You popped up in bed around 820 and said are we at home?!? I said no, we are still at the Gaylord. We played with your Toy Story people in our bed so Aunt Deb & Fed could sleep in. When everyone got up, we headed downstairs to grab a muffin and a hot chocolate. You insisted on wearing your Olaf hat & gloves and your mask. You were cracking me up!
We packed up and headed home. On the drive you and Fed played and you had so much fun. We dropped off Fed and Aunt Deb then grabbed pizza at Blaze. We had to run to my office to fund a quick closing. You were so patient… We got out of there as soon as possible so we could go home to ride your bike!
We were riding bikes when Daddy pulled into the neighborhood from work. You were so excited to see him that you put down your bike and ran up to him! You jumped in his car for a ride around the block and threw your bike in the back seat. You wanted to race me home you guys in the car me on my bike. I won because you guys got distracted by Captain, who was walking the block.
You & Daddy had prime rib for dinner and we rode a little more. We went to your room to read and do Kids Lingos. We snuggled and then you were lights out by 8:30a because you were so pooped. I took a video of you snoring because it was so loud! We have had a lot of fun the last week but it’s definitely worn you out!
You woke up at 720 and worriedly asked “did I sleep too late?” I assured you we are good on time. Daddy made you a big egg sandwich and we left to pick up Aunt Deb & Fed. We went to Gaylord for our annual fun even though there is no Ice exhibit this year it is always decorated so pretty. Lots of lights, aerial shows and so much fun! As soon as we got there, we walked around to check everything out for a few minutes & our room was ready. We had a spectacular view of the atrium and all the shows right from our balcony.
We changed again and headed down for a snack before the tree lighting and cirque show. The acrobats were unbelievable and your eyes were glued to them the entire show. We headed to dinner after the show. You were talking about the new house during dinner and Fed asked if you were excited. You said “oh yeah! We are moving up!” After dinner we made smores out on the lawn.
This morning you slept in until about 8:45a so you missed Daddy. When you got up you called him and he asked what you are planning to do today. You told him you are going to the bike shop to get a water bottle holder! You were so happy to talk to him.
I was taking down Christmas decorations and bringing boxes in from the garage. You wrote Dad on your chalkboard then said “I want to make a person of Daddy” and you drew him.
When I came back in from the garage, I found you had your door shut to your room and I could hear that you had your Alexa blaring Vivir Mi Vida (which of course I loved). When I opened the door, you were sitting on your couch coloring with your new marker set. You came to the kitchen looking for breakfast. You opened the refrigerator and after checking everything out you chose milk, creamed corn, strawberries and grapes lol.
We took several laps around the block then you wanted to go to the bike shop to get your water bottle holder. We stopped at my office to pick up some papers and you told everyone about your bike. Yulia, the mail lady was there and you got to thank her for the gift she gave you. You opened the trunk of my car and showed your bike to Amanda, Scott and Yulia. As promised, we headed to the bike shop. You were starving but kept saying you didn’t want to stop at Whole Foods for a snack. I promised you that I wouldn’t buy any other groceries, just your snacks and you finally agreed. You got a slice of pizza and a charcuterie pack. You inhaled the charcuterie on the way to Village Bikes. They had a cute pink bell and a cage holder for your handlebars, but no water bottle cages that would fit your Yeti cup. We both those things and the clerk put them on the bike for you. While you waited you were checking out all the bikes. You started to get impatient and asked really loudly if your bike was done yet. The guy very politely said “almost young lady.” When he finished, you rode your bike around the parking lot for a bit and then we headed to Pop Cycles to see if they had a water bottle cage. On the way, you were eating your pizza and then fell asleep in the middle of it! I was dying. You slept about 45 minutes. When you woke up you said “it’s a good thing I took a little nap, now I don’t have to take a nap at home!” I was laughing because you never nap at home anymore lol. Pop Cycles was closed still from Christmas break so we headed to Ryder bikes. They didn’t have the water bottle cage either! So, we headed out to the rainbow car wash then got gas. You opened the gas door, unscrewed the cap and pumped the gas. You are always very interested in what is going on.
