Keeping Up With The Crosbys

Dear Jake,

2012-01-18T19:28:00.002-05:00

Do you know what I think when I look at this picture?

"Hot dang! We make cute kids!"

Christmas Lane

2011-12-22T10:04:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

We hope you are all having a very merry holiday season!

Poppa Riebow volunteered to work Christmas Lane a few nights this week, so we braved Dover to go see him in action and look at all the cool stuff!

Kaitlyn has started to make odd faces when you tell her to "Smile!" for a picture. Evidence below:

I hopped up into Santa's sleigh just long enough to get a few pics with my baby girl. Zac wanted nothing to do with sitting still or taking pictures. There was way too much to explore!

The big hit of the evening is the mini train they have running. Zachary was jumping in place while waiting to ride, he was so excited.

Zachary also loved the television screens, randomly placed, playing Rudolph. That boy can hone in on a tv no matter where we are!

Kaitlyn liked looking through the over-sized telescope and at all of the Christmas lights through her special twinkle glasses.

Seventh Anniversary in Hogsmead

2011-12-18T09:33:00.005-05:00

Today was our 7th anniversary! Woo Hoo!

So, we escaped to Orlando this weekend. It was wonderful... and too short! We stayed at Rosen Shingle Creek near Universal Studios. We highly recommend it! It is a beautiful resort tucked away from all the madness.

We also highly recommend a trip to Islands of Adventure. We had a blast riding the rides, sans children, visiting Hogsmead, eating at the Three Broomsticks and drinking butterbeer. (We tried regular and frozen butterbeer... frozen is best!)

23rd Annual Ruskin Seafood Festival

2011-11-05T14:00:00.004-04:00

Hello Beautiful Fall Florida!

Today was/is an absolutely gorgeous day in the Tampa area. It also happened to be the weekend of the 23rd Annual Ruskin Seafood Festival. Jake and Grammie went last year with the kiddos. So, they were return veterans, and I was a newbie.

The Ruskin Seafood Festival takes place annually in the Ruskin/Apollo Beach area at E.G. Simmons Park. It is open from 10am to 5pm on this Saturday and Sunday. So, if you read this and would like to go, you still have some time. We spent a total of $32 for a family filled morning.

First off, we parked near the playground and the kids ran on over to get in some play before the adults dragged them to the festival. Kaitlyn is still in love with slides, while Zachary prefers the swings.

Katie also tried her hand a rock climbing. She is part spider monkey, so she enjoyed it.

Once you pay your entrance fee, (free for kids, $5 per adult) we hit an alley of craftsmen, artists, and vendors. Grammie and I signed up for a Thirty-One Party on December 1st. If you live near us, be prepared to come and have some fun! Take a peak at their catalog. It is all really cute, personable stuff. Great for Christmas!

While Grammie and Mommy were chatting with the 31 Lady, Katie and Zac led their Daddy to the kiddie area. Katie got to bounce in a bounce house for awhile. She loves jumping! I would think she would affiliate with Tigger more.

Then, after the kids explored the Home Depot "Make a Frame" area, and made their own iced cookies at the Glazer Museum tent, we finally moved onto the main event...

the food!

If you ever see Tony's truck below, do not hesitate to go and get the chowder and seafood basket. It was the most delicious clam chowder I had ever had. Not to mention, the shrimp and the hush puppies were extraordinary! (And I would know, I've had a ridiculous amount of shrimp in my life. It is one of my loves.)

You know how when you start seeing what other people ordered and are eating, and you start regretting your choice? Today, I felt bad for every person who sat next to me who hadn't gotten Tony's chowder and shrimp. Best. Seafood. Ever. Hands down. (And I know that bowl looks tiny next to those shrimp, but it is because the shrimp were huge!) I could eat that meal daily. I could keep going on and on about it, but I won't. It wouldn't be fair to you.

After we ate, (the kids had pretzels, granola bars, and carrots that I had brought from home) Grammie got Katie some homemade ice cream! Kaitlyn lives for ice cream. Recently her Nana took her to McDonalds. When Katie went to play at the "Play Place" she introduced herself to a little girl her age like this, "Hi, I'm Katie! What's your favorite ice cream?"

I assume this is what they use to make their ice cream. See that wooden barrel behind the silver wheel on the left. Is that the where the ice cream is being churned? Or is it just a John Deere generator from 1937? I couldn't decide.

After we left the festival, we hit the playground one more time, and then the beach. Zac didn't dare go in, because then he would be wet. Yucky! He just stood there watching the little waves roll in, while his big sister threw rocks and shell bits back into the "river".

We will definitely be back next year Ruskin! Won't we Zac?

Hello Fall!

2011-10-29T21:23:00.006-04:00

Sundays are changing around here. Jake has been called to the Young Men's Presidency... as the President. He's gonna do great! Anyway, it's just me and the kids before and after church these days. This past Sunday, Zac fell asleep on the way home and was awakened when I carried him into our home. When I entered, I set him down on the ground and turned to close the door, when I heard a loud thump. I turned to see what it was... and it was Zac. He apparently hadn't woken up completely and decided to lay down right where I left him.

He slept while I got his sister undressed. He slept while I changed. He didn't budge while I made them lunch.

He even slept while I changed his clothes.

Sweet little guy.

Zachary has also started laying on the couch in the mornings, demanding to be covered with his woobie and provided a pillow to lay his giant cranium upon. This is his position of choice while watching "Handy Manny".

Katie had her first "Character Dress-up Day" at Preschool this week.
She chose to dress as Sleeping Beauty. I have absolutely no idea why because she refuses to watch Sleeping Beauty or learn anything about her. (Which is very disappointing for her mother because it was my very favorite movie growing up. I wore out the VHS tape for heaven's sake.) But that girl LOVED school that day. She came home so wound up she spent the day running around driving everyone nuttier than usual! Mommy and Daddy were very excited when bed time rolled around that day.

The insanity began again this evening. It was the Seffner/Brandon Ward Joint Trunk-or-Treat! Kaitlyn is officially able to understand what trick-or-treating is all about. Zac on the other hand, couldn't believe people were just handing out candy... and to him! Not to mention, there were games in every room of the church building! And hot dogs! He ate two and wanted "more"!

Jake and I went as Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. (The elementary school I work at had a "Dress Like a Book Parade" and I chose to dress as Red. So, Jake decided on the Wolf so we would match. He's so sweet.) Katie wanted to be a fairy, and Zac was Buzz Lightyear!

Uncle Matt, Aunt Ellen, and Issac were a pack of lions! Aren't they cute?!

Nana came as a "Dessert Judge"! No, not really. She just has a really big sweet tooth and couldn't help herself at the dessert tables.

After everyone chowed down on chili, hot dogs, and pumpkin desserts (Grammie won the dessert category by the way. Go Grammie! Yay for Pumpkin Chiffon!) the games began. I got some pictures of Katie playing corn toss with Grammie, but they all turned out fuzzy.

When we went fishing I told Kaitlyn to look behind her. She and Zachary LOVE to play Mario Brothers with Daddy. She even said she wanted to be Mario for Halloween at one point. She was extremely excited to see them. After all was said and done, I asked her which costumes she liked and she replied, "Mario!" Notice her smile in the picture below. She was elated!

Here is Katie and Riley waiting for what ended up being Katie's favorite game...

GHOST BOWLING!

Thank you Seffner Dollar Tree for the large tumblers and electrical tape. The Seffner Young Men were in charge of providing a game for the festivities and this was it. We also did a ping pong throw, but it wasn't as popular. Kids love to knock stuff down.

After the games, came the candy!

Trick or treat Nana!

It was a very fun evening!
Happy Halloween everyone!

And Six Months Later...

2011-10-23T21:23:00.008-04:00

We're still alive!

Sheesh, it's been six months since our last blog update. We stink. I blame our out-of-date computers. However, we have since replaced them with a new laptop and should no longer have any other excuse besides laziness.

We had a pretty simple summer. Stuck around the house and painted. Late August brought Preschool for our baby girl! She was pretty excited. First Baptist Learning Center has an outdoor playground that they get to use daily and that is all Kaitlyn cares about. She has actually started making friends and talking about them at home. This is unusual because Katie is an oldest child and has never felt the need to play with or be friends with anyone. As you can see, she is becoming quite the character (and these are the best of her photos from her first morning of Preschool).

Kaitlyn also managed to break her bed at the beginning of the summer. She liked to take flying leaps onto it after going to bed. Her toddler bed just couldn't take it anymore, and one night she came slowly walking up to her Mommy and Daddy while sobbing. "Katie, what is the problem? Why aren't you in bed?" "My bed broke. I can't fix it." Sure enough, the footboard had snapped off of the bed frame. She got to sleep on her mattress on the floor for a couple of months before we got her a bunk bed.

Zachary on the other hand, is still in his crib and is shaking the tar out of it! He has officially entered the terrible-two stage and I occasionally put him in his crib when he is inconsolable. He is pretty good about going to the corner (see below), but to cage him in his crib outside of nap time... no way.

Zac has also discovered tools. He is all boy and loves anything with wheels and tools. He loves to have a job, like his sister, but especially loves when that job involves tools. This of course, led us to introduce him to "Handy Manny" which he and his sister now watch as if they are in some kind of daze... every day. "Man Manny" is what Zac asks for.

More to come next week, after all of the Halloween festivities!

He Did It!

2011-04-26T13:48:00.008-04:00

Jake passed the Florida Bar Exam!

Hallelujah!

Within a five day period, we went from being completely nauseated at the thought of even having to check his results, to being completely elated at his swearing-in ceremony. It was a beautiful and blessed day! At least for our family it was. I don't think the majority of the people attending the Hillsborough County Courthouse were as happy to be in court as we were that Friday.

Below is a picture of Jake being sworn-in.

He was one of many...

taking his oath before a dozen or so judges.

To celebrate his victory, he used his BarBri study aides as kindling at the next Boy Scout campout.

King/Dicks Genes

2011-04-16T14:10:00.006-04:00

Kaitlyn looks completely different than me or my siblings... or Jake and his siblings for that matter. But she does take after her Grammie. Although Grammie looked differently than Kaitlyn did at her age, she definitely favors that branch of the family. This theory was further confirmed when we met Grace this weekend.

Grace is Jake's cousin, or second cousin. I don't know how all of that works, but Anna is Jake's cousin, and Grace is Anna's daughter. They enjoyed playing with one another while visiting Grandma and Grandpa King. Grandpa showed the girls how to make their own cup of orange juice.

Now, I have grown up in Florida for the majority of my life and had never done this. But if you have a pocket knife and an orange tree, you'll never taste juice fresher than this!

Grandpa slices some of the peel off of the orange before cutting out a small, mouth-sized hole.

Then you gently squeeze the sides until the juice pools up into the small hole. Then you drink. Then repeat, until the deliciousness is no more.

And so they sat, squeezing and sippin', until we had to leave due to tantrums.

