Almost "home"

Upon returning to Florida from the Dominican Republic, we still didn't have a "home" to move into.  It'd still be another week before our house in South Tampa was ready for us!  Luckily, Bryon has an aunt and uncle who live in Apollo Beach.  We were able to stay at their home, even though they were out of town while we were there (again - they're always on the go!).

Someone had been missing his girl!

"I'll never ever let them leave you for a week.  Not ever again!"

A kennel is no place to be alone.

It's always nerve wracking to stay at someone else's home when you have a youngster.  Baby-proofing is tough.  Of course, Maks' favorite places to explore were the china cabinet and the liquor cabinet.  Good grief!  With Bryon having an hour commute and working 12 hour shifts, I had my hands full.

Indoors, Maks perfected his architecture skills.

Easy-peasy

Daddy tries to jump in and take partial credit (don't let him fool you).

Outdoors, Maks was constantly collecting seashells.  (Nevermind the fact that they were supposed to be decorative landscaping accents.)  Out in stores soon: "How to Feng Shui Your Yard" by Maksim A. Kroger

Favorite picks of the day.

...and play on the dock.  He's fearless.  Yikes!

  Napping was a flop.

Patiently waiting for her audience to return to story time.

Books for his Boo-boo.

At least SOMEONE falls asleep during storytelling.

But, luckily, there was a nice playground and dog park just around the corner!

Early mornings at the park!

Always climbing...and giving his mama heart attacks!

He was NOT so sure about Ava's handholding.

It's totally appropriate (and normal?) to let your child wash his balls in the water bowl at the dog park, right?  Ain't no stopping Maksim!

We spent a lot of time at the mall play area; just an excuse to get out of the house!  "Real traffic" wasn't exactly Maks' favorite part of the trip...

He's totally unimpressed.  "Mama, MOVE THIS CAR.  NOW!"

But he did think he was pretty cool driving this car without a shirt on!

"Yeah, this is MY ride."

"Hey, ladies!"

Halloween was low key.  Bryon had to work and Maks has a 6pm bedtime, so there wasn't much going on for us.  The mall was a fun getaway to people watch and see some costumes (we didn't dress up this year, but you can revisit Maks' first year of Halloween fun by clicking here) before calling it a day.  

He briefly considered being a clothes hamper for Halloween.

Wishing a Happy Halloween to Daddy while he was at work (boooo!).

Halloween capped off the end of October, which meant it was time to move into our NEW home!  Let the adventure continue!