Christmas at the Zoo!

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Two days before Christmas we spent an evening at the zoo to see the light displays and the reindeer, who were only in town for the season. We knew most animals would be in for the night, but they were not the main attraction-- the lights were! In addition to what we expected, that night you could also have unlimited free rides on all the zoo attractions.

Ruth got to go with mommy and Grandma Lou up in the Skyride, which is basically a ski lift type thing that takes you up 50 feet in the air and then all over the park; it really was the best way to see the lights (Daddy and Joseph stayed on the ground!) Ruth and Joseph both rode the merry-go-round, and Ruth went on her first roller coaster with Daddy. And, Ruth got to ride a pony!

Afterward, Grandma Lou took us all out for ice cream and coffee before a much needed night's rest!

Language lesson

Joseph's vocab is ever-increasing. If you are around him enough, you will be able to pick out and understand a dozen or more common words for Joseph:

- Ruuu (ruth)
- ball
- baby
- shoe
- door
- shuh duh door (shut the door)
- Ma Meeen (Lightening McQueen)
- dog
- cup
- naaa (snack)
- eyes
- hi
- bye
- gi ki (give kiss)
- pease (please)
- na nice (not nice-- usually in reference to something Ruth has just done!)
- more
- pay (pray-- when he wants us to hurry and pray so we can eat!)
- amen
- Gigi (pastor's daughter and beloved of Ruth and Joseph)
- gamaw (grandma - Cam's mom)

On a funny note: for months now, Cameron has remained Dada, and while I used to be Mama, I have recently become Meemee, which we can only assume is his version of Mommy.

Thus concludes your language lesson for the month :-)

The Harvest

The kids enjoyed bringing in the harvest this evening.

Our oranges are ripe and ready for picking. Unfortunately, due to their texture, they are not the best for eating. However, sweet and messy juicy as they are, they will be absolutely perfect for juicing!!

Merry Christmas!

We didn't get around to cards this year. We could come up with lots of excuses, but we'll spare you. What we decided, is that in less than two months when our new baby girl arrives we will send out not only her announcement, but a picture of all three kids together. Rest assured, you'll get your updated photo! (if we have your address that is!)

For now, enjoy the Internet version:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!



Ruth-3 years old, Joseph-16 months old

Crisp Florida Air

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The "cool" has finally arrived. For almost a week now we have had highs in the mid 60's with one day never getting above 55!! I must say it is nice to have a small chill in the air, since the Christmas season doesn't seem right when you are still wearing tank tops to go shopping!

Some pics from a day spent outside in the crisp Florida air...

Proverbs 22:6

Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Joseph has begun some self-imposed training, and we have no intention of discouraging him!!!

little pleasures found in potted plants

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Watering the hanging baskets has never been so hilarious!

Joseph follows me through the backyard
and waits patiently until the water drains from every plant.

A great day at the beach... in November!

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We may have hurricanes and summers with 100+ and humidity, but we also have sunny and 78 degree days in November when you can thoroughly enjoy the beach (minus swimming!).

Today, we ventured over to Treasure Island (north of St Pete) for the annual national sand-sculpting competition. The work done was too impressionistic and eccentric for our liking, but the day was still perfect.

After the kids had tired themselves of sand and saltwater, we stopped by a city park for a bit, then off to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes, before heading home for late afternoon naps... a perfect family day!

not so breaking news...

In case you haven't heard through the grapevine...

She's a girl!

Ruth and Joseph will soon have a baby sister.

Fall in Florida

high today of 79... time to break out the overalls!

"i'm free"

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This is the first year that Ruth has understood very well what a birthday is, and the extent to which it should be celebrated and announced to all who come in contact with her! For about a week before hand, she would hold up three fingers and and say, "I'm free." Then, if you allowed your face to remain interested, she would tell you that she was going to Chuck E Cheese and having a Lightening McQueen birthday cake with presents.

Amazingly enough, all of her predictions came true. As a family, we celebrated Ruth's birthday with pizza and a few games at Chuck E Cheese (where they give you 5 extra tokens if you tell them it is your birthday), then came home to Lightening McQueen cake and presents.

We were very happy that Ruth understood how sometimes we have big parties (Joseph's first birthday) and sometimes we have little parties, but they are all special because we celebrate one more year of life that God has given us!

There was the necessity to clean the toys that had been submerged in icing!

And of course, Joseph enjoyed his fare share of cake!

Just for fun, you can see what a difference a year makes in understanding birthdays!

Soon to be three....

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Tomorrow is Ruth's third birthday!

I am a lot of things, but I am NO cake maker or decorator. Ruth specifically wanted a Lightening McQueen cake for her birthday. So, off I went to buy a store bought Lightening McQueen birthday cake. Four groceries stores and two super centers later, NOTHING!

So I improvised. I bought an Elmo cake, and with the help of some toys, and my Wilton icing gun thingy, and God's grace... Ruth has a Lightening McQueen cake for her birthday!

I am well aware that for the seasoned cake decorator, this post is a joke, but for me.... well, I think that, to-date, my Wilton decorator has been used maybe 3 times. After today, perhaps my confidence to use it more has increased.

More birthday pictures to follow.

Self- Feeding

Joseph is 13 months old, and entering the world of self-feeding with spoons.

Tonight was chicken, broccoli and mashed potatoes.





Notice that he has not decided yet whether he wants to be right or left handed.
There's still hope Grandpa Steve!

Bigger than we planned

Step 13 out of 10 :) My husband is the champion of re-doing lawns. And his trusty side-kick Ruth is pretty handy with a shovel! (notice the "I'm just like Daddy" work gloves!)

Today's project was digging out the underground root system of weeds that had taken over our yard post bug infestation. In preparation for laying sod, we had used Round-Up on the little remaining grass and above ground weeds, but it did no good on the underground roots!

And to think this all started with a tiny bug infestation that got way out of control! Lord willing, next weekend will be sod laying for the 2/3 of the yard that is prepared.

Camping Out

...well, sort of!

This weekend we had Eli, the son of some friends, stay with us while his parents were out of town. Eli is in third grade, but is great at entertaining Ruth. Friday night, with Joseph sound asleep and Mommy out for a "mommies only" night, Cameron took Eli and Ruth on the lanai and had a "camp out" experience. They built a fire in the fire pit, roasted marshmallows from their fold up camping chairs, put up Ruth's Dora tent, got out sleeping bags (albeit on top of a blow up mattress!) and called it a night.

I came home late on the brink of a full-blown thunderstorm, and found them all huddled under the covered part of our lanai trying to sleep. Eventually, better judgment prevailed, and the campsite was moved to the living room to avoid lighting strikes and a sleepless night! Oh well, they had fun in spite of the weather!

Labor Day = child labor

When it comes to remodeling the landscaping in our front and back yard, we are on phase six out of ten...or some thing like that. In any case, today Cameron was tearing out the shrubs around the two trees in the front yard, in order to prepare for the next phase: re-sodding the entire front yard after we had a cinch bug infestation a couple months ago, which destroyed close to 60% of our grass.

Tearing things out is a task that both Joseph and Ruth can do very well. They each helped in their own way, though Ruth was actually pretty handy with a mini-gardening shovel. (click on photos to see them larger)