So its September mid-October. And both kids are in school. And I finally have some time to catch up the blog and, hopefully, get our 2013 Shutterfly album done! (Yes, 2013. Don't judge.)
I spent Labor Day watching the US Open and pulling all my pictures and videos off my phone and camera and getting them categorized on the laptop. That's one step closer to getting this blog updated! (BWAHAHAHA I have to laugh at that last paragraph because I wrote it in the beginning of September....long ago.....and I have still done NOTHING with those videos and pics. Sigh.)
The kids are at such awesome ages, and they both reallllly seemed to grow up a lot during the Summer months! It was so nice to go out to eat together without any technology (except my phone to take this pic :)), and listen to them pretend and imagine and laugh together. We are guilty of allowing phones and ipads and movies to invade our time together if it buys enough time for a warm meal or an uninterrupted conversation. If the kids werent actually learning anything from the apps and games they play, I would be more upset about it, but they both learn a lot and I think it has helped them ask good questions and wonder about life outside our home and our rules and our world. In the right time and place, technology can be great for kids of all ages! But I was pretty happy with some techno-free dinner time :)
Grady rides his "bike"
I spent Labor Day watching the US Open and pulling all my pictures and videos off my phone and camera and getting them categorized on the laptop. That's one step closer to getting this blog updated! (BWAHAHAHA I have to laugh at that last paragraph because I wrote it in the beginning of September....long ago.....and I have still done NOTHING with those videos and pics. Sigh.)
The kids are at such awesome ages, and they both reallllly seemed to grow up a lot during the Summer months! It was so nice to go out to eat together without any technology (except my phone to take this pic :)), and listen to them pretend and imagine and laugh together. We are guilty of allowing phones and ipads and movies to invade our time together if it buys enough time for a warm meal or an uninterrupted conversation. If the kids werent actually learning anything from the apps and games they play, I would be more upset about it, but they both learn a lot and I think it has helped them ask good questions and wonder about life outside our home and our rules and our world. In the right time and place, technology can be great for kids of all ages! But I was pretty happy with some techno-free dinner time :)
Last year, Grady was the victim of a tragic "Lloyd Christmas" hair cut. It was terrible.
So I am justifiably hesitant every time we need to get his hair cut. He was due. And I was nervous. But the poor kid could barely see past the hair in his eyes, so I had to get it done before it was time for all the pics that go along with a family vacation.
Thankfully, it was a success and I believe we have found our favorite hair stylist for Grady!
He looks so grown up :)
We had a few errands to run to get ready for the 4th of July at Mac and Gramps', and my brother's arrival to celebrate his 40th birthday. Grady decided he needed a hat to get in the holiday spirit.
And lollipops for good kids who behave? Sure.
Whitney was in a "make-up" phase. In reality, she heard me mention that the kids would need to "schedule make-up classes" for the My Gym classes they would miss while we were on vacation, and she got excited and thought she would be going to a class to learn how to put make-up on. Thus, a make-up phase :)
Thankfully, her good friend Natalia was also in a make-up stage, and they had a fun playdate doing each other's makeup and telling each other how beautiful they were with (and without) makeup :)
Summer in Florida is hot. And a mom can only go in the pool so many times. So we busted out the Kinect Games a bunch this Summer, and had so much fun!
Of course, I had to snap the traditional holiday pics of my cuties!
2013
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2015
Love this :)
I LOVE when I catch them sneaking peeks at each other :)
Happy, beautiful girl!
Handsome, silly little man!
And while we waited for Uncle Jay's plane to land, we spent the morning of the 4th of July learning how to ride bikes!
Once pride was set aside, a bike may-or-may-not-have been tossed in the grass, and attitudes were adjusted, success was ours!! Forty-five minutes of drama followed by less than 10 minutes of actual effort, and we had the newest member of the Two-Wheeler Club!
It was a BIG day for Team Bass!!!
