Florida in a nutshell

The pictures uploaded backwards so I will do my best to take you through them. This was our last morning in FL. Bethany was still figuring out if she wanted great grandpa to hold her. I wish we could have had more time for them to get comfortable with each other.

We went to the beach on Sunday and Bethany and I had some fun looking for shells, or should I say I had fun looking for shells and she had fun exploring and walking around.

First time in the Gulf of Mexico. Hopefully it won't be so cold next time we go. Whenever that will be...

Below: First time in the sand. Told ya these were all backwards. She was not sure about this at first but really had fun once she figured it out. I think she liked walking around barefoot.

Grandpa and I ran to the store one night and my dad watched her for us. She had fun dancing to the TV. Not sure what show this is as we don't have cable at home but all the same it must have been a good one.

An orange tree that still had oranges on it. Remember it's February...

Bethany's idea of Night Night... LOL

Look at those eyes... You could almost get lost in them. I love how blue they look here.

Mommy's idea of nap time... Much more productive. Maybe not as much fun.

Peak-a-boo. It was chilly most days we were on Vacation but we made the best of it and explored the mall play area. Bethany loved the slide and playing with the various toys and climbing things.

What a trip. I was a bit scared to go at first because I knew that this could be one of the last times I get to make the trip before my grandpa is no longer with us. I really wanted Bethany to meet him. He is such a great guy and though I never got to see him as much as my cousins I know he and my grandma loved us dearly and I will always be grateful for that. As a step-kid it would have been easy to brush me away but I NEVER once felt that from anyone in the family and that is an amazing thing to fell. I hope Bethany will always feel as loved as I have.

Sometimes it takes trips like this to remember these things.

Yummm

What a smile. She has really been in a good mood most mornings recently. Bethany seems to really like Frosted Mini Wheats and Quaker Oatmeal Squares soaked in a bit of milk. It gets a bit messy at times but she likes feeding herself so we don't mind. I like that it allows me to finish my breakfast in peace and get ready without a shadow.

"Here mom, want some!"

Check out that mess. She went straight to the tub after this but man did she enjoy her dinner. Totally random but I love that her bib says "priceless" it's so ironically true. What else could be said about that beautiful face and that smile. She is such a happy baby most days.

While Silas was reading to Bethany last night he swears she mimicked the words "square" and "circle". They also had fun playing with her sorting animal thingy from Parents.
http://www.target.com/Battat-Parents-Wacky-Willa/dp/B001ANXTVI/ref=sc_qi_detailbutton
Otherwise known as Wacky Willa!

Only 9 more days till Bethany and I get to go with my dad to Florida to see my Grandpa!!!! We are so excited!

Trolling around at Daddy's work!

We had a blast trolling the store. Bethany is getting so much stronger and can walk for much farther these days. The picture above shows Bethany running from Silas as he was trying to say good-bye.

Blurry but cute: Both pictures were taken with my phone. As you can clearly see though, Bethany had fun. Waking her up this morning was a bit of a chore. She was WIPED out.

After visiting the store we stopped over at the Reding's house and she proceeded to eat a second dinner. She really liked Sam's chicken from the chicken fried rice. We were able to finally exchange gifts from Christmas and Bethany is enjoying her new dress and tights today. I will get some good pictures later tonight. She REALLY likes all the books they gave her. We had to take them out of the bag last night and look at each individual one. She likes the Bambi book the best so far.

Thanks guys for a great evening. I hope things calm down for you guys a bit! We are praying for you.

Goofy Baby

Too Cute not to add!

Found my Counters Last Night!

After much scrubbing and cleaning and washing I have succefully found my counters. The dishes are finally caught up and put away. I am so proud. I will not be doing any baking for awhile because that is always the beginning of the end in terms of keeping my kitchen clean.
Ta Da!
Now to tackle the table. If you have tips on how you keep your house clean feel free to leave a comment. I am always looking for new ideas.

Towers Towers Everywhere

Bethany loves to build towers.

The tower below is of her own creation. And yes, she is sitting on her block tub. This is a step up from sitting in the drawer!

Please forgive the crappy picture. It is from my cell phone. Camera was hiding inthe diaper bag.

After bath fun!

Gotta love the curls. They are so darn adorable. I hope she keeps some wave or curl as she gets older. I have stick straight hair and hate it.

I imagine she is thinking something along the lines of "Momma are you gonna do my hair?" She was playing with her hair tye case at this point and got so pissed when I took it away for a sec.

See... But still so cute!

We played for a bit more and then it was off to bed. Night night...