Just Another Day in Paradise

Southwest Florida may not be everyone's paradise, but it sure is ours.

Days are pretty relaxing and we have quite the routine when it is just Jack, Mom, Dutch, and I. Every day is great but of course the best days are when Jack wakes up in a cute mood. Some days he is just more easy going then others.

Jack would like to give you a snapshot into his daily routine...

I wake up and eat my cheerios in the big bed. 

I take care of a little business, always under something. 

Hopefully that helps my Mom with potty training. 

I play with my best friend Dutch. 

Wheel around on Buzz a bit. 

FINALLY breakfast time. So excited and so hungry always! 

Eggs and passion fruit are my new norm. 

Ready for my walk with the girls around the development. 

They get their 45 minutes of cardio and I eat some more cheerios. Good deal. 

My pool bag is packed, lets go!

Swimming with my Mimi. 

My Mom is reading me lots of books. This book came in a special surprise package from my Aunt Sara! 

Lunch time. Dipping chicken in ketchup is awesome. 

After nap time it's shopping time. Every afternoon we go somewhere. 

The malls are gorgeous here with lots of fountains. 

It gets us out and about and the girls get their deals. 

Waterside, Coconut Pointe, Mirmar Outlets...everyday its one of them. 

Helping out with chores. I'm a huge help. Very efficient. 

Aunt Kiki, do you like my Lilly Pulitzer shorts? My Mom was very excited about them! 

I practice walking all the time now. I take a few steps but I'm scared to take more. 

A pinkie finger is all I need to explore the house! 

Dinner Time! 

After dinner I'm a mess so I usually get stripped down to my diaper. Love that. 

The cabinets here are just my size and full of treasures. 

Bath time!

My dog always jumps in. 

A little sitcom and milk before bed time. 

Just another day in Paradise!

Day Date with Preppy

At one of my bridal showers each lady wrote down their own Words of Wisdom on marriage. Some of them I remember, others I should probably re-read. One that has always stuck out to me was by my Aunt Debbie, "Remember to have Date Nights, especially after you have kids".

Sounds easy enough, right? Mike and I sure thought it would be easy to make romantic time for the two of us after Jack was born, I mean we had free babysitters right down the street! Well then we moved and the cost of a date night significantly increased. Sure my parents come to visit quite often, and we could go then, but we want to hang out with them at night! We figure we spend a lot of time just the two of us after Jack goes to sleep. As good as our intentions are though we usually end up getting wrapped up into our own worlds (sports, blogs, work, emails, online shopping, chores, ect.) and we end up not giving each other the quality attention the other deserves. Sounds like this should be a New Years Resolution!

Anyways, Saturday we did make time just for the two of us. We headed downtown Naples ate at one of our favorite spots Bellini's, walked around, talked, shopped, and held hands. It was just what we needed.

Big Game Tonight...War Eagle!

After living in the South I have learned that football is not just a game to be watched on Saturday afternoon or Sunday night. No, it is a way of life! You can't even begin to understand the intensity unless you head to an SEC campus for game day, or have friends that are alums of an SEC university. It is pure craziness.

And of course we did not only move to the South, we moved to the state where one school held the 2010 National Championship and the other school is playing in the National Championship game tonight playing for the 2011 title! Everyone wants you to choose a side, for Mike's work purposes we are trying to remain neutral cheering for both teams, and head out of town when they play each other so we don't have to choose.

I remember asking Ben when I learned I would be moving to Alabama, "If football was popular in Alabama?", he very seriously replied, "Jenny, when baby boys are born there, in the hospital the doctors have them touch the pigskin before they get to touch their Momma". I am starting to think that may be true.

Tonight we are cheering for Auburn and hope they keep the number one ranking so all of our Auburn friends can celebrate!

Of course tomorrow will also start the beginning of the off season here which is filled with recruiting, coaching, and lots of other talk that just counts down to kickoff 2011. The talk just doesn't stop! Another season in the books. It's been a fun initiation into the world of SEC football and I look forward to next year!

WAR EAGLE!

Touchdown Packers!

The boys are ready for the game, and Jack is hoping to show off his new trick of "Touchdown Packers". Hopefully the Pack is successful and I can post a picture of Bear in action later!

Gold and Green gear compliments of Papa! Jack gets a Packer's wrapped Christmas gift every year! 

TGIF

The boys are back in town and a beautiful sunset was the perfect way to end the week and kick off a great weekend!

1st Pair of Nike Shoes

These are Jack's first pair of Nike shoes, but with all of the athletic genes he has, we know it won't be his last! Plus not many shoes go up to a size 15 and at this rate my guess is Bear will be wearing that high of a number. They were way too cute to pass up the other day. Usually Jack has the preppy look going, but I think I can do the athletic look every now then as he looks equally adorable (but I'm totally biased and he woke up in the sweetest mood so I am all about gushing).

Now walk Jacky Bear!

Just Do It.

FINALLY...Sleeping & Eating Again!

First Jack was sick, then he was finishing up his antibiotic, next he just wasn't sleeping really or eating.

We felt kind of bad with the WHOLE family under one roof, but what can you do? I had no idea that a sick baby took so long to recover! Every morning Mike and I were up at 3:30am where we then would bring Jack into bed and he would kick us for and an hour and a half until we gave in and got up at 5am (not fun when we were also staying up late to hangout with the family, ugh).

Jack was also just eating snacks. This really annoyed me as I always have feed Jack tons of fruit and veggies, organic meat, and breastfed for 11 months!!!! I put in a ton of effort and worked hard to ensure I was giving Jack the best start possible nutrition wise. I was going to be VERY annoyed if this child was already a picky eater and only wanted to eat bland things.

Happy to now report Jack is sleeping 10-12 hours and taking 2 naps a day. He is eating up everything we put on his plate INCLUDING lots of vegetables and fruit. We are back to eating the colors of the rainbow:) It is just my Mom and I down here now for the week, so maybe Jack is just more relaxed, or going through a growth spurt. Whatever it is we are enjoying the normal schedule and happy eater.

Water Baby

We were wondering how Jack would react to the pool after not being around one for 2 months.

The little boy was ECSTATIC! Jack is lucky to have his own personal swim coach, Aunt Leah, who said he was crazy and that she's never seen a 1 year old so happy in the water. And fearless. Which is going to make this summer at the pool a very active one for this momma. Hopefully it is a good outlet for all of his energy.

I was laughing that he will swim before he walks! Much more motivated to kick through the water than walk on the floor.

Jack goes under no problem, tries to swim back and forth to people,  and now grabs unto the edge and climbs up. Watching him swing his leg up is hilarious. It's pretty scary to not hold him and let him do it on his own, but Leah was right, he let go once went under and scared himself. So now he holds on really tight.

Things we need to work on:
- Blowing bubbles
- Floating on his back
- Kicking his feet faster (turtles pace is not going to get him somewhere)
- Bobbing off the bottom of the pool
... I know he is not going to do these things in the next 2 weeks it is just my check list from Leah to work on so I don't forget!

Last Sunsest of 2010