winding down

Mags and I returned Tuesday from a week-long exursion to see my folks in Florida. We had a marvelous time, relaxing and exploring various places. We enjoyed several good meals at a mom and pop diner called Sweet Mamas, ate delicious seafood at a local joint in Tampa, watched a movie, shopped, visited both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, talked, and of course, played with Mags. My mom gave her a tubie in the sink every night, and both dad and mom read plenty of books to her. Dad bought her a beautiful Mother Goose Treasury pop-up book, to which Jack Be Nimble's leg is now missing (Maggie is quite quick!). The days we visited the water were both extremely hot so we slathered Mags up with tons of block, set upon the beach to dip our toes and play on the sand, and take some pictures. However, to my surprise, she didn't like the water. At all. In fact, the day we visited the Atlantic, she fussed almost the entire time; granted, she hadn't had a good nap all day, so I know that was part of it, but still. When the water would come up to her little feet, she would start to whine and we'd have to pick her up. I took a few candid pics of her and sent some via text to Aron. His response was, "Are you sure she's my daughter?" :) The day at the Gulf was a little better, the water warmer, and Maggie in better spirits; however, she still did not relish being in the water. I know deep down she is a California girl, though! On the way home from Tampa, the heavens opened and the heaviest deluge I have ever been in ensued. For over half an hour, we were in torrential rain; I was awestruck. Cars were pulling off to the side of the freeway to wait it out, which seemed the most dangerous to me. We pressed on and made it safely home. The trip was wonderful, refreshing, enjoyable. Maggie rolled over completely while away! And she is actually teething something awful right now, and I'm actually convinced she's getting in 4 new teeth (on top). One has popped through and I'm waiting for the others. That said, the last few days of our visit, she was crankier than usual and the plane ride home was quite rough. She screamed on and off for about 45 minutes; I felt terrible. But, it was our first not-so-good flight, so I figure one leg out of the 9 she has flown isn't that bad. At least I know we can make it through. It's good to be home, back with Aron, and getting back into our daily routine here. I'm posting a few more shots of our visit; we took so many good ones, it's hard to pick!