Week Six: Sunshine State

Vacations can be so stressful. The pressure to do everything and have ALL THE FUN can be so paralyzing.

This vacation was not like that, my friends. Not at all!

We had a few things we wanted to do, but plenty of time for relaxing and winging it. And wing it we did.

Hang out time with cousins, both adult and toddler sized. Lowry Park Zoo. Hang out time with aunties and uncles. Brunches. Coffee dates. Ice cream. Beaches and boardwalks. Favorite restaurants and grouper galore. Basically everything we hoped this vacation would bring!

I've been posting pictures throughout our trip, but here are some of my favorites. I truly hope everyone has a chance to take a vacation as chill as this one has been at some point in their lives. I recommend not while you have a toddler. ;) But even with O toddlerin' like crazy some days, it was still pretty amazing. 

Brunch with cousins. <3

Gymnastics!

Lorikeets 

Making birdie friends.

Total beach bum.

On our date!

John's Pass. 

Singing his heart out on the golf course. 

An evening stroll on the golf course. 

Uncle Bobby and Uncle Jerry visited!

Valentine's Day treats. 

I can't even with the cute in this photo. 

Almost every morning was lazy and delightful. 

On the way home we saw a shadow of our plane in a circular rainbow. What?!

My little buddy and I at John's Pass. 

Someone took a snooze at the zoo! Thanks, standard size Kinderpack, for fitting my almost 3 year old. 

Zoo selfie!

Owies are made better by bandaids and snuggles. 

Ready to catch Daddy on the slide.

Sand covered kid. 

Week Seven: Snow Painting

Back to reality after our trip. It is always so hard to get back in the swing of things after such a great vacation.

O had a great idea that made the best of a snowy reality. Snow painting!

It is an activity we did a while ago but I had totally forgotten about. O was eager to scoop up some snow to use, and headed out on his own to get it.

Mr. No Pants wanted to get his own snow.

Beyond some snow, all you need are watercolors, brushes, and water.

Snow painting!

What started as an art project evolved into an experiment about freezing and melting and measuring as O mixed scoops of snow into the water cup. It was a blast!

Mixing colorful snow into the water. 

How much snow can we mix in before it stops melting? {A lot}

Week Five: Operation Toddler on a Plane

I am almost embarrassed to admit how much of my time this week was devoted to mentally planning our flight to Florida. Not the trip itself; we will wing it when we get there. But the actual flights down there are what I've been devoting much too much brain space to.

But guess what? Worth it!! As I sit here with a happy toddler and a margarita, I can 100% confirm it was worth it.

Here is what we packed in the carry on:

*Applesauce pouches
*Bunny Grahams
*Raisins
*Alphabet carrot and zucchini cookies
*Fruit snacks
*Granola bars

*Change of clothes and 2 pair of undies for O
*Kleenex
*Hand and face wipes
*A couple zip lock bags just in case
*Extra contacts+solution+glasses

* A sheet of puffy stickers
*Character band-aids  {princess and minion by request}
*Two rolls of colorful masking tape
*Felt pizza {from last year's busy bag exchange}
*Velcro color matching with paint samples {from last year's busy bag exchange}
*Foam tangrams
*Color changing silly putty
*Mini slinky
*Airport sticker book
*Sticker alphabet book
*Kindle
*Headphones

We are already getting ready to land and we have gone through each entertainment opportunity, but O is happy, mama is happy, & daddy is happy. :)

Busy Bag activities from last year's busy bag swap were a hit!

Color changing silly putty. Highly recommend.

Masking tape is a hit at home and it was a big hit on the plane, too!

Mini slinky from the dollar section at Target was great.

A stacking crayon and foam tangrams from the dollar spot were both just OK.

Stickers and snacks and our BFF the Kindle. 

Week Four: A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

I have to share one of the most amusing and sweet things that has been going on recently.

O has always had a lot to say. Since birth he was loud, and found his voice shortly after. He started talking early, and was speaking in sentences that outsiders could understand before he was two. All that chatting makes me sometimes forget to take in just how hilarious and adorable some of it is.

Every night before bed Mike and I will tell O what to dream about and he has started telling us what to dream about too. We have started taking note of some of his suggestions. Here are a few from the last couple weeks, grouped by night. :)

• Really, really, really, really, really fast cars
• Crocodiles
• Kindle
• Mama
• Mac and cheese

• Alligators
• Porcupines
• Water fountains
• Barnes and Noble
• Rockets

• Mac and cheese 
• Flying planes
• Auntie Jessica
• Toy benches

• The man with the yellow hat
• Dinosaurs
• Macaroni and cheese
• Lamps

Am I writing this for you to enjoy or for me to chronicle and look back on in the years to come? Hard to say. Probably the latter, to be honest. But I just can't help it. I love every chance to tap into the enigma that is a toddler brain.