January 2020

Happy 9th Birthday, Cole!

It is so hard for me to come to grips with the idea that my sweet boy is 9 years old! He was my first baby and it seems like a life-time ago that he made me a mother, but at the same time I feel like he should stay little a bit longer. He was one happy kid to finally have his turn at being the center of attention. His current likes are Lego's, playing games with Grandpa, reading anything non-fiction that has to deal with science, swimming, and Pokemon. We had a family party at home, and then went to Mexico and celebrated on his real birthday there.

Mexico!

Dave had a cardiology conference in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and we decided to tag along with him. Macy was more than excited to be getting ready to go to the beach.

Airplane Ride to Mexico

We got on the plane prepared - every kiddo had their own electronics and headphones. Unfortunately, Macy's didn't keep her occupied for very long.

The camera on the iPad kept her busy for much longer. We had a good laugh over these photos.

Beach Time!

We rented a condo right on the beach, and it was absolutely perfect for our kids. It was actually probably the nicest beach we visited while there and kept us busy for many many hours.

Grandpa caught a crab!

 

 

This was one giant Iguana!

Everyone was a fan of the Pina Coladas!

We tried paddle boarding with the kids at one of the beaches we went to, but it proved to be pretty tough with the waves rolling in. Dave and I both stood up for a little bit...;-)

Clara was so worn out after one of our remote beach trips that she fell asleep on the windy, bouncy spreed boat ride back to the dock. I'm not sure how that's even possible.

Turtle Release

One of the more memorable things we were able to participate in while we were there was a turtle release at Sunset. We had to wait for a while until all of the birds of prey stopped circling the beach and left the turtles alone, but once they were gone the biologists spread out the newly-hatched turtles on the beach and we watched/cheered them on while they made their way to the ocean for the first time. We named the turtles in front of us Tom and Ayla. 

These are the turtle nests. Apparently the turtles return to the same beach they hatched on 10 years later to lay their own eggs. The kids have already planned a return trip to see Tom and Ayla in 10 years.

Swimming with the Dolphins

Swimming with the dolphins was Cole's birthday present, and worth every penny. It was so cool to be able to touch them and have them play with us. A few interesting facts we learned: 1. Dolphins shed their skin every 2 hours, 2. The marks on their skin are from other dolphins running into them or biting them while playing, 3. They make noise by manipulating the air coming out of their blow holes, not with their throats or mouths. Dolphins don't actually have vocal chords. I think out of everyone, Dave probably loved it the most. :)

More Mexico Fun! 

Our little Chiquita hogging the salsa all to herself.

Life after Vacation

Although it's much less fun, life did go on after vacation. Lexi made a spoon doll into a little Irish girl for her family heritage project and gave a presentation on it. Her daddy is 1/4 Irish, making her 1/8th Irish.

I spend an afternoon with the girls making bead necklaces, bracelets and belts. Clara was particularly pleased with how hers turned out.

Clara is our little puppy dog. When it's quiet time she gets to watch a show on her tablet, and she always brings it to the foyer and watches a show curled up on the rug by the front door.

Lexi was thrilled to attend her first activity days activity - I can't believe she's old enough to start doing this! They made figures out of clay and are going to glaze them next time.

Lexi also went to a roller skating birthday party this past month and really learned how to roller skate for the first time. She had to use the stabilizer for the first while, but she got the hang of it pretty quick. Her legs were sore afterward for quite a while from using new muscles and falling.