Don't Rain on My Parade.

Satruday, we took Caroline to her first parade! We woke up to a forecast of 70% chance of rain all day, dark skies, and pouring rain. Josh made us our breakfast and we decided to take a chance and try to go to the parade despite the dismal weather forecast. Hooray for spontaneous plans! We drove downtown in the rain, which let up as soon as we parked. It was still dark and gloomy but we could see clear skies in the distance. We found a perfect spot under a balcony where we waited for the parade to begin (we got there super early not knowing what to expect). Caroline almost fell asleep waiting but perked up right as the parade started. Literally at 10:30, when the parade started about a mile down the street from us, the clouds went away and it was nothing but sunshine.

The parade was actually very fun! We were both expecting some rinky-dink local parade with a few small floats. It was actually a huge parade with a lot of music and massive, well-made floats. It was Mardi-Gras themed so Caroline got lots of beads. The parade was about an hour long and for the first forty-five minutes she calmly sat in her stroller or chilled in our arms. Then she had a spurt of energy and for those last fifteen minutes Josh chased her around while I guarded our things. It ended up being a huge success! We were prepared for the parade to be cancelled and it ended up being a warm, sunny, perfect day!

Here are some photos of Caroline's first parade experience :)

Waiting for the parade to start (don't worry, many more people showed up!)

Enjoying the Sunshine.

Our little Caroline has become a frequent visitor at the parks of Tallahassee. Josh and I make a point of taking her outside whenever we can, whether it's a walk around the block, a trip to a park, eating outside at a restaurant, or simply walking with us to get the mail. We hate how lazy kids are these days and don't want Caroline to ever sit inside playing video games instead of running around outside in the sunshine. We both have fond memories of spending our days playing outside in our yards, swimming in pools, and riding our bikes, and we want Caroline to have memories like that, as well. So, we're starting her early on the wonder that is playing outside whenever possible. Luckily, we live in an area with a lot of parks and beautiful weather, so there have been tons of park visits lately.

Caroline LOVES playing at the park. She is incredibly friendly and will walk up to any child she sees. Most of them yell BABYYYY and then ask how old she is (don't say one year to them, don't say 16 months to them, the correct is answer is, "she's one and a half." I've learned this through my experiences at the park). Our little girl loves climbing to the top of the playground… I'm not talking the baby playground, she climbs to the top of the big kid playground (supervised, of course). She can even go down the slide on her own, just needing our help to get onto the ground. She's not a big fan of swinging, but I think she's quickly warming up to it.

This weekend, she went to the park three times in two days and had a blast. She went down the slides, enjoyed the swings for all of thirty seconds, she picked flowers, she threw stones in the creek, she was really FREAKING CUTE. I take a lot of pictures while she's at the park and I figured I'd share a few of my favorites from this weekend's adventures. I love my little girl and love how much she adores the outdoors. Hopefully she keeps that up and doesn't become a couch potato like some children in her generation are destined to be. 

Enjoy the cuteness :)

You can't catch me, mommy!

I like to call birds "tat" because I think they're cats.

Okay, mommy. I enjoyed the swing for a minute. Now let me out!

What is this giant bridge doing over this giant body of water?

Hello, Mr. Flower. I wish to eat you.

We also took the top off of the Jeep for the first time this weekend. Josh came home during lunch on Friday and took the top off, and we then took a ride around the block together. It's really fun! Our Jeep has a few roll-bars so it's safe, as well, which is great because that was my main concern. On Saturday, we took Caroline for her first ride in the Jeep. She started off happy, then uncertain, then almost fell asleep, then was extremely happy, and then just looked around in awe. We are thrilled she enjoyed it because it's another excuse to enjoy the sunshine :)

A Weekend of Fun!

Baby is napping and the boy is away so, you guessed it, I'm blogging!

Sadly, it has mostly just been me and my Caroline this weekend. Poor Josh has a big trial this week that he has been preparing for, and he has spent the majority of the weekend at the office. He's so overworked and so under appreciated by the people he represents. My Irishman won't even get to enjoy St. Patrick's Day this year because it's a jury selection day. Laaaame.

