Holiday Pictures

On Sunday afternoon we scheduled an appointment at the local Portrait Innovations to get our family pictures for our Christmas card this year, as well as to hopefully have a decent pictures of the three of us. So we all fluffed and dressed up prior to our 5:20pm appointment only to find that we were NOT the only family in Colleyville to have such a grand idea! We arrived to a studio full of people and were told our session was running behind by approximately 45 minutes. So, we ran some errands, returned to the studio, and were finally send into the studio for our session. The photographer actually captures some good pictures of the three of us and we're really happy with the results!

At the end of our family session, we wanted to get a few pictures of Sofia with Green Beup-Beup. I even washed him in anticipation and he was still a little wet since I didn't have time to dry him completely. I had to sneak him out of Sofia's room during her nap and wash him while she slept, and she woke up saying "Where's Green Beup-Beup?" over and over! Anyway, by the time we got to Sofia and Green Beup-Beup portraits, she was pretty done with the entire experience, starting to get hungry, and not really into smiling at the crazy woman playing peek-a-boo with her. So, we didn't really get very good pictures of her and Green Beup-Beup, but I plan on returning to the studio mid-week sometime to specifically get some good pics of Sofia and her buddy.

Anyway, here are the pictures and you'll likely be seeing the family portrait on this year's Christmas cards (if I can get my act together!!).

Sofia's First Smiley Face!

On the plane trip back to Dallas, Sofia was playing with her doodle pad and drew her first smiley face! It was very well drawn and she ended up drawing several more after! CK draws smiley faces and other things for her and I've drawn Green Beup-Beup on the doodle pad, so I guess it was a matter of time before she could do it herself. She's so proud of herself now that she'll draw one (or think she will) and then announce her 'smiley face' for all to see. It's very cute! Here are pictures of those first few faces though!

Drawing


Sofia's first smiley face!


Another face


And yet another work of art!

And it's officially begun.....

Yep, the "What's that?" and "What are those?" and "What's this?" (at least she generally has her verb-subject agreement!). Plus, she often adds "honeyboo" at the end, such as "What's that, honeyboo?" Neither CK nor I have no idea where she picked up honeyboo and even our baby sitter is stumped (usually all of her 'cool' comments come from Miss Megan). So, now I spent about half my time trying to identify what exactly she's referring to and the other half explaining what 'that' is. She's also gotten into the habit of asking about things she clearly already knows, such as a car, etc. Also anytime we drive by cows, horses or other animals, she always gives a hearty "Ahhhhh" and then usually announces that they are "sleepy" (cows are generally laying down half the time we see them, so I'm pretty sure this is where it comes from). She's certainly is a character!

Our Vacation in Mexico

On Tuesday November 10th, we flew to Cancun for a short week vacation in Playa del Carmen, which is located 45 minutes south of Cancun. Alice, Joe and Grayden arrived earlier that morning and we joined up with them after their trip to the grocery store! We ended up having two solid days at the beach together, CK got his open water dive license which he's wanted to get for several years, visited Cozumel, explored the ruins of Tulum, visited the ecopark Xel-ha, and enjoyed a wonderful vacation with great friends and travel companions! We can't wait for our next vacation together!

Arriving in Cancun, after collecting our bags and before customs (where they nearly took my fig newtons!)


Our marvelous view from our hotel (it's actually from Alice and Joe's balcony - our room is directly to the right).


Sofia, with Green Beup-Beup, finds a flower


Heading out to lunch


Grayden and Sofia playing together


Lunch and the best fruit smoothies in town!


Sofia and Grayden check out the restaurant's waterfall


Lounging at the beach


Beach bunny!


The view of our hotel from the beach


Playing in the sand

Another day at the beach....

While in Playa del Carmen we enjoyed two wonderfully relaxing beach days. We would eat breakfast, either on our balcony together or go to a local place, then go to the beach at our hotel. We'd secure four lounge chairs together with umbrellas or in the shade so the kids could play in the sand without being in the sun all day. Luckily the hotel had a (cold) pool because despite my greatest pep talks, Sofia was NOT going to go into, or even near, the ocean. She wanted me to hold her up so she could watch the waves, but if I got within 15 feet of the water she'd come unglued. So, we stuck to playing in the sand or swimming in the pool. We also found that the little restaurant next door would deliver lunch and had delicious fresh fish and shrimp. Usually after a filling lunch the kids were ready for naps, so we'd retire to our rooms, put the kids down for naps, and either read on our balcony or take naps ourselves in the hammock that was on each of our balconies. It made for nice, lazy days!

