birdwatching with Bailey...

It is cold here with dangerous wind chills (as in schools called off today because of the cold)! Yesterday Bailey came to spend the day with me and she loves to look outside at the birds. We were sitting in the chair looking outside when movement out on the lawn caught my eye and this is what we saw...

I set her down and grabbed the camera but my patio doors are pretty full of little girl fingerprints so most of the shots were blurry but I did manage a few before they got scared away...

I think it had something to do with Bailey crying that I set her down...she wanted to see too :) Pheasant photos can happen another day but Grandma doesn't have too many days that she can spend the whole day cuddling a baby granddaughter! Bailey is such a happy baby - just look at her smile as she was getting put in her carseat to go home last night.

Wordless Wednesday...Grandma is the Best

Mosaic Monday...snow princesses & more Mexico

Update to the "beautiful girls in ruffles" post, Emma's mommy sent a photo of her in ruffles this am so here is a mosaic of all 4 snow princesses together (I like how the 3 are looking to the left towards our new addition, Emma).

One last post about our fun Mexico vacation and what better way to show an abundance of photos than mosaics? First up, scenes from the resort - beautiful flowers, a beautiful beach, interesting sand structures made each day and a reef was right along the shore so there was an abundance of fish to be seen...

This sea turtle was seen on our catamaran cruise but 3 of them were also near the shore by our resort and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law were able to swim right over them while snorkeling. It was fun to see the different things people do on their vacations snorkeling, massages, horseback riding, sailing and having their photos taken with street artists...

The resort was just as beautiful at night with all the lighted walkways and pools. We had to get up early our last morning to catch the flight so I finally woke up early enough to watch a caribbean sunrise...

We really did have a relaxing and fun time escaping a week of MN winter and it was a great time to spend with family and as you can see we are not afraid of looking silly compliments of a guy whose nametag read "Tips" :)

and with ending the last of the vacation blog posts you know I can't forget the vacation kiss...a tradition is a tradition after all :)

6 months...

Guess who is 1/2 year old today?

Princess Bailey is 6 months old today and that first 1/2 year is a big deal in our family. Her mommy made her a birthday crown for her birthday...

and Grandma cut a birthday card in half and presented it to her...

She read her message intently...

Next it was time for a cupcakes for the adults but Bailey only got to pose with 1/2 a cupcake & candle for her birthday photos.

Then Bailey decided to show us how fast she was by grabbing 1/2 the cake off and trying to get it in her mouth before her startled mommy could stop her :)

She didn't manage to get any in her mouth but got a little chocolate by her mouth making her look like she did. Poor baby didn't understand why she couldn't have some yet...

beautiful girls in ruffles...

Remember this photo of the January ruffle skirts?

This weekend I had the pleasure of seeing 3 of the little Princesses in their snowflake skirts and shirts. Little Emma is from the other side of the family so I'm hoping her mommy sends a photo of her soon :) First up is Brooklyn and Bailey posing at Grandma's house and sharing the love...

Then we headed over to Ashely & Cory's and added Mari into the ruffled cuteness!

Bailey will be 6 months old on Friday and can't walk yet so she is so happy to sit and pose with big smiles but add in a 15 & 17 month old and it's pretty hard to get a good group shot :)

Chichen Itza...

While in Mexico we took a day trip to Chichen Itza to see the Mayan ruins now listed as one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World". I'm not a travel guide so I am linking to Wikitravel's guide on Chichen Itza and just posting some of my photos. It was an interesting day but also a very hot & humid day, so I didn't spend as much time reading all the signage as I would have on a reasonable temperate day :)

The sacred cenote or "sinkhole" that you can swim in if you shower as it is still a water source.

birds at our resort...

We woke up this am to temperatures of -15F! What a difference a week makes after the warm, sun-filled days last week during our Mexico vacation. We enjoyed a wonderful week in the Riviera Maya area of Mexico (1 1/2 hours south of Cancun) with two of Jeff's brothers, Wayne & Brian and their wives, Keri & Lois. A great week of fun and relaxation and I wished I had carried my camera with me always because the bird lover in me saw some great birds at our resort.

There were also some great birds at the dessert bar :)