Conquering the Crib

It seems in just the past 24 hours that Raegan had become proficient with pulling up on things. This is how I found her in her crib. Since I took the picture, she can now get to a standing position! She is developing faster than I can blog about it.

Since then she has pulled up on the coach. She even climbed on top of a box in the computer room!

It's like Joe and I will sit around wonder when she'll do something for the first time, then it's not long afterward that she is doing it.

Into EVERYTHING!

Raegan has become very active lately! She is pretty much getting around and getting into whatever she can get her hands on.

Lately she loves the cats' food dish. She hasn't started eating it yet but loves to play in the bowl and spread it all over the kitchen floor. Everything she plays in the bowl it's like a dinner whistle to the cats. At least one comes and checks out what is going on.

Homage to Kiss

1. Raegan does a great impression of Gene Simmons. Here she is showing her talents.

Rub a dub dub

Raegan has outgrown the infant tub seat, and I haven't been able to find a bath seat or something to replace it anywhere. So, I have been giving her baths in the kitchen sink. She seems to enjoy it. I get just as wet as she does sometimes. It's so much easier than leaning over the tub. Why didn't I do this sooner? We have started buying her rubber duckies. So far we have four. Just one for this bath though.

Congrats Rob and Chandra

Friends of our, Rob and Chandra, found out this week they are having a girl!! We're so excited for them. Ofcourse, we are partial to girls. Chandra is due January 5th.

The trip home

The trip back home was long and boring. We got to Tallahassee after being on the road for hours. We stopped there for the night and then continued our journey Sunday. Raegan did well on the way back. One reason we stopped Saturday was because Rae was getting fussy and Joe was sick. Ok, so that's two reasons. Pardon me, Joe passed his sickness to me. What a fun week it has been. Hopefully next week things will return to normal.

Tampa Day 5

Day five was a day of rain or threatening of rain. It's also a day apparently I took no pics so here is one at the Dali Museum. By the time we got breakfast it thundered and lighting and carried on for a couple of hours. I had wanted to return to the thrift store but there was no way i was going to risk walking and getting caught in a downpour again. Joe got back early from class. his last day and he passed. woo hoo. We decided to check out some of the local comic book stores. The first store was strictly comics and while it was an impressive selection the store just lacked something. the second store was wonderful. They had a bunch of d and d stuff and games, figures, comics and more. It was fun to look around and see what all they had. friday night we ate at boston market which is the roasted chicken version of KFC. It was good.

Tampa Day 4

Today Raegan and I took Joe to class so we'd have the car for the day. After doing a load of laundry we headed to the Lowry Park and Zoo. It was fun. Some areas were under construction and other areas were closed. That was kinda disappointing but there was still plenty to see. The zoo was interesting. They had several places where you could feed some of the animals. They had several rides which would have been fun if Rae was older. It did rain on us. The bottom fell out not once but twice.

Here is Raegan with the map of the Zoo plotting our next course. It was hot. The rain was a welcomed site.

This is Raegan at the gardens at the zoo. It was so peaceful and quiet here. Total opposite of what was happening just a few yards away.

We left the zoo and headed straight to pick up joe. so the zoo and laundry was an all day event. Tonight we went to the Salvador Dali Museum and ate at Chili's. The museum was really nice. Gorgeous artwork and some very interesting pieces.

Tamp Day 3

Day 3 had us seeing more of Tampa Bay. Here is Raegan at the dresser. She loves handles and had a great time playing with this and the door stopper.

This morning Raegan and I walked to the second image thrift store which is really close to the hotel. We had a good time. I got her a few toys and a Florida t-shirt all for $5.11. Not too bad. Tonight we are adventuring down to the boardwalk which should be fun. apparently there is a restaurant down there where you can see the dolphins.

We ate a Sculley's on the boardwalk at John's Pass near Madiera Beach. It was good. The boardwalk was cool..got to see lots of water, some birds, fish, but no dolphins. Oh well. The shops were fun. It was amazing just how close condos/housing was to the shops.

