Family Vacation

We were so blessed to be able to take this family vacation to Florida together. We had the chance to make many memories with Gram and Gramps, Alyson, Jon and the kids, and also meet friends of the family. We were sad to see the trip come to an end, but we have many wonderful memories from the week. Here are a few more highlights of the trip!

Our last day in Florida we had the opportunity to meet Grams friend Beth (her roommate from Houghton College) and her husband Mike. They have been friends for 40 years! We had a wonderful visit over lunch at the Cracker Barrel. We've heard so much about Mike and Beth and finally have faces to put with the names! Thanks for driving all that way to meet us! We appreciated it!

We took Hannah back to Gemini Springs to walk around and swing on the swings. As we were walking around we were admiring this sign and quickly noticed that they weren't lying! Look in the background...yeah, I don't even like looking at the picture! We were too close for my liking!

Hannah enjoyed the swings! It was cute to see her kicking her feet and clapping her hands. I think we'll be spending a lot of time on the swings at camp this summer!

This time Daddy got to go swimming at the pool with us! Hannah was able to try out the ladybug that her cousin Sarah passed down to her! She didn't mind being held, but really enjoyed it when she could float around and splash by herself! Nonie and Papa...we'll be in your pool this summer for sure!

Family Vacation - Daytona Beach

On Friday of our vacation we spent the afternoon at Daytona Beach. This was the first trip to the ocean that we could actually put our feet in the water and enjoy the warmth of the sun. Hannah isn't a huge fan of the sun, so she spent a bit of time under the canopy chair playing with her toys. She enjoyed people watching while chewing on her toys helping her fourth tooth come through! Can you believe it? 81/2 months old and 4 teeth already! What a big girl!

She experiemented with the sand a little bit....and yes, even tasted it during the two seconds mommy took her eyes off her! I wouldn't say it's the meal of choice, but I do think I'll need to be on better guard next time!

She splashed in the water with Daddy. She was a little cautious of the water, not really too sure what to think. I think if it was warmer she would have enjoyed it a bit more.

I couldn't resist with this one! Aren't her little feet just the cutest? It was a great day at the beach!

Family Vacation - Steve's Birthday

For Steve's birthday this year we were visiting his family in DeBary, Florida. Since we were only 45 minutes from Orlando, we decided to spend his birthday in Disney World. We had such a great day! His mom and dad decided to come and share the experience with us. It was great to have them there. It worked out great because Gramps wanted to ride the rides with us while Gram and Hannah had some bonding time walking around and looking at the THOUSANDS of people who were also there! Hannah did get to go on "It's a Small World" and the "Winnie the Pooh" ride. She loved them! (We don't have a better family picture because every time we were in front of the castle, Hannah was asleep. So, she's there with us, but asleep in the stroller!)

Hannah loved the train ride that went around the park. I thought it was so cute how she was holding on! That's my girl - being safe! We won't show the pictures of Gram and Gramps sleeping on the train ride! Heehee! :)

While we were waiting for the parade to start, Hannah made friends with Noah from South Carolina! He let her borrow his ears for a little while...they were cute playing together!

Hannah made it through the entire day with NO problem! This is a picture of her and Daddy watching the Spectromagic parade. You can see it in her eyes how much she enjoyed looking at the spectacular lights!

This is us on the ferry boat back to our car at about 10:30p.m. She took 3 short naps throughout the day in her stroller and still managed to leave with a smile on her face. We know she won't remember a single thing, but Daddy and I sure enjoyed making the memory with her! Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Easter!

We had a very special Easter this year...We were able to spend a wonderful weekend with my family to celebrate Palm Sunday. We had a great day with the entire family having great food, conversation, and tons of laughs playing games! It was neat to see Hannah playing with her cousins all by herself. She is getting big enough that I can leave her to play with the older cousins. They are great babysitters already! Here are a couple pictures of Hannah on Palm Sunday.

Checking out what the Easter Bunny gave her in her Easter basket!

On Easter Sunday we were back in DeBary, Florida with Steve's family. Hannah got the chance to have an Easter egg hunt with her Wells' cousins.


Of course, we don't get to have all the cousins together too often so we had to have a mini photo shoot. As you can see, the parents were more excited about it than the kids were...precious memories!

Promise of Spring!

As you can imagine, we are more than ready to get rid of our snow here in Speculator! Winter has been long enough if you ask me! We've had a few days of beautiful weather and sunshine and decided to finally get out of the house!

This was Hannah's first trip to the town park. She did some swinging and even went down the slide with Daddy! And YES! We are swinging over snow. A little desperate would you say? *sigh*

We've also been trying to go for walks in the evening. This night was still a little chilly, but a pefect night for Hannah to wear her North Carolina Tar Heels Winter Outfit. (She wore it for daddy's sake!) He's trying so hard to make her a Carolina fan already! This was the first time Hannah used the backpack. She seemed to enjoy looking around and having a little more freedom! We can't wait for the warm weather!!