Mexico

Three days after we got home from Florida, Scott and I boarded a plane to head to the St. Regis in Punta Mita Mexico! It was a quick turn around from our Florida trip!  I got a call on Tuesday around 11:30am from Scott telling me that our 6am flight on Wednesday morning had just been cancelled due to the weather and that we needed to catch a 7:00 flight that night out of Columbus.   He rushed home, grabbed the kids, drove them halfway to Indiana to meet his dad while I stayed at home and packed our stuff (we hadn't packed anything).  We flew out on Tuesday night and finally made it to Mexico on Wednesday around 1:00.  We stayed until Saturday afternoon and got home late Saturday night.

Scott works for a pretty great company and has had some wonderful opportunities as a result of his job. One of those opportunities was our trip to Mexico.  Scott had a good year last year and met all the requirements to go on this trip along with some of his co-workers who also met the requirements.  They were each able to choose 1 guest to go with them.   All food, flights, and rooms were paid by NetJets.  We also each received $200 to do an excursion for the few days we were there.  

Here are some picture from our trip....

For our excursion, we decided to do whale watching (notice the whale), snorkeling, and paddle boarding.  We went on the one day that was overcast and the ocean was completely freezing.  

Scott paddle boarding

The resort was amazing, food was great, and weather was wonderful!  We had great time, but were ready to get back to our babes.  Thanks Nana and Papa L. for taking such great care of them while we were gone!  And thanks to NetJets for an awesome trip!!

Florida 2013

The last week of February/first week of March, we spent a week in Siesta Key, FL with my parents.  We woke the kids up around 4:50am on Saturday morning to catch our flight.  Despite their sleep deprivation, the kids did great.  They took a short nap on the way to condo from the airport and were ready to go!

We spent the majority of the week at the beach and also some time in the pool.  The kids loved playing on the beach in the sand making 'sand waffles or sand cakes.'  

Elli also loved playing 'elevator' in the ocean (she would stand in the water while the tide came in and sink in the sand).

Climbing on the chair- a fun game Connor played at the beach!

We went to the drum ceremony on Sunday night.  We've been talking about this drum ceremony ever since we went last year.  The kids were a little hesitant at first, but went out in the middle to dance in no time.

In the middle of the week we had a day of rain.  It was perfect timing as we had all gotten a little too much sun at the beginning of the week.  We ended up going to the Mote Aquarium in Sarasota.  The kids enjoyed this, but by the time we got home they were exhausted.

Waiting outside to get in....

Watching the sharks!  This was the main animal that Elli wanted to see!  We were even able to look for shark teeth!

And we saw a sea lion show

Both kids jumping off the side of the pool

Connor loved taking stroller rides!!

 Fruit snacks on the beach (Elli wasn't too thrilled that she had to wear a swim shirt).

Doing tricks in the pool

 I think we are actually all smiling in this picture....that has never happened before!!

 No luck with getting a good picture of the 2 kids together.

 You can see how Connor felt about getting his picture taken!

 Breakfast on the last day at the Broken Egg.  We decided to go to the beach that morning, but it didn't last long due to the colder temperatures.

We were able to see horses in a parade at the village on our last night in Florida.

 The kids loved it and Connor kept asking for more.

The kids did great on the way home!  We flew home the following Saturday during naptime.  Elli rested for the first 30 minutes or so and Connor ended up falling asleep.  The airlines lost Connor's carseat and loaned us one that didn't go rear-facing.  The whole way home from the airport, he kept saying "ohhhhhhhh."  Needless to say, he is now forward facing.  Once we got our car seat back we decided to keep him forward facing because we didn't have the heart to turn him back around.  

We had a great week in Florida and are looking forward to going back next year!  Thanks for a good week Nana & Papa Brauchler!!

Disney On Ice

On February 20th, we took the kids to see Disney on Ice.  We knew Elli would love it, but what we weren't expecting was how much Connor would enjoy it.  The show started at 7:00 and went on for almost 2 hours.  Our kids are never up that late, so we weren't sure exactly how they would do.  They did great that night; however, I totally paid the price the next day for keeping them up until 9:45.  I was called out of MOPS to get Elli the next morning because she was kind of a mess.  She loves going to church and this was not like her at all.  With all that being said, we don't regret Disney on Ice at all....it truly was the best money I've ever spent!  Elli was so excited through the whole thing and Connor went 'ooh and aww' during the entire show!  

