Thank You and Learning to Write

I feel like Kaylea is learning so much new stuff lately. Some of this stuff, I had been hoping she would learn awhile back but I stopped pushing and this is one of them.  I decided as practice for writing her name, I would have her help with her thank-you cards.  I figured she wouldn't want to.  When I try to get her write she will write the letter O and L and that is about all.  I used a little bribery and told her if we didn't send thank you notes, we would have to return her presents because her friends wouldn't know she like them :)

It took us about 4 days to write them all, but she got better and better.  I forgot to take a picture, but I plan to get her to do it a few more times.  In the beginning I was drawing dots to show her where to connect the lines on almost all of the letters except L.  When we finished tonight, she wrote all of the letters of her name without any lines.  We even added a special touch - "LOVE KAYLEA"

Guess Who Learned to Swim

I don't really have a picture to go with this post and I'm not going to post the video, but Kaylea took off her lady bug tonight and swam!  Here's how it happened.  We went to Aunt Shannan's for a cookout and after dinner Jordy and Kaylea and Brenden got in the pool for a swim.  I tried to convince Kaylea to take off her floaties because we have been thinking she is ready to swim.  She refused.  She swam with daddy and it was time to go.  Since we were leaving, I took her lady bug off.  As soon as I got it off, she started walking toward the pool ladder and started to get in.  She wanted to try and right away she took off.  We started encouraging her to do it underwater and she did even better.  She even made it all the way from one end of the pool to the other!  I'm not ready to turn her loose just yet, but she is getting it.  She went swimming at Pop's today and did it again!  I am one proud mama.

Jamaica 2013 - Farewell Photo Shoot

Not sure how I did it, but I was able to talk Jordy into a photo shoot on the beach before we headed home.  There are photographers all around Beaches trying to take your picture and sell them to you.  They do the photo shoots for free in order to entice you into buying the pictures.

I realize that night that Kaylea really doesn't like having her picture taken.  We were able to get a few pictures with her looking and smiling, but not many.  She was much more interested in playing in the sand and putting her feet in the water.  I'm not sure how many more years we will be able to go on vacation as a family together, so I wanted to capture the memories of our beach vacation.  This was the end of our amazing trip.  We were all worn out from all of the fun when we got home!

Jamaica 2013 - Baking with Cookie Monster

We decided to check out another activity - Baking With Cookie Monster.  I am so glad this was after the breakfast, because before breakfast, Kaylea did not like Cookie Monster.  At breakfast, she decided he was very silly and thought he was pretty cool.  Kaylea likes to talk...she answered all of the questions, and volunteered to be first on everything!  She got to help roll the dough.  Everyone then got a turn to help cut out the cookies with Cookie Monster.  We even got to sample some chocolate chip cookies after the baking was completed.

Jamaica 2013 - Breakfast with Sesame Street Characters

There were so many highlights to this trip.  I just want to keep reliving it through Kaylea's eyes.  On Wednesday morning, we got up for breakfast with the Sesame characters.  It is perfect because the characters come to you table to pose for photos with you.  Everyone has the opportunity for a hug or a high five. Kaylea loved seeing the characters and mommy & daddy may have even joined in for a few pictures with the guests.  It was extra special because Zoe remembered putting Kaylea to bed on Monday night and mentioned it.  Kaylea was on cloud nine.  Each kid gets a small hand puppet.  I asked if Kaylea could get Zoe.  They couldn't find any, so they gave her Abby, but they remembered her and when they found one, they brought it to her.  So sweet.

Jamaica 2013 - Returning Guest Dinner, Talent Show, Parade, and Ocean

Because we have been guests at Sandals & Beaches in the past, we were invited to a returning guests dinner on Tuesday night.  We decided to give it a try.  A character was to make an appearance.  Jordy was excited that it was his favorite character, but Kaylea wasn't happy.  We got some pictures.  

It was the longest dinner ever, but it was the best food we had.  They served a shrimp appetizers, beef tenderloin & lobster for dinner, and chocolate cake for dessert.  It was seriously like a 2.5 hour dinner.  Kaylea did great, but only because we brought the LeapPad.

After dinner, we had to go to the talent show.  One of the entertainment workers recruited Kaylea to perform.  She went to rehearsal that morning and said she was going to sing a Tinkerbell song.  I tried and tried to get her to sing Love Potion Number 9.  I tried bribery and everything, but no, she wouldn't.  She ended up singing Call Me Baby.  It was super cute.  She did what she calls her hula hoop dance.  After correcting her name 3 times, she performed.  At the end of her performance, she did her princess wave, blew princess kisses, and did a twirl.  She got a lot of applause.  

Kaylea enjoyed the beach must more this time than 2 years ago.  She used to call the sand snow, but this time she jumped right in to play.  She had a blast.  My mom took her to the beach one night while we picked out photos.

We were able to catch the Sesame Street parade, too!  Kaylela and I walked in the parade and she said, "Mommy, I can't believe we are really in this parade."  I have a feeling my girl is going to enjoy being the center of attention.  The parade was pretty neat and it ended with cotton candy before dinner!

Jamaica 2013 - water slide fun

The majority of our trip was spent in the water.  I mean, how could you not?  The pools were so inviting.  There were 8 waterslides, all of which Kaylea was able to do.  She went down 7 of them, including a body slide.  I was glad we brought her ladybug float, but I am definitely ready for her to learn to swim.  She is so confident in the water.  She jumps in and doesn't mind going under.  I think she loved the slides most of all.

Jamaica 2013 - Tuck In with Zoe

Before we left for vacation we debated doing the character tuck in for Kaylea.  By the time I decided to do it and book online, it said nothing was available.  I was sad.  I had decided she would really like it.  When we checked in, I decided to ask if they had anything.  They were able to work us in.  We kept telling Kaylea that we had a surprise for her, so she needed to hurry up and take her bath and get her pajamas on.  We sat out in the chairs on our deck and waited.  Zoe walked around the corner and Kaylea was super excited.  

Zoe came running in and jumped on our bed!  Zoe can't talk, so she has someone come with her to tell Kaylea what Zoe was thinking.  Zoe wanted to have a sleep over.  Zoe did stretches with Kaylea before bedtime and then they read a story together and sang a long together.  I think Kaylea was starstruck.  She thought it was amazing.  It was well worth the money.  I think she was the perfect age for this.

Jamaica 2013 - Beaches Ocho Rios

After a fun-filled birthday week for Kaylea, we packed up and headed to Jamaica.  We struggled with where to stay and we decided on Beaches Ocho Rios.  While it wasn't our favorite resort, I think it was perfect for this trip and for Kaylea being this age.  It had so much to offer and we have a great time together.

Kaylea did excellent on the flights to and from.  She colored, watched videos, played on her LeadPad, talked our heads off, and pretty much entertained herself all the way there and back.  

These two pictures above are the view from our room.  We usually go with the cheapest room at an all-inclusive because we aren't in it long anyway.  However, we waited to long to book and ended up here.  We also got a 3 room upgrade and ended up with concierge service.  The view was amazing and definitely spoiled me.

The first night we got there they were having a party on the beach.  Trina took Kaylea down to roast marshmallows and make smores.

I have a lot more to post, but I think I will break them down into several posts because there are just too many pictures.