Seaside Florida 2009

FINALLY! The post that you've all been waiting for... Vacation Pics! (Sorry it took so long.)

 

A few weeks back, Kevin and I took Anna on her first official vacation. We went to Seaside, Florida and I couldn't have asked for a better, m ore relaxing place to take her. We went with our good friends Eric and Paige and their two kids Emery and Reed. We also had the added bonus of taking a babysitter with us... Thank You Ms. Suzanne! After two days in the car, we finally arrived in Seaside on Sunday afternoon. This was the house we stayed in. It was three stories, right on the beach and it was gorgeous!

 

Once we got settled in, we went down to experience our first adventure on the beach. This was Anna's first time to get her feet in the sand. She wasn't sure what to think about it but she eventually got used to it.  

 

This was her first time in the water. At first, she wasn't a big fan of the "waves" (I put that in quotes because the water was so calm the whole week).

 

After about an hour or so on the beach, Anna was wiped out, especially since we had been traveling for two days. She got a little cranky and was ready to call it a day. 

 

Here she is building her first sand castle. :)

Something very funny about Anna on this trip was every time she was done playing on the beach and she'd had her fill, she'd walk towards the house and say "C'mon!" She definitely let us know when she was done. It was very cute! Here she is calling it a day.

 

All in all, the first day on the beach was a moderate success.

The days to come were a MAJOR success! Once she got used to the sand and the water, she LOVED it! Every morning she would wake up saying "Beach! Beach!" Our daily routine was getting up, eating breakfast and then going straight down to the beach, where we'd stay until lunch. Anna loved sitting in the water and letting the waves splash her.

 

 

I love this picture!

This was one afternoon after beach time. Anna was having fun playing with my sunglasses.

These next two pictures prove that Anna is Kevin's kid. They look so much a like in these pictures!

 

 Here we are, another day on the beach. Anna loved playing in the sand and building sand castles... so did Kevin!

 ...and so did I!

 Towards the end of the week, Anna was definitely not afraid of the water and wanted to be in it at all times. If she could've she would've walked into that water and swam away. We'd take her out pretty far and let her float. She never wanted to come back in.

There were tons of little fish that would swim around your feet and Anna liked looking at them... "fish! fish!" Her other favorite animal at the beach was the "duck". She called the seagulls ducks and she would chase them up and down the beach. Anytime a "duck" would get close to us, she'd take off running after it.

 

 Parents Night Out! Yes, we got to enjoy a little kid-free time while on vacation. On this night we went to Red Bar in Grayton Beach and it was very good!

 

 Another added bonus of our trip was going with a very talented photographer. Paige was able to capture a few moments of the three of us on the beach together. Here are a few. As soon as I get the others I will post them. 

 

 

We all had so much fun on the beach and I love that Anna had the time of her life! We went with great friends and shared some great memories together. Eric and Paige, thanks for the invite and we can't wait to do it again next year.

Anna - When you're older you will hear stories about your first vacation. Stories about how you chased the "ducks", how you loved playing with "Reee and Emmry", how you finally learned how to say please and thank you (thanks to Ms. Suzanne.) Stories about how awesome you were on the 10 1/2 hour trip and stories of how much sunscreen your Dad and I lathered you in because we were both terrified you'd get a sunburn! Stories about how for a whole week we were afraid you'd fall down the stairs but instead on the last day, right before we were leaving, you took a tumble off the bed and hit your head on the tile floor. :( Every day and every tiny little moment on this trip was a blessing and I will always cherish it. Thank you for being such a beautiful, smart, amazing and wonderful daughter. We love you so much Banannas!

Anna's First Day in her New Class

Anna had her first day in her new class yesterday. She did great. Luckily all the same kids from her old class are in this new class with her. Her new teacher is Ms. Angie and she's very nice. She did all sorts of fun things on her first day. Still makes me a little sad knowing she's growing up though. If I could pause time, I would!

Here she is getting in a healthy breakfast before school. She loves her breakfast bars and banana!

 This was Anna this morning. I just thought she looked cute in her jean skirt and pig tails. :) IN this picture, she's playing with her favorite toy... tampons! Yes, she loves pulling my tampons out of the box and carrying them around. She hides them all over the house. Anyway, just thought I'd share why she holding tampons in this picture.

Cutie Patootie!

19 Months

Anna turned 19 months old this week and her vocabulary is starting to show how fast she is growing up. She is such a motor mouth these days. She pretty much repeats anything we say and she even tries to carry on conversations with us. Her latest words are wa-wa (water), Abba (Abby the dog), mouth, cow, book, i laah ooh (I love You... my favorite:), and uh-uh (my least favorite). Anytime she doesn't want to do something, she says uh-uh, and as independent as she is, we hear these words A LOT! She's become a pro at eating with a spoon and fork, and we finally got brave and started letting her drink from an open cup. No major messes yet but I'm sure those are still to come. Her favorite song right now is "If You're Happy And You Know It", where she likes to clap her hands, stomp her feet and turn around. I'm trying to get this on video because it's really cute. She's been going to bed a little later... 8pm. Her bedtime routine has consisted of "book, book, book"... that's all we hear! She loves to read books and she throws a fit if we read less than 3 each night. Her favorites are Brown Bear Brown Bear, the Very Hungry Catepillar, Counting Kisses and the Big Animal Book. As of next week, she is moving up to a two year old class at her daycare, even though she's not two yet (still trying to figure that out). In her new class, they will begin potty training! Seriously, is she already old enough for potty training?!?! Time has flown by with her and each day she learns something new and we learn something new about her. We enjoy every moment with her, especially lately... she is always doing or saying something that amazes us, entertains us, makes us laugh and even makes us cry. I don't know what I'd do without her. 

