February 2012

Everett is eleven months old and her walking really got going this month. She can turn and squat to pick things up without falling. She can unvelcro her shoes and take them off. She loves getting rides on Shady's dog bed. She goes over to it and sits down in the middle and then smiles at you, like "Okay, I'm ready." She like's patrick's the best because they're the fastest and craziest. She eats mostly table foods now. She cries when one of us leaves and stranger anxiety has definitely started. She got her first fever this month. We tease Grama that Everett clutching things in her left hand while she caries on about her day is taking after her clutching a kleenex. We planted a peach tree in the front yard. We meant to plant a tree when she was born, but I guess we got busy, so this one is to celebrate that she is turning one next month. Oona came into town for a visit and we were able to get a lot of old friends together at our house. Linda, Rick and TJ came down to visit at the end of the month. We spent a night at Fanning Springs State Park in one of the cabins. We went on a rain hike in the evening, but didn't see any manatees until our morning hike. They kept their distance though.We drove over to Cedar Key for lattes and a walk around town.

We celebrated TJs birthday early at La Fiesta. He looked great eating his ice cream under the giant birthday sombrero.We took some family portraits before TJ and Patrick drove down to see Janet and Linda and Rick had to fly home.
The garage to family room remodel and replacement of insulation and heating and cooling went into full swing this month too.

January 2012

January was an exciting month. Everett turned 10 months old! She started clapping, drinking from a straw, stacking rings and blocks, putting puzzle shapes in and cruising and then WALKING!! Grama bought her her first little pair of stride rite shoes: brown with little pink hearts. She got her sixth tooth and the orthopaedist said her hip x-rays look great which was good news! She's into fake coughing and thinks sneezing is really funny. She's become very attached to her stuffed white rabbit and takes Rabbit with her everywhere, usually dangling from her mouth by his arm. Needless to say, he gets pretty funky and needs frequent baths. She points at things and either asks "dat?" 0r demands "dat!" She likes to have a turn brushing your hair when you are attempting to brush hers. She says recognizable versions of hi, bye, dog, cat, dada, mama, yes, rabbit, more, that, and this. She has started going to the park and is getting the beginnings of an independent little attitude. Laura accepted an offer to work at a small private OT clinic specializing in Sensory Integration which will be a welcomed change from the big rehab clinic environment. That transition is planned for the end of May. Patrick put the finishing touches on the paint booth in the shop and Jacob started paint work, which will hopefully become steady and a source of a little side income. Plans for a new heating and cooling system and remodel of the old garage into a finished family room and half bath are in the works. 2012 is off to a great start!

December

Decemeber was a fun month, especially celebrating Everett's first Christmas. We took her to see the Christmas lights around the duck pond at North Florida Regional Medical Center on the 5th.

We had Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at Mom and Dad's, with Christmas dinner at Marjorie and Art's.

Opening her first Christmas present, a little block, one of 20 we individually wrapped.

new gator walk behind toy, she walks all over the place with this thing. Needs to figure out reverse still though.

The day after Christmas we took off to St. Augustine for a one night trip just the three of us. After playing at an awesome playground and lunch in the Old Town shopping district, we drove down the beach at sunset. We got a giggle out of driving down A1A later that night singing "On Top of Spaghetti" over and over to put Everett to sleep and then watching football because it was the only thing that was remotely reasonable to watch on mute in the hotel room. A bit different from our last trip to the beach just the two of us!!

This month Everett got her 3rd, 4th and 5th teeth, started pointing at things and asking "dat?", shaking her head "no", handing you things, putting things "in", giving real hugs, waving and saying "hi" spontaneously (even to things like empty bathrooms), standing without holding on, walking behind push toys, and she even took one step. She took her first bath with free range of the big tub. At her 9 month check up, she weighed 19 pounds 10 ounces and was 62nd percentile for weight, 63rd for height and 99th for head circumference. We like to think big brain but several people have pointed out "thick skulled" as a possibility, given her genetics.

helping Daddy fix cabinets

We had a New Year's Eve bonfire which turned into a high school reunion of sorts with me, Jenny, Tom, Sheila, Frank, Ido and Ryan all in one place 16 years later!

Christmas brings out the love between Turbo and Tony, brothers from different mothers

Check out all these teeth!

like father, like daughter

November

So much to be thankful for this year!! What a busy month with lots of milestones for Everett.

We went out to Coon Hollo Corn Maze with friends from high school and fed the cows on the hayride.

Oona and Curtis came home for Thanksgiving so Everett and Max had their second date.

Everett got her front bottom teeth, the first on the 7th and the second on the 22nd. She started pulling up to stand and now pulls up on everything and everyone. She started waving goodbye, crawling on hands and knees, and said "da da" to Patrick. She had her first camping trip, first Thanksgiving, first real cold, and first haircut: a bang trim. For Patrick it was the culmination of several months of hard work: the launch of Republic wireless, which was a sell out success. We finished up some long overdue yard work and had a bonfire with the trimmed tree limbs Patrick chainsawed and piled on the Mimosa tree stump.

mmmm............thanksgiving dinner!

Braving the cold at Ichutucknee Springs Campground

reading books with Daddy

October

October has been a fun month. We have continued our push toward sustainability. Seems to be our new hobby. We visited Siembra farm and learned about growing crops with sustainable methods and maximum nutrition, we researched and constructed a composting system, researched chicken keeping and designed a coop, and started making our bread from scratch. We are hopeful that solar panels and a classic car converted to electric are in our future. Those are in the "someday" file for now.

We had a nice trip down to Arcadia to visit Grandma Janet and Papa Bob on Janet's birthday.

We took Everett to her first pumpkin patch,

first Gator football tailgate

and first classic car show, the Ocala Pumpkin Run.

We took Everett out on Halloween to see the trick or treaters in her bumble bee costume but she fell asleep in the stroller, so we'll save first trick or treating for next near. We dressed up for a Halloween party as characters from a commercial for dish network with huge cowboy hats and long mustaches. It was pretty funny, but it turned Brokeback mountain pretty quickly. We had a play date with Greg, Jenn, Noah and Eli. It was fun to introduce the little ones. She got her first injury this month, a busted lip, but recovered like a champ. Patrick and Laura were upset about it for way longer than she was.

Her favorite things this month include pulling the ceiling fan pull cords to turn on fans, practicing sitting up from her belly by herself, scrunching up her nose, blowing raspberries, finger feeding herself and dancing when a toy plays music. She belly crawls everywhere now, so Patrick put in a banister across one side of her play room to contain her a bit. She has discovered she can get to electrical cords so it is getting tricky to walk away from her for a minute.

Our fridge died but we got a new one that we really like. Patrick has been working hard to get the "build" done for the release of Republic, a new wireless phone provider.