Thanksgiving addendum...

{Me, Daniel, Nana, Grandpa Phil, Flat Auntie & Gaga}

This pic was meant to be part of the last post, but blogger and I are not seeing eye-to-eye tonight. We rarely do, but tonight my patience is wearing very thin, so I decided to add this new post instead of reformatting the rest of the last post again!



We love you, Lounibos family! Thank you so much for having us over for Thanksgiving! The food was delicious!

Daniel and Flat Auntie's Thanksgiving Day Adventures!

Thanksgiving is such a beautiful tradition! I am thankful for the pilgrims and indians and for our beautiful country, but to me Thanksgiving is an opportunity to reflect on blessings....and fortunately I have a lot to reflect upon!

Every year the Hogan side of the family looks forward to a non-slimy pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. Grandma had always made it, but the responsibility was passed to me a few years ago....lol, we thought that it was about time to give our 92 year old matriarch break. She had always told me that she loved my pie and that I did a great job, but last year she said that she felt her mother in the room as she ate her pumpkin pie because I had gotten it perfect! It wasn't the slightest bit slimy! :) Let's hope that I did the same this year!

We were invited out to Joe & Jemette's hunting lease to celebrate Thanksgiving, and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go out to the woods. However, I couldn't stand the thought of Grandma and Uncle Pat going without their non-slimy pumpkin pie, so I went ahead and made a pie for Uncle Pat & Aunt Roxanne's Thanksgiving celebration where my grandma would be attending.

I had a half day at work on Wednesday, so I came home and made pies while Daniel was napping and then we went on a ride to go deliver them!

{Uncle Pat & Aunt Roxanne}

Justin and I decided to get something for dinner and for whatever weird reason I was craving Chinese, so -God bless his heart- Justin took me to Peking.

{Daniel & Daddy at Peking}

We headed out to the hunting lease around 10 today. Below are some pics of our friends and the fun time:

{Grammy, Flat Auntie & Daniel hanging out by the fire}

{The fam}

{My favorite pic of the day! Papa, Daniel, Jemette, Flat Auntie & Grammy}

Did you notice the death grip that Daniel has on Jemett'e hair?!

{Papa, Daniel & Flat Auntie}
Daniel and Papa found some flowers on their walk, you can see them in Daniel's hat!

{Mrs. Babcock and Daniel}
Flat Auntie was missing because we were using her to get Daniel's attention, lol



{Daniel, Heidi & Flat Auntie}
Little Miles was sleeping, so we didn't get a pic with him :(

Thank you so much to everyone that made our day so special! We love you very much! :)

The Great Adventures of Daniel and Flat Auntie Cont'd

Saturday afternoon we went out with the Simpsons and Nails to take some Christmas pictures around town! Both of these families are very special to us, so, naturally, we enjoyed spending time with them! Krista is a great photographer (you can see her in the right corner of the pic below), and we are anxious to see the pics, but we'll have to wait until later this week! :(

Here's Daniel, Mrs. Amanda, and Flat Auntie!

Amanda was really good at making sure that Daniel didn't try to eat Flat Auntie's head or rip off her arms and legs, lol

Sunday afternoon we went out to the Norvell Ranch to celebrate baby Eli! He is about a month old and he is the tiniest baby that we have ever seen in person or held! He is such a doll! See.....here's proof:

That's Eli with his Mommy, Jenna and Flat Auntie.

We also ran into Ms. Lynne at Eli's party! Her second grandson, Jackson, is "on the way"! He will be arriving in April of next year! Lynne is such a special lady, and we just love running into her!

Daniel just got a "Happy First Thanksgiving" card from her. He loves chewing on it just like his "Happy First Halloween" card.

Dear Santa.....

.....just so you know:

Could you read my shirt? Here's a close up:

Sorry for asking before Thanksgiving, but I thought you may need some time to work this one out since she's in London. Thanks Big Guy!

Love,

Daniel

The Great Adventures of Daniel and Flat Auntie Cont'd

We started off at the downtown Farmer's Market today! We were attempting to find some organic veggies to make more baby food for Daniel, but the selection was very sparse.

{Daniel loves Flat Auntie}

Justin and I shared a fresh squeezed orange juice, a breakfast in a bowl and a ham and cheese croissant. Luckily we were ready to go home by the time the rain started. We found shelter under the porch of the library, and when the rain let up we hustled to the car.

