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10.31.2015

Halloween as a Train Conductor

When Sid was around 6 months old, we bought him this little blue and white striped hat. Every time he wears it, to this day - people always tell me he looks like a conductor! For Halloween, I saw no other option than for him to dress up as a train conductor. My mom found the costume on Pinterest and it couldn't have been easier to pull off!

Halloween fell on a Saturday this year. On Friday, we had Kindermusik and got to dress up for our class. It was so cute seeing all the little ones in their costumes.


By the time this next one was taken, Sid had ditched his hat and Graham had ditched his dinosaur costume all together! 

Sid and Graham chatting with The Kat in the Hat, aka, Mrs. Kat!

On Halloween, we went over to the Martyn's early for trick-or-treating. Sid and Graham enjoyed a moment of romping around in the yard before loading up in the wagon for a quick ride around the neighborhood. 


Graham was a way better wagon rider than Sid. If the wagon stopped Sid would start fussing to get out! Oh - and side note - I found a cute little painted wooden train that I attached to Sid's trick-or-treat bag, but I forgot to take a picture of it!


 The boys did great. Sid got scared one time. A man had a mask on and he didn't take it off as we approached (which I was sort of surprised about considering how little they were) but Sid freaked out! He got over it when the guy took the mask off and was very friendly. BUT - Sid did NOT want to get back in the wagon at that point. So what did he do instead?...


He found a pop pop in someone's yard, swore it was his, and started popping. I couldn't blame him! It's hard for a little guy to get excited about getting candy that he can't even eat! 

Happy Halloween!

10.23.2015

Family Photo Session on the Beach

Two weeks before our family vacation to Anna Maria Island, FL, I got the crazy idea to hire a photographer to take some family pictures of us. A friend had done it with her family and I thought it was such a great idea. I did a quick search on Instagram and came across Everence Photography. I emailed Jessica and she responded immediately! I was so excited, but also stressed to the max over what in the world we were going to wear! Just ask anyone who I talk to on a daily basis and they'd all roll their eyes. I was soooooooort of obnoxious about it :/ Sorry, y'all!

I booked our session on our last night on the island. Sean wanted to make sure we had a small semblance of sun. We met the photographer for an hour shoot at sunset. She couldn't have been sweeter and easier to work with. She was great with Sid, as she has 2 small children of her own. Sid started out being afraid of the camera, but thankfully he got over that rather quickly.

Here are some of my favorites!


Thank you, Jessica for capturing such precious pictures for my little family. I will treasure these pictures forever!

10.22.2015

Family Vacation - Ft. Lauderdale Bound

We departed Anna Maria Island for Ft. Lauderdale after spending 4 nights, just the three of us. I loved the island so much, and I really do hope to spend another family vacation there again one day.

We had to be checked out of our unit by 10 on Friday morning. On our way out of town, we had to stop by the donut shop, which our photographer recommended, for some specialty breakfast treats!


Our drive to Ft. Lauderdale was about 3 hours. Sid took a good nap and with only one stop, we were there!

I love his little leg kicked over the side of his seat.

Our accommodations were a little tough on us. It was Aaron's dad's place, so location was perfect because it was in the same multi-family unit as Katie and Aaron. We only had a one bedroom and we just aren't used to that with Sid. We made it work though, even if it meant Sean had to take a nap on the floor with couch pillows.


That night we made vegetable lasagna, with homemade noodles! Katie is really into cooking like we are, so we enjoyed cooking all together the 3 nights we were there!

I have no clue what was so funny!
We ate dinner each night together around the table :)

After dinner the first night, we put the babies to bed, then grabbed some wine and enjoyed sitting out on the dock by the boat! They live on the intracoastal waterway (I mean it's literally in their backyard...


When you're driving down the main road, in between each street there are these waterways. Katie and Aaron live down this street on the left. See those two palm trees in the back? That's their spot just under the first tree you see. 


We were entertained by boats passing by. There was one party barge that passed and Sean was ready to hop on board!

On Saturday morning, Sean, Sid and I went to the grocery store and for a nice walk. Later that day, Aaron took us for a long boat ride! We didn't go out into the ocean because of the winds that day, but the intracoastal waters kept us very entertained. There were HUGE yachts and HUGE houses to look at! And restaurants and bars along the route. Sid loved being on the boat, particularly in the captain's chair ;)


It's hard to read, but on the yacht below, the name across the back says, "Straight to Voicemail!" I loved it! 


When we got off the boat, we put the babies down for a nap and then went for a dip in their pool. It was a little chilly, but I had gotten so hot on the boat that the water felt perfect to me! That evening LSU played FL (ironic?!). Sean and I cooked étouffée for everyone and then we watched the game! 

On Sunday, which was our last day in Ft. Lauderdale, Katie and Aaron took us downtown. The wind was so strong it was almost not enjoyable. But it was cool to see what downtown Ft. Lauderdale was like. It was just a long strip of restaurants, bars, and souvenir shops along the beach. We got to watch some kite surfing, too!

Breakfast! 

Our little buddy was such a trooper. He had to adapt to Lilo's schedule and it pushed his napping quite a bit each day. He pulled through though. Here he is just chillin' in the stroller while we cruised along the beach :)

Kite surfers!
Lilo on her Daddy's shoulders. She didn't want to ride in the stroller anymore.
Sean took his shirt off for this picture. Oooooooh, my husband ;)

Once we got back from the beach, we were all pretty wiped. Babies took naps, and Sean and I got busy packing. We had an early flight out the next morning. That night Katie and Aaron made us chicken tacos that were soooooo good! So good in fact, that I got the cookbook the recipe came out of for my birthday a month later :) We partook in a glass of wine after dinner then went to bed early.

We didn't see the Richie's the next morning because we left so early. Thankfully, getting to the airport was painless. We got our rental car returned, hopped on the bus to get to our gate and boarded pretty quickly. Sid, once again, did amazing on the flight home. It was a little bit longer than our first flight. He nursed on takeoff and then fell asleep for a long time. When he woke up, we fed him some snacks and pulled out a few toys. Next thing we knew it was time for our decent. We had the nicest lady next to us who even let Sid sit on her lap to look out the window. So nice of her. I don't think I'd want a stranger's kid to sit on my lap!! 

We made it home, safe and sound. Here is our traveling-trooper-toddler back at DFW. Jack picked us up at the airport and brought us home. 


Thinking back on this trip, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. We really couldn't of asked for a more seamless vacation. I love my boys so much, and look forward to the next time we can get away from it all and enjoy what's important...each other :) Thank you daddy for taking time away from your busy work to escape with us. We had a blast!! Can we go back now ;)