I'm a Beach Baby!

Last weekend we headed to Sarasota on the west coast of Florida to celebrate Jason's birthday. One of his presents was to play in a two-day amateur golf tournament. And, of course, we went to the beach! The video says it all.

It was Amelia's first real time at the beach. She's gotten some sand between her toes before, but never frolicked in the water. She LOVED it!!!! I can't say it enough. She loved the crashing waves and the splashing salt water. She loved sitting in the sand and feeling it in her fingers. She loved chasing the seagulls and falling down in the waves. We thought she was going to dive right in and swim to the sandbars!

We think she'll be ready for scuba diving lessons by, say, tomorrow.

Easter Extravaganza

In her young life, Amelia has never worn more pretty dresses in one week than she did Easter week. There were, of course, several visits to the Easter Bunny, one of which resulted in a photo. (As soon as Jason gets it scanned in, I will post it.) This required one dress. Then, there was a spring photo session with Tracy which called for a second dress. (Pictures above!) And finally, there was a little Easter egg hunt with some neighbors across the street which required yet another dress. (These photos also will be posted later.)

Luckily, Amelia already has outfits for pretty much any occassion so we didn't actually have to buy anything new. Aunt Cynth sent the purple bunny ears and bunny purse - perfect accessories for the spring photo shoot. Grandma Barbara gave us the lovely, hand-made, pastel bunny blanket even before we knew we were going to have a baby girl. Though Amelia's not exactly a frilly girl, she didn't seem to mind dressing up. At first though, she didn't understand why the dresses billowed out when she sat down. She tried to pat down the material a couple of times, but then she got used to it.

I love all these photos, but look closely at the HUGE smile in the photo when she's laying on her back. She's giggling and laughing because she had just rolled over and fallen back and she thought it was HILARIOUS. That's the smile I picture in my head - a big, toothy grin that says "all is right with the world" - whenever I think of our baby girl. But she really isn't a baby anymore, don't 'ya think?

Splish, Splash

Last week, Kristin and Ava, Maite and Cristiana and Amelia and I ventured to the splash park at Dr. Phillips Community Park and the girls LOVED it! It's a beautiful park right on Lake Buenavista with a large, covered playground, volleyball courts in the sand, picnic tables and the splash park.

We had a picnic lunch, pushed the girls in the swings and ran around in the water. But, most importantly, we witnessed Cristiana practice her new, mad walking skills. Go, Cristiana, go! She did so well, even on the slippery surface.

We'll definitely be going back. The park is just the thing to help make it through the long, sticky Florida summer months.