Date Night, Zoo, and Random Pics!

A couple of weeks ago, our friends the Bradshaws watched Brooklyn so we could finally go on a date! We decided to go iceskating and we had tons of fun!! There is a huge sportsplex here that has an iceskating rink open year round! It was Greg's first time and my second, but we did suprisingly well and didn't fall once!

Greg's parents gave me a Zoo membership for Christmas! Greg hadn't been to the zoo here yet, so we went the week before Christmas! It was sooo stinking hot that day but we had a lot of fun!

Brooklyn loves walking everywhere!! She refused to stay in her stroller.Brooklyn LOVES the zoo!We saw this lil' baby monkey that was only 4 days old!Her new favorite: CapriSunsGreg and Brooklyn feeding the GiraffesThe baby Giraffe was taking a nap. FYI: The zookeeper said this is how Giraffes sleep in the wild, but for only 10 mins a day!

Here are some random pictures that we have taken the last few weeks!

Brooklyn in her Christmas dress Grandma and Grandpa Baxter bought for her.

Sporting her two favorite things: Shoes and a cellphone!

She ALWAYS wants to have her shoes on, but this time they wouldn't fit over her pjs and she didn't want them off, so we improvised.

This picture just makes me laugh!

Getting ready for Christmas!

We love decorating for Christmas! As soon as Thanksgiving is over, out comes the Christmas tree and all of the other fun Christmas decorations! Last year Brooklyn was only 4 months old so she really didn't get too excited. This year however is different. Brooklyn loved seeing the tree and got so excited as we were setting it up!

She loves all of the lights, and the pretty plastic snowflake ornaments that just happen to be in her arms reachA tradition that we started is for each person to pick out a new ornament, here are this year's selections.All done!This is just a funny pictureOne day while Greg was at school studying Brooklyn and I made a chain-link countdown for Christmas. She was such a big help trying to cut all the strips!We even made a Santa for Christmas day, which she loved to holdOur finished product!

It is so much fun to be able to decorate for Christmas, and it is even more fun watching Brooklyn stare at all of the lights and decorations. She was been so good with our tree! She will go up to it and poke the lights and kiss the branches, but that is about all she does with it. It is so nice not having to worry about her breaking ornaments, ripping open presents, or pulling the tree over on herself. Christmas is going to be so much fun with her this year!

Light Parade and Firework Show!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we headed down to the Jacksonville Landing to watch their lighted boat parade and firework show! Ever since we found out that we were moving to Jacksonville, this has been on our list of things to do and it was soooo awesome! We are for sure going every year that we are here!

Brooklyn snacked on M&M's until the parade started

The parade was on the river between the two bridgesThere were a ton of boats all decked out, but here are just some pictures of our favoritesAfter the parade was over they had a HUGE, amazing firework show! It was seriously the best firework show I have ever seen!To start off the finale' there was a waterfall of fireworks coming off both of the bridges. It was definitely the hi-light of the show, and our favorite part!Brooklyn had so much fun watching all of the lights and especially the bright, loud fireworks! We can't wait to go again next year!

Random pictures

Brooklyn loves getting into the cabinets! She usually just pulls the pots and pans out and plays with them, but this time she decided to get cozy in the pot!
Her "say cheese" smile
Now that Brooklyn is walking all over the place she makes even MORE messes!!! Her new favorite thing to do is unravel all the toilet paper into a huge pile and then play in it!

She was pretty proud of her disaster!Saturday we went to St. Johns Towncenter to see the carnival and Christmas Tree Lighting!Brooklyn was amazed by all of the bright flashing lights

The classic couple self portrait!Former American Idol winner Taylor Hicks sang prior to the Christmas Tree lightingThey had a cool firework show after the tree was lit! Brooklyn and her daddyBrooklyn and MeReading bedtime stories with dad Everything is still going great for us here in Florida!! The weather is still so nice and warm, it definitely doesn't seem like Thanksgiving time! Greg is busy studying and preparing for his finals which start up right after Thanksgiving break! Brooklyn has been walking since Halloween and zooms all over the place and gets into everything, but she definitely keeps us entertained! And I am just staying busy hanging out, playing with Brooklyn all day and enjoying my new church calling, 2nd counselor in the Young Womens! We hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday!