Marine Quest

We headed to downtown St. Petersburg, FL, for a free day of marine life exhibits at the Florida Fish & Wildlife laboratory. We had a really great time, in spite of the wretched FL heat. Mercedes wasn't up for participating in a lot of the exhibits, but all of the girls really enjoyed going through the exhibits to complete the scavenger hunt. We finished the afternoon by having lunch at a local park. Enjoy the pictures!

Barbie

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Pool Time!

Here is a snippet of our summer fun poolside! Abigail is quite the swimmer and is learning to go underwater and hold her breath! She is taking swimming lessons for babies starting July 11th. I'll let you know how that goes.



As for now - we are day two into taking away her pacifier, her bottle and nighttime feedings and her lullabye music in an attempts to retrain her sleep pattern to fall asleep - and stay asleep - on her own. I have yet to have a decent night's sleep since I was 7 months pregnant while I'm here at home. Who says working out of town once in awhile isn't a good thing???

Mother's Day 2009

I received my first homemade cards and gifts this year for Mother's Day! I cried! It was really sweet. The day care center made the two picture poems and handprint shown below. They wrapped them in a nice box, filled it with candy and sent it home with Abigail on Friday when Gram picked her up. It was so very sweet! I put it in her baby book for safe keeping.


Sal got me a wonderful body pillow, as the one I got last year was accidentally left behind in a hotel during my business travels. He also surprised me with a dozen roses and a beautiful card and poem. But my best gift he gave to me was that he agreed to go to church with me and Abigail as a family. After church we all took a nap and headed to Gram's for dinner. Jen and her kids were there, as were Stacy, John & Bryce. Aunt Nancy and the girls came for awhile as well. My second Mother's Day was a wonderful day filled with family and love! Thank you, Sal!

Family Camping Trip

I've finally finished the pictures from our family camping trip in April. Yes, I'm a little behind - I think that is the story of my life. I could blame it on a myriad of things going on right now - but I won't - it'll suffice to say that they are finally here! We had a great time - without Baby Girl I might add. Grandma stayed home too, to watch Baby Girl of course. She had been sick a few weeks prior and really didn't need to be out in the cold night air. Besides - once we were there, I was relieved I didn't bring her. A neighboring family had a small child as well and I witnessed their struggle to reign him in. I couldn't imagine trying to keep tabs on her and keep her happy with the girls as well. (No Jen, not your family! I think you all did great with Javier - even if he did wander off a time or two.) My nephew, Javier, is just two and he was hard enough to keep up with. He had to be coraled to the play pen a time or two for wandering off. Enjoy the pictures!

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Baby Girl's One Year Portraits

Now THIS was a chore! Since she never sits still - getting a good portrait of her is hard to do! But since I am a photographer, I decided long ago to do all of her portraits myself. That was before she turned one. Now I know why people take their kids to us! I did get a few good ones, but I really think her 18-month portraits will be done at a studio - where there is less of a hazard of the backdrop falling down on her squirmy little head! I'll be sending out pictures to family and friends soon! Look for more to be posted later this week.

Family Day at the Zoo!

Sal & I wanted to do something special for Baby Girl's first birthday - so we decided a special family day at the zoo was in order. It was a gorgeous spring day in Florida - the kind that you actually move here for. Not too hot, but warm. A nice breeze and very low humidity! Which, we found out, helps with the stinky zoo smells! We couldn't have asked for a better day! What a nice way to remember her first birthday, the type of days that memories are made of. I've created a Smilebox scrapbook to showcase our day. There is a video on the last page of Baby Girl meeting the kid goats. She was both scared and excited at the same time. Enjoy!

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Easter Party at Tater Tots Child Care Center

The week of Easter (yes, I'm behind a bit...) Baby Girl's day care had a fun Easter Egg hunt. Her first! She enjoyed putting stickers on the eggs ~ and of course in her mouth! She danced to the music and found eggs on the playground. Later they made cookies and listened to the story of Jesus dying on the cross - toddler style! She came home with an Easter basket filled with goodies and a stuffed bunny. She also came home with chocolate on her dress - which came from Grandma's house. Go figure.