Happy 19 Months Pooter Poo's! I laah ooh!

Those 3 Little Words...

For obvious reasons, I tell Anna I love her ALL the time! The past few weeks I've been saying it to her and trying to get her to say it back. Last week, she finally did it! I said "I Love You" and she repeated me with her cute little "i laah ooh". It's the sweetest thing to hear. But last night I am marking down as one of my life's best moments. As I was putting her to bed, I told her I loved her and was telling her to have sweet dreams and that I'd see her in the morning. After I finished, she wrapped her arms around my neck real tight, gave me a BIG hug, then looked at me, grabbed my face with her little hands and with a big smile on her face said "I Laah Ooh!" My heart melted! I couldn't help but cry, it was so sweet to hear her say those three little words. It's moments like this that I will always cherish.

I love you too Banannas!

A Day at the Water Park

Kevin, Anna and I went down to the River Market today and played at the water park. We've never been before but it will definitely be a place we will go back to. Anna loved it! All it is is water spouts that shoot out of the ground that the kids can run through. Anna wasn't too thrilled with the water getting in her face but she had fun running around and watching all the other kids.

 

 

Spaghetti Face

Where's Your Nose?



What's Your Name?

18 Months

Anna turned 18 months old this past Sunday. We went in for her well baby visit this morning and here's her stats:

Weight: 23 lbs. 5.4 oz. (35%)

Height: 30 3/4 in. (23%)
Head: 18 1/2 in. (63%)
 
The doctor said she is doing great. She said she's a little on the "chubby" side but I'm ok with that... she needed to pack on a few pounds. She's grown about 1 1/4 inches in height since her last visit at 15 months. She wasn't real thrilled about being at the doctor's office. I think she's starting to figure out that every time she goes there, she gets a shot. Here she is hiding in her daddy's legs. 

Her appetite has been great and she's gotten a lot better at using a spoon and fork. She drinks out of a straw really good and apparently at daycare she practices drinking out of an open cup but I have yet to try this at home. Also, at daycare, she no longer uses her pacifier during naptime (another thing we have yet to try at home.)

The doctor said she is ahead of the curve when it comes to vocabulary. In other words, we have a genius on our hands (but we all knew that.) She's starting to put more words together and make a little more sense, but there are days when I don't have a clue as to what she's saying. The most exciting news I have to share... news I am so so so excited about... Anna has her first freckle! Two in fact! She has a freckle on the inside of her right arm and one on the front of her right shoulder. My Nanny used to call my freckles "Angel Kisses" and it looks like the angels are gonna love on Anna as much as they loved on me. :) Even though she may have gotten my freckle gene, she's still very much a Daddy's Girl! She will have nothing to do with me. All she wants is her daddy. It breaks my heart but one day she'll come around. :) 

Happy 18 Month Birthday Pooter Poo's! We love you!

A Night with Uncle Greg & Aunt Laurie

Click here to see Anna's visit to her uncle and aunt's house. She's so cute!

Bikini Babe

The weather has been brutal lately so Anna and I enjoyed a little pool time this past weekend. We both suited up and played in her kiddie pool, and yes, I got in too. It was too hot to just sit there and watch her. She loves the water. Every Friday at daycare, they have water play so she's been getting used to being in the water. I hope she gets even more used to it by the time we go to the beach in August!

 

 

 

 

Fathers Day

I know I've been a bad blogger. Sorry for disappearing, but I'm back with a few posts to share what Little Banannas has been up to. Kevin enjoyed his 2nd Fathers Day this year. Anna and I made him breakfast and then headed to my dads house for lunch. We had a good day and Kevin really liked his gift... an iPhone. 

Happy Fathers Day Kevin! You're a GREAT Dad!

17 Months

Anna turned 17 months old on Friday... 17 MONTHS!!! Where does the time go? She is growing so fast and she is such a sweet little girl, but definitely has a mind of her own. She talks a lot these days.... everyday she will say a new word. Of course, I'm still trying to figure out exactly what she's saying. Some of her words are "wassat" for what's that, "side" for outside, "more", "fish", "dog", "shoe", "sock", "juice"... i could go on and on but you get the idea. She enjoys her school. They've been learning things like nose, eyes, ears, tongue, etc. Every time we ask her where her tongue is, she sticks her tongue out as far as she can. She's also been learning colors and shapes. She is an amazing little girl and we are very lucky to have her.