DAP fell sound asleep on the way home, so we gently put him in his crib for his first morning nap!

I love Saturday mornings!!! :)

The Adventures of Daniel and Flat Auntie Cont'd

This past weekend we had the opportunity to take Mrs. Grace around to look at some rentals!

Mrs. Grace is one of Daniel's favorite teachers at school, and her husband, Kris, is the the youth group director at our church. They are such a sweet couple, and we love them so much!

Here's Flat Auntie with DAP and Mrs. Grace! Maggie is in the pic too, but she is hiding in Mrs. Grace's tummy! ;)


I couldn't help but add this pic too! I think it's so cute! Unfortunately we had forgotten Flat Auntie in this one...

You can see from these pics how perfectly sweet Mrs. Grace is! Daniel thinks she's the greatest, and so do the other babies at school!

Flat Auntie

Hello Everyone!!! :)

I can't remember if I mentioned, but Auntie Kelly is in London for the month!!! We miss her so much, but fortunately her company is very generous with techy stuff, so we get to Skype with her and talk "on the phone" with her over her computer!

I couldn't stand the fact that she would be missing so many of the little things while she is away, so, with the help of my friend Michelle at work, the Flat Auntie idea was born! She wears a Lilly Pulitzer dress, pearls and very fashionable rain boots! She is stylin'!

She's kinda like Flat Stanley, but we take pictures of her doing stuff with us around town, at home, or anytime we miss Auntie Kelly. Of course this means that I have to be better about taking pics, lol

Here's Flat Auntie with Daniel and Papa! This was Papa's birthday lunch. Justin made a big pot of Chili, and the weather was chilly....it was really nice! Daniel tried his first banana that day! I don't know if he really "liked" the flavor, but he has had some since and he will eat them without protest!

Here's Flat Auntie in the wagon! She bought a wagon as a birthday present for me and Justin.....WE LOVE IT, and so does Daniel, obviously!

Here's Flat Auntie, enjoying the wagon, right across from Daniel!

We are excited for you to come home, Kel!!!! :) Until then we will have to settle for our Flat Auntie!

**Milestone Alert** Greenbeans!

Tonight was Daniel's first taste of "people food"! We decided to start him off with greenbeans that we made ourselves....

I wonder which was the worst part....the greenbeans or his Mommy's cooking?

As if his first reaction wasn't enough to show us how much he disliked the greenbeans, he started doing non-stop raspberries to make sure that none of those nasty 'ol greenbeans stayed in his mouth! He had us laughing so hard!

Surprise Visit from Julie and Emma Grace!!!!!

We had a wonderful weekend, but the main highlight, by far, was our surprise visit from Julie and Emma Grace!

Julie, one of my beloved friends from FSU, called Sunday afternoon and said she was driving through and thought about stopping by! About 30 minutes later she and Emma Grace were on our doorstep!

Emma Grace is about a month and a half younger than Daniel....isn't she precious?!!!!

She looks just like her Daddy, and her smile can melt your heart! She was light as a feather compared to our little Daniel Doodle!


Thanks for stopping by, Julie! We loved the visit! :)

Winter Park Weekend

Justin had an exam prep course for his Real Estate License over the weekend, so Daniel and I tagged along and played while Daddy studdied...not too shabby!

Winter Park was the perfect destination for our first trip as a family of three!

Recently I was got an offer I couldn't refuse...a free sling from Seven Slings. All I had to pay was the shipping charge!

This is a pic of me and little Daniel in the lobby of the hotel:

We used the sling while shopping in Winter Park, and it was just great! We both LOVE it, I can have DAP close to me for constant cuddling, and he gets way more attention in the sling than in the stroller...you know he loves that! He also seems to like seeing everything from a different perspective than he would get in the stroller.

Anyway, we had a great first weekend away from home, and Daniel was perfect! I don't know why I was ever worried that he would have a hard time out of his environment...he proves to us time and time again that he is such a trooper!

The best news of all.......JUSTIN PASSED HIS EXAM!!!! He is now a licensed Real Estate Agent!

Congratulations, Justin!!!!

We are so proud of you! :)

Hello Again!

Amanda and Jamie had us over for dinner a few weeks ago....

Her best friend, Ashlee, was in town and we were excited to see/meet her!

You see, Amanda and I have an unhealthy obsession with Pottery Barn, and she sent a link to Ashlee's blog so that I could see the nursery that she was designing for her daughter Lily that looked like it belonged in a Pottery Barn Kids catalog. I love Lily's nursery and had to be a stalker and read the rest of the blog because she had such great style.

Well, a few days later, Justin tells me that his childhood friend is pregnant. I asked who.....he said, "Ashlee Blum, but I think her new last name is something like, Register". The name rang a bell, but I didn't realize until a few days later that the Ashlee he was referring to was Amanda's friend Ashlee with Pottery Barn taste! I showed her blog to Justin and he verified that she was the same Ashlee!!!! Crazy, I know!

Anyway, I got to meet Ashlee and he got to see her again after many years. Lily is an absolute doll! Supper was awesome, the fellowship was second to none, and the brownies were to die for! (Amanda makes the best brownies!)

After supper Maddie and Owen sang some songs for us, and then we attempted to takes some pictures of the kids. LOL, it was hilarious! This was our first try at a multiple child picture....

This was our second try:

Third, and final, try.....

We had so much fun that night!

Thanks, again, for having us over for supper, Amanda and Jamie! We had a blast! :)

Our Labor Day Weekend

My sister and her roommate have close birthdays, so to celebrate Auntie Kelly's 25th and Jen's 30th we planned a Bimini Birthday Bash! Unfortunately the seas were not calm enough for a crossing, so we had to call off the trip.


We still managed to eek out a wonderful weekend at home!


Friday night we met our friends downtown at Friday Fest. The ladies from school, the Nail family, and Jen all came out and we had a great time!

Saturday was the first Seminole game and the first Gator game!!! Both teams won, woohoo!!! :)


We watched the game from the Perch at the Pelican. We were able to watch the game and the inlet, and the nice breeze made it perfect!

Here's a pic of Daniel and his Daddy......that's pure joy on my little man's face!

Here I am with the little man:


Here we are again, lol, obviously we tired him out:

We attended church Saturday afternoon and brought Daniel home and put him to bed. Justin made some chicken wings that were delicious, but DAP must have heard that Mommy was eating chicken wings because as soon as I took a bite he started crying....he does it every time I eat chicken wings!

It's almost so bad that I would consider taking a date night just to get elbow deep in chicken wings?!

Auntie Kelly, Jen, Jenna, Dave, Justin, Daniel, Mango and I loaded up in the Miss Mary Anne and headed out to the Cove on Sunday. It was so beautiful out!

My mom, dad and Remi brought out the Jiglet and joined in the fun! They also brought more beer....thank you, Mommy and Daddy!

Monday we started our day at the hunting lease. Justin and my dad were moving treestands while Daniel and I supervised. DAP seemed to enjoy the ride on the Ranger, his nice long nap, and time out in the woods.

Here's the beautiful Labor Day sunrise at the camp:

Here's Daniel!




He wore pajama pants (with feet), a longsleeve onesie, a sweater and little mittens....it was warm out, but I wanted to protect him from the mosquitos.


Me, my dad and Daniel on the ranger:

I think that Daniel was probably the only little boy in the woods with a monogrammed sweater, lol

We went home and put Daniel down for a nap. After Daniel's nap we headed out again. This time we went to see Nana.

I think it's pretty obvious how she feels about our little man! He was very sweet until he got sleepy....

So we took him home for another nap and some really nice, relaxing family time!

We hope you had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend too!

*Milestone Alert* Daniel Trying Cereal for the First Time!

Yesterday, September 2nd, was Daniel's 4 month birthday! Dr. Ali told us last Friday that we could start introducing foods and that we should start with rice cereal.

Slowly but surely, Justin bought the cereal, I washed the special spoons and we prepared for our little baby to eat his first cereal and grow up a little more.

Cereal is definately fun, and we can start introducing vegetables once he gets good at swallowing!!!!

I can't believe it...

I accidently deleted all of my comments! I am absolutely devastated!

{This pic pretty much sums up the way I feel}

Your comments make my day, and now they are all gone! lol, not that it's funny, but I talked Michelle into deleting her's too....and then we realized that they were really, totally gone {I wish you could have seen our faces}!

I love your comments, and I promise to be more careful in the future.....leave some and give me a chance.... ;)

Saturday in the Sun!

We went out on the Miss Mary Ann on Saturday! It was so much fun! The Cove was empty, and Mango chased minnows until he couldn't chase them anymore.

It turns out that Daniel is a little water baby....he's going to fit right in! We were out for about 6 or 7 hours and he was such a trooper, such a happy baby!
Auntie Kelly is aways a hit! She's the best Auntie EVER!

Daniel practiced so hard for his frst trip to Bimini, that he had to take a nice long nap!

"Did you pee pee on Mommy?"

Seems to me like he's guilty! ;)

He never pees when we change his diaper, but bathtime is a totally different story! lol, I guess it has something to do with the warm water..who knows? All I know is that it's just downright funny!

It's Primary Election Day!!! Have you voted?!

Daniel and I have!!!! We hustled this morning so we could vote before I dropped him off at school. I'm so sad that I didn't get a pic of us at the polls, but I was in such a rush that I forgot the camera.

Even though Daniel won't remember going, it's important to me and Justin that we set a good example for him.

"Train a child in the way he should go, and he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

First Day of School!!!!

Daniel has been going to "Summer Camp" throughout the summer, and after his two week break and sweet snuggle time with his Grammy and Nana, his "First Day of School" was today!!!!

There isn't really a difference between Summer Camp and School when you're a baby, but Daniel's Mommy gets really excited about these things!

So, being the corny girl that I am, I asked his teachers to take a pic of the two of us...

...and then I asked them to pose with DAP too! {from left to right: Miss Barb, Miss Grace, Miss Marianne and DAP}

These ladies really love, love, love Daniel, and I love, love, love that he is so special to them!

All dressed up and nowhere to go....

So, Justin told me earlier this week to mark my calendar because it was "Open House" at Daniel's school. lol, for some reason the idea of going to an "Open House" makes me really feel like a Mommy....silly, I know!

We were running late, but we got all dressed up, packed the car and rushed down to school....but the parking lot was empty. There wasn't a sign of life around at all.

I called Miss Barb to ask if I had missed it. Guess what folks...it's next week!

So, I thought I would share some pics of Daniel because he was so stinkin' cute in his little outfit! (Oh yeah, and I had to document the insanely hilarious way his hair is looking these days......crazy but absolutely adorable at the same time!)

See you next weekend Miss Barb! :)

Additional Storage!!!!!

What do you do when you have to convert the office of your dream cottage into a nursery and therefore give away your desk and only organized filing system?????

You have to be sneaky and look for storage/filing options in unusual places, like empty corners, under beds, unsuspecting pieces of furniture....

Here are some of the ideas that kept spinning in circles in my head:

Should we buy a cute little 2 drawer filing cabinet similar to the ones at Pottery Barn? No, it would look out of place if it wasn't displayed in a office.

Hmmmmm...should we buy a cheap filing cabinet and put it/hide it in a closet? And take up some of our very valuable, practically non-existant closet space?! No way!

Ugh! Who wants to keep paper anyway?! Let's just throw it all out! Now Katie, don't be silly! You can think of something!

{Insert "Ah ha moment" inflection here}

Hey! Wait a minute!!!!! What about the cedar chest that Julie gave us?! *PERFECT*

Here is a picture of the cedar chest (and Ollie the helping cat) before we added our filing system:We are using this cedar chest as a coffee table so DVDs and other tv related things were being stored in it. All of those things have found a new home in a piece of furniture that my husband lovingly refurbished for the baby's room.....but we couldn't get it around the corner and into the nursery...oops! maybe we should have thought of that before all the hard work went into re-doing it!

Anyways, here's what the inside of the chest and our sweet little Mango look like now:

We have our current documents filed on the left side, papers to shred (separated by the year to shred them) on the right, and miscellaneous office supplies in the middle!

LOL, now the hard part is staying this organized!!!!! HA!

Have a Happy Saturday!

The Nursery Reveal!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen.....I would like to share "after" pics of Daniel's nursery!!! If you would like to see the "before" pics, click here. And here is the design that we had in mind.

Anyways, here it is...and we think he loves it!

Justin had just finished constructing the bookcase and we had our neighbors and friends over to see it about an hour before I said, "Justin, I think my water just broke" as I just sat down to eat my ice cream and chicken nuggets. LOL, I guess we finished with the nursery just in time!!!