A normal spring week with a couple regular checkups

It was time for Emmalyn's 2 year checkup!  I always look forward to seeing how the kids are growing at each checkup.

There's this little off-the-beaten-path road close to her Dr's.  I love how the trees arch over the road and create this beautiful path to drive down.  I think it's my favorite street in Dallas.  I sure hope that all the development in the area doesn't eventually lead to a need to disrupt this little gem.

Emmalyn was so excited to see the doctor and have him check her eyes. (Not sure why her eyes were such a big deal...maybe because Maxwell has had his eyes checked?)

video - Emmalyn talking about how she is ready for her checkup

Waiting for the doctor

Smiles

Cheese

The results of her 2 year old questionnaire:

She cried when she got her shot.  She knew it was coming once the girl walked in with the tray.  She hugged me and said she was scared.  She didn't cry until she got the shot though and then recovered within 20 seconds.  So it wasn't as bad as I figured it would be.

She wanted both a sticker and a sucker but they had done a fluoride treatment on her so she couldn't eat or drink for 20.  I didn't want to tempt/torture her by letting her get a sucker.  (I've never heard of a dental procedure being done at a pediatrician but since we haven't been to the dentist yet, I went with it.)

Checking out her bandaid

Emmalyn's 2 year stats!

Weight: 24 lbs, 40th percentile

Height: 32.8 inches, 17th percentile

 (a great jump from 8th on her last visit!)

Head: 18.5 cm, 44th percentile

silly girl wearing her hat in the car

It's nice enough that Maxwell went and "swam" in the neighbors hot tub while I entertained Emmalyn

They spoil the kids...cupcakes in the hot tub!

Maxwell and I had our bi-annual visit to the dentist.  He did a great job!

trying out "mr slurpee"

Sitting pretty comfy

Again, so laid back!

At this point he was a little nervous.  He didn't like doing Mr. Slurpee in his mouth.  It was a great visit though and he's an awesome patient!

"Sitting" fully clothed on the potty... whatever it takes to get her excited about it? right?

She's so demanding!  Emmalyn knows the difference between "fast and "slow" and asks for both, for example when she's brushing her teeth, she will dictate how quickly we can brush.  Or, when we are doing a lap bounce at Kindermusik she will ask her teacher to go faster and then slower. 

Sweet girl is ready for bed with her puppy and turtle snuggled by her head, 2 blankets laid out on top of her, and her hand tucked into her pajamas.

cousin picnic on the trampoline

I was having a rough day so my friend at work, Josh, brought some fresh blackberries and canned whipped cream he grabbed from the cafe to our meeting.  It was a nice surprise.

I got this super cute dress and overcoat for Easter for Emmalyn this year but because it was freezing in Seattle, she didn't end up wearing it.  

Grumpy face

Happy face

Maxwell came with me to Emmalyn's kindermusik class.  I let him hang out in the hallway and play his ipad.  He was super well behaved (and I kept checking on him every couple minutes).

Love this swimsuit, that curly hair and those chubby cheeks!

Maxwell playing war with his dad

crazy post-nap hair...

...and rosy cheeks

She wanted to take her scooter to the park but got overridden by Momma because I knew she wouldn't be able to ride it that far.

Instead we took the trike I can push.

Trying out the big girl swing

Day 4 - Caribbean Cruise 2015 - Belize

Today was a nice, easy day.   We knew that we weren't going to go do anything in Belize other than get off the boat and hit the shops on the pier.  We had been told that Belize wasn't a place you wanted to go explore on your own unless you were going on a guided excursion.  It's very much a third world country that is very undeveloped.  So, since none of the excursions would work well with the kids, we spent most of the time at port enjoying the empty ship.  (Tawny told us that she had taken the kids outside of the gates at the pier to go to a park that one of the locals had told her about but after she got outside the gates she felt uneasy almost immediately about the surroundings and they came back inside the guarded gates.)

Maxwell enjoying his morning time on the iPad

We enjoyed time out on the balcony looking at the gorgeous view

It's fun to have Maxwell old enough to take some decent pics (although from a pretty low perspective).  :)

Happy girl was having a great time

She is so short the feet of her PJs just hang off her legs...

Here's a view of our suite.  This was an upgraded "suite" and certainly was the most roomy we've ever had (which according to cruise standards is still very tiny).  There was a curtain that divided the tv/couch area and the bed.  It was perfect because whoever was stuck in the room with the kid(s) during nap time or bedtime could just shut that curtain and still have the light on by the bed without disturbing the kids.  They could also go sit out on the balcony too.

Since we weren't hurrying anywhere, we went to a restaurant for breakfast instead of the buffet and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast.

How can you beat the view of that gorgeous water for breakfast?

Video - Emmalyn had honeydew for the first time on this cruise (it was consistently a good soft texture for her to eat) and loved it.  Lately she has been spitting out nearly every bite of food after she puts it into her mouth and then will put it back into her mouth.  It makes a messy meal into an even messier meal.

Perfection.  I adore this picture.

He really enjoyed watching what was going on

Of course Emmalyn is too focused on food to look up for a picture.  That girl loves to eat.

The ship had a great little room full of toys for children under 2 (since they couldn't participate in the kids zone).  The room was open most of the time and they would rotate the toys so you could come in later in the day and find a totally different group of toys.  It was such a great space and I appreciated it was so available regardless of what was going on in the kids zone.  

We dropped Maxwell off at the kids zone to play for awhile and then we went to the toddler room with Emmalyn. 

Her outfit showed those darling baby legs.

Eventually we got off the boat and took a tender to shore

It was super hot and humid so we didn't spend much time shopping.  The fam rested while I went into a shop for something I wanted.  Peter sure had Emmalyn giggling...

We spent the time on port just as a family.  Aja went on an excursion on her own to some ruins and Tawny and her kids hung out on the dock while Jaxton danced to earn some money.  He did a pretty good job of drawing a crowd.  He's got some really cool moves.

On the way back to the boat this time the crew had another welcome aboard party.  They gave out drinks, had cold wet towels, and frozen juice popsicles. What a treat!  (and no embarrassing incident this time)

Our balcony was right over the place where the tenders met up with the boat.  I was fascinated to watch the process and also watched them pack everything up and close up the boat again when it was time to leave.

Oh no, Emmalyn has my hair.  

Poor girl is doomed to a life of curl and frizz and poof when she's in the humidity.  Sorry, Emmalyn!!!!