Catching Up

2011-04-03T11:45:00.041-04:00

As you might imagine, a lot has happened in our family since Halloween 2010. Here are some of the highlights (in reverse chronological order...watch us get younger!):

Ft. Wilderness - March 2011

Last month we met the Riebows during their annual Ft. Wilderness camping trip. Per usual, Katie & Zac just wanted to stay in the water...

Christmas 2010

We did lots of fun things at Christmas time. Some were successful, like the Christmas Tree lighting in downtown Plant City with Grammie, Aunt Ashley & Cousin Gwen...

Others were not...

If Gwen had a thought bubble here, it would read: "This kid is crazy. Doesn't he know we're sitting on the lap of the guy bringing the presents?"

Grammie get me outta here!

All better!

Disney Trip - December 2010

We waited until the last minute to use our Give-A-Day, Get-A-Day Disney tickets, but it was worth the wait. The weather was beautiful and the crowds weren't too bad.

Katie met her favorite princess, Ariel, almost immediately after we walked into the Magic Kingdom. Few things leave Katie speechless, but this encounter certainly did.

Imagine our surprise when we ran into two of Katie's other favorite Disney characters immediately after Ariel! Katie loves Woody & Jesse!

We have ourselves an adrenaline junkie...Thunder Mountain Railroad was a favorite.

Gotta help Buzz! (Notice Papa Riebow in the background...he's taking his Star Command responsibilities a little TOO seriously, no?)

Someone needed Daddy to carry them to the Monorail at the end of the day

Zac's Birthday

Zac turned one year old on November 29. Time really has been flying by.

Enough with the singing...I want that cupcake!

Delicious!

Thanksgiving Cruise 2010

We left from Miami on the Carnival Liberty, bound for Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Grammie and Papa Crosby kept Zac for us, so Katie had Mommy and Daddy all to herself.

Permanent fixture on Matt & Ellen's cabin door

Looking at this picture one would assume Katie is having a wonderful time at Camp Carnival. If you made this assumption, you would be wrong. This would be Katie's one and only visit to Camp Carnival during the cruise because she "no like Camp Carnival." So, the destination meant for fun and adventure (and parental sanity) became the place we threatened to put Katie should she misbehave. I know, we're horrible.

Katie's two favorite pastimes on the ship: 1) Swimming AND

2) Sliding down the slide!

Guess which one was her favorite?

Look what the crazy uncles found in Cozumel

Viva Mexico!

Hangin' out with the stingrays @ Stingray City in Grand Cayman. We really loved our Grand Cayman experience. We had an amazing guide who knew his stuff and showed us a great time.

Papa Riebow liked zipping around on the jet ski

Starfish Beach

Guess how Starfish Beach got its name?

Don't ask

Our chariot

Faster!

Returning from a wonderful lunch place on the beach. Goodbye Grand Cayman! We'll miss you!

Beautiful view of Ocho Rios, Jamaica from our balcony...and that is where we should have stayed. Our experience in Jamaica was the complete opposite of our experience in Grand Cayman. Definitely not planning on making a return trip.

Dancing with my little girl after dinner on the last night.

Water slide...I think we'll miss you most of all (I know Katie will)

Trick or Treat!

2010-12-14T11:15:00.005-05:00

Yay! Halloween! I love Halloween. Jacob calls it the Devil's Holiday.
This year Kaitlyn wanted to be Lilo and she wanted Zac to be Stitch. Well, Kaitlyn was Lilo, sans the hair (she refused to wear the wig even though she had worn it previously). Zac was not Stitch. He was Captain Adorable! (He had a onesie that said so, all I had to do was make the cape.)

Here they are at Grammie's door! Zac's first "Trick or Treat" moment.

Then we went to Chic-Fil-A for dinner, and to church for Trunk-or-Treat.
Nana was there and helped take Katie around to the games.

Grammie followed Zac around the Cake Walk. He loved walking on the square mats and kept going around-and-around in the circle. He even won a cookie!

This was my favorite costume of the night! Way awesome.... and a little scary for church, but what are ya gonna do? Cool, huh? He's carrying his own head!

My Marshmallow Man

2010-12-14T11:12:00.005-05:00

Zac had his first Marshmallow pop. Mmmmmm. This boy loves to eat. It is his first priority.

He has a major sweet tooth and follows anyone around the kitchen grunting. He is a bottomless pit. We've tossed around calling him, "Groceries" because he can pack 'em away!

Hillsborough County Fair

2010-12-14T11:05:00.003-05:00

I have lived in Hillsborough County for 21 of my 27 years and I never knew there was Hillsborough County Fair. Who knew? Apparently everyone else.

Once we found out, and we learned that Monday night free for kids and the rides were a fraction of what they normally charge, we made a point to go!

Kaitlyn loved driving!

But her favorite ride by far, was one where she went round-and-round in a worm, while a bird chased them.

I love her expression below!

Zac was happy to be held and watch his big Sissy. Look at those chipmunk teeth! They got there first taste of Elephant Ear that night. Mmmmmmmm.

King of the Mountain!

2010-12-14T11:02:00.003-05:00

Zachary's favorite perch is up on the top of his sister's bed! He climbs up and down her bed, over and over again, squealing with delight when he reaches the top corner of her bed.

Here he is blowing raspberries to express his elation in dominating the mountain.

Swaptember

2010-12-14T10:51:00.005-05:00

This past year, our family had Lowry Park Zoo Passes. In September, they swap memberships with the Florida Aquarium and the Museum of Science and Industry. We loved exploring both! Here are some pics of our experience at MOSI:

We learned about hurricanes and tornados. They have simulators of these natural disasters and cut-outs of the different types of people who help out during these disasters. One of which is a firefighter.

Katie also got to play a weather girl at the Bay News 9 Action Center.

Zac was strolled around most of the day. He is such a cutie and a completely happy baby when we're on-the-go! But he loves him some buttons! He wanted that camera.

Kaitlyn's favorite place was "Kids-In-Charge". They can run all over the place, exploring and learning. . . and making an unholy mess! Here, she and I built a pyramid.

It was a fun way to exhaust the kids before heading back for nap time! My favorite time of the day.

In Case You Didn't Know...

2010-12-14T10:45:00.003-05:00

Jake is our Ward Troop's Scout Master. It is a life long dream of his to spend many hours each month corralling, encouraging, and camping with adolescent boys. Haha! Just kidding! But he puts on a smile and gives it his all anyway!

Truthfully, he does give it all he's got and has great aspirations for Troop 267. Below is a picture of their second Court of Honor. Almost all of the Scouts reached 1st Class this summer, which was a Troop goal. This weekend he will be camping out in the freezing cold with them. I shudder to think of it.

Yikes.

2010-12-14T10:41:00.003-05:00

This image can still illicit a frustrated growl from Jake. He had just given Katie a bath, (I was out playing Bunco) and he was talking on the phone. When he got off the phone, this is what he found...

Needless to say, it took a couple days for Kaitlyn's leg to return to its natural color.

Best Friends

2010-12-14T10:36:00.003-05:00

This is from August, but it is still adorable! Katie and Zac like to do whatever the other is doing. They are great play buddies and keep each other busy! This scene was too cute and just had to be photographically documented!

Zac Is Walking!

2010-10-24T16:31:00.008-04:00

Jacob made an ode to Zac's last six months of growth this weekend. From rolling over in April to toddling around the house a few weeks ago, it is hard to believe he will be a year old next month. Our little munchkin is growing up too fast! Sniff. Sniff. (Note: Crosby blog historians will notice that this video is set to the same tune we used for Katie's "first steps" video. Enjoy!)

Sweet Deal on Disney DVDs!

2010-10-06T20:48:00.001-04:00

This deal totally rocked for me!

Once it was rung up at the register, with a completely baffled look on his face, the cashier asked, "How did you do that?"

(However, at the Brandon Toys'R'Us, Beauty and the Beast was priced at $29.99.)

More Ulta Fabulousness

2010-10-05T14:27:00.002-04:00

Yet another deal from Ulta Beauty!
A $5 off your $10 purchase coupon that is good for the next two weeks!
It is good online, as well as in-store.

Thank you Slickdeals.net

Bonus!

2010-09-30T18:23:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I saw this sweet little deal on slickdeals.net and decided to take advantage of it. However, the coupon was only redeemable at an Ulta Beauty Shop. "What in the world is an Ulta Beauty Shop?" I thought to myself, and more importantly, "Where can I find one?"

As it turns out, there is one in Regency Square in Brandon, and they are having their Grand Opening. Therefor, when I got my free shampoo, I got a bag of free samples too! A delicious smelling hand lotion, beautiful eye shadow, frizz spray, and a travel size conditioner. They won't let you use 2 coupons at once, or separate your transactions. I went back a second time to get the free conditioner and got a second bag of goodies. Double the glee!

Also, the store itself is awesome! They have everything for every price range. I found my near-to-impossible to find favorite nail polish there, and they have these fabulous little .99 cent bottles perfect for Kaitlyn. They even have some $2 Maybelline Mascara on the checkout counter. Head on over and get some happy!

Seffner Ward Relief Society: September's Relief Society Activity

2010-08-17T13:30:00.000-04:00

Seffner Ward Relief Society: September's Relief Society Activity: "For a Hootin' Hollerin' Good TimeMoooove Yourself on Over to the RS Service Auction and Dinner Tuesday, September 7th at 6:30pIn the Cultura..."

Seffner Ward Relief Society: A Little Tutorial

2010-08-08T22:41:00.000-04:00

Seffner Ward Relief Society: A Little Tutorial: "Some of you may have noticed that the Ensign has had a little remodel. The messages meant to be used by Home and Visiting Teachers have been..."

Seffner Ward Relief Society: Physically and Spiritually Prepared

2010-08-05T09:58:00.001-04:00

Seffner Ward Relief Society: Physically and Spiritually Prepared: "Alright, I'll admit it. I was late. Twenty minutes late to be exact, to Tuesday night's activity. Therefore, I wasn't eligible for this mont..."

My, Oh My, July, July

2010-07-27T10:29:00.008-04:00

We have made it to the end of July in one piece! Woo Hoo!

Here is a brief summary of this month's events:

We started the month off with Kaitlyn's 3rd Birthday Party. It was a ton of fun! (Thanks to all those who participated!) Due to the insane heat of Florida during the summer, a pool party was a must. Kaitlyn swam a total of 8 hours that day. That girl loves the water.

We had a "Cars meets Toy Story" theme. Kaitlyn loves those movies. She made off with quite the haul that day due to all of our uber generous family and friends. We had a cupcake tree for her to blow out candles, but apparently that doesn't count as a cake because she keeps reminding us that she didn't have a birthday cake. Never mind the hours Mommy spent making seventy something cupcakes. Sigh.

Kaitlyn has an unmatched love and adoration for Jesse and Bullseye.

In Baby News, Zachary started scooting like a mad man in June and has become a pro at sitting up. As of yesterday, he has started crawling on his hands and knees occasionally. Below is a picture of how I often find him after his naps. Look at that face!

