Chilling at the Splash Pad

Where else would J and I rather be on a 90 degree day than at the Dr. Phillip's Splash Pad! Yesterday I needed to get Jayden out of the house so Todd could study and I was fortunate that I was able to talk Catherine and Kristen into keeping us company too! It was the busiest I have seen it, but we still had fun watching the kids in the water! (How they all make me smile!)

After an exhausting afternoon running around the splash pad, it was time for snack time! I of course brought Gerber Puffs for Jayden since they're so handy to munch on the go. However, the Colavecchio boys upgraded him to Cheetos Puffs and he was in absolute heaven! (Lol so easy to win J over!)

All in all, I would call it an extremely successful afternoon! (Minus me getting soaked!) Anytime there is water involved, Jayden is thrilled! Looking forward to making this a ritual with the mommies!

Family BBQ Play Date

It was officially my turn to host the next play date with my LM Moms, so I decided that it was time for a family play date so we could involve all the Daddies! Last Saturday we invited the clan over for a BBQ. My hubby loves me to death, but nothing quite like my party planning can put a smirk/smile on his face! Rather than get overwhelmed at my must have themes for my parties/hosting events, he just laughs and helps me as much as he can in an effort to see my vision come to fruition!

This play date was no different than any other. I of course had to have some type of theme to emphasize! I was unsure at first, but as soon as I saw the “Gourmet Hot Dog” blog on Hostess with the Mostess (www.hwtm.com) I knew I had found it! I was so excited to have something not only fun, but easy for the adults to eat. I mean who wouldn’t want to have an array of over twelve toppings to put on their dog! Here are a few pictures of how I tied the theme together…..

(As Charles and Paul would like to point out,

I am OCD and have the toppings in alphabetical order!)

As for the “Play Date” part of the event, it was as perfect as it could be with rainy weather! We borrowed an amazing bounce house from the Vanek family, which fit perfectly under the overhang of our porch! The toddlers loved it and were giggling the entire afternoon!

If they weren’t in the bounce house, they were in the play room or “The Discovery Room” as we like to call it! (Or if you’re Jayden you were walking around entertaining everyone!)

                                                ELLA                                         JAYDEN            

                                                CAMI                              COOPER & ZANDER     

Todd, Jayden and I had such an incredible evening. We are so fortunate to have such a supportive play group comprised of friends that are able to relate to what it’s like raising a one year old! (A big thanks to Melanie for capturing the family pics!)

The Shappard Family (Plus Cooper!)

                                   The Hutmacher Family                        The Wilde Family

The Wardle Family

                                    The Chapman Family                         The Arkins Family

The Porter Family

AND THE LM GROUP!

Happy Birthday Sam

Today Jayden was in his glory…outside, near water and with his girlfriends Emmy and Sam! We were all at the Colavecchio’s home celebrating her Ladybug First Birthday party! We were first introduced to Sam’s mommy, Catherine, when she moved into Todd’s cube at work. Todd would always tell me about this wonderful mother of three that he sat with that just came back from maternity leave. I thought it was so wonderful that Toddy had someone to have “baby talk” with and I was so looking forward to meeting her! (I was out on medical with meningitis at this time.) Of course I loved Catherine and Jayden has adored meeting up with Sam for play dates at Sea World! So we were thrilled when we were invited to share this special occasion with the family!

Their home is beautiful and it sits on a picturesque lot overlooking the lake. Jayden couldn’t’ have been happier exploring the dock and the water! We spent most of our time sitting on the grass while J went back and forth from the dock, bounce house and the swing set!

When we finally made it up to the house, we were able to catch the birthday girl diving into her smash cake head first! You honestly couldn’t have asked for a more priceless moment or pictures!

Catherine is quite gifted and made a magnificent lady bug cake for the adults! (How she could cut that cake I don’t know!!)

The party was a complete success and we truly enjoyed ourselves! Thanks to the Colavecchio’s for letting us be a part of their family for a day!

Las Vegas, here we come!

We are CRAZY! The “seed” that I planted in Todd’s head, to see Jason Mraz in concert in Las Vegas, actualls was “planted”! Todd and I absolutely ADORE Jason and promised ourselves that anytime he came into concert, we would go! Of course we weren’t planning on it taking place in August in an amphitheater with 100 degree weather! I clearly know I don’t want to sit in whether like that, so I randomly suggested seeing him in Vegas in October. How was I to know that odd would jump on it! (With an excuse of the Tampa amphitheater having bad acoustics!)

So it’s official, we bought tickets and are seeing Jason Mraz on October 7^th at Red Rock Resort! We of course aren’t planning on leaving J behind, so we talked my mom into coming with us and babysitting the night we are out. So of course that means we’re dragging my aunt Cathy along because we can’t have a family vacation without her! So Vegas, Hoover dam and the Grand Canyon here we come!!

Here’s a sneak peek of the fabulous voice we will be hearing live in October…..

Happy Easter (And Happy Birthday Daddy!)

I had to ask myself today, “How can a 28 year old be so excited about the Easter Bunny?” The answer: Have an incredibly precious little boy that will be overjoyed by the Easter festivities! We couldn’t wait to wake up our little man this morning so we could go down and see what delights the Easter Bunny left him! As he walked down the stairs, he was a little unsure of what awaited him at the bottom. He was hesitant once he saw his basket and chair that the bunny left him, but after a few seconds he was ready to investigate!

After looking at each item in his basket, he was ready for breakfast! We fed out hungry man, got dressed and headed to church! We met up the Arnold and Neely families and listened to an incredible sermon by our Pastor, Justin. (How I love Real Life!) After church we headed back to our house so J could take a little nap before we drove to Gaylord Palms for brunch in celebration of Daddy’s birthday!

When we arrived at Gaylord, Jayden was fascinated by the vast atrium full of the sights of the Florida Keys, Everglades and the old world charm of St. Augustine. J wanted to explore every flower and blade of grass, but we had to hurry him along so we weren’t late for our reservations! The brunch at Villa de Flora was fantastic and Jayden even had a surprise visit from the Easter Bunny!

After eating, we finally let Jayden EXPLORE!! He adored the Koi Pond and spent most of his time crouched over it! We thoroughly enjoyed watching him from our relaxing seats on the benches while Daddy chased him around!

I had such an amazing time with my family and celebrating Todd’s birthday! What a special day with Jayden and Daddy! I am so blessed to have shared this memorable day with them both!

Neighborhood Egg Hunt!

After Jayden’s egg hunt performance yesterday, I had very low expectations for the neighborhood egg hunt! I figured Todd could perhaps help him pick out at least one, but clearly we were going for the company, food and drinks!

When we have block parties, all of the families bring a dish, their beverages and chairs. After lots of deliberation, the Shappards brought Rice Krispie Easter Eggs filled with MM’s! I saw a commercial on tv that showed families making the eggs and thought it would be ideal for our party! I also felt that I could somehow persuade Todd to help me make them! Little did I know that he would be the master champion of shaping the treats into eggs! After I saw him make a few, I handed over the entire process to him! He did fantastic and the treats were the hit of the party!

Aleax, our block party host, had his green machine (tractor) out for the kids and they adored it, especially Jayden! He had so much fun getting on it with the other kids. He sure does love to give hugs....... 

Todd’s sister Stacey and her family were able to join us for the hunt! The boys were so precious riding over to the party in Jayden’s wagon!

After all the eggs were hidden, the children gathered at the top of the blocked off street and those under three had a head start! Jayden was ready to explore! He was off and Todd and I were running to keep up with him! He actually did a great job and by the end he was throwing them in the basket! LOL he thought he was playing a game with Todd!

We had so much fun and I can’t wait to bring J again next year!