{picture a cutie} February 21-25

the rest of our week in Florida largely looked like this:

 

{2.21.12}

 

Grammy + Cutie Pie

sweet bonding with the oldest and youngest in the fam

{2.22.12}

 Here, Papa.

Have a chip

{2.23.12}

 Elvis?

 

{2.24.12}

 

finally, Cutie Pie 

is NOT

screaming in the pool

{2.25.12}

 waterbaby

we couldn't get her out of the water from morning to night!

{picture a cutie} February 13-20

Big Blog Picture Catchup! Here goes!

{2.13.12}

Craft time while her sisters sleep

very sweet times with my equally sweet Cutie Face!

{2.14.12}

 Happy Hearts Day!

The girlie girls received 

jewelry boxes, baubles and jewels for V-Day!

{2.15.12}

 fingerpainting with homemade fingerpaint

(made too thick in the Vitamix...oh well!)

{2.16.12}

 

Mom! this reminds me of "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More"! 

{2.17.12}

 hello there, friend!

{2.18.12}

 Prima Ballerinas

?

maybe...

{2.19.12}

 

quality outdoor time before we hopped in the car

to drive down to Florida!

{2.20.12}

 

kitten, meet baby

On the first day of 2010...

...it rained. Is that good luck? Like rain on your wedding day? Let's hope so!

Cutie Face, despite being sick, desperately wanted to dance in the rain (this is our little tradition when we are home in Atlanta--we hate being stuck inside so we make a fun little game of the rain and dance outside for a few minutes!)



Back inside and dry, Cutie Face watched Baby Signing Time...


while we watched all the Bowl Games.


Who said Baby DVDs weren't interactive? Baby Signing Time is BY FAR the best videos i've ever seen--she never vegges out and always participates in the show. It is great!


By the end of the day, she was worn out and let us know she was ready for bed--she walked into her bedroom, grabbed her pillow and blanket and plopped down in the middle of the hallway. What a goof!

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!

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!