Grady rides his "bike"
Whitney rides a Bike 1
Whitney Rides a Bike 2
Whitney Rides a Bike 3
Whitney Rides a Bike 4
When we got the word that "the eagle has landed", we headed over to Mac and Gramps' house to celebrate Jay's arrival and begin his birthday celebrations!
Mom made him an album with some great pics!
One of my faves:
...with our Gramma Mac....
And we watched fireworks from their pool....
....had themed desserts....
....took snoozes....
....toasted Jay.....
.....sang "Happy Birthday!".....
and jumped in the pool!
Pool Jumps with Uncle Jay
The next morning, we all headed out to the beach to continue the celebration of Jay's 40th year!
Mac and Gramps treated us to several days at the beach and we all had a blast!
Mac and Gramps scouted out the best resort pool where Whitney quickly made a friend and we were practically the only ones in the pool!
Thanks to Mac and Gramps, we enjoyed a great beach vacation with lots of memory-making and delicious food and laughs and fun!
I will admit that I love the idea of the beach. I love looking at the beach and the waves. I can handle the sand, but dont love it. But what I DO LOVE, is watching this girl LOVE the beach. She has the BEST time in the waves and getting sandy and gross and finding treasures and discovering sea life. She is totally in love with beach life.
(All I could think was, "keep an eye out for fins! We dont need to add 'Shark Attack' to our life story!")
Another thing I love about the beach? Watching my mom and dad make memories with my children. THE BEST!
Whitney lost her ninth tooth while at the beach!
The weather was great and the resort was beautiful and family-friendly.....an excellent recipe for fun!
Its no secret that I love pictures! I especially love when we can attempt to recreate pics from years past!
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Love. Love. LOVE.
Eric is like a kid-at-heart when we are at the beach. He builds sandcastles and jumps waves, boogie boards, and plays frisbee. Whitney had just yelled, "Race ya to the water!" and took off running! LOVE them :)
"HI, MOMMY!!!"
Uncle Jay played motorboat with the boogie board and a borrowed inner-tube enough times to get dizzy
While Grady napped, Eric and Whitney hit the links! They played mini-golf and had fun!
The days all sort of ran together, but they were filled with pool, beach, sand, snacks, drinks, more sand, more drinks, more pool, and lots of laughs. Grady snuggled in to rest every now and then. :) It sorta takes my breath away to think he will never be this age again. Such a great age!
Im not the only one who loves pictures!!
"Mommy. Can you get da sand outta my teef?"
My baby boy.
Now that school has started again, I can appreciate the value of routine and structure. But Id love to spend one evening a week sitting right there:
with this guy:
And thankfully, amidst all the news stories of the Summer, THIS was the only shark sighting we witnessed in person:
One night, my parents took us out to a great dinner to celebrate Jay's birthday!
40!!
Which is CRAZY, because I am still 22! How did that happen?!
The best uncles let the kids blow out the candles!
Sunny cheeks and sandy hair. Great summer.
These kids absolutely LOVE their Uncle Jay. They ask about him ALL the time and ask when he's coming back to visit at least once a week. I love watching them together!
Surfer Girl!
"My turn!"
"Thanks, Untnle Jay!"
HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY, JAY!
SO bummed this is so blurry! I LOOOVE this pic of them!
Love that I can hear her laugh when I look at this pic :)
Somewhere, there is a video of the Svoboda kids playing "Heart and Soul" on a lobby baby grand piano.....i suppose its probably best that it remains hidden.
Mac, Gramps, and Jay headed home a day early to play some golf, but they left us with the condo to ourselves for an extra night! We took a walk after dinner and ended up with some of my favorite memories of the entire summer!
We took the elevator to the top floor and looked out over the coast of Florida...
....and belly laughed.....a lot.......
I LOVE watching their personalities come alive and listening to them make each other crack up!
Summersault? Sure!
