Family Beach Vacay ’10

I FINALLY downloaded all my beach vacation photos and it was so nice to relive it all again.

We stayed at the super family friendly Dunes Village Resort in Myrtle Beach, SC.  The key feature for us was the nice covered pool area. (This is very important for my pale family.) 

The pool area also has a lazy river…

and TWO water slides.

Bean was in heaven and could not get enough of it.  Annabel was a little hesitant of all the pool stuff the first day. But by the second day, she was a little princess mermaid.   She would sit with me for an hour in the kiddie pool area and just swim around in circles.

She also liked to lounge with me at the beach.  I could not ask for a better companion.  Something about the salty ocean air must really mellow a crazy 2 year old because she was my beach chair buddy.

Daddy and Bean did a lot of sand castle building and wave jumping.

And each day ended with ice cream on the balcony. 

Annabel always had “pink” (strawberry) ice cream from the ice cream parlor.  Bean always wanted a fudge bar from the freezer because that’s what he picked out from the grocery store the first night we arrived.

Family. Pool.  Beach.  Ice Cream. 

Perfect.

Pump Up The Volume

I definitely need a vacation.

Well, what I really need is some QUIET time.  Alone.  In a room. With a blanket over my head.

It’s weird but this is the first time I’ve really felt the LOUDNESS of my life with two kiddies under the age of 4.

And I think it’s because it just got a lot louder LATELY.

Today at lunch I had to tell Bean “Shhh…quiet.  Just EAT.”  I’ve never done that before.

This morning, before lunch, we had to run a quick errand to the library to drop off some books.  The entire two mile trip in the car was just…LOUD.

Bean asks a million questions.   I encourage his curiosity,  I do, but sometime it’s just SO much.  So LOUD.

“Mama, see that cloud, Mama?  That cloud is dark, Mama? Why that cloud so dark, Mama? ‘Cause it’s going to rain, Mama?  Yes, Mama?  YES, MAMA?  YES, MAMA??!!”

“YES, BEAN. Shhh….”

“Mama, see that car carrier, Mama?  Why it have cars on it, Mama?  Where it going, Mama?  Mama, you see it?  See it, Mama?  MAMA!?”

“YES, BEAN.  I see it.  It is carrying those cars to the car place.”  (Car place?  Hey, he fires them fast.)

“Mama, is it going to rain, Mama?  Is it going to thunder, Mama?  Why it thunder, Mama?  And lightning?  Why it lightning, Mama?  Do you hear thunder, Mama?  Is it going to rain?  Is it going to rain NOW, Mama?  Mama?  MAMA?!”

Then combine this with my 2 year old daughter who just WHINES.  “MAA-MAA…MAA-MAA..”

All the time. 

Then, I get tired of hearing MY voice constantly ask HER, “What, Annabel?  What do you want, Annabel?  Use your words, please. What do you want?  What?

“WHAT?!”

I find myself enjoying the 2 hour nap/stay-and-play-quietly-in-your-room time more and more lately because it’s finally QUIET.

Shhh….

Well, great, now it’s thundering.  It’s really LOUD.  I’m going to go lay down.  With a blanket over my head. 

Just for a minute.

Feel The Heat

It’s HOT. 

The high was 100 degrees today.  And yesterday.  I KNOW that I live in Florida, but the heat just sneaks up on me every summer.  I feel like Spring is five seconds long and then we just zoom into four months of sticky, uncomfortable heat and humidity.  I know all my family and friends up north are laughing at me because I don’t like the cold either.  But the EXTREME summer heat is what gets me. 

It’s also a challenge with the kiddies.  It’s now too hot for our morning park play dates. It’s two hot for long bike rides. It’s too hot for strolling around the outdoor town center.  And when we ARE outdoors, I just chase them around with big hats, SPF 50, and bottles of water.

Thank goodness for our neighborhood pool, cold smoothies, our backyard baby pool, and slip ‘n slides.

Feeling Lost

I’m posting some super cute photos of my daughter while I sit and think about the series finale of LOST. 

Wow, that was GOOD stuff.  I’m going to TRY and write about it all tomorrow.

Meanwhile, here’s Annabel. The temperature in Florida has hit the 90′s.

Obviously, she is already wishing for snow.

