In late February, we found ourselves unexpectedly back on a plane, Florida-bound! It was just the girls and me this time.  Unfortunately, Mike had to head to Boston to tend to his sick dad. I was worried about taking care of both littles while he was away, so after a quick call to Matt and Tommie asking of it was OK to crash with them for a bit, I booked tickets and scrambled all day long on a Saturday to prep for our flight that afternoon down to the Sunshine State.

Packing…check. Daycare tuition for a week we wouldn’t be needing…check! Finnegan care…check. Thankfully, our wonderful friend Meg could watch him. Meg even drove us to the airport AND escorted us to the gate so I could have as much help as possible before I boarded the plane for my adventure in flying solo with 2 under 2. Now THAT is a good friend!

I had been stressed about flying with both of them alone, but thankfully Caroline found a lovely distraction:

And this didn’t hurt either:

And of course she was pleased to have her trusty “pack back” along for the trip.

We heard a lot of “MINE! MY pack back!!”

At one point right before beverage service, THIS happened…

So then I ordered a Chardonnay…served with a lid and straw (because I’m no fool and knew those sleeping cherubs were ticking time bombs).

They were both good as gold until it came time to sit for the descent and Caroline lost it–she even threw her beloved paci (which she calls ‘coppi’) out of anger and then whimpered, mourning its loss. Needless to say, we were thrilled to see Matt when we got off the plane! Caroline ran right over and threw her arms around his neck. We headed to their house and tried to be quiet so we could surprise Preston in the morning but then Vivi lost it and we woke up the whole house.

The next morning, Preston tiptoed into my room, where I had just gotten Caroline out of her pack n play, and asked, “Laura, would you like me to read books to her in my room so you can get a little more shut eye?”

Um. yes please. And thank you. He is seriously the best kid ever.

After that, we all went downstairs and he made waffles for himself and Caroline, dragging a stool around to get what he needed. All the while he said things to Caroline like, “You need to watch me so you will know how to do this one day…” and “I have to do it for you because your baby muscles aren’t big yet like mine.” It was adorable and heart-melting.

Afterwards, he showed her how to climb the stairs “safely.”

Side note–Preston proceeded to make breakfast EACH day for Caroline (and sometimes for me too, I won’t lie) before he went to school. On our very last morning, he looked at her with shiny eyes and said, “You know what?? If your mom and dad buy the lot next to my house and build a house on it, then you and I can have waffles and cookies together EVERY day! Would you like that??” To which Caroline, with her hair all a mess and still in jammies, nodded appreciatively. Watching these two and their growing friendship may be the sweetest part of having kids.

After breakfast, it was time to get Kay Kay and Pa over so we could surprise them! Here they are waiting for Kay Kay to open the door.

Kay Kay was SHOCKED. You can always tell when she is surprised because her face looks horrified at first, before it becomes elated. It never gets old! Later we also surprised Pa!

Then Preston took Caroline for a spin in the Jeep. I think in this picture it may have gotten stuck:

And both tended lovingly to Vivi:

Next up–Boat Ride! Caroline was in her element, sitting with Kay Kay and waving to all of the “row rows” on the water.

She even took a turn at the helm 😉

Kay Kay enjoyed her time relaxing in the bow with the littles:

 

Caroline liked driving but was more interested in pushing buttons on the fish finder and depth reader…most unhelpful for the captain! She laughed the hardest when we hit wakes and drove really fast.

Vivi was pleased as long as she had a bottle and/or a paci at the ready:

The next day (Monday morning), everyone in Matt’s house went to school/work and so Kay Kay, Pa and I headed out to the children’s museum Great Explorations.

It was awesome! Caroline loved the realistic fire truck…almost too much! She pinched another little girl who was trying to enjoy it. Auuughh…we have to practice our baby manners!

We decided Fire Truck time was OVER and headed to the mini Publix. She loved pushing her child-size cart around the grocery store, where shopping is always a pleasure:

She also liked sorting the veggies by color (no surprise there!):

And taking the helm!

