Christmas Decorating

We finally got to decorate for Christmas this weekend. We had been waiting because we were getting new living room furniture and it hadn't been delivered yet. It came last Monday so we were able to get the tree up on Saturday. We got most of it done while Rosemary napped.

Here Jonathan is placing our tree topper at the top of the tree.

The first year we were married, we went searching for the "our" tree topper, one that we would have for years to come and just love. We didn't find it. So here we are, four years later using a tree topper that's okay, just not our favorite. My parents have this great lighted topper that they got when they first got married and nothing that I have found has been able to compare.

Every year, we hang two ornaments first and take a picture of us hanging them up. The ornament that I hang up is from Disney's Yacht Club, which we got on our honeymoon.
Jonathan hangs up the glass bride and groom that my parents gave him as a Christmas gift the Christmas before we got married. We have pictures of each of us hanging up these two ornaments every year.
When Rosemary woke up, we were finishing up hanging up the ornaments. She watched what we were doing then went over to the coffee table where I had laid a few paper ornaments down, picked them up and started hanging them on the bottom branches. Very smart.

So far, she's been great around the tree. She occasionally plays with the ones that she hung on the tree, but often puts them back.

Dynah's Birthday

Dynah is Rosemary's best friend. We go to church with Dynah and her family so many times while we're there, Rosemary will ask, "Where Dynee?" When she sees her, she gets very excited so her birthday party was a very big deal.

Dynah enjoys her Sesame Street cake.

They had a pinata. I think Rosmary might have tapped the pinata with the stick but, strong though she may be, she did not crack it open.

Eating a lollipop.

Happy Birthday!

It's hard to tell, but Rosemary has colored spots all around her mouth from the cupcake sprinkles. If you click on the picture you might be able to see it better. It was very funny.

Thanksgiving 2007

This year for Thanksgiving we celebrated with Jonathan's family. Richard and Janice came up on Wednesday and spent the night. Tim's family and Zach joined us on Thursday.

Rosemary sat at the big girl's table with her cousins Olivia and Breanna.

Zach ate his entire meal with his titanium spork.

Matthew, Tim, Michelle, Richard, Janice, Zach, and me after our very delicious Thanksgiving meal.

It was also Sarah's first birthday so it was exciting to be able to be a part of that celebration too.

Afterwards, Sarah opened her gifts in the living room and we all relaxed and ate desserts.

Fun Memories

We've not posted in awhile so I'm going to try to catch up tonight. Below are some random pictures from the middle of November--just things that capture everyday life at home.

Snuggled up with daddy on the couch on one of the days we've had where it was actually cold.

Wearing mom's headband and shoes...she went and put each of these items on herself. I think she looks quite cute in the headband. The shoes are a bit too big. Her little toes slide right out the end.

Watching her favorite show, Lawrence Welk, on a Saturday night before heading to bed. I'm not kidding. She loves to watch and dance. We have a video of her "tap dancing" that's hilarious.

Pumpkin Patch and the Fall Festival

For our fifth Monday MOPS field trip in October, we met up in Alachua at a small pumpkin patch. The day was a bit rainy and cold, but it was fun to meet with friends and their children.

Since it was only two days before Halloween, most of the pumpkins were gone. There were a few left that Rosemary enjoyed trying to sit on.
We went on a hayride around the property.
And they had a hay bale maze for the kids to run around in.

On the 31st, our church had a fall festival for the community. Rosemary probably spent over half the night sitting in front of this galvanized tub--either playing with the ducks or waiting for me and Jonathan to turn our backs so she could jump in. She came home soaked!
Rosemary's friend, Dynah, was there too as a little bumblebee.

Vero Beach

We ventured down to Vero Beach this weekend to celebrate Jonathan's mom's birthday. Once there, we met up with Janice, Richard, Tim, Michelle, Matthew, Olivia, Breanna, Sarah, and Zach at the Disney Vero Beach Resort. We spent the weekend eating, swimming, on the beach, running through the rain, and just having a great time all together.

Saturday night after dinner, we headed to the campfire for s'mores and singing, with a quick stop on the deck (above). We made it through "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" and then the deluge began. We gathered everything and everyone up then high-tailed it back to the room.
Sunday, though initially quite dreary, turned out to be beautiful. The guys took advantage of the sun and played a little bocce. Matthew looks quite determined.
Although sunny, it was exceptionally windy. Check out Zach's hair.

