life according to the diaz's: 8 Months Old and Florida!!

Elena turned 8 months old on July 30th. She spent her eight month birthday on the beaches of Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. It was a beautiful family vacation. Elena did AMAZING riding in the car for 14 hours...Juan and I couldn't believe it either that she was so well behaved. The only time Elena fussed for an extended period of time was when she was tired and didn't really want to fall asleep. Eventually she gave in on most occasions. She even slept for a three hour stretch on the ride to Florida. Needless to say, our little passenger was a trooper. We have been spending our days since we got back from Florida getting back into our regular home routines and it hasn't been too bad.
While we were in Florida, Elena got to spend her days at the beach and pool. She absolutely loved the water in both places. Grandma bought her a mesh floatie that even had a top to it so she could have some shade while floating in the water. Elena was in heaven! While we were on the beach, we had a small blow up pool for Elena to sit in and play under an umbrella. She loved that too. Even I got in the pool with her a few times to play. Elena was great at taking naps at the beach too. Grandpa appeared to be the best at getting her to sleep. She enjoyed the warm ocean breezes under our large canopy while she slept...I think grandpa snuck in some nap time too.
Juan and I also celebrated our 8 year anniversary while in Florida. We feel so blessed to have so many people surrounding us with unconditional love and support at all times. We can't wait to spend many more anniversaries together.
There were many other highlights on this vacation too like eating Chick-Fil-A almost every other day, going deep sea fishing and catching 3 fish...two of them were mackerels, and having the best chicken fettucini I have ever had while watching the rest of the family chow down on buckets of seafood...Juan and I are not the biggest fans of seafood, but what an experience it was at the Old Bay Steamer...when I say buckets of seafood, I mean buckets of seafood...Juan and I were definitely entertained while I ate my pasta and he had his delicious steak. Oh yeah...Elena slept through everything. Ha!
All in all, it was nice to get out of town for awhile and spend some time away at the ocean. The ocean is just so calming and makes you realize how beautiful our world truly is! Surround that with family, food, and great drinks...you have a recipe for a great vacation.
Besides vacation, Elena has been making more and more milestones of her own this month. She is crawling and pulling herself up on everything she possibly can. She is addicted to Sesame Street. She has two bottom teeth that we have been trying to get a picture of, but haven't been successful yet! Elena is drinking 8 oz bottles at most of her meals now, which should help her continue to put on the pounds...we go for a weight check this Wednesday! We need to start working harder at using a cup to drink since that hasn't been her most favorite thing to try. Elena continues to sleep through the night...she goes to bed by 7:30 most evenings and wakes up between 6-7am. She is the most curious little thing now. Everything is interesting to her. She gets very angry when you take something away from her that she is playing with or looking at. If she has pulled herself up into a standing position on something dangerous, like a kitchen chair, she gets just as angry...until we distract her with something more interesting. Elena still uses her binkie to help her fall asleep at night. She doesn't use it all night long, but it is still just as much of a soother now as it was when she was born...the only plus now is that she can put it in her mouth on her own! I just put a few in her crib each night at bedtime and she is good to go just in case she needs it. I know down the road it may be tricky to wean her off the binkie, but for now, it works.
Next week is the first week back to school. This has been one of the best summers ever. Being able to stay home and be with Elena most days has been a blessing. I can't believe it's already almost over. I know she will be happy to get back to her friends at her babysitter's house, but mom and dad are sure going to miss her everyday! Don't get us wrong...Juan and I are both excited to see our students again and get back to our "real world" routines, but summer vacation is always a great time to just be home. Hoping to post more again soon...here are a bunch of pictures from the last few weeks.