Play-Doh and Airplanes

Just a little Play-Doh on the patio…

 Pink is my FAVORITE color and Mmmm this pink Play-Doh smells so good…

 Should I taste it?…

Wait.  What’s that??…

I think I hear an AIRPLANE!…

Could it really be an AIRPLANE??…

Let me use my super fancy purple Play-Doh tool as my airplane telescope!…

 Yes, CONFIRMED.  It was an airplane!

Hey, Soul Sister

Not only is this a great pop song, but it’s now officially my daughter Annabel’s “song.” 

Daniel already has a couple “songs.”  He has Daniel by Elton John and he has Daniel (in the Lion’s Den) which we play all the time on our Raffi CD in the car.  The Elton John version comes on the radio all the time and when it does, Daniel likes to yell “Daniel’s song!” and I turn it up so we can all sing along.

Well, there is no song called “Annabel” so we picked Hey, Soul Sister by Train for her because, well, it has SISTER in the title.  Plus, it’s a fun song with a great beat and you can dance to it.  Enjoy.

Weekend Fun

It was a super busy Saturday.  There was a Gymboree sports class and a Where the Wild Things Are art class and a pirate themed birthday pool party and a Mommy Group block party in the park.  I wish I had more photos, but here are some snapshots. 

I was lucky to get one photo of Annabel and it is so funny.  Please notice the pink plastic bracelet she is wearing that I bought her at JCPenney just hours before while Daniel was taking those sports and art classes.  She was my shopping buddy and she was an angel.  Daniel never stopped moving the entire day and he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.  We were all exhausted.  We all had a blast.  We spent Sunday just relaxing and playing around the house.  It was the perfect ending to a fun weekend.

PS: I really, really want/need an iPhone to improve my photo quality.  (Hmmm…Mother’s Day is coming soon…hmmmm)

A “2″ and a “3″

I always wanted two children.  And I knew they would be close in age.  My husband and I were married for five years before we had Daniel. It was the perfect timing for us.  We enjoyed late night dinners, Sunday afternoon movie dates, and tons of LEISURELY activities before our lives were turned upside down, I mean BLESSED, with two amazing kiddies.

YES, we know we are TRULY blessed.

Annabel was born 17.5 months after Daniel.  So that makes our kids 17.5 months apart.  I usually just say 18 months apart when people ask, because they DO ask.  My kids look like twins sometimes.  They act like twins sometimes.  It’s been an interesting dynamic.

I didn’t really think about the age difference as being that important until the past month or so.  I now believe my kiddies are at their PEAK of CRAZINESS.  And I say that endearingly.  I really do.  They are so much fun and they make me laugh out loud with the things they do, say, and ask on a daily basis.  But, MAN, I have to be honest and say that some days are REALLY HARD.  The worst part is that they switch their Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde roles daily.

We went to Disney on Ice on Saturday afternoon and I was so surprised when Daniel started WHINING and asking to go home.  He’s usually not a whiner. But he was just in that mood.  When we told him we were going to stay and it was going to be SO MUCH FUN, he just wanted a lemonade.  Then, a popcorn.  Then, cotton candy.  Then, MORE lemonade.  Then, he had to go the bathroom.  Then, he wanted to go home…again. 

Annabel, on the other hand, had the most amazing time.  She sat on my lap, completely wide eyed, enjoying the entire experience.  She danced and clapped and waved to Mickey and Minnie and all the Disney Princesses.   

When we got home, Daniel continued to whine about the grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner.  He would not eat it.  Then, he decided he would eat.  But ONLY the soup. Then, he didn’t want a bath.  Then, he cried when he couldn’t watch TV.  It just kept going on and on and on.  Annabel was just fine throughout Daniel’s mood swings but she also tends to ignore Daniel when he acts this way.

Well, today was Annabel’s turn!  She woke up smiling and happy, but after that, I could not do one thing right.  She did not want her banana for breakfast.  No, wait, she does want it!  Then, no, no, she doesn’t.  Then, she wanted more milk.  Then, NO, NO MILK!   Daniel was laughing at her and that was not helping the situation.  Then, after breakfast, she was playing with Lego’s when all of a sudden she just laid down on the floor and started to scream and cry.  I have learned not to approach her when she does this because it just makes everything worse.  OH, YES IT DOES.  After two minutes, she stood up, ran to her bedroom, grabbed a bunch of stuffed animals, threw them on the floor, fell on them, and cried some more.  Daniel was hysterical with laughter. 