Once we reached the middle of the month, it was time to celebrate Jake's 32nd Birthday with some apple cake and bowling!

As you can see, he could hardly contain himself.

This was Katie's second trip to a bowling alley. The first trip resulted in her attempting to bolt down the lane and slamming down, head first, onto the hardwood. This visit was much more successful. The only tears came when it was time to leave.

Katie's favorite hangout was at the ball return. I can imagine they work like magic to little kids.

She made sure to give everyone a high-five after each of their turns, no matter if it was a gutter ball or strike.

Katie loved when it was her turn, even though she almost always got a gutter. She would shout, "I win! I win!"

Since Zachary has become such a pro at sitting up, it was time to move from the kitchen sink, to the bathtub with his big sister!

Zack loves it! I often find him crawling to the bathroom.
He wants to spend all of his time in the tub!

Here are some shots of him scooting around. He is just so adorable and always smiling...

or drooling.

One night last week I went out to run an errand. This was the angelic face awaiting me when I returned home.

He was so out he didn't even flinch from the camera flashes.

But here are some more of the Pudgers, playing with his favorite toy, his sister's Mac truck.
He is such a stinker. But how can you fuss at that sweet face?!

Last week we went to Anna Maria to leech off of a friend and her beach rental. It was a beautiful beach day. I, of course, left my camera in the bag at the condo instead of taking it with me to the beach, so I have no pictures to share. Zack didn't love the noise and waves of the ocean, but he loved wading in the pool. I am guessing it reminded him of bath time. Kaitlyn also preferred the pool to the beach that day. She has become a pretty good swimmer and insisted on jumping in the pool and swimming from one side to the other with help from her Grammie.

Yesterday was my 27th birthday. Jake and I celebrated it Saturday by going to dinner and a movie. We saw "Despicable Me". Two thumbs way, WAY up! It was fantastic! Super funny and super sweet.

We then went to one of my favorite places that we don't get to go to often because it is on the other side of Tampa. It is called TooJay's Deli, and they have the best chocolate layer cake and brisket dip. Yum! Jake's mom spoiled me yesterday with a delicious flank steak, crashed hot potatoes, strawberry mandarin salad, and chocolate molten lava cakes.

I have decided, I am going on a diet and starting an exercise regime.

Zachary's Quilt

2010-06-01T11:17:00.005-04:00

I was cleaning up my room after watching the Hoarders marathon yesterday, and found my sketch pad still out in a stack of papers on top of our scanner. I had been meaning to post about my latest (and by latest, I mean last year's) quilting adventure and still hadn't done it.

The first "quilt" I ever made was for my baby girl. I was determined to sew each square by hand, and I did. Right now that quilt sits folded in my daughter's closet, shredding at multiple seams. So much for a cherished heirloom.
Dang it.

When I attempted Zachary's quilt, I planned on using my sewing machine. I was also determined not to do all squares. I had been saving this adorable dinosaur fabric since before Zack was even a twinkle in my eye. I wanted to incorporate more triangles in his quilt. Dinosaur scales, triangles, it makes sense to me. Anyway, I searched the internet for "dinosaur quilts" and "geometric quilt patterns" but never found anything I really thought would work for me and my novice sewing abilities. So, I pulled out a pad of graph paper and got sketching. This is what I ended up with:

I also ended up finding a second dinosaur flannel online. The fabric is actually titled, "Sporty Reptiles", but some of them look like dinosaurs. I paired it with my saved dino fabric, some textured greens, a polka dot orange flannel, and a yellow flannel. I cut all of the pieces with pinking shears and prayed that my sewing machine's stitches would hold up better than my own. A lot of the corners don't meet up, some of the fabric was more elastic than I had realized; and the over all "look" ended up being a little more colorful than I thought, but c'est la vive. I'm very new at this.

I have no idea what a professional quilter would think of this. I'm sure I don't adequately understand the idea of color theory in the world of quilting. But in the end, I'm happy with how it turned out. It now hangs over the back of Zack's crib and he chews on the satin binding quite frequently.

Hopefully, a year from now, it won't be shredding at the seams and stuck away in the closet like poor Katie's quilt.

Zachary,

2010-05-29T10:54:00.001-04:00

my pudgy little angel?

Yes, Mama?

Do you know that you are 6 months old today?

I am? What does that mean?

That means you can stop growing now. You're sleeping better at night, you're eating yummy food, you are rolling everywhere... you are getting too big. You can slow it down now.

What if I don't want to? I want to get moving! I've got to follow my Sissy around!

She gets to do all of the fun stuff and has all of the fun toys.

She gets to eat all of those yummy deserts!

I want chocolate.

Your time will come Pudgers.

It will?!

Most excellent!

Stupid Silly Bands!

2010-05-23T10:48:00.000-04:00

I find you everywhere!

Regression or Something Shiny?

2010-05-21T09:29:00.005-04:00

I finally got a bumper for Zack's crib last week. We kept finding him with a leg or an arm hanging out between the bars.

Since the new addition, almost every night we go to put Zack down to sleep, we find Kaitlyn has crawled into Zack's crib and curled up with his quilt. She brings along her own pillow and stuffed animals. Apparently, she has decided his crib is cooler than her toddler bed. She is such a stinker.

Free Rice!

2010-05-20T14:23:00.003-04:00

I was on the Pioneer Woman's website today and she posted a link to this website, FreeRice.com. FreeRice is a website where users play various educational, multiple-choice games in order to fight world hunger. For every answer the user answers correctly, 10 grains of rice are donated. The games include English vocabulary (the game the site began with), multiplication tables, pre-algebra, chemistry (basic and intermediate), English grammar, basic foreign language vocabulary for English speakers (French, German, Italian, and Spanish), geography (world capitals and country identification), and identification of famous artwork.

I've already been donating while relaxing.
It's a win-win situation.

Yummy, Yummy In My Tummy!

2010-05-19T22:22:00.005-04:00

Excuse me, Seffner Publix? Why have you been holding out? Why was I not informed that you have gelato in your freezer before now? I have been a patron of your store since I was a small child. What do you have to say for yourself?

After all, you have been missing out on years of profit from my gelato addiction. And the Talenti Raspberry Sorbet had me flashing back to Chantilly, France. Sheesh. You should be ashamed of yourself.

That Crazy Gene Pool

2010-05-19T10:26:00.005-04:00

It is amazing that two siblings could be so different!

Kaitlyn has always been skinny and high-energy.

While Zack has always been pudgy and easy-going.

It will be interesting to see them grow side-by-side.

This Must Be Love

2010-05-18T07:45:00.003-04:00

I love this face. It is the sweetest, pudgiest, smiley face ever. This little man has been smiling this big for the past 4 months. He smiles so big his tongue curls! He likes to smile like this when he is in his bouncer. Zack loves his bouncer.

He finally caught his nemesis, the blue frog. He decided to celebrate by eating him.

And doing some more bouncing.

Zack loves his bouncer so much, he falls asleep in it without making a fuss.

Sweet little guy.

I could just eat him up!

Unwelcome Visitors

2010-05-14T10:06:00.004-04:00

Living in Florida, we are surrounded by many of God's creations. Since we live near a wooded area, we are more likely to see all kinds of wildlife while going about our daily routine. For some reason, this week, they have decided to come visit us in our home.

On Tuesday, Miss. Spider came by for breakfast. I wasn't planning on seeing her, so when she showed up unexpectedly, I did quite a bit of squealing. Sadly, her unplanned visit resulted in both herself and last month's issue of Parents magazine ending up in our garbage.

A couple of days later, while trying to put Kaitlyn down for a nap, I heard a "splat" in her bathroom. When I turned to see what had fallen, I saw Mr. Snake scurrying to the nearest hiding place. Needless to say, the panic attack given to me by Miss. Spider on Tuesday ending up being nothing compared to the massive heart attack I had while trying to figure out how to contain this sucker! After I barricaded him in the bathroom I was frantically calling my Daddy. He came to our rescue and got Mr. Snake out from under the kids clothes hamper with a pair of grilling tongs. Mr. Snake's unwelcome visit also resulted in his demise.

Thanks to both of these unwelcome visitors, I am officially paranoid when I enter any room in my home. It gives me the heebie-jeebies just to think about it. ACK! Is something crawling on me?!

So Far This Year...

2010-03-11T08:34:00.007-05:00

We have been keepin' pretty busy!

Getting used to juggling two kids consumes most of our time, but living near both sets of our families fills in the rest! We've been lovin' it!

My Dad turned 50 this January!
We had him flocked with 50 flamingos in his front yard!

The Carrs had a super-cute Valentine's Day Party!
Clearly, Kaitlyn enjoyed the sugar cookies.

Zack loves to sit in his walker.
Look at his cute little feet! They can't even touch the ground!
You can also totally see his little elf ear in this picture.

Zack has also started grabbing either side of his face with his hands when he is really upset. Does it remind you of anyone?

Zachary James Crosby was blessed on February 28, 2010
at his Grandparent's home in Dover, Florida.
Those who participated in the circle were:
Jacob Crosby (his father), James King, Sr., Robert Crosby, Mark Riebow, Jared Crosby, Jonathan Crosby, Matthew Riebow, and Joshua Crosby.
It was a beautiful day!

The New York Crosbys were down for over a week!
We loved seeing them because we rarely get to.
Kaitlyn and Gwen got in some play time together, and we all got to catch-up!

One day, Mom had scheduled family pictures and we got some lovely shots.
My favorite is this one of Zack and his Grandpa King.
They have the same hands, so we were trying to capture that but Zack wasn't cooperating.
Grandpa King did great though!
I love, LOVE this shot!

This past weekend we went to Disney World! Woo Hoo!

Kaitlyn got to take some pictures
with some of her favorite characters.
She loves, LOVES, Lilo & Stitch.
She gave them each very big hugs!

And she actually had us get out of line for Dumbo to go stand in line to see Tigger & Pooh. I think Tigger is her favorite. He loves to bounce and she loves to jump!

Kaitlyn is a very lucky little girl. She has already been to Disney at least a half a dozen times because her Nana had season passes. So, when Jake and I took her she had already ridden almost everything. However, she hadn't ridden on the Tea Cups. As you can tell by her facial expression, she LOVED them! She and her daddy were spinning the tea cup as fast as they could!

We have a few more Disney Trips coming up because we took advantage of the Florida Resident $99 - 4 Park Pass. We also have a family wedding (my cousin Kelli) on the horizon.
We'll keep ya posted!

Tomorrow's Forecast....

2010-03-01T21:53:00.002-05:00

a perfectly winter day filled with cold and rain. So, I highly recommend pulling out your stockpot and whipping up one of these babies!

The first, is a delicious Ham and Potato Soup. I have previously blogged about this fabulous dish and my addiction to Bennigan's Baked Potato Soup that started back in college.

