Brother & Sister

I remember when Lincoln joined our family, I looked at him hoping and wishing he and Ayla would be good friends one day. Really, that was part of the reason we had more than just one child. A sibling relationship is so special and like nothing else. (I speak from experience.) Ayla loved Linc from the moment he came home, but they couldn't really play together. Recently, things have changed.

My wish came true! One of my favorite things is watching our children laugh and play together. Lincoln looks at Ayla with such wonderment. She is THE coolest thing he's ever laid eyes on. That means, when Ayla dresses him up or asks him to do something, he usually complies. Even if that means wearing a tutu.

 

Can we just see that again? Because I can't get enough of these two. Ayla will stick a tutu on him and then proclaim "We are twister girl and twister boy!" She starts some music and they bop and dance around. (Linc does more of a bounce with a shoulder shake)

These two have become little peas in a pod. Wherever Ayla goes, Lincoln goes.

This was a cold and muddy day but the kids had been cooped up in the house from the rain, so when Ayla asked if she and Lincoln could go stomp in the mud, I just had to say yes.

Ayla likes the mud and muck more than Lincoln (he has a thing about getting his hands dirty), but he had to give it a whirl since Big Sis did.

I'm telling you, the kid will do just about anything to make her happy.  Then he in turn, is happy also.

Until recently, Lincoln wouldn't sit still to listen to books. He'd glance at the page and then take off to find something more interesting.  That is, unless Ayla is 'reading' to him. If she's reading then he's all ears.

I mentally went through a quick list of activities they enjoy together. Ayla leads most of these and sets good examples.  Every now and then something will sneak in that I really wish she hadn't shown Lincoln. Oddly, the golden time of day is from about 6:30-8:00 p.m. Something magical happens during that time and they just can't get enough of each other. (Maybe they know bedtime is right around the corner?)

So glad she has taught/helped Lincoln to:
-listen to books
-play hide and seek
-dance
-kiss
-go down the slide fearlessly
-jump on the trampoline
-play dress up
-hug
-go down the stairs
-use a fork
-swing on the glider
-clear plates after a meal

She should have kept it to herself- How to:
throw fruit (yes, at one point an entire cantaloupe was making it's rounds)
splash hard in the bath (leaky ceiling anyone?)
have a screaming contest
climb out the the bathtub over and over
throw rocks
blow bubbles in milk
stomp on ice cubes (hello danger zone kitchen!)
spit

Let me just say, these two have their moments just like every other sibling set. They scream at each other, Ayla grabs things out of Lincoln's hands and Linc pushes her back in return. They. fight. almost. every. day. But it's usually for a few minutes and then they are happily on their way, searching out the next activity. Twister girl and twister boy: the dynamic duo.

A Key West Christmas

I'm really trying to catch up on our lives, so we're going back in time once again to talk about one of the last things we did in 2013. Normally, you wouldn't be digging in sand in mid December...

We made very last minute plans to take a family vacation, soak up some sun and escape the unusually cold winter (especially for my mom in dad in Ohio). The whole family packed up and flew into Key West, Florida. Yippee! The place we stayed had several pools to chose from so there was lots of this going on.

Ayla finally took the plunge (no pun intended) and faced her fears about jumping in the pool. She's never liked to get her face wet (swim lessons could only go so far without that skill)- so after Aunt RheRhe urged her to try little jumps first, she slowly progressed to these full "frog jumps. Admittedly, I think some bribes were thrown in too, but by the next day- Ayla was jumping in for fun, and not caring a bit if her face went under water.

The boys, er... I mean men, planned a fishing trip one morning. They took a boat out and did some open ocean fishing. I'm writing this thinking that I have no idea what kind of boat they took, or what kind of fishing it actually was. All I know is, they showed up later that afternoon with sunburnt faces, a bag of fresh fish and huge smiles. (We ate the fish that night for dinner and dubbed it "the best food of the trip.") The rest of us spent the morning at the beach. Dad had no interest in getting on a rocking boat, so he tagged along with the women and kids.  (Two of his least favorite things are #1. hot sun with no shade in sight and  #2. sea sickness)

It wasn't exactly your typical beach. Because of the area's topography, this beach had to be man-made and there was very little surf. That meant lots and lots of seaweed and no sea shells. But the sand was soft! Ayla wanted to collect shells, but quickly found an activity that was just as fun. Chasing sea gulls.

Lincoln joined in, but was a little more reserved. Where as Ayla approached it with an "I'll get you birds!" attitude, Linc was more like "you come to me".

Rhea also entertained the kids with her makeshift sand bucket and shovel. Oddly, the Walgreens we stopped at did not sell beach toys. (They said it was out of season!) So she picked up a plate and bowl set and grabbed some plastic spoons. How's that for resourceful?

My dad/Papi took Ayla out past the "gross green stuff" to get to the ocean. Isn't this a sweet picture?

But this one might be my favorite of the day. Gosh, I just can't get enough of my darling girl.

 

And I can't forget this handsome guy.

Another day we took a trip out to Mallory Square where it's rumored to be the best place to catch the sun set. Before sundown, Linc and Ayla found some stray roosters and decided to feed them some popcorn.

