A Wonderful Winter



After all of our fun fall activities, December rolled around and kicked off winter fun with my birthday!  In the spirit of keeping things low-key, a friend of mine from work went with me to a painting class.  In these painting classes, you can bring your own beverage (a bottle of wine), and an instructor teaches you how to paint one painting in 2-3 hours.  The step-by-step instructions are broken down so easily, anyone can create a masterpiece!  Not to mention a little adult beverage to get the creative juices flowing...

Dan and I attended a holiday party hosted by his department at Universal Studios.  We got dressed up and had a great night with friends!

Our beautiful tree

Christmas Party time!

Sophie attended her best friend Sloane's 2nd Birthday party.  They held it at a park with a playground and grilled up some hot dogs and hamburgers.  It was Cowgirl themed!  Sophie got dressed up in a cowboy hat and a cute bandanna.  She ate two hot dogs, lots of chips and one giant sugar cookie.  She worked on that sugar cookie for about 30 minutes.  We kept asking her if she was done, to which she promptly answered, "No!".  When we put her in the car seat to leave, she was still working on that cookie.  After a few minutes, she fell asleep with the cookie still clenched in her hand.  "Sweet" dreams!

"Howdy y'all!"

We went to see the Macy's Holiday parade again this year.  We took Sloane and her parents with for the fun.  The girls were mesmerized!  Sophie kept waving and saying "hi" to every balloon and character that walked past us.  The evening ended with a wonderful show by Mannheim Steamroller!

Sharing snacks before the parade

Look closely, two stunned little girls!

Mannheim Steamroller

Grandma and Grandpa Swartz came to visit this year again for Christmas.  They spent nine days with us and it only felt like two!  We had lots of fun baking, cooking, playing with all of Sophie's new toys, and taking many trips to the park.

Sophie had gone with me to the airport to pick up her Grandma and Grandpa.  When we pulled into our driveway, after getting her out of her car seat, she yelled "Papa!" and dashed over to her Grandpa with her arms up in the air.  Someone must have made an impression on her the last time he was here.  Over the course of their visit, Sophie regularly called out for "Papa" or needed to sit on his lap. Such sweetness!

One evening, as Dan was getting Sophie ready for her bath, he removed her diaper and to his surprise, found it was "dirty"!  Sophie took off running (per her usual streaking stint before bath time). We all heard Dan shout, "Someone grab her please!"  I didn't realize the gravity of the situation, I just thought we had a naked baby running around.  Grandpa was the first to get his hands on her, only to find that some of her dirty diaper was still stuck to her bum!  When I walked around the corner to see what was going on, I find the following situation.  I grabbed my phone and snapped a great moment!

HA! HA!  Two guys and a little lady...

Her first present this year under the Christmas tree from Santa. A doll house!

This girl loves Elmo!  An Elmo train track from Grandma and Grandpa

Tickle time with Grandma

A wagon from Grandma and Grandpa Swartz

Elmo doll: check!  Elmo PJ's: check!  Elmo blanket and pillow: check, check!

Walking with Daddy

On the swings with Mommy

In January, we went to see the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus while they were in town.  Sophie's friend Sloane was going for her birthday, so we decided to take Sophie as well.  She did a great job sitting through most of the show.  I guess I've never been to the circus, or it's been a long time, but it's so long there is an intermission!  We saw tigers, elephants, dogs, tightrope walkers, trapeze artists, motorcyclists, and much more!  Sophie made the noise of every animal she saw.  Needless to say, after the 11 o'clock performance, it was way past Sophie's bedtime, and she passed out in the parking lot before we even made it on the road.

Silly Mommy

The death-defying sphere of motorcycles!

Fun with her buddy Sloane

We have finally had a few cold days here in central Florida!  This Midwestern girl was so excited!  But also a little unprepared...  Grandma Cindy to the rescue!  She sent Sophie a hat and pair of mittens to keep warm during our time at the park.  Sophie loved them so much, she frequently wears it around the house.

The City Beautiful!  A day at Lake Eola feeding ducks and swans

A sassy pose!  When I want her to smile for a picture, I tell her to say "Daddy!"  This is what I got, along with a sassy hip!



We are finally slowing down a tiny bit before we rev back up for another party!  We will soon have a two-year-old in the house, and we plan to celebrate this with a little get-together.  Check back for all the party details!

Love,
Dan, Jess, Sophie and Lucy