The second is a new recipe found by my mother and craved by my husband. It is a perfectly hardy soup in need of some nice crusty dippin' bread! The recipe is for Italian Sausage Soup. The following makes 6 servings:

Ingredients

1 pound Italian sausage
1 clove garlic, minced
2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
1 cup sliced carrots
1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained
2 small zucchini, cubed
2 cups spinach - packed, rinsed and torn
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a stockpot or Dutch oven, brown sausage with garlic. Stir in broth, tomatoes and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
Stir in beans with liquid and zucchini. Cover, and simmer another 15 minutes, or until zucchini is tender.
Remove from heat, and add spinach. Replace lid allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves. Soup is ready to serve after 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

I had totally forgotten.

2010-02-08T09:33:00.002-05:00

So, it has been almost 2 months since my last blog. A new born baby, in combination with a two year-old who is determined to get her way, is ridiculously time consuming. Who knew? I keep giving myself hurdles to get to. Such as, when breastfeeding started back up, I started a mantra, "Just 10 days Give it 10 days. Ten days for the searing pain to go down." And it worked! Then it was, "Just 2 months; two months until I can sleep again. Surely, in 2 months Zack will be sleeping solid in his own bassinet." WRONG!

I had totally forgotten everything I had learned with Kaitlyn from the wonderful Ms. Tracy Hogg (who sadly had passed away before I ever even discovered her). Jacob is the one who brought Ms. Hogg into our lives. He is an avid researcher anytime we invest in anything. He grew up in a home where the "Consumer Reports" subscription was regularly renewed, and I am grateful for it. You can imagine, when we found out we were pregnant for the first time, there was a good deal of time in bookstores. Jake found this book one day at Borders, "The Baby Whisperer".

Hogg informed me of a great many things, but the most important was EASY. No, seriously, she titled the cycle of events your child should go through as "E.A.S.Y." She said we shouldn't be rigidly clinging onto a timetable, more a cycle of behavior. E: Eat, A: Activity, S: Sleep, Y: You time. Somehow, I had totally forgotten that from baby #1 to baby #2. I had also forgotten that you have to 'teach' your baby how to sleep in their cribs. I had been randomly placing Zack in his bassinet hoping he would take to it.

Nevertheless, we are now back on track, teaching Zack how to sleep by himself and continually going through the cycle of predictable events of E.A.S.Y. Even though I am still not sleeping as much as I would like, and Zack still hasn't fallen completely in love with his crib (He is sleeping pretty solid from 9p-3a. Then it's anyone's guess when he's going to fall back asleep.), I know we will get there... thanks to Ms. Hogg.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-12-21T21:17:00.003-05:00

Zack's 1st Santa Picture

2009-12-18T10:00:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday, Zack and I were home alone while Katie and Jake went out on a little "Daddy-Daughter" date after running some errands. My dad was installing a new porch light when he noticed Santa Claus riding through the park on a motorcycle. So, Zack's first picture with Santa... was on a motorcycle.

Zack Attack

2009-11-29T23:24:00.009-05:00

We definitely have a lot to be thankful for...Zachary James Crosby was born today at 2:15 p.m. I'm sure Rachel will have plenty to say about this jam-packed day, so I'll stick to a rundown of the facts and post some pictures (which is what most of you want anyway). We had planned to have Zack as a C-section on Tuesday, Dec 1, but Rachel started having contractions (and other pre-labor symptoms that I won't mention here) yesterday that progressed to a point at which the doctor told us to come on in today. After some excellent attention from the good folks at St. Joseph's Hospital, Zack arrived, weighing in at a back-breaking 10 lbs, 6 oz...a record (as near as we can figure) for both sides of our immediate family. Zack is 21 in long and has a "melon" circumference of 14.5 in. Thank goodness for modern medicine. Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes thus far. We are truly amazed at how many people care for us and our little ones. We love you all so much. Keep those prayers coming. More pictures to follow in the coming weeks.

Little did she know...

That's my boy!

"You mean I have to stay out here?"

First kiss from Mommy

Cuddling with Mommy

"I see you Daddy...and I'm going to eat you out of house and home"

We've Got a Big Boy... a Very, BIG Boy!

2009-11-09T15:26:00.003-05:00

Katie was 7lbs 10oz at birth. She was a very average weight, average height, healthy baby girl. So, when the ultrasound tech announced at my 32 weeks appointment that Zach was also of average weight (6lbs 5oz) there was no shock.

Well, today was my 36 week appointment and I was schedule for yet another ultrasound. This time around the ultrasound tech kept measuring and measuring. Finally she says, "Well, I can't make him any smaller." "Huh?" I think to myself. "He's 8lbs." she says. EIGHT POUNDS! I still have 3 weeks left! How did this happen?! No wonder my belly has been so sore and I've received new, angry stretch marks. I have a mammoth growing inside of me! A little linebacker-in-waiting! This also explains the past month of restless nights with extraordinarily sore hips.

After the ultrasound tech, I go to see the OB. She clarifies, "He's not 8lbs. He is 8lbs. 10 oz." She then proceeds to feel around and measure things because they could have added or subtracted a pound from Zach's estimated weight. I'm tall, so she is thinking my belly will be all squishy and he'll be smaller. Wrong. My belly has been rock-like for the past few weeks. Not only that, my uterus is 3cm larger than it should be.

We've got a big boy in there. A very, BIG boy.

Here he is in all his 8lb 10oz glory!

I just want to squeez those cheeks and kiss those lips!

The Week of the Family

2009-11-01T18:35:00.006-05:00

Well, today was the start of The Week of the Family in Tampa Bay. The local members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been encouraged by the Regional Authorities to participate as much as possible. Check out the website to see all of the activities they are sponsoring this week. They're even having discounted movie tickets, dinners and kids events.

Today, they had the kick-off at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Tampa. My Dad was in charge of the the Church's volunteers and being a liason with the organizers. Most of my family volunteered, while Katie, my sister Bekah, and myself went to enjoy the free admission at the Museum.

Of course, as most things go now-a-days, it was all about making Kaitlyn happy. We started off meandering around the main complex and quickly realized it was not going to be holding Katie's attention. So, off to "Kids In Charge" we went. There is a huge building souly dedicated to kids exploring and learning. A much better fit for a toddler.

The first thing that hooked Kaitlyn was an "exhibit" sponsored by Publix. There was an orange grove, a farm, a deli and a grocery store filled with fake foods and conveyer belts.

Kaitlyn really liked picking the "balls" and taking them to the farm. She loves to have a job.

Then we found that there was an "Astronaut Training Program" we could participate in. Katie was too small to do most of the activities (which were all some kind of bounce house/obstacle course/velcro wall. The smallest bounce house was just her size and it contained a slide.

Bekah tried out the last challenge, which was a huge slide housed in the farthest corner of "Kids in Charge".

She burned her heels on the canvas on her way down. Ouchie!

Bekah is such a good Aunt. She followed Katie all around, wherever and whenever she wanted to go. She also crawled in and out of these tunnels with her. Bless her. There is no way (even if Mommy wasn't 8 months pregnant) that I would have been that patient.

Katie was also really drawn to this light table with translucent colored shapes. You could stack them up and see different colors... kind of like an open ended kalidescope.

On our way out to the Lowry Park Petting Zoo, we passed by a live band that was rockin' away in the 88 degree heat. They didn't let a little heat and sweat stop 'em!

When I think petting zoo, I think sheep, goat, bunny.... definitely not snake.

We didn't get to see what else they had because Katie dumped her snack in the dirt (on accident) and then decided to start running around the ampi-theater. Then, she started to have a fit when we tried to corral her. It was definitely nap time.

So, bye- bye MOSI. Thanks for the fun!

Trunk or Treat Till You Drop...

2009-11-01T18:05:00.004-05:00

from heat exhaustion!

We here in Central Florida suffered a 90 degree day on Halloween this year. I remember many a Halloween from my childhood with my costume sticking to me. Luckily, Kaitlyn is still trying to grasp the concept, so we only hit the Trunk or Treat at our church and skipped the actual Trick or Treating that evening.

Kaitlyn was Dora the Explorer this year, while her Daddy was Swiper! I was a witch who was too hot to even wear her hat. Needless to say, bright Florida sunshine and a parking lot do not make for a lovely comfortable combination.

Besides the heat, our building's wards put on a pretty good event: Hot dogs, chips, popcorn, a cake walk, costume contest, pumpkin contest, games and Trunk or Treating.
The glistening evidence is below:

Katie was most concerned with continually checking up on her haul.

Swiper from behind. I have to say, I nailed the design of that tail, even if I couldn't whip out some gloves.

This was our game... you had to throw the ghosts back into the haunted house. After Katie was done making the rounds, she was the most avid participant. She kept climbing in the back of the car to get the ghosts and tossing them out so that they were rolling all over the parking lot.

Here's Katie checking out all of our melted Kit Kats. Poor candy.

We took Chloe too. Bad idea. It was so hot she was sweltering. Not to mention, she loves people and just wanted to jump up and lick everyone to death. Or once we finally tied her leash to the car, she would whimper anytime she wanted to follow someone who walked away. She is such a drama queen.

Pumpkin!

2009-10-29T23:13:00.004-04:00

Kaitlyn officially loves, "Pumpkin!"s. She shouts this phrase anytime she sees them and she counts the 2 we have on our porch every time we walk past.

Since we live in hot and humid Florida, we carved our "Pumpkin!" today in hopes that it will survive until Halloween. Here are the before and afters:

Not too horrible for having not done this in a decade.
Also, this was Kaitlyn's "Pumpkin!" carving outfit, a John Deer t-shirt and a tutu... classic. (She had recently woken up from a nap. Hence the glare full of contempt.)

Images for a Cure

2009-10-29T22:47:00.007-04:00

Recently, a family friend was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. So, when some friends of hers organized an event in honor of those who have been diagnosed with this disease... we were totally up for it!

A talented local photographer, Crystal Balazik, and make-up artist, Jodi Anderson, decided to participate with the program "Images for a Cure" and set a date to raise some moola! Sunday, October 25th was dedicated to raising funds for Breast Cancer Research. Crystal and Jodi offered their services for an exceedingly small fee that was donated to the program.

So, Kaitlyn and I (as well as all of my immediate female family) showed up to get our faces painted and our pictures took!

Kaitlyn was very happy to learn that people had brought their puppies. She spent her time chasing them around while Mommy had her make-up done.

My sister Rebekah is the fashionista in the family and was totally happy to be pampered with professional make-up and photographs.

Kaitlyn terrorizing Buddy.

Then, out we went for some Mommy-Daughter photos!

(There will be more pictures to post soon.
We took some more shots with my Mom and sisters!)

After all of the picture taking, we'd worked up an appetite and descended upon all of the yummy refreshments generously made and donated by participants of the event!

After all was said and done, we had such a good time raising money for this exceptional cause and can't wait to participate again next year! Thanks Crystal and Jodi!

A Spontaneous Weekend Getaway!