We headed out to check out the beach and see if we could find a starfish! The friend Whitney made at the beginning of the week told us about a jetty that was "FULL of starfish" at low tide each morning and evening. We had checked it out a few times with no luck, but promised Whitney we'd try "one more time".
I sooooo love these sillies!
My favorite :)
Seriously. Isnt she beautiful!? Im afraid of what 17-year-old Whitney is going to look like!
Grady was done taking pictures. He decided to pretend-snooze.
Which lead to pretend snoring and very real belly laughs!
I was snapping pics and they were laughing at their daddy making noises. I want to bottle up this memory and keep it on a shelf.
Happy Dude. Stay happy, please. Always.
My favorites.
And we were finally off to search for the elusive starfish!
The weather couldnt have been more perfect. Not insanely hot. Pretty sky. Perfect.
I wanted to take a pic to thank my parents for (another) great family trip, and this picture perfectly sums up Grady's feelings about pictures at this point......
And then. It happened. We were almost ready to head back to the condo before the mosquitos caught up with us, when Whitney looked down in a small tide pool and saw this....
She was SO excited!!
We hung out with it for a little while before sending it back to the ocean where it belongs. Such a neat experience, and I LOVE that I didnt find it. Eric didnt find it. Whitney found it. So cool.
We convinced Grady to stand still for .5 seconds so I could snap a thank you pic for the folks who made all this possible :)
Some of my favorite pics of my kids!
And how great is it to load up the car and only have an hour and half to drive home!? We will travel far and wide when the kids are older and will remember our adventures more, but for now? I love that we can hit the theme parks and the beach in one day.
We headed to my parents' house to say "see you soon!" to Uncle Jay,, and to show off their new bike riding skills :)
And there was only one minor crash.
Eric still had a few staycation days planned, so we headed (where else?!) to Disney to check another item off our Summer Bucket List! But first, we had to make sure G had "his tall shoes" on so we could get him on Thunder Mountain!
First, we went to Downtown Disney to tackle the hot air balloon with our Groupon :)
Wed been talking about the hot air balloon for months and both kids had been asking to go on it after seeing it advertised on a Disney Channel commercial for Disney World. We had the groupon but the wind and the weather kept delaying our adventure. Until now!
Buzz and Woody had to join us, of course.
It was one of those "we are glad we did it, but now we dont have to do that again" Disney experiences.
Next we headed to Magic Kingdom :)
And after a distracted ride attendant said Grady passed the height requirement, we excitedly waited in line for Thunder Mountain!
Technically, according to his doctors, Grady meets the height requirement. Add in shoes and he definitely met the minimum height. He was so excited!
I love his little hands in the air :)
He rode that train and had a BLAST!! We had fast passes and decided to ride again!
But then. A different ride attendant said he was too short. And they wouldnt let him ride again. So because of the confusion and their mistake, they gave us a pass to go on any ride or to any show first in line. We explained we are passholders and have done everything in the parks......except meeting Anna and Elsa. So they gave us fastpassses to meet Anna and Elsa. And it was magical.
Grady told Anna how "up, up, up, HIGH" he went on Thunder Mountain :)
And these two were star-struck :)
Definitely one of the hottest days in the parks. But worth it. SOOO. MUCH. MAGIC.
We got home and jumped in the pool...where Eric and Grady looked like twins :)
I dont live near where I grew up, so the only time I get to see high school friends is if they bring their families to Disney World. And even then, I hate to clog up their family vacation time butting in with my family and reminiscing. So its not often I see friends from high school. But Eric grew up two towns away from where we live now, so not only do we see his high school and middle school and elementary school friends on a regular basis, but when friends return to their hometown, we get together. Its fun to see Eric through the eyes of high school friends :)
And it always helps when I enjoy their wives as well :)
With the kids enrolled in My Gym classes again this summer, we got to take advantage of their Parents' Night Out! The kids spent a few hours playing at My Gym while Eric and I got to go out to dinner some of our favorites!
