Ode to the Florida Girls

I ADORE this photo. These are my Florida girls (Marlis, Shelley, Tammy, and Keri-Ann) and I'm already missing them dearly. Shelley came over from Tampa last weekend for a visit, and we got to have a Pizza Night, spend time downtown, and go out for a fun comedy show at the Improv with everyone, and she got lots of relaxing in (so thanks to Aaron for holding down the fort for her so we could have fun). Our kids have been growing up together, we've been navigating motherhood together, navigating careers together, finding balance together, and finding good times together. It takes a village people! These girls are part of my village. LOVE. Pizza Pallooza is on the horizon....

Gender Poll

I promise there's only one baby in there! Well, this was taken during the 17th Week, but I know you won't believe me. I think I'm going to stick with the "I'm small framed, so there's nowhere to hide a baby bump" excuse. No really - the second pregnancy definitely pops early! Despite looking super tired (which I usually am) in these photos and not liking them too much, I felt a bump update was needed...especially since we are t-minus 13 days from the ultrasound which should tell us the gender. Hooray! We cannot wait to know if it's a boy or girl so that we can stop using words like, "it," "that thing," "fetus," "Captain Hook," and "Baby A/2." I hate the generic relationship part of pregnancy and am ready to start thinking of names and planning a room (a non-green/yellow-biased room, that is).

SO - Consider this post a gender poll - we are taking votes on what you think ole Captain Hook will end up being! Leave a comment letting us know if you think it's a boy or girl and we'll be soon announcing the results!

I Want to Show You ME!

Class pictures came in this week...they had these posted in the school hallway for a couple of weeks now and Tyndell was obsessed over it, so I had to get one. Every time she walked past her class picture, she'd say, "I want to show you me...and there's Tara and Cooper and Brandon." Isn't it funny how even at this age some kids just become friends? I think a lot of it has to do with these four are the full time students (meaning they are probably some of the first to be dropped off each day and last to be picked up) so they see each other the most everyday, but these four also seem to be thick as thieves in playtime regardless, as Tara's Mom would say. We're definitely going to miss this school, and Tyndell has done really well there, so hopefully we will find one that we love as much or more in Charlotte!

Advent Easter Party

Yesterday, I attended Tyndell's class Easter party at school. Those events are always chaotic fun - parents get to come watch the kids eat too much sugar, sing songs and say prayers during circle time, and then this time, we got to see an egg hunt. Tyndell had a blast and especially with her buddies, Tara and Cooper. She chose two orange eggs (great choice of course) - everyone was allowed only two haha - and then we got to hug and pose for pictures with the Easter bunny. Happy Easter weekend everyone! Jeff and I are kicking off ours by celebratinng our 9th Anniversary tonight! Whoa - crazy how time flies - it's been a wonderful 9 years together. We told Tyndell today that she was complements of today, where it all began haha.

Getting Into the Spring of Things

Last weekend we took Tyndell to Toy Story 3 on Ice with some school buddies - she dressed as Jesse for the event, which was pretty cute....the show was pretty good - maybe even better than 100 Years of Magic! On Palm Sunday, we visited Tyndell's school church (she was supposed to sing, but didn't get on stage actually), and then we went over to GigiPapa's for dinner/swimming. Tyndell and Jeff raced boats in the pool and Tyndell convinced Mom and Dad to play dodgeball with her. I love that last photo of her and my Mom - simply joyful.

Uptown Charlotte Statue Fun

The other weekend, Jeff and I were up in Charlotte - he had a meeting at that office, we needed to look at schools and houses, and I had an interview with my company - trying to figure out these move logistics. Well - it was an exhausting weekend of driving and looking and toiling over what to do, but right before Jeff had to leave for the airport, we had a couple of hours to waste so we took in some of the silly statue sites in uptown Charlotte for fun. It really is a nice city and it was full on springtime while we were there - tulips and cherry tree heaven! We are still targeting May to move, and it's gonna be here before we know it I'm sure.

First Beach Day...Last Beach Day?

The other weekend, Tyndell wanted to go to the beach, and rightly so...it had been a while. It was a beautiful day and we might have even spent a good 3 hours there, which we normally don't do, but we got in right after lunch and out before a storm (just in time for perfect napping conditions). Will this be our last beach day before our move to Charlotte in May? I don't know....but it might be. Definitely cannot beat beautiful South Florida beaches and water...it's one of the things I will miss here. Though not being a "beach person," and being within a couple hours of mountains, I think I'll be ok. :)

Made It to 14 Weeks

Here is the most recent ultrasound from the other week - at 12 Weeks to be exact. Sent this to Jeff at work today to make him smile since it says, "Hi Dad." So cute. I am officially 14 Weeks today, so hooray for finally making it to the 2nd trimester! Finally starting to feel a bit better and more energetic after a brutal, queasy 2 months. This is much different and harder than the first time around. On to better things/feelings literally. And hopefully that means more and better updates.

Two BIG Announcements!

So here's how the last month went (and this explains the lack of posting for several weeks): We found out we're expecting Baby #2! Hooray! And then 24 hours later, Jeff's company asked him to consider relocating to their Charlotte, NC office....wha?! So yes - TWO BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS for this month for us. We are literally moving up (north) and out (belly).

So far, we've had two appointments with my wonderful midwife (who I'm already missing) and the baby looks great and right on target. We actually heard the heartbeat today too which is so precious. I am 11 weeks right now so that means we're due on September 20th. I totally look farther along (everyone "claims" this is normal for the subsequent pregnancies), so we had to start telling those peeps in our immediate surroundings a couple of weeks ago because it was so obvious. Tyndell tells everyone that this baby's name is Captain Hook. I'm not sure how to take this considering how much she loves Peter Pan, however, he is the bad guy. She seems pretty excited actually and likes to give my belly kisses. This pregnancy has already been so different and unfortunately I've been much more sick and tired than I was with Tyndell....that first trimester grossness is definitely there and dragging on. Three-o-clock forward is rough so hopefully it will clear up soon.

