Ansley's Birthday Surprise

Here it is. . . she has been asking for a Barbie Jeep for a long time now. So my Mom and Dad went in with us and bought this as her gift. Enjoy girls, but Ansley drive safely. . . no texting while driving-ha! Our cul-de-sac is the perfect place for her to drive around and they have had so much fun so far. You can hear them pretending to actually be out driving and doing things. Its so cute!

Happy 4th Birthday Ansley!

The birthday girl!!

Ansley's 4th birthday finally arrived! She started the day by wanting to go to Dutch Monkey for donuts! She loves this place and would go every morning if I would let her. Then, Uncle Shawn and her Daddy took her to the movies to watch Toy Story 3. When she got back home, we all surprised her with a Little Mermaid Birthday Party. She loved it all! My side of the family missed it, but shared another special day with her in July.

4 years ago today, I was being induced with my first little one. I was SO excited and so nervous at the same time. I had no idea what to expect, nor did I have any idea at how much our lives were about to change. At 5:10 pm, Dr. Graham delivered a healthy 6 pound 8 ounce beautiful baby girl which we knew right away was our Ansley Katherine. It was truly love at first sight.
4 years later, I am amazed at my big girl. When you first meet Ansley, she is smiling. . . that is who she is. She smiles all the time. She is happy and excited about life. She is SO smart! And I am not saying that because she is my child. She really thrives on learning new things. She is artistic, creative, independent, very strong-willed, and stands up for what she believes. She doesn't back down to anyone. However, She is definitely more reserved at first with anyone and with any experience, but within minutes is happy and smiling! She loves dancing, reading, doing art projects, playing games on PBSkids.org, dressing herself, swimming, and helping mommy cook. At her 4 year old checkup. . she weighed 38 pounds and is 40 inches tall. She passed her vision and hearing test(yay), but got 4 shots =-(!
She starts PreK in August and I am already sad! Where have these 4 years gone?? It seems I was just holding my newborn baby in my arms! I love you Ansley!!

Ansley and Eden

Blowing out her candles

Grammy and her girls. . .(sorry Grammy your eyes are closed, but it was the only one I got)

Thanks Grammy for the cake! It was perfect!

Yay and Yikes all in one thought!

Pics of our Last Day in Panama City

Day #5 in Panama City Beach

Ansley, Peyton, and Avery!!

Today, we decided to do something different for a change, we went down to the opposite end of PCB to visit with our friends Pati and Chas and their girls. They were staying near St. Andrews State Park. Our girls LOVE playing with each other and this day was no different. They had so much fun! Chris and I also enjoyed getting to spend time with good friends! Thanks Pati and Chas and both of your families for letting us visit for a while. We had a great time!

After our fun day with friends, we headed back to the condo for dinner in with our family. It was again yummy! My mom and dad made ribs and lots of good sides! We enjoyed every bite, as always. Thanks for making another delicious meal for us!

Ansley and Peyton

Mrs. Pati and Kylie

Look how clear the water is!

Having fun in the shade!

What mom? I am not doing anything wrong this time. . .

Aqua

Its been years since we have been to Panama City, and we had heard it has changed quite a bit. And, yes it has changed alot. Old and new seem to mix together. And on our end at least, lots more families than what I remember in the past.
So. . . when it came time to reserve a condo, it was a little overwhelming. But, thanks to a good recommendation and reading LOTS of reviews, we ended up at beautiful Aqua. It totally felt like its own resort right on the beach. It was very nice and had tons of families staying there. It had 2 pools, and indoor pool, an hot tub, and a snack bar right next to the pool. Aqua was 2 condos down from the popular Pier Park area and was within a small driving distance/walking distance to lots of stores and restaurants. So it was a GREAT location!!

We stayed REALLY high. . . the 17th floor. It was very scary when you have an active 2 year old along!

Here are some pics of our stay. . .

The view of the Pier in the afternoon

Aqua in Panama City

A covered lounging area

A view of the fountains between the pools
The 2nd pool is the pool in the distance.

Another view of the fountain between the pools

One of two pools. This is the bigger pool.

The indoor pool

Swimmable entrance to indoor pools

A view of the beach from poolside

Day #4 in PCB

Okay, so on day #4, I didn't take that many pictures. This one was it and it was taken by Mom. We had another fabulous day on beach and at the pool! Later that night, we went to Montego Bay for dinner. It was yummy and was a LOT of food! Afterwards, we just relaxed for the rest of the night! Sorry. . . nothing too exciting on day #4.

Panama City Beach #3

Another beautiful, perfect day at the beach! We all enjoyed the sun, waves, and water again this morning! The girls again loved playing in the ocean despite the green icky mess in the water. No, it wasn't oil again today, but just some algae washing ashore. It didn't seem to bother them at all!

Kylie is still calling the sand, "Snow". Its too funny! Today, Ansley taught mommy the right way to build a sand castle, insisting I add water to make the castle to the sand mold to make it better. She is such a big girl these days. She also let us bury her little body in the sand-too cute!

Kylie had a huge meltdown, so we all moved to the pool. Those girls amaze me each day. Kylie continued to count, "1, 2, 3,(clap, clap) and jump into the water fearlessly--somtimes even if you weren't there to catch her. Ansley, made a huge accomplishment!! She went from sliding off the ledge, to jumping holding both my hands, to jumping off holding only one of my hands, to jumping in holding neither of my hands-yay Ans! I am so proud of her. She was so proud too. Her happy face was priceless!

We had a sudden moment a glimpse of the future, as we saw a group of about 5 hazmat members walking down the beach looking at the conditions. Fortunately, they didn't seem at all alarmed by anything they saw and continued to walk-yay! No oil here again today! Thank you God!

Tonight, we had steaks that my dad and Chris grilled at the condo. Aunt Juju took the girls swimming at the pool. We don't often take them down to the pool at night, but it was a lot of fun this time without all the crowds. The girls got to show off their newly acquired skills while I snapped tons of pictures.

After dinner, we took the girls to ride the rides at Pier Park. Pier Park has taken the some of the rides from the old Miracle Strip Park and fixed them up again. The girls LOVED riding the carousel, the airplanes, and the balloons. I was surprised how brave Ansley was! However, Kylie and Daddy got stuck riding the balloons backwards and neither of them looked very good when they got off-ha! After that, Daddy took Ansley to play a gigantic pinball game and she won! She chose a toy Dora as her prize. Just as soon as she got it in her hands, Kylie went nuts. She wanted one too, so we ended up "paying off" the pinball guy with an extra dollar so she could "win" a Dora too! These girls!

After a second trip to Dippin Dots, it was time to call it a night. We had a long, fun day, but it will be one we will remember for a long time!

Ansley and Mommy

Having fun in the sand!

"Kylie, Are you eating sand, again?"

Gia and Ansley playing in the sand

Burying Kylie in the sand

Kylie

Cutie Kylie

Brave girl. . . laying in the crashing waves. . .

A little sandbaby!

All smiles!


Having fun at the beach with a new friend

Ansley

Ansley and Kylie and their new friend. . .