We went back home to ride some more. Daddy was home when we got home because he wasn’t feeling good. We rode from when we got home just before 5p until 7p. I only got you off the bike because I wanted to warm up the food for dinner. You ended up staying in and eating. After dinner, we went back out and rode and found Ms. Moe, Jack Daniels and the whole crew walking. You were riding by the guys and said “hey boys, watch this!” I love how you involve yourself in any conversation! We rode with them until 8:50p.
We are going to Gaylord Palms tomorrow with Aunt Deb & Fed. I set out my suitcase to pack. When I turned around you had it filled with all the things you decided you are bringing! There were 82829493 Toy Story people, your Polar Express train, the Olympic gymnast Barbie Grandma Weezie gave you for Christmas and your ice cream shop. I was cracking up laughing because there was no room to pack any clothes!
We headed to bed at 9:45p which was way later than I was hoping, but you snuggled and passed out in two minutes after I told you you have to get to sleep or we will miss the Gaylord.
You woke up this morning at 8:30am and immediately asked to ride your bike. It was freezing this morning, so I distracted you with your Toy Story characters. Daddy was playing clips from the movies and then you two would reenact them with your characters. He even played “Hay un amigo en mi” and you were trying to make Buzz dance flamenco!
After we played and had a snack, it was time to take down the Christmas tree. Unfortunately, I didn’t do a great job of watering it so it was extremely dry and it needed to go. This is the earliest I have ever taken a tree down! You weren’t too bummed about it and you helped take off all the ornaments.
Daddy took the lights off while we took your bike for a spin. I think we did at least 8-10 laps around the block then all of a sudden, you wanted to stop home “to take a break off.” You asked for a snack of “strawberries, pears and apples with peanut butter, but I want the apples, naked with no skin!” You pulled the chairs out to the driveway and sat there without moving until I got back! We ate our snack and when you finished, you wanted to ride some more so we took a few more laps.
I needed to go take a shower and you came inside with me. We got ready to go to Marina’s house for a fry party. Without hesitation, you jumped on Victor’s skateboard and with Daddy’s helping hand, you were catching on in no time! You played hard with all the kids and after dinner, you had nerf gun war with Victor & Daddy.
We went biking again when we got home. You showed your new bike to everyone who walked by. We stopped at home and Daddy was talking to Mike Bell across the street. You immediately wanted to go see Captain, but I told you he was already in bed. So instead, you showed him your bike, jumped on and showed him how you can ride. You were riding fast and went between the two of them and said “watch out guys, I’m coming in hot!”
We went inside and played a little then of course you wanted a snack. I made you a quick charcuterie plate while you watched some football with Daddy. When you finished, I asked to you to come to bed and you gladly gave Daddy a goodnight kiss and followed me down the hall. I showed you some videos from when you were 2 years old and you couldn’t believe it. You kept commenting on how curly your hair was lol. After that, you rolled right over and went to sleep. I think this new bike is wearing you out!!!
You woke up this morning just after 8am. We missed gymnastics because I just didn’t want to rush you around. Of course you wanted to go biking but it was absolutely freezing (48 degrees) when we got up. Instead, we made gingerbread cookies and let Daddy sleep in a little bit! You were quite the helper and did a great job with the cookie cutters and using the spatula to put the cookies on the baking stone and the cooling rack! Of course we lost a few to sampling because you just can’t resist! Just a little while later, Daddy was up and you excitedly showed him what you accomplished!
We had breakfast and watched Ernest Saves Christmas. During the movie, you also got out your new Toy Story Uno cards that Elizabeth sent you. You cleared out the drawer of all the card games and wanted to play them all lol! We played SkipBo after Uno and then you grabbed a cookie and said “shhhh….it’s a secret! Don’t tell Daddy I have another cookie!” and had an ornery grin on your beautiful face. You are just irresistible!! You got out the light up tracing board that Jackie sent you and colored with Daddy.
It finally warmed up enough for us to venture outside. You got dressed nice and warm and even donned fuzzy Ugg boots lol. We took a million laps around the block. It really is amazing how you mastered this new bike with gears, hand brakes and bigger size with absolute ease. Your balance is remarkable. You call out which gear you want me to put my bike in and assign lanes for us to ride in lol! Such a leader!
