It's a slumber party!

The Lowry Park Zoo

Yesterday Peter and I picked up Bresa from school and then drove over to Tampa with all the kids. We got there just as our friend Reba was getting off of work. We stayed with Reba at her apartment and just hung out and ate pizza and talked until we were too tired to stay awake. We spent the night and in the morning we packed up and headed to the zoo. The Lowry Park Zoo is rated the #1 zoo in the USA. We have our Central FL zoo pass and it got us half off admission to this zoo so we were excited to be able to spend the day there. The first thing we went to was the giraffes of course. Like the Brevard zoo we went to last year, this zoo also lets you feed the giraffes from eye level. The girls had a blast and Abbi was super excited since giraffes are her favorite animal. After Africa we visited the flamingos, black bear, panther and gators in the swamplands and then went to the Manatee and Aquatic Center. That was really cool. I like to see fish through glass in the water instead of looking down from above. The girls watched the fish in the big tank for probably 20 minutes and though Javan didn't seem too interested he was wide awake and happy. As you can see the fish are bigger than he is. On the way out of there the girls got to go to a big feeding area and pet stingrays.
They didn't hesitate to dip their hands in and feel the smooth fins. Some of the stingrays started splashing and got a bunch of people wet and the girls just thought that was hilarious. We grabbed up the best lunch I have ever eaten at a zoo and though a bit pricey was actually worth the food you got. We walked through and saw a bunch more animals and then went into the Lorikeet Encounter. We fed the Lorikeets at the Brevard Zoo and the girls were too afraid to hold the food so I didn't bother buying any this time. We just walked through and saw the pretty birdies. They weren't as crazy as the ones in Brevard and there weren't as many so it was quite a bit more peaceful than I expected. Peter and I aren't into monkeys so we decided to skip the Primate World and headed over to the petting zoo. Bresa brushed some goats up real nice and Abbi walked around and petted them all. Once our hands were clean we told the girls to cover there eyes and we walked over to the pony rides for a nice surprise. I don't know that the girls have ever seen a horse other than the ones for mounted Police and they have definitely never ridden one (other than their toy Booster). Bresa loves horses because she has a friend who does, so she is always talking about ponies and having a horse. When it was finally time for their turn Abbi mounted up like a natural and Bresa was so excited she couldn't stop laughing. They went around the walk and I ran all over trying to get as many pictures as possible while Peter waited with Javan. After the ride we saw the rest of the animals and then headed out. Javan did really well all day long. He only cried at the very end when we were leaving because he was hungry again, I took him out of the stroller to carry him and he fell asleep. I guess it was a long day for all of us. On the way home we stopped in Lakeland and had a wonderful dinner with Peter's Aunt and Uncle and cousin (the one getting married next week). Then we stopped at Grandma's and dropped off Bresa since she doesn't have school on Monday and Grandma happened to be off of work. Goose was happy when we finally got home and I was happy to see my bed. You can click on any image to view it larger. *Thanks Reba for letting us stay with you, we wish you could have come with us to the zoo. We had a blast though so we may be returning.

Happy Birthday to me!!

Yep, today's my birthday. I had to work in the morning but only for 4 hours. Peter made me chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and then I was off. I did my normal work stuff and then I went out to the range because my Sergeant was training guys this week. I got to shoot an M4 rifle and a couple semi-automatic pistols and also a .357 revolver. The target is my shots from the rifle at 25 yards. I made my hits in red so they would be easier to see. I did pretty good, the shot above the left shoulder was my warning shot but he didn't listen so I had to take him out. After I got home I took care of a few things and then later we had a couple friends come over and we played a long game of Carcassonne. Tomorrow we are planning on going over to Tampa to stay the night and then go to the Lowery Zoo on Saturday.

Surprise!

Today I went to work for my 4 hours and then stopped at the store for a couple quick things and then went home. I did my usual stuff around the house and then went and got Bresa from school and then helped her with her homework. When we were finished we planned on planting some bulbs in the garden so I went in the garage and started to gather the supplies. There was a knock on the door but I didn't bother answering it because I assumed it was one of Peter's customers. I heard the girls laughing and saying Grandma and Morgan so I had to go in to see what was going on. To my surprise my mom and Jim had come over, I thought it was odd since I had just talked to my mom on the way home and she hadn't said anything about stopping by. My mom loves to garden so I thought that maybe she would want to help with the bulbs but before I could say anything, Peter looked at me and asked "You want to go get ready?" I said sure and figured we must be going out to dinner somewhere local. Turns out Peter had made reservations at the Melting Pot (my favorite!) and had called my mom last week to set this all up. I had no clue! My mom came over to watch all three kids so we could get away to celebrate my birthday (which is Thursday). Peter and I took off for a wonderful four course dinner, complete with chocolate fondue set ablaze. We were going to go to the movies afterward but we must be getting old because we were both too tired by the end of the meal. I was definitely surprised and I had a great time! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband!

