Daddy's boots and mama's makeup brush

We *heart* blueberries

Fun at the park

Enjoying some crips, fresh air this morning!

Belizean Beach BBQ

Say that three times fast.

One of the first things we did when we got to Belize was take a day trip out on the water. We snorkeled with sharks, big ol' sea turtles and rays,

looked for conch,

caught fish,

and hunted lobster, which we didn't find, but luckily our captain had a backup plan (a trap), so we still got to eat it... for lunch... on a private island. Yesssss.

The "ladies room"

First mate Brian cleaning our catch

Matt and Patrick looking for a fishing hole

Our trusty vessel, the Cari'bean

We drank coconut milk straight from the source

(and rum punch and Belikins),

and ate fresh fish, conch and lobster.

The Lionheart Crew... take two

We're still trying to figure out how to buy the island...

Happy Valentine's Day!

A sweet little package, wrapped up just for you.

xo,

Lola

Ready, set, go!

Running around before heading out to lunch

She loved the Phelps' dogs, Singer and Gracie

Come here, puppy!

Hello, winter. Where have you been?

Happy birthday, Mama Johnna!

21 (at heart) and holding

There's no place like home

Not even Belize...

...well, that's debatable.

We just returned home after three weeks of craziness:

7 days in Belize

10 days in my parents' basement (while we remodeled our kitchen)

6 days in St. Louis for the annual boat and sportshow (work)

But, today? We're HOME.

Home, sweet home.

Lola is asleep in her bed for the first time in 23 days. She's happy, and so are we. Our kitchen is very near completion. The countertops are scheduled to be installed in the morning (barring any winter weather - apparently winter has finally arrived in the Ozarks). And minus a few small finishing touches, the kitchen will be done. I used the new (gas) stove for the first time tonight to heat up some soup Matt's mom gave us to have for dinner. The soup was delish, and the stove is awesome. Pictures of everything coming soon!

I know I'm behind on my blogging. But, stay tuned. I'm about to get caught up.

17 months

Time is FLYING by.

We're a month away from the big one-and-a-half year mark.

Wowzas.

What's new

Since we've been home from Belize, a few new things have come to our attention:

1. Lola now calls Matt "daddy" instead of "dada."

2. She is super attached to parrot. He isn't just for naptime and bedtime anymore. She carries him EVERYWHERE. He was so filthy last night I couldn't stand it anymore. I managed to convince her that he needed a "bath," and she let me put him in the washing machine. We're staying at my parents' house while we finish remodeling our kitchen, and they have a front-loading washer, so you can see what's inside. Once you shut the door and push start, it locks. She sort of cried out and tried to open the door when the water started pouring in and he started to tumble. It was pitiful. But, toddlers have a very short attention span, so I managed to direct her attention elsewhere long enough to get her out of there, and she forgot about him for a little while.

Parrot was a Christmas present from GiGi and Pop in 2010.

3. Toddlers are very repetitive and demanding. 'Nuff said.