Visiting Gainesville

Finally the last of the Florida Pictures. This one took me a long time to get to because I was compiling pictures from three different cameras. But the photo's and VIDEO's are great!So this little train was a last minute Christmas gift that Granny picked up for Holly while in Tampa at Mosi, it was on sale so we couldn't pass it by. Holly likes it, but mostly pulls up the track and plays with the magnets on the train cars.We arrived in Gainesville early evening, and had a wonderful dinner. We had planned on opening presents the next morning, but on impulse, and impatience, we couldn't wait.Here are Holly's Uncle Alan and Jessica, his now Fiance, and soon to be wife (we are all so excited) and her Great Uncle Ty.Here Nana is handing out gifts for everyone to open. I think that was Holly's favorite part, even more so then playing with the toys. She even Helped Uncle Alan open a few of his.Everyone was super festive in there Santa Hats. And Holly was like a little elf in her Red and green Brobee Pajamas.Here she is helping Granny open a present from Santa, Granny was very excited by her new Cuisinart, it was just what she was hoping for.You have to be sure to open it all the way says Holly, here let me get that box lid for you. My little munchkin was so helpful to everyone with there gifts.This was a really cool one. I still don;t know what it is called but Holly played with one at a friends house and loved it and I blogged about how neat it was but I had no idea how to find it.Well granny red the blog and then found one for Holly. She was super excited. Jackie told us that when she was shopping for it, Mary was sad as she wanted one too.So when Nana opened her next gift, Surprise! She had this instrument also, but hers was a bigger version then Holly's.Here is Daddy opening up something really cool. it is a hand crank radio, you know for when "the big one" comes, or maybe just when we run out of batteries or go camping, recently Holly has been playing with it.In addition to the radio it has a flash light which is actually super useful, never have to worry about dead batteries and no light. So holly will turn the crank round and round and then put the radio on.I am not sure if she realizes they are related, I think she just likes turning the handle around and around.Now, I am not sure whose gift this was, I think it was for Jessica, it is a set of measuring spoons, but Holly "helpfully" commandeered it to play dress-up.And here she goes, tearing into another gift. She has become quite the unwrapper. Her birthday just passed and we started opening presents and she is so so excited to have things to unwrap.off she goes to get into trouble. She really likes the piano, it was actually a problem as she kept trying to climb up onto the bench so she could better reach the keys.It was a fun Christmas Evening. On another day Holly had lots of fun swinging on the porch swing, it wasn't quite the same as being at the park, but on short notice it worked just fine.While in Tampa a few days earlier Joel, Granny and Holly took Holly to the park around the corner from my parent's house. This is a video of her going down the slide.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmKEAA4BrgU
Later that evening I think we were making plans to watch a movie rental, as we brought out the TV table. Holly however decided to make a new game.Lets take every CD and DVD out of the box, open them all up and pull them each out of there cases. She likes taking things out and putting them back in.Leave it to a Grandmother to indulge her and let her play with them to her hearts content! She had a lot of fun, which is why we keep ours at home on the 4th shelf up.

If you look very carefully you will see a furry little paw sticking out from under the TV table, Holly is trying to make new friends.Here on another occasion she begins terrorizing the poor kitties once again as it runs off under the chair and she uncovers its hiding place. She really likes them, they just aren't fans of her.She wanted to climb up on there scratcher with them, so she could reach them better, but this kitty was smart and jumped up to the next higher seat, happily just out of her "petting" reach.Lets see another day, while Joel and Alan were out on a Man date with their Dad and Grandfather us girls stayed home and made Ginger Bread Cookies. Before the Fun baking started Holly helped Granny wash some potatoes for the Steak and baked Potato Dinner we would have that night to celebrate Alan finishing his Master's and Joel winning the Sloan grant for the script he was co writing.Holly was having simply too much fun with the water in the sink and helping with the washing, so Nana had to supervise while Granny actually got some work done.Here we have the Dough and we cut out all kinds of shapes, many animals as I knew Holly would like those and have fun with the decorating.At the end of the visit Jackie insisted that Jessica and I take home many cookie cutter's. Holly's great Granny Irene collected them from all over, and now Jackie had 4 times the number she wanted or needed.I was excited to pick and choose ones I thought Holly would enjoy, I even picked some that I could use to cut pieces of cheese or bread or little sandwiches when I make her lunches.Holly had a lot of fun playing with the dough, and pushing down the cutters and making shapes. I think she is almost old enough to use play dough, at least home made stuff, in case she still tries to eat it.So next we made the home made frosting and had lots of different food coloring colors to make different shades. It looked just like the "Art" episode of Yo Gabba Gabba where Foofa mixes colors for her paintings.And then here are some of our creations. Jessica has an art back ground so she was very meticulous and detailed in her decorating which I think Sparked the competitive side of GrannyPicking up tips from each other they took turns out doing each other on the most creative, or realistic, or accurate or detailed of cookies. It was a lot of fun, But those two were in there own league!Here are some of the ones I made, an Elephant, Duck (of Course) Unicorn, Pyro, FishyAfterwards when Daddy came home later that evening and aftermaking a mess eating the yummy decorated cookies Holly got a bath, one of her favorite things to do.Here is a family picture that we took just in the nick of time, right before we were all heading out, us back to Tampa and Alan and Jessica back to NY.But before leaving Mary needed a Saxaphone lesson from Alan (Or what is trombone, trumpet, Flute? - No it was Sax But they play them all) And Holly decided to help but adding a drum Beat! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfpzhOl7-48
These are three short VIDEO's of her playing while sitting on Daddy's lap. Two times in Two weeks, she was on a roll and could practically join a band she was having so much fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxmIVQceVNs
I'm ready to get her the cute little drum sets they have in Toy's R us, not that we have the space, but Joel says I have to wait until she is 5 and she asks for it, I am working on him agreeing on 3 if she is still into them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaKkiJV5tx0
We had a wonderful visit in Gainesville. Everyone had so much fun. Holly had a blast. Although Alan and Jessica plan to get married int he corthouse alone in NY (on march 27th) they plan on having a celebration in August for all of there friends and family in Florida, so we will be back then.