Happy 1st Birthday Porter!!!

Barbie made this banner. She is very talented!

Isn't this cake adorable? I wish I were so creative.
After nice naps after the zoo, we celebrated Porter's birthday with presents and cake.

I LOVE the look on his face. Its almost like he knows he's about to get very messy!

He enjoyed it for awhile but eventually, he melted into a very sad frosting covered little boy. We found out later that he was quite sick and had a high fever. Poor baby.

Barbie also made little "pupcakes" for all of us.

Needless to say, the girls loved them.

Lissie REALLY loved hers!

Abby was a little cleaner about eating hers:)

The Beach!!!!!!!!

Of course, for me, the best day for me was the day we got to go to the beach. I LOVE THE BEACH!!!!

We all went and set up on the sand. I love Porter's hat....its almost as big as he is!
My beautiful Lissie sitting near the waves.

Our beach day started out a little rough with very timid children but it got much better and in the end we had to drag them out of the water!

Lissie loved floating in the waves with Mommy.

And what's a day with me without lots and lots of food. Lissie has my favorite....the potato chips.

Porter opted for water...

and Abby my healthy baby, devoured almost a whole watermelon all by herself!

Even getting clean for the drive home was memorable. Lissie stripped down completely! Well, almost.

This just makes me smile....

Here are the girls asleep in our hotel room one morning. Aren't they just the cutest?

Swimming, Five Guys and Cami Cakes...

Most mornings we grabbed the free breakfast at our hotel and then went over to Craig and Barbie's to hang out for a little while. Porter is so cute in the mornings, well all the time!

It was much sunnier today so going to the pool was wonderful. Lissie enjoyed being a sun baby while we had to force Abby to take breaks!
Craig, Barbie and Porter even came with to watch Abby swim underwater all by herself! A very new skill that she perfected in Craig and Barbie's pool!

We had lunch so late today that poor little Lissie slept through most of it. Sun and water really do tire a little one out!

After lunch we went to a gourmet cupcake store called Cami Cakes and we each picked out some cupcakes. The girls got to eat theirs after their nap.

You gotta love a giant cupcake with as much frosting as cake!

After their sugar high wore off, Aunt Barbie read stories to all of the kiddos.

Uncle Mike and Porter played "don't touch the computer." Porter loved it and giggled constantly. I really like that they're dressed to match!

Probably the most stressful time on vacation with little children is getting them to sleep. It is also hard for most adults in new surroundings. Anyhow, I have to say, our girls were really good if you have a sense of humor! It took about one to two hours to get them down everynight because they were having so much fun sharing a room and a bed! If Lissie was in the bed with Abby they would talk and giggle. If she were in the pack and play, they would yell across the room to each other. It really was very funny except when I was very tired:)

Drinking, Swimming, Eating and Shopping!

Armed with the necessary refreshments we went back to Craig and Barbie's house the next day.

Once again, the girls couldn't leave poor Porter alone. I think they thought he was a lifesize doll!

When Porter went down for his first nap of the day, Abby decided it was the perfect time to go swimming. Never mind that it had been raining all morning and it was still drizzling a little. We decided to go though. Aren't they adorable holding hands?

They had a wonderful time swimming even though Mommy thought the water was freezing.

Abby had a major breakthrough while here in Florida, she learned to jump into the pool all by herself!It really was cold though so we stopped the swim a little early.

Both girls were turning blue!

After a yummy lunch at Five Guys, we took Porter shopping for his birthday present from us, some new shoes!

Lissie tried on some interesting items as well.

We went swimming again after napping at the hotel and then after a dinner of Publix fried chicken, we gave the cousins a bath. I just love seeing all of them in the tub together.

We're Headed to Florida!!!

We're off to Florida to see Porter for his first birthday and of course, to see Uncle Craig and Aunt Barbie too:) The girls were very excited and were both wonderful during our travel day.Lissie got her very own backpack for this trip and she absolutely LOVED it! Both girls were fabulous on the flights and even took nice naps.

Once we arrived, we got our "new" car and followed Craig and Barbie to their local burger/pizza joint The Loop. As soon as the girls were able, they immediately showered Porter with hugs and kisses. Poor kid looks a little overwhelmed!

First Abby, then Lissie, then Abby again and so on and so forth. They adore Porter.

The love continued when we got back to Craig and Barbie's house. They really couldn't get enough of him!

.

And of course, the highlight of any trip for my girls is the hotel. Lissie loved it because she got to sleep in the same bed as Abby. She was very excited. Later, though, we moved her to her pack n' play.

The New Love of Michael's Life...

Ever since I've known him, Mike has always wanted a big truck and a trailer to tow his Jeep! He got his new "used" truck just before our big trip to Florida.

The girls love Daddy's new "twuck" too.

The truck and the trailer in front of our house.

I really like the color of Mike's new baby.