 Elli was so excited to leave for Disney on Ice.  She talked about it for weeks before the show.  We let her wear her 'Belle' dress.

I loved watching Connor watch the show.  He kept his hand like this for a good portion of the show....showing us what was on the ice.

 Elli saw some girl eating Cotton Candy and immediately started talking about when Nana and Papa B. got her cotton candy at the fair last summer.  We gave into her request for cotton candy and with it came this Mickey hat.  Connor would not take it off....seriously kept it on the whole night and the whole way home.  

Disney on Ice did not disappoint!!  We will definitely be going again when they come to Columbus again.

3 Year Well Visit

I took Elli to the dr. on January 28th for her 3 year check up!  She did great and answered every question the dr. asked her.  She was a champ up until the finger prick she got at the end.  The finger prick brought about tears, but she recovered well.  She still talks about how they "pinched her finger." At this visit, Elli had to give a urine sample which resulted in a million questions from her:

"Why do I have to pee in a cup?"
"Why does the dr. want to look at my pee?"
"Do I have to poop in a cup?"
"Why doesn't the dr. need to look at my poop?

These questions were asked over and over again. Elli is 28 pounds 4 ounces (10-25th percentile) and 37 inches (50th percentile).  

The dr. was very pleased with her development and so are we!!  She was so brave at the dr.

18 Months

I can't believe we've reached a year and a half with Connor!!  I'm crazy about this kid....he's just so sweet!!  He loves dancing, music, playing with his toys, playing outside, and running all around.

(Playing after his haircut....eating his sucker)

Connor is still a really good sleeper.  He still loves to have us sing to him while we rock him before bed.  Bedtime continues to be around 7:30 and he sleeps anywhere from 7:30 to 8:30am.  He takes a 2 to 3 hour nap in the afternoon.  However, naps this week have been a bit off....45 minutes one day and 1.5 hours another.  When his naps are this short during the day, it is hard to get him to 7:30.  Wednesday night this week he was up as late as he has ever been (9:45pm) because we took the kids to go see Disney on Ice.  He did great staying up late, but was exhausted the next day!

(Just hanging out with Dad before bed)

As far as eating is concerned, Connor does pretty well.  He's had a little bit of trouble this week with refusing some foods and I've learned that if he snacks during the day he doesn't eat well during his meals.  He refused dinner on Wednesday and lunch on Thursday (both times he had a fairly good snack beforehand).  When he does get snacks, they are usually pretty small.  Connor usually can't get his breakfast down fast enough and this week he hasn't been eating as much as he normally does in the morning.  I'm wondering if he is getting some more teeth....he's just been off this week.

Connor and Elli have really started playing more together.  He loves playing with her as long as she isn't taking something away from him (which happens often).  He often mimics what she does.  Elli usually bosses him around and doesn't understand that he isn't going to do everything she says!!

We had his 18 month well visit on the 18th and I couldn't believe how well he did.  I mean, didn't even mind having the dr. check him over.  He just sat there and 'read' a magazine the whole time and then told the dr. 'bye.'  Connor got 2 vaccinations in his legs and cried for about 10 seconds and then wanted me to put him down.  The dr. did take note that he does still have the hole in his heart, which was disappointing.....I was really hoping it'd be closed by this point.  But....seeing how well he did today, makes me feel better about his upcoming cardiology appointment.  He is 21 pounds 8 ounces (10-25th percentile) and 32 inches (25-50th percentile)  The dr. was very please with his development.

Happy 18 months Connor Lee!!  I can't believe how big you're getting.  Yesterday, you leaned to the side, passed gas, and laughed.....I couldn't believe it and it just reminded me how quickly you are growing!!  You are such a sweet, sweet boy!!

Contrary to what you might believe, this video is not of Connor having a seizure, but rather a video of him dancing while sitting on his knees.  This boy loves dancing!!

Valentine's

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!  This is what our day looked like....

For breakfast on Thursday, we had heart shaped pancakes.  Elli was so excited.  She kept saying, "Happy Valentime's Day"every 5 seconds.

Connor loved his blueberry pancakes!!

 

Before lunch, we watched Cinderella.  After lunch, the kids helped make whoopie pies!  Elli loved icing hers....

Connor couldn't wait and took a bite out of it before we had put icing on it!

After naps, we did a Valentine's craft, played and got McDonalds!  

I made the kids do a mini-photo shoot before dinner!!

Scott was out West for work, but we still managed to have a good Valentine's Day!!