FL trip 2009/2010

We left on Christmas Eve to drive to Grammy and Papa's house in Florida. One of my sisters, Suzy, and her family were flying in Christmas night. After arriving about 4am and sleeping a bit we spent the day enjoying the warmth and having brunch at the Teeter's house. Little did we know the warmth was to be short-lived. Suzy's family arrived that night and we all opened presents again. Suzy danced with the little girls (the other being her daughter Emily) around the living room. Emily and Maddox had a great time together. Maddox is finally old enough to be fun for her 3 year old cousin. She follows her around everywhere and wants to do everything she does. She kept Maddox busy!

Maddox got some pretty princess earrings, necklace, bracelet, and cell phone.

The next day was warm again so we went to Lakes Park and rented a surry with all the kids. Driving a surry around the park with my family can be quite amusing! Supposedly I was steering, but I think sometimes they wondered. Sometimes though I wondered if they were pedaling. Seven people weigh a lot, even if most of them are little!

Also at this park there are great play grounds and this little train ride. We're all lined up ready to go. Emily, Suzy, Katherine, Matthew, and Maddox.

On a chilly day the moms and kids went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakquel. Maddox sat in her own seat looking like such a big girl with her cup and popcorn. Gone are the days where she sits in my lap at a movie I guess.

We spent a few days at the condo to enjoy the beach. It was pretty chilly by now. The mornings were chilly and the first couple of days the afternoons did allow swimming suits and some sun time or pool time. After those first couple of days though it just got downright cold for the rest of our trip. Really cold. So Maddox and I may be wading in the water, but our feet are numb.

We spent New Year's Eve at the condo having a mystery dinner. We were all take-offs of nursery rhyme characters and wore "costumes". My family was innocent!! Suzy killed her own boyfriend! We won't talk about how he actually wanted me . . . We played Phase 10 all night trying to last until midnight. We were all in bed by about 12:10. Didn't even go down to the beach at midnight. Didn't care anymore. Maddox had been in bed since about 8 but she didn't miss much.

One of our last nights Mom and Dad took us out to Captiva to eat at The Bubble Room. It's this silly place decorated with tons of old toys all over the walls and in your table top and a train running around the rooms. Everytime the train came into our room Maddox would yell "Train!" It was a great place to take such an inquisitive, study everything type of little girl. She was enthralled. Outside there was a gorilla cage for Daddy and Maddox.

This is another way I frequently find Maddox. She'll ask for a book to read in bed and fall asleep with it. This was a couple nights before we left so Maddox was worn out and lasted about a minute reading this book before she zonked out. Even though it was cold, it was still warmer than NC or the mid-west. We only got about 4 days of swimsuit wearing out of 12 though. Kind of a bummer. Maddox and I are going back for spring break so it better be warm then!

A couple of pictures from home . . . Here I am at 20 weeks, half way through! Don't ask me why I decided to take a picture in my very tight t-shirt Suzy gave me for Christmas before she knew I was pregnant and pajama pants. It was comfy.Maddox loves her tent! Tonight she almost went to sleep in it. I tucked her in her sleeping bag and gave her books to read to herself then took them away and told her it was night night time. She laid there quietly, very tired, but never fell asleep. Jeremy and I were watching tv in the same room though so that could have something to do with it. One of these nights I think we'll have a movie night slumber party and try again.