Dress Up

"When I grow up I want to be just like my daddy! Go Gators!"

Sittin' in a Tree

Anyone who has read my blog has seen my numerous references to Jared's girlfriend Jordyn. Jordyn's parents are close friends of ours and Ive been friends with Jordyn's dad for almost 20 years... Since Jared and then Jordyn were born, we have joked about them getting married some day... in that spirit, we decided to have their portaits taken together as babies.

When we were at the mall, another parent actually asked us if they were brother and sister, to which I replied, "No, they are boyfriend and girlfriend." You can imagine the look she gave me. :)




I figure that when they grow up they will either laugh at how silly their parents are or just think we are plain crazy.

Sesame Street Live

Last week, Dalvin and I took Jared to Sesame Street Live: SuperGrover. As can be seen in the photo, everyone was there (Left to Right: Zoe, Elmo, Grover, Telly, Rosita, Baby Bear, Bert).

When I was a kid, Big Bird probably made the biggest impression on me... I am not sure why, but it was fun to see him in person.

Zoe, one of the very few female monsters, was in attendance. Rosita and Prairie Dawn were there too, but I didn't want to post all 200 of the photos I took!

And of course, Elmo-- Jared's favorite-- was a big part of the show.

When the show began, Jared was very focused. He stared in what almost appeared to be disbelief... "Is that really who I think it is?" After staring with rapt attention for awhile, one of the thunderous roars of applause shook him up and he was upset for a moment. I worried that we would have to leave early, but he returned to his fascinated state quickly.

After intermission, Jared quickly became very comfortable. We sat on the center aisle in the floor seats and we had to physically prevent him from running up to the stage every 2 minutes!

Judging by Jared's applause, he enjoyed the show thoroughly! Dalvin and I were surprised at how much we enjoyed the show too-- Good job, Sesame Street!

"Thanks for bringing me to see Elmo, Mom and Dad! I had so much fun!"

Apple Sauce

Jared has been fighting for control over the silverware for awhile, so a few weeks ago we decided to let him feed himself his entire afternoon snack. We were pleased at how easily he managed it-- he was probably motivated by the fact that he was enjoying one of his favorite snacks! :)

"Okay, just give me a second... I can do this by myself... Wait, which hand am I supposed to use?"

"Okay, almost there... just a little more to the right, left, right..."

"Mmmmm... yummy. I think it even tastes better when I do it myself..."


"Haha! You guys didn't think I could do it! Woohoo!"

"Oh, mommy... daddy... never underestimate a boy and his apple sauce..."

Activity Time

I recently set up an activity table and chair for Jared. He loves to sit like a "big boy" so he generally has a blast no matter what he is doing there! We are trying to do some structured activities here and there, and today we were coloring... naturally it was a Sesame Street coloring book...

"Mom-- where is the red crayon? You know I can't color without my red crayon!"

"Um... wait a minute... have you been coloring in my book again? Rosita is already finished!"

"Okay, fine, I will just color a different page... are any of the monsters purple?"

"Oh wait, what was that.... did I just hear Elmo's voice???"

"I DID hear Elmo's voice! MOM! Sesame Street is on!!!"

"Mommy, can I be excused to go watch Sesame Street? We can color together later-- I promise!"

My Beach Baby

This weekend, Jared and I decided to go on an adventure to Daytona for Auntie Marisa's birthday. Auntie JoJo (Wo-Wo) decided to meet us as well for the festivities. It was Jared's first real trip to the beach and despite being completely exhausted and nap-less, he had a blast on the beach.

"Wow, Mommy... the view from our room is great! The beach looks perfect, let's go, let's go!"

"Haha-- but then again-- this chair is GREAT! Maybe we can stay and wait on the balcony for Auntie Wo-Wo to get here!"
"Um, is Auntie Jo-Jo coming by ship? What's taking her so long?"

"YAY--FINALLY! After sunblock, change of clothes, etc., we are finally at the beach... It is HOT, though-- Let me get a drink of water before I get down to it!"

"Okay, before we start building, I really need to take inventory of all my tools. Shovel, check. Bucket, check. Sifter, check. I think I am ready to proceed."

"Hmm... I think my favorite part is putting the dirt in these buckets. I will do that and YOU build the castles!"

"Hey Mom-- Very busy now, can't talk! Sorry! Castles to build and dirt to dig!"

"Mommy, can you please tell that little girl, to stop putting those pigeon feathers (and cigarette butts and sea shells) in my castles!"

"My castles look great! Except for those ol' feathers... oh no, here comes that little girl again!"


"Uh oh...Mom, I think I have a problem here... I think I am sinking... can you help me?"

"Okay, building sand castles was fun, but I think it's time to check out this ocean thing you keep telling me about..."

"Ahhh... so this is the ocean... it doesn't look so bad..."

"Yea, this is kinda nice... I can handle this! The water feels pretty good... I especially like the squishy feeling between my toes..."

"Okay, but wait... those waves that are comin' at me now are looking a little bigger than what we started with!"

"Um, Mom, those waves keep chasing me! And I feel like this dirt is trying to pull me down!"

"Okay, enough of that! Let's go sit back on the beach for awhile! I have had enough ocean fun!"

"HA! This is GREAT! Relaxing in the sun is MUCH better than being chased by those monster waves."

"Aw mom...Do we HAVE to go back inside already? I wanna stay on the beach longer!"


"Hmm, how many different ways do I have to get wet today, mom? Do I really have to do this before going back into the hotel? Oh wait.... this feels pretty cool..."


"Whew, after a long day at the beach, passing out with mommy in the comfy hotel bed is the best... night, night, everyone!"