Birthday celebration #2

Great-grandma kicked off Makayla's birthday "season" last weekend and it continued this weekend. My mom and both sisters came up so we could do more dress shopping and wedding planning, and last night we celebrated Makayla's birthday. In the package from Grammy was a bib for Conner that said, "I love my big sister." So true!

An adorable bow for the birthday girl - thanks Grammy!

So many presents - it's like Christmas! She got lots of fabulous new clothes, a hand made scarf, dress up clothes, kitchen appliances, craft kits, stamps and stamp pads, and a ton of paint. We will be busy!

She also got some really cool new boots - we all wanted a pair!

Makayla requested a strawberry cake (not sure why, I don't think she had ever had it before...) and I wanted to do something fun with it so I made ice cream cone cup cakes with strawberry cake and cream cheese frosting. Yum!

A scoop of ice cream to complete the treat!

It was a fun weekend that went by way too fast!

Snow ice cream

What can you do with all the snow we got - make ice cream! I heard about this and was intrigued so Makayla and I gave it a try on Friday. You need about 3 cups of fresh snow, 2 Tbsp milk, a splash of vanilla and about 4 Tbsp of sugar.
We mixed it all together and gave it a taste!

Sadly, it was not very good... She tried a few bites, we even added sprinkles, but then she told me she didn't like it. Oh well - we had a good time making it together!

Conversations with Makayla

Here is part of today's lunch conversation:
Makayla: "Mommy, when you brush your teeth, how come you can't swallow your toothpaste?"
Me: "Because there's stuff in our toothpaste that would not be good to swallow."
Makayla: "So why would you put that in your mouth?"
Good question!

Fun in the snow

We had a good time yesterday playing in the 10 inches of snow! Jason was able to "work" from home so he got to play outside with us too!
Queen of the mountain!
Check out the snow fort!

Sliding is hard with all this snow!

An after dinner treat. She did let me know that I MUST put marshmallows on top of the pudding - that's how grandpa makes it. :) Do you think she enjoyed it?

SNOW!!!

It seems crazy to be writing a post about snow when we were at the beach in short sleeves and flip slops just three days ago..... But snow there is! The predictions were all over the place but I think we probably have about 8 inches now, with a little more to come.
It started as a wintry mix this morning so we did some painting then she played with all her friends. When Jason got home the snow was piling up and it was time to go play! These two look ready for battle!

Conner decided to take a rare evening nap so I was able to go out and play too. Makayla was busy doing her favorite thing - shoveling! But it didn't matter how fast we shoveled, it kept on coming and covering the driveway!

Kona loves running around and eating the snow.

Check out the snowman!

We didn't even make to the backyard for sledding so I'm sure there will be more snow pictures to come!

Sunday

Sunday was a beautiful day and our first stop was to the "Everglades Wonder Gardens." We took a walking tour and were able to see all kinds of animals.

Makayla didn't hesitate to pet an alligator!

Check out those big shadows in the background - about 18 huge crocodiles!

After the animal park it was time to check out the beach! The superstar has arrived...

A decent picture of both kids sitting! Print this one and frame it!

My cute boys!

I am beginning to wonder if Makayla can feel cold. I thought the water was FREEZING but she didn't seem to mind!

After the beach we drove around some more so the kids could nap again. Then we picked up dinner to bring back to my grandparents.

I love the automatic picture setting on the camera! So glad we got a good group shot!

Since Makayla's birthday is coming up, Great-grandma made her a cake and had a few presents for her. Makayla was so excited that she forgot to sing Happy Birthday to herself!

We had a great visit - the only thing that could have made it better would be if we could have stayed longer! Monday was an early morning to get up, drive back to Miami, and catch our flight back home. All of our travels went well and we are so glad the kids are good travelers - we plan to do a lot of it!

As I was waiting with Conner for Jason and Makayla to get back with our checked bag, I heard uncontrollable giggling. I looked over and this is what I saw - two goofballs!

Saturday

After a few hours of sleep, we were up and ready to go visit my grandparents. We were excited about the warmer weather and I was very happy to wear my flip flops! Here's Makayla looking cool and relaxed on the drive over.
It wasn't long after we arrived before Makayla was working on a puzzle with her great-grandma!

Of course we had to go to the pool. Unfortunately, it was a little chilly and very windy but that didn't stop Makayla from getting in the water!

Not sure how this happened but I think it's a pretty cool picture!

Back at their house, we had time for some coloring.

Then off to explore. We drove around a while to check out the sights while the kids napped in the car (we knew it would be a losing battle to get them both to nap in the hotel room). We stopped for dinner at Joe's Crab Shack right on the water in Ft Myers - it was delicious!

We ordered shrimp for Makayla, but she ended up eating a lot of our crab! How could you not share with a face like this?

"They get shrimp and crab and all I get is this cracker...."

Relaxing back at the hotel.

It seems like most pictures of the two of them end up with one like this...

Finally calm and ready for sleep - or so we thought...

Headed to Florida!

Do you think Makayla was excited to be on a plane?
Conner was excited that I brought something for him to chew on... He did great on his first plane ride!

Of course Brother Doll made the trip too.

Conner was happy to stretch out when Makayla and Jason got up for a few minutes!

We have arrived!!! I know it looks like we packed enough stuff to move to Florida, but we really did only stay the weekend...

Fabulous Florida Visit

We had a great trip to Florida! We were able to spend a little time in the sun, see some wildlife and had a wonderful visit with my grandparents. I just went through the 108 pictures that we took over the weekend and will thin them out a little before posting the highlights tomorrow :)

Ready for Florida!

One of the most important things to do before heading to the beach - get a manicure and pedicure! And since I am still missing a few nails thanks to the marathon, I thought I would pamper Makayla. She loved it and actually did a great job sitting still so they could dry!
Showing off her sparkles.

I think we are ready to go but I must have missed the day when "Packing Efficiently" was taught - it looks like we are prepared to be gone for a month! We are looking forward to some warmer weather and a visit with my grandparents. I hope we don't wear them out too much! We may also take a trip to the Everglades and an alligator farm. And of course we have to stop by the beach and at least get our toes in the water!

More chillin'

This kid knows how to kick back and relax!

Back to gymnastics!

Makayla has been counting down the days until gymnastics started again and I was very happy that the snow/ice that came last night didn't cancel it! She woke up and literally bounced out of her bed and was ready to go - too bad it didn't start until 11:15! The other classes we did there were mommy and me but she had no problem running in there without me today. She did a great job listening to the teacher and trying everything - all with a big smile on her face :)
Loving it!

This guy also did a great job, although I think he would have much rather been running around with Makayla than hanging out with me.

Blast from the past - this was Conner on Makayla's first gymnastics class over the summer, only a week after he was born. He sure has grown!