And as for moving, we are targeting May...mainly because Jeff's company wants him up there to start the new position and well....I do not want to be moving/settling in when I am HUGE! So right now we are chaotic thinking of all the things you have to think to move. My company is trying to work it out so that I can transfer to our Charlotte office too, so everything seems to be working out. The main chaos is beginning to navigate the joys of a short sale so that we can sell our house. Pray for that please :)

Big year ahead and big changes for us but we are trusting that while all this may be crazy in the short term, we believe/feel that long term, this will be a good move for us and especially think this may be a better place to raise our kiddos. We are also looking forward to being a little closer to some wonderful people and family that we normally do not get to see that often, so this will make that easier. Even my parents are planning to move up too - how wonderful is that?! I hate to admit that I'm already looking forward to Christmas so that we can enjoy our cute little 4-person family together and feel settled.

Proud Mama

We had our very first parent/teacher conference this week. It was really nice to have a few minutes to sit down with Tyndell's cool teacher, Mrs. Ceparano, and hear some feedback, which we don't get regularly (no written reports yet for this age). She gave us the circle and horizontal line drawings above to show how Tyndell is progressing, which I thought was pretty wonderful at an early 3 years old. Yay Tyndell! And then, one night this week while I was making dinner, Tyndell wanted to do some water painting (care of the lovely Auntie Jackie) and did the carousel picture above and stayed close to the lines with the colors pretty well. She has been painting lots lately which is fun to see and she was very adamant that I didn't look at her picture until she was done. Anyway - we got great reports from Ceparano and it was some very nice facetime and just made us love how our little one's mind is working even more. It is precious to see the learning process - probably one of the best things about parenting I have to say. The P/T Conference: One new milestone down ha! Anyway go go Tyndell! I'm definitely feeling like a proud Mama this week and thought I'd share.

Quick Trip to the Happiest Place on Earth

This past week Tyndell kept asking to go back to Disney, so we decided to do a quick trip up to Orlando this past weekend since we had no plans anyway. We left early on Saturday, checked into our hotel, and then headed to Magic Kingdom. Jeff found this awesome deal at the Disney Port Orleans Riverside Hotel, and then we just took the buses to the park, and got to save on parking. We spent about 5 hours at the park, came back to the hotel for naps and dinner, and then went back for fireworks and a few more rides. I have to say - this was a great way to do it so as to max out fun but not end up with an overtired and crazed kid. Plus - we never get to see the fireworks since we usually stay straight through all day, so props to Jeff for finding this nice on-property hotel! I have to say - it was super cute and comfy too. We started out our park time at Tomorrowland and hit up the Buzz Lightyear ride, which we had never gotten to do before and then did the PeopleMover and the Cars Speedway. The cars ride is where Tyndell proceeded to say "No - I do it" one thousand times until I let her whiplash the car as much as she wanted. It was pretty funny letting her drive it though. Then we headed to Fantasyland which always most crowded and takes some time (and notice Tyndell's change of clothes to her Tinker Bell costume) - we did Snow White, the carousel, Small World (of course), and then hit up some lunch at the Pinocchio cafe. We fast passed Peter Pan right before we left for America and the Hall of Presidents, where Jeff tried to convince us it was fun but we both disagreed ha. That was about the time naps were needed and we took our break. We got back to the park right before the light show on the castle (which I have to admit was pretty cool) and the fireworks (probably the best show I've seen in years...no, honestly!). Then we got to meet Tinker Bell (score for Tyndell Bell!) and Terrance at Pixie Hollow (read: I have a crush on Terrance now) and spend some time in Adventureland (Jungle cruise is SO much better in the dark I have to say!) where we got to ride most everything before heading back to Peter Pan. On our way out, Jeff and Tyndell did the Carousel of Progress while I went for a hot chocolate fix, and then we headed back to fall asleep (instead of driving - yay!). The next morning we wandered around the hotel and then had a lazy breakfast at Mimi's Cafe (we love this place and there isn't one in South Florida) before driving home. Great short mini-vacation! It's nice to hit up the parks in the low season when the weather is nice and it's not too crowded....and Tyndell got her Disney fix for the moment. We ended up getting the super economical Wild passes for Florida residents so we'll probably go back 3 more times before May....what a deal! Bonus was that we escaped weekend rain at home and the park must have made me happy b/c my struggling sore throat started feeling better....almost there.

Visting the Wild Animals

A zoo outing was long overdue so this past weekend, Tyndell and I went while Jeff was brewing some beer at home so that we'd be out of his way. It was beautiful outside and wasn't too crowded and we even stopped to feed birds a couple of times. Tyndell likes all the Ibises and the Swans. However this time - Tyndell seemed to be the most in awe of the Komodo Dragon though. She seems to be obsessed with dragons, in general, right now. Every conversation has a dragon worked into it. Maybe we've been watching a little too much Sleeping Beauty lately haha or maybe I have Miss Laura to thank for that Wild Animals audiobook which may have started the obsession with dangerous but intriging creatures. Anyway - we had to ride the Carousel first - and on the baby Jaguar of course (yet another dangerous creature that she loves). These turtle statues you see, she has always loved and we have numerous pictures of her sitting on them over the years during visits so it's kinda a tradition at this point. And I want to announce that she took the final picture of the turtle with the camera herself - not bad, not bad for a budding photog. I just love the Palm Beach zoo. It may be the cutest zoo I've ever visited. And it's hard to leave without checking out all the cute puppets at the gift shop and Tyndell chose a small purple dragon to take home.