FLORIDA!

Playing at the aiport before we left :)

We are in Florida!
*I want to first say that I am writing this post from the hotel at the hosptial where Lee is and won't have any pictures until tomorrow or tonight when we get home to my parents house. Ana Maria is taking a nap so I have time to do this right now!

Tuesday, July 7th- We arrived! We got on the plane in Fayetteville at 10:00am and arrived in Ft. Lauderdalae at 4:30. We had a good day and Ana Maria was very well behaved for having only a 30 minute nap on the airplane. Sarah and Mom picked us up in Ft. Lauderdale and it was very exciting! Ana Maria acted like a shy girl at first but was warmed up to them before we even picked up our luggage :)

Lee was not suppose to be in chemo this week but because he has been so delayed, they went ahead and got a week done this week. He was admitted Tuesday also so it was perfect for mom and Sarah to pick us up from the airport which ended up being only 20 minutes away. We got a room at the hotel across the street which is for patients families, kind of like a Ronald McDonald House. So we are staying there and it is perfect. Lee is in a childrens hospital so everything is geared towards kids, meaning Ana Maria.
He drove straight from the airport, back to the hospital to be with Lee. We walked in to find him walking down the all looking for us. I immediantly ran to him and hugged him like I have never hugged him before. It was very emotional for me because I haven't seen him since March and he looks very different. He looks very handsome and good, but very different with no hair. I haven't really seen him before with no hair because I saw him when he started and he hadn't lost much yet and then in March he had been away from chemo for so long because of the surgery that it was growing back. It was a shock that I didn't expect. He is very thin but he always has been and I know he is trying to eat as much as he can. It is hard for his body and I have to remember that.
Unfortunatly, as soon as we got there we had to leave because he was going that night for a bone scan and had to have a radioactive medicine that no one could be around. We were very disappointed but understood, espeically with having Ana Maria with us.

So instead we found a couple of the playgrounds that the hospital has for the children and took Ana Maria there. It was an early night because we were so tired!

When we first saw Lee and then had to leave...

Ana Maria went right for him...she is an uncle's boy!

Music Playday

We love playdays! This one was very different and fun because it was a music playday. The mother was a music teacher and now stays home with her kids so she was able to teach the children a lot. We gathered to play and have snack and then they began to play their music. Ana Maria wasn't very interested in the instruments, mainly watching and playing with the container on her head (as you'll see in the video!). It was very fun for her and in the future I know she will enjoy it even more!

VIDEO:

4th of July

We had a fun 4th of July yesterday that started with us going to the parade in downtown Springdale. We hesitated about going but it was well worth it and Ana Maria loved seeing all the horses and old cars. She waved to everyone that walked by and just stood in awe of all the excitement. She was really cute!
Later we went to the women's head coach's house (Michael, Mary and Theo) for a BBQ and fireworks. Their neighborhood had a block party which was really fun for the kids. Ana Maria and Theo are one month apart and play really good together.
It was a very fun 4th of July!

VIDEOS:

Riding!

We have really enjoyed our new bikes that we got last weekend. We have riden them every night this week around the neighborhood and plan to ride this weekend along the Fayetteville bike trail. Ana Maria didn't like the ride at first but now only wants to jump in when she sees it sitting in the garage. We want to buy a bike trailor eventually, right now we are just borrowing a friends to try it out. As you can see in the pictures, Dora went for a ride with us also. All the babies are taking a turn to ride! It's excercise and fun for the family!

Thursday night we went to Red, White and Bloom at the Botanical Gardens with our good friends Brad and Ambre. Their son is Owen who Ana Maria loves to play with and they have a new baby, Addyson. It was a perfect night to be outside. We brought a picnic dinner and enjoyed listening to the music and watching the kids run around us!
Afterwards we went to Shake's for ice cream together!! Ambre and I have been wanting to go together and we finally got to go. The kids enjoyed a baby cone and the adults got sundae's! Mmm...I can't wait to go again!


Ambre and baby Addyson at the concert

She was so content and relaxed in Ambre's lap!

The kids running and drinking juice boxes :)

Ana Maria eating Ambre's dinner!

They just grabbed hands and took off running together!

Ambre and I were running after them with the cameras, it was TOO cute!

They walked this way for a LONG time together!

Trying to drink water out of the fountain :)

She enjoyed her baby cone to the last lick! It was her 1st!

They even ate ice cream together, they really are best friends!

VIDEO:

She loves babies!

One of Ana Maria's newest loves is baby dolls! She has two of them from her birthday and loves playing with them now. Before they were just a toy in the box but now she needs to know where they are at all times. When my mom was here in April we bought her a stroller, high chair and carrier for them and she plays with them also now.
It is so sweet to see how affectionate she is with them, making sure they drink water, eat and take a nap too. We even have diapers on them! This afternoon when we were getting ready for her to take a nap, she knew it and laid one of the babies on the toddler bed and started patting its back saying her version of "shhh". It was too cute to witness!

Water Playday!

Ana Maria and I had a wonderful playday and lunch with our friends Emily, Harrison and Ana Katherine yesterday. Ana Katherine and Ana Maria play together at our neighborhood park and I love talking with Emily! The girls played in the sprinkler and ate many peanut and jelly sandwiches! At first Ana Maria was very shy of the sprinkler but after lunch she jumped right into it and loved it. As you can see from the pictures she ran and ran around the water and loved getting sprayed! Ana Katherine was entertained by watching her friend love to get wet! We had a fun time and can't wait to get the girls back together again!