Goodbye, Atlantic Towers.

Brandon and I have only moved twice. Our apartment in Miami was tiny,

(stock photo because I forgot to take one... these were the 2 rooms in our apartment.)

 noisy (indoor hallways), the kitchen always trapped the smells other people were cooking

(seriously, that was it. And no dishwasher or disposal for 2.5 years),

 and had crazy neighbors. The driving and traffic was terrible, we had the Miami SWAT nearly bust down our door right after we moved in, a high rise building exploded once, and we left during a hurricane. We had zero money during those 2 years, but were also extremely blessed that we never went without and were able to provide for ourselves and our growing family.

But it was also where I found out we were expecting our first 2 kids, and where we brought Cora home from the hospital. We spent our entire time in Miami there, and it had some really great qualities. We lived a block from the elementary school, 2 blocks from the grocery store, and had a lot of parks nearby. Of course, the 7 minute walk door to shore was amazing. I loved walking down the streets and seeing all the ridiculously rich cars and apartments. Cora learned to walk at those parks.

 Admiring the nativity in our lobby.

 

 We got to go to food trucks one more time, and see our friends again. Cora liked that creepy elf, weirdly enough.

 Wearing her Disneyland hat.

  The whole apartment was packed besides the furniture, things we were tossing, and things we were putting in the car. Not much to play with.

 We went to our final story time at the mall while they packed up our apartment.

 Olaf was also there. Cora was a fan.

 We didn't think through the one naptime where she didn't have a bed to sleep in. It did not go well.

 Celebrating (or mourning) leaving our apartment with some Shake Shack.

 Finally, a crib again.

 I couldn't even muster up a fake smile. It was too hard!

 We moved in as a party of 2, and left as a party of 3.25. It had its flaws, but we loved that place and leaving was so hard. I can't wait to go back to Sunny Isles with Cora someday and show her where she was born. And we can show the rest of the kids how cool it was that we lived a block from the beach and could walk there for 2.5 years. As we drove over the causeway one last time (the one where we nearly lost control of our car when Cora was 6 weeks old) and past the 3 mile loop I would bring Cora on runs multiple times a week, I was so overwhelmed with nostalgia I had to hold it in.

 And of course, we had to see the Trump Tower one more time. 1 of 6.

Trip to Quito, November 2016- Part 3.

Church by yourself with a toddler is hard. In the Miami Shores ward, I am the organist. Since I sit on the stand all sacrament meeting, Brandon has been in charge of Cora by himself. Now that the rolls are reversed, I am amazed at how well he has done. Cora is crazy!

Cora and her buddy Grandma.

 Some missionaries came over, and saw this waiting for them. Cute little diaper bum!

 She was just making herself at home.

Cora refrigeration.

My parents just happened to come back just before transfers. So I got to experience one for myself. Boy, it was exhausting!

 We were excited for the opportunity to pick up some new missionaries from the airport. Since I never went on a mission, it was exciting!

  

 My mom has quite the set up for her dinners. She knows exactly what to make for the goodbye dinner, and what to make for the new missionary dinner.

 They even have nice themed decor for the dinners.

 The biggest difference between the leaving dinners and the new missionary dinners are the levels of Spanish. During the testimony meeting for the missionaries going home, I couldn't understand a word of what they said. Even the American missionaries sounded totally fluent to me. During the new missionary testimony meeting, however, I could understand pretty well. I bore my testimony in very VERY basic Spanish, basically saying "Yo se que..." 

One of the elders was SO nervous. He said he was terrible at Spanish. So after the meeting I told him, "When my family came down here just a few months ago, my mom and Cole didn't speak Spanish at all. Now look at them!" That seemed to make him feel much better.

The next day was transferring the new missionaries to their areas. Cora was scared of the loud cheering (which they do every time the missionary is assigned), so we had to stay outside with the poor wifi so Cora would stop crying.

 Poor girl.

 Some guagua bread always helped.

 They have ceviche in the malls. It was delicious! (However, the mussels were super rubbery and weird.)

 Cora got to try out some new riding toys.

 But we ultimately got her a doll and stroller. She pushed it up and down the hall about 85,000 times that first day.

 Traffic... seems typical of Miami.

 I wish I could have gotten a better picture of this.

 There is some crazy architecture on the buildings.

 We got to stop by Papa's office. He had some candy for Cora, which won her affections for a second.

 This girl was dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood with a zombie face.

 Cora needed to bring her stroller to Papa's office.

 Hot and cold: Hot again. She at least tolerated giving him kisses.

 We went to go see "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them". It was a great movie, and an epic installment into the Harry Potter world.

Hot and Cold: Cold again.

 

 At the beginning of every transfer, my mom and dad bring the new missionaries to Panecillo. It is where missionary work in Ecuador was dedicated.

  

 Cora slept in our closet. We were so excited to see Dad in the morning!