Spring Break - Day 2

 

Hayden woke up around six am so after nursing we set out to explore the hotel grounds. After a little exploring I grabbed some coffee and we headed down to the beach to watch the sunrise. 

 

She was a fan of the sand. I had to keep her paci in or else she would have tried to eat all the sand. Once the boys woke up we met them for breakfast and then it was time for Hayden's morning nap.

 After her nap we headed down to the pool. And sidenote:  I must say that shopping for this trip was incredibly exciting for me - I love all the adorable spring/summer girl clothes!!! I love love her flamingo swimsuit!  It's adorable...and she even has some tail feathers (ruffles)  in the back!

 

Another little hotel 'perk' is the photographers that they have walking around. Well, I'm not sure if it's classified as a 'perk' since you pay extra for the pictures but I thought it was a nice little touch since we didn't bring our big camera. And of course they loved little Hayden as their subject :)

 

A little dip in the pool - she loves it!

 

The boys headed down to the beach. Showing off their muscles!

After a day in the sun we headed back up to our room to get ready for dinner. This time was a little touch and go with the McDonough family so I was glad I packed a few activities for the boys to play during their 'witching' hour.

 

Thanks you $1 spot Target.

 

All ready for dinner!

 

A little wine before dinner

 

Our dinner was actually in the 'adults' hotel. Some of the restaurants allow children early and then later turn to adults only. I'm sure some of their guests get confused about that...

 

Hanging out at dinner - so happy to be sitting next to Lyla. 

 

And loving on Aunt Sarah!

Spring Break - part 1

Kevin's parents are having a 'milestone' birthday this year and wanted to celebrate it by spending it with the family making wonderful memories - mission accomplished! They took us (and the Hales) down to Playa del Carmen to stay at the Paradisus La Esmeralda. Our trip was truly memorable, from the beautiful hotel, delicious food, exciting activities to the yummy drinks and wonderful company, we all had a blast! 

Ready for take-off!

Ryan sat next to me on the plane and was entertained with a little coloring and Big Hero 6. Gigi sat next to Grayson and I am pretty sure he talked to her the entire flight. Little baby Hayden slept the entire flight in her daddy's arms. What a sweetheart!

After a long day of traveling we made it to the hotel in time to grab some dinner before getting the kiddos down for bed. 

Did I mention Hayden grabs everything now? Yup...she got the butter knife and I don't even think Kevin knew. She's sneaky. 

The boys had some yummy ice cream for dessert!

We had an early wake up call the first morning in order to make the ferry boat to Cozumel.

All aboard!

On the ferry to Cozumel...all happy and ready for the day.  This was probably 10 minutes before we learned that Grayson suffers from motion sickness. Poor little guy :(

Aunt Sarah took the brunt of the sickness...he really soaked her entire lap and the wonderful smell lingered until she was able to get in the water. Of course it didn't bother her one bit - best Aunt ever!

Yay, so happy to be off the ferry. Now to hop in a taxi to bring us to a boat...oye. Wasn't quite sure how the little man was going to do but he ended up being just fine. 

Kevin's parents booked a snorkeling trip with ChiChis Charters. We had our own private boat and an awesome guide JJ. 

Everyone snorkeled with the exception of these two. They just wanted to hang on the boat and watch.

After a little snorkeling it was snack time...fresh-made guacamole, ceviche, and pico. It was amazing. 

The took us to a beautiful cove where the water was shallow and calm. The boys finally agreed to get in the water...although it didn't last for long. One of the guides found a starfish - which the kids thought was pretty cool. 

And since getting sick all morning wasn't eventful enough, this little guy decided to add a little more...pretty sure I know what he is doing here (although I didn't at the time I took this picture). 

While we were enjoying our yummy snacks Aunt Sarah looked down and yelled " OMG, what's that?!?" And yup. it was. A little brown nugget. Right there on the deck. Oh little Grayson. 

Big G don't care. 

Hanging out nude eatin' some pineapple. 

