Basking in the Sun

A month after the trip and I am still hearing consistent requests to "go to beach?" or "Mommy, pool?" It breaks my heart to have to explain that we don't have a pool and the beach is not just down the street. I think she is starting to get that we can't just hop in the car and suddenly be at the Gulf, but that doesn't stop her from asking.

This was the first trip we have taken since Mallory has been born that (with the exception of a couple melt downs) was laid back and low maintenance. Prior to this, Mallory was always "out of sorts" because she was being taken out of her home and out of her routine. Although we always had a good time, we found ourselves tending to her more then we would at home and ready to go home when the time came. This time, however, she was very easy going and so happy to be there. She almost always had a smile on her face and you could just tell that she was really having a great time.

In addition, Grandma and Grandpa made it down and back with flying colors. They also had a great time in the sun and it was nice to be able to just walk across the lawn and visit. We could even yell from patio to patio when the sun made us just a little to lazy to get up :)

EE & Mallory playing by the shore line.

Over-exposed picture walking to watch the sunset.

Smiling at Mommy after a giant chocolate cupcake celebrating Uncle Dan and Aunt EE's birthdays.

The troopers watching the sunset.

Walking (or being carried) to the car.

Getting some sun at the beach & pool...

Captain Jim even let Mallory steer the sailboat

Last night in Florida, watching the sunset.

Getting There...

Vacation 2011 for the Poland family was scheduled and planned for Naples, FL the first week of April. This was a very special trip for me as it brought back memories of many trips from my childhood. Every year possible, my Grandparents would go down to Naples and all of us would travel down to spend our vacation with them. Those vacations are some of my fondest memories of my childhood, but sadly, it has been almost 10 years since we had one of those trips.

My Grandparents are now pushing their mid 80's and traveling is not like it used to be. It doesn't help that my stubborn Grandmother refuses to travel by plane or boat. She figures we would have wings if we were meant to fly. Needless to say, that means 19 hours one way in a car to get to Florida. Much to our surprise, when the idea was pitched to them, they jumped at the idea of going. This immediately made the "idea" of going to Naples a reality. There was no way I would miss this vacation if they were going.

After researching flights and realizing that airlines really do raise their fares during spring break time, we realized that we had to drive. 19 hours in a car with a 2 year old...could we do it? In the car was Myself, Mallory, Marc, and Uncle Dan. Much to my surprise, Mallory did amazing. We made it to the hotel in GA the first day by 5:00 PM. I was so impressed and surprised. Here is what I learned when traveling 19 hours with a two year old:

1. Buy a car-seat tray to attach to the car seat. Came in handy for eating, coloring, and overall playing.
2. Invest in a toy that they will LOVE and have never seen before. In our case, it was a Disney Princess play lap top.
3. Go to the dollar store and buy a bunch of little toys. Put them in individual gift bags and present them to the toddler to open whenever they appear to get restless.
4. At every stop let them get out and move around.
5. Snacks are VERY important.
6. Finally, get an iPad. I fought and fought this purchase with my husband and I have never been so wrong. Mallory was able to watch movies on it, play games, doodle, look at pictures, everything. It was a life saver.

Here are some pics from the ride down. More to come from the actual vacation.

We stopped at BW3s just outside of Naples on the second day. These are pictures from the iPhone, but too cute not to post.

First Walk of the Year

Earlier this month, Mallory and I ventured outside for the first walk of the year. Since then, we have had much warmer days, but this particular day was warmer then any for awhile which meant we were getting out of the house.

In addition, I had just gone shopping and purchased a new hat and two pairs of sunglasses for our upcoming trip. Since the moment I pulled them out of the bag and showed her, Mallory has insisted on wearing her hat and glasses everywhere. As you can tell, the weather was overcast, but in Mallory's eyes, it was still necessary to wear her "pul-ple" glasses (which coincidentally make her look a little like Elton John).

On our walk around the short block (which took about as long as it would take me to walk a mile or so) consisted of stopping to pick up rocks, explore acorns & "prickly'," and to stop and look up at the sky to exclaim "PLANE!! MOMMA!!! PLANE!!!" Oh to be two again....

Brotherly Love

If I ever have little boys, I hope they are as lively, sweet, creative and fun as these boys. I had the pleasure of watching the boys while Mommy & Daddy had a date. At first, I was very disappointed that Mallory couldn't join us. She was home ill and I didn't want to expose the boys to whatever she had. Although I wish she could have played with her cousins, I really enjoyed my time alone with the boys. My favorite thing to watch was them interacting with each other. Everett spots Ivan out of the corner of his eye and immediately begins to smile. He is so fond of his older brother. In turn, Ivan is so aware of Everett and plays the role of older brother with great ease. He knows how much Everett adores him and eats it up.

I could watch these two play together for hours.

My Valentine

Valentines Day 2011 consisted of chocolates, hearts, and a special heart Dora book. This combination made for a happy Mallory. Not expecting anything special, when I told her that Mommy and Daddy got her a present, her eyes popped wide open in pure amazement and wonder. "Present???"

After opening the bag of goodies and getting over the initial excitement, Mallory was even kind enough to share with Daddy.

Happy Valentines Day.

Bye Bye Binky

After running out of excuses to put it off, the dreaded day finally reared it's lovely head. A day we had been preparing for (as much as possible) in the Poland household, the day that the Binky Fairy comes and takes away all the binkys for little baby girls and boys that need them.

This was something we tried to get Mallory ready for by explaining that she was big girl and that she needed to get ready to give her binkys to babies that needed them. She would sometimes humor me by saying "Okay Mommy," nodding her head, and then scampering along her merry way.

However, the time had come and after her well visit to the doctor, I decided we were doing it the following weekend. After a short conversation with the doctor about her very obvious binky effected teeth, I got some advice from her and decided now or never. Thanks to a great suggestion by Aunt Lori, we prepared a box for the binkys and had Mallory decorate it for the Binky Fairy. She was very excited and got very into the idea of giving her binkys to the fairy in exchange for a gift.

The first two days were difficult and just recently she stopped asking for her bink when laying down to sleep. However, the whole process wasn't too horrible considering how dependent she was on them. When waking up the next morning she immediately asked to go see what the fairy had brought and was extremely excited to find a dolphin balloon and a set of play-dough. Needless to say, we had to play with the play-dough before breakfast. That's okay, it was worth it :)

Decorating the box....

Watching Mickey (with Mickey) before bed, getting ready to say goodbye to the bink...
Play-Dough before breakfast :)

Two Unexpected Days Off

Last week I had my usual Wednesday off and then received a call from the sitter that due to a flu bug that has been making it's way around the city, it was probably not a good idea to bring Mallory to her house on Thursday. I attempted to find another option, but when all was said and done, I had to take the day off and stay home with her. Although I didn't want to have to miss work, I took advantage of a situation that I had no control over and tried to make the most of the day with my little girl.

On Wednesday, the weather hit us hard so leaving the house was not something I was willing to do. So, we stayed in (got a bit stir crazy) but still had fun. One of the things we did was the Giraffe Puzzle. Mallory had been really into puzzles lately and the giraffe puzzle was the one she wanted to do. This particular puzzle was a gift at my baby shower and although it sat around for awhile, we are getting a lot of use out of it now!

On Thursday, we ventured out to the grocery (the house was near bare) and then we came back and attempted to clean. I gave Mallory a spray bottle of water to help and she did a great job and made sure just about every surface in the house got sprayed including the dogs, me, and her face. How I wish a spray bottle of water could make me laugh that hard!!