Our Florida Vacation...

DAY 1...
We had a fantastic early morning start! I had to wake up Laela, but she was thrilled to be going on the airplane. She was continuously giggling and talking about going up in the airplane. We had plenty of time to eat our usual McDonald's breakfast. (Well...we ate our breakfast and Laela decided then that she was not going to eat much on our trip. Oh well...we ate for her!)BTW...we are in the middle of potty training too. Laela did awesome that morning. She loves going potty on public toilets...YUCK! Obviously she does not get that from me! THEN...it all started. CRAZINESS on the plane! We got on and we were waiting and waiting and waiting. Laela talked about the airplanes, wrote a few notes and even studied the airplane "rules." Finally after 1 hour of sitting in the plane, they said we were good to go! We got about 100 yards away and the plane stopped. Something was wrong with the engine, so a big truck had to come pull us back in. We deplaned and waited 30 more minutes inside. We finally got on a new plane, waited another 30 minutes and then off we went. SERIOUSLY! Thank goodness Laela was pooped from waking up so early and running around in the airport, so she fell asleep for most of the plane ride. We made it to Fort Walton Beach Florida and WOW it was HOT! The temperature was only 90-95 but the sun was BLAZING! Our first stop...Dairy Queen. HA! We do not have one close to the house and it was the first familiar place we saw, so we stopped. After lunch, Laela grabbed a cup of ice and we were on the road for about an hour. (We think she is getting in her final molars or something monsterous in her mouth because she ate ice the entire week!)Ro and I first talked about this trip quite awhile ago and he wanted to get a good deal on airline tickets so we booked that first. Then he booked a hotel room. After more research, he found a resort style place that looked better and closer to the beach. Only problem was that it was an hour away from the airport. It ended up being fantastic and the hour drive was really not a big deal! If people in Florida drove like people in Texas, it would have been a 20 minute commute! We stayed in Water Sound. Check it out here. The place was really cute and we would recommend it to anyone! Laela's favorite part of the whole place was that she could run circles through the living room, bedroom, bathroom, etc. She loved it!DAY 2:
We headed to Gulf World in Panama City early that morning. We did not realize that Water Sound was actually much closer to Panama City than it was to Fort Walton...Of course I needed a fountain diet coke, but you would not believe how difficult it is to find one in this place! We had to drive almost 20 minutes to get to a McDonald's and then it cost $2.50! YIKES! No wonder everyone is skinny in this state...there is not a fast food joint on every corner like at home.
We headed into Guld World and we saw several kinds of animals and shows. We blew kisses to the penguins, checked on the playful dolphins, tried to pet a stingray, looked at the colorful macaws, and peeked in on a tortoise and fish.

There was a sea lion show and we did not know how Laela would react, but she LOVED it! The sea lion's name was Otto. To this very day, you can ask her about Otto and she will tell you "Sea lions jump in the water!" (We actually have heard that sentence about 357 times since the show.) After the show, we moved on to the indoor flamingos, macaws, and fish. It was nice to cool off and then we headed into a bird show. It was very interesting and surprisingly kept Laela's attention. The coolest part was when they asked the audience for 2 numbers and one of the birds range a bell to answer the addition and subtraction problems. WOW! They are smart!At this point Laela was begging us to see the dolphins. It was not time yet, so we stalled with the insect show (YUCK!) and then the dolphin show! We were all so hot and sweaty, but, like the sea lion show, she LOVED it! Now she says "Dolphins and sea lions jump out of the water!"3 1/2 hours at Gulf World did us in. Here is Laela 3 minutes after getting into the car...DAY 3...
We were off to the beach! We loaded up our stuff and out to the beach we went. Miss Thang decided very quickly that she was not a fan of the beach. The sand was hard for her to walk in and it did not feel good on her hands or feet. HA! What a dork. Ro did take her out into the big waves, but other than that...we were not beach fans.We enjoyed the pool a lot more!DAY 4:
We headed to the pool for an early morning swim. We were able to stay and play for a couple of hours before heading back to pack and get ready to go. As we were showering off, we noticed that 4 days in the sun causes this problem...OH MY! Who would have thought? Laela has such beautiful, tan skin! :) Off we went. We left early because of the drive back and we thought Laela would nap for a good 2 hours in the car. Well...NOPE! She only napped a little over an hour so we were pretty early to the airport. Oh well! We made a record. If you know us, then you know we love to squeel in about time for boarding the plane. Believe it or not, we were waiting for 2 hours before we boarded! We walked and walked and walked, then Laela got out her dog and teddy bear to play. :)Overall, we had a FANTASTIC trip to Ocean Sound, Florida! We hope to go back again sometime...maybe even with a few friends so all of us can play a little more! :)