I told him that was “not nice” so we went to color at the kitchen table.  Five minutes later, here comes Annabel, running out of her room with a big smile on her face, her curls bouncing while she says, “HI MAMA! HI DANIEL!” with such JOY!  It was adorable.  And weird.  And I really wanted to get off the emotional roller coaster already.

But that’s what it’s like in my world with a 2 year old going through the stereotypical “terrible” stage and a 3 year old who wants to exert his independence and give his opinion.   I read other Mommy Blogs on a daily basis and many Moms say that these “terrible twos” get worse when your child turns THREE.  Well, I have BOTH right now, thank you very much.

 Here’s what Tori Spelling tweeted this morning:

EXACTLY. It’s SO nice to know I’m not alone in this mind blowing world of parenting.  And that’s why I blog.  And read blogs.  And twitter. And communicate.  Because I want to know I’m not alone.

Especially when I’m dealing with some seriously cute little CRAZIES.

Spring

I know my family up north in Maryland will be VERY jealous, but we had the most beautiful spring weather today.  Spring comes early in Florida.  Special thanks to my mother-in-law for taking this pretty picture of Annabel.  It captures the essence of my daughter, and the day, perfectly.

Two

Annabel turned two years old yesterday and our house was filled with pink balloons, Hello Kitty cuteness, and a super adorable birthday princess.

It was a blast.  Unlike her first birthday, Annabel totally GOT that it was her very special day.   After breakfast, we watched “Tinkerbell” on DVD and then went to the mall for a birthday train ride.  After naps, it was the official Annabel birthday party.  She SCREAMED as she drifted through her sea of pink balloons and ran directly to the mountain of pink presents.

She got everything she wanted.   She was beyond excited.  And, of course,  Daddy made her the coolest Hello Kitty cake in the whole wide world. 

She went to bed surrounded by all her new gifts.  She is the quintessential “girly” girl.  She loves tutus.  She loves necklaces.  She loves doll babies and stuffed animals.  She loves purses.  She loves everything pink.  She even screams when she can’t hold the pink corner of the parachute at Gymboree class. I can barely take her shopping at Target anymore unless I remember to avoid any aisle that might have a Hello Kitty item.  (And it’s HARD.  Hello Kitty toothbrushes, toasters, blankets, towels.  That cat is EVERYWHERE.)

I don’t mind.  I love Hello Kitty too.  It’s adorable.  It’s awesome to experience all this fun little girl stuff again.  Annabel calls her “Hi-T.”  She is also saying a bazillion other words and it’s surprising sometimes because Daniel was not a talker at this age.  She knows most of her colors and can count to ten.  She sings her “ABC’s” and loves to ask questions, “Where Daddy go, Mama?”  “What Daniel do, Mama?”  She has the sweetest little high pitched voice and she loves to talk to her relatives on the phone.

She’s a great eater and sleeper, just like her brother, but she still has her moody days.  She usually shuns citrus fruits, but sometimes eats a whole bowl of oranges.  One dinner she asked for THIRDS of broccoli and the next time she would not touch it.  She is very opinionated.  We usually have to wait for the calm after the storm if I accidentally try to help put a piece of meat on her fork.  She doesn’t WANT the help although she really NEEDS the help and that begins a tailspin of drama. But she’s cute when she pouts, so we always have to giggle.

Her head of curls is growing longer and longer and it’s so wild to see her after bath time when her hair is wet and it falls down her back.  But after a few seconds it just springs back up into place.  She now loves barrettes and bows and the occasional headband.  She loves to dress up in “pretty” clothes ESPECIALLY anything pink. She wants to wear her tutu to the park.  She will sit on the floor in her room and play with dolls and read books.  She loves her play kitchen.  But she will still play trains and cars with her brother and she LOVES balls.

She also loves to dance and has some very cute little wiggle moves.  She screams with glee and claps her hands when one of her favorite songs comes on (The classic “Hot Cross Buns” or Metro Station’s “Shake It.”  She has very eclectic taste.) She will also go crazy from time to time and fling her body on the floor if she can’t do something JUST RIGHT.  Or if her brother won’t let her set up a board game.  Or if she has to put on a coat. Or if she’s super hungry.  Or if it’s 11 o’clock. 

With her all craziness comes her cuddliness.  She loves to give hugs and kisses and it’s so heartwarming to hear her say “Tank You, Mama” or “I Wuv you, Mama.” 

I love you too, Annabel.  You are my beautiful two year old princess.

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