Blondie's Blabbers: February 2016

Monday, February 8, 2016

Jamaica 2016

Dan and I took a little trip to Jamaica from January 15-19. It was to celebrate Dan putting up with me for five years! :-) With travel time, we were only at the resort for three full days, but it was well worth it and very recharging. We stayed at the Jewel at Dunn's River Falls. I didn't take very many pictures because we mostly sat on the beach, but here's a few I did manage to catch!

Ready to eat at the Italian restaurant!

A sweet treat waited for us in our room our second night.

Three of these guys thought they owned the resort.

This is what we got to soak in for three days...just beautiful!

Halfway through our trip, we took our one and only excursion to Dunn's River Falls. We quickly discovered the $10, ugly, Jamaican-colored water shoes they make you buy are well worth the money! They send you up the 900 foot waterfall in a group of about 15 with a guide. They make you all hold hands at the beginning to keep you together and have you help the person who is following you. Thankfully, Dan was behind me and didn't need any help, because I was doing all I could to lift up the person in front of me! Thankfully we didn't have to hold hands the whole time!

So cold!!!

A few times during the climb we had an opportunity to take a more challenging or easier route. All except for one time, we both took the harder path. Dan was braver than I and took the path pictured below. There were some really big "jumps" and you were completely under the water. But he made it!

Made it to the top!

I must say, I'm pretty impressed with my $10 waterproof phone bag that was an amazing thing to take along on that climb. Still not the clearest pictures, but better than nothing!

We enjoyed one more meal at the Italian restaurant our last night in Jamaica.

The whole trip was really fun, very relaxing, and all the Jamaicans we met were super friendly (and they really do say "Yeah, Mon" all the time!) Kind of wishing I was back there today...

Monday, February 1, 2016

Lydia - January 2016

January was a busy month for Lydia!

A few weeks ago, Lydia's talking really took off! She puts several words together and they are much clearer to understand. I love to hear her say yellow! Lydia also loves to help us say her prayers for bedtime and mealtime. She can say the last word of every phrase. She's loving our new Bible storybook for devotions at meals, and frequently asks for more, please! We started Kindermusik back up this week, and she seems SO much older and capable of following along!

Lydia's likes this month:

Stuffed animals, running around in circles, jumping, playing piano, coloring, playing with play-doh, starting Kindermusik again, going to storytime at the library, thinking she owns the furniture store while she's there, playing hide & seek, taking the cushions off the couch, being independent, and counting (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10--close!).

Lydia's dislikes this month:

Daddy putting her to bed, snuggling with Daddy in the morning, not being able to find Mommy in the morning...seeing a common theme?!

She also doesn't like to be told no, Mommy holding other babies, peas, milk at times, and eating any other kind of noodles besides spaghetti noodles.

One of Lydia's biggest highlights this month was spending a few days at each of the grandparents' houses while Dad & Mom were on vacation. She spent Thursday night through Sunday morning with Dan's parents, and Sunday through Wednesday morning with my parents.

Play Doh with Grandma TC

I'm pretty sure she was thoroughly spoiled, but for the first time ever, I think she kind of missed us ;-) I usually get a big "No!" and cry when I go to pick her up, but Lydia was actually happy to see me this time! Melted Mommy's heart... We are so fortunate to have parents who love to love our little girl and are willing to help us out for 30 minutes or 3 days! Thanks!