And another child takes off....

We interrupt this lovely vacation reminiscing in order to mark a significant milestone in my daughter, T's life.

T is 4 years old and is a very determined child! She was determined to learn to ride her bike this past winter and we made her wait until spring. It's spring and BOY was she ready!

Here she is the THIRD time on the bike without training wheels.


Fifteen minutes later, she is cruising the road fairly well.



Of course, if you didn't notice the sparkly white heels you might take another look. That little gal learned to ride her bike in low heels. Rock on little girl!

And since BOTH of his sisters were on their bikes, little D didn't want to be left out of the action either. Course, he needs to grow a few more inches...



Bring on the warmer weather! We are ready!

Family Vacation Day Two

We began our day in the sun, sand, and waves again!

It was supposed to rain and thunderstorm all day, but our morning at the beach was rain free!





D loved to throw the dirt in the puddles!



That's my little guy.


Then it was off to the water and waves again.






My grandparents came to visit so we grabbed a shot with the great-grandkids.


Eventually, the rain did come, but only for an hour. Then we were off to fly kites!

Unfortunately, the wind had completely disappeared. But as long as daddy was running with the kite, it stayed up in the air.



D chased after daddy yelling, "I want to try. I want to try!"


Clearly, it was another great day!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

This post is not complete without a HUGE thank you to Jolanthe. Once again, she has created an absolutly lovely graphic for the spring Tiny Talk! Thanks Jolanthe! What would I do without you???

Tiny Talk Tuesday helps parents focus on one of the many joys of parenting - the funny things that our little ones (and sometimes big ones) have to say.

Join in the fun and record the Tiny Talk overheard in your house! Publish a post on your blog and link us to the laughs. Then be sure to link to the blog carnival on this post so more bloggers can join in the fun.

The guidelines can be found here if you need them.
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So here is my Tiny Talk Tuesday "Vacation" Edition. We were at the beach in Florida for the week with my mom and the tiny ones sure were talking...
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T: (age 2) (after 15 minutes of our 15 hour drive had passed) Are we in Florida yet?
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Also said while on the drive by my little T (age 4):

How do birds sleep?
Are there traffic lights on the highway?
I've never been to somewhere in the night. (It was dark when we left at 5:30 AM)
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D's (age 2) phrases while at the beach:

Run from the bubbles! (the foam on the waves)
Whoopsie. (new word he learned from big sister, K)
Can I taste yours? (referring to everyone else's ice cream)
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T (age 4) and her Grandma were counting the "holes" on one of the pool filters...

T: There are 15 holes.

Grandma: That's right. See, there are 5 in each row and there are three rows. That is because 5 times 3 is fifteen.

T: No it isn't, Grandma.

Grandma: Yes it is, see how there are five in each row and there are three rows? Five, Ten, Fifteen. Five three times.

T: No it's not. One and five make fifteen.
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T: How do you spell DVD?

Grandma: You mean David? Like D-A-V-I-D?

T: No. DVD, like a DVD.

Grandma: D-V-D.

T: Oh. A D, and a V, and a D. (pause) and I am 4.
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My cousin, Trisha, came to visit us. Like my daughter, T (age 4), she was also named after my mother. It was fun to have all three of them together.

T was so excited to meet the other Patricia! All night long she asked her random, adorable questions...

What color is Trisha's car?
What color is Trisha's house?
How old are you, Trisha?
What's your favorite color?

We think she was trying to find things in common other than their name. Adorable.
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Of course, K (age 6), didn't want to be left out of the "namesake fun". She hopped in the "Patricia" photo. Then began to talk about the "Michelle's".

Michelle is her middle name and it was my middle name until I got married. (and I took my maiden name as my middle name) She began grouping us by name.

K: The Patricia's can sit together and the Michelle's can sit together.

Of course, she also insisted on a Michelle photo the next day!


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T (age 4): (talking to mommy) If you and K die, then we'll remember you because we took that picture of you today.
(the photo she is talking about would be the above "Michelle" photo)
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K (age 6): (talking to daddy) I have to sit on the other side of D because your breath is making me move.
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T and I saw a heart drawn in the concrete sidewalk. Clearly someone had traced it in the wet cement a long time ago, but T doesn't know about that. Her explanation?

Wow. Look at that heart. There was a storm and the thunder came down and hit RIGHT THERE and made a heart.
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Your Turn:

Family Vacation Day One

I guess the first official day of our vacation was Saturday (4/18) which began with a 15 hour car trip to New Smyrna Beach, Florida. But it was a long day and I don't care to record it. Let's just say that my kids were exhausted and they don't sleep in the car. Then the DVD player we borrowed wouldn't work after one movie. Whew...but we survived it and made it to the beach!

So we will begin with the first day we were at our destination, Sunday, April 19, 2009.

We began the morning with fun in the sun, sand, and waves. The kids immediately began digging up the sand.


I think the sand was D's (age 2) favorite thing. There was a dump truck at the condo and a ton of shovels. He claimed a little green shovel and the truck. Pure joy for hours!