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Science Project

I'm so very proud of my niece, Sabrina! Last week we were working on her school science project and needed to complete that day. She has ADD and so it is rather difficult for her to focus her attention on any one thing too long - especially those things she finds distasteful - such as homework. However, I told her that if she wanted my help, she needed to stay focused so we can finish, as it was my day off and I needed to get things ready for my upcoming week out of town. She work really hard and got it complete! All without arguing! And if you know anything about Sabrina ~ that in itself is a miracle! Her project was on the eating preferences of her pet gerbils. She discovered that they are just that - preferences, as there was no scientific reason for the gerbils to pick the cheese slices over apple slices. She was able to hand this assignment in early. Great job Sabrina!

Traveling for a living...

I'm sitting here in a hotel in Ft. Myers, FL, wishing I were home with my little girl and under-the-weather husband. The weather is gorgeous, the view is beautiful, but all I can think about is my baby girl going to bed tonight without a good night kiss from her mommy. No little girl should have to go to sleep without a good night kiss from her mommy. :o( Tomorrow will be the longest day ~ we have photography scheduled from 2pm to 8pm and then I will have to drive home. A three hour drive in good traffic. I'm taking a few of my nieces and nephews camping this weekend. I'm still not sure if I'm taking Abigail or not. Gram thinks the pollen is causing her nose to run and since she just got over pneumonia a couple of weeks ago - she doesn't think she needs to be in the night air. I might agree - but she hasn't had her mommy all week - and then not to have her on the weekend too? That's not good for her either! Thoughts? Be quick, as I have to make a decision!

Saying Goodbye to a Dear Friend...

This house belongs to a dear friend of mine - well actually belonged... She will close on her house and finish moving to Oregon later this week. I once considered this a second home of mine. My dear friend, Debbie & her son Nick, were a very important part of my life when I first graduated from college, and for a number of years following. She was my first boss, became an important mentor and taught me a lot about being a friend. We haven't been as close in recent years as I would have maybe liked, but we were very close when I needed it most. I'm so thankful that she was part of my life - & I know that even across the country - she is still only a phone call or an email away! Thank you Debbie for sharing yourself and being a true friend! I only hope I can be that friend to someone else someday!



Barbie, Debbie & Abigail

Debbie & her nephew Jake with Abigail.

And 1 more makes 8!

We now have 8 teeth! Baby Girl has cut her last tooth of the bottom four. So now she has the basic four up top and the basic four on the bottom. Maybe now we can rest for awhile! We have been very busy lately - up to doctor visits, work and more doctor visits! Baby Girl first caught a cold, which might have been allergies - but ended up cutting her 7th tooth. Then high fevers followed by THE RASH! She had a classic case of Roseola. We went to the doctor to confirm the diagnosis and check on a cough that had appeared. Doc said cough was just a cold - no need for antibiotics, the rash would go away soon and the fever should stay put. Well... it didn't. A week later her fever reached 105 degrees and off to the hospital at 11pm we went. A chest x-ray confirmed my suspicion of pneumonia. We spent the night in the ER - her first visit! We spent the next week cleaning up spewed mucous from her coughing up the gook in her chest. That couldn't have prepared us for what we'd be cleaning up THIS week, however! The antibiotic of choice for her doctor was Augmentin. It is a strong dose of Amoxicillian and few other kicks. So - the explosive diarrhea diapers have taken over our lives! Out shopping, at nap time, in the middle of the night ~ it's unbelievable! At least her cough is gone, her smile is back and she's back to bouncing off the wall!

This was taken at Roger's Park on the Weeki Wachi river. She loved the water (although the explosive diaper took over there as well!) and the swings at the park. She wasn't too sure of the slide, but went down it once for Mommy. She played in the sand - didn't even eat too much of it! We're just glad that she is feeling better and back to her bubbly self.

Cruising Baby Girl!

And We're Off!