We tried a New Orleans restaurant a few towns away, and it was delish! The beignets were messy and amazing. :)
Some of my parent' friends' kids came to town to visit, and we always have fun getting together with the H family! The kids and grandkids all "click" as though we've been friends for decades, and its fun for the grandparents to see their grandkids interact and make friendships :)
Some of our closest friends welcomed a new baby boy in July, and we finally got to meet him and spend some time at their house :)
Love these girls!
Some CandyLand Jr. for some calm after-dinner fun!
I took advantage of the $1 movie a few times this summer, and took the kids to see "Annie" and "Hope for Winter". The kids did GREAT!
And MANY thanks to my parents who watched my kids countless hours this summer so that I could spend some time here:
Every now and then I would bring the kids to the court with me and they would play on a phone or play with trains in the clay or color in a coloring book, and when they were rock stars for me, I decided we should have frozen yogurt for lunch :)
Whitney could NOT believe I was giving them ice cream for lunch lol
LOVE. Just "hanging out" talking to Daddy.
This picture doesnt look like much but I love that it will always remind me how strong, confident, smart, and beautiful our girl is right now. There were two little boys. Maybe eight or nine? Maybe even ten years old? They started reading something on that sign in the background and Whitney corrected them nicely. I dont remember what the word was, but it was something like "authorized" or "containers" or some multisyllable word about pool safety that, typically, maybe a girl as young as Whitney might not know how to read. Let alone feel confident enough to correct two boys who were clearly older. But she did. And the two boys were stunned. And they didnt hold back. One was nice about it and complimented Whitney on her reading. He asked how old she was and she told them "Im six. Im about to start first grade." The second boy, who clearly felt threatened by a beautiful girl with a brain, started pointing out all the 'hard" word on the sign and saying, "I bet you cant read THAT word!" and "Well theres no way youll know THIS word!" But they couldnt stump Whitney as she read the entire sign from top to bottom. The nice boy just smiled and carried on with raised eyebrows, clearly impressed by this young girl. But the snotty kid wouldnt stop. He told her "I know you cant read THAT" and pointed to the cursive writing on top of the sign, to which Whitney replied. "Umm, yes I can." and read it. Beautifully. Without a stumble.
Almost annoyed at her intelligence and reading ability, the boy started tossing out math facts. "Well how about 5 x 9?? Or 100 X 800??" and when Whitney said, "I dont know how to do that math yet." he laughed at her. And it took every ounce of strength in my body not to lauch out of the chair and sit on him in that kiddie pool. But I let Whitney handle it. And she handled it like a champ. Finally, when they were following her to the big pool, still harassing her about multiplication and division, I stepped in and told the boys they were done. And I said, "Next time you meet a nice, pretty, SMART girl, try complimenting her instead of trying to intimidate her because you feel threatened. She is smart. Let her know you see how smart she is, and then move along. Be nice." The nicer boy said, "I told her how smart she is. She really is!" And the smartass boy uttered something under his breath and may likely never be impressed by a smart woman....let alone chosen by a smart woman.
Way to go, Whitney!
And shes seriously beautiful, right?!
She was having fun going through my closet, accessorizing and dressing up :)
With Bingo in the house, it was difficult to get down on the floor with the kids without getting mauled or annoyed. He just could NOT let us interact with the kids on their level. I dont know if he felt like he was protecting them or if he just wanted to be their only playmate...? But it was rare to be able to enjoy playing on the floor with the kids with the mutt hangin' around.
The kids could play together on the floor for an hour. But the second I tried to sit next to them, Bingo was all up on us. Jumping and clawing, expecting undivided attention and a block between me and the kids.
He loves these kids. And they love him. Part of the time. But most of the time, Bingo was getting yelled at for accidentally hurting someone or for escaping or just general puppy behavior that, quite frankly, I forgot about because it has been SO long since my Bailey was a puppy (and I didnt have kids back then!) It was a hard decision, but after a lot of prayer and debate, we all agreed that Bingo needed a home with bigger kids who could handle his size, a large fenced yard, and squirrels/critters to chase.