An Impromptu Park Visit...

Here they were then...
Here they are now...Brandt is such a great match for Laela! He is a sweet little gentleman. B let Laela grab his hand, drag him along, and talk his ear off...and he didn't even mind! He is going to be a GREAT catch one day. :)We had an awesome evening at the park with Jana and Brandt. This was the first time Laela showed interest in the big swings and she did wonderful!It is just amazing to watch her grow into a big girl. Before she would barely climb the stairs. Now she is climbing up to the tallest slide and I am freaking out! Oh my...what fun!

Diapers???

In order from left to right: swimmers, regulars, pull-ups, over-nites.Should we need this many diapers for one child to go on a four day vacation?

Rough Riders Game!

Tonight Ro's work had their yearly company outing at the Rough Riders game. We were talking and realized that the last Rough Riders game we went to, waswith some friends when I was pregnant! Well, like any evening event, we never know what the night will hold with our little beast. :) We got to the game right on time, made our way in and found some food! It was a great time! Laela lasted a couple of hours, played with her new friend Lilly, and got to go to bed late. What a wonderful evening!

Laela's new daycare...

Well...the time finally came. My last day of school was also Laela's last day of school; however, we had been telling her that she was going to start a NEW school. I don't know if she wasn't listening or just didn't believe us, but she was not too thrilled come drop off time. :(

Laela and I went by on Monday to pay and finalize a few things. We went into the classroom to check everything out and Laela did not leave my side! She actually wanted me to hold her. I told her several times that afternoon and evening she would be going to school on Tuesday. She did fine going in, until it was time to say good-bye. Then a huge scream! She was not happy about me leaving. The last few weeks have been tough with her because she is really attached to "daddy". She calls for him, even when he is in another room, almost like she has lost him or she is afraid he has left her. Anyway, I was very sad leaving her there Tuesday morning. I rushed home and thank goodness for great technology. The new school has cameras and we can watch Laela during the day. Believe it or not, I was able to watch her throughout the day, as I painted and decorated the laundry room! Anyway, she became very attached to Ms. Amber and followed her around all day long. Laela did eat at the big girl lunch tables and she even slept on a mat at naptime! Overall, not a bad first day.

Since she is only scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday I enrolled Laela at Little Gym for the Wednesday summer session. We played and had a great time there in the morning and did a little shopping in the afternoon.

Thursday morning was a little different. Laela cried on the way to school. It really broke my heart because she has never cried on the way to school. We got there and she walked in just fine. (I have figured out that she loves the fish tank inside school, so I remind her that we need to say hi to the fish and she is ready!) She actually lead me right into the room, but then quickly went crazy when she saw the teachers and kids. There are definitely a few more kids in this class and that may overwhelm her. Either way, I passed her to her favorite teacher, gave her a hug and kiss and left. Oh man! That is hard. Again, I watched her during the day and she seemed to be fine. She got out her blanket from her cubby and starting carrying it around, but she was not interacting much with the kids. I picked her up and she seemed fine! She talked my ear off on the way to the car telling me about her day.