2009-09-28T10:49:00.006-04:00

This past weekend, my parents were going to be camping at Fort Wilderness in Orlando. Jake and I were planning on taking a trip to the Temple and dropping Kaitlyn off with them while we went to a session. Well, things didn't go quite as planned because Friday morning, Jake got an itch to extend our time in Orlando.

So, Jake visited priceline.com and got a really good deal on hotel across the street from Downtown Disney and we spent Saturday toting Kaitlyn around Fort Wilderness and Disney Village.

We started our morning by visiting what used to be the Petting Zoo at Fort Wilderness. However, there are no more sheep, goats and/or other animals... just ponies.

We got there just before opening and Kaitlyn spent a good 10 minutes chasing the ponies around the outer fence.

Once the "Ranch" opened, we followed everyone inside and got in line to ride a pony; but you know how 2 year olds are, there was a tantrum that resulted in no pony ride. On the way out she made sure to give a nearby pony a big hug.

Then, even though it was only 10:30a, we were already sweating! So, we made a b-line for the pool! They had recently renovated it and added a "big kid" slide and a child play area. Kaitlyn liked the kiddie pool the best. She kept jumping in and stomping around in it.

She also liked to crawl around on her hands in the water.

Here is Kaitlyn sliding down the kiddie slide all by herself!

Jacob even snuck her down the big kid slide once before the Lifeguard told him only 1 person was allowed down at a time. This girl is a total adrenaline junkie!

Before we left to go back to our room for a nap, we had a little ice cream snack. Kaitlyn has been obsessed with, "Mouse!" ever since her Nana took her to the Magic Kingdom last Labor Day weekend. She loves everything "Mouse!" She was very excited to eat some "Mouse!"

When we made our way back to the hotel, Kaitlyn was in desperate need of a nap. She had gotten 3 hours less sleep than normal the previous night. She ended up taking a 4 hour nap. That allowed Mommy to relax, shower and take a nap of her own. While Daddy watched the USF vs. FSU game with frustration and ended up taking his own nap before the game even ended.

Once everyone was awake and ready to go, we walked over to Downtown Disney to get some dinner. We lucked out at the Rain Forest Cafe' (we had tried to make reservations but they were totally booked) and we were seated within 25 minutes of our arrival. Kaitlyn liked the animals, but didn't like the simulated thunderstorms.

After dinner, we took a walk through "Pooh Corner" to get to the Merry-Go-Round. Kaitlyn loves this over-sized Dalmation. The photo on the top is from this weekend. The photo on the bottom is from last November. She's gotten so big!

After our visit with Lucky, Daddy and Katie went for a ride! Kaitlyn loves Merry-Go-Rounds!

Then, after some more walking around, we made a pit stop at Ghiradelli's for ice cream! Kaitlyn LOVES ice cream! She couldn't shovel it in fast enough.

After our sweet tooths had been satisfied, we headed back to the hotel just in time to miss out being soaked by the huge storm that made its way through the area.

Summer Recap

2009-09-11T09:06:00.010-04:00

Well, I've been totally neglecting our blog... and I'm only doing it now out of sheer guilt. I haven't even been consistently taking pictures of what has been going on this summer. I'm such a loaf. Anyway, here is my recap:

In July, we went to Siesta Key Beach, which just happened to be the perfect beach for Kaitlyn. The parking lot was close to the beach and the first 10 yards of gulf only came up to your calf. She could easily make her way in and out of the water without needing someone hovering over her. There was also a clean public restroom nearby and a reasonably priced snack bar.

Just the girls went: Aunt Bekah, Katie, Aunt Bethany, Nana and myself.

We started to work on potty training. We've given up for the time being, but she knows what is supposed to happen. Obviously, she's been paying attention to others and their pottying habits.

Bekah turned 12 this summer and we all went with her on her first Temple Trip with the Youth.

Later in July, I turned 26 and Bethany made me a really scrumptious chocolate cake. It was so rich!

Kaitlyn, being the observant 2 year old that she is, decided she really likes dipping. It doesn't matter what is being dipped or what it is being dipped into, she wants to dip. "Dip, dip" she says. Oreos and milk are an obvious favorite.

Kaitlyn also started flipping herself over the edge of her crib to get out, so we went ahead and got rid of the retracting gate and now she has a "big girl bed." She isn't consistently staying in bed when we put her down, but she is getting there.

My mom took me on a trip out to Utah with her to go to Temple Square and Education Week. It was a blast and I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever thought about it!

We stayed in Helaman Halls and hiked it up and down campus all week. Needless to say, I was quite out of breath most of the time. By the end of the week, I ended up just spending my day in the Marriott Center listening to Brad Wilcox, Susan Easton Black, David A. Christensen and John Bytheway. Then, I would meander out to the rest of campus in the evening and go to another class or two.

Temple Square was gorgeous! Their plant beds were exploding with blooms! I'd never seen anything like it.

We went to a live session and got to see all of the Brides and wedding parties. There were 50 weddings go on the Friday we went to the Temple. Crazy.

Saturday we went to Welfare Square and DI to see the tour. They have really yummy cheese and chocolate milk samples at the end of the tour. On our way to the Lion House for lunch, we passed a park downtown that was having a Farmer's Market.

Our favorite tent was Pierre's Country Bakery. I could have camped out and ate there all day. Of course, I would have spent a fortune. Mom and I split a strawberry and blueberry tart that was $6. It was melt in your mouth delicious. Everything under their tent made your mouth water just looking at it.

When I got back, a couple days later Aunt Ashley and Cousin Gwen came for a visit. Grammie & Poppa Crosby had rented a beach house on Anna Maria Island and we went for a visit. Too bad my camera wouldn't stop fogging up on the beach.

Then, over Labor Day weekend, we went and rented a townhouse in Haines City at the Regal Palms Resort and Spa. It was nice to get away, relax and hit the Labor Day sales at the outlets. They had a fun pool with a slide, lazy river and zero entry section for the kiddies. We mainly ate and lazed around.

However, Ellen's birthday is coming up, so made sure we celebrated with some yummy cheesecake!
Happy Birthday Ellen!

Well, that was our summer.
Now I'm counting down until the last day of September when I can decorate for Halloween! Muwahahah!

Birthday Buddies

2009-07-16T11:42:00.001-04:00

Both Jake and my Mom share the same birthday... July 15th.
Jake's parents were totally awesome and made us all a steak dinner!
Afterward, we had German Chocolate Cheesecake for my Mom and Pig Lickin' Cake for Jake.

Happy 2nd Birthday Stinkerbelle!

2009-07-11T11:15:00.002-04:00

Saturday, July 11th, 2009 marked Kaitlyn's 2nd Birthday!
We started off the morning with waffle cake... that she was completely underwhelmed by and preferred her usually bowl of dry cereal.

She spent the morning at Grammie & Poppa Crosby's where she got her favorite gift of the day... a Cozy Coupe!

Before starting the swimming party at Nana's we dug into some pizza with fresh fruits and vegetables. I believe this event was the final nail in the coffin for that poor white shirt.

After we came back in and dried off, we had cookie cake and Katiecakes!

Kaitlyn couldn't wait for the birthday song to get a taste of some sugary goodness.

Although, she did like everyone singing to her.

She blew out one candle and Poppa Crosby blew out the other.

Surprisingly, Katie preferred the Katiecakes to the cookie cake. She made sure to lick all of the icing off of the cookie, but she ate the cupcake in its entirety.

Swimming Lessons

2009-07-10T10:59:00.002-04:00

For Katie's upcoming birthday, Nana got her swimming lessons! For those of you who follow our blog more closely, I'm sure you've realized Kaitlyn's obsession with water. So, swimming lessons were a necessary evil this summer because we now live 20 yards from a pool that Kaitlyn wants to be in 24/7.

The first day was a little rough. She didn't start out crying, but an older girl next to her (Katie was the youngest in the class) did start out crying and Kaitlyn came to the conclusion that the older girl must have known something she didn't. So, she too, cried for the most part the first day. That is until they started using diving rings.

Kaitlyn became known as the "Ring Master" because she always wanted to hold as many rings as possible. Later in the week, she had to be the one gathering them and throwing them in the pool while waiting for her turn in the water. In the picture below, she is pointing out all of the rings waiting for her on the stairs.

Here, Kaitlyn is lording over them while waiting for her turn.

Here she is kicking and using her "big spoons" to get to the wall. (That little boy sitting on the wall cried every day, all day!)

And, here she is still keeping watch over her rings on the steps. She was so funny about it.

Happy Belated Birthday America!

2009-07-07T13:59:00.007-04:00

It's true, I took a little long to post these. That is probably because I took over one hundred pictures on the Fourth of July. (This was mainly because everything was happening so far away I was having a hard time focusing my camera.)

For the Fourth, we bummed some space and AC off of our dear family friend Judi Groom. She was kind enough to let the Crosby Clan, sans Poppa Crosby, invade her condo for the day on Anna Maria Island.

The day before, Katie and I spent the afternoon at the J.W. Marriott Resort in Orlando with my family. (I highly recommend it!) We ended up spending somewhere around 4 hours in the pool/lazy-river there. Kaitlyn loves water, see previous post with her wading in our toilet. However, she hates getting anything resembling dirt on her feet and shoes. So, we got her ready for the beach and gave a wager that she'd only last 15-20 minutes. I was very, very wrong.

Apparently Kaitlyn's loathing of dirty feet is over shadowed by her love/need of having a job. The sand provided that job: fill bucket, dump bucket out, fill bucket, dump bucket out, fill bucket, dump bucket out, and on, and on, and on.

She did eventually realize that sand was sticking to her and it caused a moment of panic...

that was diffused by her Grammie burying her foot in the sand and saying, "So, what?"

Uncle Johnny, who is visiting from California, got in on working in the sand. Kaitlyn was amazed at the use of his hands.

Then it was time to go back out in the water, which temperature was much like a bathtub. On our previous excursion into the Gulf (which was uncharacteristically rough for a day without a hurricane warning) Katie had decided she'd rather be held and jump over the waves, than ride in an inner-tube.

Kaitlyn also became fascinated with Grammie's floppy straw hat.

There was a lot of seaweed in the water. The gulls kept hovering over it, eating all of the little fishes that were feasting off of it. Kaitlyn felt the need to "gift" the seaweed to people.

By the time we made it back from our second excursion into the Gulf, Uncle Johnny had half buried himself in the beach.

We then went to go rinse off and play in the pool. Too bad, the shower was hard to find and everyone had used the pool to rinse off. Yucky. Not to mention, the pool was warmer than the Gulf water. But that didn't diminish Katie's need to jump off the wall into the water over and over again.

All in all, it was ridiculously good weather for July in Florida. Jake was ready to camp out on the beach that night. This was probably due to all of the cloud cover that gave us a very pathetic excuse for a sunset.

But it didn't stop us from enjoying our evening. Kaitlyn was still fascinated with the water and was grabbing at every hand available to her to keep her down by the shore.