He's Official

Javan has been here for just over 9 weeks now and we finally got around to making him official. Daddy put Javan's little fish on Oscar (the fish I gave to Peter to tell him I was pregnant), and I carved Javan's name and birthday into the tree in the nursery. It may have taken a little while for us to do it but now Javan is undeniably a member of our family.

Totally Cuter than Daddy

Our friends Scott and Diane bought Javan this adorable onesie when he was born. I couldn't wait for him to be able to wear it, it is just too cute!!

Our new ride

Well temporarily at least. This is the rental car we have while Ophelia is at the doctors (in the shop). We took her in on Tuesday and we aren't sure when she will be released. We do miss her but it is fun driving a car that isn't ours. This car is alright but I wouldn't want one for my own, just not my taste. Hopefully Ophelia will be home soon and good as new.

Aunt Julie's Beautiful Quilts

Today in the mail I received a package from my Aunt Julie. Inside there were two beautiful quilts that she hand made for Abbi and Javan. Abbi's quilt is gorgeous with princess material and beautiful stitching throughout. Abbi loves Cinderella and on one side there is a huge Cinderella with two other princesses. On the reverse side there is a patterned print of princesses and crowns and flowers. Abbi was so excited to see the quilt and took such care when she was stretching it out for me to see. After we took some pictures and looked at all the pretty details I told her to put it on her bed. She picked it up and as she was leaving the room she said "I am so excited about my quilt." So cute!


Javan's quilt is just perfect for him, it is just his size and has lots of colors. There are lots of animals on it and the girls and I had fun pointing them all out to him. I wrapped him up so he could enjoy it and he fell right to sleep after only a few minutes, I think that means he likes it.









You may be wondering why there wasn't a quilt for Bresa, but the fact is she already has a quilt. Aunt Julie made her one when she was just a baby. She still uses it everyday and when she plays it's always her picnic blanket or baby blanket.


Thank you Aunt Julie for these most precious gifts!! You put so much time and heart into them and they are just perfect! The labels that you hand wrote for each of them says so much about how you care and they will have them forever. We can never thank you enough!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Last night Bresa and Daddy set up a trap to catch a leprechaun. They used a shoebox and put a dollar in as bait because Bresa said they like money. She really wanted to catch one because she said they would give us a pot of gold if we did. Well, this morning Bresa saw that the trap had been triggered and ran over to check the inside. Unfortunately the leprechaun had escaped through a hole and tried to take the dollar too but it got stuck on the way out. Inside the box the leprechaun had made quite a mess and left green footprints all over and shamrocks on the floor. He also managed to paint the entire inside green and sprayed it all with green glitter too. He got green all over the dollar and the pencil that held the trap open. He didn't leave any gold but he did leave a couple green heart stickers for both the girls. Also, when Daddy went to get milk for breakfast we found that the leprechaun had made the milk green! This leprechaun sure made a mess of things, I am sure glad St. Patrick's Day only comes once a year. We went to Grandma's and Bresa brought the trap to show her and left it there, otherwise I would have posted pictures of it to show you the mess the leprechaun made.

Weekends full of work

Now that I am back to work (if even for just a few hours a day) I have lots of things that I must get done on the weekends. It's so nice to have a new helper in the house. I use to do this with the girls too, all the children liked going for rides in the nice warm clothes freshly out of the dryer.

All in Oscar

It is so nice having a minivan to tote all the kids around in. Since Javan arrived we moved the girls to the back row and put Javan in the middle. I took out one of the middle seats so that it was easier for me to strap Abbi in but she has since figured it out so I guess I can put the seat back in. When we drive, Javan sits facing the back but that doesn't make for a very good picture so I turned him around to take the shot.

Show me a Smile

It was last Thursday (the 5th) when Javan first smiled at me. He had smiled before but always as a result of gas. This was the first time he smiled back at me, a social smile rather than spontaneous. I was carrying him around the store and holding him in front of me and talking to him like I do. He flashed me this adorable smile and then gave me a couple little coos. That is what made me think it was the real thing. Sure enough, every day since then he sits with either Daddy or I and we take turns smiling at each other and he gives us nice little coos to go along with them. As you can see, Javan's smile is enough to melt anyone's heart.