Today, we turned off of our street and onto the main road and she yelled out "no school" and immediatley started crying. Oh my! Again, being a mom is hard work! I wanted to turn the car around, take her home and just hold her...but that is not the real world. We kept on truckin' and we talked all the way to school. Once we got there, she was calmed down a little and again I used the fish as "bait" to get her excited about going into school. She did the same thing she did yesterday. She lead me in, but cried when we saw the teachers. She asked for her blanket immediately, so I gave in and let her have it. I hope to only let her use that at school for a few more days and then be down with carrying around the yucky blanket. So...I watched her again...on and off today. She was more interactive. She touched the whipped cream that they were exploring today, she ate her lunch, she looked like she was talking with a couple of friends, and she was playing on the slide! YEA! This week they were learning about the "Artic" and will continue to explore artic living, artic animals, etc next week. I can't wait for Laela to really get involved and learn so many new things!

We made a little progress this week...BUT...we go on vacation next week and I am afraid we are going to have to start again when we come back. I am hoping that she will remember how happy she was when we walked to the car today, how much we giggled on the way home, and even how much she continued to play and laugh and love life when we got home.> I hope and pray that we have made the best decision for Laela. The first few weeks will be rough on all of us, but we really want the best for our sweet baby girl!

"do it yourself" projects...

#1 DIY project...the front door! Like I said before, I sanded, stained, varnished and added new hardware to the door because the weather had really taken a toll on it. I was almost embarrassed that it was the first thing people saw when they came to our house. Well, now is it much better, but still not finished. I was an idiot and I varnished when it was starting to get dark; therefore, there are a few spots with no varnish and a few spots with too much. :) Not shabby looking from far away!
#2 DIY project...the laundry room! For some reason, I have always wanted to paint and decorate the laundry room. I hate that it was just white and boring. We go in and out of the laundry room everyday because it is our entrance to the garage. I finally got the urge to pick out a paint color and go with it! I forgot to take the very beginning pictures, but here is the middle.And the end... Ahhhhh...so much nicer to walk into the house now AND don't have to worry about the laundry room being open when guests come over.
Next on my list...the half bathroom! :) I hope to get to that after our vacation next week.

Summer...Day 1

We survived! HA!

Today was a busy day....we started out the morning by taking mom for a car ride. She has not been out of the house in a week, so we went over to Granna and Gramps. We had a nice visit and headed back. Laela ate lunch, napped and then played for a bit before heading to her new school. We gave them a few necessary papers and finalized everything for her to start tomorrow.(Oh my...I really hope that we have made a good decision. I think that once she gets acclimated, she will do great! Laela is going to school Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. On Wednesdays, we have Little Gym in the morning and we will find something to do in the afternoon as well as all day Monday. I plan to keep us both busy so that we will not get too crazy when we are together...oh like mother, like daughter. )

Oh...I was unloading the diswasher and Laela jus thad to help. Well...as I was multi-tasking (talking on the phone and unloading) I saw her get out two of her cups. She was playing with them and then I was distracted and didn't see where she put them until I went to get some ice water...What a dork! She stuck the cups under the water and ice dispenser on the refrigerator and left them there! I laughed and laughed...then I took a picture!

Anyway, after all of that fun, Brooke, Kheang, and Madelyn came over for dinner and a little play time. Our sweet little Laela was not so quiet tonight. She was very vocal and very LOUD. She did pretty well with sharing, but still something that needs to be worked on. Oh man! Madelyn has found her new favorite toy...Laela's mini four-wheeler...and she did awesome!We are very glad the Eung's joined us for dinner and fun tonight!
BTW - I completed my first DIY project yesterday...the front door. I sanded, stained, varnished, and changed the hardware. There are a few minor touch-ups, but overall...much better than before and it only cost us about $130 vs $1000. YEA! Now I am in the process of starting DIY project number two tomorrow while Laela is at school...repaint and decorate the laundry room! :) (Pictures to come later.)