This somehow evolved into Lincoln thinking he could take back the popcorn he'd thrown. I think he figured if they weren't going to enjoy it, there is no way it could go to waste. The kid loves his food. I love how he's looking around to see if he's going to get caught eating popcorn off the ground.

We sat on the water's edge to take in the sunset.

Then soon realized it was too cloudy to see the sun...so we took pictures of ourselves instead.

Then we attempted to have dinner. Let me tell you how (not) fun that was. The waitress actually offered to take Lincoln off our hands and show him around the restaurant. Bet that doesn't happen every day. He was gone for a minute & thirty seconds before he came back crying. The kids were tired from a day in the sun and after I inhaled my dinner we climbed in a cab to go home to bed. It was then we realized it was only 8:00. Guess the sun affects more than just kids. Doesn't everyone look as happy as a clam?

On one of our last mornings we hit up this really cool restaurant for brunch. I wish I could remember the name. What I do remember is there were lots more stray roosters wandering around the tables and the pancakes were amazing.

 Right after brunch we all walked down the street into the heart of Old Town, to check out Earnest Hemingway's home. The tour guide showed us around the house and talked about the author's life (and his obsession with six-toed cats...apparently they are good luck.) The house/museum has 40 to 50 of these cats wondering around which just made Ayla's day.  She usually asks me at least once a week if she can have a cat.  After the tour, Rhea gave Linc a chance to release all his built up energy. I love that he's a blur in this picture because that's how he is in real life too. Moving so quickly, that when I take his picture it's often blurred.

The smile afterward. My kids can't get enough of their Aunt Rhea. Did I mention she is 6 months pregnant here?

Family photo op.

Before I finish up, I have to mention two other activities that happened on the island. The first was this fun kite that Ayla and Daddy flew.

It took him a while to get the kite in the air, but once it was there it went higher and higher.

The last activity was only done by the guys, and it was quite comical. Who knew paddle boarding was so funny? Here's Jeff.

And the rest of the crew. Starting from the furthest, Dad, Kyle, Jonathan and Jeff. I know that it doesn't look funny, but the thing about these paddle boards is that they take a combination of concentration, balance, and knowing the correct way to stand. It also helps to have a paddle that fits the size of your body. My dad may have lacked one or more of these items. 

This was the result. Once it was clear he was not hurt and could actually touch the bottom, we burnt off all those poolside drinks with some good ol' laughter. I know it seems rude to laugh when your dad falls in the water over and over but there was some laughter on his side as well. (maybe) Add to it that Ayla kept yelling "Papi why aren't you on your boat? Why do you keep falling off? Why can't you climb back on?" I'll say this- if any of those other guys had been falling you can bet your paddle that Dad would be holding his side with laughter.

We had such a great trip and it was nice to get away and relax before the holidays.  I could completely make that a new tradition!

Christmas 2013

To say this is late is a serious understatement.  Does the phrase 'better late than never' count here? I'll blame it on being pregnant, then I'll blame it on having a baby. Then I'll blame it on lack of sleep. So yes, here are our pictures from Christmas. Very few words. Let's focus on pictures.

Ayla's Christmas program at school. No tears this year!

 

Afterwards, at her classroom party.

Making "gingerbread" houses with graham crackers.

Christmas Eve. Our two cuties.

This is how we do our family pictures. Someone is always behind the camera. One with Daddy...

...And one with Mommy.

Christmas morning! I think Lincoln was expecting breakfast instead of posing for pictures.

Santa's stash!

 

Now that he's gotten some food in his belly, Lin is in a better mood. Plus, he found an orange in his stocking! More food!

Santa brought Ayla the soft, pink blanket she asked for! And a monogrammed pillow to match! Can you tell she's happy?

More presents....

One of the favorites (from Uncle Kyky).

After we opened gifts (while snacking on a light breakfast), we headed over to Jonathan's parent's house for brunch. It was a jam packed day, and the kids had so much fun. This was our first Christmas here in Charlotte. Every year of my life I have spent it in Geneva, so it was very different. We decided to stay because Ayla and Lincoln are now at an age where it's nice they get to wake up in their own beds.  It was also our first Christmas without Grandma Dean. That part was hard.

I learned a few new things this Christmas and made some mental notes. But the thing about mental notes is that I sometimes lose them. So here they are, written out for me to remember.

1. Hosting Christmas is a lot harder than I thought is would be. (How did you do it Mom?) Keep breakfast simple. Everyone went for the cinnamon bread anyway.

2. The kids got overwhelmed with so many presents. Give them a few gifts on the days leading up to Christmas so they can appreciate and enjoy them more.

3. Don't rush! We built ourselves into a schedule that didn't allow for any downtime. After presents it would be nice to sit and let the kids play for a few hours.

I'll end with this picture. It is a display of pure surprise and excitement. Jeff badly wanted the new XBOX and they were sold out everywhere. My parents generously got one for him and then disguised it. This is the guy who can guess what's in every package- and he had NO idea. So what's more fun than seeing your husband grin like a little kid on Christmas morning? Nothing!