Ryan practicing his snorkeling

Being silly

The kids were pooped on the ride back...

So much fun on our first day in Mexico. 

We all really enjoyed the snorkeling trip. The snorkeling was great - we saw a stingray, turtle, barracuda, and a lot of other reef fish. JJ, our guide, was awesome with the kiddos and really personable. The fresh made snacks and cold beer weren't bad either :)

When we got back to the hotel we checked out the pool before heading back to our rooms to get ready for dinner. 

Fresh and clean. Kevin took the kids down to meet our cousins for an early kids dinner at Mole, which is the mexican contemporary cuisine restaurant.  The consensus was that it was good however for some reason they served guacamole with grasshoppers. And the kids tricked Sarah into eating a grasshopper...they told her it was bacon. And quickly discovered it wasn't. lol. I still haven't quite figured out how grasshoppers mix into the whole mexican contemporary cuisine. 

Anyhow, after dinner the kiddos came back to the room and we had two babysitters come watch the kiddos so that the adults could go to dinner. (The hotel requires you to have two sitters for more than two kids.)  Our sitters, Vania and Louisa arrived a little early and were full of energy. They were so sweet with the boys (Hayden was already asleep) and the boys immediately felt comfortable around them.  It's always a little nerve-racking leaving your young children with someone new but I didn't have any doubts with these two ladies. 

Once we were kid-free we headed over to the adults only hotel (La Perla) to dine at Fuego.  This restaurant is described as a Latin fusion gastro bar. Although Im not entirely sure what that means I can tell you it was amazing. It was all of ours favorite restaurant - so yum! 

7 months - baby Hayden

Sweet little girl is seven months. 

crazy.

She is our happy, easy going sweet little baby girl and she has all the boys in our family (mama too) wrapped around her little finger. Although, since she has started moving and grabbing things much more we have seen her first instances of messing with what the boys are playing with. They aren't quite sure what to think of that....they have no idea that its about to get so much worse when she really starts moving! lol

Eating:

She wants to eat everything. homegirl is hungry. And she grabs everything so aggressively you have to be careful what is in her reach. She grabbed a chocolate peanut butter protien bar from Kevin the other day...almost found out if she was allergic to peanuts.  I typically give her a couple of those rice crackers at dinner so that Kevin and I can finish our food before having to feed her. She has been eating the baby food pouches and after some bad diaper rashes I have been a little more strict with which ones. I think she might have minor allergic reactions to some of the foods...not sure which ones though. Anyhow, she loves sweet potato, pumpkin and banana. And while we were on vacation she had some french fries, bits of chicken, and some guacamole (yes, I realize this doesn't sound like me being very 'strict'). Oh well. 

Sleeping:

We did a bit of 'cry it out' over the past month and I think we have finally gotten to a good place. However, with our recent vacation and time change we are having a little bit of a relapse...so working on it a little more. I must admit, she is a persistent little thing. The boys would cry for about 10 minutes (which felt like forever)...but this little lady kept it strong for a good 45 minutes (and that is forever). On a perfect night she goes to bed at 7pm and wakes up at 6am. 

Milestones:

She is sitting up pretty well. Of course you can't really leave her by herself because she eventually will fall. as long as there is something soft she is fine.

Lady is moving. She gets on her belly and will pushes back...and move. and she is so happy with herself. 

She started taking baths with the boys and loves it. So do they.

No teeth. I really thought she was teething (which I guess she could have been) but there are no teeth through yet. 

Health:

This past month we have been at the pediatrician a few times. New stuff for this mama. We had our first ear infection, which really threw me for a loop. 

Lots of diaper rashes. I really don't know what to do about this...we have tried everything

We have also had random other rashes and fevers. Apparently nothing to be alarmed by...just viral rashes that will go away (and they did while in Mexico). She has a bit of eczema like her brother Grayson. 

Her hair was like this all day. so silly. 

Chillin' with G-bug at the pediatrician office

crazy rash that lasted about a week...

