Islamorada, Florida... to be continued

We enjoyed a family vacation in Islamorada, Florida. It was wonderful. The weather was 75 and sunny, the house was beautiful, the food was good, and I enjoyed a margarita or blue moon everyday... most importantly we spent time with my wonderful parents, Grandmother, Brother, Sister-in-law, niece, and nephews. Taylor was loving life too... so much so she didn't want to sleep past 4:30 or 5am. The one morning I was walking around outside with her at about 4:45am feeling a little cranky about it and I realized that walking on the dock and looking up at the amazing stars was much much better than the alternative which would have been me pacing my hallways with her at home! Truth be told though, Mike was a trooper and got up with her the majority of the mornings!

We were so lucky to have a pool at our house because Taylor loves the water! It was a little nerve wracking at times since she is a speed crawler with no fear... bad combo!

Taylor's stranger anxiety was a little heightened being in a new place with some new people to meet but she took to the kids immediately. They were so great with her. I wish we lived closer... hopefully lots of visits in the future!

Although Taylor was beautiful in her dress and we got lots of great pictures it was a little frustrating for her because it is basically impossible to crawl in a dress. The poor thing had to lift her knees off the ground and basically walk with her hands down (can you get the visual?). I thought it would motivate her to walk but that wasn't the case!

This was early one morning while Mike was trying to quietly entertain her... a cell phone always does the trick!We went to a dolphin and sea lion show and Taylor was very impressed. Each one was about a 1/2 hour and she was completely engrossed. You can see the intensity in her eyebrows!

I have more pics to post and more to write but I haven't had much time... I will add more and do her 11 month post eventually!!

TLC

Emma is recovering from a minor surgery to have two lumps removed. We are keeping our fingers crossed that she is healthy and that they are not cancerous. In the meantime we are giving her some TLC... which is always the best when it is coming from Taylor.

It is nothing that a little smack with a maraca can't help!

Sleep is good

I think Taylor is finally starting to like to sleep and I love it because this has translated in to longer naps. Occasionally the longer naps are in my arms which I can't complain about... for two reasons- 1. it is the only time I get to sit during the day 2. there is nothing I love more than snuggling her in my arms and watching her sleep. As she gets older I realize that this isn't going to last forever. When she was a baby baby I used to panic every time I gave in and held her to sleep because I thought I would ruin all potential of having a good sleeper but now I just enjoy every moment that we get to cuddle!

The other day after coming home from a busy day at Gram's Taylor was spent and she fell asleep in my arms as I was taking her out of the car seat. After an hour in my arms I laid her on the floor so I could start dinner. After about three minutes in the kitchen I walked out to check on her and this is what I found...

Sometimes Taylor takes a few minutes to adjust to being awake and there isn't too much that can make her happy. I love how annoyed she looks in the picture, like "why are you taking a picture of me mom, can't you see I am cranky?"

Daddy's girl

Taylor has prefered me over Mike for much of her life so far but the tide is turning... She gets upset when he leaves for work in the morning and when he gets home she sprints (in a crawling position!) right towards him. This weekend we went for a walk outside and when she saw her Daddy working in the garage, and slightly ignoring her, she cried. He came out to show her the tape measure and she was surely impressed... like it was the coolest thing she has ever seen!