We came home and crashed–naps all around. Then we headed back out onto the boat, where we discovered Stingray Bay–a little cove with hundreds of stingrays swimming around at sunset!

Caroline found her spot next to Uncle Matt and her best buddy Lindsey:

Preston drove for a bit and then relaxed with his dad and me in his sporty shades.

While the lovefest between these two continued:

Vivi was pleased as long as that paci was within eyeshot!

On Tuesday, we headed to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. The weather was less than ideal so this indoor activity was perfect for the day. Caroline wore her new cute hand me downs from Samantha!

The aquarium was wonderful–it featured a special FL wetlands exhibit and lemurs along with the typical gorgeous brightly colored tropical fish and scary sharks.

Caroline’s favorite part? The toadfish and the glass floor! She was so funny, watching the toadfish. The toadfish basically resembles a rock. Except of course when it moved, which made her jump and act all scared. But then she kept coming back to it, intrigued. This went on for a good 20 minutes which in Toddler Time is basically 6 months.

The glass floor was a tiny 2 foot by 3 foot block of glass a few floors up, so you could stand on it and look beneath your feet at other patrons and fish exhibits. Caroline was equal parts terrified and enamored by this. At first, she didn’t want to stand on it and insisted on crawling (yes crawling…like a baby) around it. But her curiosity got the best of her and she gradually warmed up to the floor until at last she was jumping up and down on it.

We also found this cool shell you could climb into!

We left the aquarium and headed to my parents’ house. It was still rainy and the sound hitting their roof was so relaxing and soothing. There is nothing like going to your parents’ house. It is the homiest feeling–even though I didn’t grow up there. Isn’t that funny, how that works? We laid Caroline down for a nap in a normal bed (first time ever!) and Mom fixed me her favorite cocktail–pear vodka, pear cider, and pear sparkling water. It was ahhh-mazing and perfect for our low-key afternoon. We enjoyed them in the floatie coasters Nicole gifted to my mom 😉

We were super dinner slackers but luckily my sister-in-law is wonderful and brought home BBQ for the win! We enjoyed that along with the chocolate and vanilla cake Preston and Mimi made together 🙂

On Wednesday, Tommie was off work and we headed to Seminole City Park to meet her friend Ashley and Ashley’s super cute daughter Tessa. Caroline looooved following Tessa all over the playground. Tessa had an adventurous spirit and Caroline tagged right along 😉

The little girls also loved feeding the ducks and turtles that lived in the pond adjacent to the playground. The hardest part was getting Caroline to give the bread to the animals–she kept trying to eat it herself!

She played hard and her little cheeks got flushed and her hair showed some hints of blonde! Is this a FL girl or what.

On Thursday, Mom and I headed to the beach with the girls. We walked there right from Matt’s house–a 1/2 mile. I should say that some of us walked…others caught a ride! Whyyyyy does the beach require so much STUFF?!?

While we were there, Mom and I were proud that we assembled the beach tent like professionals. Also, Vivi rolled over for the first time! Caroline loved splashing in the water and didn’t care that it was a little cold. She also loved eating all the snacks we brought and my mom loved trying to tease the seagulls with stale goldfish crackers. Caroline also insisted that she collect shells for everyone in her daycare class. She especially liked washing them in the gentle surf to get all the sand off (and sometimes sneaking a sip of seawater, which she seemed to like…ewww).

And this little Vivi lady took a wonderfully long nap.

Pa met us at the beach and helped us haul ALL THE THINGS home. Later that day, we said goodbye to my parents. The story we had told my mom was that I was heading home early Friday morning and was getting a ride to the airport with Matt, who works nearby. But that was a ruse, because what was actually happening was I was staying through until Tuesday and we were throwing Mom a gigantic SURPRISE 70th birthday party on Saturday!!

On Friday, instead of flying home, Tommie, Linda, and I worked our tails off to get ready for the party. Caroline “helped.” And by that I mean ran around like a Tasmanian devil.

Meanwhile, we somehow transformed Tommie’s house into a nautical-themed paradise! (Mainly because Tommie is really, really good at this and I helped by ensuring my Tasmanian devil didn’t wreck all of her hard work.)

