The Piano Player

A friend and neighbor owns a beautiful piano and after a dinner party she played a few pieces for us.
Of course Mia wanted to try herself afterwards


We noticed quite some time ago that she really enjoys music and we will certainly try to get her exposed to it more

Matthew's Birthday Party

Today some friends had invited us for their younger son's second birthday party. For Mia the highlight was of course the cake - which was actually pretty good - and she had to closely monitor the cutting

When she was eating her piece she also tried out a cowboy hat:


After that she promised Matthew her support for the unwrapping of the presents

Some candy for the kids was inside a turtle - Matthew's favorite animal - and needed to be opened with a stick and other brute force:

Mia liked her blue lollipop

"Theater of the Sea" animal park

One morning we spent at the "Theater of the sea" animal park in Islamorada further down the road from Key Largo. Mia and her baby were greeted by a green parakeet.


Then we watched to dolphins on a short boat ride

At another show parakeets performed stunning tricks. One could even add and subtract small numbers. He would ring a bell as as many times as the correct result.

In another dolphin show the dolphins not only jumped but also sang and gave kisses:


The ugly iguanas are an invasive species

The drive back to the hotel over the Keys was very pretty

Key Largo

The week before Christmas we took a little break from the winter in Washington DC. and went to Key Largo, Florida. One of the highlights of the hotel was the heated pool. Even though the temperature was the the low 80'ies it was nice to be able to go swimming even in the evening after sunset.


Mia really enjoyed to swim - even if she can go only a small distance.

We also enjoyed the dock by the bay side where we could watch a manatee and her baby drink water from a hose.
Of course Mia had to try as well :

It was also a nice place for a lunch break

In the evenings a skipper who lived in his sailing boat would come for a drink and bring his parakeet along

Botanical Garden

A neighbor had told us about a very unique train display at the botanical garden. So on Sunday morning we went to check it out. It was in deed very special and worth the long wait.

Mia had also taken her baby along and made sure she saw all the highlights:

The national Christmas tree

This evening we and another family made a outing to the national Christmas tree that is set up behind the White House. It has a huge model train set up around it and a school choir was performing Christmas songs. In a small house we could take a look at Santa's workshop and Santa was even available for photos. Mia didn't like the idea though - hopefully this won't have a negative effect on her Christmas presents.

Setting up the Christmas Tree

For the first time ever we bought a Christmas tree this year. It is not very tall but it looks pretty nice and we all decorated it together.