Neighbors and Friends

Our family was invited next door for a barbecue dinner. They have a grandson that is 2 days younger than Zoe. The kids got to play and we got to enjoy the mild temperatures with some good food.

Day after Christmas BBQ

Jolene's family does a barbecue for the day after Christmas. Everybody gets together then and enjoys a good time with lots of food, treats and gifts. They also do a white elephant exchange that yields tons of excitement. As an adopted member of the family for the last 14 years or so, Zoe and I were invited to indulge in the day's festivities. Zoe loves her barbecue and now that she can sit at the table with the other kids, she loves it even more.

Ahh...Christmas!

Christmas has finally arrived and Zoe didn't know what to do with herself. I do have to say that I am not sure how "Christmasy" it felt here this year with the temperatures being at a balmy 80 degrees (hence the sundress) but Santa did arrive, on time as expected. Zoe had some trouble understanding the idea of unwrapping but after the first two gifts, she definitely got the idea.

The bear in this picture is wearing the dress that she wore last year for Christmas. My, oh my, has she grown!

Later in the day we went to Grandma and Granddaddy's house for a great Christmas dinner.

Merry Christmas!

Zoe at Work

I had to work all weekend and Zoe came by for a little while to keep me company. I let her answer some e-mails and the phones while I ate my lunch.

Zoe's First Birthday

Make a Free Flash Slideshow

Could it really be? A year has already gone by? I feel like a missed a few months in there somewhere, but according to the calendar, it has indeed been a full year since our baby girl was born.

The first that Zoe did this morning is the first thing she has done every morning since she was born, she ate breakfast. She had a nice breakfast of a waffle and a cup of yogurt washed down with a sippy cup of milk. About 20 minutes later, she fell back asleep and I worked on her birthday cake.

About an hour later, I was waking her up to get her dressed for her one year doctor's appointment with Dr. Brafford. The nurses there love her and none of them wanted to be the one to have to give her the shot. They flipped a coin to see who would have to do it. She is now 29" long (tall) and weighs exactly 21 pounds. Her normal pediatrician, Dr. Sule, had her baby on December 16. He weighed in at 9 pounds 2 ounces (just one ounce, one day, and one year short of our Zoe).

Once we left the doctor's office, we headed over to Homes.com so that all of her favorite people could say Happy Birthday to her. Apparently, we crashed the annual Holiday Potluck, so Zoe was lucky enough to get a few snacks.

When we were all done there, we headed over to her daycare with her birthday cake to have her first ever birthday party with her classmates. Oh, how they loved the yellow cake with chocolate icing that I made!

Finally, Zoe and I made our way home for a nice relaxing nap. What a good day.

Zoe in Action

I keep hearing that you all want more shots of Zoe in action. So as a special gift to all of you, here she is in all her glory, please disregard my messy house, I have a full-time job and a toddler that loves to "help" by unfolding all of my folded laundry and unpacking the toy box everytime I get it all picked up.

Mondays at Home with Momma

I don't have to work on Mondays so Zoe and I have a day all to ourselves. We play games and watch a lot of Noggin. I think that Mondays are Zoe's favorite day of the week.

He Sees You When You're Sleeping!!!!

Santa is so SCARY!!!

Celebration of Lights Parade

We thought that Zoe would love to see the Celebration of Lights parade, so we went downtown to see all of the action. Zoe had a great time! All of the kids that were in front of us were running out and getting her candy, beads, and toys that were being thrown from the float. She also seemed to think that she was the parade because as we strolled her down the street she was sitting up and waving to everyone saying "Hi, Hi, Hi." It was too cute! Her favorite part of the parade was the fire truck when it came down the street with the lights and siren on.

After the parade was over, we went to see the Enchanted Forest and the Celebration Village and we found Grandma. She wanted to take pictures with Zoe and the Gingerbread Men but Zoe wasn't really digging them. We walked downtown a little more to one of the musical stages and Zoe and Grandma got to dance in the street.

Girls Night Out

Getting all dressed up with Grandma

Hanging with the girls.

After dinner conversation.

We had a girl's night out to celebrate some office birthdays. I got Zoe all dressed up in her little black dress and we went to Wendy's favorite Tallahassee restaurant, Osaka. Zoe is such a good eater! She loved everything they made and ate a lot (maybe I should start ordering her a kid's plate). It was a a great night out and Zoe loved all of the extra attention. Who knew that 11 month olds would love Japanese hibachi so much? She especially loved the hibachi chefs and their creative cooking styles.

The Music I Dance To

This is the music I dance to, I love it.