This may have been the best part:

Although the ice cream sundae bar was pretty nice too!!

Of course, there HAD to be sea gulls. They are her favorite!

The name of this cake was Ombre Encore and the sweet lades at Publix helped me select it AND tried to get me to move here. See why everyone loves Publix??

Somehow I got roped into taking these two to Publix by myself–and they also tricked me into getting them cookies from the Publix bakery!

Then Uncle Louis arrived and Vivi got to meet him for the first time 🙂

Saturday was THE BIG DAY. Mom’s SURPRISE 70th birthday! We scrambled to get ready for 4 PM when the surprise would go down. It was so exciting! Top highlights include:

1. Watching my mom’s face take in the surprise around here. It was classic. First she looked horrified, then in shock, and gradually super excited. We got her GOOD.
2. Seeing people I have known my whole life come celebrate my wonderful mom. The Hearns, the Burroughses, the Grasses, and other Jax friends showed up, along with her new friends and ALLLL the Kearneys (of course).
3. Watching people’s faces when Matt asked the group to raise their hand if my mom ever taught them anything new, took them out in her boat, painted pictures for them, made them laugh, etc. There was just so much appreciation for her and you could feel it.
4. Watching Phil “Baby Whisperer” Voss put Vivi to sleep and hold her in his arms.

Here’s how the big surprise unfolded:

The party was a fantastic time, from start to finish!

Sunday was Relaxation Day and we had all earned it–most of all Tommie! We literally sat around the pool the entire day, eating leftover cake and drinking champagne. It was fabulous. Aunt Karen bonded with Caroline over ‘The Itsy Bitsy Spider’ and I got to chat with Al & Caryn and Elise & BJ.

On Monday, I woke up to these two monkeys making a racket with their two member band.

Luckily, Tommie brought me coffee. (Best sister EVER.)

Caroline learned how to eat cereal from watching Preston. Such a simple thing, but I have the best memories of the early mornings from this week, watching these two together being so cute. Caroline’s face would fall after Preston headed out the door for school. “Pressy…gone??” Thank goodness Kay Kay and Pa were always just around the corner!

Monday morning, we went back to Seminole Park (with my mom and Aunt Karen, who was visiting from CA). We found the ducks and turtles and fed them English muffins and then Caroline played her heart out on the playground. Vivi gave us lots of cute smiles!

That afternoon, we then to another park with a pirate ship playground and a bouncy house that Caroline loved (until it collapsed around her, haha). It happened to be the kickoff of kiddle baseball season so there were BBQs going and kiddie activities set up. Caroline hopped right into a moonbounce maze and bounced her way to the other side.

She did this a few times and then I heard a loud sound and watched the house deflate and tiny bodies pile up. I quickly grabbed her out of the mele. Looks like a circuit blew! She of course wasn’t phased!

Kay Kay gave Caroline her first lesson in Porsche Appreciation:

We headed back to Matt’s house for one final spin in the row row and let Caroline enjoy riding in the bow while Mom drove really fast–she looooved it! She loved the feel of that Florida air in her hair and riding fast over bumpy wakes.

Tuesday morning I packed up alllllll the things and worked out a tiny hiccup with our flight that had Caroline flying by herself back to DCA (via Detriot!). If that isn’t reason alone to triple check your flight details, I don’t know what is! We headed with Kay Kay and Pa to the Glazer Children’s Museum in Tampa and it was amazing–probably my favorite kiddie museum ever. It even featured a Mo Williems exhibit that was adorable and so perfect for Caroline.

My parents got passes to escort me to the gate and they were so helpful loading me and my crew on the plane–my dad even wins the ‘Liquid Gold Award’ for successfully transferring a bag of milk into a bottle. No easy task!!

The flight home was delightfully easy (shocking!) and Caroline had apple juice for the first time, which blew her mind. Mike was there to greet us at the gate and Caroline ran right into his arms. We headed home exhausted but happy for a wonderful week (and a half!) in the Sunshine State!

Thank you, Sunshine State!