Yoshi Bear

My sister Becky took this picture of a bear at Lowry Park Zoo ~ she was amazed by how familiar this sweet old bear looked...

Can you believe the resemblance???

I always thought that Yoshi resembled a little black bear ~ I guess I was right! Now when we're really missing the Yoshman, we can just go the the zoo.

New Grad

I attended my sister Becky's graduation from the University of Miami Paralegal program last week. Amazingly, she completed her studies while working full time for Nationwide Insurance Company's legal department and also holding a part time job. I remember being that ambitious!!! She has worked as a legal secretary/paralegal for many years, but clearly this program has bumped up her skills, confidence and knowledge base in the legal world.

WAY TO GO BECKY ~ YOU MAKE US PROUD!

Valentine Wishes!

We send you our hugs this Valentine's Day.

Hope you have a love filled day!!!

XOXOXOXO

Jess, Greg & Carson

We're home!

Moving Day! We closed on Friday and as of Sunday all of our stuff was actually in one place (big achievment.) There were 3 truckfuls just like this one ~ YIKES. Big thanks to our family for all of the help and moral support with the move. We're living in a sea of cardboard boxes, but as I was falling asleep for the first time in our own bed, in our own house ~ my last thought was "I love our home." Carson is happy too...in the picture below, he is giving his interior design recommendations. Actually, I think he is a little stressed with all of the change. He's taking crazy long naps and suddenly cannot be without his binkie and blanket. Greg is in handyman mode: powerwashing the pool deck, cleaning a/c filters, replacing mile high light bulbs along with the thousand other things that need to be done to establish a new residence. My mantra is "I can do this...one box at a time!" I'll be sending along our new address and phone number soon.

Remembering Amber

Thirteen years ago, a great lady gave me a wonderful gift. Sonya, my boss at the time and friend still today bought me a Vizsla puppy for Christmas. Amber was the first dog of my very own and quickly grew into a sweet, leggy, redheaded bundle of energy. She topped out at around 45 pounds and never gave up her lap dog status. With training and much time, she became a great dog whose best trick was to run outside to the curb and bring in the newspaper for me. Such a character ~ she loved to eat, especially all things forbidden: a whole loaf of bread, crayons, bananas (peel and all,) my birthday cake, etc. Amber loved Greg's favorite chair and although she was most comfortable indoors, she loved flying through the doggy door to check out her yard. When we moved back to Florida, she stayed with my parents so she could still enjoy her indoor/outdoor lifestyle while we lived in our condo. Recently, Amber's health quickly declined due to an adrenal tumor and kidney failure. We brought her home with us to make every attempt to treat her symptoms with medication (due to her age, she was not a candidate for surgery.) We were so hopeful that she would pull through, but sadly on Monday February 4th, we knew in our hearts that her suffering was too great. These few weeks were such a blessing as we had our last little bit of time to love on her and say goodbye. My hope is that along with Yoshi and Oscar, she is my sister Lauren's heavenly lap dog...

Super Duper Tuesday!

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 was quite a day in history...it was Super Tuesday, Fat Tuesday and both of our Dad's birthdays. That was a lot of celebrating to squeeze into one day! We went out for lunch with Pops and Marsha and had a little birthday celebration at home. Grandpa Larry made sure that Carson did not forget how to properly eat a piece of chocolate cake ~ you know it was really good when you get it up your nose!

Then, after a power nap, we headed to Grandpa Fred's for a Mardi Gras themed birthday dinner with yet more cake ~ a toddler's dream! Our birthday wish the Dads: a year of good health and great times.

Click the video clip below if you have forgotten how much fun chocolate cake can be...

Michigan in January...brrrrr!

Greg and I spent last weekend in Michigan visiting his brother Brian and family. Carson stayed home with Grandma Judy, while we braved the cold north. It was such a great visit, mostly for the time we got to share with Brian, Julie, Stevie and Jordan. Another highlight was the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, something Greg has always wanted to see. We had a Wilbur vs. Wilbur dodgeball match (I don't remember it being so much fun back in middle school!) The guys played video games, basketball and hung out at home, while the girls went for a spa day. If you click the link below, you can check out the amazing concept cars as well as the very cute snowman we made, championship Wii play, and Stevie's soccer game. My favorite memory: Brian giving it all in Dance, Dance Revolution ~ see for yourself in the photoshow below!

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/dq5GM8qD

Lovey Dovey

Lovey little Carson decided he was going to give kisses to a random Mom at Gymboree the other day. OMG!!! We've never seen her before, but he was obviously quite taken by her!

Carson's 21!

Our boy is already 21 ~ months that is! Not quite ready to hit the bar scene just yet, but he does have a fondness for sweetening his milk with a shot of chocolate. Carson is doing great and getting big. Often dramatic and excitable (a Wilbur trait) he has tons to say, most of which we don't understand yet. He loves talking on the phone, going to Gymboree and spending time with family. We'll soon be looking at schools for him ~ just a morning schedule a couple of days a week to start. We can't begin to count all of our blessings when it comes to our sweet boy. Here's a little update on our cutie...

Carson's faves:
Foods: mac n cheese, (of course) pizza, mommy's meatloaf, waffles
Snacks: colorful goldfish crackers, bananas
Drinks: orange juice, fresh fruit smoothies
Shows: Handy Manny and Elmo
Outdoor activity: digging in the sand at the beach
Indoor activity: Gymboree
Toys: monkey broom, laptop, Little People Garage
Song: Low "Apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur..."

New things:
Going into the pantry when the munchies strike
Running down the hall in the morning and jumping in bed with Daddy
Blowing kisses with a very dramatic flair
Lifting the edge of mommy's shirt and giggling uncontrollably
Patiently riding along as we searched high and low for our new house
Putting things away (we are still searching for 2 of 3 TV remotes)
Molars are peeking through ~ ouch!
Calling family and friends on the cell phone by all himself
Words: buuuyyyyeeeee (goodbye), choo (shoe), gog (dog), cooo (cool), whoooaaaa!
Struggles: separation anxiety when mommy leaves him at the gym kid's club or grandma's house

A great birthday present!

We have been tirelessly searching for our new home for about six months ~ long before actually arriving in Florida. We spotted a house about three months ago and it was the first one that both Greg and I were truly excited about. It was everything we were looking for: newer home, great layout, centrally located between all of our parents, easy access to the airport, gated community, lots of kiddos Carson can pal around with, close to great schools, etc. It was in pre-foreclosure which made it an amazing deal, but little did we know how much patience it would take to actually close the deal. After going round and round with the bankers and realtors, we were about ready to give up. The day after my birthday, we got the call that they finally accepted our offer! We close in one week and are giddy with excitement. As strange as it sounds, I already feel like it is home. We really feel that this is going to be a great place for us to raise our babies, host family events and feel like we are part of a nice community. We had the chance to meet a few neighbors and already they are planning a welcome party so we can meet everyone! Very cool people ~ such a bonus on top of the absolute steal we got on the house ~ YIPPPEEEEE!!!