Our First Thanksgiving

Today is Zoe's First Thanksgiving. Since she can't tell you what she is grateful for I will tell you what Thomas and I are grateful for.
1. Grandparents that are as helpful and wonderful as Thomas's parents have been to us this year. They have changed their schedules around to be able to pick Zoe up from school every afternoon and spend time with her.
2. Friends and family that have supported us and helped us cope with this difficult year.
3. That God has provided us with a home that we can have our friends and family over to to celebrate the day.
Thank you everyone for holiding us in your hearts and prayers everyday. We are truly grateful.

(and no, that child never wears any clothes)

My Camera Died

I had a bad day at work on Tuesday. Everything I touched went bad. So, it was no surprise to me when I accidentally drowned my camera and my phone in a plastic bag full of Mountain Dew. Ahh, the sadness of it all.

I can't go into the holidays without a camera, so I was on a mission. Luckily, one of my employees has a boyfriend who just so happened to recently purchase a newer flashier camera. His "old" camera, which is just a year old, happens to be the same kind of camera that I recently drowned and takes the same battery and memory card (good thing since I had two memory cards and two batteries for the drowned one). He also did not want much money for the "old" one, so his "old" one has become my new one. We are so happy!!!

Talking on the Phone

If you have called me recently, you may have heard Zoe in the background saying, "Hi, Hi, Hi". She does that when she is playing with the phone (or pretending that the remote, or grandma's keys are a phone) as well, but if there is really someone on the other line and I give her the phone she clams up and will not speak. She loves to play with my phone because it lights up and has sounds, the old phone that I gave her does not do any of that.

A Little Girl with Curls

I have long heard it said that you get what you ask for. When I prayed for a baby, all I asked God for was a little girl with curly hair and a good tan. Man, I got that in spades, but I never understood the challenge of such curly hair. I wanted to show you a picture of what Zoe's hair looks like in the morning when it is all combed out, before humidity and toddlerhood hit it.

The North Florida Fair

Grandma provided us with free tickets to the North Florida Fair so that we could take Zoe. It was so cold out that she had to be strapped into the stroller with a big fluffy blanket the whole time, but she did enjoy the lights, music and activity all around us. She wasn't as interested in the animals as I thought she would be, except for this goat that was trying to eat her shoe through the fencing. She was pretty excited about that.

Autumn Days

I love autumn. It's my favorite time of the year. I love being outdoors and in the late afternoon sun that Florida autumn days have. On this particular day we were over at John and Heather's house to watch the FSU - Clemson game and to eat some yummy BBQ. Zoe loves going to John and Heather's because they have three children that adore her whenever she visits.

Playing with Dad

I usually have Zoe fed, bathed, and ready for bed by the time that Thomas comes home. In fact, she is usually just beginning to close her eyes when he walks in the door and it's as if he has set off an alarm. She is wide awake and ready to play when dad comes home, so he takes her to her room and they play together for about an hour before she starts to be sleepy again.

Learning to Walk

Zoe is taking great strides to learn to walk, everyday she pulls herself up just a little faster and a little stronger. She cruises around the furniture as though she has been doing it everyday of her life. Even her teachers say that any moment she will just jump up and take those crucial first steps. Oh, what scary days lay ahead!!!

November's Here

I cannot believe that it's already November!!! I guess it is true, once you are parent time just flies. Zoe will be a year old next month and soon we will celebrate her first Thanksgiving - amazing.

She eats more and more table food everyday and every day we learn something new together. It's remarkable to me the difference of how you look at life when you look at it through a child's eyes. Everyday is a new adventure, a new experience, a new glimmering ray of hope.

Fall Festival - Take 2

Our church, Element 3, has a fall festival every year with games and bouncy houses for the kids and dinner for the whole family. Zoe and I went this year (Thomas had to work). Everyone loved her costume. I called her a spring chicken!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from the biggest little chicken you have ever seen!!!

Fall Festival - Take 1

The Fall Festival at Jack McLean Community Center was a few days before Halloween this year, but that did not put a damper on the Halloween spirit. Our silly little chicken definitely made an impression on everyone. Grandma was all decked out as the "Psycho Rabbit", fun was had by all and Zoe had her first taste of chocolate. I am sure she liked it, although she won't get anymore for a while (at least until her birthday). She was a tired little chicken by the time we got home and she slept most of the night in her own bed (yay!!). Stay tuned for the next Fall Festival coming up on Halloween night!