It was impossibly hard to say goodbye. Impossible. But part of parenting is making really hard decisions because its whats best for your human kids. And in the long run, we knew it was the right decision. Whitney had been asking for a little dog "who I could actually play with", and we knew that Bingo deserved to be in a home where he wasnt yelled at and could enjoy his humans more. In another time, Bingo couldve been a GREAT dog for me and Eric the way Bailey was the best dog ever. But with two small kids, a 55lb jumping mutt with tons of energy was not my smartest parenting move. I have tons of guilt about it and think about him every day, but know he is in a great place and we made the best decision given our circumstances.
As I mentioned, its fun when friends from afar bring their families to Disney. But whats even better? When the little sister of one of my favorite friends moves to town! Then I get guaranteed facetime with Mandy and her family whenever she comes to see her sister :)
Love these peeps. Whitney remembers their last visit and asks often "When is Brooklyn coming back?"
:)
Look how little these boys were!!
Look how little *I* was!!!! :(
Brooklyn had a dance competition in the Sunshine State, so mandy and her fam came through town to see her sister, do some Disney, and dance a bit :) We got a dinner date with them at our house so we could catch up, the kids could swim, and we could plan the next visit :)
These girls LOVE each other :)
KatMandooo Generation TWOOO!
So great to see her and catch up in person!
Before Bingo moved to his new home, Eric went on a business trip for a week. Leaving me alone with both kids and a hyper mutt. Which pretty much sealed Bingo's fate. Yikes. He was a LOT of energy!
Whitney slept in my bed when Eric was out of town, and she had just developed a big love for "Full House". So she would lay in our bed and watch old episodes on Nick at Night while I would catch up on bad TV and unwind from solo parenting for the week. One night, she came running out to the couch, bawling big tears. I thought maybe something happened on Full House that touched her heart, but nope. Those damn Sarah McLaughlin ASPCA commercials got to my girl and ripped her tiny heart out and showed her a reality she'd never imagined. Jerks. She was SO sad. :(
She snuggled the mutt extra close that night....
He really tried to be a good dog.
After a particularly dirty morning at the tennis courts, Whitney came home and played for a bit. Had lunch. Then crawled into her jammies and curled up in my bed. She slept for about two hours. She just re entered reality and joined me and Grady watching Toy Story and said, "How long has Grady been up? Is he still wearing the same clothes he wore yesterday?"
I didn't think much of it. About an hour went by and she said "Can I have breakfast yet?"
I said "it's National Hot Dog Day. I'm gonna make hot dogs in a minute."
"For breakfast??"
"Girl, it's dinner time. What are you talking about?"
Silence.
Confusion.
More silence.
Then.
"Wait. Mommy. Is it still yesterday?????"
I didn't think much of it. About an hour went by and she said "Can I have breakfast yet?"
I said "it's National Hot Dog Day. I'm gonna make hot dogs in a minute."
"For breakfast??"
"Girl, it's dinner time. What are you talking about?"
Silence.
Confusion.
More silence.
Then.
"Wait. Mommy. Is it still yesterday?????"
Bwahahaha.
She thought she slept all night lol
She thought she slept all night lol
Her face was priceless.
This is how we do business travel. FaceTime to the rescue! :)
And long distance childhood besties can rock FaceTime, too!
