82 & Sunny . . .in January

Words can't really describe how nice it is to get away from cold, dreary Cincinnati and head south for a wonderful familly vacation.  We were so blessed to spend a week and a half in Marco Island/Key West with our family and friends.  The week started with (friends') Laura and Nick's Key West wedding, then continued with tons of fun-in-the-sun with (Great) Grandma Arlene, (Great) Grandpa Larry, Nana and Papa.  The weather could not have been more perfect; not surprisingly, it was hard to come home.

The gorgeous view from the back porch

Lookin' snazzy for the wedding

One of our many sand-art creations

First catch

Stud muffin!

Last day at the beach :(

Skinny dipping - ya gotta get the sand out of the cracks somehow

Grace the mermaid (note her modest seashell bra)

Buried alive!

Breakfast in bed on the way home

Poops Oops

LINCOLN PEED ON THE POTTY!! And by that I mean - After he #2ed in the bathtub (gross!), I put him on the potty in case he had to finish his business and so that I could get Grace out of the contaminated tub and while mommy's back was turned, he peed on the floor (because he didn't know how to um . . . direct his stream).  It's not a triumphant success, but you gotta start somewhere right?

Christmas Blessings

Well, even though I knew it would be over in a blink, it always surprises me how quickly Christmas comes and goes.  We had a wonderful holiday. 
We spent Christmas Eve at Mimi's house and then over to Grandma & Grandpa's.  Christmas morning we opened our own gifts from Santa, went to mass, then had brunch and presents at Nana & Papa's, then went to Grandma & Grandpa Smiths for dinner and finally ended the night with the Roope family at Aunt Terry's house.  Busy, busy (but great).  It's so nice to see all of our extended family and the kids love playing with all their cousins. . . . plus we got some really great presents.  I think Grace's favorites this year are all the little art/craft kits that will keep us busy through the long winter days.  And Lincoln really loves his 'scoop' and 'dump dump' from Grandma & Grandpa Smith (he's been scooping and dumping his rock and marble collection all day).  Luckily the fun didn't end at midnight on the 25th, we got to spend the ENTIRE next day at home in our jammies playing with all of our new toys.  Literally - we spent like 12 hours straight playing on the family room floor.
In case you don't believe how much fun we had - here are some pictures to prove it (in no particular order)

A New Season Is Here

Halloween and Thanksgiving were lots of fun and full of yummy treats, but believe it or not, Christmas time is already here.  To take advantage of the warm weather today, we started to "help" Daddy put up the outside lights and tomorrow it'll be time to decorate the inside of our home.

Tonight - to kick off the season (and celebrate my birthday) - we went to the zoo to enjoy the Festival of Lights.  It was really crowded, but we all had fun.  The kids and I are looking forward to several more trips before the lights come down.

Preschool is Cool!

This week was probably the most exciting week Grace has had a school yet.  On Monday I was 'Mommy Helper' - something we've both been looking forward to since schools started; AND Thursday evening was 'Daddy Night' (a kind of open house fair where all the Daddies get to see the school).
I had a great time spending the day with Grace's class - it was fun to see what she does when she's away from me. (I would like to have one 'Mommy Helper Day' every year from now until she graduates high school). We did two art projects, went to gym class, had our snack and sang some songs. Grace was very well behaved, like I knew she would be, and I was very proud to watch my baby act like such a big girl.

Fathers' Night was a really special time for Daddy and Grace that included nail/face painting, carnival games, meet-the-teacher, snack time and picture taking.  (I still have the picture of my Dad and I at Pilgrim's Daddy Night).  I think they both had a wondeful time.