Tampa Day 2

Day two we got out and walked some this morning/early afternoon. We walked for a block or so then came back to the hotel. Did find two gas stations so i know where i can get some lottery tickets. There is a huge flea market across from the hotel. It's open Saturdays and Sundays though. Did find a thrift store.. It's across the street and about a block away. The bus stop is right in front of the hotel. We might try adventuring on the bus later this week and go to the zoo.

Last night we ate at Steak and a shake...they are famous for their steaks and shakes apparently..or at least their advertising says so. It sounded good to me and since Joe really likes me to make the decisions..heh..we went there.

After getting there, Joe made the comment I't s a Mcdonalds. It might have been a half step up. You did have to be waited to be seated. It was sort of an open seating area kinda like a fast food place. I got the steak and shake dinner which came with a double steak burger, two sides, and a shake. the double burger was the smallest piece of meat I've seen in a while. The fries were overdone. the beans were ok..served in a mini crock. the shake however was excellent. Next time we'll just get the shake.

Tampa Day 1

Here is a pic of Raegan on day 1. She had a lot of fun on the sparse floor!

Things are going pretty well so far. We made it in last night after a 14 hour roadtrip. Raegan did very well traveling and was a champ. She started to get a little fussy right at the end. Thank goodness we were just 30 miles or so away from the hotel.

We arrive at the hotel and here comes problem one. Biolife hasn't confirmed authorization of use to the corporate credit card for the room. Since it's Sunday there is no way to get a hold of anyone to do it. We put it on our card and will get authorization today. Just a small glitch but after such a long drive you just want to get into your room and rest.

The room

The room is OK. Two double beds, no king bed. Nor is there a refrigerator or microwave like the rooms are suppose to have. I did read to ask about refrigerators at the front desk. It was in the same paragraph about asking about cribs. My suspicision is that it is extra as it seems everything in the room is. There is Nintendo but it'll cost you. There is free Internet. I can get the PSP to connect but not the laptop. There is webTV but it looks to cost extra as well. There is the business center which is basically a computer, printer, fax, and copier. I shouldn't need to do too much on the Internet but I may have to use the biz center if I can't get the laptop connecting properly.

After looking through some brochures there is nothing really close to the hotel to do. The hotel has a shuttle service within 3 miles of here. I think we are really close to the airport though, which would explain why Biolife uses this hotel.

Breakfast

Joe and I have been joking about the "free contential" breakfast they offer at the hotel for weeks. Our minds race with the possiblities as to what delightful treats will be served up free. I had read on their website that it is a 40 item buffet. Joe snickered and said that there are probably pancakes with 6 types of syrup and each syrup counts as an item. Here is what items I remember at breakfast:

cereal
milk(2)
4 types of juices
watermelon
cantelope
eggs
sausage
muffins
bagels
pancakes(do it yourself...small prepoured cups of batter and two griddle irons)
4 types of pastries
2 types of jams
cream cheese
butter
peanut butter

Last night we went and ate at Quaker, Steak and Lube which is right by the hotel. It's very Nascar, Harley, testerone themed restaurant..as if the name didn't give that tidbit away. It was OK. I got the Chicken Fenders which was an appetizer. Not bad. I've had lots better for cheaper though. We might go back later this week. Rae was getting tired, and it was pretty loud there.

Greetings from the Sunshine State

After a 12+ hour roadtrip, we made it to Tampa, FL Sunday night around 8:30pm eastern time. This made for a long day for all of us since we left Hattiesburg around 3am central.

Raegan was a trooper during the trip. She travels really well. She wasn't fussy that much except when we were really close to the hotel.

The picture is Raegan and part of Daddy at the Florida Welcome Center. It's amazing that we arrived at the welcome center at 7:45am and then it took another 12 hours to get to the middle of Florida. We were all dressed for comfort for the ride. At least I remember to put Raegan in a pink shirt so nobody would think she is a boy!(although that hasn't happened in a while..)