Destin, Florida 2014

We ventured off to the beach a couple weeks ago.  We drove, but decided to get a hotel halfway there and halfway back.  That was a very wise decision.  Marlee doesn't sleep well in the car.  And since she doesn't sleep well in the car, neither does her sister.  Each stretch of our trip took us about 8 hours and I think they each napped about 30 minutes each stretch.  Here is Marlee close to our pit stop on the way home.  So tired, but will not sleep.

That said, the drive for the most part was not that bad.  Marlee watched movies the entire way there (Frozen on the way to the beach and Bug's Life on the way home) and Laynie watched Baby Einstein.  I packed so many toys and activities for the car, but they just wanted to watch movies, so I let them.

I think the hotels on the way to and from the beach were the highlights of the girls trip.  They loved all of us in one room, stretching their legs after a long drive, and I know Marlee loved sleeping in between her Momma and Dada. :)

Once we got to the beach, Marlee wasn't sure how she felt about the "snow" (sand)

We had a good first day at the beach.  Laynie hung out in a baby pool on the beach and even took a nap on the beach.  Marlee played in the sand and swam in the pool.  She did not want to get in the ocean.

 What I did not realize is that hanging out in a baby pool all day can cause a really bad diaper rash.  Poor Laynie couldn't get back in the water the rest of the trip. I don't think she minded, though.  She would rather hang out in the air conditioning anyway.

After spending the first night in a room all together (with each child waking up the other child all night long), we realized that the couch had a pull-out bed.  Dada and Marlee slept in the living room the rest of the trip.  It was much better. 

There was a little recreational area across from our condo that had fair rides and go-carts.  This was a big highlight of Marlee's trip.  She had been talking about going on the "spinning wheel" (ferris wheel) since she saw it the first day.  Here she is on the "spinning wheel".  Once she rode it, she never mentioned it again.  I'm sure it wasn't as cool as she thought. 

 It takes a lot to impress her, obviously.

Sweet girl

We took the girls to the aquarium one morning and saw dolphins, sea turtles, seals, sharks, sting rays, etc.  Marlee thought that was pretty neat.  We failed to take any pictures at the aquarium, but here is a family shot right before we left. ;)

Some of our friends had condos at the same place, so we spent a lot of time with them while we were there.  Marlee loved playing with Hudson every day.

 Laynie's actual birthday was while we were at the beach, so we had a little birthday celebration with cupcakes.

 We attempted family pictures on the beach.  Marlee did not want to smile.  So, I started with some pictures of Laynie.

Here is Marlee spinning and being ornery and telling me that she was not going to smile.

 She wasn't lying.  We took about 50 family pictures and she never did smile or even look at the camera.  Finally, she said "I am going to smile real big."  So, she did, and this is what we got.

 Then, we then tried to take a few more by the water.  Laynie was over it.  And it looks like Marlee is trying to figure out what she is going to do next. 

 We told Marlee to stand still and hold on to Dada's leg.  Laynie noticed my hair blowing in the wind and decided she needed to try to get a hold of it since she loves to hold my hair. 

 We gave up on family shots and tried to get a picture of just the girls.  Laynie was terrified.

 So, we didn't get the best family pictures, but I wouldn't trade them for anything.  When I look back on these, I will remember what it was really like...and how hard it is to get a 1 year old and a 2 year old to cooperate for pictures!

I decided to actually take my camera out on the beach on the last day.  Marlee started to really like the beach and the ocean on the last day.  She loved getting in the water and jumping over the waves.

 I tried a little photo shoot with Laynie in the same sun hat that Marlee wore at the beach when she was 7 months old. 

 A few randoms of the girls with their Dada

This trip would not have been near as successful without the help of our babysitter, Alex.  She was a lifesaver that allowed us to actually relax some on the beach and go on a date!  We love Alex and so do my girls!

 Overall, we had a really good time and none of us wanted to leave.  It was so good to hang out together for an entire week.  We can't wait to do it again!!