A Busy Saturday

This morning we attended the Delta Sigma Theta Pancake Breakfast. Zoe had a half of a pancake and some scrambled eggs. She enjoyed the food and all of the extra attention from her Granddaddy.

Afterward, we met Kelly (my former co-worker) who dabbles in photography. She has been wanting to get some pictures of Zoe for a while now and since I finally had a Saturday off, we decided that it was the perfect time to do it.

Later, we came home and relaxed for a while before I cooked dinner. Zoe is pulling herself up on everthing, everyone and the dog!!! Not too much longer until this girl will be off to the races.

Breakfast and the Rain

We woke up to a lot of rain this morning. Zoe had her normal breakfast of cheerios, bananas and yogurt. She eats them in the order of how she likes them (bananas, yogurt, then cheerios), such a funny independent girl.


I wanted to make sure that she didn't get too wet getting into the car and going in to school so I fashioned her a little bonnet from a scarf. She looks so festive this morning.

Happy Friday, momma doesn't have to work tomorrow!!!

Funny Face

This face is just too funny for me.

Yummy!!!

Zoe loves to eat what we are eating for dinner. On this particular night we were having chili, so I made her a milder version that included rice, ground beef, kidney beans and tomato sauce. Apparently, to this face, I am the best cook in the world!

It's Been Awhile

As you all know, I changed jobs. So between getting a new schedule down for the baby and I and her quickly approaching toddlerhood, I have been a pretty busy momma lately.

In the middle of all that we have had going on, my memory card reader went on the fritz. I was able to get a new one for my birthday though and it actually works with my computer without me having to rig up a process the way I used to have to.

At any rate, I hope that you all feel caught up with what has been going on with us and I will make sure to add more pictures as they come.

Playing in the Park

I got off from work a little early tonight, so I decided to play in the park with my little monkey. She loves the swings.

Nine Months Old

Man, I am going to miss this. I can't believe she will be a year old so soon!!

Big Girl Takes a Bath!

Zoe loves bath time. Especially if she has gotten really yucky eating her dinner. She makes the funniest faces when she gets water in her eyes.

Walkin and Rolling

Okay, she's not really walking, in fact she has yet to figure out that it moves, but it looks like it, doesn't it?

Fun at Sunday School

Thomas and I volunteer at our church's childrens program a couple of times a month and this Sunday was one of those days. Normally, I do preschool but on this particular day, I ended up in the nursery with Zoe. She and Paden really had fun together, even though he was obsessed with hugging and kissing on her.

Waking Up in the Middle of The Night

For the most part, Zoe sleeps in her bed all night long, but occasionally she will get up in the middle of the night to hang out with me. If you know me at all, I look for any excuse I can to haul out the camera and get some pictures of the little one.

Where is Time Going?

Zoe looks like such a big girl these days, it makes me miss the fact that she will only be this small and containable for a little while longer. I just want to protect her from the big bad world for as long as I can before it turns itself loose on her. Ahhh, time, where does it go?

First Day at A New School

Zoe got accepted to First Baptist daycare! They have a very long waiting list and I put my name on it while I was still pregnant. They finally called, just in time for me to start my new job which is right down the street. Today is her first day, so I made sure she looked extra adorable when we got ready this morning. Here's to a happy first day for both of us!

Sunday at the Park

After church this Sunday, we decided to take Zoe to the park to swing on the swings. I think it makes her feel like such a big girl. Thomas took her down the slide, but claims that the slide is more narrow than he remembered so, they inched their way down it.

Zoe's New Ride

Last night before I left work there was a post on Freecycle for a Little Tykes Cozy Coupe. I called and the car was still available so I drove over on my way home and picked it up for my munchkin.

We had to take it completely apart for me to get it in my car, but I was able to put it all together (with my Zoe audience cheering me on) in about a half an hour.

It's still too big for her, she can't reach the floor to drive herself, but she loves it. I push her all around the house and she squeals and reaches through the windows to grab at things. She holds the steering wheel and honks the horn everywhere we go. The dog is afraid of it so she thinks that's pretty funny too.

Her new favorite toys are the car and my old cell phone (no worries, I took out the battery). Apparently, I have been a bad role model because she is trying to text while driving...

What's Wrong with This Picture

Zoe has all of these toys...

and she chooses to rip up magazines instead. Maybe I should I just order subscriptions to things no one cares about - like golf. Then we won't mind when she turns them into compost.

Fun on A Sunday Night

Who knew you could have so much fun on a Sunday night with a comb and your Daddy's hat?

Zoe is 8 months old today. She is getting so big and it's gone by so fast~