While we were riding, you randomly started telling me how awesome your bike is. You said “I just wasn’t expecting it to be purple with polka dots. It’s just so cool! I just wasn’t expecting it to be like this!” I asked if it was way better than you expected and you said “Yeah! I’m happy about this one than my other one was! My other one I was NOT happy about because it didn’t have gears you could switch gears and I wanted that, the kickstand, and I don’t have a holder like where to hold my phone!” I was dying! I was so happy I caught that on video!
When we took a quick potty break inside, you stood on the baseboards and said “look mama! The other day I was calling for you and you were in the garage, you said yes pumpkin, and I was doing this and wanted to show you!” I don’t recall this story you were telling me, but I said “I DO love to call you pumpkin!”
After many more laps, we had to come inside to shower and get ready to go to DaRuMa for Chrissy’s birthday party. You told me you didn’t want to go and that you were going to stay home with Daddy and ride your bike more. When he asked if baby Olivia would be there, I said yes of course, and you ran to get dressed! You weren’t going to miss out on a chance to see her! You wore your new twirly dress that Aunt Deb got you, pink matching shoes, a pink fascinator and of course a princess crown! You put the crown on Olivia as soon as she got there and it was so cute. We got seated a little later than expected and you were starving. You, Olivia and Grace were playing with the rocks behind our seats. Olivia came and took a rock you had laying in front of you and you were so upset and crying that you asked me to take you outside until our food came. When we were outside talking about it you were crying huge tears and said “she always takes my stuff. Even when we are playing Paw Patrol at home, she takes my pups! And now she took my rock! She’s so mean to me!” I felt so bad that you were so upset but I knew you were just hungry. I explained to you that she’s just little and doesn’t understand. We went back inside and the second you started to have some food you were like brand new!!! You ate really well with your chopsticks and were great during dinner. I was so proud of you.
When we got in the car to go home, you said “hey, it was Chrissy’s birthday, where was the cake??” It was late and the kids needed to leave, so I let you have cookies when we got home! We snuggled on the couch and watched Soul on Disney+ and I was way more tired than you were lol. When it was over, you and I went to my bed to go to sleep. We were both out in no time because it was 10p!
You started to stir around 5am but you settled back in and fell back to sleep. You FINALLY woke up at 8:25am! When you woke up you sat straight up in bed and said “Santa’s been here! Santa’s been here!” Aunt Deb, Fed and Grandma Weezie were here so I wanted to make sure everyone was ready so I tried to stall you. I was able to get you pee and brush your teeth before going out to see if Santa had come!
You came to my room at 3:30a crying hard. You laid with me and calmed down, but then asked me to come to your room because my room is scary. We went to your room and both went right back to sleep. We both slept until 830a! We read some books and then had breakfast outside because it was gorgeous. Daddy found Santa on Flight Aware so we could see where he was!
We came inside to make sugar cookies for Santa. You did a great job measuring, mixing and making sure we had all the ingredients just right. You rolled out the dough and chose the cookie cutters you wanted to use. You even scooted the cookies to the cooling rack with relatively few casualties! You were so proud of your work!
When we finished, you wanted to take a bath so you could play with the new Paw Patrol merpups that Grandma Noot gave you yesterday! You had a blast and I could barely get you out of the tub! I think you played in there for almost an hour!
After lunch, we made frosting and you decorated the cookies. We chose the perfect one to save for Santa! Grandma Weezie came for dinner and was so impressed with your cookies!
When we sat down for dinner you sang your blessing. You ate great and Daddy was of course being silly with you. He showed you how to say “what’s that?” pointing to your shirt and then saying made you look! You immediately went and pulled that on Grandma Weezie lol! After dessert, we all watch Polar Express together. You snuggled with Daddy on the couch. When it was over, we cut up our carrots for the reindeer, spread reindeer food on the grass, put out our magic Santa key and our cookies and milk for Santa. We climbed in my bed together and tracked Santa one last time. He was in South America. You were convinced he was headed to Cuba, then Benji’s house, then to our house. We closed the Santa tracker, snuggled, you said “mama, I love you so much” and you were snoozing in just a few minutes!!! I can’t wait to see your beautiful face in the morning as you are filled with wonder! THIS is absolutely what Christmas is about. YOU have brought the magic to our lives. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t thank my lucky stars for having you in my life.
