A Memorable Memorial Day Weekend

In all the rush, rush, rush of our normal daily schedules, we had a fantastically slow Memorial Day Weekend. We took advantage of the warm, but not too hot weather, and spent many hours at the pool each day. I was proud of Jason and myself for being (fairly) disconnected from our phones and computers and really being "in the moment" - regardless of whether that moment was playing Candy Land or Cootie with Anna, making silly faces at James, or relaxing poolside (pretty easy to be in that moment...). Here are a few shots from the weekend.

Details, Schmetails

I'll be the first to admit that I haven't been the sharpest tack in the drawer since James was born.  Blame it on "baby brain" or "preg head" or the sleep deprivation, but my attention to detail has not been at it's usual level.  I like to think that before having James I wouldn't have gotten the time for a birthday party wrong, embroidered the wrong font on a bag, or just completely forget about a lunch date I'd made with a friend...but that could just be optimistic thinking.

Recently something funny happened that serves as a reminder to me to pay closer attention to seemingly "easy" tasks.  Like buying a pair of shoes...before our trip to Florida, Jason asked if I could grab him a new pair of flip flops.  So, I ran into a store, grabbed a size 8.5 and left.  The entire transaction took approximately six minutes.  However,  when we got to Florida and Jason took a closer look at the sandals, well, turns out one was an 8.5 and the other was an 11. 

Now I know the mix-up was not my fault - either an employee or other patron of the store made the original mistake.  But, I did have the shoes in my hands and failed to notice the fairly large difference between them.  Jason had no choice but to wear them because we were on our way out the door to the Magic Kingdom, and he's so laid back that it really didn't phase him.  But, everytime I see the shoes I chuckle - and probably the funniest thing is that we never went back to the store to exchange them...

I think I just need more sleep...

Princesses Galore

Anyone who reads our blog or has met Anna, knows the obsession and love she has for the Toy Story movies.  Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Slinky, Alien and Wheezy are not just characters from the movies – they are her playmates.  But, the Toy Story characters have some new competition in the fight for Anna’s attention…enter the PRINCESSES.

Seemingly overnight Anna has become a princess-obsessed little girl.  What started as a mild interest after watching Beauty and the Beast, turned into a full blown desire to be a member of the royal court after seeing Tangled.  I’ve never been a big fan of calling little girls princesses, but I am all-in when it comes to playing with princesses, watching the movies and playing dress up (Anna, not me…).  I like to cater to these stages because I feel like they are the essence of childhood. 

Her interest came at a perfect time considering we were heading to Disney World.  And, knowing this stage won’t last forever, I wanted to make sure we captured some of that ole Disney magic and let Anna meet the Princesses in person.  Coincidentally, this trip also coincided with “the wedding”.  I showed her a snippet on the news before we headed out to Disney and Anna’s eyes grew huge as I explained that William and Catherine are a real prince and princess.

Anyways, first up were Rapunzel and Flynn Rider from Tangled.  After an hour wait (Anna and Jason enjoyed the Tea Cups and the Buzz Lightyear ride while James and I secured our spot for the meet & greet – yay iPhone for distraction!), the big moment arrived.  Anna was very excited about Rapunzel but Flynn nearly swept her off her feet.  It was adorable to watch how she reacted to this “prince charming”.  He gave her the famous “smolder” from the movie and she about fell over.

The next morning was the big princess day.  We had breakfast reservations to dine with the princesses and Anna was giddy.  She donned her specially requested Belle and Beast shirt for the occasion.

Much to her pleasure, we were greeted by Belle and she got to spend a few minutes chatting and taking photos with her.  Belle is by far Anna’s favorite princess because she LOVES Beauty and the Beast.  She can quote the movie and sings all the songs by heart, (all of us can, courtesy of a CD in the car that needs to be removed immediately so parents don’t go crazy), so getting extra time with Belle was icing on the cake.

During the rest of the breakfast we were visited at the table by Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel and Snow White.  Anna had stars in her eyes each time a new princess came up and Jason and I absolutely loved watching her interact with them.  I think it was the equivalent to me going to a meal and having the cast of Ocean’s 11 stop by the table for a chat…

Before each princess came by, we supplied her with some questions she could ask them to help “break the ice”.  Those questions and the fact that her name was on her shirt both added to the experience.  As each princess approached, she would proclaim, “Why Princess  Anna, it is so wonderful to see you!”  She was amazed they knew her name and never once attributed it to her shirt.  And, when she asked questions, the princesses were great at answering.

