Best. Husband. Ever.

Felix surprised me and set up a fantastic getaway weekend for us.....

and my little nursing Levi, of course- loving his baby doll :)

We stayed in Vero Beach at a friends condo and cannot say thank-you enough. It was so incredibly relaxing. I think Levi knew we were on an "adults-only" vacation and he behaved perfectly. He even slept for about 8 hours that night!! Meanwhile, Emma was enjoying herself home with my parents and her cousins.

But Felix didn't stop there. Not only did he surprise me with this getaway weekend, he also scheduled a spa day for me where I got a fantastic hot stone massage, and my first facial! So fun. I felt silly being all pampered, but I gotta tell ya...it is certainly something I can get used to!

Levi and Daddy in the heated pool, right outside the condo.



Enjoying a relaxing lunch on the beach. A little chilly, but so fun. It was awesome to have some quiet time with Felix. We walked along the beach and strolled through some shops after lunch. I loved every minute we got to spend together. And.... I even started reading a book....can't remember the last time I did that! And then after we put Levi to bed, Felix picked up a movie and we just sat on the couch watching it while enjoying pepperoni, cheese & crackers for dinner. The perfect evening!


I thought this sign was so fitting for my little chunk!




After arriving back in Wellington, we left once again and drove south to Miami to visit friends. We stayed long enough to be able to visit everyone and make, yet another, mini-vacation out of it with some nice family time. We hung out with great friends, shared delicious meals together, and had great conversation with lots of laughs- not to mention all the love & attention that little Emma & Levi got to enjoy!


Enjoying a lazy morning in South Beach




Hello gorgeous views!

We had such a great time. Thank you my love!!!

And.........back to reality. Levi decided to projectile vomit all over me. Three times.

Finishing off December strong!!

Every year we celebrate Hanukah together on one big night that we are all together. This year, Steph, Jackie & I exchanged "sister necklaces". We found these handmade necklaces on etsy that are 3 silver hoops intertwined, and they came with a meaningful poem. And so far....we are all actually wearing them! By the way, I never realized I was 3 inches shorter than both of them. Fun.

Just as our lives intertwine so do these sterling silver hoops. The smooth rings symbolize those easy, smooth sailing times in our lives that we laughed through together. One roughly hammered ring symbolizes the tough, rough times we cried through together, supporting each other no matter what.
This necklace is for you dear sister to symbolize our journey together.

Felix was very excited to get his mitten ice scraper. Little did he know just how much he would be needing it upon his return home!!!!

Loving his first family Hanukah party.


The girls entertaining themselves coloring together.


Steph got Dad some crazy as-seen-on-tv ceramic knife they used in their cooking class together (jealous!....of the class, not the knife). He has been really excited to use it, and we thought his reaction was funny. Steph always gives the best gifts. I happen to be the worst gift-giver ever, but I am proud to say that the sister necklaces were my idea! yeay!


And........the circus. Poor Felix had to leave for Miami and missed this fantastic evening out. We all went together, and it was very entertaining. Emma ate through 5 cups of popcorn through the whole thing and Gavin had to hide his cotton candy bag from her.


Me and my kiddows.


Next up was Eli's 1st Birthday party!!!!!!!!!! The theme was.........

BALLS!!!! There was 'ball' everything! Tangerines, melon balls, blueberries, spinach balls, eggplant balls, sausage balls, rice balls, meatballs, cheese balls, and of course.....cake balls! All handmade. And Eli even got a ball pit for his present!

Mom and Mamare with the two boys. Meanwhile, the girls were outside having fun in the bouncy house until Ava busted her lip on Emma's head.


Ava enjoying her ball cake. Vanilla, or course. Have you ever heard of someone not liking chocolate? Crazy, I know.


Eli's big boy bike! I hope we get this as a hand-me-down for our future children, it looks very user friendly :)


Ahhhhh. And then there was Roger's Birthday/New Years Eve. Our very favorite holiday of the year, where we get to stay up late into the evening, chatting the night away. And it was on this evening that Levi tasted his first solid food (a puff), and Emma stayed up until 1am. Both milestones that will not be forgotten!


A few days later we went down to Miami for our cousins wedding. It was beautiful, outside on the beach, and great to catch up with family we haven't seen in a while. We also left Emma home with Mamare & Saba, so it was almost an "adult-only" evening (Levi tagged along) with my parents and sisters. I am so glad we had the opportunity to go with everyone!


I like this picture of Mom & Dad :)


Loving it!

We had so much fun, it was great to be out dancing with Felix again. Even though he shows me up on the dance floor everytime, I love love love it!

More December visits while in Florida

During Felix's last few days working in Orlando, I loaded up both kids in the car for our road trip adventure. We were able to visit a few friends along the way and stopped in Gainesville for our annual visit with the Dunn's.
On our drive up, we visited my friend Roseanne and her 2 month old teeny tiny baby girl, so completely adorable. We had breakfast with Gina and sweet little Sable & Ruby (and baby #3 due any day now). Sable & Ruby were like little mommas to Levi- giving him his binky, rocking him- they are definitely ready for their new sibling!!

It was on this road trip that I realized being a mom of a 2.5 year old in the midst of potty training, and a 6 month old who can't sit up or crawl on his own yet, let alone sleep through the night...... makes for a pretty darn difficult and exhausting trip to do on my own! Cat & I hardly had any time to ourselves, but I guess that is to be expected now in this point of our lives!

Best friends forever! They even have the bracelets to prove it.



And soon-to-be best friends forever. Baby Amelia & Levi. Hard to tell, but Amelia is actually 3 months OLDER than Levi.


Playing basketball. Just like their mommies did years ago. Oh the memories :)


We finally made it to Orlando and we were thrilled to be reunited with Felix again! We had an awesome visit with Grandma, Aunt Mileidy, Alexsa & Celeste. We started off at Monkey Joe's- a fun bouncy house place with tons to do. Emma had a blast following her cousins everywhere, and made us proud by making it to the potty in time all day long even though she was having so much fun playing!!!


little Levi enjoying some Grandma love


Christmas morning......Emma and Levi were spoiled rotten. It was nice to spend time together, the whole family was there and we were really able to spend lots of quality time together talking and playing, not to mention eating some delicious homemade food!


Emma discovered the "sleep number" bed remote controls in the hotel and thought they were telephones. She spent a good amount of time talking, on both of them, at the same time before bed.

Emma still uses her binky at bedtime and naptime. When we were in NY in September, we stayed in a hotel and lost her beloved, one of a kind purple binky there. And so, when we first walked in to this hotel, Emma recognized it (a hotel) and said with incredible enthusiasm "WE FOUND MY PURPLE BINKY!!!".....so sad! I had to explain that this wasn't the same hotel, and yet, surprisingly, she seemed perfectly fine with it. Phew!

Snuggle-buddies. I told Felix he was in for a treat rooming with Emma in a hotel room......being that she has only slept in a bed one time (with me in the hotel in NY), it is still very exciting for her. So needless to say, our hotel bedtimes were quite entertaining. Felix & Emma took 1 bed and Levi & I stayed in another. Even though Emma was not going to bed as we had hoped, she was absolutely hysterical and had Felix & I silently laughing for most of the night. We have heard it on the monitor while she is in her crib...but we learned that no matter where we are or who is around....the girl has to sing herself to sleep. And Levi let it be known that he was with us as well! He slept with me and woke up about every 3-4 hours, but for his final wake up at 6am he was ready to play and let out his signature groan/talking over and over and over, just to be sure he woke up everyone in the room. It was fantastic.


Look Ma! No Diaper!!!