Sick

Testing Testing ... is this thing on? Well I feel like our blog has been turned off for a while. Labor Day seems like a year ago, yet it's our last post. OK maybe I'm being dramatic, but I had all these fun little blog post ideas in my head (including Abbie turning 5 months!) until last week happened. Dang last week was awful. We were all sick, and I had it the worst. I don't think I've been that sick for that long in years. Last Sunday, Tyler and I started feeling a little off and for the next couple days we had what we thought was food poisoning. I honestly could not eat anything and felt terrible stomach cramps and nauseous. Tuesday night I was starting to feel a little better with high hopes for tomorrow. Then I don't know how but Wednesday, I got worse. Pretty sure it turned into the flu. No more cramps, just pure exhaustion - still no appetite and nauseous though. It was really bad and lasted Wednesday and Thursday. I didn't leave the house until Friday morning. But Friday Jackson and Abbie both started getting the sniffles and Jackson ended up with a bad cold and Abbie had a double ear infection. I think one of the reasons it has taken me so long to recover is that I've been up in the nights with Abbie.

Bathtime Buddies

But now we're in a new week, I finally can say I'm back to normal health (while my appetite is still not all the way there). Tyler and Jackson are pretty much better too and I think Abbie is getting there. She finally had a good night last night (only fed her once) and I think the medicine is helping her ears. It just is the worst feeling that a whole week went by and I accomplished nothing! There weren't tons of important activies going on luckily but I still had something every day that I cancelled or missed. The main thing was joy school was supposed to be at our house for the first time on Thursday, but that couldn't happen. Throw in a lunch playdate, ward playgroup, a YW Presidency meeting, temple babysitting swap, a baby shower dinner and dinner plans with the McKinnons and there is the week that should have been...

If nothing else this week made me appreciate good health. How lucky am I to have perfect health 99% of the time. My kids are super lucky too, this was actually the first time I'd taken Abbie to the doctor for a "sick visit" and the first time we'd taken Jackson in over a year. I was helping to throw another baby shower for my friend Semra on Saturday afternoon and it was my goal all week to make it to that shower! Luckily I made it, but I ended up needing a lot more help with the food since I wasn't up for making my original planned items (and I wasn't sure if people wanted to eat food coming out of my kitchen anyways).

Other than being sick, there was one item of really great importance that occurred last week, my sister Paige had her baby!! Little William John Lewis was born on September 17th weighing in at 6 pounds 7 ounces. Her due date had been September 18th but then they changed it to September 28th, so we were not expecting him quite this soon! But he is such a sweetheart and mom and baby and doing well and adjusting to their new lives together.

William with Mom

This past weekend Tyler also had school, so I feel like those are always the more low key weekends anyways. We went to Disney's Art of Animation Resort on Friday evening and went to downtown Winter Garden with a Pizza Dinner at a park on Saturday night.

They opened 2 new wings, Lion King and Little Mermaid

 

Abbie & Jackson waiting for the doctor

We didn't get out of the house much ... but at least Jackson has his new favorite toy aka box to entertain himself

Labor Day Weekend

So this is kind of like the blog post that never ends. You would think since I'm limiting it to one weekend, that there couldn't be too much to say? Well that's not the case, keep scrolling/reading and you'll find out.

Friday morning Tyler and Jackson went off to SeaWorld. Abbie had a rough night and was wide awake at 6 am, so we stayed home. She was so tired she fell asleep while I was holding her on my lap! I was watching Jackson play and honestly had no idea she was asleep until I looked down.  She then slept for over three hours that morning.

I don't think she's ever fallen asleep like this before!

The only picture Tyler took of the morning, aka proof they were there haha

That night we all went to another high school football game, too bad they don't start til 730! I left with the kids during the third quarter with the score tied 10-10. It got pretty exciting after we left but our team lost in double overtime, 34-37.

Jackson and Tyler having fun

Well, here's another picture of sleeping Abbie - fell asleep in the Bjorn right next to the marching band!

Kisses!

Family Shot

Saturday morning we headed off to Blizzard Beach. Since we're swimming, wet, and normally holding babies and toddlers, I rarely ever take pictures at the water park! We didn't take any this weekend but it was a fun morning. Jackson finally got brave enough to go down some of the bigger slides in the "big kid" area and even went down face first on the kiddy slides. We have a year pass to the water parks, so we'll have to go again with camera in hand.

Saturday evening was a ward party, thrown by the Elder's Quorom - aka Tyler. He was the mastermind behind the event and I think everyone had a great time. He threw another party back during Memorial Day Weekend and it's crazy how many new people have moved into the ward just since then. We had it at the Munns' house and he helped Jacque get the backyard ready before the party. He was on the grill for the first half and swimming with Jackson for the rest of the party. Others were boating, playing in the lake, on the water tramp, socializing and playing on the beach.

Jackson getting ready to "jump" to Daddy, he has gotten so brave this summer.

Hanging out by the dock

Abbie is getting pretty close to sitting up! She can balance for about 30 seconds before toppling over now... and ignore the cradle cap.

