Cutest Kids

Love that Ruthie is smiling so sweetly while head-locking Will into place for the picture. He, obviously, was not a big fan.

I seriously have the cutest kids ever. Yesterday at my OB appointment a nice lady gave Ruth TWO suckers because 'she is just so beautiful she deserves two'. Haha. Also, everyone here keeps saying Ruth is tall. Which is weird. She's always around 40-50 percentile for her age and all her friends and cousins in Utah were taller than her, so I don't know where that comment comes from. I can't believe she turns three in a couple of weeks. Why can't you have more babies and keep your other babies little at the same time?!?!

This little dude is SOOO much fun lately. He's starting to communicate a little better- it's not very distinct words, but we can understand what he means with 'uh-oh', when he wants more, when we've correctly guessed what it is he wants, and he still is great at signing 'please'. Have I ever mentioned how great he is at folding his arms? It's the most adorable thing ever and he does it SO great! There's nothing like little round baby arms trying to fold into themselves. He's also hitting toddler stage---we've pulled his arms out of the toilet several times lately, he's broken a floor fan in their bedroom, he just drew all over his legs with a pen, ya know, normal toddler activities. He seems easier than Ruth was though, and I think it is because she is around to keep him occupied. They will play in their room for long stretches of time together and it is so much fun to see!

I just bought quite a few pairs of these basketball shorts. He's definitely going to be like my other nieces and nephews that have to find the 'slim-fit' jeans. All these hand-me-down shorts that I thought would cover us for this summer just fall right off him. I saw these shorts at target for $4 and got four pairs. They are perfect for Miami and the heat and staying up! 

She likes to dress herself. She usually has a combination of shirt+shorts+dress on all at the same time. It's pretty awesome when you're running full speed to take her potty! She can also say the first article of faith all by herself! I printed it off when we finally got our magnet boards put up and we recited it pretty regularly in the mornings. It's so sweet to hear her say it all by herself! Now she sometimes gets a little confused when praying and inserts parts of the article of faith, haha. She is also SUCH a super helper lately. She gets out hers and Will's clothes in the morning, pajamas at night, diapers and swim clothes when needed, then she brings them to me so I can put them on everyone. She puts on her own shoes, straps herself in her carseat, reminds us all to fold our arms at the beginning of a meal, and just generally is such a sweetheart. She still has her toddler/tantrum moments, but I am so lucky she is mine, she makes our day run so much smoother! (She is also a little bit of a tattle-tale. Constantly. "Mom, Will's touching that. Will's eating that. Will's over there." It gets to be a little much sometimes.)

He also is SO GREAT at giving hugs and kisses. Whenever he knows he is in trouble he IMMEDIATELY tries to give you a kiss so he'll get out of it. Haha.

These pictures are from a couple weeks ago when we made Cloud Dough off pinterest. Just corn starch and conditioner. Smelled delicious since our conditioner is coconut scented. I loved it. It felt SO soft! I would definitely recommend trying it.

This is Ruth's plane.

That's all from around these parts. It's been raining a TON and when its not the mosquitoes are a big deterrent of going outside. I'm getting excited for the fall months so we can go enjoy the Miami sunshine, haha!

Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park

Sterling and I started looking at the calendar, counting the days before this baby comes and looking at his school schedule and decided that we needed to do something off our Miami Bucket List this weekend while we still can!  

I saw the Cape Florida Light on pinterest before we moved to Miami and I wanted to see it really bad.  It is the oldest standing structure in Miami-Dade county, built in 1825 (probably because everything gets washed away on a regular basis from hurricanes!). I love lighthouses and have never actually been to one. I take that back--I think Aleesha and I went to one in Washington, but not inside. Anyway, the inside was a little disappointing, but the view from the top was amazing. Unfortunately, they had a 42" restriction, which meant the kids couldn't go on the tour, so Sterling stayed at the bottom while I went up. This was very gallant since we were getting eaten ALIVE by SWARMS of mosquitoes, despite purchasing and spraying ourselves with bug spray when seeing the alarming mosquito meter outside the state park that basically put mosquito levels at 'off the charts'. 

