House Fire

I finally got around to taking "after" pictures of the house that caught fire. It isn't pretty, but luckily everyone got out. I just got a flyer in our mailbox for a clothing and gift card drive for the family. There is nothing left of the house but the walls. You can literally see through the house to the back yard. We heard from the news that the husband was using gasoline or lighter fluid to light a fire in the fireplace, he caught on fire and then caught the house on fire. He was taken to Shands Gainesville Medical Center.

Here are the pictures:

I've also been asked how close the house is to our house. Here is a picture of the house taken just outside of our front door:



I zoomed in from the same spot in front of the house:

Happy New Year!

We had a busy New Year weekend! We decided to head down to see family that weren't able to make the trip up to see us. Matt had Monday off, so we were able to make it a long weekend. Matt got off work early Friday so we made it to his dad's house for dinner. We stayed up until 11:20 when Robbie woke up to eat, so while we didn't see the ball drop, we were up at midnight. We heard fireworks going off, but they didn't bother Robbie.

After breakfast Saturday morning we drove to see my grandma. Robbie is her 10th great grandchild! We walked around a bit and met some of her friends. We saw the puzzle Jill had made of her daughter, Ryan. I think it's the best picture puzzle I have seen and was a great Christmas gift. We left when Grandma was ready to go to lunch.

We had plans to eat lunch at Matt's grandparent's house. All of Matt's mom's family came. We were there early, so Robbie was able to spend time alone with Mimi and Gramps. Matt's mom arrived shortly after us. Matt's aunts and uncles Mark and Brigette and Gary and Monett and cousins Brian and fiancé Jamie and Kim and boyfriend Adam were also there. We stayed after everyone else left so Mimi and Gramps could have a little more time with Robbie. We left and went to his mom's house where we spent the night.

Sunday morning we headed to my parent's house. My sister, Lisa, was there with her family. Of course Kayleigh asked to hold Robbie right away. They weren't there long because they were going to visit Erik's Granny and Aunt. We had some time with my parents. After lunch my cousin, Jill, came by with her daughter to meet Robbie. Ryan is 8 months old and Kayleigh still wanted to hold her! Jill said she wanted to see Robbie do a trick, so he rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time! He hasn't done it again. That evening my aunt Barbara and uncle Jack and brother Jonathan and his family came for dinner. Mia and Kayleigh play well together. Nathan wasn't feeling well earlier and was content to watch Curious George by himself. I'm glad my parents had everyone over.

Monday morning Lisa and I took Robbie and Kayleigh to our friend Polly's house. Polly just had baby #3, Wes, less than 2 weeks ago. Of course we wanted to see them! Our friend Jana was in town with her son Carson. Alison was there with her second son, Josh, too. The kids all played well together. Robbie slept most of the time, but one day he'll join the fun! I still can't believe Polly was up to having so many people at her house so soon after giving birth, but I'm glad she did!

Matt and I grabbed lunch on the road and headed home. Robbie was considerate enough to wake up to be fed just before a rest stop, so we were able to pull over and get out for a while. I think he was glad to get out of his car seat for a while and we let him stretch out on a blanket before getting back in the car. It took us longer to get home than it used to, but we expected that.

Unfortunately our weekend did not end on a high note. We put Robbie to sleep around 9:30. A little after 10 we heard 4-6 pops. Matt thought it was fireworks and headed to the front window to check it out. I thought it was gun fire and I was about to tell him to stay away from the windows when he said "Valerie, a house is on fire! Call 911!!" We ran outside and there were already a bunch of neighbors around ready to help. Luckily 911 had already been called and the fire department was there shortly. I know the family was a young couple with a baby girl. The mom and baby got away with minor injuries, but I heard that the husband sustained some pretty bad burns and was in critical condition. I read online that the Christmas tree caught fire and there was a car explosion. We will be checking our fire alarms tonight and getting new fire extinguishers! It was great to see so many people willing to help and know that if anything happened here we could count on them as well.

Let's end on a happy note. Here is the look Robbie gave me after filling up his diaper this morning:



I know it's dark and blurry, but it's hard to catch his smile on camera!

