PCB 2009

We are just returning from our 2009 Florida vacation. We had a great time! Here are LOTS and LOTS of pics from our week.

I will start with July 2nd. It was the last day for Mateo and Tatum to be at school, so they wore Red, White, and Blue for the 4th of July. Here is Mateo before school.

....Tatum wouldn't let me take her picture at first, but as soon as Mateo was getting all the attention, she jumped in a started posing.

Antonio and I decided that we would leave Friday and drive half way to Florida, spend the night and drive the rest of the way the next day. Here is Tatum on the drive down to Montgomery, AL.

....and this was the picture I got of Mateo.

We got a room with a king size bed and requested a crib. It was ready and waiting in the room when we arrived about 6pm. The kids were ready to stay up since they slept most of the ride in the car, so we let them stay up and play. We all finally went to bed around 9pm. Mateo was fast asleep in his crib and the rest of us were in the bed. Tatum was HORRIBLE to sleep with! She turned all around, kicked, threw her arms around, etc....I got several kicks to the face/head and a few bruises too. Mateo woke up at some point in the middle of the night and ended up in bed with us too. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep. Here is a picture of Tatum sleeping ACROSS the bed and Mateo is asleep beside her in the bed.

We got up and ate breakfast early the next morning, but we were in no rush to get on the road since we couldn't check in until 4pm and we only had 4 more hours to drive. So, I decided to take some pictures. Tatum was laying on his back with his legs up and Mateo was sitting on his stomach. Tatum wanted to sit with him and she got behind Mateo. It was cute and I grabbed the camera. As I was about to take the first picture, Mateo spit up ALL OVER Tatum's arms and she was pretty grossed out. I cleaned it up and tried to get her to pose again, but she refused. I finally bribed her with a snack and I got some cute pictures of them in more of their red, white and blue outfits.

We arrived in PCB a little early, but luckily we got to check in anyway.

We(my parents, brother and his wife, and sister and her fam) checked in on July 4th to our condo. That night, some of our family that lives down in the PCB area came over with dinner. It was all so yummy! Later that night, we sat on the deck or on the beach and watched about 2 hours of fireworks.

Mom and Mateo watching fireworks on the beach.

Tatum playing in the sand.

My niece, Mckayla, and Tatum

Mom and Mateo again.

Mom, me, Mateo, and Tatum

Tatum and Antonio

The next day, we went down to the beach. Here is my mom and dad...

Cyp, my bro in law

We even saw dolphins!!! Do you see it?

The people that stayed in the condo before us left this kiddie pool behind. We took it down to the beach and the girls all played in it. Here is Tatum in the pool...

Mateo chillin' at the beach.

Mya, my other niece, at the beach with her butterfly glasses. She and Tatum had the best time. They are just 6 weeks apart in age and I love seeing them together these days.

Antonio and Tatum flying a Dora kite

Mya flying her kite too....

This is how Mateo spent most of his time on the beach. My mom brought him this pool, we added 2 buckets of ocean water, and then Mateo just hung out....and slept most days.

The weather wasn't the best most days. One day, we went to the movies to see Ice Age in 3-D. THis was Tatum AND Mateo's first movie theater experience, so I had to snap a picture. Tatum is wearing her 3D glasses. Tatum enjoyed the movie (and LOVED the popcorn) and Mateo slept the WHOLE time! The movie was very good and kept my attention.

My sister bought all the girls these matching dresses and they wore them to the movies. This is outside after the movie.

Last year, our condo did not have any kind of internet connection and we didn't expect one this year either. However, when we found out there WAS a wireless connection, this was some quality family time one night...haha.. There are 4 computers in this picture, but I think there were a total of 6 computers out of 8 adults in the condo. Mateo had to get in on the computer action too!

Here is what most mornings looked like when we got up....I think Antonio, the kids, and I spent at least a few hours at the beach every day because it would clear up. And the last 2 days it was just beautiful!

Mateo napping at the beach again...

The girls LOVED playing in the waves. Tatum and Mya would go down and wait on the waves to come up....when the waves would come, they would run out of the water, and then go back again. This entertained them for a LONG time!

Tatum (waving to someone or someTHING) and Antonio...looks like they had been out hunting for seashells.

Here is a picture of our condo. We stay in the very middle.

Another day.....the same Mateo...

Tatum did LOTS of singing to the ocean. I am not really sure WHAT she was singing or why she was singing, but I got it on video to post sometime.

Gran, my grandmother, made Tatum and Mateo matching outfits, so I wanted to take them to FL with us and get some pictures. We ended up taking these like Wed night since the weather was so unpredictible. Here are a few of the best pictures...

One of my grandmother's sisters lives in Panama City with her husband. They came over to see us the first night we were there and came back later in the week and grilled out with us. It was clear and sunny when they got there, but started raining when the men began grilling. So, what do you do when it starts raining and you still want to grill????

....you grab your own umbrella and keep on grillin'!

My mom popped popcorn a couple of days so that the girls could feed the birds. The girls had a great time and the birds seemed to enjoy the popcorn too!