The little walkway to the lighthouse. 

The cutest little redheaded pigtails making their way down the path.

Outside a window of the lighthouse.

 I tried to take a picture of the staircase leading up, but it was SO narrow--just a circular, steep staircase--and SO steep that I couldn't really be far enough away from it to give any real justice to the situation.

Looking down at Sterling and the kids.

Views from the top:

That is the lighthouse-keeper's cottage.

After that incredible view, I climbed back down and we headed directly to the beach I had just been taking pictures of. It was barely 10am and I have never felt so hot in my life. A hot that you just don't experience in Utah. The humidity just makes you melt--literally. I was dripping. I never sweat. Or, at least, I didn't understand what sweating was until today. We were trying to change the kids into their swim clothes by the van and it was just EXCRUCIATING. All I could think about was getting out of the heat and into the water as fast as possible. Poor Ruthie's face looked like a little red tomato and Will's head looked like he'd already been dunked in the water. It's just CRAZY what heat+humidity will do to you. Also, we were trying to be fast due to the mosquito issue which just compounded the problem. I don't know why anyone would want to ever go outside. Although, I must say, it turned out to be a lovely day.

This is where we swam all day. On a beautiful white sand beach that, when not scorching the soles of your feet off, felt SO soft and in view of the beautiful lighthouse. So neat. This was at 10am though. By the time we left at 2pm, it was so packed it felt like standing room only. While the white sand beach was so fun to experience, I think we'll stick to the less-cared for and, therefore, less-populated beaches for our next venture.

The water was amazing. It was SO incredibly clear that you could see these little schools of fish that were practically translucent themselves! I don't think I've ever swam in water that held fish that was that clear! I really couldn't get over it. 

They have all sorts of things to do at this state park--bicycling, bird watching, picnic areas with bbq's, all the normal tourist stuff. They have a Cuban restaurant and places to rent all sorts of things. What I couldn't get over is the people barbecuing--how could they stand the heat? How could they stand the bugs? Floridians must be made of tougher stuff than me.

The water is also really warm. It is almost a disappointment. Or, at least, today when Florida hit 97 degrees (which is UNHEARD of) it was a disappointment. I told Sterling that while it felt good to be in the water, it didn't really feel that refreshing, like I thought it should. It was just too warm---what I really wanted was to sit in a bucket of ice water. Haha. 

I do have to say though, we had a grand time. The kids loved it--they walked in it, they got bulldozed by waves, they jumped and swam and we took them pretty deep to play quite a few times. It was a beautiful day for the Haws family!

It's hard to tell, because I didn't want to be nosey and get any closer, but there was a wedding while we were there! Right behind us. Kind of weird. I felt bad for them because if it was hot for us in the water it must have been STIFLING in a wedding gown and suit! See the three bridesmaids in purple dresses to the left? When they were married the wedding party started clapping and the ENTIRE BEACH joined in--it was pretty fun!

They didn't want to get their picture taken, so I was trying to tickle some smiles out of them:

Lunchtime!

 This is pretty much how we do the beach:

Will is hilarious and loves to lay in the water. We have to watch him really closely because he still doesn't really understand waves, so they will come and just wash right over him as he's relaxin' in the water.

35 weeks! 

Before we left I asked a random person to take our family picture by the lighthouse. We were sweltering again, but Sterling was the man and let me ask anyway. Will was awake for the first picture, then his head started to bob, and he was asleep before we even got the camera back. They played HARD!

I tried to take some pictures of Key Biscayne on our way out, but we were in a moving vehicle and sometimes I didn't roll down the window, but it is beautiful!

Crossing the bridge back into Miami:

Sterling specifically likes that colorful building. It is very Miami looking. 

We definitely picked a hot, mosquitoey day to go, but it was still worth it. The water was beautiful. The sun was amazing. The beach was incredible. And I really loved the lighthouse!