For example, she asked Cinderella how the “mouses” were doing.  Cinderella went on and on about the fun the mice were having making new clothes and she would be sure to tell them that Anna said hello.  She asked Snow White how Dopey was and Ariel what Flounder and Sebastian were doing.  Each princess in turn engaged her in conversation, making the experience that much more memorable for her.

For his part, James was a pretty sleepy “Future Prince Charming”.  Upon seeing him, Sleeping Beauty remarked, “Oh, I hope he didn’t prick his finger on a spinning wheel, too!”  So cute!

Getting to meet the princesses was definitely the highlight of this visit to Disney.  And somehow they followed us home…where two months ago we had only a Rapunzel doll, we now have a whole gaggle of princesses and even princess jammies, courtesy of Gramma Turner.  I swear these things materialize out of thin air.  On a recent weekend Anna borrowed a castle from a pal down the street and now talks daily about what she will do when she gets her own castle to play with.  We’ve told her to put it on her wishlist for Santa…

2 Months Old & Living LARGE

Here is the most typical conversation that happens when people see James:

Person: "Oh, what a cute baby.  How old is he?"
Amy: "2 months."
Person (in disbelief): "WOAH!  He's [big, giant, huge].  I thought he was [4, 5, 6 months].  I mean, he's [really healthy, must be a good eater, going to be a big guy]!"

I love the stunned look on their faces and I absolutely love that he's big.  He's got the cutest chunky thighs, squishy cheeks and a pudgy tummy.  I know it's way too early to tell, but I suspect he got the best of the tall genes from both sides of the family and will be tall like Fafa Bergstrom. At his two month check up James weighed 15 lbs 12 oz (98th percentile) and was 24 inches long (95th percentile).

Over the last month James' personality has started to emerge and he is becoming quite the smiley baby.  He also has started cooing and oohing and aahing and I look forward to hearing his voice more and more in the coming weeks.  And, he is an active boy, never content with sitting reclined in a bouncy seat for long.  He wants to sit upright, stand or lay down and kick his feet.

At the end of his two-month visit his doctor pronounced him "perfect" and we couldn't agree more.

Splashing Into Summer

After Maddie's graduation we spent a fun week with my parents.  I signed Anna up for a week of swim lessons to take advantage of their pool and get her ready for summer.  To say she was hesitant and suspicious of "Coach Mark" the morning of her first lesson is an understatement...

Given the decibel level of her screams and protests, my parents' neighbors probably thought we were torturing the child.  However, through all of the hysterics, she did comply (due mostly to Coach Mark's easy demeanor) and by the end of the week learned to swim to the pool wall, climb out of the pool, take a breath, "choo choo" along the wall, and "dive" for objects on the lowest pool step.  And (eventually) all without screaming, thank goodness.

During the lessons Coach Mark taught her (and me) some songs to remind her of swimming basics and used fun toys like a stretchy frog (Popo), a silly fish (Mr. Blue), and a Cinderella dive stick (totally won Anna over) to keep her interest.  She is now eager to spend time in the pool and, while I won't throw her in the deep end and walk away, I have some peace of mind that she'll be able to frolic more safely in the water.

On the last day of lessons Anna was giddy when Coach Mark told her he was going to throw her in the pool with her clothes and shoes on to show her she could swim in clothes in case she ever fell in the pool.  She thought getting her shoes wet was, "so cool".

As a reward for doing so well at lessons we got her a set of the princess dive sticks and she logged no less than 2 hours in the pool on Saturday playing with them.  She also logged 2.5 hour naps each afternoon - swimming is magic!

A big thank you to Coach Mark, Mr. Blue and Popo!!

Smart Dunces?

The graduation celebrations continued with a party at my parents' house for Maddie and two of her friends, also recent graduates. The party was quite fun and included one of my all time favorite party activities - a piñata! Yes, they are graduating, but they are still kids at heart. Plus, all of the kiddos in attendance were psyched.

After the piñata was broken and the scramble for candy concluded, we found it made extremely fancy dunce caps, appropos for the occasion.  Introducing the graduates:

Maddie, the mega dunce...

Alisha - Graduated from University of Florida

Justin - Graduated from high school



Anna - Swim Lesson grad! ;)



Edu-ma-cated Maddie

It's official...Maddie is edu-ma-cted!  We celebrated her graduation from Florida Gulf Coast University with the whole family and couldn't be prouder.  She graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Psychology.  Up next for her is work for a year and then back to school for her Master's.  I guess she feels like she's not smart enough yet!

L to R: Andrew (Maddie's BF), Papa Odie, Gramma, Maddie, David,
Great Grandma Dodie, Christine, Me, Anna, Jason, James