We are Jaguars

I'd like to describe the crisp Fall day we had while watching the Jaguars win, but I would be lying. It may have been November, but it was still a hot day and my little champ allowed us to pregame and see the end. Now the end of the game I'll talk about a little later.

Here she is in an outfit not appropriate for any location outside of EverBank Field.

Part of our group of 20

Can you tell how much the birthday man was hating his photo op?

This is what 2 year olds do during a football game...color. The funny part about having to pay for a seat for A is that she isn't heavy enough to stay down while she sits on it, so if Grant or I let go of her seat she would start creeping up and envelope her.

Good thing we know the people around us, because A was stealing popcorn and any other snacks she could get her hands on.

As we were walking back to the cabanas at half time people were stopping us to take a picture with A. At a certain point it got ridiculous and I got spooked by the number of people trying to touch her so I picked her up and practically started running towards the elevators.

Military appreciation week.

and this is how I watched the end of the very close game. A had enough of the stands so we played volleyball and ran around the cabanas instead.

dresses, chocolate and birthdays

November is traditionally a busy month for our family. This is the one month out of the year where there is one birthday party after another and then this year we also threw in a little dress shopping on top of it.

As promised to Kari and to all of my fabulous readers there will be no photos of a dress that Kari has a real interest in. In fact, I am the only one in possession of said photos because my little sister has little self control and would probably end up showing Andrew.

So this month Kari and Andrew came into town for shopping, Russ's birthday party and a Jags game. We went to two different bridal shops in Jacksonville and there were probably only 2 dresses that are on her short list. In my opinion there is a lot more shopping to be done in the next year before she finds "the one". Kari is sure that she won't have that feeling of tadda this is it, but I firmly she just hasn't found it yet.

Adelaide kept jumping in front of the camera yelling "cheese".

We did have to take a little snack break between bridal stores. We went to 3 Sisters Chocolate and we had the BEST cupcakes. At $3.99 a piece they had better be mouth watering.

Here she is checking out her chocolate choices.

Russ getting ready to eat his birthday dinner (that he prepared) after a round of golf.

Oh yum, good and evil cake.

smoochy, smoochy.

Muth sighting

It happens once every couple of years...we have a Muth sighting in Jacksonville! A lot of not too oftens are happening this Fall! Mark if one of Grant's fraternity brothers and has been a good friend to both of us for more than a dozen years, so we were really excited to see him a few weekends ago.

Never Ever

What is the one thing that I have never ever seen in Florida...a SMOKEY dog! Sure I've seen him at Bowl games, but never just walking down the street. So one weekend we took Adelaide to eat at Whitey's Fish Camp which is only a few miles from our house. I started going there when I would visit my parents from college. Back then it was a run down place on the river with great bar food and cheap beer. Now it is completely renovated and yuppified, so no I don't like it and we won't be going again.

Long story short, after we finished eating we went out onto the dock and probably scared the owner of "Smokey" (no idea what his real name was, didn't matter to me). He started telling us what kind of dog he was, as if we didn't know, all I kept asking is where did you get him? A breeder in South Carolina which of course means I can't have one. Oh well, it was great to see an over sized Blue Tick Hound in Fleming Island!

A little charity

A little charity never hurt anyone and as for me, I enjoy giving back. There are always opportunities here and there to give a few hours and beyond the reward of helping someone else in need some times you are rewarded in other ways. This year Grant and I took part in the Give A Day Get A Day program through Disney which gave us free tickets to Disney World. Can't beat that!

So for 2011 there aren't any tickets to be won, but there are families to help. I went to a Women in Local Leadership (WILL) event through the United Way a few weeks back. Beyond the wine, cheese and magician there was a great message on how we can give back to our local community. Of course they played a sappy short film at the end that made the room cry and it did the trick, I was roped in and ready to give.

So now I am anxiously awaiting my training day to be a group leader on child care. No, I'm not going to be babysitting, but I am going to be teaching mothers how to care for their young children. Exciting opportunities to come!

oh 2

Adelaide's 2nd birthday may have been in August, but these photos will demonstrate why she didn't really turn 2 until November in my mind.

For about 2 weeks this month Adelaide showed us her ability to throw herself down on the ground, kick her feet and scream. Oh isn't it fun having a 2 year old. The good thing is that this stage has been entered and exited for now.

We were trying to get ready for a day of wedding dress shopping, thankfully this didn't continue outside of the house.

What have we been doing?