You can click on the image to see it larger with more detail.

Happy Birthday Lucy

Today Lucy is 9 years old! What a big kitty. She is so happy today because we always let her run around without her collar on when it's a birthday. When I took her old collar off I noticed it was a bit worn so the kids and I went and got her a new collar for a present. As you can see she is very happy with it.

Back to Work

Today was my first day back to work since Javan was born. I decided to take 8 weeks completely off and then 8 weeks of half time. It was very nice to only have to work 4 hours my first day back. It was good to see everyone and I did miss my job but while I was working I couldn't help but think of my little baby at home. I knew he was in good hands with Daddy so I wasn't worried, just missed him is all. I have decided to take my 4 hours from 8-12 so that I can take Brye to school and be home before she is out and also I can eat lunch at home. Today went pretty smoothly for all of us so hopefully it will continue to stay this way.

Father and Son

Just like the old days...

This afternoon our friends Rena (also mentioned yesterday) and her twin sister Reba came over. Reba hadn't meet Javan yet so they got to know each other while we all talked and ate yummy dessert that they brought over. Reba recently moved to Tampa and we haven't been able to see her in a while. We were planning on going out there to visit a couple weeks ago but that didn't work out. We are hoping to still make it out there and are thinking about going for my birthday. I can't remember the last time that I saw both Rena and Reba at the same time, it seems like years ago and it may very well have been. Peter was happy too because he hadn't seen Rena in a long time and was sad when only I got to see her yesterday. Back when I was in 7th grade and Peter and the twins were in 8th grade we all use to hang out together before school started. Peter and I never talked then but when we met again when I was in 10th grade we remembered being introduced years ago by these two people. Who would have thought 14 years after that we would all still be hanging out?

The Fun House

My best friend Christina came to town from Ohio so today I took Abbi and Javan over to see her. She is staying at her mom's house in Windermere and surprisingly, there is lots for a little girl to do there. Abbi enjoyed watching a movie or two in the home movie theater and then later playing in the wading part of the swimming pool. Javan enjoyed a good cry and then a nice nap out on the porch in the beautiful weather. Our friend Rena (in the last photo) came over to visit from Gainesville in the afternoon. She is in her second year of residency at the hospital up there and doesn't get much time off so we don't get to see her too often. She is studying to be a pediatrician and as you can see in the photo she must be good at it because Javan sure looks happy. We all went and got a nice lunch from a wrap and smoothie cafe and spent the day just catching up. The kids and I spent most the day there but it still didn't seem long enough. Abbi didn't want to leave when it was time to go. I asked her if she wanted to come back sometime and she said she did. I haven't seen Tina in year so I was happy to get today. We are hoping to arrange a few days next month when I can go see Tina and her husband in Ohio.

Poor Ophelia

Peter was on his way home from having breakfast with some guys from church and he was about 1/3 of mile from our house when he got into a car accident. There was a large truck in front of him and the guy went to turn left but turned to wide and Peter stopped behind him and then tried to go around him because the truck was in two lanes when the guy in the truck backed into Peter and left this nice dent in the car. FHP was called and it turns out the other driver was driving on a suspended license with no insurance. Just our luck. The other driver was arrested and was cited for several offenses and Peter came home with poor Ophelia (the car). The officer said that the car probably has around $2500 worth of damage to it and Peter thinks the door will have to be replaced. I guess we will see what happens. I am not sure how it works when the other guy doesn't have insurance but I know we have uninsured motorist coverage in our policy.

The Cat in the Hat

Bresa is having a Dr. Seuss week at school and today she came home with this cool hat she made and cute kitty whiskers to go along with it. She looked so cute so I let her wear her whiskers to AWANA at church tonight to show all the other kids.

Baby Javan's first Sleep-over

I was talking to my mom on the phone yesterday and she asked if I was going to bring Javan over to see her. I was just kidding and asked Javan if he wanted to go have a sleepover at Grandma's house. Mom got excited and said she would take him all night and bring him home tomorrow since she was coming over anyhow. I wasn't sure but after talking to Peter we decided a full night's sleep would be very nice. I packed up all his little things that he would need and made sure he had plenty of bottles to fill his tummy and we headed over to Grandma's. It's weird not having him here, I keep thinking that I hear him breathing and that I need to get him to feed him or change him. I am sure I will sleep well tonight but I will still have to get up a time or two to pump my milk. I wouldn't be able to let him sleep over at just anyone's house but there isn't anyone that I trust more than Grandma to take care of one of my most precious possessions.