New Year's Eve

...was ho-hum boring for us. With a still-sick kiddo, we weren't going anywhere. In fact, J ended up going to bed before the ball dropped just so he could keep tabs on Cutie Face.

We did, however, manage to have some fun during the day before the end of the year! J and I ran to a great neighborhood that owns property on Wiggins Pass (which enters into the Gulf of Mexico). They have a 1.5 mile trail that includes an awesome windy boardwalk. The boardwalk spits you right out onto a pier that overlooks the pass. It is beautiful!

This was Cutie Face's first time there so I took a lot of pictures. Be forewarned--all these photos are with my iPhone and unedited (no time!). (click to enlarge!)



Following our run, J and Mountain Man headed to the store for some last minute supplies for the night's appetizer feast. Each family was in charge of one appetizer and the twin and I let the boys decide what they wanted it to be....scary decision. This is what they came back with:

A HUGE piece of pork loin...i mean look at this thing:

While it was cooking, the cousins had fun with J and "Retro" Mountain Man...
nothing too exciting I just liked this picture of J holding both of them

They were very intrigued by Mountain Man's glasses!

And here is where the post ends. No fanfare nothing special...as I said, we were boring on the last day of 2009. Here is to more exciting times in 2010! Happy New Year!

Actively Occupying Cousins

It is very nice to be in Florida with the twin and her family because Cutie Face has a built in playmate. Still, even with a buddy to hang out with, the twin and I are constantly finding ways to occupy the cousins.

Among other playtime activities, they LOVE to color.

They ask to color all day long.

The twin and I certainly don't mind this activity

it keeps them in one place and calm...

for at least 15 minutes!

We've also played with Aunt Kathy's 1000-piece puzzles

as Mountain Man says, it is now guaranteed to be at least a 900-piece puzzle


New blocks for Christmas also help pass the time

With 100 pieces and a big crinkly bag, what is not to love?

Even J got in on the action a few times!

When all else fails, though, we hand them some books and let them read.
It is definitely the best!

Baby Baby...

The girls are LOVING playing with their new dolls from Mimi and Poppy

...though the dolls do not always end up being treated too well!

and, just because this picture was taken on the same day as the doll photos, I had to include it. Cutie Face followed Mountain Man and Lil Miss into the bathroom and declared she needed to go potty...at the same time that Lil Miss was pottying. So, Mountain Man quickly plopped her on the toilet and away she went.

I just LOVED this capture and had to post it again (despite it already appearing on my Monkeys on the Bed! blog!)

Family date!

The day after Christmas, Cutie Face came down with the illness that poor Lil Miss had. She didn't get the full-blown croup but she definitely got the bad cold that accompanies it. She also ran a fever off and on for a few days.

To help keep her mind off her sickness, we took her on an excursion (we've been reading Fancy Nancy, can you tell?). Of course, it probably wasn't the nicest thing for us to do to others since we took her out and about while she was sick...but we were desperate to get out of the house!

and get out we did!

We made three stops which wore Cutie Face out but caused her to sleep for 2.5 hours! We'll take that!

First we stopped at an awesome fountain. I thought it would be fun to take pictures of her in her new outfit that we bought her for Christmas (it was her "Wear" gift)

She was way more interested in looking at the fountain

...than to sit still and pose

Check out the crazy cloud line here:

Up next was the petstore. We saw fishies

Cutie Face wasn't very enamored by them

but she did like the birdies! (I was trying to focus on the birds and blur out Cutie Face and J in this picture)

Finally, we hit our original destination--Panera Bread. Ever a fan of bagels, Cutie Face devoured a whole wheat oat bagel...

and then started scavenging for lemons that were in our water...

Despite the initial shock:

She kept going back for more:

Well, they say citrus is good for a cold, right?

Camera play!

I've been enjoying getting to know my new camera. I've liked using subjects that are relatively still...like Sweet Pea, here:

Lil Miss is also an excellent subject as she is slightly calmer than Cutie Face!

The only time that I can guarantee that Cutie Face won't be running around is when she is eating...so I have quite a few hilarious pictures of her eating in her booster chair...here are my favorites:

At least I have one not-so-goofy picture of her...
taken when she was sick and feeling her not-so-goofy self!

Playdate at the Pier Park

We took Cutie Face the local park next to the pass and pier for a post-Christmas family playdate.

We had a lot of fun swinging,

sliding,

and checking out the pier.

especially tracking the leaf that was floating by...

Got it!

I had a lot of fun experimenting with my camera (though I still feel ROTTEN at it!) and even managed to make it into a shot!

Merry Christmas! {in photos}

Thankfully a picture can tell a thousand words because I have tons to update on from Christmas Day!

Cutie Face woke up bright and early and donned some reindeer antlers

She awoke early enough to get to accompany Poppy on his yearly Christmas trip
to the one Starbucks store open on Christmas day

We got coffee for the whole household
and Cutie Face ate some oatmeal outside while spreading Christmas cheer

Upon our return we found Lil Miss and Sweet Pea up and about
(check out cute Sweet Pea's tree shirt!)

Cutie Face checked out her stocking
and found a baby doll that can go into the bath with her! Score!

and a phone! If we stopped at the phone, she would have been thrilled!


Then she went to bed for an early nap because she was soooo exhausted.
We watched Lil Miss open some of her presents. This is what J & I got her:

The twin watched Lil Miss open her presents while holding Sweet Pea


Cutie Face finally woke up and opened her "big" present from Mimi & Poppy:
A baby doll with a baby crib and other baby accessories

In the meantime, I received a new-to-me DSLR camera (!). Woohoo!
Notice the change of quality of photos (me experimenting on still-life)

Cutie Face took a quick dip in the pool before lunch. So fun!

She took yet another nap (!) and then hung out with Mimi and Sweet Pea
(who was less than thrilled)

Before dinner, we took a family trip to the beach and were so glad we did!

Cutie Face got over her fear of sand...

and over her fear of the ocean...

and really enjoyed herself!

What a great way to end our Christmas Celebration 2009! We hope you had a very Merry Christmas, too!