Baby Girl is cruising! Take a look at her new skills on the video! She now has 5 teeth and a 6th on the way. She has taken a couple of nasty falls in the last couple of days. She wiggled out of her stroller and flipped out - head first of course - on the laundramat floor. I almost cried at that one... Today she fell backwards on Grams tile floor. Soft tiles - thankfully. Next week she starts day care at our local church part-time. Sal & I work a lot of hours - long days for just Grandma to care for her. So I will drop her off about 11am and Gram will pick her up about 3:30pm and keep her till I get home - around 10pm. I'm looking for a more family-friendly job, but we all know what the job outlook is like right now. I was offered a sales position at a Saturn dealership - which I would have LOVED to take - but since GM is considering shutting down the Saturn line - and soon, I'm not sure that would be a good option either. Of course this article is saying GM is funding through 2012, who knows with a mix of "The Big Three" and the government - a recipie for disaster, I say.



Anywho - I'll be celebrating another year here in a few weeks. What do I have planned? Working. Yep - photographing away on Valentine's Day. Although - I'm heading up a plan to spend the day at the spa soon afterwards - that's what I want for my birthday and Valentine's Day. Thanks to Karin for suggesting it! Hope all is well with each of you! Write soon!



Barbie

Moving....

Can I just say ~ for the record ~ I HATE MOVING!!!! Although one wouldn't think so - as I do it with such predictable regularity... At least this was only a mile down the road instead of cross country or another state. But - this time I had to move with a baby! It is so much more complicated! Especially when she is now crawling all over - she is under foot and into boxes so fast - I lost her one night - she crawled into the pitch dark bedroom while I was packing something else in the living room. I went looking for her only to find Baby Girl under our bed, eating a stale Cheerio that only God Himself knows where she found it and how long it had been there. Oh wait! It couldn't have been over a year ago - BECAUSE WE JUST MOVED THERE A YEAR AGO!!!!! Do I sound over this whole moving thing? Well - I am. I have moved 16 times since 1994. That does not include a few stints at friends and relatives houses in between more permanent homes. Or at least longer-temporary homes. I don't think even the military moves people THAT often...

Oh well - we are in an apartment for now. It is nice, the neighborhood is excellent and our neighbors are very friendly. Everyone has fallen in love with Baby girl - well DUH! She is just too cute! She just had her 9-month visit - 27.25" and 15.02lbs. Doc is concerned with her weight - too little he thinks. She eats - a lot actually, but she is just so darned active. That girl is always on the move! I'll post her 9-month pics soon. Promise!

Right now I'm fighting a sinus infection that sent me to the ER the other night. It has been miserable trying to move, breathe, and keep Baby Girl safe - let alone be super sick. I'm going to try going back to work tomorrow - I've been off a whole week now with this. Oh well - guess ya just suck it up and keep on going. Lots of prayers for us would be greatly appreciated please - physical and emotional wellness, finances and job growth would be great. I'm sure those are the prayers of 9/10Th's of the country right now.

GREAT YouTube video!

This is a great video to watch all the way through. Enjoy!

Backyard Camping

Am I a glutton for punishment or what? A night off and I choose to spend it sleeping in the backyard with 4 of my nieces, on the ground I might add... Of course in a tent - lent to me by my sister at the last moment because my tent poles went missing (thank you Jen!) We would have had some seriously disappointed girls!

It was the last day of their winter break from school. Since it would be another mild winter night Florida style, we decided to build a small campfire in the backyard (no, I didn't get a permit - bad aunt...) roast hot dogs and marshmellows, eat a few smores and sleep outside in the tent. Since it was just "the girls", Sal slept inside with Baby Girl. I figured he would be sleeping like a baby all night, so I snuck out the portable monitor just in case - he had a rough night too from the sounds of it!

We invited a few neighbor kids for the evening festivities. The dinner menu was hot dogs and potatoe chips. Sabrina decided to try "roasting" a potatoe chip over the campfire. She said it was delicious - but I declined to try it. Next came the marshmellows! So much fun! So much sticky mess! We saved the smores till the neighbor kids went home, as our graham crackers were in short supply. Even grandma got in on the fun - check out that "dainty" photo of her eating her smores! I couldn't help myself!

Around 10:30, the stories were all told and the giggles all out. I had 4 very sleepy little girls in my tent. It took less than 10 minutes for them all to drift off to la la land. Since we were roughing it in sleeping bags - I was a little stiff the next morning. But it was a great night ~ the kind that memories are made of. Try it next time you get the chance. A night of fun and "camping out" is as close as your backyard!

Backyard Camping Photos

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Backyard Camping Photos

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