Happy Memorial Day!

We had a three day weekend for Memorial Day, and tried our best to enjoy every minute of it! On Saturday, we went to our friends, the DiPaolos, house for a barbecue.

Before the BBQ, we took a family bike ride to Markham Park. Brianne and I played on the playground while Marty went for a run.


The DiPaolos set up their bounce house and a splash pool, which entertained the kids for the entire afternoon.


Taking a dip in the pool with Bradley and Sophia.

Three little blondies enjoying a popsicle.

Brianne really enjoyed her popsicle and ate the whole thing!

Brianne loves slides, so wanted to check out every slide Bradley had. We all had a great time at the bbq!

Working at the Car Wash

While we love going to the pool, sometimes we like to find different ways to beat the heat. So we thought we'd use one recent weekend to wash our cars. Of course, Brianne being the good little helper that she is, volunteered to give us a hand.

We brought her water table out, and she busied herself with filling that up while we got our car washing gear ready.


Brianne loved playing with the bubbles in the soapy water. She kept trying to climb into the bucket.


Marty showing Brianne the first step in car washing.

Brianne spent most of the time supervising from her pink life gaurd chair.

What a good little helper :o) She only cleaned that one little part of the front bumper, but it's the thought that counts!

Marc and Jen's Wedding

After 2 years of being engaged, Marc and Jen's wedding day finally came around on May 20. I think I was more nervous for this wedding than my own since Brianne was the flower girl. We went the rehearsal the night before the wedding, and it did not go well. Brianne did not want to hold hands, or walk down the aisle. She wanted to run through the pews and up around the alter. We couldn't quite reach a compromise, and she settled for throwing herself face down on the floor in the middle of the aisle and disrupting the entire rehearsal. Also, at this point, Brianne was still refusing to put her flower girl dress on. So I was a big ball of nerves, worrying that Brianne would ruin the wedding.

But once we got to the church, Brianne put her dress on with minimal fuss (this was due in large part to the ipad and non-staining snacks I brought - think plain potato chips and white yogurt raisins). And even though we couldn't get her down the aisle one time during rehearsal, once we were there for the big show, Brianne grabbed my hand, smiled and walked the whole way down the aisle perfectly.

Brianne and I walking down the aisle together. She is holding a box of yogurt raisins in her other hand. Not as nice as a basket of flowers, but at least she went down the aisle. When she made it to the end, she did a little dance to celebrate her success. It was so cute!


Marc and Jen getting married. If you're wondering where Brianne is....


Mee Maw Debbie had to take her to a back room and entertain her with the ipad.


Brianne saved her meltdown for after the ceremony. She was getting bored waiting for her turn with the photographer.


Don't we all look so nice?

Marty's cousin Kristen's son, Boone, was the ring bearer. Boone is such a little angel, and did so good at rehearsal and during the wedding.

Cheering for joy for Marc and Jen! After the ceremony, Grandpa Steve and Grandma Janet picked Brianne up and brought her home so Mom and Dad could enjoy the reception. It was a great wedding, and we are so happy for Marc and Jen!

Dress Dilemma

Uncle Marc and Aunt Jen invited Brianne to be the flower girl in their wedding. We were so honored when they asked us, but when the day finally arrived for the wedding, we were more nervous. This is because Brianne refused to be in the same room as her flower girl dress. She would literally run screaming if she saw us with it. We started to try to put it on her a couple weeks before the wedding, so when she screamed the first time, we weren't too concerned. But every day we tried and failed, we grew more nervous. We had everyone try - myself, Grandma Mimi, Aunt Joan - no one could get it on her.

Finally, the day of the wedding rolled around. Before I changed Brianne out of her pajamas that morning, I thought I would give it one more shot. Brianne is currently obsessed with stickers, so I took some Dora the Explorer stickers and stuck them up inside the dress. To get the stickers, Brianne would have to stick her arms and head up into the dress. As soon as she saw the stickers, she went right for them and I was able to pull the dress on her. Sure, it was over her pajamas, but at least she had it on.

This is one of my greatest motherhood triumphs to date - Brianne in her dress!