So I've been on a little bit of a hiatus, because we have had a lot going on. The good thing is I will have time to complete a few updates this morning, the bad thing is that I have this time because Adelaide refuses to sleep this morning and since we aren't at home I have to try to keep her entertained so that the other 6 people in the house don't want to kill me later.

So this is one of my projects this month, moving the frames below to the wall above. Updates later on this one.

Of course we have also been working on potty training which is not going well. A few months ago we had more luck than we currently do, so much for cutting down on the diaper bill.

School Halloween Party

We couldn't forget to show you Adelaide all dressed up as Mickey Mouse for her school Halloween Party. We didn't think that it would be wise to put the chicken back on her, I'm pretty sure that she would have been plucked by breakfast.

holiday cards

Do you ever have that fear of losing all of your photos? About a month after Adelaide was born our mac crashed and I was devastated when I realized that all of my brand new baby photos were gone. After a lot of crying and requesting from all friends and family any photos that they had taken I took a few extra precautions myself: online storage, external hard drive and electronic storage.

One of the online storage and printing sites I use is www.shutterfly.com and this year they are promoting their holiday cards. I didn't really think about doing holiday cards this year, but when I received the email that a promotion was happening and I could win free photo cards I jumped on the chance. All that I have to do is blog about it and tell all of my lovely readers about...

· holiday cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

· greeting cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/5x7-folded-greeting-cards

· custom mugs to http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/photo-mugs

· Christmas photo cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

· calendars to http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars

· graduation invites to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/announcements/graduation-announcements

· Choose your favorite product from our Cards & Stationery page

So consider yourself informed and I look forward to possibly having my blog chosen to receive holiday cards for free, because you all know how I am about freebies! I guess everyone will know if my blog was chosen to win the 50 free cards if you get one in he mail!

Adelaide hitting the gym

About a year ago we took A to The Little Gym for the first time and it was a disaster. She wouldn't do anything but sit in our laps and she cried the entire time. So we decided to try it out again and this time it was a MUCH better experience.

There were bubbles, balls, and her friend Autumn. Autumn and Adelaide go to school together and they love each other, which is a great thing considering they almost look like twins. Their faces are completely different, but their hair coloring and size are identical. If you pick Adelaide up and Autumn is still there and they are wearing similar clothing you have to really pay attention.

When Adelaide was 12 weeks old she started going to daycare. I'll never forget the first time I picked her up and I had to really look around to figure out which one she was. There are is a little pack of two year olds that have been together since the beginning and they are all within a few months of age of one another. Yes, I just publicly admitted that I didn't know which kid was mine. Oh well, that was 2 years ago and now I can't leave her anywhere without her yelling, MOMMA.

So long story short you can find the Gasbarro family at The Little Gym on Saturday mornings. We are trying it out until January and we'll decide from there if we will continue the class in the spring.

trike

A's legs may be too short for her trike, but that didn't stop her from jumping on another bike.

A little pumpkin love with Ggrrrr.

Pumpkin picker

One term I taught A that I think is funny is, "hi punkin". I understand when she says it, but most others don't. A is still going to speech therapy every week and I do feel as though she is jabbering a lot more, but she isn't speaking real clearly yet. So onto the real pumpkins...

The first thing A did when we arrived at the church "pumpkin lot" was run to the little pumpkins.

After she picked her favorite A made sure to consult with Daddy about it.



After her pick from the entire pumpkin lot all she wanted was her little pumpkin. In the car and she is still mesmerized by it.

Did someone say shoes?

What is it that most moms love and kids hate? Shoes.

This is one little girl who doesn't behave like most toddlers including the fact that she loves, loves, loves shoes. Shoe shopping is frustrating for her only because I can't seem to get the shoes on her feet fast enough. A would pick a shoe store or a toy store anytime. My only words are for my husband...good luck honey, this kid is already looking for your wallet.

If you'll also notice that she is wearing my favorite red shoes. Such great taste!

school picture day

Another year at day care means another round of horrible school pictures. Believe it or not, this mom has the power to just say no to school pictures. This is true mostly because my A's always look awful. So this year we snapped a few quick pics before we jumped in the car.

The reason for the squat is that she is an absolute repeat these days. I tried to get down to her level while taking the picture and that meant she had to get lower as well.

Two things to note in this picture: 1. she is in the middle of saying CHEESE, this now happens any time I get the camera out or she sees it sitting there. 2. This is her favorite hiding spot in the foyer. At any given time I call her name or she is wearing a dress you can find her standing in this corner laughing and/or taking off her diaper.