Laynie is 12 Months Old

 This little girl DOES NOT want to sit next to her chalkboard

Wearing 12-18 months clothes and size 3 diapers
Still mostly crawling, but starting to take steps.  She usually starts out with a few steps and then falls and crawls.

Sleeping awesome! From 8:00pm-7:00am.  Sometimes I can rock her for a little bit, but most of the time she just wants me to put her in her bed.

Takes two naps a day around 10:00 and 2:00 if we are home all day.  Otherwise, just whenever we can squeeze them in.

Still loves to play in the refrigerator and will pull out whatever she can

Likes to make noises with me

Eating everything like a champ.  Freaks out when I get out a banana or some blueberries

Loves story time at night and also likes to sit and read during the day

Still loves bath time is her favorite.  She stands by the tub and squeals until I put her in.

Has two teeth and working on a third
Transitioning to whole milk.  I wanted to be done nursing by the time we went to the beach, so we are doing about 1/2 and 1/2 right now.  She will not drink milk cold.
Loves to laugh and play with her big sister
Last month I was pretty sure the owl with her name on it is her favorite, but this month it has been this bear.  She crawls all over the house with it.

We have had so many changes in the last week that it has been a little much for me.  Turning one, switching to whole milk, no more bottles, starting to walk, new class at school...all in one week!  I was a little emotional, I'm not gonna lie.  I love to watch her grow up, but she is my last baby and it is hard to let things go this time around.  And it doesn't help that she is so darn sweet.  I love you to pieces Laynie, aka Laynie Lou, aka Lou Lou, aka Lou Lou Bird.

Weekend at Home

It feels like we are gone every weekend so it was nice to spend an entire weekend at home last weekend.

We went swimming at the neighborhood pool,

Played dress up,

 and made it to church without tears from either one.  

It was a good weekend.

Marlee Lately

Marlee got to spend the day with Josie a couple weekends ago.  They are always so excited at first and then so sick of each other by the end of the day.  Haha!  They went swimming at Memaw's house.  Marlee calls her swimsuit her "swimsoup".

 Marlee is into reading her books.  She has a few that she has memorized for the most part and likes to read them to me.

A few highlights as of lately:

Loves the grand old flag.  We have to listen to the song on repeat every time we are in the car and she will point them out as we drive by.

Really likes bridges and driving fast.

Deathly afraid of all bugs

Doesn't like being dirty.  Not even a speck.

Likes watching Frozen and singing all of the songs

Loves her new big girl puzzle

Loves swimming in the pool or in the lake

Starting to really carry on conversations with us and it is the best

Laynie is 11 Months Old

 
 
 
She is a moving target these days so this was the best I could do!
Wearing 9-12 months clothes and size 3 diapers
crawling really fast.  Dada said she crawls like a banji.
Standing for lengths at a time.  She really wants to take off and walk, but crawling is a safer option.

Sleeping awesome! From 8:00pm-7:00am.  Sometimes I can rock her for a little bit, but most of the time she just wants me to put her in her bed.

Takes two naps a day around 10:00 and 2:00 if we are home all day.  Otherwise, just whenever we can squeeze them in.

Loves to play in the refrigerator

Says "uh,oh." and "Dada" and stills growls kind of like Chewbacca.

Still stuck to me like glue, but getting better at venturing out on her own
Her new favorite toy:

Eating everything like a champ.  She definitely loves fruit (mainly bananas and blueberries) and yogurt best

Loves story time at night and will look at the book and then look up at me the whole time we are reading

Bath time is her favorite.  She stands by the tub and squeals until I put her in.

Has two teeth
I have thrown all of her lovies in her bed, but I'm pretty sure the owl with her name on it is her favorite.  She just grins when she spots it.  I'm going to need to find another one.
She is such a sweet baby and people tell us that all of the time.  I wish I could just freeze time and keep her at this sweet age.  We love her so much!!

Swimming Lessons

Marlee took her first swimming lessons this summer.  She worked on going under water, dog paddling, climbing out of the pool, jumping in, and floating on her back.  She did really well and we loved Ms. Kelsey.  We can't wait to go back next year.