Shortly after the light disappeared, fireworks slowly but surely started making their appearance. Sitting on the beach is really the best way to enjoy such a bright and joyful display. We loved it!

Settled

2009-06-09T12:05:00.004-04:00

Well, our life has drastically changed within the past 2 months. At the beginning of April, we decided that Jake was going to make a little career change. Right now he is working for his dad's insurance agency and will probably be starting up another this coming January.

Once we realized that this change was going to be taking place, we knew we were obviously going to be moving from Tallahassee to Tampa. We got out house as fixed up as possible and put it on the market. When we signed with our realtor she informed us that out of the 121 townhomes put on the market since January (in our quadrant of town), 5 of them had sold. However, 10 days after we had placed our property on the market we were under contract. We were shocked and amazed. Not to mention, eternally grateful to our Heavenly Father. Another 3 weeks later, after lots of craziness, we closed on our house without losing our shirts! Thank the Heavens!

So, now we are back near our beloved family. I unpacked the last box and hung the last picture frame this past weekend. Kaitlyn made the change like a champ. She's had no problem being within walking distance of one set of grandparents and a 10 minute drive away from the others. She loves it! And so do we! They are the biggest help!

We miss Tallahassee. But I have to say, I always felt as if we were in a transition there; as if it wasn't quite home. Now I feel at home and I feel more settled. It's lovely!

Who Needs An Outdoor Swimming Pool...

2009-05-27T13:32:00.002-04:00

When You Have An Indoor One!

We found Kaitlyn like this one afternoon.
When I asked her if she wanted out, she said, "Na, na, na, na."

Zoinks!

2009-05-27T13:20:00.002-04:00

Well, now that we are leaving town, we have discovered the funnest place for Kaitlyn. She has always been a jumper. Bounce, bounce, bounce on everything she could. Last summer, when she was only 1 my younger sister was visiting and saw a commercial for Zoinks. She thought Kaitlyn would love it, but you have to at least be 2 years old to jump.

So, the other weekend, we decided to try it out. (She'll be 2 in July but she's really tall.) Needless to say, she loved it! Most of the time, all we saw was her back because she was constantly running around from one thing to the next.

Kaitlyn had a strange fondness for this, the Cheesrider. She kept hugging the mouse.

She discovered this style of game last time we were in Brandon and visited a Chuck E. Cheese. She love anything with a ball.

We highly recommend Zoinks, it was only like $5 and you can jump all you want!

The Little Jelly Bean

2009-05-18T19:59:00.002-04:00

Jelly Bean sounds so much better than "the little fetus" or "the shrimp." However, that is what he or she looks like due to my inverted uterus. My next appointment is in a couple of weeks with my new OB in Tampa, Dr. Fallieras. He's my Mom's OB-GYN. He delivered me as well as, Matt, Bethany, and Bekah at St. Joseph's Hospital.

"Ooof! Ooof!"

2009-05-14T22:01:00.002-04:00

Kaitlyn is still under the impression that she is a dog.

It's Official!

2009-05-03T16:51:00.007-04:00

We're on the market and our hopes have yet to be crushed into dust by months of inactivity.

Here's our cute home we fell in love with as soon as we pulled in the driveway 4 years ago. We just need someone else to have that same feeling!

If you know any newly weds looking to buy...
send 'em our way!

Katie's 1st Sock Puppet Experience

2009-04-23T16:49:00.005-04:00

Katie had her first sock puppet today. Yes, it was just a sock, no bug eyes or puff ball nose. She thought it was silly all the same. Especially, when I had it give her kisses.

A New Direction

2009-04-17T07:50:00.006-04:00

There are so many decisions to make during our lifetime... and most of them are unexpected. Some doors have closed and some have opened for the Crosby family this past week. Jake and I have been thinking and praying and have come up with some decisions. We're going to be putting our townhouse up for sale and moving back to Tampa. Jake is going to finish out his contract with the DOH Prosecution Services and then move into the family insurance business.

So, as of May 30th, the Crosbys are going to be packing up and leaving Tallahassee to move back to our hometown. If you know anyone looking for a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath on the NW side of town, send 'em our way.

A New Trick

2009-04-16T21:30:00.002-04:00

I was watching TV today when Katie Belle came walking up to me with her pants on. One leg in each pant leg. Her only problem is that she can't pull the pants over her little booty. She walks around holding them up, grunting, until she finds me and I pull them up. Another thing is she does not stop at one pair. She likes to layer. In the pictures below, she is working on putting on her 3rd set of pants.

New Growth

2009-04-15T12:28:00.002-04:00

Easter Eggs with Nana

2009-04-15T11:54:00.005-04:00

Kaitlyn had her first experience dying Easter Eggs with Nana this year. She really enjoyed it, but you could totally see Kaitlyn's work oriented personality in it. She was moving as fast as she could to grab all of the eggs and cram them into one dye container. When we showed her they couldn't all fit and gave her a second dye, she crammed that one full too. Then, once she had crammed all of her eggs into dye containers, she promptly took them all out and moved them back to the egg carton. She was going to start the whole process over when I told her it was time to go to bed. She went to church in her cute Easter outfit the next day with dark green finger nails. Pretty.

Sneaky McSneakerson

2009-04-15T11:47:00.004-04:00

So, a "child proof" lock is broken on one of our lower kitchen cabinets. Kaitlyn has realized, that she can use the ledge of that cabinet to step up and grab food from off of the counter. She has gotten into many things, cookies, chips and most recently... crackers.

She is always very proud of herself.

Saying Good-Bye

2009-04-04T11:40:00.001-04:00

Earlier this week Jake pointed out that he has been watching ER for half of his life. That is quite a span, and we doubt that such a scenario will ever happen again with a television series. So, even though I don't watch ER, (I listen to it, I get light headed with all of the blood and yuck) I tried to make an event out of it. We had California Pizza Kitchen pizza, White Cheddar Popcorn, Mike & Ikes and Ice Cream! I have to say, I gorged myself and had a weird texture coating my mouth afterwards, but it was well worth it. The final episode was very well done. All in all, it was a very nice good-bye to 15 years of entertainment.

For Future Reference....

2009-04-03T18:52:00.006-04:00

I often think of this Far Side Comic while going about by my life. It helps me to keep from boiling over.

P.S. This isn't totally random, I posted this in reference to Lindsey Miller's post entitled, "You...FOOL!"

P.S.S. This is not an accurate representation of my standards or beliefs.

Springtime Tallahassee

2009-03-29T19:48:00.008-04:00

This weekend was the annual Springtime Tallahassee Parade. Both sets of our parents and my 2 sisters drove up from Tampa to join us for the festivities. The past few years we've gone to the outdoor market, but we've never been to the parade. We figured this would be the perfect year to start considering Kaitlyn loves noise and music!

Attendees at the event seemed pretty scarce, probably due to the weather forecast. The rain that hadn't stopped the previous 2 days, let up for just long enough for us to spend a couple hours enjoying ourselves downtown.

Kaitlyn was fairly weighted down with necklaces by the end of the parade.

Grammie & Katie Belle love Kettle Corn!

Everyone indulged in lots of fried food: funnel cake, fried green tomatoes and a bloomin' onion. Mmmmmmm.

There was an awesome cover band playing called, Black Sheep. If the weather had held up, we could have listened to them for most of the day.

We had a really good time and plan on doing it again next year!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

2009-03-26T19:55:00.003-04:00

Okay, so it's not April.... yet. However, we had our first, 48 hours straight, band-after-band, down pour this weekend. Yea! I've missed rain.

Death of a Dishcloth

2009-03-24T19:24:00.004-04:00

In a previous post titled, "Little Chef" I mentioned Kaitlyn's new fondness for cooking; and how she especially enjoys "using" the stove. Well, earlier today during my art class, I kept having to wash my hands (we were using pastels) and I could never find the dishcloth. I kept walking around the house with wet hands searching for it. I knew I had seen her with it earlier. I figured she must have hidden it in her room. Then, while the oven was heating and Jacob came home, I noticed a strange smell. Then it hit me.... THE OVEN! (Also mentioned in the previous post, Kaitlyn's has tried baking blankets, books and stuffed animals) My lost dishcloth was nice and toasty, baking in the oven.
Make mental note: Must ALWAYS check the oven before use, or have serious consequences. My mother already taught me this lesson, but that is another story entirely.

Lovin' Bolt!

2009-03-24T13:24:00.004-04:00

Well, for family home evening last night the Crosby clan got Bruster's Ice Cream and rented Bolt from a Redbox for free! Woo Hoo! (We love free.)

It was really cute! Jake and I loved the hamster, Rhino. Not to mention, all of the various pigeons with regional accents and dialects. We were trying to introduce Kaitlyn to her first Disney movie. We figured since the lead character was a dog she would sit and take notice..... wrong! She is still not ready for a feature length film. That is totally not a bad thing. I'm glad she would rather read a book than watch TV.

However, if any of you are planning on purchasing this movie. Now is the time to do it! It would be a great Easter Basket stuffer. WalMart has it on sale for $15.96. Then, there is a $5 off coupon available until the end of March. PLUS, a $4 rebate with the purchase of a Ronzoni Pasta product. In the end, I will have only spent $7 on a New Release. (Well, not including the cost of the box of pasta.)

Little Chef

2009-03-21T15:01:00.000-04:00

Kaitlyn has developed a love of cooking. She used to only mess around in the kitchen when I was cooking. Now I find her causing mischief in the kitchen all of the time! The other morning I opened the stove to find the quilt I made her inside! She pulls the oven door open and puts in mixing bowls, books, anything she can get her hands on. She takes any of the silverware she can get her hands on and throws them in the sink. She bangs bowls and lids around, all while trying to reach whatever she possible can on the counter. Yesterday, she shattered the butter dish all over the floor. (She was lucky not to have walked through the shards of glass.) She loves to walk around wearing the oven mitt too.

"Uh Oooh"....

2009-03-17T20:26:00.003-04:00

Kaitlyn's new favorite phrase.
Too bad she has too many legitimate chances in which to use it.
For example....

her personal introduction to body art. D-E-lightful.

The Great Debate...

2009-03-15T18:17:00.004-04:00

Which Girl Scout Cookie do you love? Trefoil or Thin Mint?

It's Thin Mints in this house! They win 2-1!
We Crosby girls are chocoholics!

Happy 163rd Birthday!

2009-03-15T17:47:00.004-04:00

This Spring marks the 163rd birthday of the Relief Society!

The Relief Society was founded in 1842 by Prophet Joseph Smith. It was established to help build faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement; uphold, nourish and protect families; and provide relief.

In celebration of this momentous occasion, the Tallahassee First Ward had a special Home, Family and "Purse"onal Enrichment activity. Everyone was asked to bring their purse with them to the activity. When we arrived, we received a number and were instructed to leave it with along with our purse on a particular table. We then voted on whose purse was the heaviest, the most colorful, the smallest, the most expensive, etc.

