Spring on the Gulf of Mexico

Ahhhhh, yes, the sweet breeze of humid sea air hit us like a ton of bricks upon landing in Florida. Our eyes bounced on colorful flowers and foliage in every direction. The nurturing sunshine felt glorious on our faces, the flip-flops felt inspiring on our feet. Alas, it was spring break baby!!!

Oh, we had our share of bad weather and mini-dramas, but springtime at Nana's beach generally rocked. Here I present a visual timeline of Carly's second spring break...

Day 1 at the beach: Carly not a big fan of the wind, Greg silently struggling with new Walmart shades



Did I mention Carly knows where her teeth are? (hey folks, the learning doesn't stop just because we're on spring break)



Day 1 at the pool: Carly's first strawberry daiquiri







Day 2 at the beach: fun with sea life



Day 2 poolside: I am my Aunt Julie's niece

**Ed Note: Here I must interject that, for those of us who know Carly's Aunt Julie Quinn, you will understand Carly's pool preference. Don't get me wrong, Julie loves the beach, so long as she is looking at it from 50 feet away while resting comfortably on a clean, sand-free lounge chair by a pool.






Sometime in the morning midweek: This photo is notable because it captures Carly's crib-in-a-closet: creative risk, yet total success.



Sometime around happy hour time midweek: looking for the damn seagulls with Grandma Rita



Glamour pose...


Sometime toward the end of the 10 days: a true water baby

(I have to just say, in my own defense, that I was not sunbathing or reading or drinking while she did these daredevil moves.)



And, finally, a quick video that highlights Carly's beach-to-pool progression...

St. Patty's Day

March provided some outdoor entertainment in the form of the local St. Patty's Day parade, which is held earlier than most. Sully and Carly were equally excited to brave the wind and check out the crowds, including all the dogs that were marching in the parade and participating in the dog contests. When Greg suggested that Sully and I enter the "Dog's-Hair-Most-Resembling-Its-Owner's" contest, I didn't know who was more insulted.

Winter visits.

It was a cold weekend in February when Grandpa (formerly known as "Grampy" a la "Pee Pee", instigating a return to "Grandpa" a la "Pa Pa") and Grandma made their trek down to see us. Not only did they bring a bottle of scotch and good coffee, but they also arrived with a whole bunch of goodies for Miss Carly. Let's just say that one of those gifts made me think very long and hard about why we care so much about the wheels of a bus. In any case, that toy has been temporarily sidelined.

Their visit included a trip to a local museum, a few outings, and a rock concert for the trio while Greg and I enjoyed a precious overnight in wine country. We can't wait until they return. Here are some photos from the fun weekend (one person refused to give me permission to use his image). These photos were taken mere moments before the 5 of us headed out to a denim parade.

I Guess It's Still Winter

Last weekend we made the trip up to Boston for our nephew Colin's (nephew #5) baptism, stopping for an overnight in New Hampshire for some family skiing. And, by "family skiing", I mean Greg, Dan & Werner. Carly and I stuck to the spa pool and the tot tubing mountain. And, by "mountain", I mean glorified hill. I'm not sure what was more thrilling for Carly: tubing or dancing in the lodge. I know my vote and you can assume that the sippy cup in the foreground is not mine.




Did I mention that the Pats lost the Super Bowl? Ah shucks.





As many of you know (or, if you don't, you won't be surprised to learn) that Greg is not a fan of Valentine's Day. Neither am I in theory, but let's be honest, it's not like I'd turn down jewelry (babe, if you're reading this, just remember that Costco isn't a real jewelry store). Now that I have a daughter, however, Valentine's Day takes on a new meaning. No longer does it symbolize cheesy dates at crappy restaurants that hike their prices to humiliate amateur romantics. It is, in fact, all about the candy. Folks, it's hard to ignore the glorious pink bags of treats staring us down during every Target trip. Of course, Carly can't chew most candies, so we were left with a massive red velvet cake and Valentine cards. Not bad, but Aunt Julie really outdid herself with Carly's Valentine gift...

At first, Carly didn't understand why there was music coming through her cheeks.


By later that evening, however, she was a pro.

February 1st

A quick video clip from yesterday...

Playdates

Carly got a big dose of boy playdates last week. First, Ian (in Carly's Borat accent, pronounced "Eye-Yaaaaaaaaaaa") came over and, the next day, we went over to John's ("Jaaahhh"). Ian is a strong competitor in the never-ending game of toddler survivor, while John is maturing past this phase and is generally happy to let the drama queen get whatever toy she tears away from him. Geez, Carly could sure use a new girl cousin or something....

Carly hugging her buddy Ian:



John shrugging off his crazy visitor:

Recap of the Holidays: Part 3 of 3

On the 26th, we headed out to Michigan for a late Christmas celebration and the wedding of my cousin, Sarah, in Toledo. Here are the photos to prove it:

Scott & Nick avoiding the bath time chaos



You guessed it, the bath time chaos (Charlie, Joey & Carly)



Joey & Carly continue to be competitive about pretty much everything. Here they compete over Carly's new frog chair and, once again, Joey's laid back sensibility trumped Carly's drama.




Friday night's dinner was at Casa P-boys, prepared in their highly anticipated designer kitchen. I think their "island" is more of a continent.




Saturday, we drove down to Toledo for the wedding, where Carly took her dance moves to new levels with live music and I got to try out my non-mom shoes.