5 Years Old!

1 Year, 47 Weeks.



Five years ago today, we became parents to a beautiful baby girl.  It doesn't seem that long ago, but 5 whole years have come and gone, and with it all the experiences leading up to the present time.  And although recently the days and weeks have seemed to be so lengthy and drawn-out, the past 5 years have become just a fleeting moment.  What happened to the time?


Unfortunately my mind is a blur of thoughts and memories, mixed in with our current adventures and plans for the future, so I had a real hard time trying to remember my very first experiences as a new daddy and of Braelyn growing up.  I'm so ashamed.  So last night I dug deep into the archives in an effort to recall past moments and times.  Luckily, I had taken hundreds of thousands of pictures over the years, and was able to put together a nostalgic account of that journey:

Happy 5th Birthday to an amazing and wonderful little girl!  Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be your parents!  We love you so much!


And while I'm at it, I'd like to give a shout out to my little brother on his birthday today as well!  Sorry bro, but the pictures of us growing up aren't in digital format and are all at Mom & Dad's.  But do enjoy your first birthday as a new father!

Okay, so what happened this past week?

This was Nana's second week with us, so it was full of activity and adventure...for her!  She became Braelyn's chauffeur all week, with Brae going back to school from Spring Break, and running around town doing errands, shopping, and hooking up with old friends.   I kinda got a little spoiled not having to get out in the middle of the afternoon to drive into the city to pick Braelyn up, as she was willing to go out every day.  She even attended OJA's field trip down to Kissimmee's Green Meadow Petting Farm, and endured lots of screaming kids, the heat, and animal feces.  We went out to the pool and braved some chilly water, and she finished taking Braelyn to her swimming classes this week.  She also helped us with the preparation of the children's old clothes we are selling in this week's consignment event.  Whew!  Thanks Nana!

Can you spot the real child?

Maddy doing her impression of Ashley Whitaker!

Tangie making final preps to sell outgrown kids' stuff.

Nana and the twins about to take in the water.

Apparently Daddy did a botched sunscreen job on Maddy's face!

Ready for consignment!

We could've fit more stuff in the van!

Weekly Costco run.

Last weekend started as a real treat.  Rewind to Thursday.  Tangie had taken the afternoon off to spend time with her mom and the kids, so I was given a few hours respite to visit my local haunt and stomping grounds, the Forest Lake Golf Club, so I could have a warm up round for the following day's golf outing to celebrate Duncan's birthday.  It was wonderful to be outside swinging the clubs again, as I hadn't played a complete round since Thanksgiving last year, and I was hoping I would play decent at least, which I did, thank goodness!  Friday brought me across town to Casselberry to join Duncan, his brother Russ, and stepfather Ron for a round amidst ominously dark clouds and threatening tornadic conditions, but we all enjoyed ourselves save the incident when I ran over Ron's foot with the golf cart.  Sorry Ron!  At least the air cast comes off in two weeks!

Trying to focus on my shot and not the tornado behind me.

Duncan watches older brother Russ about to hit his shot in the water.

We went to Ocoee's annual Spring Fling for community safety and brought Nana along to see what we had been attending, our fourth one now since moving out here.  It was great weather, although cloudy, with just enough of a cool breeze to keep the humidity at bay and temperatures pleasant.  The girls ended up getting new pink bike helmets (Kohl will get Brae's older one that looks like it was made for a boy) and I got a 3 foot tall magnolia tree sapling that I'll plant in the backyard, all for free!  We ate there for lunch and had a brief interaction with the mayor and some guy running for Florida District 45 Representative.  His name is Heinie Heinzelman, and we had a good laugh making up some personal slogans for him, my favorite being "The only Heinie you want in office is Heinie Heinzelman!"   After naps we went to Chapin Station park and met up with the Z's, Deininger's and Cochrans for a few brief minutes of playtime before the heavens opened up and poured on us, so we booked it home.  Nana was kind enough to stay home with the children while Tangie and I met up with some friends for dinner; she and Braelyn cozying up to popcorn and a couple of movies after the twins went down.

Catching a ride on the fire wagon.

Enjoying the blue snow cone a bit too much.

Sisters show off matching helmets.

Eating lunch at the Spring Fling.  Brae looks like my accident prone ADHD daughter!

The girls checking out the inside of an ambulance.

Maddy getting a semi bird's eye view.

Nana and Brae getting settled in for a movie before we took off for our dinner date.

It was a whole other world experience Saturday night as we joined the Grodacks and Bergherms down on I-drive for dinner to celebrate Duncan's birthday.  It was such enjoyment catching up and eating in peace with out the distractions of having to tend to any children (sorry kiddos!) so much so that our dinner lasted 3 hours!  THREE HOURS!  We ate at Maggiano's Little Italy, a family style Buca di Beppo kind of restaurant without the gaudy decor, and boy did we eat like a family!  The guys must've eaten at least 7 lbs of food apiece!  But it was the conversations and the laughter that made the night memorable, the topics ranging from plank boards to hard wood scrubbers.  But alas, what happens at Maggiano's, stays at Maggiano's, so that's all I'm going to say about that!  We were one of the last tables to leave that evening, finalizing our tab with the waiter around midnight!  And to top it off, Daylight Savings Time two hours later cut the night real short!

The Moms.

The Dads Duds.

Our group table.  To clarify, we were drinking 100% unfermented sparkling pomegranate juice!

[9:45 PM]  Our plates before...

and after!  [11:00]  Dessert would soon follow.

Sunday we had plans to throw Braelyn's birthday party at Sea World, albeit a week early due to another birthday party the following Sunday.  We had invited all of our friends that we knew had the year Park Pass, so that they wouldn't have to incur an additional $85 entrance fee.  The forecast called for light showers and a 30% chance of rain, but it seemed as if the rain gods didn't agree with it and decided otherwise.  It rained and poured the majority of the time there, and we were so tempted to call it off or at least move it to the Science Center, just as we approached the park that morning.  We were waiting for the first phone call to cancel when our friend William called and said, "You're not going to let a few raindrops interfere with a birthday party right?" and it was like, Game On!  Everyone showed up!  In rain gear, ponchos, and umbrellas!  With bright smiling faces and a positive outlook!  We are so blessed to have such dedicated and committed friends!  Anyway, we hit some shows and then had pizzas and birthday Oreos under covered tables, the rain continuing to drop steadily down.  But Braelyn couldn't care less about the rain;  It was sunny where she sat receiving birthday cheer.

Watching the flamingos in the rain.
We bought Brae a poncho from Sea World.  They made a fortune on ponchos that day.

Nana and Maddy strolling in the raindrops.

Following some strolling flamingos.

The Grodacks arrive after a small delay on I-4.

The girls and Brady eating pizzas together.

This looks to be the boys' table.

Brady was too busy stuffing his face to notice the birthday girl planting a smooch on his head!

Rather than buying a cake from the park we snuck in Oreos with some frosting instead!

The majority of the group shot.

Sneaking a ride on the merry-go-round before heading home for naps.

A couple of randoms:

Buffalo?!  In Florida?!  Yep, we found these on a farm just down the street from our place!

They showed a demonstration of how quickly an entire

room can be engulfed in a fire.  Stop, Drop, and Roll!

Meals this week:

Spaghetti in cream and white wine.

Mango Key lime pie.

Meat and potatoes.

Have a great weekend!