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Move #1 complete

Phase 1 of "project new house" is complete. We moved from the old house on 11/9 to the townhouse we are renting. We closed on the sale 11/10. So, that stage is officially behind us.

We are all settled in here and now just cross our fingers that our offer goes through on the other house. It being a short sale makes it tough in terms of knowing WHEN things will get approved, etc. We do know that Chase (the bank that owns the short sale) in only looking at our offer right now so that is good.

The thought of moving twice within months is tough but OK by me. It definitely makes you go through stuff and pare down.

It was a bit sad to leave the house on Bridgeton Dr. It was our first house - the place we brought home our first pet, the place we brought home our child and watched her grow from a newborn to a hilarious toddler. But...hopefully great things are on the horizon :)

One Crazy week

Wow. Things have been a bit crazy here this past week or so. In a good way.

We put our house on the market and had an offer in 8 days later. The offer, counter offer, counter offer #2 and acceptance process took A LOT out of us. Stressful and exciting all at the same time.

The couple buying live in IN and want to close Nov 11! Sooooo Jeff and I had to look for a rental ASAP. We ended up snagging the ONLY 3 BR townhouse at the same complex we lived in when we moved to Tampa - kind of cool how things cycled back around.

We had also started looking at houses just to see what was available in the neighborhood we want to be in. There is one short sale that we fell in love with. Well, there were multiple offers in and they did not accept contingent offers blah blah blah. Our agent called the moment we were in contract on our house and found out that the bank MAY likely accept a contingent offer from us and will wait to make decisions until we can formally thorugh our hat in the game.

I am trying not to get my hopes up. I mean it seems to good to be true - house sells in 8 days, we snag the last townhouse in a complex we already know we like (by a matter of minutes according to the property manager) and now we may get to offer on the house we love?

I am not holding my breath bc real estate is so unpredictable. I just hope that things continue to run smoothly. We had the inspection on our house today which I think went well. Now we wait for the appraisal, then for the buyers house in IN to close, then our closing. etc.

Lots of moving parts but it is all very exciting. :)

Sept already!? General update

Time is flying by. I cannot believe it is nearing October. I love it though. Jeff is a happy camper bc football is back on, the weather is going to be perfect for months to come and the holidays are on the horizon.

We have the house on the market. We have been in the hosue for over 6 years and are ready for a change and some more room. There are some crazy good deals out there right now too. We have our eye on some places and will start looking around Sunday. Needless to say, my house is cleaner than it ever has been and a storage unit is full of our extra stuff.

We got an agent preview the first day it was posted; could lead to a showing this weekend. We shall see. We will just go along for the ride and not stress. This will be a change for me and Jeff. We tend to do things quickly - we make decisions fast and do not look back. Not with this - we will have to sit and be patient. UGH.

I have so many pics and videos of Jenna is is immpossible to keep up. Basically, she is the funniest, best child in the world. She is smart and sweet - gets very upset when any animal is in "danger" on her cartoons, etc. But, at the same time she is super tough - can fall off a slide and get up without a whimper. We love her so much and are having so much fun watching her grow up and become this little person. The toddler years are challenging though for sure. I'll post different posts about that :)

Our baby girl is turning 2...!

I spend way too long on projects like these, but I love em :)

Tomorrow is the big day!

Singing!

This clip gets good about 30 seconds in. Jenna starts singing and then informs us of an interesting fact at the very end of the video LOL




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd7nUSUVpRM

"Where is my diaper"?

Yes, about an hour after Miss Jenna went to bed, I hear "Where is my diaper??" in the monitor. I was hoping she was referring to her baby doll, but no...when I turn on the video, I see little baby butt on screen. No pants or diaper in sight.

I walk in there and Jenna says "Where's diaper?!" like she truly did not know where it was. LOL.

I check and yep, the sheets and her blankets are wet. Awesome.

Me: Do you want to sit on the potty?
J: Yes.
Me: Let's go
J: I pee peed.
Me: Yes, but you can pee pee on the potty
*sit J on the potty*
*J immediately stands up*
J: Diaper change?

LOL

Funny stuff I tell ya.

Master Procrastinator

So people that know me well know I used to be a fantastic procrastinator. If it could wait till later, well it did.

Now that I am a Mom, and work full time too, it is quite the opposite. If I have a free minute, I am running around like a crazy woman trying to get things done. If I am at home, it is laundry, dishes, the usual suspects. On work days, I run errands before and after work, over lunch, you name it.

I hope Jenna did not pick up the procrastination gene from me but it would appear by her recent bedtime shenanigans that she did.

Tonight's bedtime routine - after bath, dinner, brush teeth, watch a show, we head to her room. She then insists on several books, then some water, then wants me to give her a high five 22 times in a row, then decided she wanted a different paci, then started to pound on her diaper genie like it was a drum, then asked me to pound on her diaper genie like it was a drum. She then wants to talk about all the animals that are in the painting in her room, touch the fan pulleys....you get the idea.

Once I put her in her crib and tell her she has to go nite nite, she looks at me in pure shock like "HOW DARE YOU WOMAN!"

How am I supposed to deal with all this when she is in a regular bed!? Lord help me.

The things I see on a video monitor

This video monitor is awesome. It is one of those things I tell any pregnant woman she "needs." It used to be great to just watch the baby. Then, it was to determine if she really needed me or if she was just fussing.

Now it is pure entertainment. Jenna will literally run laps around her crib, cover her animals with her blankets, read out loud, you name it. Funny stuff. It is even kind of funny when she throws things out of her crib and then yells "OH Nooooo!"

Tonight, I heard a weird noise coming from the monitor. Jenna has a sippy cup of water in there with her. She was drinking it, but not like a normal child, no. She was putting her blanket OVER the sippy cub and then attempting to drink the water through the blanket. She was working HARD to get that water out. Makes you onder what goes through a toddler's head...!

I guess aqua is so much better when filtered with a fuzzy "binky."

I seriously wish these things had a record button!

Busch Gardens junkies

I am so lucky to live 20 minutes from Busch Gardens...ever since we got our passes and discovered the Sesame Street area, we have literally been almost every weekend. We are becoming pros.

Today we went and I got to meet one of my "online" friends in person for the first time. Kristen and I were part of the same "expecting" club and have kept in touch (along with a lot of the other ladies) throughout the years. Crazy to think I have "known" her since Nov 2007 (when I found out I was pregnant).. and now our daughters are about to turn 2!!

Parenting injuries

So as I am putting Jenna to bed tonight she decided to procrastinate by practicing the body parts. I guess she knows I will not interrupt her if she is doing something "educational".

She proceeded to PULL my hair as hard as possible "Haaaayer."

Pinch my neck "NECK!"

Stab my eyes "Eyyyye. Other eyyyyye."

Sticks her finger in my ear canal "Mommy's ears"

"Glasses!!" and proceeds to rip my glasses in half.

Lastly, she grabs my upper and lower teeth, pulls my mouth apart and yells "YAWN!!!"


Love it injuries and all!

What they don't tell you

You know, there are SO many things they do not put in the pregnancy / parenting books. My best friend luckily filled me in on many things...from childbirth to the recovery to having a toddler. I am STILL discovering things they do not put in the books.

Some I will not go into on a public blog bc they are either gross or inappropriate or both.

One thing I am finding lately is that once the kiddos get to a certain age, you have to ask yourself if you are forming bad habits...with EVERYthing that you do - what you feed them, where you take them, how you discipline them, you name it.

For instance, Jenna has developed a love of the TV. She will now point at any TV and yell "MY TV! TV? TV on!?" Thank God there is no TV at day care so I do not feel that badly about letting her watch a couple shows at night.

She also likes to watch while she eats though. And you know, it is a lot easier if she does. But, Jeff and I have decided we are going to try to practice all of us eating at the dining room table. Dear Lord, the indigestion that leaves me with.

That quote from A Christmas Story rings true: "My mother has not had a warm meal in 15 years." I get it. This is also why we do not go out to eat with Jenna. Not sure when we will be able to do that again without breaking out into sweats.

She is addicted to her blanket and pacifier again - I let her take them in the car but not into other places. Negotiating with a toddler is....interesting.

There are a million examples but I will stop. Sigh!

This blog

So I originally started this as a place to house videos for the grandparents...I realized anyone besides her grandparents are probably bored to tears if they come across this site. LOL

Life is good - busy but so good! My role at work has been quite different lately since our core team of 5 is now a team of 3 since 2 of the girls are out on maternity. Good times (insert sarcasm). But, in all honetsy, it has given me lots of great opportunities.

Jeff leaves this week for his annual golf trip and then will be in Orlando for training the next week. That means i will be holding down the fort here - fingers crossed we all (me, Jenna and Ramsey) stay healthy.

Jenna is hilarious - talking more and more every day. She has her toddler meltdown moments for sure - but overall is just a laid back, happy go lucky little girl. She loves Dora and Yo Gabba Gabba, likes to color, read and go to the park. She is fearless and a true daredevil. She falls, gets hit, goes into the Gulf of mexico and is never phased. So, all that stuff about girls being "easier" or "calmer" I would dare to disagree. But, I love it.

I also think we have the class clown on our hands. She is FUNNY and lives to make people laugh. She just "gets it" already. I foresee many teachers' notes in my future.

:)

Beach baby

Here is Miss Jenna in the Gulf of Mexico. She is a wild woman and LOVEd it - even after she fell under...!

Riding with Mommy!

Loving the water park at Busch Gardens

First Merry Go Round ride

Meeting Cookie Monster

My toddler is crazy

She turned our ottoman into a swimming pool. I turn around for 5 seconds and this happens...

Jenna practing her Spanish

I uploaded this one to FB, but for my family that is not on there, here is video of Miss Jenna counting in Spanish with her new toys Jeff found her online (Yo Gabba Gabba - her fav show!)

Random facts about Jenna Bug

There are SO many pictures I could post and so many videos too. But rather than bore you all with those, I thought I would just list some random facts about Jenna as of late.

1. Her hair is CRAZY and everybody loves it. It is curly and seems to be growing OUT (liek to the sides) rather than longer. Thankfully she will let me put a barrette or pony tail in it now. Her hair is beautiful though - curly but not at all frizzy. It will be interesting to see if it stays that way.
2. She recently started calling us Mommy and Daddy instead of DaDa and Mama.
3. She calls Ramsey "ReeRee' and now so do we!
4. She is obsessed with her blanket (aka "blinky") and her paci all of a sudden.
5. She likes to play outside by dragging the pooper scooper around. Oops.
6. She also likes to kick the stones around outside and threaten to eat them
7. Jenna LOVES her Gymboree classes on Saturdays
8. We are going to try a swim class next week. Should be interesting.
9. I can no longer take her to restaurants.Period.
10. She will not sit in her stroller now. She MUST walk or push the stroller herself.
11. She also will not sit in a shopping cart. Makes for some long trips to Target.
12. She WILL however put things in the cart and say "Thank you!" as she does it. hahahaha.
13. Her favorite TV shows are Dora and Yo Gabba Gabba.
14. She now tries to sing along to the Yo Gabba Gabba themesong by yelling out the characters' names.
15. She still eats a lot but her favs are hot dogs (oops) and yogurt and bananas.
16. She loves my iPhone
17. She has been cutting her "eye teeth" FOREVER
18. She only wants Daddy to give her baths now
19. She still only sees her potty as a toy
20. She is the best thing in the world and I love her more and more every minute of every day!

Conversations with a toddler

I am loving how Jenna's vocabulary is opening up and how I can hold a semi-real conversation with her now. Well, sort of.

Jenns: More

Me: More food?

Jenns: Yes

Me: More ham?

Jenns: No

Me: More fruit?

Jenns: Yes

Me: *gives Jenna peaches*

Jenns: No

Me: What? You want oranges?

Jenns: Yes


OK so that is taken care of. She eats the oranges and then says "My applesauce."
I just laugh and start to clean up.

Jenns, screaming: "MY APPLESAUCE" (pointing to yogurt on the counter).

This kid cracks me up :)

The joys of parenthood

So tonight Jeff is giving Jenna her bath...she "toots" and the hilarious bubbles appear- yes, that still makes me laugh and likely always will. She looks up and says "Poo Poo."I laugh it off...

A few seconds later she points to her butt and says "Poo Poo."

Me: Yes, that is where poo poo comes from.

Her face then gets red.

Me: Jenna, are you pooping?

Jenns: No.

Me: If you are going to poo poo, let's get on the potty.

Jenns: No.

Short pause.

Jenns: "All done" - stands up.


Yup, there are 2 baby turds in the bathtub.

Nice.

Onnnnneeee....Twwwwoooooooo. Three!

I snuck up and got some video of Jenna and Daddy practicing counting during Jenna's bath tonight!

I love these two so so much :)

Reading to herself

I HAD to get this on video even if you can't see Jenna. She reads to herself now and it cracks me up! I took this video when I was up in NC and I had put her down for her nap, but I let her take a book in the Pack N Play with her. We heard her through the monitor and she kept this up for like 35 minutes straight.

Here is a small sampling and you may have to turn the volume a bit...

Hi, Mr. Giraffe!

We used our annual zoo pass this weekend to enjoy the weather and some outside time with Jenna. We got there right when it opened and were able to walk around essentially alone and go see the "best animals up close and personal.

Jenna loves the giraffes and was saying hi to them all for quite some time...!

