Shop 'til You Drop

Black Friday!!!! The one day of the year I absolutely LOVE! Ava had her first Black Friday experience this year, we took her this year because being almost 3 months old, she only cries when she is hungry or tired and wants to be rocked to sleep, we all knew that next year would be out of the question! We didn't get to the mall at 4:00 when the first store opened, she knew the sales wouldn't be THAT good so we made it there about 6:00 a.m. Ava was so cute in her Christmas outfit, and of course everyone was just crazy about her. We ran into several friends that we always see on Black Friday. I told Adam later Friday night that people around here go to the fair to see people they don't ever get to see, we go to the mall on Black Friday! :) We had such a great time, the sales weren't that hot this year, but it's more about the tradition of going than the sales anymore. Ava did very well, but as soon as we got home and I unstrapped her from her carseat, I laid her on the couch and she stretched for a solid 10 minutes, and I mean strecthed! She was glad to be able to move around! We also found her a pretty Christmas dress! The dress and 1 outfit was the only thing we bought for her, which is very surprising, but she just doesn't need anything since she is just now starting to get into some of her 0-3 month clothes. I was tired when I got home, but we got right back up and went to Christmas Made in the South today...we have made a weekend of it!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Okay, so I am back from my Hiatus, we are both over our colds, for the most part, and the Thanksgiving weekend is almost over! We had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving, very relaxing, which is really unheard of for us, usually because we are running trying to do both sides of the family. This year, Adam and I decided we would still see both sides, we were just going to take it easy, no matter what. Of course, maybe it helped when Mom and Dad were an hour late for Thanksgiving dinner and Brian was over 2 hours late, no one seemed to have a set scheduled. We had a really good day. Christmas will be a completely different story! Here are a few pictures...

Wordless Wednesday

Okay, so I know Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be just that, wordless, but I thought this deserved a little preface. Sunday we were getting ready to go to the Jaguar game and Ava of course had to have her Jaguar gear on.  She seemed excited about the game, she obviously had high hopes, too bad we lost! 

Sorry

I have been M.I.A. the past few days on the blogsphere and well, Ava and I have both been battling colds for about a week now. I am finally starting to win my battle and now have just a lingering cough and the occasional loss of voice. Ava on the other hand is still very congested and actually woke up twice last night unable to breathe and of course I grab her and use the AWFUL nasal aspirator repeating over and over "It's for your own good", I think I was saying more for myself than for her...So hopefully we will be over this cold soon and I will feel more up to blogging.

Festival of Lights 5K

It's that time of year again...nope, not Christmastime as many of you are thinking, it's running time! You couldn't ask for better running weather than we have been having lately, the cool crisp evenings make jogging so enjoyable! I will be running in the Festival of Lights 5K for the second year in a row, only this time Adam and Ava will be joining me (well Ava will just be along for the ride in her stroller). I can't wait and encourage anyone else who wants to get out and move to join us. You don't have to run, you can walk the course and it takes you down River Rd in the San Marco area, beautiful homes so you never get tired of seeing what the next house looks like. Everyone wears jingle bells on their shoes, annoying some people would say, but the great spirit everyone is in seems to drown out the thousands of bells. People along the course stand out by their houses and cheer everyone on, it really is a great event. Click here for more info. I really hope you will come out and run/walk. It is a great cause, Children's Miracle Network, that the funds raised from this event are given to.

Wordless Wednesday

Steven Curtis Chapman/Michael W. Smith Concert

Saturday night we traveled to the St. Augustine Amphitheatre to see Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman in concert....together! It was the perfect evening, even though the low was in the 40's it never felt cold. We've never been to a show at the amphitheatre, but after seeing how nice it was, I am certain it will become a favorite concert spot of ours. We had such a great time. Of course, the concert was great, it seemed very intimate even though there were thousands of people there. Both guys seemed to really enjoy themselves on stage and that makes it so enjoyable for us to watch. At one point, SCC was playing the keyboard and Michael W. Smith was playing the guitar and SCC's microphone stand broke, so Michael W. Smith became the microphone holder....it was hilarious. It was the last night of tour so they picked on each other throughout the show and SCC joked repeatedly about Michael being his 'microphone holder'. Look closely and you can see.

SCC did his Cinderella song (see playlist on this page to hear it) and talked about Maria Sue, which was heartbreaking, I recorded that song on my camera, not the greatest quality, but it will do. At one point in the show, they both were on stage together and did some of each other's songs- it was quite funny hearing them talk about the songs the other wrote. We had such a great time!

Oh- and my dad babysat Ava- even while mom was out of town- he did a great job! :)

PS- Do you realize that Steven Curtis Champan and Michael W. Smith are 2 people who you must say their entire names for people to know who you are talking about - its so funny! I couldn't say Steven Chapman and you know! haha!

2 Months Old

Ava is 2 months old today- can you believe it?! It's been an amazing 2 months and the time has flown by.  Ava has grown so much in some ways, but in others, not so much. She has become so much more alert and is now smiling at just about anyone...don't you just love the gummy smiles? Now I just have to catch one on camera! She has started to show that she recognizes her mommy and daddy- so sweet and special! On the other hand, she is still wearing her newborn sized clothes- I don't feel so bad for buying so many since she has been in them for 2 months and looks like we might make the 3 month mark and still be in them. We have been blessed with a great baby who is becoming more and more interactive with each passing day. It has been fun watching her learn about the world around her and learn something new every day!

P.s. She is also learning how to blow bubbles...as you can see!

Happy Birthday Adam and Go Gators!

Today was Adam's birthday and the Florida/Georgia game. We dressed Ava up in her gator gear (thanks Mike and Christi), which is still a little big on her right now, but it served its purpose for a few good pictures. 

It was also Adam's first birthday as a dad and of course, he got his first birthday card from Ava, so sweet. We had a cake for him and celebrated the fabulous Gator win and his birthday after the game tonight. I think he would agree that he had a great birthday!