Jacksonville Zoo

On Thursday July 9th we took a trip to the Jacksonville Zoo. We had a great time! April, Drew and the boys came too. Lily had alot of fun...I could tell she was really enjoying looking at everything around her, and she loved looking at the animals too. It was alot different than her trip to the Greenville Zoo several months ago. She had fun then, but this time with her being a little older it was just so much better. She just loved everything and she enjoyed having her cousins with her....Nathan always makes her laugh, she loves him!

On Monday we will be leaving to spend a few days in Boca Roton and I can't wait. It should be alot of fun and very pretty down there. I'm sure I will have tons of photos to post when we get back!!!

More Teeth!

I forgot to mention in my post yesterday that Lily's top left tooth came in a few days ago...and it looks like the right one will be soon to follow!!

Little Stinker!!!

A few days ago I went in to get Lily after her nap and found she had took her pants off and had them laying beside her...so I had to run downstairs and grab my camera! I wish I could have seen her do this. I could tell when I went in there that she knew she had done something different. I always love going in and getting her after she wakes up...I never know what I will find her doing, but it is always cute!!!

Also now you can tell her to go find Mommy or Daddy and she will go through the house until she does. She will also find certain toys when we ask her too. She is always amazing us with all that she can do. They really are little sponges. She says several words now... Ma Ma, Da Da, side(for outside), No No, Hey, and Hi are the ones that I can think of right now. It is cute when she really gets to talking w/ us...we have no idea what she is saying, but she is definitely trying to tell us something! :) I love it when she can sometimes just hear us mention something and she will start pointing to it...and it will be something that we have never pointed out to her before, but she has just picked it up in passing. It just goes to show that they are always learning! She also likes to push her Dolly around in her play stroller. I don't think I have a pic of her doing this I need to take one and post it!! She is still doing great with her sippy cups. She now does 2 bottles a day and 2 sippy cups!!


This is how I found her! Her pants on one side of her and her blankie on the other.

Maybe she wanted to play w/ the panda on the back of her pants! :)


She has been eating more and more finger foods. I gave her some spaghetti noodles the other night and one landed in her hair. :)

Happy 4th of July!!!

We have had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. It started on Friday with Jim and I going to Ruth's Chris to celebrate our 8 year anniversary. Our actual anniversary is on July 7th, but Mom was here keeping Lily for us so it worked out nice for us to go ahead and celebrate it on Friday. Our dinner was fantastic! After dinner we took a walk on the beach, it was so nice and relaxing we had a wonderful evening. Today on the 4th Mom and Dad were here as well as April, Drew and all the kiddos! Jim got his smoker earlier this week so he broke it in this weekend by smoking some ribs, brisket and sausage! All the food was yummy and Lily and Zayne were able to enjoy taking a dip in their little pool. I think Lily enjoyed her 1st 4th of July, I know we did!!!

A family shot...Happy 4th!!!

The cutest little 4th of July baby!!!


Puts everything in her mouth!



Zayne and Lily having pool time!

Also Noah's 1st 4th of July!!!!

We have an escapee!

Hanging out in the backyard watching the little ones play....while smelling all the yummy food cooking!!!

Lily saying Ma Ma....very cute!

Jim took a quick video on his phone of Lily saying Ma Ma. She's been saying mama for a good while now, but lately she has been saying it alot more. Very sweet...it just makes me smile!!!

By Popular Demand.....Pictures of the House! :-)

Please keep in mind that we are not finished w/ the decorating process but we have gotten a good start I think.



We are enjoying the backyard alot!!

The entryway.

Looking down on the breakfast area.

The living room.
Lily's room!!

I'm not done w/ this side of the room...I'm still trying to decide what I want to do.

My office...haven't had time to do anything in here yet.

Jim's office

My exercise area (sorry the pic is so dark)....as you can see I have it gated off w/ boxes for the time being so Miss Lily can't play on the equipment.

Guest Room

Where all the yummy food is made!!



and this is our newest addition...our dining room table. It was delivered earlier this week!!! Very excited to finally have room for a dining room table.

Our Little Daredevil!!!!

Now one of Lily's favorite things to do is climb the stairs. I'm really not able to leave her alone for a minute or up she will go! We have gated off the top of the stairs but not the bottom yet, but we are going to have to sometime in the next few days. She's very good at climbing them but going down safely is going to take a alot longer to learn.

Here she is going up up up!!!! I stood behind her to make sure she didn't fall!

She carried her ball up each step! She would set it on the stair ahead of her and then climb and then move it to the next step...very cute to watch!!

Look at me....I'm not afraid of anything!!!

Almost at the top of the first landing!!!


Whew! Now I need a break before going down!!

Playing in the grass!!! Thankfully so far she doesn't seem to be allergic to the grass like I was.

Happy Father's Day!!!

(I wanted to go ahead and post this today since we will be out of town on Sunday.)

First Father's Day Poem

So this is your first Father's Day,
Your first one as a dad;
Get ready for surprises now,
The wildest you've ever had. Just when you think you've got it down,
There's a new and different stage;
This little person changes a lot
With each fascinating age.Being a dad takes all you've got;
Your heart and mind you'll invest;
It's the hardest job you'll ever have,
And the one you'll love the best. By Joanna Fuchs

My two Sweethearts!!! Lily (9 months) with her sweet, wonderful Daddy! Happy 1st Father's Day Jim!!!!! You are such an amazing father. You always pitch in and help out with taking care of Lily and I always appreciate that so much. Lily enjoys spending time with you so much as do I. You are the most wonderful husband to me and father to our daughter. Thank you for being the Amazing man that you are!!! We love you, Jen and Lily

Dad and I when I was 10 months old! Happy Father's Day Dad!!! Thank you for all the wonderful times we have spent together over the years....they have always meant so much to me. From our coffee mornings to our evening walks...I've always had the best time! Love you so very much, Jen

What is a Dad?
A Dad is a person who is loving and kind,
And often he knows what you have on your mind.
He's someone who listens, suggests, and defends -
A dad can be one of your very bestfriends!
He's proud of your triumphs, but when things go wrong,
A dad can be patient and helpful and strong.
In all that you do, a Dad's love plays a part -
There's always a place for him deep in your heart.
And each year that passes, you're even more glad,
More grateful and proud just to call him your dad!
(by: Anonymous)

Our Little Tennis Star!!! (and update)

Wearing her tennis outfit that we bought for her before she was born!!! I think she is ready to play...now all she needs is a racquet!

Lily's 9th month is really flying by....next week she will be 10 months old. This past month she has been practicing and getting very good at self feeding. She will pick up and eat sweet potato puffs, apple wheels, teething biscuits, cheese, etc..... We can definitely tell when she has had enough or rather play than eat, b/c she will make sure we are looking at her and then she will take her food and slowly throw it over the edge of her highchair all while making sure she keeps eye contact with us. She is something else! We have introduced several new foods over the past few weeks all of which she has loved....chicken, turkey, cheese, and yogurt. Also this month we have started replacing one bottle with a sippy cup. This is going fairly well. Some days better than others. She will drink it on her own....but she usually will not drink as much as when it is in a bottle. She is still pulling up to everything and has started cruising a little bit while holding on. Sometimes she will let go of whatever she was holding and stand on her own for 10-15 seconds. It has been a fun month with lots of new discoveries!!!