He also enjoyed digging holes with daddy and filling them with water. He loved throwing dirt in the puddles!



Then, the kids began to venture out into the waves. Eric and I were shocked! We have been going to the beach every year and our kids are always terrified of the water. It never fails that they avoid the waves until the LAST DAY.

But not this year. They ventured out into the ocean on the FIRST day!


Sheer joy!








Later that day, family came to visit and we played at the beach and the pool. I was able to meet my cousin's 2.5 year old daughter for the FIRST TIME!! She and T (age 4) had a blast in the sand together.


Now D (age 2) pulled a lovely "2 year old moment" on us.

All day he refused to wear his swim vest in the pool. If we tried to put it on him, then he screamed.

In the evening, he wanted in the pool, so we got him in his swimming diaper and bathing suit. We gave up on the swim vest due to the screaming and his daddy just held him.

He just screamed anyway.


Then he asked to be put back in his regular diaper and clothes. We figured he changed his mind about the pool like an inconsistent 2 year old often does.

As soon as he was back in this clothing, he got his swim vest and brought it to me. I couldn't believe it. He asked to have it on and then sat by the pool for the rest of the evening!


Once everyone was happy, the kids spent their pool time tossing things at Eric.


Another cousin came over that evening. She shares the same name as my mom and my daughter. So we took a picture of the three T's.



My cousins and I grabbed a quick shot before they had to take off.


It is always busy with family on our first day here because it is the only weekend day we have. So it is exhausting after our tiring day before in the car, but so good to be with everyone!

Just a warning

To Those Who May Read This Blog:

The next week will be filled with pictures.

Lots and lots of pictures.

As I recount and record each day of my beach vacation, I will provide more photo opportunities than the rest of the world may care to see.

But I am gonna post a bunch of them. So bear with me.

Feel free to "Mark all as read" at the end of the week. I won't be offended at all.

But if you are family, then consider me offended.

It all kicks off tomorrow!

Happy (late) Easter

Hope you had a Blessed Easter!

I am taking a bit of a break (as if it wasn't obvious by my lack of posting) to spend time with these precious little ones.


Hope you have a great week!

NO TINY TALK NEXT WEEK on APRIL 21st. I am taking a little break, but when I come back...we'll have a new graphic!

Tiny Talk Tuesday helps parents focus on one of the many joys of parenting - the funny things that our little ones (and sometimes big ones) have to say.

Join in the fun and record the Tiny Talk overheard in your house! Publish a post on your blog and link us to the laughs. Then be sure to link to the blog carnival on this post so more bloggers can join in the fun.

The guidelines can be found here if you need them.
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T (age 4) and K (age 6) were at their Granny's house putting tatoos on their arms.

T (to Granny): Yours is wrinkly. That's cause you have wrinkly skin.
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That's it for me this week - it's been a busy one.
(Remember - NO TINY TALK NEXT WEEK)

Your Turn:

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Tiny Talk Tuesday helps parents focus on one of the many joys of parenting - the funny things that our little ones (and sometimes big ones) have to say.

Join in the fun and record the Tiny Talk overheard in your house! Publish a post on your blog and link us to the laughs. Then be sure to link to the blog carnival on this post so more bloggers can join in the fun.

The guidelines can be found here if you need them.
___________________________________________

I grabbed this from Jolanthe's TTT last week. The girls are old enough to answer, but my two year old little guy isn't quite ready yet. The answers cracked me up.

1. What is something Mom always says to you?

K (age 6) - Time to eat dinner.
T (age 4) - Thank you.

2. What makes Mom happy?

K (age 6) - That I am your little baby.
T (age 4) - When I obey you.

3. What makes Mom sad?

K (age 6) - When I am not home with you.
T (age 4) - When I don't obey you.

4. How does your Mom make you laugh?

K (age 6) - When you tell jokes.
T (age 4) - Because when you do silly stuff.

5. What was your Mom like as a child?

K (age 6) - You were like me.
T (age 4) - playing

6. How old is your Mom?

K (age 6) - 34
T (age 4) - 40
(sigh...pregnancy must be making me seem old since I am only 32)

7. How tall is your Mom?

K (age 6) - 90 inches
T (age 4) - 45

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

K (age 6) - play with me.
T (age 4) - cook.

9. What does your Mom do when you are not home?

K (age 6) - Think about me.
T (age 4) - play with David. (Mom: How about when all the kids are gone?) You just play.

10.If your Mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

K (age 6) - The best mom!
T (age 4) - cooking.

11. What is your Mom really good at?

K (age 6) - cooking.
T (age 4)- cooking.
(Ironically, I hate to cook. But hot dogs and mac and cheese make me the best around here!)

12. What is your Mom's favorite show?

K (age6) - cooking. The cooking shows.
T (age 4) - basketball

13. What does your Mom cook best?

K (age 6) - broccolli
T (age 4) - hot dogs.

My 6 year old is clearly very confident in my love for her. That made me smile.

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Your Turn: