Tubby Time with Dad!

Daniel did Foster's nightly routine one last time before he had to leave.  It was so sweet seeing the two of them together playing in the water!  Foster was as happy as any little boy could be.  He loves his dad!  I heard Daniel

Picking out the Tree!

This year, unlike any year before we selected our tree before Thanksgiving!  The mortal sin!  But, with Daniel leaving just after the holiday, we had a lot of Christmas type things to cram in before he left.  We went up the street to the lot we got our gorgeous tree from last year.  We chose a 10 foot Fraser Fur...

All I Want for Christmas...

Is not to have to sit on Santa's lap, on Santa's lap, on Santa's lap.  All I want for Christmas is a break from Santa's lap...I don't why my parents make me do this!

We got lucky with the haircut being such a success, because the very next day we went to see Santa and what a mess that was!  Last year, Foster was all smiles

Foster's First Haircut

After many questions directed toward our clearly boyishly dressed son that mirrored "Oh, she is beautiful.  What is her name?" we finally bit the bullet and took Foster to get his first haircut (16 months).  We were fully prepared for lots of crying, fidgeting, and an alll out refusal to allow scissors near his head.  However, amazingly he was the mold of a perfect child.  Daniel sat in the chair

Mountain High

Daniel, Foster, and I enjoyed a week away, in the mountains of Georgia during his POM leave.  It was so nice to get away from it all and relax! Mom and Dad were there for the night we arrived and they were of course thrilled to see little man!  There was still color in the leaves of the tress, so we got that nice taste of fall.  Plus it was very chilly, so we actually got to break out a

Damnit, Janet!

Well folks...I finally did it.  I took the plunge and jumped back into the theater.  I auditioned for our community theater's performance of The Rocky Horror Show in August...and voila!  I got the part of Janet!  I was shocked.  Having not participated in any acting or singing in 14 years, I was very rusty...but clearly I wasn't too rusty to score a lead role!  Wow!  It was such a whirlwind of fun, frustration, hard work, and a lot of goofing around!  We had a fabulous cast, and I mean fabulous.  Not a single person acted as a PreMadonna- which never happens with a cast as large as ours.  I truly enjoyed getting to know each person who was a part of this fabulous show.  We ran 8 nights and sold out every night, but the opening!  And that was only shy of 5 seats!  Daniel came for dress rehearsal as well as closing night.  Mom and Jaime were here for the opening night and I had soooo many friendly faces in the crowd!  I felt extremely special every night I saw faces I recognized in the crowd.  With the prop bags and the participation of the crowd...the cast was jazzed every night!

I cannot wait to be involved in the next show...A music review of Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Caberet, Chess, and Starlight Express!  That will be in March of 2013, so pencil it in on your calendar now! 

Happy Halloween 2012

I am posting this a day late, but Foster wanted to send his Halloween wishes out to Blog-Land!  HE has been obsessed with his pumpkins, since he picked them out a couple weeks ago.  Every time we go somewhere, he has to go "Visit" his pumpkins when weget home.  He walks over and gets them off the front porch bench.  Then walks around the driveway with them in hand.  When I tell him to put them away, he does...such a good listener!  Daniel took him Trick or Treating because I performed in the RHPS on Halloween.  I will post some pictures from it soon!  But because Daniel took him...there are no photos i costume!  HA!

Halloween at VP 10

On October 17th, VP 10 hosted a Haunted Hanger.  The squadron worked really hard to decorate their very long hallway and many rooms with the spirit of Halloween and all that is haunted in mind!  Foster was a Pirate, as Daniel had picked!  He was great for about 1 minutes...then the lip came out and the quivering began.  It was pretty dark and spooky, so good job on that, guys!  Foster was able to trick or Treat for a bit, but Daniel had to hold him most of the time.  It was short lived, but fun.  And such a great event for kids about 3 years older!  Thanks VP-10!

Spooky and Cooky!

The afternoon of October 30th, I threw my annual Halloween Get Together for moms and tots!  We had such a fabulous turnout and the tots were adorable.  We had Dorothy, Minnie Mouse, Chewy, a Pirate, a Fireman, a Lion, a Bear, a Dinosaur, a Duck, a little Pumpkin, and so many fabulous ladies!  Thank you to all who attended out fun little function.  Instead of Tricks...

Pensacola or Bust!

Daniel and I spent the weekend of October 20th helping Cathy and Trevor celebrate there vows! Cathy, a former college roommate and ECU Pirate swimmer, has been a friend of ours for 14 years. When she got engaged to Trevor last fall, I was asked to be her Matron of Honor.  As her only attendant, I was honored to be such an important piece of her ceremony.

Country Road...