Anywho, Caroline and I have had shopping and park adventures! The shopping adventures have been wonderful one minute and awful the other… once she decides she's done in the stroller she lets it be known… it is accompanied by "no mommy, I don't want to be held either" and "I'm going to run to that magical moving contraption" (escalator, ugh); people stare… it's not pretty. We had a difficult mall outing yesterday and a difficult Babies R Us outing today. Oh, toddlerhood. Look at these adorable photos I got pre-mall-tantrum yesterday:

After the mall meltdown of '14, we went to the park to play and relax before meeting daddy for lunch. She had a BLAST as always. She is getting so independent. She still likes for us to come on the playground with her, and will hold our hand on some of the bigger steps. But she can also climb the steps to the sliding board, get in sliding position, and push herself down completely on her own. The only time she needs our help is to get back on the ground. It makes me happy and breaks my heart at the same time because she's such a big girl! I'm so proud of her, but can't believe how fast she's growing :)

She even let me push her on the swings for a while yesterday while she watched the big kids play. She actually doesn't enjoy swinging unless it's in our laps, but yesterday she seemed relaxed. I love looking at that adorable blonde fuzz while she swings :)

After the park, we met daddy for lunch and came home for a nap. We then headed back out to chase bubbles and play with the dogs in the backyard. She had a blast!!

Sorry the back of our house is so ugly, bwhahahahaha!

Daddy then got home and made us burgers. He was greeted with a HUGE Caroline smile and hug. She gives the BEST hugs. Sadly, he had to work again today but he just texted that he's on his way home now. I know a little one that will be very happy to see her daddy when she wakes up from her nap :)

I'm SUPER excited for our two upcoming summer vacations: In May, we're going to Lake Lure in North Carolina with my family. In August, we're going to the Outer Banks with Josh's family. I know a lot of people that are looking forward to the famous Caroline hugs :) Her high fives are getting quite fantastic, as well. I was told by the owner of Caroline's daycare that Caroline's high fives are impressively enthusiastic. 

Also, a shoutout to my BFF-FoodFriend4Life, who had her ADORABLE baby this weekend. Caroline can't wait to meet her future BFF Jack - he's perfectttt :)

Welcome to the Family, Wrangler.

No, I'm not speaking to our dog Wrangler. I'm speaking to our new car Wrangler! The baby is napping and the boy is away so I'm BLOGGING!

Earlier this week we said goodbye to my beloved Jeep Liberty and hello to our new Jeep Wrangler. Despite the fact that the Liberty was my car, Josh has been driving it since the "Incident of 2012" AKA my freaking car catching on fire. We decided it wasn't safe for pregnant Kaitlin and certainly not safe for little Caroline so she only ever rode in it a handful of times. We took the Liberty to a shop earlier this week who told us there was $3,000 in repairs needed. The Jeep dealership was willing to give us a trade in for the Liberty at almost $5,000. We couldn't justify sinking so much money in repairs into a car that wasn't even worth that much, soooo we decided to trade in. I got tears in my eyes saying goodbye to my Liberty. We've been through a lot together and became good friends. It's listed on the Jeep website right now as for sale and that makes me oddly sad. However, with that being said, we made a smart decision. Look at our dramatic photos saying goodbye to our trusty Liberty.

We are such weirdos.

We were torn between a 2014 Jeep Cherokee and a 2012 Jeep Wrangler. Bottom line: we chose the Wrangler because 1) it was $5000 cheaper than the Cherokee, 2) it's admittedly a sexy beast, and 3) it has a fantastic trade-in value so it's a good investment. Funny thing? The day we bought the Wrangler was the same exact day Nissan cashed our last payment for the Altima. Life has a funny way of working out perfectly sometimes. We went from having one car payment to having one car payment which, due to the trade in and down payment, ended up cheaper! Thanks to our good credit, we got fantastic financing! HOORAY RESPONSIBILITY! Here we are right after purchasing our first car together; it's our first car with both of our names on our title and no parental cosigners. HELLO ADULTHOOD!

That bad boy is super fun to drive (though it has blind spots like whoa) and it's surprisingly great on gas mileage (better than the Liberty even). We bought it thinking it would be Josh's car and I would continue ownership of the Altima. However, I have a thing with falling in love with Wranglers I think to be wacko within a day (happened with our dog, Wrangler, too) and I'm pretty sure it's mine. That FSU Law license plate cover is staying on the Altima, and my ODU license cover is going to be proudly displayed on the Jeep. However, Josh is totally allowed to put this on the trailer hitch. I married SUCH A NERD, you guys :)

Sorry I have been a slacker in blogging but I've decided to only blog about the important stuff and not bore you with the, well, boring stuff! Life has been going swell. My new job is awesome; I feel like I finally am in a job that fits me. I have been designing a new website for my company which makes the graphic design, computer nerd in me SO FREAKING HAPPY and my boss is filled with endless compliments. Josh and I are considering using the new Jeep for a weekend camping (in a cabin considering we have a wild toddler staying in a tent is out of the question) or going to St. George Island. I miss home, as always, but I must admit I am SO GLAD that I have not had to deal with the evil winter you guys have been battling. It has been "chilly" here (in Florida terms 58 degrees is FREEZING) and we have truly been enjoying it. Remember everyone, we have a fantastic air mattress and are always, always, always open for visitors :)

LOVE YOU ALL!