the beach.

jack likes to give hugs. so does ava. but they have a little bit of a love hate relationship. mostly love though. sara told me that ella had been talking about ava pretty much non stop the entire drive down. i love that she loves ava so much and they really only see each other a few times a year. but you would never. it really is incredible. most nights ella would ask if she could help us put ava to bed. so she would come in and say her prayers with us.  one night she even got to come with me when i laid ava down in her pack n play. big deal. if you watched the video then you might recall when ella said one of her favorite things about vacation is that ava might sleep with her. a sleepover clearly.  she asked every night if she could please sleep with baby ava. these girls are going to be close. no matter what the distance ella will get to have her sleep over with ava when they get older. i love a good sleepover and i am 27.

most nights we would stay on the beach as long as we could. it's the best time of the day. not so hot. not too busy. perfect for a little frisbee with unky, pop pop, and uncle tommy.

pop pop. thank you for making this vacation happen. we appreciate it so much. i love how ava says. "pop pop." it's precious. thank you for helping with ava and playing with her in the ocean and taking her to the pool. i love that these memories of the beach are starting so young. she will never know life without family vacations with her pop pop (and papa and oma next month). it really is so so special. thank you for praying. reading and commenting the blog. for visiting. for my nook. i loved that when we watched the vacation video you said your highlight of the week was dinner at margartiaville when we talked about me being sick and this past year. that was a highlight for me too. i like to relax and hang out. but i also love to go deep. hear people's hearts. be genuine and be real. thank you for praying for us while i was sick. you said it was probably the most you have ever prayed in your life. thanks for being committed to us. thanks for the extra hugs this week. just to tell me your liked my short hair and how healthy i looked and how grateful you are that i was healed. we are too. we love you.

 

capturing baby boy floyd. we are anxiously awaiting your soon arrival. 

ava is pretty attached to me. we are working on that. we are buddies. but this week changed a little bit. ava started cuddling up to daddy and since it's a special occurrence we had to document it. since getting home from the beach ava talks about daddy all the time and he is the first person she asks for in the morning or when she hears the front door open and goes running to get daddy. i love that.

ella. you are a very special little girl. you have loved baby ava since the second your mommy told you she was growing in my belly. i told sara that after spending a week with you at 3.5 years old i have figured out why you are such a special a little girl. although there are many reasons i want to share a few with you. you love people really deeply. you have a genuine concern for other people and at 3 that is unique and something to treasure. also thank you for telling me you liked me new hair cut and that you thought it was pretty. another glimpse of your thoughtful heart.  here were a few times this week where you would come up to me and say..."aunt libby i love you so much." one time was after we watched the video unky made of vacation and we were all a bit emotional and i said..."okay we need to get ava to bed quick." to which you say, "what about her prayers. can i help? oh, aunt libby i just love you. so much." my heart melted and i teared up thinking about how much i hope that our little ava will care for people the same way you do. so deeply. so intentionally. you share with ava. you let her pull your hair (which i do not condone. we are working on that). any time ava did something that she was not supposed to...you would look at me and say, "it's okay aunt libby she is just a baby." you gave her a special gifts every morning. the first thing you asked in the morning was "where is ava? is she awake? can i go see her?" i am thankful you are her cousin. her only girl cousin. but already someone i hope she looks up to and wants to be like. pretty soon that age difference between you and ava wont seem so big. you will want to lay out together at the beach away from us. go shopping without us. meet boys (which we will not allow). probably hate wearing matching outfits (that will be a sad day sara). have sleepovers. tell secrets. and get to know each other and have a special relationship that only you two can have. unky and i are so thankful for you and your sweet life and how you growing up to be such a big girl. we love you ella.

babe. this vacation was a little different for us. figuring out that it is not necessarily relaxing all the time as we chase ava around the beach and play with her in the pool. last year she was not mobile yet so this week took on much more. it is much more about the kids and not us. which is ok. more than ok. it is the season of life we are in and we love it. but we can not really read, lay out, and talk like we have in the past. but it was good. just a different good. you spent so much time making videos and although i missed you coming to bed late on a few nights...please know how much i treasure those memories. that we will have forever.  i think we are becoming more and more of a team. with defined roles. i get ava out of her wet bathing suit for her nap. you make lunch. you start the bath i give her one and you get her dressed so i can get ready in peace for 3 minutes. we take turns running after ava and taking her in the ocean. it is great. it is a lot. it is tiring. but it is good. thankful to be well and celebrating with you. lets never stop. even when we forget. maybe for a second about the year we just had. lets always come back to what we are about and who we want to become. i love you and i love that you are funny. the funniest person i know. so thankful i have you.

 

matching dresses for the girls from one of our great sponsors. neve inspired.

my baby. this was our first vacation as a family since i was sick. what a joy it was to be with you and daddy for an entire week. no interruptions. just us. i love that. it is my most favorite time. kind of like when we get snowed into the river house back in december. i love seeing you in a new place. you thrived in to. loving the ocean, the sand, the pool, late night dinners, long naps in the afternoon because we wore you out. you have a lot of energy little one. sometimes it's hard to keep up. but i love that you are strong and independent. although this week showed me some things we need to work on...like sharing, the occasional hit, etc. you are learning. how to share and how we just want to keep you safe. thank you for bringing such life and joy into our lives. it really is incredible. you are tough too. you fall and come right back up. all week pop pop said you reminded him of daddy when he was young. i think that is because you are always busy, strong willed, and sometimes not the best listener. but i also hope it means that you love adventure, love life, and love deeply. you are giving kisses more and more and i could just eat them up. i love you sweet ava.

the floyds. thanks for my i phone. that's about it. just kidding. thank you for loving us. through photography by sara. mail while i was sick. comments on the blog. that one time when you both came to visit and i accidentally booked your flights for the next month. opps. thanks for not being mad. for sending text messages. an impromptu trip to naples with us. because we like a blog. for praying. i know this whole c thing. i wont say the word sara since you hate it. was not easy. sara, you shared your heart with me a little on friday night as we packed to go home. thank you for checking on me often when i was sick. even if i did not pick up the phone or return a text. thank you for loving ava as if she were your own. we love the special ways you love our family. i count it such a gift to have an incredible family. but then i married justin and added another incredible family to my life. it is just a little bonus to marrying justin. thank you for loving me like a sister would. since you have said before that you never thought you would have a sister...but i hope you see that in me. i miss being close to my family after trips like this one. you have two pretty amazing kids. sorry that ava is not the best at sharing. pulled ella's hair and was maybe a little too rough for jack. we are working on it. we both really look up to you both on how you parent your kids. thanks for giving that to us. maybe without even knowing. we are thankful for all you have done for us. we love you.

thank you shirl for joining our journey from afar. with emails. texts. cards. blog comments and facebook messages i felt like you really took the time to let us know you were thinking about us and praying for us. we appreciate it so much. thank you for all your help this week with the kids. you really have a servants heart. especially when it came to the set up and taking down all the beach stuff everyday. specifically when it came to thunderstorms that easily would have blown it all away. you really served us well by taking the time to do that. we appreciate you.

sweet little jack. i love you. i love your smile and your sweet voice. you are talking, talking, talking and i love it. first off. sorry about ava. i know she can be a little much for you sometimes but i know you too will be good friends as you get older. i am excited to see you become more of a little man. you are such a risk taker. with playing in the ocean and jumping into the pool. it's incredible to see how much you have grown since last year. there is a big jump from 14 months to 26 months. you really are so sweet and loving and you give some real good wet kisses. we love you jack.

 

one of my favorite pictures of the week.

this week was about celebrating and that we did. 

until next year...