Lyla's first birthday came and went without a really big tadoo but we did have cake and presents with the kids. Cole vividly remembers presents from Christmas so he was VERY excited to open those gifts!

I really thought Lyla would be walking by her first birthday but she hasn't seemed very interested in it for the past couple of months, but boy was she into it yesterday.  For literally an hour she ran back and forth through the house with any walker she could find.

My trip to Florida with Rick was so fun and SO NEEDED. We felt like newlyweds again without the kids to worry about. Knowing they were having a great time with their cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents definitely made things easier. I was thrilled to hear that they didn't even complain while we were away. When Rick left on Wednesday, I explained to Cole that dad was on a trip and he would come back. So the day before I left, I told him I was going on a trip to see dad and that I would be back too. My mother said Cole completely understood and would say, "Mom, trip, dad, come back." Awesome. I love that he didn't worry because he totally knew everything was fine.  One thing we did do at Grandma's house is finally give this boy a haircut.  Going from this:

to this:

He was a pretty good sport about it all considering he hates his hair cut which is why I had let it go so long.  His reward was a piece of gum which he is chomping on in the pic above.  (Although I hate giving him gum because he ALWAYS swallows it. His intestines must be full of the stuff by now.)

We mostly went out for dinners as Rick was in meetings on and off throughout the day. I enjoyed the time to read books and bask in the sun. I'm so glad it was warm and beautiful. We went to a Hibachi grill at the resort the first night, pirates adventure dinner the second night and a murder mystery dinner the final night. All dinners were good with the most fun being the mystery dinner. Rick actually was asked to take part in it which made it even more fun. The acting and quick improve of the group was outstanding.

Here are a few other shots. After the pirate dinner we walked around and found this massive carousel ride. I thought I was pretty good with scary rides and considering that this is swing carousel which I love (and is NOT scary), I was super excited. Let me tell you this was HIGH. I had to shut my eyes when it was at the very top but would open them if they dropped even a few feet from there. For some reason my eyes just would NOT open at the very top. It was thrilling.

It's good to be back home again too though.  We are enjoying the warm weather and spending a lot of time outside. These videos are from before we left but we Rick took them to the park to fly a kite so I'll try to post those videos soon.

Cole is still very into animals. While we were outside he was so hyper that his animal sounds all came out as yells. I thought it was so funny.

Lyla officially loves slides now and both she and Cole prefer to do them on their tummy. She loves to explore the dirt and grass outside. She knows the sign for outside and uses it ALL THE TIME. The little thing could live outside and probably be very happy. I don't mind it except for the very dirty clothes and scruffed up shoes and knees in the pants. Learn to walk baby girl and you will love it even more!

Yesterday, it was rainy and gray all morning so I pulled out a pop-up tent I bought at Wal-mart after Christmas when they were on clearance. The kids LOVED it!

Cole does a lot of singing now too. I've got to get this on video. I don't know why I haven't yet really. He will start singing to most things he has heard before. He just makes noises and tries to follow along. It is so cute to hear him just start singing. I hope he always sings. It makes me happy.  I feel so blessed to be his mother.


Little Princess went to her one-year checkup yesterday and weighed in at 19lb 5oz. That is actually 5 ounces less that Cole weighed at age 1, but she is 2 1/2 inches shorter than he was! Our little girl is still only 5th percentile for height and is 25th percentile for weight. The doctor said he thought I was rightly justified in taking her off whole milk and giving her 2% instead because her weight gain is still really good. She is just a shorty (27 inches to be exact).  She is so much fun to be with. After her shots she was not very happy but she still seemed to make the best of it.  I feel so blessed to be her mother.