Tennessee ~ Part II

It's finally arrived....our trip to Cleveland, Tennessee for the Green Family Reunion! You might recall Skyler and I enjoying our very first road trip to the famous C & C Farms last April. (that stands for Cheryl & Charles for those with short memories...lol) We'll be spending the next 5 days with Skyler's Aunts, Uncles & Grandparents so it's sure to be a great time in the Ocoee Region.

Check back next week for all our exciting updates with pictures!

Playin' Hooky!

It was an overcast, cloudy Friday and Skyler & I decided not to let the weather take the energy out of us! Her big blue eyes were speaking p-e-r-f-e-c-t beach weather, so by 10am we had the car packed and headed west on I-4 to Glammey & Papa's.

I know what you're thinking....clouds? showers? Perfect beach weather? Well, when you have a toddler, lounging on a beach chair (book in hand) while working on your tan does NOT exists! lol... Instead it's playing in the water & sand with little rest! Glammey joined us and we had no worries of sunburns at Madeira Beach.

Because of the early showers and overcast skies, we pretty much had the beach to ourselves. Skyler wasted no time running into the Gulf while making Glammey chase her.

She had a blast just running back and forth to the shore and flopping down in the water. It became a game where she would imitate a frog in a pond, then just spring up and race towards our beach chairs to sit for a slight break. It was quite humorous and you can see in the pictures below that she didn't miss the sun one ounce!

By the end of the afternoon we noticed a few more families sharing the Gulf with us and one couple was kind enough to take a few snap shots of us in action.

A trip to the beach is never complete without a visit from a few Seagulls! A favorite for our Skyler.

The clouds started to break up and the sun finally reared her beauty before we wrapped up our Friday. It was our own little paradise and it definitely beats a day at the office anytime!

Lucky 7!

Our Sweet Skyler just go her 7th tooth yesterday! Again, no fussiness, just a strong liking to plastic, empty water bottles. I guess it's her way of gnawing! The tooth popped out next to her existing lower tooth...to the left.

Thought I would throw in a baby tooth chart to guide you all on Skyler's progress. To date, she has both upper & lower central incisors, both upper lateral incisors and now a left lower lateral incisor. I just love it when she smiles and shows off her pearly whites!

Gulf Get-A-Way

Same Passion.......Different Coast! You guessed it! Skyler spent another weekend at the beach, but this time she explored the West Coast and enjoyed all the delights that Redington Beach had to offer! It is located on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, just a few miles from Glammey & Papa's Madeira Beach condo. We were spoiled for choice regarding a beach to choose. They are surrounded by 6 different beaches. A sun lovers dream!

It was another beautiful, sunny day and Skyler had much fun with her Grandparents. She wasted no time getting in the water or playing in the sand.

Her quest to catch a bird was evident again. Here she is spotting the flock and making a quick dash towards them. This always produces many giggles from the beach gallery!

Tom and I did our usual walk on the beach while leaving Skyler with family. Here she is playing on a beach chair. She loves to climb.

After a few hours of soaking up the sun and playing in the sand, we headed to our favorite watering hole for a quick refreshment and snack. Skyler had a such wonderful time and went over 9 hours without a nap. She just wouldn't rest!

We began our Saturday shopping while Daddy & Papa played golf. Skyler always enjoys a day at the mall. Look how excited she is before heading down to the car.

It's amazing that Skyler did NOT like wearing shoes the first 3 weeks of walking. How quickly things change! You can always find her in the shoe department, browsing at the collection. Perhaps she's taking after her Glammey and will have a fetish for shoes! If you've ever seen Glammey's shoe closet, you'd know exactly what I'm describing! lol....Shoes, shoes & more shoes!

We stopped in a locally owned restaurant for lunch, before meeting the boys in the afternoon. While waiting on our burgers, Skyler entertained us by playing with the plastic drink cover.

Well, that wraps up another fun weekend! Being with family is always a merry time. We plan on resting this weekend, so we can get ready for our Green Family Reunion at Auntie Cheryl's and Uncle Charles' home in Tennessee! We leave next Wednesday for what I'm sure will be 5 days of excitement.

Papa & then some....

Last Tuesday, the 20th, Skyler looked right at my Dad and said, "Papa" for the very first time! We were all excited and I thought I did a good job of hiding my jealousy........still no sounds of Mama. It's been over a week and now she points at her proud Grandfather and it just rolls of her tongue, "Papa, Papa, Papa!"

Skyler is a huge fan of books and her favorite is Big Bird's First Book of Letters. (pictured above) She tries so hard to sing the ABC song and can actually do the first 4 letters, then she hums the rest. We travel every where with this book and she's always fortunate to find someone to read it to her.

She has the ability to point out pictures of Ladybugs and say, Lay-de-ug. Skyler does this quite often in her bedroom, since it is covered with these adorable little insects. In the Sesame Street book, she loves to point out the Ladybug. (see below)

She's definitely a conversationalist and is making plenty of effort to communicate. Skyler really understands the meaning of much of what you say and her vocabulary is rapidly expanding to help her convey her thoughts.

Another word that she can say is "Fish", especially during bath time because her squeaky fish friends are floating around her. She can also say our dog's name, Laney, and tries to say Jamie, but it comes out as Ainey. Too cute, just like these pictures! Happy 14 months, Angel!