The stage was decorated with different purses representing the past and present Presidents of the Relief Society. A short biography about each President and their role in the Society's history was attached to each purse.

We also played a game where Tricia called out random items that you might find in your purse and you got candy if you had it.

Other than that, the night was a full of mingling and catching up with good friends, as well as stuffing our faces full of good food without children begging for our attention.

Thank you Enrichment Committee!

A Sunny Spring Saturday

2009-03-07T17:37:00.005-05:00

Spring has arrived in Tallahassee! (Well, it's been here, but winter tried to make a comeback and killed off my first azalea blooms!)

Our Camellia bush is hopefully about to explode! Its branches are weighted down with hundreds of buds. The past 3 springs it has been stingy and only lets a few flowers bloom at a time. It's such a scrooge.

Our Azaleas are also on the verge of their own floral explosion.

Today was such a perfect Saturday. If you didn't find yourself outside you should be ashamed. It was 80 degrees with low humidity and a big beautiful sun shining brightly! It got us Crosbys off our derrieres and outside working in our yard. Jake hacked away all of the frost damaged plants while I tried to tidy up our neglected porch so Katie could utilize it.

For the last 3 years we have lived here, we have NEVER used our screened in porch! It's only 7.5ft by 13.5ft, but we can make something of it. So, I swept it out, wiped it down and arranged the furniture that has been gathering dust and dirt out there.

Kaitlyn also got a gift from Nana to put out on the screened porch. After her nap, she got dressed in her bathing suit from Grammie and was introduced to her new toy.... which just happens to be the new love of her life. Hello, water playground!

Obviously, the girl loved it!
Any excuse to play with water and toss it around is right up Kaitlyn's alley.

We've always been told, ever since Katie was born, that she has a very expressive face.

Katie also came home from nursery, a month or so ago, with a cup of dirt and some seeds that she planted in it. Shockingly, green stuff started appearing just a week after we began neglecting it on our window ledge. (I was amazed it survived sacrament and the ride home in the first place.) It has now outgrown its original plastic cup and found a new home in a few different terracotta pots.

After all of the fun in the yard, we went to Lowe's and Home Depot looking for a specific light bulb that has been evading us for the past couple of months and took advantage of Sonic's Happy Hour with some Diet Cherry-Limeade, Onion Rings and a grilled chicken wrap. All-in-all, it was a very productive, fun and beautiful Saturday. A day that makes you love being a Floridian!

Mommy & Daddy's Getaway

2009-03-03T12:49:00.006-05:00

After Jake completed taking the Bar Exam this past Wednesday, we got to escape on the little getaway he planned to Orlando for the both of us. He got a really good deal on Priceline for the Hyatt Grand Cypress. It was a blissful weekend with no set schedule and no Katie Belle waking me up!

Our room had a fabulous view! Below are a few pictures I took from our balcony.

We were right on top of the Disney property and could see Downtown Disney and Epcot from our window. At night, we could take in the firework displays!

I love getting away with my Baby!

THE Strawberry Festival

2009-02-26T12:43:00.005-05:00

For those of your who are unaware, Plant City, FL (Jake's hometown) annually holds THE Florida Strawberry Festival. I grew up 10 miles west of Plant City and was surprised while watching the Food Network one day to learn that the Strawberry Festival is one of the biggest food festivals in the Nation! Obviously, I've been taking it for granted.

Besides all of the delicious foods (strawberry shortcake, strawberry shakes, chocolate covered strawberries, Philly cheese steaks, corn dogs, burgers, hot dogs, sausages, popcorn, cotton candy, french fries, etc.) they have constant entertainment all day and night with mostly Country Artists and Bands, some of them are big names. LeAnne Rhimes, Travis Tritt, Alan Jackson and Alabama have all played at the festival in previous years. Taylor Swift is playing there this year.

They have all sorts of contests each year, from a Strawberry Festival beauty pageant to 4H contests, Float Contests, Clogging Contests and an Art Show.

Strawberries are a big part of our cuisine this time of year. Especially since Jake and I grew up around strawberry fields and have picked some for ourselves. There is nothing like a Plant City Strawberry. California has nothin' on Plant City.

So, this year, was Kaitlyn's first year at the Strawberry Festival!
I have to say, she seemed to really enjoy herself.

Above is pictured my new love, Fiske Fries. At first, I thought, "$7 for a bucket of fries?! Are they nuts?!" No, they're geniuses. BEST FRENCH FRIES EVER!

Kaitlyn gettin' some of Grammie's Kettle Korn.

Cowboy hat anyone?

Kaitlyn loves animals, especially animals that make noises! She got to see chickens, bunnies, hogs and cows! Fun, fun, fun!

Anyone feelin' lucky and want to take a chance riding the bucking bronco?

We were there within the first hour that the festival had officially started. That's why the midway was a little empty.

If you ever have a chance to go, I highly recommend it! Just go there and eat your way around the festival!

"M" is for Munchie Mouth.

2009-02-22T12:39:00.003-05:00

All Kaitlyn did was eat for the 20 days we were down in Tampa. She developed a very bad habit of always needing some kind of snack if she was inside the house. Here are a couple pics of the Messy Munching Monster!

That girl loves her mashed potatoes! I think she had 8 heaping spoofuls!

Yea for Surprises!

2009-02-20T12:41:00.001-05:00

Katie and I had been missing Jake. He was still up studying in Tally and Katie and I were down with the grandparents chillin'. But he surprised us by driving down a few days early and just walking in my parent's back door! Yea for us!

We went and spent a little time at the park together before Jake had to go peel off and do more studying at his parent's house.

We were so excited to see him! Best surprise ever!

Trip to Tennessee

2009-02-16T12:26:00.001-05:00

Kaitlyn and I traveled down to Tampa to give Jake some breathing room to study for the Bar Exam with no distractions. A couple of days after we traveled down, my family took us up to Tennessee for a short vacation in Gatlinburg, TN.

Shocking as it may be, Katie was an excellent car traveler for the 12 hours we spent in the car the first day! She had her puppies to keep her company.

We stayed over in Cherokee, NC and went tubing in Maggie Valley the next morning.

My Mom was the last to admit she was done tubing for the day.

We also upheld our family tradition of making pizzas on Valentine's Day.
We're big on traditions in the Riebow Fam. Not to mention, we just love pizza.

We also spent the afternoon the next day walking around Gatlinburg. We made our annual visit to the Smokey Mountain Candy Store to buy taffy and watch it being made. We love that. I love the Donut Friar. They had the most delicious coconut doughnut that I totally find myself craving from time to time. We also made a trip Mr. Tablecloth to drool at the Vera Bradley bags. Ellen was the only one to walk away with a new purse.

First Baking Lesson

2009-02-08T12:23:00.001-05:00

Kaitlyn has become extremely interested in cooking! She helped me make sugar cookies the other day. Below, she is eating her very own cookie that she pounded out and helped bake.

"Mmmmmmm."

Drooly McDroolerson

2009-02-07T12:19:00.003-05:00

No, that is not a weird dye job on that shirt. It's not a spill.

It's all of the drool that my 19 month old has leaked all over herself! Will the drooling ever end?!

Dancin' in Mama's Shoes

2009-02-07T10:18:00.003-05:00

This morning, while I was out and about, Jacob captured this extremely cute moment that I hate I missed. Thank Heaven for recording devices.

Our Walls and Furniture Will Never Be Safe Again!

2009-02-06T11:36:00.004-05:00

Well, it's happened.
I've always known this day would come....
Kaitlyn has realized that crayons not only work in her coloring books, but on the refrigerator too!

She was quite proud of herself.

A Change of Heart?

2009-01-28T12:40:00.002-05:00

My daughter has worn hair accessories successfully probably twice in her wee little life. She has always been interested in them, she carries them around, she wants to pull them out of my hair, she pulls them out of her hair and then wants me to put them back in, then pulls them out again and wants me to put them back in, so and so forth.

Then, this morning, she brings me a bag full of hair accessories and demands that I start putting them in her hair. Here is what we ended up with:

Thankfully, I Have a Pro Active Husband.

2009-01-28T09:19:00.006-05:00

I am completely oblivious when it comes to what is going on with the government. I rarely watch the news and almost always listen to CDs in my car. Thankfully, I married a man who is very interested in staying up on everything that is going on with our elected and appointed officials.

For those of you who don't know, because I didn't, yesterday State Farm announced that they would pretty much be pulling out of every area of the Florida Insurance Market besides auto, life and health insurance. That means for every one who has their homeowners insurance policies with them, we will have to go to Citizens Property Insurance (a company governed by the State of Florida) or another sub-standard company. State Farm is the #1 insurance provider in the state. Recently, they have been paying out $1.20 for every $1 they get. When they requested a rate increase from Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation, they were denied. So now, they are pulling out. Jake informed me it would take a couple years for the decision to fully work itself out, and that it could still be possible for Tallahassee to make things right. We in the Crosby household, are hoping this is the case.

Last night, when Jake finally got home from work, he put his frustration into words:

Dear Gov. Crist,

I was extremely upset and disappointed by your response to State Farm's announcement that they will be pulling out of the state's property insurance market. The St. Pete Times quoted you as saying, "They probably charge the highest rates in the state, anyway. Floridians will be much better off without them." I cannot believe that you chose to respond to the planned pullout of the state's largest private insurer in such an uncharacteristically flippant manner. Have you not considered the direct ramifications this pullout will have on "Floridians" employed by State Farm and its agents? Have you not considered the indirect ramifications on the state's insurance market as a whole that is, metaphorically speaking, currently held together with chewing gum and bailing wire? Will Citizens and the various sub-standard insurance carriers that have been brought in to help stabilize the state's property insurance market be able to weather another hurricane season like the one we experienced in 2004? At some point, Tallahassee lawmakers are going to run out of insurance companies to publicly flog and will have to actually come up with some solutions that resemble the free market principles our Party supposedly champions.

I guess I am sensitive to this topic because my father has been a State Farm agent for over 25 years and is probably 8-10 years from retirement. He is an honest, hard-working man who started his agency by selling life insurance door-to-door. Today he employs 4 people, 2 of whom are the sole wage earners in their family. If State Farm makes good on its announcement today, he will watch his business crumble and his retirement along with it. He will also be in the unenviable position of laying off members of his staff and/or drastically cutting their salaries. Try telling their families that Floridians will be "better off."

I hope your statement today was not an indication of how you plan to address the property insurance crisis in our state. The Charlie Crist I know and volunteered for in 2006 can do better.

Sincerely,

Jacob Crosby

For those of you as flabbergasted as we are, feel free to contact the Governor. Hopefully, this catastrophe can still be averted.

My Music Lovin' Baby

2009-01-21T17:22:00.004-05:00

Pretty much the only thing Kaitlyn watches consistently is the 'intro with theme song' to each show we happen to watch. She even stops what she is doing to listen to the "Days of Our Lives" theme song. Tonight, she took particular notice to the Gilmore Girls theme song. I replayed it 5 times and she had a fit when she realized I wasn't going to replay it anymore. I can't say I blame her, I love Carol King too.

