We figured before the baby came and life got even more hectic, that we would have an Abby Day. We knew that she would want nothing more than to spend time with her little boyfriend Crew so we took them to the Kangaroo zoo. They both had a blast!
We had the best time in Florida this year for Christmas. There was a lot of family, food, friends, parties, and TONS of fun. Abby was a complete angel on the plane ride to Tampa (thank goodness for laptops and Disney DVD's!) When we got to Tampa, my parents greeted Abby and I with chocolate (which I refused to share with Abby since I was craving something sweet :) ) and a BIG Minnie doll for Abby. Abby's reaction to seeing her Nina and Vovo was very cute. She's used to seeing them on the webcam so it was a special reunion. She couldn't get enough of my Mom and was a little timid around my dad. That night we just hung out at the house and I enjoyed my mother's divine cooking.
While in Florida, I got to meet up with my besties. Lyndrea has 2 kids now and Lyndi was pregnant and due within a few weeks. It was so good to see them and catch up. Of course we are still very immature when we talk about the good ole days and embarrassing stories, which ironically enough are always about me :)
The only glitch in our vacation was the scare that I got with my dog Hope. She is getting old and already has bad hips. There was one morning that she was acting very strange and I got worried so I took her to the Vet. He said that she may have a tumor and they could do a ultrasound. If they found something, they could do surgery but with her age, it was unlikely she would survive. He gave us some pain meds to help, and we basically spent the rest of the day at her side and said our goodbyes. With the pain she was in, we didn't think she would make it through the night. I thought it was bittersweet that she would wait until I came to Florida to say goodbye to her before she passed. I spent most of the night by her side but had to get up at about 3am because being 5 months pregnant and laying on cold tile wasn't good. The next morning, my dad picked her up to take her outside to go to the bathroom and she had urinated all over the floor (she hadn't gone to the bathroom in over 24 hours), because she had a kidney stone the size of a coco puff! Once it had passed she was back to being her cheery self, minus the weak hips :) I love my doggy!
Jesse joined us in Florida Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, he could only be there for that weekend because of his new job but we were going to take whatever we could get! Christmas morning was a lot of fun. I was so happy to see that Abby was treating my mother a little better at that point. After Christmas morning, we all got ready for the BIG party at my parents house. There is usually around 30+ people that show up. It was great to see all my relatives. Towards the end of the night, we had a game of guesstures. My family made the mistake of putting Jesse and I on the same team. Big mistake! We won....naturally :)
Saturday my dad took us to the Boston Lobster Feast. It has become a tradition in our family to go there whenever we have family in town. Jesse had lobster for the first time and seemed to like it. Not as much as the crab legs though :) Sunday I had to say goodbye to Jesse since he had to be at work Monday morning :(
My aunt Etel and her family from Kentucky came to visit as well. For the Christmas gift, my dad got us rooms at the Gaylord Palms resort. Apparently there is someone who works there that my dad knows because we got sweet room upgrades for free. We Cape Verdeans stick together! This place was amazing. There were different themes to each section of the resort. Each theme was based on a different part of Florida. We stayed in the Key West part. Our balcony overlooked a indoor pirate ship that was used as a restaurant. Other awesome accommodations include: mini water theme park, mini golf course, shuffle board, and volleyball. That night my Aunt took me and my parents out to dinner. They are sushi guru's so they ordered me some that I was allowed to eat. Probably some of the best sushi I have ever had!
The next day we went to the Ice Show that was at the convention center. I can't believe what these people were able to do with the ice! The pictures speak for themselves!
My aunt Etel, uncle James, and their kids, Shayne, Ian, and Max
Of course the big fat prego woman gets stuck on the ice slide!
Abby walking Jameson, Andrew's girlfriend's dog
New years was awesome! I had some cousins from Boston that I haven't seen in years come and visit. My cousin Peter, who was my dance partner growing up, had his little girl Eva with him. She and Abby were best friends the entire night. We had to leave the party early since we were flying back early in the morning, and I was a little tuckered out from all the dancing. I would have danced more if my elderly relatives weren't freaking out about me busting my moves while being prego. :)
It was a wonderful Christmas in Florida. Thanks Mom and Dad for all the great memories!
Christmas Pics taken at JCPenney