We finally got to enjoy a day at home. Even though you have been off of school and my last day of work was last Friday, we had lots to do this week so we were on the road all day! You slept in again until almost 9a! When you got up you immediately wanted to play with your new happy napper and wear your new twirly dress! You took it outside and laid down in it because it’s freezing! Then I found you outside playing with your trucks in it. When you were finally ready for breakfast, you asked me to bring you your breakfast so you could eat in it!!! I sent the pictures to Ms. Sandy to show her how much you love both!
Once you came inside, you wanted to work on your Puzzle Buzz books and you asked me to work with you. We had fun and you have got those books down!! Marcela came over and brought vegetables from her garden so we had salad and soup for lunch while visiting with her. She brought you some gifts but we decided to wait until Christmas to open them. There were so many and you were soooo excited. When it was time for her to go, you literally clung to her leg and begged her not to leave. Her heart was melting and she even mentioned cancelling the hair appointment she was leaving for. You are quite convincing lol! We got her on her way and then we had to go run one errand.
We had to go to my office to sign a few more papers. While I was doing that, you were chatting with Bianca & showing her your new dress. Her hair was in two french braids, so you asked her to do yours as well. She braided your hair and then Yulia, our mail lady arrived and your ran outside to chat her up. She even had a gift or you, but also provided specific instructions no to open until Christmas! Throughout the day I think you asked me a hundred times to open it lol. Once you were finished at my office, we dropped off a gift at my hair salon. You chatted up everyone in there, including the other customers! You showed them your braids, your fancy princess shoes and told them all about your happy napper. One lady asked what you asked Santa for and you rattled off the whole list! It was absolutely perfect!
We stopped at the rainbow car wash and then went home to get ready for Grandma Noot to come over and got ready to go to Selby Gardens Lights in Bloom. When she arrived, she had gifts for you and she didn’t make you wait to open them! You were so excited to see when you opened it and found a Skye Paw Patrol merpup. You said “I’ve been waiting for this!” then you said “I think a Rocky one would be cooler!” We were all dying. You also got a chase merpup and thought he was pretty great too. The only problem is then you wanted to take a bath instead of getting ready to go lol.
We headed to Selby Gardens to Lights in Bloom. There were over 2 million lights and it was gorgeous. They had a balloon guy making balloons and you chose a giraffe balloon. You were so excited about it. We went to dinner at Geckos and you were fantastic, especially considering it was late and you were starving. We went home and straight to bed so we can make cookies in the morning for Santa!
You came to my room around 6:30am, climbed in bed and we both drifted back to sleep. You slept in until almost 8:30a & woke up super happy. I heard the garage door going up before you were up. You weren’t even upset that Daddy was already gone, which surprised me. You asked to watch Mickey Mouse while I took a shower. You wanted to bring your couch up on my bed and you wanted me to lay next to you, but I needed to shower and get ready. So you ate your breakfast in my bed since Daddy wasn’t here lol.
You were excited to choose your fancy red dress and sparkly Ugg boots to wear for your big day! You got to have your first mani/pedi this morning at Paint Nail Bar, where get my nails done. Christine, my nail tech, helped you get settled in your chair, patiently explained each step and what she needed you to do and ask for your color choices. You advised her you really wanted a Rudolph and a Clarice on your thumbs. You were so excited…to see the colors, to use the drying lamp, just to be there doing such a big girl thing! When your nails were finished, we headed up front to wait for your pedicure chair to be ready. You showed your nails to all the ladies working up front and everyone waiting to check in and out. You were sooooo proud! However, you told everyone that you asked for Clarice, but she put the hairbow on the side and not the middle of her head lol. Orlando came to get us to do your pedicure. Christine had laid out all the rainbow glitter polishes that you asked for. You enjoyed it and chatted with both techs during your services. Everyone was dying at how much and how well you carried on a conversation. You were explaining what Kids Lingos are to him and describing how it makes you make capital letters to lowercase letters. You really enjoyed yourself and I was happy to watch you have so much fun and feel so special.
We stopped at Starbucks for a hot chocolate (and you snagged a snowman cake pop) before heading to lunch at Marina Jacks. You colored and did your Pre-K workbook while patiently waiting for lunch.
We met Lisa & Rafe Sessa for an hour at Arlington Park to play and exchange gifts. You had fun on the swings and climbing on the structures. You & Rafe struck up a game of tag with some other kids there. When we left, we had to run to my office to sign a few papers and deliver some documents to Old Republic. When I was getting ready to go, you were sitting at the reception desk hamming it up and chatting with a client dropping an escrow deposit. She was an American who also spoke Italian and we had a love chat. You told her Arrivederci as we left!