I left the dress on her for about 30 minutes. She watched cartoons, played with her toys, all in her dress.


Practicing good posture prior to the wedding.

I'm on a Boat

Our friend Brad recently got a new boat, so we were thrilled to be invited to try it out on Mother's Day Weekend. This was Brianne's first ride on a boat (other than a cruise ship). We cruised up an down the intercoastal enjoying the sunshine.

Testing out the comfy seats.


We cruised by Port Everglades and saw the cruise ships.


Brad wanted to show us how fast the boat could go. Let's just say, it goes pretty fast! I don't think Brianne was a big fan of "fast".

Taking a little pit stop before lunch.

It was pretty hot that day, so we dropped anchor so Marty and Brianne could take a dip. Brianne's life jacket was a little big on her, but at least she was very buoyant!

Brianne had enough of the sun, and enjoyed some AC and Elmo in the boat's cabin.

The Boy is Back in Town

From March to May, Marty is in Tallahassee for the legislative session. One of the happiest days of the year is when session is finally over and Marty can come back home full time. We see him very frequently through session, but there's nothing like having him home all the time.

Brianne missed her daddy and is glad he is back!

She was so excited, she ran laps around the house!

Strawberry Shortcake

We heard that there was a strawberry farm up in Delray Beach, so we decided to spend a Saturday checking it out. When we got there, it looked kind of like an old strip mall. However, when we walked through the store front, we saw that the entire back area was a humongous farm and garden.

Brianne and Bradley got their strawberry buckets and were ready to pick! This facility also rescues birds, so they had a lot of different kinds of parrots to look at.


We almost made it to the strawberry fields, but were intercepted by some super cool Tonka trucks. Bradley and Brianne wanted to take a spin in this jeep after they picked out some oranges from the stand behind them.


An overview of the strawberry fields. Pretty awesome!


Brianne picking some berries right off the plant. It doesn't get any fresher!


Once Brianne had a taste of fresh strawberry, she was hooked! I think the farm frowns on eating your produce before paying for it, but there was no stopping her!


We picked berries for about 30 minutes, but Brianne kept eating them, so I had to go back for more so I would have something to take home. Bradley is wondering how she can eat so many strawberries...

She looks kind of like an angelic vampire in this picture. Those strawberries were really ripe!

One last stop in the garden (and one more strawberry) before heading home.

Put Your Body on the Potty

Brianne is getting more and more interested in the potty. So I bought her two kinds of potties - a stand alone potty and a seat that goes on the big potty. Brianne treats the little potty like a toy and enjoys putting other toys inside it (she never actually used the little potty, so it's very clean). Aunt Joan has been sitting Brianne on a potty seat every day, so we have had more luck with that. Brianne will actually sit on the potty seat, and read two or three books while she's there, but she has yet to go potty for us. However, Joan swears she did pee pee on the potty one time at her house. We will keep at it, and hopefully will be able to get rid of diapers soon!

Checking out the little potty.

She gets the general idea of the potty - sitting on it, putting toilet paper inside and flushing. When she flushes, she even says "bye bye pee pee".

What do you do with this?

I'm sure she'll get it soon!

New Pup In Town

When Aunt Joanne and Uncle Gerry came to visit recently, they brought Brianne a present. It's one of those little battery operated puppies that shuffle around the floor and barks. Brianne thinks its the greatest thing ever and loves to dance around it as it runs around.



But Cooper is not impressed, and frankly, has been a little upset by being shown up by a fake dog. Here is Cooper giving the fake puppy the stink eye. Jealousy is an ugly thing, even in dogs.




I think she had just tripped over the fake puppy in this photo.




Bonus shot of Brianne and I :o)

Park It Right There

Brianne and I have been on a mission to discover the best parks in Broward County. So we were delighted to try out a brand new park up in Parkland with our friends, the Lums. And this park did not disappoint! It had 2 huge playgrounds and a splash area. Brianne was particularly excited to jump around the splash area.

Brianne testing out the splash velocity of this fountain. A + rating!


Kylie showing Brianne how to climb through a wall. Brianne was impressed!


I caught her mid run on one of her circuits running around the park. I was exhausted just watching her!