November 2010 Favorite and Not So Favorite Things

Well let's start with my least favorite things about November 2010 so we can end on a positive note.

1) Brenna got REALLY sick the week we were supposed to go to Disney for a week.  Her fever was so so high and she had strep throat and was just miserable.  Brett had taken off work for the whole week so we could go to Disney and have a nice vacation and we ended up in the house all week taking care of Brenna all day and all night.  She was waking up every couple of hours at night and it was NOT FUN.  Poor thing did get better in time to go to Disney for the weekend though!  I was very thankful to have Brett home to help take care of Brenna for that week but sad that he pretty much wasted 4 vacation days.

2)  Tonsillitis!  I got tonsillitus during Thanksgiving and was MISERABLE for 8 straight days.  On the plus side, I did lost 2 pounds rather than gain the normal 5 or 6 during Thanksgiving.  On the negative, no Thanksgiving food or leftovers to enjoy :-(

3)  Brett has a PE job and his work at PSI has him working WAY too much.  He probably averages working 16 hours a day (weekends too).  No joke.  Can't wait for him to cut back.  We miss him.  But let's be a pollyanna for a second and count our blessings that he has a job!  And one that he loves!  I should take this one off the list...

Ok, now on to the happy and good times of November 2010.

1)  Disney!!!  We were able to bring Brenna to DisneyWorld despite her not feeling well in the days prior.  Post all about that will be up shortly. 

2)  Supportive Family.  I'm so lucky to have parents and parents-in-law who can help with Brenna when I'm sick.  Brenna spent a day with the Epsteins and her cousins Nick and Alex over Thanksgiving when I was feeling so crummy and then she spent 3 days and nights with my mom and dad later that week.  I have no doubt that I had to take care of her on top of being sick with tonsillitis, I would have been sick for twice as long.  Here's Brenna and Nick and Alex having a photo shoot at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Great grandma Ruth (Bubbee) and all her grandkids

3) Marina's 2nd Birthday Party which was ladybug themed.  So fun!

4) Playdates at our place.  Specifically a Megablok-themed playdate that I hosted which was sponsored due to my other blog (http://www.thismommyloves.com/)

5) Happy Birthday, Mac Luber!  November 29, 2010, Mark and Jill welcomed Baby Mac Alan Luber.  Can't wait to see them over New Years and Meet Baby Mac in person.  And for the record, I guessed his weight exactly to the oz!  7lbs 1 oz

Such a proud big sis!

6) Cooler Florida winter temperatures which make it fun to go for walks outside!

7) Christmastime is here!  Decorations are everywhere, the tree is up and Brenna got to welcome Santa as he arrived at our local mall. 

Kisses from Trey while Santa arrived and the kids had milk and cookies.

Tybee Island and Hilton Head Island Vacation 2010

August was quite a month for our family hence the lack of posting.  For starters, we went on a wonderful week-long vacation to Tybee Island, GA and Hilton Head Island, SC.

For starters, we hit up Tybee Island which is the island community off of Savannah, GA.  We chose Tybee because we wanted to spend our vacation with the Lubers and Tybee was a mutually-driveable location and since we both have almost 2 year olds at this point, we decided a lazy beach town was just what we needed.  We rented a really nice 3 bedroom Condo in the Brass Rail Community which was just steps from the beach.  It was perfect because Brett and I had a room, Mark and Jill had a room, and the girls bunked together in the 3rd bedroom.  I was a little nervous for how that would go, but they both did awesome.  They were both in pack and plays but hopefully next year, they will be able to utilize the twin beds. 

Each morning we would pack up all of our beach gear and stroll across the street to the beach.  The beach was a lot different then our beaches in Florida so it was a nice change to have such long stretches of the hard/compact sand.  It made pulling the wagon a lot easier and this way if the girls took off running, we didn't have to worry about them reaching the water before we could get to them.






Waiting on Baby Boy Luber to join us next year. 






No vacation would be complete without a drippy, messy ice cream cone.









My favorite pic from all of vacation!  She just laid there and laughed, loving the water.





So tired, couldn't even make it back to the room before passing out.


My beach beauty!

Her hair is so blond and her skin so tan.













Ring around the rosy time!

After the beach, we'd head back for lunch and naps.  Swimming or exploring the island took place in the afternoon followed by dinner and bedtime for the girls while the adults made dinner for us and either played Wii or just hung out and chatted.  Unfortuantely, Brett had to work a lot in the evening so next year, no work allowed. 

It was so fun to see the girls play together.  They would chase each other around the condo and giggle and fight over toys and sing songs...it was so cute.  Brenna was a bit of a bully at times to Molly but for the most part they really got along great and I know they will always be the best of buds. 

After 4 nights in Tybee Island, we departed and met up with Brett's family at Hilton Head Island, where they have a yearly time-share at the Marriott Barony Beach Club.  We stayed 2 nights at Hilton Head and went to the beach and pool and Brett and I even got to go out to a movie just the two of us thanks to Mandy for babysitting.  Brenna LOVED playing with her cousins.  Even though Nick is 4 1/2, they really got along so well.  Nick is such a good older cousin.  He shared his toys and would "catch" Brenna when she would swim to him in the pool.  Being that Alex and Brenna are only 6 months apart, I'm sure next year, the two of them will pal around together.  This year, Alex was very attached to Mandy and Stephen and Brenna seemed more on par with Nick's level of play...but again, I'm sure that will be completely different next year. 







One memorable moment from Hilton Head is how well Brenna swims.  We had several families come up to us and ask, 1) How old is she? and 2) How in the world did she learn to swim like that?  She could seriously swim an Olympic Size length pool and she holds her breath for a really long time before she flips for air.  And she wants to keep going and going and going.  Here's a video of her in action but it really doesn't do justice to just how much she LOVES swimming. The girls is obsessed.