Christmas Break in Florida

Ryan had a lot of vacation time that he either had to use it or lose it by the end of the year, so we of course used it.  Ryan's sister, Michelle, and her family live there while Marc specializes in endodonics (root canals) at the University of Florida in Gainseville.  All of Ryan's family, except for his parents and  his brother Kevin's family, came to Florida as well.  There were 7 adults and 6 kids total.  It was so much fun to see everyone.  We did so much though and all seemed to have our cameras out that I don't even know where to begin with posting about it.  But here's a shot.

We drove down to Florida on Saturday December 22nd, and stayed until January 2nd.  It's about a 13.5 hour drive, but it took a little longer getting down there because of an accident in Atlanta, so we rolled in after the kids were all in bed.  Lucy actually did pretty well on the drive, thanks to our DVD player and some Baby Einstein movies.  She also warmed up to everyone way quicker than I ever imagined.  She loved exploring all of the new toys and things around. The next day was fun as all the kids woke up and we got to really see everyone.  We just went to church, hung out and talked a lot, and ate.  Marc's birthday was the day before we got there and Michelle got him a new game for his birthday called the 7 Wonders (I think?) and we played a lot of rounds of that game that night.  It was kind of complicated, but once you figure it out and develop some strategies it is fun.  It was fun staying up late playing games, talking, listening to Christmas music, and eating lot's of treats.  Definitely a good way to start off the vacation!

A sick girl's blanky, purse, and candy.

A few weeks ago Lucy was pretty sick and didn't sleep for about four nights in a row (like, literally did not sleep... at least not longer than about an hour and a half stretch each night.  I died).  She was so exhausted that she would just lay down anywhere she could, especially if she saw something soft and fuzzy that she could lay her head on.

She was surprisingly pretty happy considering her miserable cold and lack of sleep.  She found this striped bag somewhere and I later found her walking around with it over one shoulder while holding up my cell phone on her other shoulder and saying "hi" and babbling into the phone.  This was her first time doing either of those things.  So cute.  Also, this girl cannot keep ANY pants up.  She's too skinny.  I can't buy them any smaller or they will be way too short.  These ones below are 9 months and still falling off at 13 months.

 She somehow managed to get a candy cane off the tree (that I moved up high) and since she felt so awful, I let her just play with it.  A few minutes later it was totally unwrapped and she figured out that you just suck on it and it's candy!  I let her go at it and from that point on she wanted any candy cane she saw on the tree.

Cleveland visitors

My Grandpa and his lady friend, Becky, came down from Cleveland just before we left for Christmas.  It was fun to see them and Lucy had a lot of fun with them.  These pictures make me laugh.

My grandpa and Becky were bribing her with anything they could find to get her to come take a picture with them.  The remote was a good option.

They are still trying to get her to smile at the camera while doing so themselves, and Lucy realized she got tricked. ;) (Lucy's face cracks me up.)

Somewhat normal picture.

 ...and she's done.

Mischevious

One day I found Lucy splashing around in the toilet for fun and from that point on I have mostly kept the bathroom door shut.  Of course the one time I did't, she unrolled all the toilet paper.  She was pretty proud of herself! haha.

Another niece!

My sister had her third baby today, another little (actually, pretty big) girl!  I'm so glad she made here safe and healthy.  I can't wait to meet her sometime but until then, picture texts will have to do.  Congrats Lisa and Brandon!

Date night

Ryan's work Christmas party was on Saturday night at Hyde Park Steakhouse in downtown Columbus.  It was a lot of fun with amazing food.  Obviously it would be awkward to take pictures there, so we snapped a quick one before we left.

My mom came down that morning from Cleveland and while Ryan and I went on our date, she and Lucy had one of their own.  I just need to add in here that we had a miracle and direct answer to my prayers: Lucy did not cry for my mom.  It helped that she was already having a really good, non-fussy day.  That and the fact that she had all day to warm up to my mom really helped.  Although it certainly didn't take all day for Lucy to get used to her.  After just a few hours, Ryan and I were busy doing things here and there and Lucy was totally happy and entertained without us as long as my mom was playing with her.  They went up and down the stairs a bunch, played with her toys, read books, sang songs, chased each other, ate snacks, and she even had fun watching my mom sew (obviously my mom was careful with that one).  They had so much fun!  We said our goodbyes and then snuck out the door while my mom was feeding Lucy dinner.  She didn't cry at all- not even when my mom put her down to sleep!  Although she did wake up crying before we got home, but that's pretty typical for us, too.  Can you believe all of that?!  I was so happy.  And can you tell that I put my mom to work? :)  I ask her to come down and then make her sew projects, entertain and feed my baby, and then babysit.  Of course she loves to do all of that, so I know she doesn't mind, but I appreciated the help a ton.  Thanks again, mom!!

Zzzzzz.....

We never get to go in and look at Lucy sleeping because she is usually such a light sleeper and we don't want to wake her up.  This particular day though I had to wake her up because it was getting really late already and I wanted her to go to sleep at a decent time.  When I walked in, she looked so cute, but her reaction to me was funny.

In chronological order...

Just snoozing away in a comfortable position... ;)

 She heard the camera and saw the flash and rolled over to see what was going on...

 Then gave me a look that told me how annoyed she was....

 Then she found her pacifier and put it back in her mouth.....

 And promptly fell right back to sleep. :)

Haha.  Tired girl!