Two realizations one July morning:
1.) In the moments immediately following, a slide and fall on a clay tennis court does not appear painful. Brush that clay off and keep playing. The next morning, however, that graceful slow-motion collapse creeps up on you. And it. hurts. a. lot. My poor arm is throbbing 😔 💪🏻
1.) In the moments immediately following, a slide and fall on a clay tennis court does not appear painful. Brush that clay off and keep playing. The next morning, however, that graceful slow-motion collapse creeps up on you. And it. hurts. a. lot. My poor arm is throbbing 😔 💪🏻
2.) While spending a week parenting our two beautiful children without my favorite sidekick and fantastic husband, I have a renewed appreciation for our Team Work. Because if I have to fill one more juice cup, I might explode. Every 43 seconds someone needs more beverage! And that's not including my own cup! More juice! More water! Juice! Water! They will never dehydrate. 😛
And tonight (7/24), for the first time, we dropped both kids off for a My Gym Parents-Night-Out where they got snacks and a movie and games and sings and the best kinda fun! I am certain there is no better My Gym in the world!!
Ive said it before, but Ill say it again. I have the best friends ever. Shipped in a box "From Andy" and with a special note for the Dude?! Grady is in Toy Story heaven right now! THANK YOU for sharing your toys with us, H Family!!!!
Both kids were in a Toy Story phase this summer. Grady was Buzz a LOT!
And the Potato Heads were played with nearly every day!
Grady brought this guy to me and said, "Look, Mommy. Im a 'casso!"
(In the movie, Potato Head rearranged his parts and says, "Hey Look! Im a Picasso!"
The love for all things Toy Story was big in our house.
That moment when your three year old busts into the bathroom where you're showering, jumps up and down with wide eyes, and yells, "oh no, Mommy! Come quick!! There's trouble!!!!" and sprints back out if the bathroom. 😳
You grab a towel, race across the house almost breaking your neck because wet feet and tile floors are deadly, follow his hysterical laughter to Whitney's room, picturing a spilled fish bowl (again) or worse......and when you enter the room, that sweet, funny three year old with an unmatched imagination points to a box and says, "Oh no! Mommy! Rex and Evil Doctuh Porkchop trapped Woody and Buzz in dat cave!!!! We gotta help dem!!"
Whitney tackled ANOTHER Bucket List item!!
We took a trip to Hollywood Studios with Mac and Gramps!
Whitney was a ROCK STAR in her very first stage production at the Wayne Densch Theater! She had a fun week learning the songs and steps at Theater Camp, and was VERY excited to be on that stage! Biggest smile ever! We are so proud of her
She wasnt too sure she LOVED it at the beginning of the week, as she said the other kids all went to school together and knew each other, or had been in productions together before. But she stuck it out and ended up loving it! It is now the last week in October and she is already asking me if she can do Theater Camp again next summer!
Heigh Ho
Getting to Know You (1)
Getting to Know You (2)
Never Fully Dressed without a Smile
And after the performance, we headed to the SunRail to take the train on an adventure for the afternoon :)
We only planned to go seven stops from our house, but you wouldve thought we were taking these kids to the moon! They were so excited!
We were having so much fun on the Sunrail that we skipped our WP stop and headed to Church Street! Checked out an art exhibit, found a "stage" for her to perform on (again), and walked out old stomping grounds.
At one point, as we walked past the old "One Eyed Jack's", I reminisced "Awww, Eric Bass it smells like our youth...." and without missing a beat, our darling daughter said, "It smells like cigarettes!!"
Well. Yeah. Maybe a little. But we are passed that now. Stop being so judgey. Jeesh.
At one point, as we walked past the old "One Eyed Jack's", I reminisced "Awww, Eric Bass it smells like our youth...." and without missing a beat, our darling daughter said, "It smells like cigarettes!!"
Well. Yeah. Maybe a little. But we are passed that now. Stop being so judgey. Jeesh.
Father of the Year
Practicing those cartwheels!
Looks like he just got a serious work email. On a Friday? At 6:30?? The work never ends for this Dude.
The Summer was coming to an end, and I was reminded by TimeHop just how far we've come.
Grady ABC and Counting
July was a GREAT month! And August brought a new dog family member, First Grade fun, and all kinds of adventures! Perhaps I will blog about August before January.......?
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