Ballet Photo Day!

 Last week was picture day for ballet. Leah was so excited to get her hair done and wear her costume. Juliet was so jealous. She whined and cried the entire time I was getting Leah ready. "Where MY costume?!", "You no love me?! When I start ballet?!", "I want my tutu and to go to ballet RIGHT NOW!". I'm pretty sure Juliet is gifted at guilt tripping. I have no idea where she gets some of her phrases. We never talk about anyone not loving anyone, but she talks about it constantly. Recently she has had to sit in time out several times for telling us that she doesn't love us!  

 Then when I started taking pictures she started crying that she couldn't be in any of them. Next year can't come soon enough. Juliet needs to be in ballet. 

 Despite all the whining, I got some really cute pictures of Leah. She is so proud of herself and her poses. 

 Naturally Juliet wanted to pose, too. 

 Beautiful Ballet Girls!

St. Patrick's Day

This was the best picture I got. We celebrated with Shamrock shakes at McDonald's after school!

Gymmie Class

 We started Gymnastics class for Juliet. To say she is thrilled is an understatement. She is so happy to be doing the same activity as Leah. Chris has been taking her and reports that she is a really good listener, and excels at balance activities. Sometimes she gets a little nervous and is reluctant to try certain activities. With a little coaxing, she does do it, though! She loves to come home and tell me all about her lesson. She tells anyone she meets all about gym class and how it means that she is a big girl now. 

Leah now goes to gym class twice a week. Once for her regular lesson and once for a private lesson. Her teacher recommend private lessons because she thought Leah was better than the other kids in her class. Chris and I didn't really notice a huge difference in her skills, but Leah LOVES her gymnastics teacher and we think she is pretty good, too. She is a high school senior with LOTS of energy. So, we signed Leah up for a few extra lessons. I'm not even sure I want her to move up into the next level yet (most of those kids are much bigger and more mature looking), but she loves her teacher and it's good for her to get more exercise (especially since we can't really play outside yer) and I like that her teacher is challenging her and making her feel a little uncomfortable sometimes. Leah doesn't naturally like to push herself, so I hope that she is learning that practice and hard work helps her achieve some of the specific goals that her teacher set for her.

 So, every Thursday these two go to the gym together. Juliet does her class and Leah does her private lesson. They are so excited to go together every week! 

March is Boring

 March is pretty boring this year. I think we are all ready for Spring and warmer weather. Leah has been begging to wear sleeveless dresses every day since returning from vacation. It's all she wants to wear. 

 Brain missed us so much. He slept spooning Chris for the first week we were back from vacation. He now wants to sleep curled up right by our heads at night. If we move him to the bottom of the bed, he gets a serious attitude. 

 Brain let me practice taking pictures with him. The girls were pretty good and patient with me when on vacation, so I'm giving them a break. Brain was a pretty willing subject. 

Brain has put on a little bit of weight in his older age. I got pretty depressed at Target when I saw that him and Annie are now "senior" cats. I had to get Brain weight control food due to the increased size of his man pouch. It doesn't effect my high opinion of him, though. I've taken to calling him my "sexy beast". Now Leah calls him the same thing. I keep trying to stop, but look at that face. Could there be a better description? I'm going to say it just adds a touch of klass to Leah's vocabulary. 

Professional Pictures from Cozumel

 I wanted to get some professional pictures of our Happy Place. The photographer was running late, and without cell phones we had no idea. I actually sent Chris back to the hotel (and demanded that he run) to get my camera so I could take pictures of the girls, thinking the photographer wasn't going to show up. 

We timed the session for 30 minutes from sunset, so we didn't get as many pictures with the sunset in the background as I would have liked due to her tardiness. However, I still got enough good shots that I was happy, especially for the price. :)

 This family shot is one of my favorites. 

 Love this one of Juliet giving me hugs. 

 Once the sun had set, she had to start using her flash. We were done then. Flash pictures just aren't my favorite. 

 I love Christopher's expression here. You can tell he thinks this is super cheesy. 

 We couldn't find one we loved of Leah by herself, but this one of Juliet is pretty good (even if it uses the flash). 

Some Vacation Odds and Ends Pictures

 2 girls ready for the beach! 

 A few family pictures. Look at Leah's face in the below shot. She was being such a stinker about taking pictures (in all fairness, I did make my dad take another picture after I told her that we were done because I didn't like the raft in the background of the first). She was whining and complaining about taking pictures, while my mom was pity nodding along, and I told her to pull it together and smile for 5 seconds. This is what we got. Classic! 

 We went to the Marti Gras parade in town. It was pretty big. It was pretty special because Chris and I went to the same parade 11 years ago on our first trip to Cozumel together. Leah didn't really understand "island time" and was annoyed that we had to wait for the parade to begin. A waiter from our hotel recognized us. He has worked at the hotel for 30+ years. He made room for my mom and dad to sit down and bought our girls Popsicles. He was so kind and nice. My mom found him the next day and gave him a huge tip for his kindness. 

This little girl was too cute. She was the waiters granddaughter and he was very proud of her. She counted to 15 for me in English as an opener, then took my extremely basic Spanish conversation skills to mean that I spoke the language and talked to me like I could understand her. I just nodded along and said many "biens". Whatever she was saying must have been pretty funny because the Spanish family next to us was laughing really hard. She loved Juliet. She kept trying to give Juliet anything she could find, the feathers from her mask, her hair bow, a random napkin. She got scared of me when she picked up a random piece of candy from the street that I had just stepped on and scraped off my sandal and popped it in her mouth. I screamed, "NO!" out of sheer reflex. She ran back to grandpa for a while. I felt so bad. 

 The parade was pretty good. Chris held Leah on his shoulders and I held Juliet. I was worried about how Juliet would handle it, since she doesn't like loud noises and commotion, but she did great! The costumes were amazing. I wanted to get some good pictures, but really couldn't because I was holding Juliet. 

Chris and I loved that there were so many kids in the parade, like 5-8 years old, dressed in 20 pound costumes, in full make up, walking and smiling for the miles long route of the parade in the 85 degree heat. We told Leah we don't want any more complaining on our walks anymore. 

 Give this girl a strawberry daquari and a hammock and she is happy. 

 Juliet giving Daddy butterfly kisses at the pool. 

 One day is was really windy and the sea weed was blowing by. It was pretty cool to watch (and a little stinky!)

 This view. Amazing. 

I say it every year, but this vacation is such an investment in our family. We get to spend time together, not distracted by washing clothes, vacuuming, cleaning, or cooking. We just get to be together. I get to spend a few hours every day with just my husband, while someone else serves us drinks. There are no distractions. All the random annoyances that somehow matter at home are magically forgotten for a week. There is no i-pad, cell phone, or Nickelodeon (though it was pretty funny to watch the girls try to watch TV in Spanish). My girls get to spend time with their grandparents, and we all get to spend time together. Sitting on the beach during the day and balcony at night is amazing. Chris and I always talk about trying another resort, but for right now, at this stage in our family, this resort has it all. I love the familiarity of it. I like to see the same people every year, I like knowing how things work. We hope to be back next year! 

Tide Pools

 One of my favorite parts about the Cozumel are the tide pools. I could spend hours in them. I love how warm they are and how you can find the coolest shells and sea glass. I love all the living things that live inside of them.

I could spend hours searching through the shells. 

 Juliet found a whistle in the beach bag. This is how she spent a few mornings while we were exploring in the tide pools. 

 Happy girls. 

 We love it here!