February 12

Florida, Day 2
Read Day 1 here.

Our exhausted children slept all night in their big bed, and even managed to sleep in until after 7 this morning, which is basically unheard of in our world. Once they woke up, we spent the morning getting situated.

Maggie's house backed to a pond, and had a screened-in balcony. Eli quickly made his way out there, and was fascinated by all of the water birds!

"Burh!"

And Lily... Well, she is probably the cutest two-year-old ever. She made sure to pack her toy camera, and she spent the morning taking backwards pictures of everyone.

"Say 'Cheese'!"

And Eli is totally cheesing for her. Those two.

Once we were dressed and fed, Maggie showed us a fun playground nearby.

We were nowhere near the beach, but the playground just felt tropical. It was lovely. Lily immediately forged a deep bond with Maggie, and enjoyed some quality swinging on Maggie's lap.

We headed home for lunch and naps, and after naps we went to the beach! Our last trip to the beach was three and a half years ago, when Caleb was three and Daisy was 16 months old. In fact, Daisy took her first steps while we were in Florida! Back then, the kids didn't handle the ocean very well. Caleb was terrified; you can read about that trip here. Chris was very concerned that Caleb would still be afraid of the ocean, and that all of the kids would be scared. He was very wrong.

It was only about 70 degrees, but the kids didn't mind. They made a beeline for the ocean! I was thankful Maggie was there to be an extra set of hands, because we had somehow neglected to discuss ocean safety with the children. Luckily, this beach was pretty calm and very shallow, so it was perfect for the kids.

Lily loved the beach, and she loved playing with her Maggie!

Cutie pie!

Caleb later said that the ocean was his favorite part of the trip; he quickly discovered how to ride the gentle waves in to shore, and he had so much fun body surfing!

A group of dolphins even swam past while the boys were out, which was really exciting! Sadly, this was the best picture I got. I totally missed capturing when they leapt out of the water, into the air. 

Lily wasn't interested in going too far out; she preferred to make herself busy with her bucket and shovel.   

And Daisy split her time between the beach and the water.

I tried introducing Eli to the ocean, but he was totally repulsed by it. I think it was the fact that it was so cold? He cried, and acted like I was a big meanie for even making him get wet. So we spent the rest of the time on the blanket.

Isn't he darling with his sandy toes and little-man sunglasses?

There was no way he was keeping those glasses on, though.

Happy, proud, bodysurfing Caleb. What a difference three years makes!

Chris had so much fun romping and playing with the kiddos in the ocean!

Sweet girl. This picture is so totally Daisy.

Meanwhile, Eli tried to eat sand, and I didn't stop him.

Happy.

(and please ignore my lumpy stomach. It's just an unflattering angle, not a baby bump, I promise. There will be no more announcements like that around here.)