Me and my girl.

I think this looks like a magazine picture. She's all serious.
She's still got her tiny feet.

Too cute.

The lobby had a small room to the side where old Disney cartoons were shown on a loop. The kids loved sitting in here and watching the shows, even if they'd seen them just a few hours before when they were last in the lobby.
The family at Shutters before we all headed home. That's Breanna on the front left and she wasn't hiding from the camera. She was actually sound asleep!

Birthdays and Big Girl Beds

Our good friends, Becky and Steve, invited us down last weekend to celebrate their daughter's first birthday. We hadn't seen Abby since she was about 6 months old and she's gotten so big! It was great seeing them, seeing how much Abby has grown, and celebrating such a big day. Unfortunately, the Pate's don't have a blog, so I can't link you to it...but they should get one!! :-) (Just kidding, Becky!)
This weekend, we took the drop rail off of Rosemary's crib and converted it to a toddler bed. So far she's taken two naps and gone to bed 3 nights in it. The only time she's gotten out when we've put her down is at naptime. The first time I think she was up about 14 times. Thank goodness we did it on a weekend and Jonathan could help with putting her back in. Eventually, she did fall asleep in her bed. That night, she didn't get out at all, just went right down. When I got her up in the morning though she'd gotten out of bed and was sitting quietly in the glider. The next day for naptime she only got up once then went back in and fell asleep.
And yes, that's a latex glove in her hand. She likes to put them on whichever appendage is easiest to reach. The other day at church she had one on her foot for a good half hour.

Disney 2007

In September, we traveled with my parents to Disney for a getaway at Coronado Springs at Walt Disney World. It was hotter (or at least more humid) this year than last; but that didn't keep us from having a great time.

Getting ready to load up and head to Animal Kingdom. Rosemary's mouse ears now fit her. While we were getting ready, Rosemary seemed to know something exciting was going on. She gets a little bit more rambunctious, but not in a bad way, when she realizes she's in for something fun.

Riding on daddy's shoulders into the park.

When I was little, my mom and dad would get me a Mickey Mouse ice cream dipped in chocolate. The tradition continues with Rosemary. She ate hers while we were waiting for Finding Nemo to start. She sat and watched most of the 45 minute show.

Rosemary's checking out the gorillas.

If we look a bit tired here, it's probably because we were but we wanted to make sure we did all that we wanted to do.

Do you notice anything missing in this picture? This was one of the PhotoPass pictures taken by one of Disney's "professional" photographers. Four out of the six he took cut Rosemary out of the shot. :-)

Shockingly, Rosemary stayed awake the entire time on Small World this year. She would move her hands in time to the music.

Rosemary's first carousel ride.

In this picture you can kind of see the pin I'm wearing (the one above the Beat Tennessee pin--which we did!). We got that at the Animal Kingdom as we were leaving from one of the cast members. While we were there, my dad and Rosemary were given a pair of Dream FastPasses that gave you the ability to ride the most popular rides in the park without waiting in lines and without picking up individual fastpasses. Dad gave them to me and Jonathan but we ended up not using any of them because we had either ridden the rides that we would have needed them for or the lines weren't too bad in the first place. Since we had some left, Jonathan suggested that we give them to someone else as we left the park. We were trying to find some fellow Gators, but didn't see any on our way out so instead we found another pair of people and passed on the passes. A cast member saw this and gave us a set of lanyard pins that you can only get from cast members. There was one to keep and one to pass on so that we could continue to "spread the magic."

The first teacup ride.

After an exceptionally long day, she's still smiling.

The next day, we spent a good amount of time at the pool. There was a great kiddie sized pool that Rosemary enjoyed and a big kid slide that Jonathan, my dad, and I enjoyed.

She flies!

Before dinner, we walked over to the lobby of the hotel to check out the gift shop.

A view across the lake to the lobby and convention center.

Our little Minnie.

We celebrated my parent's anniversary and Jonathan's birthday at Rainforest Cafe.

It was a good place to go with Rosemary. Lots to look at, pretty loud, and good food.

They definitely give you plenty to eat.


And a volcano for dessert.