Not in the Blogging Spirit

I'm too lazy to describe everything we've done over the last few weeks. So.....

Mini-birthday celebration at Whitey's with Miss Wendy

Lovey bought him super hero bee mask from Ikea
Making cookies for Santa

Santa left Jake a note!?!

The loot--long (sad for me) story about the boxer briefs....

Jake's presents from Santa included not only underwear, but a Diego rescue pack and a new bicycle.

As told in Christmas stories for hundreds of years, Jeremy got holiday beer from his in-laws.

In Savannah for the day with Lovey

On the beach in St. Augustine

Happy New Year! Happy Anniversary Jeremy-I'll love you a few more years (if the bribery is right.....)!

Munchkin Man, Munchkin Man. I can do anything my Munchkin can!

Did I ever tell you how much I love Jake? Well, every night before I snug him in I ask him how much his Mama loves him.

"More than the whole wide world!"

And for poops and giggles, this is what we do to our dog during the holidays!

Merry Christmas!

I'm a slacker....

We get so busy during the holidays (even though we technically have little to do) that we sometimes forget to enjoy each other's company. So....this past weekend, Jake and I spent some quality time together.

He had a dentist appointment this week and was so proud of his toothbrush. He does not like the dentist and did not let him touch his teeth. So, $71 later, we had an expensive tooth brush!

Friday and Saturday, we met our favorite Miss Wendy at a local pottery place and painted some Christmas goodies for family members. I can't disclose details since they will go to back to the few that read our blog. But remember, Jake did these because he loves you!!

Sunday Jeremy took us to Cracker Barrel (as usual) and then we trekked down to St. Augustine for the Winter Wonderland. They had ice skating, smores, elf villages, snowball fights-all in 75 degree weather!

Visiting the Elf Village.....

Jake is growing up so fast! It hits me the hardest during the holidays when I'm trying to find him Christmas presents. We don't look in the baby/toddler isle anymore and it hurts my soul. I'm excited to see him grow everyday but I miss my little munchkin too. Thank goodness he still likes to cuddle snug with his Mama!!

Merry Christmas family and friends! We are so blessed this year to have Lovey spend Christmas with us and Papa to come soon after. That is the best gift we could ask for.

Only 6 days until Lovey flies here....

Bass Pro with Santa

Jake's heart belongs to Bass Pro because that is Papa's favorite place! Below are just a few shots with the finale being Santa.

Jake is so sweet and loving to us-we're thankful everyday for him.

Jake's request from Santa: a present for Mama, a present for Daddy, and

a present for Molly the dog.

I know-you can be jealous. He still loves Mama the most!

My Niece is Cuter than Yours!

While in MS, we were able to spend quality time with the sweetest little sassy ever! Jake adores Lauren (he calls her 'Sassy') so we kept her a few hours while her mom worked.

Last night we watched the movie, 'Elf' on tv and Jake was intensely studying how Buddy the Elf made it to the North Pole. For the one person who has not seen this-Buddy snuck in Santa's bag while he was at the orphanage. Jake asked me the following:

Jake: 'Mama, does Santa bring babies from the North Pole?'

Me: 'Sometimes.'

Jake: 'Can he bring us a baby brother?' I don't want a baby sister because I don't want to share girly toys.'

Me: 'Santa isn't bringing us a baby brother or sister this year. Maybe next.'

Jake: 'Well, he better not play with my Diego train when he gets here!'

Of course, I couldn't leave without taking a nap with her. Jeremy was jealous.

Pictures of Jake and Santa to come....

Big Time in the Big Easy

We're back home in Florida after a wonderful time in Mississippi! It's going to take several days of posting to show what we've done or where we've been.

Jeremy and I were able to sneak away for a night and visit our favorite city of New Orleans. We've been there so many times that it's like a home to us-he even proposed to me there! Anyway, a lot of pics....

It would not be a proper blog post without showing pictures of us eating at Cafe du Monde. The whole point of the trip was to go there!
This is a good advertisement for them!

While at Cafe du Monde, it was so funny to see tourists waiting in lines for tables! If you've ever been there, you know just to walk in, grab a dirty table, and look for the nearest waiter. There was a line of about 20 people waiting in the freezing cold weather and we just stomped on in and chowed down. I can still taste the powdered sugar.....

We also went to Mothers' on Poydras Street-a new favorite place to eat. Try their Jerry's Omelet!

I cannot adequately explain how cold it was in Nola! Being Floridians now, we had to buy hats while there to keep us warm. Also, Pat O's famous Hurricanes kept us in the heat....

Our retirement home....

We were able to stay up late (10PM is late for us old folks) and sleep in. What a wonderful trip with the spouse.....

More pics to come of our beautiful niece and nephew, Jake and Santa, and others to come.....

Packing for our Trip

Jake is such a wonderful helper! Last weekend, in the freezing wind, he was outside washing the truck with Daddy. He is as obsessive about everything just like Jeremy and I so we will have very clean tires on our way to Mississippi!

We'll be in Mississippi Thursday night and hope to see everyone soon.

Love to you all and Happy Thanksgiving!!

Home, Sweet Home....Almost

We're busy as usual trying to balance daily life and such. Jake recently celebrated his 43rd month of life by spending quality time with his family at home. Each month on the 8th we measure his growth. He's about at my elbows now-another few inches and I'll be looking up to him! I think he's going to defy my family genes and be tall.....

This is still the hiding place when he's mad at me--but he's so cute when he's mad!

Last weekend we went to the Imax in St. Augustine to see Madagascar II and we all loved it!! We are already huge fans of the original (Santa, our DVD is scratched. He has requested a new one!) but this one was just as good. If you see it, see it on the big screen!

We also took Jake to see Jungau at the Jacksonville Theatre. Just a few shots during intermission.

We'll be heading to Mississippi in 6 days!!

Aunt Amanda-we need Lala for the day, please.

Lovey-two words: pumpkin roll.

Papa-Jake would like to see a skunk at Bass Pro.

Daniel and Derek-we're going bowling. Prepare for domination!

Happy Early Thanksgiving!

Surprise!

Surprise! We're coming home! Now-you may think that we are packing up and moving home but we are actually just packing up to visit home....Sorry Mama!

Our very first picture (that I cannot seem to find) of our move to Jacksonville is Jake sitting in a box the day we moved into our house. He's had a fetish for boxes ever since then. See below.

Jake thinks it would be fun to be shipped to MS instead of driving or flying. If gas prices hadn't gone down recently (fingers crossed) we may have considered this alternative.

See y'all in 14 days!!

OOoowwwwhhhhhh...I'm doing the Owl Dance!

Happy Halloween last week! Jake and I had the day off to prepare for candy-eating. He was so excited to wear his dragon again (and do the 'owl dance') but when it came to picture time, he was not so happy!

Making Daddy do the dirty work....
In a perfect world, the candy would come to him. He did not enjoy knocking on neighbors' doors and asking for candy. He expected candy to magically appear in his bag!

I would ask Jake if he wanted to go to this house or that and his response, "Mama, I don't think they're home tonight," or "Mama, they don't have good candy!"

The Loot

Needless to say, Jeremy and I have eaten most of the candy.

17 days until we're in the great state of MS......