We picked up a gift card for Aunt Deb at her salon & you were so happy that the salon dog was excited to jump on you and let you pet her. Then we headed to Old Republic to drop of my policies. You held court there, played shy at first, then raided the promotional products closet with Cathy, my examiner lol.
We headed home to meet Daddy and Ms. Sandy came over to do Christmas presents with us. You were so excited when she walked in that you threw your pizza down and ran over to try to open the presents immediately! You loved everything she got you and got especially excited to see the Happy Napper sleeping bag, which you had forgotten about. You had seen commercials for it and were asking for it before she got hurt. You couldn’t believe it when you opened it! You also loved your twirly dress and magnets too! You are off to a great start for this Christmas week for sure!
You were in my bed when I got home from dinner snoozing and snuggled up with Daddy. Of course by the morning, you were glued to my side, so I just laid in bed until you were ready to get up. When you finally got up, Daddy was getting ready to leave for work. You noticed he had on a Steelers shirt instead of his Coast shirt. When you asked about it he told you they have a game today. You stopped and darted immediately to your room to put your jersey on!
We went to the garage to wave goodbye to Daddy. Then you grabbed your bike & were riding in circles in the driveway singing Frosty the Snowman & Up On The Housetop. When the garbage truck came you went down to check out how they were operating the truck and you chatted with the guy. He showed you how the levers worked and you were telling him about the garbage truck in Toy Story. He was so nice & of course couldn’t get over you.
We left to run to my office to do closing for Lisa for her own house. You were excited that Grandma Noot would be there & you were looking for her as soon as we walked in. In the car on the way we were talking about where to go for lunch. I asked if you wanted to go to St. Armand’s or Siesta. You told me you wanted to go to the beach to swim. I told you it’s too cold to swim. You told me “it’s complicated because I like my bath water hot and my ocean water cool. I can swim because I like it cool, but grown ups can just sit and stay dry.”
By the time we finished, you decided instead that you you wanted pancakes for lunch. We went to First Watch & sat outside. It was a little chilly in the shade, so I grabbed a blanket and you sat in my lap snuggling & playing with your Rudolph toys the whole time. You had a cinnamon pancake & donut holes for lunch! You were so excited you sent pictures to Ms. Sandy! An older lady came up to chat with you about your Steelers shirt and asked what you asked Santa for. She was cracking up at how adorable you are. We stopped at Target to see if they had the donut socks I just got you (that you cut a hole in trying to take the tag off with scissors, unsupervised) but they didn’t. You wanted everything you could find, but we settled for a magnet Ironman and left.
We headed home to play and you put your Ironman in the window in your room right away. Then you saw the neighbor boys out walking their dog, so you walked out the front door to play with them. But, you saw Lauren walking Captain and she was too far down the street to get her attention, so you went up to the porch, grabbed a chair brought it to the end of the driveway. I asked what you were doing and you said “I’m going to sit here and wait for Captain to come back. That’s exactly what you did. When she got home, she took him inside to get a drink and said he would be out in a little bit to play. The whole time, you were lurking on their porch waiting for him and then you finally got to pet him & play with him. We came back inside and played with cars in your toy room, then had to change and get ready.
Daddy got home early, and we went to pick up Ms. Sandy & Mr. Dean so we could go to a drive through Christmas lights exhibit at a church in Lakewood Ranch. When we got in the car, Daddy suprised you with decorating your seat with Christmas lights INSIDE the car! It was sooooo cool!
You were excited to be allowed to stand out of the sunroof to check out the lights. The car line moved slowly, but there weren’t tons of lights, so when it was over you cried a little and said I wouldn’t have gone to those lights if I knew they were so small!” I was like, hey, I wouldn’t have either lol but I didn’t know!
We went to a Mexican restaurant for a quick late dinner, dropped them off and headed home.
Lights INSIDE the car too!
We went to bed as soon as we got home even though you told me in the car you wanted to play when we got home. You asked me to read you Horton Hears a Who. Half way through, you said “Mama, my eyes are getting tired can you please stop reading and snuggle with me.” I said of course and did. You were snoring 1 minute later.