 Since Daniel missed last fall, we wanted to be sure that this year, he was included in all the fun "fall" activities Florida can provide, which unfortunately are not many.

 However, 45 minutes north west of Fernandina is a little pumpkin

Aunt Meme Comes to Town...

I cannot believe it has been two months since I last updated my blog.  It took Jaime coming to town and actually taking pictures of our son for me to post!  I have gotten so lazy with my picture taking...and without a photo, who wants to read the blog???

 In the last two months, foster has gotten another tooth and we have begun the transition from two naps down to one.  Most days he takes one nap, but the poop monster is definitely a major problem.  For, like most human beings...

One Year and Counting...

 How has it already been a year?  It is truly hard to believe that a little over a year ago I had a 7lb., 14oz baby boy...one year later, he is just shy of 23 lbs and tall!  He is in the 75th percentile for height and the 50th  percentile for weight..."PERFECT in every way."  We had some one year photos taken of Foster under the same pier where we took the maternity photos, with our strapping boy in my belly.  He is such a joy that we have decided to think about another one a bit sooner than expected.  We will see...

Just Hangin'

I just wanted to add a few updated pictures of Foster and a hilarious one of Wellidoing his new favorite evening routine.  He wants to lay on the couch, but this is the most he can handle.  So funny!

Lt. Dan

Daniel got pinned as a lieutenant ...yeah!  The pinning occurred at NAS Jax at Daniel's squadron.  The skipper, Captain Parker performed the ceremony.  Foster tried to pin Dad's new bars to him, but after several attempts ending in lots of tears and blood , on Daniel's part, I had to step in and complete the task.  Maybe Foster will have more luck when Dad becomes a Lt. Commander!  Who knows?  the whole event was short and sweet, and certainly a reason to miss an afternoon nap!  We love you Daniel/Dad!

A Special Thank You!

In the excitement of sharing Foster' special day online, I failed to say some deserved Thank Yous to those family members and friends who helped us prepare for the big day.  I would like to send a special Thank You to Nana and Papa (Debbie and Frank) for helping us prepare for the day.  Nana and I took Foster shopping for the yummy treats we had at the party and babysat while I ran some much needed errands in preparation.  Papa drove ten hours down to south Florida and back with Daniel to pick up Foster's big boy bed that I found on EBAY!  Love, love, love EBAY!  Of course we will not move him into the bed until next summer, but with Daniel deploying this fall and finding the exact bed we wanted for such a steal...we couldn't resist being prepared!  We truly appreciate your efforts and support!  Another Thank You goes out to Aunt Meme (Jaime) for all her help during the party and after.  It was so nice having an extra, unoccupied set of hands!  OF course she didn't mind the snuggles she got along the way!  Our neighbors loaned us numerous items that were of such use and we appreciate their generosity as well!  Missy Fancher helped me create all the signs and cute cut outs by allowing me to borrow her Cricut and her opinion on color choice and pattern!  I am sure there are others I have left off this list, but please know that we feel so lucky to have the family and friends that we do and each one of you who has had a role in Foster's life to this point is helping shape him into the incredible little man he is! 

It's my Party...

And I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cr-yyy if I want too...You would cry to if you didn't nap too!

On Saturday, July 14th, we had a party to celebrate Foster's first birthday.  He turned one year old the following day, but we wanted to include as many of our family members and friends in the celebration as we possibly could, so we opted to have the party one day early.  Unfortunately, that still did not help MJ and PJ.  MJ was diagnosed with Shingles the day before they were supposed to leave for their trip down to Florida. Yikes!  Foster could not get vaccinated until the 16th, so they had to miss out on the festivities.  We were disappointed to say it lightly, but for the health of everyone they stayed in Atlanta.  We took many pictures and some video and sent them the following day, so they could feel as much a part of his big day as possible!

Foster must have sensed the excitement in the air because

Just Another Day at the Beach...

And what day it was!  Armed with the hat and rash guard from Aunt Mimi and some beloved beach toys, Foster took to the tide pools.  It was low tide just as we arrived, so the pools were nice and toasty.  Foster played the entire 2 hours in the water with his toys.  He giggled and splashed to his heart's content.  He is a born fish...which comes as no surprise to anyone who knows the background of my side of the family.  I was practically born on a pair of water skies!  And now with a dad in the Navy and a mom who was a former swimmer, Foster is genetically predisposed ti love the water!  I think you would all agree!  And I mean how cute is he?

Father's Day in the Country

Daniel used 4 days of his unused baby leave so we could make the trek to his hometown of Troy, North Carolina.  It seems rare that we get to use any leave to be alone.  We are always traveling to see some family member.  One of these days, I will put my foot down and we will use leave days to enjoy each other's company in our own home with our baby boy!