Enjoy!
Rachel

Delicious Ham & Potato Soup

2009-01-17T16:24:00.002-05:00

I totally put myself through college working at Benningan's Grill & Tavern. Sadly, the entire restaurant chain went out of business last year. The only reason this is sad is because there are a few choice items from their menu that we will truly miss. Jacob will miss the Kilkenny's Country Chicken Salad (dressing on the side, no eggs), potato skins, and I thought I would forever miss their Ultimate Baked Potato Soup. Well, not any more! Due to these ridiculous cold spells, I've had a hankering for soup lately. I went on allrecipes.com (my favorite recipe site) and found this AWESOME recipe. I have made it twice so far and I plan on keeping it in the family for the rest of my days. I mean, it had been rated 5 stars by over 2,000 people! It will definitely be worth your while to make this recipe, and you most likely have all the items you will need already in your pantry.

The only thing I did differently from the recipe, was use Chicken Broth (98% fat free low sodium) instead of water and add shredded cheese on top. It is the perfect soup to warm you up!

Doggie Bath Time

2009-01-16T16:27:00.000-05:00

The other night, I was feeling lazy and Chloe was in desperate need of a bath. So, when it came time for Kaitlyn to have her bath I went ahead and threw one dog in with the other. Kaitlyn thought it was hilarious! She had no idea that Chloe could get wet.

I hate the cold....

2009-01-13T16:58:00.002-05:00

but I love this.
My house is clean, Kaitlyn is napping and my father-in-law finally got my fireplace to light. It is perfectly peaceful... for the moment.

Splish Splash I was Takin' a Bath!

2009-01-11T20:44:00.002-05:00

Yea for the tradition of "Alfalfa do's."

Back to December....

2009-01-11T20:35:00.010-05:00

It's a great blessing for Jake and I that our parents just happen to live 10 minutes apart; not to mention, each set of grandparents live within a 45 minute drive. So, we were able to have a wonderful 11 day visit with almost both sides of our entire family. The only one missing was my brother JT who is serving a mission in Brazil. Some of the highlights were: Christmas (of course), visiting with the NY Crosbys, going to the Florida Aquarium, watching my Dad shoot off fireworks, and my new favorite.... the Dillards New Years Day Sale. That will definately be a tradition from here on out. For those of you who do not know, from now on ask your husbands for a Dillards gift card for Christmas and one day of babysitting. Then, get to Dillards as soon as the doors open on January 1st because all of their clearance is an extra 50% off! Plus, they bring out all of the stuff from the back that needs to go on clearance. The Brandon Dillards is HUGE and almost everywhere you looked there were extra racks pulled out into the aisles to allow for the insane amount of merchandise on sale.

Between Christmas and the Dillards sale, the Crosby clan definitely made out like bandits over the holidays! Our poor Subaru was packed to the gills on our drive back to Tallahassee. Kaitlyn was surrounded by stacks of pillows, toys and luggage while in her car seat.

We thought Kaitlyn would have been a little more into opening gifts this year.... but she wasn't. She'd open them, but only after we coaxed her too.

A few days after Christmas, we went to the Florida Aquarium located near the Port of Tampa. The Aquarium is home to over 20,000 aquatic plants and animals from Florida and from other places around the world.

One of Kaitlyn's favorite things in the world is water! So, her favorite exhibit was the "Touch and Feel Tank." She splashed all over the girl next to us. Those poor starfish and sea urchins didn't see what hit 'em!

One of my favorite things to do is to pet the sting rays. I had the camera out and was about to snap a shot when this guy decided to pop up for a kiss.

Kaitlyn, again, loved trying to splash in the water. Never mind those cool fish swimming under the surface.

Gwen was a little bit tougher to impress. But then again, she's only 9 months old and she didn't have a very good nap. However, Gwen was still able to keep herself together better than her crazy cousin wanting to go, go go!

Every now and again, the Aquarium has fiberglass sculptures that the kids can jump on. They're perfect for photo ops if your toddler is willing to participate.

Needless to say, we had a very fun afternoon with the fam!
If you're ever in Tampa, you should plan a trip!

Also, on a day I was helping my family with some stuff, Jake and his brood took the grandgirls to Parksdale Farms. I totally hate that I missed it (and I definitely want copies of those pictures Ashley) but you should most certainly see what took place there!

Sewing, Sewing, Sewing

2009-01-09T23:39:00.002-05:00

This year I thought it would be fun to make some "I spy" quilts for the Grandmas and my sister-in-law for Christmas. I decided it would be fun back in July. Sadly, I didn't get serious about it until November. Needless to say, Kaitlyn became fascinated with the sewing machine and annoyed that Mommy would never let her touch the needle.

I also made a kind of practical joke for Jake and my Dad. You see, my Dad used to wear this purple, rainbow striped sweater to church on chilly Sundays. When Jake would see him wearing it, he would start singing the song from the "Figment" ride and tell my Dad he looked like an Epcot employee. When my Mom finally convinced my Dad to get rid of it (or maybe she just raided his closet while he wasn't looking) they passed it on to Jacob. The sweater sat in the box it came in for MONTHS on the trunk at the end of our bed. It was reincarnated as a pillow with a few memorable embellishments that both men would recognize.

Last but not least, I saw these cool perzonalized fleece balls on etsy.com (truly one of the coolest websites on the planet) and thought they looked so fun. However, I was not about to pay $50 for 2 of them. I thought I could surely make them myself. Well, I did make them... just a little too huge. I mailed one to my niece in New York and it weighed over 9lbs! Gwen is only 9 months, so I'm sure it will make a nice piece of furniture for a while. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Kaitlyn thinks it's hilarious to roll it around the house and throw herself on top of it so she can roll forwards and backwards. She even uses it as a seat to straddle when it's stuck in between the couch and the coffee table. Next time, I will be trimming my stencil down a couples inches on each side. I can not tell you how many bags of fiberfill are in those things!

Our First Christmas Tree!

2008-12-07T21:27:00.003-05:00

As mentioned in the previous post, Jake and I have never had a Christmas Tree in our soon-to-be 4 years of marriage. I was determined to have one this year, but my highly active and extremely curious toddler has changed my mind. So, I had to go with Plan B. I have been meaning to decorate our maple tree in our front yard for a few years now. I have had the snowflakes and icicles for awhile. Not to mention, this tree is completely out of Kaitlyn's reach while she is within the walls of our home, but she can see it clearly from her bedroom window.

Yea for Christmas!

2008-12-06T19:54:00.005-05:00

This morning was the annual Relief Society Christmas Party. It was a really good time to chat and catch up with the Sisters while making crafts and wrapping gifts. Not to mention, stuffing ourselves full of delicious soups and creme puffs. (I think I ate most of the creme puffs. I couldn't help eating a couple every time I walked past them! They were just sitting there staring me down!) If you weren't there, you totally missed out.

After the R.S. festivities, I went to K-Mart for their last day of "Coupon Doubling." I spent a ridiculous amount of time there trying to figure out what the actual price of items were due to the complete lack of organization at the Tallahassee K-Mart; which is why I never go there unless I know it's worth the hassle of sorting through the chaos. Anyway, this will be the 4th year that Jacob and I have been married and still no Christmas tree. I'm totally disappointed, but I went ahead and splurged on a few boxes of Christmas lights, because we have never had those either. They had a particular line that was 50% off this week.

When I got home, I grabbed Kaitlyn and went to our local Publix. Santa was there in all his fuzzy, red glory. Katie was not too impressed. No matter how many employees were coaxing her to go to him, she just stared at him with indifference. One lady, pictured below, even showed her what to do.

After we grabbed a couple of necessities, we went back home and I strung up the lights. Besides almost being scared to death by the ugliest, largest and most lethal looking of unknown insects I have ever seen, I think it turned out alright. Here is the finished product.

I wish we had more, but this will have to do for now. Tomorrow I'm going to string some snowflakes and icicles out in the maple tree in our front yard. Yesterday, Katie and I hung up our stockings, put out her advent calendar, the snowmen salt and pepper shakers, our nativity from Grand Cayman and that was it. We have a shockingly low amount of Christmas decorations.

Well, I hope everyone is getting in the holiday spirit. The Christmas season is such a beautiful time of year. It's a little easier to keep your thoughts and actions on the right paths. I love it!

Lost Footage

2008-12-05T11:02:00.004-05:00

My Mom and sisters found this lost footage of my dad, brothers and Jake at last year's Christmas-get-together. Enjoy!

My Budding Pianist

2008-11-24T20:25:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays!

2008-11-20T20:34:00.006-05:00

This is our favorite time of year in the Crosby household! (We're already listening to Christmas music.) Lets be honest, who doesn't love this time of year besides Scrooge? And even he came around in the end.

One thing we have learned so far this holiday season is to be terrified of the annual "Holiday Portrait" of our children. We only have one child... and the possibility of the Riebow-Crosby genes combining to create a duplicate Tasmanian Devil holds strong in my mind.

But as I mentioned before, we have learned that Kaitlyn will be taking a sabbatical from solo portrait sessions. She is incapable of sitting still for even 2 seconds! Thereby making the entire "Portrait Sitting" session a test of patience for both parent and photographer. A parental unit will have to be in the picture from now on to keep a nice, firm grip on the Katie Belle. The fact that there ended up being any shots of her in focus and not just as a red blur was a miracle. I was pleasantly surprised while Jake was completely dissatisfied.

The one on the top is a classic Kaitlyn kiss/hug with her doggies but is rarely caught on camera.

I thought that the setup for the two on the bottom was a little cheesy, but she thought the entire situation was fascinating and hilarious. In fact, she was the one who started dunking the fake cookies in the fake milk glass! Where did she pick that up?! My previous nights as a Riebow were filled with Chips Ahoys dunked in milk, but as a married lady I rarely indulge in packaged cookies. Kaitlyn's "Riebow Instincts" must have kicked in.

I think they're cute, Jacob just shrugs his shoulders in indifference. Oh well, we'll try again next year.

You know it is cold....

2008-11-19T11:15:00.003-05:00

when your toddler comes toddling out of her room like this!

"Where are my toes?! I want my toes!"

2008-11-18T11:08:00.000-05:00

Jake and I decided to get Kaitlyn some footed sleepers because the temperatures are dropping in Tally. Not to mention, she refuses to wear socks and always kicks her covers off. This was her response to our decision:

But she just looks so cute!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!

2008-11-17T10:54:00.002-05:00

The Crosby Clan drove down to Tampa this past weekend
to go to the Temple and visit the grandparents.
On Saturday, we went to Grammie and Poppa Crosby's
and found this! Kaitlyn had a blast!

The other thing Kaitlyn became obsessed with was the recycling.
She passed some around to everyone. She's a good sharer.