotions!!!) and shortly thereafter, we headed off to Florida for a family vacation with Aunti Danielle and baby Gianna in tow. It was Peter and Gigi’s first plane ride and they did great! Peter slept most of the way down there while Gigi snoozed on the way back home. And while the two of them were awake for extended periods of time during the flights, neither of them was overly noisy or fussy.
We spent the first couple of days in High Springs, FL, which is sort of inland, with my cousin, Devin and her family. Devin was the best hostess! She prepared dinners, and thoughtfully, too, keeping in mind that we have young, picky children, and even packed a lunch for the day we spent at the Springs. It had been years upon years since we have seen her, but when we finally got together, it was like we had grown up next door our entire lives. I loved getting to know her two sweet, super smart kids and Phil and Jeff got along great. My heart ached to leave them when it was time to go. Why do we have to live so far apart! We definitely will be making more plans to visit hopefully in the near future.
After visiting Devin, we headed further south near the Tampa area, where my Grandma and Aunt Debbie live. I haven’t seen gram since my wedding (almost 13 years ago!), so I was really looking forward to giving her a great, big hug. Visiting with grama was super sweet. I especially loved watching the ways the kids interacted with her. I sat Peter in her lap and he just gazed into her eyes, reaching up his tiny little hand to touch her face. He was enthralled with her and just stared and stared. Sarah was our little performer, singing song after song to Gram. The best, by far, was when she started singing a song that Maddie had learned in Preschool, but Sarah added her own little spin on it:
“Five little monkey balls hanging from the tree, teasing mr alligator can’t catch me….”
We laughed and laughed and laughed. Maddie, our little lovebug, climbed right up into Gram’s lap to talk with her, snuggle and hug. All three of them really seemed to adore Gram (just like I do)!
In between visiting family, we spent time exploring the area or swimming in the pool at the house we rented. Our beach day was just absolutely perfect! Maddie and Sarah loved playing in the sand and splashing in the Gulf, exclaiming that the water tasted bad, while Peter took a long nap under an umbrella in a beach cart meant for hauling chairs. We made both girls mermaid fins out of sand and we built a little city near the water. We even saw dolphins jumping later in the day! While Gigi was tired and having a tough time this day, both she and Peter both loved the sand and the water! Gigi’s favorite part of the beach was the tasty sand. Despite her mom repeatedly smacking the sand away from her mouth exclaiming, “kaka! kaka!”, Gigi still attempted to down handfuls of the yummy, Florida delight. Peter tried some, too, but was more content to crawl around and splash at the water. It was so fun to see them both experience the Florida beach together for the first time! We also had an amazing lunch out that day (grouper sandwiches for the win!) before spending the rest of the afternoon on the sand.
The house we rented was amazing! It had the perfect, screened-in pool! Maddie wore a life vest and, by the end of the trip, was confidently swimming around the pool on her own while I floated nearby on a large, inflatable unicorn who we affectionately named Ole’ Girl. and there was a smaller, circular pool, which was more shallow, that Sarah spent most of her time in. In the evenings, after putting the kids to bed, Danielle, Phil and I relaxed out in the pool area enjoying some drinks, watching stand-up comedy on netflix, late-night swimming, and gorging on pizza. All in all, the trip was a huge success. We had the time of our lives and are so glad we got to spend so much quality time with Auntie Danielle and Gigi!
The following weekend was our trip to Michigan, this time with Phil’s side of the family. It was a nice little get-away and so so so relaxing. Th first day, we drove straight to the beach and spent the afternoon playing in the sand, eating lunch and let the kids run around at the nearby playground. We checked into the house later in the day and Uncle Steve and Auntie Vanessa made us all an incredible dinner! We made a bonfire, ate s’mores and played cards late into the night and enjoyed one another’s company before heading off to bed.
Day two was rainy, thank the Lord, because it allowed us all to relax and take it easy in the house. We were able to have quality conversations and reconnect while the kiddos ran rampant through the enormous house we were staying in. We later blew up some pools in the backyard and were able to take a walk around the property when the rain cleared up. The only thing I would change about this trip would be to add an extra day. I was so sad to leave our family the next day, but now I am craving and yearning for the next trip!
Other general things I wanted to mention before I close this blog post are some things about my beautiful children. Maddie, oh my goodness, I adore this girl. She is blossoming into a kind-hearted, polite, gentle, sweet-spirited little girl and I adore watching her grow up. She is truly beautiful inside and out. She recently has been super chatty and it is so fun to listen to her stories. She sometimes goes on and on and on, but her voice is so sweet. She also has started to find more interest in learning to read and spell. Phil is doing a great job encouraging her without pressuring her and she is starting to be able to sound out 3-letter-words and also spell them, too. She loves to sing and is experimenting with tones and she is super active. She is an expert on the swings, rides her bike like a pro and loves to run and chase the dog with Sarah.
Sarah: sassy, silly, and sensitive. Spend 5 minutes with this kid and she will have you rolling on the floor with laughter. Her personality is pure gold - like, for real. She is one of those kids who you meet and you just want to be around. If I was a 3- or 4-year old, Sarah would totally be my best friend. Sarah recently heard a “quack quack,” and exclaimed with wide eyes, “Was that a pterodactyl?” I was dying. I love her long, curly, golden hair and her eyes that are so full of love. She is a beauty and I could watch her all day long frolicking through the flower garden in the backyard with her hair bouncing behind her. God gave us a very special gift when he gave us Sarah.
I love having conversations with Sarah and Maddie on car rides and I feel like we really connect during these times. We pray when we leave the house every morning (they remind me when I forget) and I recently was asking Sarah about Jesus and some basic questions about salvation. She seemed to really understand the gospel message, so we prayed for her salvation in the car last week! It was a special moment and so very exciting. I am just so thankful to God for revealing to me that mundane moments like a drive to and from the grocery store or dropping the kids off at school doesn't have to be mundane: it can be meaningful, beautiful and life-altering!
Well, onto Peter. This kid is the best little boy in the whole world. He is the cutest, has the best smile, eyes that sparkle, he is a cuddly mama’s boy and he blows us away with what he is capable of. He is just shy of 10 months now and he already has 7 teeth, is balancing on his own two feet without holding onto anything, walking while pushing a walker (or whatever is in front of him), traversing over uneven terrain (i.e. he climbs over large objects including the dog if I can’t rescue poor Cody in enough time), he has learning to fall without hurting himself/banging his head, can open the back screen door and the dog’s crate (::sigh::) and is constantly making trouble. He is experimenting more and more with his vocal cords, making all kinds of new sounds including, but not limited to, yelling out of frustration and aggravation. When he isn’t angrily telling me to put more food on his tray so he can shove it into his mouth (the kid CAN EAT!!!!), he is talking in what sounds like his own language.
We are truly blessed with 3 absolutely wonderful children.
