Little Bit o' Life

Molly went swimming in the pool for the first time on Tuesday. I've tried putting her feet in the water before, and she just cried, but this time she liked it! She fell asleep and stayed asleep in my arms in the water for quite some time. Long enough for my neck to be sore for the next three days because of how I had my arm around her. It was totally worth it though. She is the sweetest ever and holding sleeping babies just can't be beat.

If I'm not mistaken (sometimes that happens with these sorts of things) that was my swimming suit as a baby!

All wrapped up after her morning swim! 

We were at our friend Brittany's pool and they have these pillars with a shower--it was a hit with the kids, that's for sure!

Ruth's face in this next picture. It is just the sweetest angle ever. She is absolutely the prettiest little toddler there ever was in existence. 

Random picture, I know, but there is just something about all those arms and legs and toes splayed out on the couch that makes my heart a little sad about babies growing up and such, but a little 'awww so sweet' at the same time.

Sisters.

Today we went to the park. After a super long appointment, so the kids were happy to get out of the van and be done with Miami and their traffic. So was I.

On our way to the park we picked up a friend for Ruthie. Her older brothers and sisters are homeschooled (the only possible way to do school in our area) so I decided it was perfect if she could get out of the house plus Ruthie gets a friend --hopefully we can do it more often because they had a blast!

This is hilarious. Ruth was sitting all nicely on the floor holding Molly and Will was walking past and I said "hey Will, sit by Ruthie and say 'cheese' so I can take a picture!" So he sits down and scoots up behind Ruth and puts his arm around her. Not at all what I intended, but they make a cute little train! 

PS I do not beat my children, Will fell off the bed. I can't remember what the bruise on the other side of his forehead is from, but the massive new bruise is from falling off Ruth's bed. It was really sad too, poor kid. 

I'm somewhat confused on the clothes situation for Molly. I know I kept all of Ruth's clothes. I must have pulled out more of them then I realized to put into the "winter" bin when we were moving. But then I must have gotten a lot more handed down to me that I didn't have before? There are so many unfamiliar outfits and yet none of the ones I remember! So strange. These purple pajamas are the cutest thing ever--no idea where they came from--but so adorable!

Ruth's cheeser! (Almost makes up for what a menace she was today. Almost. Ok, kidding, it totally does. It's a good thing kids are so wonderful!)

Ruthie REALLY has been wanting to man my big camera and I continually tell her no. Apparently I should let her more often because look at the shots she gets!:

Cutest. Boy. Ever.

He is still the cutest boy ever. Posing with your finger up your nose is the newest thing, haven't you heard?

Also, chewing your toenails. My kids are topnotch. Haha.

One more picture of Molly. Those cheeks. THE BEST. She has gotten so SQUISHY lately! I can't handle it. I kiss her and smoosh her and eat her up all the time--which might be why I can't seem to get Ruth and Will to leave her alone either. She is just so soft and squishy and wonderful! Babies are the best. Absolute best. Even when she cried from 5-10pm today. Still. Look at those cheeks again. Nothing better. I want baby cheeks to kiss forever.

Date!

We have not been on a date without children since...quite some time. Before moving to Miami. Before that because we were working and packing and madly trying to get ready to move to Miami. But we finally made it on one! (ok, so we had Molly, but she slept in the stroller the entire time and never made a peep.) We traded babysitting with another couple so we could all go see the Meet the Mormons movie. Only then we decided that was a bit out of our budget. So instead we did some walking on these historic streets of Coral Gables. That is one fun thing about living in a massive city--they have all these neat little nooks and crannies and every area of the city is SO different from the next. I really liked these streets. Coral Gables is one of the ritzier areas of Miami, but this is their historic area. I LOVE it. If I had to live in Miami the rest of my life I would live along Old Cutler Bay Road. We would have to be millionaires, but it is amazing! I wish I had taken a picture of a bridge or water or something, cause you are RIGHT on the ocean! It has a New Orleans feel to it. Or at least, what I imagine New Orleans being like, since I have never actually been there.

Another thing about Miami that I have yet to get used to is the lack of closed door or covered spaces. I guess when it's beautiful weather year-round you don't have to worry about keeping out the snow! So all of these restaurants were wide open to the streets and sidewalks, it is so fun!

Sterling said he'd take me to this restaurant sometime. It's just so interesting that there is no glass separating you from the sidewalk and the inside!

Another city-like feature, new shops set right in amongst the older ones. 

Nothing like fine seating on the sidewalk!

I am SO in love with those lights and those bar stools. I want a set-up like that someday. 

Some super Miamian trees taking over the wall.

A cute little alley.

See the lion statue? I thought this building was SAH-WEET!

This is pretty tame, but every building in Miami is painted SO BRIGHTLY!

This is not a cute little alley, but it is a VERY Miamian alley.  And how perfect that its right in the middle of all the cute things. That's what I mean about cities. Everything is so hodgepodge.

Everything about Miami is as bright as you can get.

You can't really tell, but the tandem bike in that tattoo parlor was super cute.

The streets in Miami are crazy. Why do four streets meet up at such odd angles? I have no idea. Brigham Young definitely did not plan these streets out, haha!

More bright Miami buildings! 

I thought the fountain and stairs and palm tree and flag looked very regal all together.

Halloween! Ruth is so obsessed right now with spotting Halloween decorations everywhere we go, she would have liked these.

Live Jazz? I would totally be there if I wasn't still completely petrified to find out what Miami 'night life' is really like. Although, I bet in this part of town it would be much more tame than downtown Miami. 

I put in the next two pictures to try and give you an idea of what driving down Cutler Bay Road is like. I made Sterling promise me that we will take a Sunday walk down that road sometime so I can try and adequately capture it. There are SO many banyan trees alongside the road that they make it feel like you are driving through a tunnel. Literally. Some parts of the road are so encroached by vegetation that the road is barely there and you feel like you are completely isolated in the dense jungle of trees and leaves and who knows where you are going? I like it. A lot. I think it's really fascinating. But it's really hard to take a picture of when you are driving in a car because everything is just dark. So these are not very overgrown, but at least you can get an idea of the tunnel. 

We ended our date with picking up an awesome present for our kids for Christmas (off of a site similar to Utah's ksl) and then I played devil's advocate and convinced Sterling to stay home and hang out with the family for the rest of the night. We popped popcorn and watched Anastasia. Sterling and I have the entire show memorized--Sterling said he forgot how much he loved it, haha. Ruth sat entranced through the entire thing. Good times. Since then he has studied from before I wake up 'til after I am asleep. I think he'll keep that up until he takes a test on Monday. Sigh. Here's to med school in Miami!