On Friday (our last full day in FL) we (I) was determined to stay out all day to soak up lots of sun. Well, it started raining a little, but since we had a big tent, we just put our chairs under it and planned to wait it out. The rain did let up a little, but about 5 minutes later it REALLY started raining. Laurie, her 2 girls, my mom, Mateo, and I all made a run for it. My dad decided he would wait it out....

...still waiting.... he finally gave up and made a run for it too....

Saturday morning(the morning we left), I took a few last pics of the beach...

I think this is the only family picture we took the whole week. We had planned on taking more beach pics, but just never did. So, here is our family pic....

and a pic of my parents....

Tatum and Mateo with my parents...

As you can see, we had a blast! Vacations always seem to fly by! It was nice spending time with all the family for the week.

I asked Tatum what she liked most about our vacation and she told me she liked everyone "staying with her at her house". As soon as her eyes would open in the morning she would ask to see Mya and Mckayla. It is fun to see her play with her cousins and also spending time with aunts, uncles, and grandparents. She gets lots of attention and spoiling for sure!

Happy 6 Months Mateo

Happy 6 Months Little Buddy! You are growing WAY too fast. We all know this is what happens, so I am really trying to enjoy each and every day.

Here is what you are up to these days....

* Everyone that is around you for any amount of time, comments on how laid back and happy you are. I guess that is part of being the second child. Your teachers at school are always bragging that you NEVER cry and you don't mind not being held.

*You will flash a smile at anyone if they will just talk to you and give you a little attention. Strangers love to talk to babies, so I guess you give them something to talk about.

*You are quiet a flirt at times. When a someone talks to you, you will flash a smile and then bury your face in my shoulder. (The old ladies love it!)

*You are the best sleeper. We are lucky if you will stay up until 6:30pm. Once we lay you down, that's it. We never have to return to give you back your pacifier or anything because once you spit it out, you are done with it. You are my little alarm clock in the mornings. I hear you playing around 5:45 to 6am. You never cry out though for me to come get you, I get your bottle ready and then come get you up. This early morning time is "our time" and I LOVE it!!

*You are working on sitting up on your own. You can do it, but once you realize that you are sitting up on your own, you will flash a smile, stiffen up, and topple over.

*You were introduced to all baby foods, and then I cut you off since I decided that you were allergic to something and that was what was causing all of your skin issues. However, after visiting the dr. today, Mommy was wrong. You will be getting your foods again and I know you are excited about that.

*There is no doubt that you love Tatum to death (and she loves you too)! She loves to give you hugs and kisses in the mornings when we drop you off at your room, and you smile and giggle everyday when she does it.

*We hear that you look like Mommy sometimes and Daddy other times. I don't know which one is more true, but there is no doubt that Tatum is your sister. You guys have the same eyes, nose, and smile. I love it!

*I am thinking that you will be a blonde, but the verdict is still out on that. I know your hair is much lighter than Tatum's, but I dont know if you where you fall other than that.

*You NEVER cry. I didn't really think much about this until a couple of weeks ago. You don't cry in the mornings, you don't cry when we put you to bed at night, you just don't cry. You will give a whine when you are hungry, sleepy, wet, or dirty, but we know when that happens, you need something and will try to take care of it then.

*You are on a great schedule and have been for several months. You eat at 6am, 10am, 2pm, and 6pm. You only have food with the 10am and 2pm feedings right now.

*You are wearing 3-6 month clothing and some 6-9/6-12 month clothing as well. You are in a size 2 diaper and I haven't worried with the shoes. You go for your 6 month appt on Thursday so I don't have your latest stats, but you did weigh right at 16 pounds last Monday with your clothes on.

*You never cease to amaze me with what a happy baby you are. Just today I took you to see the allergist. After a long talk with the dr., we agreed to test your for several food allergies along with a few other things...12 in all. The dr and his nurse warned me SEVERAL times that you would definitely cry (very loud) and it would take about 3-5 minutes for the dr. to be done. I was prepared, and the dr. started. Instead of crying each time he poked your back, you smiled, coo'ed, and giggled with the nurse that was behind me. When the dr. got to the 8th or 9th poke, you started to give a concerned look, and you finally cried out on the last 3 pokes. However, as soon as he was done, you were back to all smiles. The dr. said he had never seen a baby as young as you do so well. You even giggled while he was looking up your nose. He even laughed out at your happiness about everything that was going on.

*You LOVE bathtime. We tried everything when you were younger from bathing you in the kitchen sink, in the little baby tub, giving you a bath in the big tub with Tatum, etc and you hated it all. I finally tried giving you a bath in the regular tub and by yourself and you LOVED it! You kick, splash, try to drink the water, etc. until I take you out. I guess it is good that you love your bathtime so much since the dr. gave orders today to give you a bath daily and let you soak a minimum of 15 minutes each time.

*YOu have come a LONG way from the days of hating your carseat, swing, bouncer, or anything else! You really had me worried when you were tiny. I guess that was God's way of reminding me that I need to be thankful for how great and easy you and Tatum make it for Antonio and me.

*I never knew if I would ever be able to love another child as much as I loved Tatum, but you sure shocked me. You are my little buddy and you have made our family full of joy and happiness.