Grayden and Sofia playing in the sand




Making sand castles




With Papa in his diving gear - he got his diving license while we were there


Our little beach girl


Date night! We took turns 'baby sitting' for each other so we could each have a nice couples night out!

Sightseeing

On our final day in Mexico, we took a tour of Tulum and spent the afternoon at an ecopark called Xel-Ha. We all crowded onto a bus and enjoyed the hour drive to Tulum (Sofia napped). Tulum is a pre-Colombian Mayan ruin of a walled city that was an important site for the "Descending God." Our guide gave us a walking tour before allowing us an hour or so to walk around ourselves. Since Tulum was built on cliffs overlooking the ocean, we took some family and group pictures and enjoyed the views.

After Tulum we drove to Xel-Ha which is an ecopark that includes all sorts of water activities. We all rode tubes down a river into the bay of Xel-ha and hoped the kids would take a nap after, but they were much more interested in playing in the sand and splashing in the kids pool. So, we hung out in the kids area until we met our group. Sofia was asleep in the bus before we even backed out of the parking lot!

Just outside of Tulum


Sofia and Papa with ruins in the background


The main temple


A Mayan warrior


The three of us


The view from behind the main temple - the water was such an amazing color!


Alice, Grayden, Joe, Me, CK, and Sofia


The three of us


Happy girl


Yum, ice cream!


All set to go tubing down the river


Everyone is ready!


Joe and Grayden in one tube, CK and Sofia in the other


On the open water


The three of us after a long day!

The End of our Vacation

Our vacation went by so quickly and we were really wanting a few more lazy days on the beach. Of course, we soon learned you need to be careful of what you wish for....

After we returned from a long day at Tulum and Xel-ha, we woke our very sleepy kids and enjoyed our final dinner at a great little Mexican Restaurant near our hotel. It was a fun and festive last night together. The next morning we left at the crazy hour of 6am (I still can't believe we woke up at 5am!). Unfortunately, our flight was cancelled due to engine trouble so we got our wish and ended up staying in Mexico one more day. Thanks to CK's status with American Airlines, we thankfully didn't have to stand in the crazy line of disgruntled passengers and were quickly rebooked for the following morning's flight. American Airlines put us up in a Marriott near the airport and we spent the afternoon playing in the very cold pool and taking naps. Then, the next day we all boarded the same plane and successfully returned home!

Sofia was a huge trooper through it all and ended up making friends with a few of the kids around her age, so she was happy to play with them in the pool and lobby at the hotel and airport. In the plane, she read books, took a nice nap, drew on her doodle pad and ate gummy bears and M&Ms - with some help from us! It was such a wonderful vacation and we can't wait to visit again, hopefully with Alice, Joe, Grayden and Grayden's soon-to-arrive little sister!

Every day we returned to our cleaned room and a new figure on Sofia's bed made of towels - the most memorable were a pair of swans, an elephant, and this beach goer!


Sunrise the morning we left Playa del Carmen


Looking very much like when we first arrived! Heading to the shuttle for a trip to the Marriott and one more day in Mexico


CK reading up on the "New Male Midlife Crisis" from one of my girl magazines!


MMMMMMM, M&Ms! Yum!

Cozumel

We took the 30-minute ferry from Playa del Carmen to the island of Cozumel. After walking around the town for awhile, Alice had the insight to ask a local woman about restaurant recommendations which lead us down a little side street and to one of my favorite meals of the trip. The restaurant was mainly an outdoor veranda and our waiter and staff didn't speak English, which was a refreshing change from the norm. Also, the food was outstanding. I had the roasted plantain stuffed with ground beef, and topped with cheese. It was outstanding! While we waited for our meal, Sofia and Grayden played in the wall fountain which resulted in a very wet little girl. Also, I'm surprised Sofia wasn't hit with a case of Montezuma's Revenge since she drank about a gallon of the water!

After lunch we took a taxi to the Mayan ruins of San Gervasio, which are in the middle of the island and are the largest remaining ruins on the island (the largest was bulldozed for an air strip during WWII.) It was an interesting place, particularly prior our visit to Tulum.

The dive sculpture in Cozumel


Sofia in her $20 stroller (bought from Walmart in Playa since we decided not to bring ours)


Lunch in Cozumel - delicious!


Playing in the wall fountain (and sampling Mexican water)


Visiting the ruins at San Gervasio


Sofia and Grayden checking out the San Gervasio cistern.


One of the temples


Hanging out with "Buddy Grayden"


Another temple


Holding hands.....I bought Sofia's dress on Cozumel after she completely soaked herself in the wall fountain.