Lazy Day

Any plans I had for today were cancelled because of the non-stop rain. Grace and I had a lazy day and stayed in our pajamas. I'm hoping for some drier weather tomorrow.

On another note, Grace's top right vampire tooth has officially come out and the left one is almost there. She now has 5 teeth!

Homeward Bound

Jacksonville, Florida is where we will call home soon and we got the chance to see it over the weekend. I've been so excited to see what it was like, especially since Mike loves the place so much.

Even though we were there for only one full day- Friday and Sunday were travel days- I have to say, I think I'm going to like it there. Our neighborhood is beautiful, the weather was perfect, and there was lots of shopping nearby.

Here's our weekend through pictures...

Florida bound! Grace doesn't look too excited about the six hour drive...

Grace took her first ride in the Camaro and loved it!

Helping dad shop at Lowes.

Mike and his buddy, Dave, starting to tear out the old carpet in our condo. After he's done with the new floor, we'll post the pictures!

Tonight we went out to dinner with the Cagles and enjoyed the novelty of fried hamburgers. Actually, Mike enjoyed it and I was a little unsure. But I tried it anyway, just to say I did it, and I am starting to regret that decision. I am now sick to my stomach. It was an experience though.

As if a fried burger wasn't bad enough, they also do fried desserts- Oreo cookies, Twix, and Twinkies.

Hanging out with Caran and Shawn.

Just Like Old Times

Matt, Mike, and Wendell

Five years ago, these guys were taking a class here in Athens. I know I've said it many times, but it's such a small world when you're a Navy family. Here they are again, five years later- just like old times.

Tonight we had a fabulous dinner at Wendell's. I had a great time meeting his wife, Jeanette, and Grace had a ball playing with their sweet daughter, Amber. Grace even went home with a great big bag full of toys, courtesy of Amber.

Tomorrow we head to Jacksonville for the weekend. I'm excited to see where we'll be living for the next three years!





More carseat acrobatics.

Carseat Acrobatics, Bribery, and Studying

Grace and I took a quick trip to TJMaxx and Target this afternoon and my silly little monkey gave me a hard time every time I tried to put her in the carseat. She would cling to me the moment I opened the door and when I finally managed to pry her off my shoulder, she would do these acrobatics...




I did something I thought I would never do today- I bribed my child with a toy in order to shop in peace a little longer.

"Come on, Dad, take a break from studying and play with me!"

"Hey, open up!"

Laundry Day

Apparently, Tuesdays are the day to do laundry when you share laundry facilities with everyone in the building. I didn't have to race anyone to the washing machine. I didn't have to wait around needlessly for the inconsiderate people who left their clothes in the dryer long after the cycle was done. I've tried different days and times to avoid these issues, but haven't had any luck until now. Getting all our laundry done in 2 hours was enough to make my day.

A shot of how I look when I'm trying to get laundry done with Grace- baby in the Bjorn, wallet/cell phone/keys strapped to my waist, full basket balanced on my hip. I have to do all this AND walk down two flights of stairs. Laundry days are also my workout days.




Playing "I'm gonna get you, Mama!"

We had dinner at Buffalo's tonight. Although she's smiling and happy in the picture, this was actually the only time during dinner she was like that. My normally sweet girl has had the case of the cranky's the past couple days. I blame it on the teeth. She's got another one coming through on the top.

A Walker Fiasco

When I woke up this morning and saw sunshine, I knew Grace and I would have a great day. We could take a morning walk around the neighborhood, play in the little park, take a long nap, and then maybe even go to Target for a little shopping.

But this is how it really went: Grace woke up cranky. I loaded her up into the stroller anyway and went for a walk. The sunshine hid behind the clouds during most of our walk. The play equipment in the park was wet so she couldn't really play on anything. There was absolutely no napping no matter how many times I tried to put her down for one, and consequently, my shopping trip to Target was cut short because she was in such a bad mood from the sleep deprivation.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted. When I put Grace down for the night, she was still a little restless, but I was off duty since Mike was done studying for the evening. I was relaxing in the bedroom when he went in to check on her in the living room. The next thing I know, I see Mike running towards me with Grace's walker in his hands- the walker lighting up and blaring a loud musical jingle.

He knew I had a rough day so he was trying to help me out by cleaning up the living room for me. Little did he know that the walker would light up and play music when he moved it.

Of course, Grace woke up with all the commotion and we were back to square one. All we could do was laugh. Parenthood is anything but boring, that's for sure.

Trick or Treat

"Oh look, it's Chicken Little," exclaimed a Filipino lady.

"We can't all be Texas," said a University of Texas fan.

"Go Virginia," a sweet woman mistakenly cheered.

These were a few of the comments made when Grace went trick-or-treating. Her poor daddy was so frustrated by the end of the night. I suppose that's what happens when we dress our baby up as a Virginia Tech Hokie Bird while we're trick-or-treating in Georgia.

We spent Halloween with the Bouceks and had a blast. Grace loved playing with Love Light and Boss, and Mike and I enjoyed catching up with Julie and Bill. It had been almost 3 years since I last saw them and it was amazing to see how much our lives have changed since then.

A special thank you to Lola for making Grace's Hokie Bird costume!



Boss, Love Light, and Grace.