sweet thing

cookies for santa she helped to make, and a carrot for the reindeer.

the zoey quote today, "uuuuuhhhhh, (in a mock working hard voice) i'm poopin' mommy. uuuuuuuuuuh, i feel like a bad day." in a sort of mock sad voice. she wasn't really in pain, as far as i could tell, and she never tells me what's going on in her nether regions. i guess she just felt inspired today.

woodpecker

just when i think i've failed as a parent, and zoey never listens to me, something like this happens: she just drove the van of doll house people back to the dollhouse, stoped at the door and said, "shhhhh. there's a woodpecker!"

to explain: earlier today we went on a walk and saw a small bird we called a woodpecker. we didn't think she could see it and she walked toward the branch to "see it" so we said, "don't go close! we don't want to scare it!" and she said, "then it would scream." which was hilarious to me, because can you picture a bird screaming like a human? like ned screamed when he saw purple drapes in that simpson's episode? anyway, it was a normal interaction like thousands we have during every day, so i figured it didn't sink in...but then 3 hours later, there it was.

of course, i think she has eric's photographic memory, so....what do i know?

uncle paul's

feed mama, photograph babies

two headed goat

LOOK OUT!

christian, the super swing rider!

feeding acorns...they make a delicious crunchy sound

contemplating a pumalo

i know i take more pictures of animals than people...

great swing

smile christian {my cousin mary's 3 year old}

for you, makili, with love

lots and lots and lots and lots of strawberries live near uncle paul

lots

christian and uncle paul (his grandpa, whom he calls poopa, too cute)

chill

don't touch!

hours of entertainment, turning each other in the giant swiveling arm chair

my mom's brother paul lives about 45 minutes away in a town north of tampa which is filled with strawberry farms and large bouts of flat land or orange groves. zoey loved playing with christian on the giant trampoline, the climbing structure thingy and the awesome swing uncle paul put in a huge tree. he also has some goats we got to feed and admire. two were babies only a couple weeks old. my cousin mary picked one up for us to pet and i couldn't believe how loudly it maaaaa-ed. it knows what to do when it needs to get back to mama! thanks for the fun uncle paul, mary and christian!

snow

blurry middle

nuts

chocolate teddy grahams

sweet ride

another sweet ride

and another

climber

smile

old

they WERE actually having fun

bowling snacks

ready

tree

polar express display with santa (who zoey waved to, but wouldn't sit on)

snow! (fake and got stuck in all my curls and eric's ears and zoey's everything!)

sweet uncle mike deals well with zoey's moods

zoey's new bed at home

she refuses to let me put a non-matching blanket on top. i didn't buy the quilt to match because i want to make her one myself. if i try and put another blanket on in the meantime she gets really upset and pulls it off, throws it on the floor, making sure it's not right next to the bed, but at least 3 feet away. she's so like me...

8 days in florida

techno kid-blues clues made it an uneventful flight hooray!

mimi made her a special "nest" out of a kiddie pool, but she was a little too tall for it, and i didn't like trying to get up out of it after putting her to sleep.
but she loved it for playing in.

i think she looks like me here

talking silly

tree beads

pensive at the playground

throwing "dinner" into the air with jocelyn and joel (my cousin's kids)

joel

mom with the kids

super fun rocking seat!

then onto sunset beach in tarpon springs

winter body + summer swimsuit = ...no, i always look like this in a bathing suit hehe

she was really into snorting like a pig

getting cozy

major fog rolled in a created cool pictures

mikey being sportish

isaac being studly

hers and mine and seagull's

booboo kiddie knees

fun

i found this rock!

showing my cousin alicia the rock

showing uncle mike the rock

back at the house playing ping pong

we're having lots of fun with my family down here. we really miss eric a lot but he's coming tomorrow! the weather has been beautiful, yet i'm surprised to realize i miss new england. i'm feeling a little homesick.