A group heading out on the boat

Some of my friends chatting and laughing about something :) Amanda, Semra, Andrea

The next morning was Sunday, so of course we went to church, and I actually snapped this pic of Abbie during sunday school bc she was just looking too cute :)

Think our weekend was busy enough yet? Well guess what we hadn't even begun the main event yet - we went on a little "vacation" to St. Petersburg (in Tampa Bay area) for the night. We went with Jon, Semra and their daughter Sahara. But did we get a single picture of the group? No. Did we get any pictures with them at all? No. That's why I felt like I at least needed to include the one from the ward party of Semra haha.

OK anyways, so yeah we drove over late Sunday afternoon and checked into our hotel at the Marriott Courtyard (one of the perks of a traveling husband - free hotel nights!)  Then we went over to the St. Pete pier and ate some dinner as we watched a band play, dolphins swim, and pelicans fly.

Finally at the pier!

Jackson eating his enormous chicken tender with his BFF.

Lifeguard in training.

Abbie and I watching the sunset

Jackson and Tyler walking back

View from the 5th floor of the pier shops - looking to downtown St. Pete

Posing with the Pelican

The next morning we headed over to the beach for a few hours. Again, our friends were with us but we got no pictures, I promise I did not make them up. Is it sounding like we have imaginary friends? One of these days we all need to take a picture together!

The main reason for this little trip was to check out a Rays baseball game! I went with my kids and my family to a Diamondback game earlier this summer but Tyler was back in Florida. So he wanted to make sure he saw a game with his buddy this year. It was a Rays/Yankees afternoon game so it worked out great!

The awesome thing about our hotel was that it was just a few blocks from the stadium and offered a free shuttle to the game! So after the beach we went back to the hotel, got ready and packed our cars and took the shuttle to the front gates of the ballpark.

Abbie loves being forward facing in the carrier now...

So much so that she falls asleep doing it! She slept pretty well considering how loud the people around us were!

So our seats weren't great but they hit a homerun right in our section -10 rows in front of us!

Tyler and Jackson soaking it in

Jackson is normally down for his nap by 2:30 at the latest so he was getting pretty tired by the end of the game, he did pretty well though. We lasted until the middle of the 8th inning but Tyler did not want to leave since it was tied 3-3. The Rays ended up scoring right after we left and won 4-3 :)

We took our handy shuttle back to the hotel and said farewell to Jon and Semra. We hopped in our car and headed back to Orlando (90 minute drive). Both kids fell asleep when we got in the car but dangit Jackson, he woke up when we stopped to get gas 30 minutes later. Needless to say he went to bed pretty early that night.

All in all it was a pretty fun weekend! Too bad Tyler had to go out of town the next morning and then has school this weekend, boo! But I think we fit enough fun in to last a while...

End of August

For most people the end of August signifies the end of summer, but for a family in hot Florida with kids who aren't in school yet - September really won't bring too many changes. But I'm kind of ready for summer to be over - I'd love to be able to run outside, go to the park, and theme parks without sweating, and start gearing up for the fall! So I'll just have to start baking with pumpkin and bust out the Halloween decorations to make it happen...

Since Abbie turned 4 months through the end of August, there haven't been many "blog worthy events" occur with our family. But there have been some fun moments and memories caught via phone photos. 

Waiting for Daddy to come home on the front porch, I think we were all ready for him this day!

All summer Jackson has refused to wear flip flops, last year he lived in them, but this year he wouldn't even let me put them on. But he let me put them on him one afternoon and now he loves wearing them ... finally!

Figured out how to make her smile for pictures, turn the camera around so she can see herself!

Abbie tried rice cereal for the first time, she ate it just fine but didn't love it...

And here is me, trying rice cereal for the first time at 4 1/2 months - look alike??

Trains have taken over our house and Abbie is starting to get in on the action.

 I am now the Young Women Secretary in our ward and was put in charge of New Beginnings a couple weeks ago. It's fun being in Young Women again, but it's just such a different place than I had in Mesa. We probably had 40-50 girls in our young women program and this ward has 8, with 2 new girls coming in this year. It's very small but they are great girls.

I got these prints framed for a handout for the girls, the only picture I have from the event.

I love that she still falls asleep in my arms every day, Jackson normally fell asleep best in the swing for naps, so I love that I can rock her to sleep so easily.

We did a babysitting swap with our new friends, the Carters, and got a taste of life with 5 kids, they were all great but I'm good with 2 for now :)

Jackson and I went to the splash pad for one of the last times this year.

We went to our first high school football game of the season. Both kids were great.

Happy Abbie after "facetiming" with Grandma on a Sunday night.

The girl gets around! Between rolling over and scooting, this girl made it all the way off the blanket after starting facing her toys.

Happy little beauty girl.

She got her first cold last week and had a hard time sleeping with her clogged up nose. This day she took her afternoon nap in my arms for 2 hours, not the most productive day of me, but I was glad she finally got some sleep!

I don't think I have any pictures of me holding both kids - it doesn't really happen too often, so I tried taking this one while watching a movie one night.

These kids are my life and I'm so grateful to Tyler who works hard and lets me spend my days with them :)