Love this little lady so much!

SNOW

Last week we started out with a wonderfully cold ICE day on Monday. School was cancelled...so turned the fire on and cuddled up inside. Tuesday was more of the same...and on Wednesday it SNOWED. 

but not that much. 

but we were still excited! 

School was not cancelled...so we had some snowman pancakes before heading out. All was back to normal Wednesday afternoon and Thursday...but then we got hit again!

ROUND II: Friday

I was hoping to wake up to a winter wonderland Friday morning but nothing had fallen yet. Yikes - I was a little worried the weatherman got us all worked up for nothing. Luckily it started soon after and kept falling until early afternoon- Yay!

The boys had school from 9 - 12 so we packed up and headed out in the snow. Grayson's teacher texted us this picture - the kids were so excited about the snow!

Kevin came home from work early to take the boys out in the snow. They went down to the Hales house where a lot of the neighborhood kids were all out playing - so much fun!

snowball fight!

happy boys

Trashcan snowman

On Saturday morning we played outside in our backyard and made a snowman. 

***

Ok. Now I'm ready for the beach!

March Goals

Whew - February went fast. We spent a week down in Houston and there was that whole flu thing that I dealt with. So the month really flew by...that and it was only 28 days. I love that about February. We are ready for Spring already!

1. Behavior and chore charts.

So this has been a bit of a learning experience for all of us. I originally created the Star Behavior charts and the boys loved them. Well, Ryan does, but I am pretty sure Grayson doesn't really understand it. We awarded stars at the end of the day (which they got really excited about), but since the stars were for specific tasks/goals it didn't really help me throughout the day to deal with their behavior. I decided not to worry about chores but to focus on behavior...and use something that they would see direct results. So we moved to a sticker chart on the fridge. Basically when they do something good (sharing, playing well together, ect...) they get a sticker...trying to reward positive behavior. They get pretty excited for a sticker so it works pretty well. It also gives me some leniency on what/when to reward them. However, after talking with Grayson's teacher I found another tactic that works even better - a marble jar! And OMG, the boys love the marble jar. They love getting marbles and dropping them in themselves. It works like a charm.  We have been using it for a couple weeks and they both LOVE it. They are really playing so well together, helping out, picking things up, and listening....yeah it's kinda crazy what they will do for a marble. I mean...we still have our moments...seriously, they are only 2 and 4, but it seems to be what works for us.

2. Organize and back up all digital pictures
I have been working hard on clearing off my pictures...goodness gracious there are a lot of them. I spent my entire hair appointment moving pictures as well as a couple of evenings. I made it to 2012 (starting back at 2007)...so I still have a few years to backup but I am feeling good about my progress. The good news is that my computer is much happier with me.

3. Order (and create) Grayson's Two year Book
And check out what we got in the mail! Grayson was so very excited...thankfully he doesn't comprehend that it was about six months late. Sweet middle child.

Catherine at Everything Design whipped this cover up for me - so darn cute!

He was so excited when he saw it for the first time and now he refers to it as his batman book. We read it nightly. 

4. Master List
Yeah, didn't quite get here....rolling it over to March :)

March Goals

1. Outdoor furniture

We desperately need new outdoor furniture. Not only have we had a bird die on our love seat, but the squirrels have been stealing the stuffing from our cushions. Oye. It's old and gross and embarrassing when friends come over...but for some reason we still haven't bought something new. There are so many options out there so it's a little overwhelming...but as we move into spring I need to get something soon!

2. Wedding Outfits
Steven and Claire's wedding is coming up soon - eek! so excited! I love that my kiddos are going to be IN the wedding - ring bearers and flower girl. The boys are going to pull Hayden in a little red wagon...although it might be Ryan pulling Grayson and Hayden because Grayson LOVES to be pulled. Anyhow, I need to get these kids some wedding duds. I can't wait...they will be ohsocute!

3. Master List (from february)

And that's all for now...let's see if we can get this done :)