Gymboree rules!

Jenna had too much fun at Gymboree today - here is an example of a fun activity :)

Parenting a Toddler

So I know being the parent to a toddler is not always easy and it is a phase and we will get through it but I would like to list a few reasons why maybe this phase is...challenging.

1. Fighting diaper changes. As fun as it is to change a wiggly 19 month old when she is standing up, I would prefer she just lay down or better yet learn how to use the potty.

2. Hating bath time. I dread it. Jenna HATES to get her hair washed so it makes for a not so pleasant experience.

3. Refusing to get in her car seat.

4. Throwing food off her hair chair.

5. Filling her mouth up with milk and then opening her mouth so the milk pours all down her face and clothes

6. Taking her shoes on and off 67 times at inappropriate times

7. Becoming a "TV" monster. She will point to it and start yelling TV? TV? Funny? Yes. Good? No.

8. Yelling "Color" every time I use any sort of writing instrument and then melting down when I do not have a full on art kit with me for her to color with.

9. Insisting on eating in the car. I let her have a snack a few times and now she yelles "More CRACKERS" as soon as I put the car in drive. Sigh.

10. Wanting me to READ to her while I DRIVe and getting really pissed when I won't.

11. Wanting to walk every way even if it is in a crowded parking lot with cars zooming by.

12. not wanting to hold my hand in said parking lots.

13. Not allowing us to trim her nails. It is like WW3 every time we do.

14. CLimbing and standing on everything

There are others but I think I will stop here for now. I do love my daughter!! :)

Running with friends!

Here is Jenna playing with Maddie and Nathan at Tanglewood Park!

Drawing with her toes

This freaks Jeff out but I think it is super cool! haha

Dancing Queen

Jenna now does this adorable thing where she "asks" people to dance. She comes over, puts her arms out and says "daaaaance?"

Here she is dancing with Jeff's parents :)

Shake It!

Jenna dancing it up to Kidz Tunes

"Reading"

First phrases!

Jenna has now said "More crackers" and just today "No more crackers."

It is crazy how fast she is changing. So much fun :)

Wearing Mommy's slippers

Our little soccer star? :)

First trip to the zoo!

Today was our first trip to the zoo with Jenna. She had a lot of fun - liked seeing the manatees, the giraffes (even though the super close encounter made her a bit nervous!) After Jeff fed the giraffe, Jenna said "All Done!!" Quite funny. She also went to the petting zoo and said "Woof Woof" to the goats and called a couple of them Ramsey!

We went ahead and bought the annual pass, so we will be heading back for sure!

Our high maintenance dog

As most of you know, poor Ramsey has many many health issues, from severe allergies, to chronic UTIs and a back back / neck. Oh adn she is hypothyroid. She is on a lot of meds. She is also on supplements to help block the effects of all those meds. Sometimes I forget - today I took a look at her little medicine area and shook my head. Poor thing. She has a day of the week pill holder even!

Me and my coffee

I love my coffee! My Keurig one cup coffee maker and my new Mr. Coffee Frappe Machine are fixtures in my kitchen. I am trying to not do the Starbucks thing as much but man their whote chocolate mochas sure are good!

Jenna likes to hang with the guys!

2 of my fav pics from the hlidays...Jenna with her grandfathers...she loves the hang with the guys!

Stealing an idea (in a way)

My friend Kristen is doing this cool photo blog where she is taking a photo every day and blogging about it. Such a cool idea and while I do not trust myself to be able to do that every day, I think I may steal her idea in a way and try to take some random shots of things that may seem mundane but are significant in our daily lives. Might be a cool way to document things for Jenna :)

So, thanks Kristen for the idea...!

Moving up to the next class

Jenna is moving up to the next room in day care this week and so far she is LOVING it. I am so glad she is going over there bc I think she is just ready to be around older kids again. She learns so much by watching and mimicking. I literally could not get her to leave school when i went to get her yesterday. She was playing with the hats, washing dishes in the little fake kitchen, trying out all the new chairs, you name it.

I am SO thankful that we are able to send her to Primrose. I trust them completely and know she is not only safe but is learning, truly learning. The sign language has been a huge help and they are working on manners too! They HAVE to sit while they eat and say or sign please and thank you adn the bigger kids help to "clean up". So cute to watch.

This room is the older toddler room and i cannot believe it. I honestly remember walking out of that building the first day I dropped her off as an 11-week old in the infant room.

People do not kid when they say time flies once you have babies...

Tea party with Daddy

How cute is this?

Follow the leader!

Love this video of Jenna taking the role of leader....