However, we did enjoy the time in Troy.  Foster wasn't super happy about the tail end of the trip, but what mobile, busy baby wants to be strapped in the car for 7 hours???  He was great overall, just ready to get out at the end of the trip!  But of course, so was I!  We spent the weekend  with Daniel's parents. Debbie even threw a Mary Kay party with many of her lady friends.  Such Fun!  If you haven't had your lady friends over in a while, you should and throw in a Mary Kay makeover to boot!  Saturday we helped Daniel's grandparents around the house; not that they will allow us to do much for them!  Daniel's sister, her boyfriend and their baby boy came for a while too.  His Aunts and Uncles also came by to visit us and of course spend time with the cutest baby who ever lived, Foster!  Daniel got to enjoy his Grandmother's cooking and baking and of course he ate his fair share of NC barbecue-YUCK!  We even had to take some home for the freezer.  Grant and Sabrina swung by with the kids as did Devon and the boys.  All in all it was a nice weekend getaway...save the unpacking once we got home!  As always Welli and Chloe traveled like champs.  It is amazing how much stuff you need to travel with both baby and dogs!

Father's Day in the Bag...

OR should I say mug???
I am so far behind on this blog.  Things around here have been crazy since I started my own business with Mark Kay.  It is a good busy, but busy is busy.

For Father's day this year, Foster decided to pull out his "old" aviator's hat and have a photo shoot for dad.  We took the pics from the shoot and made Daniel/Dad a cute mug.  One he can take with him when he goes on deployment this fall.  It was so funny to compare the photos Bri had taken in October with the same hat  to the ones we took together as an 11 month old boy.  Wow he has changed so much!  I didn't know that any baby could get any cuter, but amazing he has!  See for yourself.  Here are some of the best!

Swimming with Shelby

Last week, before dinner Wednesday night we spent a little time next door with the Bell family.  Their grandaughter, Shelby, was over and Foster and she

10 Months- Seriously?

I simply cannot get over the fact that in less than 2 months, Foster will be a year old!  Shouldn't I be slimmer?  He is so big and so sweet!  In fact, I put a pair of shorts on him this morning, and I was glad I did because they are a little tight!  Oops!  I guessed we missed the boat on those.  I am thinking I need to go back through the closet and pull out the items I love so much and just hate to put away...and actually wash some of the 12-18 month stuff!  Wow!  He is so long.  I haven't gotten him to Dr. West yet for the 10 month check, but will do it next week and provide a weight and a height.  He moves

Our Beach Boy!

 

This past weekend was the annual Shrimp Festival here in Fernandina.  Although I have been to many, Daniel has somehow never managed to be around for one.  Even when we lived in nearby St, Mary's he missed every one.  So...this year, we were determined to be here for the festivities. 

 

The Lentz family had their annual party on Saturday, in which they provide the fun and we provide the entertainment...and after hours in the hot sun and adult beverages, much entertainment was to be had!  Let's just keep it to beer pong, bounce house, jousting, and dancing at The Palace, which we had never visited before!  So much fun.  We met new friends and truly enjoyed hanging out with old friends!  Thanks guys!

Nana Russell came to town to spend some time with her favorite grandson and the cutest baby in the world!  We visited her favorite place on earth, the beach, twice and took Foster.  He slashed int he puddles and loved sqeezing the sand with his toes.  Never mind the many bites of delicious sand!  She also keep Foster for us Saturday night, so we could go out for a night on the town.  Thanks you Debbie! 

All in all the weekend was such fun.  We even had a drink and dinner at the surf.  Nothing short of perfect and relaxing!  Love May in Florida!

Down By the Boardwalk...

Well, not actually by the boardwalk, but close enough!

Daniel and I took Foster to the beach for the very first time yesterday.  I am not sure if it is the fact that his mom was a swimmer, his dad loves the beach, he was born in Florida 7 miles from the shore, his laid back personality, or his impressive genes that had the greatest effect, but is was clear that Foster is a BEACH BABY!  He loved it.  Even though the water was cold he was a trooper...splashin' and playin' both in the tidal ponds and in the ocean.  He had salt water all over his face and even in his eyes, but that wasn't going to stop this little man!  When the waves would come he would grin and laugh.  He did decide that his appetizer of sand was delicious and would certainly have made it a main course had we not stopped him.  We only stayed an hour and half just to get him interested but not overdo it.  Although with as pale as Daniel and I are, we should have stayed all day! Now that we know what to pack and how to "take the baby to the beach," we are so ready to do it again.  Maybe next weekend!  Come down and join us!