Not a Winner

Well, we failed to win the St. Jude Dream Home today. Maybe we will win some of the smaller prizes. I will have to check the website later to find out. q9muzf56ws

Last Call...

I will be going private this afternoon. Shoot me an email or leave a comment if you have not yet.

My email address is

aprilcsimpson@hotmail.com

Going Private

Well, I have been dragging my feet about going private, but I feel that I need to do this after hearing a crazy story today.

If you would like to continue to read my blog, please shoot me an email.

If you were added the last time I went private, then you do not have to send me an email again because I still have your information.

If you do not know me but still want to read my blog, feel free to still email me. Just let me know how you found my blog and leave me a link to your blog if you have one.

I will probably go ahead and go private on Thursday at the latest, so send me an email soon.

Saturday Swimming Fun

With it being so HOT here lately, we decided there would be nothing better than spending some time at the pool today.

I must admit it took us a long time just to get everyone dressed, ready, and get bags packed to walk out the door, but it was SO WORTH IT!!

Here are some pics from the day.

Mateo dressed, in his carseat, and ready to go.

Anytime I start taking pictures of Mateo, Tatum wants to jump in and pose. It didn't take long for her to take the bait....

Once we got to the pool, we had to put sunscreen on and put in Tatum's plugs. This is the first time we have had to put them in her ears since she got tubes and she did great with them. She didn't try to take them out a single time.

Antonio and Mateo ready to get into the pool...

Proof that I was there too....

Everyone did great in the pool. We stayed almost 2 hours (which was much longer than I thought we would stay). We probably would have stayed longer, but Tatum got hungry. This is a pic of Antonio and Tatum after swimming...

Mateo says he had a great time too...

More pics of Mateo as we were all trying to dry off some.

We had a blast and can't wait to go back again. It wasn't even crowded at the pool, so that made it even nicer! In the 2 hours we were there, Mateo and Tatum did great! There was no crying, no getting in trouble, no fits, nothing....Antonio and I agreed we could get used to this! We promised Tatum(and Mateo) we would go back soon.

Here are a couple of pictures and a video from a few weeks ago.

After Tim and Jennifer had baby Luke last month, that is all Tatum will talk about. She would wake up asking to see "Tim, Jennifer, and Baby Luke". She even started carrying her baby doll around and she said he was "Baby Luke". She would take him and his pink blanket to school and everything instead of Amigo Bear.

One Saturday, I was putting Mateo down for his nap and Tatum was pitching a fit. I couldn't figure it out, but then she told me Baby Luke needed a nap too, so we put him in the crib with Mateo. All was well after they both were down for naps.

Also, here is a random video from a few weeks ago. Tatum wanted to count for me and watch it. You can tell the number of the week was 8 because she won't count higher than that for me. She does count in English and then in Spanish. I apologize for her looking so rough, but it was a lazy Saturday morning for us.

Saturday Project...

It was WAY overdue, but we finally did some work in our flowerbeds today. Let me just say, trying to juggle kids and get dirty working outside is hard work!

Here is how the day started....

*Antonio had already cleaned out the flowerbed by the time I took this picture....
*To the right of this pic below, you can see a little girl who is sitting in timeout already!! It was about 8:30-9am.


and a close up of our little princess not happy about being in timeout.

Here is a picture of the other side of our front door....

You probably can't see this next picture very well, but it is the root of some bush or something that was there before we moved into our house a few years ago. THIS root took Antonio a good 2-3 hours to get out!! It was VERY deep and very stubborn....

Mateo kept us company and did very well playing outside. The only time he cried was when Antonio would use the loud tiller.

.....Tatum in timeout AGAIN!!

She finally got to go in and take a nap at 10am. She was SO TIRED and slept til 1:30pm.

Here is another picture of 'THE ROOT'!

And the ROOT lost....

Here is the root outside of the hole. It weighed a ton!

Mateo was very happy about the root being gone!

Here is a mid-project picture. Trying to figure out how to layout these things.

We finally got the plants in the ground and Antonio put in an irrigation system (on a timer too) so we don't have to worry about watering everyday.

Let me just say, Antonio keeps saying I didn't 'do much' outside, but every plant you see in this picture was placed in the ground by me...lol....Antonio DID did the holes, but I did all the rest. I was quiet proud of myself because this is the FIRST time I have ever done any planting of flowers/plants/shrubs/etc.

As you can see, Tatum woke up and was in the best mood! She was constantly posing for pictures. I also saw this flower and HAD to get it!! I got 2. They were just too pretty to pass up.

Here is a semi-finished part. We ran out of mulch quickly, so we will be heading back to Home Depot tomorrow (for the 4th time in 2 days) to get more mulch.

I am so proud of all we got done today. We will just be putting lots of mulch in and that's it! Now hopefully, I can keep this stuff alive?

I have more blogging to do, but figured I would post current things and then play 'catch up' later.

4 Years and Counting

I know I have been a bad blogger, and it won't be getting better tonight. However, I did want to say.....

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ANTONIO!!!

Antonio and I got married 4 years ago today. We have added 2 BEAUTIFUL children to our family over the past 4 yrs and many memories.

Can't wait for MANY more memories....(but NOT many more kids)!

Love you!