And a Pinch to Grow an Inch!

 Believe it or not, I had Kindergarten Orientation before we left for our FL trip.  Mommy taught that day, so she sent Daddy to the parent's information session as I went into the classroom.  We had a spy that day; our neighbor is the VP of the PTA, so she took photos of me while in class and she gave Mommy a full report of how I did (great listener, happy, talkative, and did a good job cutting out an oval)... whew!  Daddy attempted to take a picture of me outside of the school, yup, a huge glare, but we will get plenty more come fall.

 Before we went to Kindergarten Orientation, Daddy and I went to breakfast together.  This doesn't happen often where we get one on one time with our parents.  I loved it and had a breakfast fit for a king!

 From breakfast to the toilet... Cooper is officially potty trained!  He was independent with #2 for several months and we knew that the potty part would soon follow.  He only wears a diaper at night (which he fights us on).  Can you tell how proud he is of himself!  My parents think that potty training has been a cinch really!

 Cooper and I had our teeth cleaned last week.  Cooper sat in the chair by HIMSELF this time and was so relaxed he fell asleep, no joke.  Our dental hygienist Kari was asking him questions and he was very quiet.  We were telling him to stop being shy and then it occurred to us that maybe he fell asleep.  We took the sunglasses off and sure enough, he was out.  The funny part (well, that was funny) was that he would open and close his mouth on demand even though he was sleeping.  He must have Daddy's talents with this since Daddy can flip channels on the TV remote while sleeping too.

 This blog post is all about getting bigger, so here I am, at the bowling alley but WITHOUT the ball ramp!  We had a preschool field trip today and we were allowed to go in our socks and there were no ramps.  I played 2 full games and was quite awesome.  In the picture below, I even put my fingers in the holes a few times before hurling my ball down the lane (I typically shot-put it down there).

 Here is my BFF Mason who I have known since age 1.  I go to Mason's house on Mommy's teaching days.  I can't imagine what my life will be like without him next year as we both head to Kindergarten :(

 Congratulations to me... I wear 5T clothing.  I can now fit into this most awesome t-shirt that says, "My Mom Kicks Harder Than You!"  My Mom was SOOOOO excited to have me wear this shirt to her indoor soccer game.  She scored 4 goals that night just to show me how hard she truly can kick. 

"Baby" Jimmy turned ONE!  To celebrate, we went to Grandma's house in the cities for a big celebration.  There were 40+ family and friends there, making it a chaotic fun time.  We just adore Jimmy and his adorable personality.  Cooper was his helper while opening his presents.  In the meantime, my parents chuckled in the corner about all of the HUGE toddler gifts he was receiving (ones that we once had).  Happy Birthday Jimmy! XOXOXOXO!

 Mother Nature spoiled us for 4-5 days and tonight... 2-4 inches on May Day.  This seriously stinks.  I told my Mom that God was being funny again.  She said that was a nice way to put it.  While it was nice outside, we hit the yard, streets,...anything outdoors.  I practiced riding my 2-wheeler, compliments of Santa Claus.  I am able to ride the 2-wheeler on my own except for turns.  That is still a tricky skill I need to work on.

 WHOA, almost a digger.  We need a street sweeper to pay us a visit, which won't happen in our neck of the woods.  Good thing Daddy is quick on his feet.

 Cooper wanted to show Mommy and Daddy how big he was too, so he rode the Turtle around and around.  He was not able to ride this last summer with his legs on the handlebars.  Now he can! 

 Of course, I like to resort to my old favorites, such as the Radio Flyer Tricycle.  Really, I just enjoy tormenting Cooper who wants everything that I have.

We are still training Cooper for the NHL.  For a 2 year old, he has some serious form.  Driveway hockey, golf and t-ball are our favorite and latest sports we have been playing outside.

It is exciting and sad as we get bigger, taller, faster, stronger and more independent.  Our Mom just about fell down yesterday when she got this invite in the mail... it is from a student in her FIRST Kindergarten class, who is graduating this spring.  She wasn't sure what to do, so she did the following in no particular order: smiled, laughed, and cried.  Truth is, we all are getting older, whether we like it or not.

This is the Life!

Cooper and I were invited to Captiva... just being sarcastic after our parents left us to vacation in Mexico and threatened us daily about NOT taking us.  We all made it to our favorite spot, Captiva Island.  It is Mommy's 26th year on Captiva, a place she adores and loves to share with our family now.  We had awesome weather- so hot in fact they broke records... no complaints!

 The beach is our favorite spot on Captiva.  We stay on South Seas Island Resort which has many pools as well.  We spent a lot of time at the ocean where we relaxed, went shelling, took long walks, made sand castles and played in the salty water.

About 20 family members were there including aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents.  We love this time to connect and enjoy together.

 My parents love how much easier it gets each year.  There were no strollers, pack and plays and our cousins kept us very busy.  Our parents actually had time to sit down and relax (they can thank me for this later!)

 A little boy gave us this boogie board, so we took turns "surfing" on and off the shore!  One day, the dolphins were playfully jumping between boogie boarders and swimmers.  It was very cool!

At night, we always went to see the sunset.  Many evenings clouded over, but we were able to capture a few gorgeous ones. 

It is tradition (maybe just on Captiva?!?!) to toss in a shell as the sun goes down while making a wish.  Cooper and I had lots of wishes, so we threw in fistfuls of shells.

 I practiced my photography skills and took a picture of Mommy and Daddy, not bad!

 If you ask me what I love most about Captiva Island, I would list the following in no particular order... beach, trolley rides, and ice cream.  We hit all three of these daily!  The trolley is a light blue nostalgic trolley (it rides around the resort delivering people to where they want to go).  I insisted on sitting in my own seat, maybe a sign of what is to come as I age?!?!?

 Trolley stop where we often had to wait and wait and wait while getting bit by the no-see-ums (mini-mosquitos- so annoying).

 The big boys played golf daily and we often walked up the beach to meet them.  We mostly went to just catch a ride on the golf carts, although Daddy thinks we really went to see him (shhhh!)  The annual men's golf photo is on Auntie's camera, so it will probably be posted next year :)

 When we were not on the beach or on the course, we hit the pools.  There are plenty of them all around the resort.  We were not picky, they all have their perks.  The one outside our condo is quiet and often empty.  The main pool has waterslides and we have a cabana for shade.  We typically split our time between them all.  Above photo is with extended cousins Grace and Jack... love cousins!

 Wearing goggles sure helps!

 You had to be 40 inches to ride down the waterslides, so technically Cooper was a few inches too short.  The first day they still let him go down and the second day a "crabby lady" as we named her told him "no!"  He was devastated... had a major meltdown, and had to go in for a nap.  We didn't see crabby lady the rest of our vacation which meant we had a happy camper once again.  We went down the slides a bazillion times per day.

 And Daddy forced Mommy to take a turn down the tunnel slide (which goes straight down). Thankfully, she kept her suit on as she sunk like a anchor at the bottom of the slide!

 All of the sun and water made for easy sleeping at nights and Cooper even snuck in a cat nap while at the pool one day.

We want to thank Grandma Carla for inviting us to stay in her beautiful villa all week.  We loved our time together!

 We were also fortunate to spend time with Papa and Grandma Sharon who vacation in FL and came to see us for two days.  We had fun with them at the pools and at dinners together!

 And to finish off the blog, we added in a few of our favorite photos from our last night in Captiva!  We sure had a great time and look forward to a reunion next April!

**  Also a special note to my fellow blogger and better "other" half, Heather, who subbed for me on Thursday and Friday so I could go to FL.  Thank you so much!  I appreciate you more than you could know!