Water babies

Although I had all these great plans for taking some family photos at the beach, I barely even pulled my camera out while we were in Florida. The twins are a handful these days and it took both Andrew and me (as well as one of his parents) to really manage all three on our beach, sailing, and zoo outings. It was a blessing to have extra hands and actually enjoy life. Although I love my children dearly, I feel like I am so busy just meeting every persons basic needs during the day, that I don't always get to just watch how charming they all are. And they are all so sweet and precious.

All 3 of us have birthdays next month. And Andrew and I will celebrating our ten year anniversary!

My sweet Audrey. She loved the zoo!

My sailor boy! Isn't he adorable? We never did put up our sail that day...too windy (at least it would have been too wild with little ones aboard)

Captain Ella (cannot believe she is about to turn 4!).

Audrey hated the beach the first day, but was in love by the second. Jacob liked playing in the sand, but was scared of the wave. Ella was at the perfect age to enjoy the ocean and boating. She has been several times since birth, but this was the most fun. She had no fear and would jump waves and body surf with me. This age she is entering into is really wonderful...she is independent, yet still so innocent. I would like to freeze time with her right now. 

We also welcomed a new family member while we were down there...a new nephew. I've already forgotten how tiny newborns are (and the twins were only a  1/3 the size of our nephew!! That is hard to believe).  I think I need to volunteer to keep the newborns at church to get my little baby fill. Then I can snuggle them for a couple hours and send them home with their sleep deprived mothers while I go home and get my full nights rest.

So, that was our trip in a nutshell.

la petite ballerine

Have you ever seen so much sweetness? This is mon petite ballerine. She is destined to be a prima ballerina, don't you think? Ok, I promise not to become like Amy Chua in "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother", but you must admit she looks the part of a ballerina. I can't wait to see her first recital in May. (By the way, that costume? Yeah, expensive!! I told her she better actually dance up there on stage. I tease)

By the way, have any of you read that book? It is a very interesting read. I'm now completely engrossed in "Bringing up Bebe". I'd love to share thoughts with any of you who have read it. The francophile in me really wants to love this book, but the verdict is still out. I don't particularly like it when one parenting style is pinned against another (or one that makes some pretty broad generalizations), but so far, it has been a decent read. Maybe I'll do a book review at the end (I'm about half way through it...so give me a few more days).

By the way, have you been reading along over at Seven Days of Grace?

Please stop screaming

I have learned something about traveling with children: you don't really take any true vacations anymore. You simply have a change in scenery. For obvious reasons, traveling with one child in tow is very different than traveling with three children all under the age of three in tow. Although Ella has become an expert on traveling etiquette (ok, so sometimes we cheat and pull out the portable DVD player), the twins have decided that riding in the car seat for more than 30 minutes is more than they can handle. Apparently 12 hours in the swagger wagon proved to be a bit ambitious for this mother of 19 month old twins...as evidence by the echoes of screaming, crying, and temper tantrum throwing that took place. But don't worry. I'm not stupid: I brought headphones along with me to drown out the waling from the back.

After the trip down to the sunshine state, I had pretty much decided I was flying back home. Andrew wasn't on board with this plan, so instead I guess I'll be giving the twins benadryl on the ride back tomorrow. I kid...ahem. I can't say I blame them. Twelve hours is long time to stare at palm trees and semi trucks. Unfortunately, the twins have also not come to appreciate the beauty in brain wasting cartoons. It will be a nice day when they can be entertained by Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Sleeping Beauty.

Anyway, we've had a glorious time away from home. Although we still have to care for the children, it is nice to have a few extra set of hands (aka-the grandparents...aka-heaven sent). We played hard and made memories. I took a few pretty pictures that I'll share later. And even though we weren't particularly restful this week, it was fun to just soak in some time together and watch our children enjoy life. That alone makes it worth the 24 hour roundtrip of fussing in the car. Three sets of little hands digging in the sand is one of the most beautiful sites.

So, do me a favor? Pray for a little more peaceful drive home tomorrow. Otherwise I will have a permanent dent on my forehead from the number of times I bang my head on the dashboard. Either that or send a limo to my in-laws home to take me home. Better yet, just send me two plane tickets to send the twins back home on and tell them I'll pick them up at the Atlanta airport.