Opening presents with Nana

Robbie has really started talking a lot the past couple of weeks. It's really cute, unless he's saying "leave me alone I'm tired!" because that is usually followed with crying. I thought I was taking a video when we were opening Christmas gifts with Matt's mom, but, of course, I wasn't. I figured it out and took a short video, but it would have been cuter if I did it right the first time!



We had a busy day yesterday. First Robbie helped me fold laundry. It was exhausting, so he fell asleep. Then I finally got around to cleaning our oven door. I have no idea how it got so dirty! I'd like to think it was partly due to the people who lived here before us. One reason I had been putting it off was because I wasn't supposed to use oven cleaner when I was pregnant because of the fumes. Then I didn't want to use oven cleaner with Robbie around. I decided to just use baking soda, which really works. I have used it on the stove top and it helps absorb the grease. I'm sure I had to use more elbow grease with the baking soda, but there were no fumes and if there was a little left behind I wasn't going to worry about it. (I tried not to leave any behind, mind you!) That was obviously another exhausting task because Robbie fell asleep while helping me clean the oven! But now he knows what elbow grease is! :) I'll have to clean the inside of the oven another day.




Look at him pondering the many uses of elbow grease while he is sleeping! :)

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Our Christmas started last weekend when my parents were in town. It continued Thursday when Matt's dad, stepmom and sister came up for a visit. We opened gifts before dinner. They gave Robbie some very cute toys that he'll be able to play with as he gets older. We also got the new Rock Band and the keyboard. We're really ready to rock now! After dinner we stopped by a house that has lights matched to music (a different one that I went to with my dad) and then we came home for a jam session.

Thursday night was the first time Robbie slept through the night. For babies, that means sleeping for 5 hours. It was wonderful! We put him to bed at 10:30, I heard him a little at 2 and then he was awake at 3:30. After getting up to feed him, he was still kind of awake, but I told him that it's still sleeping time. I heard him for about 30 minutes and then he was back asleep. Unfortunately I was so excited about it I had a hard time falling asleep!! :)

Friday morning we did a video chat with Matt's brother, sister-in-law and niece. For some reason we couldn't get sound through the computer, so we just talked with the phone on speaker. Later we all went out to brunch. Afterward we went to Costco. When we went last weekend with my parents, Costco was giving samples of their ham. It was really good, so we decided to pick one up for our Christmas dinner. Jim and Jean got one as well. They were going to try to stop at a Honey Baked Ham store, but our waitress said that she stood in line for an hour and a half the day before and I don't think that's how they wanted to spend their Christmas Eve! We came back to the house for a little while longer before they headed home. We had a good visit with them and Robbie liked meeting Aunt Brittany!

We made it to Christmas Eve service at church last night. I must be getting old, but I thought the music was kind of loud. Maybe I was just worried about Robbie. He did get a little fussy, but luckily it was when we were singing, not during the sermon. I think he was just tired of being in his car seat. We left a little early. Robbie was still fussing and I didn't mind leaving and beating the crowd.

We didn't get up too early this morning, but we've already opened our presents. We'll get lunch going in a little while and just relax the rest of the day. Matt's mom is coming up tomorrow, so Christmas will last a little longer for us this year! :)

Dancing in his bouncy seat

2 month appointment

Robbie had a big day today. He got to spend the morning with Matt and I got to sleep in. It was great for me! After lunch we gave him a bath and got ready to take him to the doctor. Of course, the doctor said that he looks great! He is doing all of the things that is expected of a 2 month old (coo, smile, and follow objects with his eyes) and he is able to stand up when you hold him. Here are his stats:
Weight: 15 lbs, 6 oz (96th percentile)
Height: 23 inches (31st percentile)
Head Circumference (30th percentile)

He also had to get 3 shots and an oral vaccine. I was very proud of him for not spitting out the oral vaccine. The first time we gave him liquid vitamins it ended up all over me and him. Of course, as soon as the nurse gave him his first shot he started crying, but stopped after I was able to pick him up. I hate to say it, but I think it was the first time I saw him cry tears. :( We got home about 4:30, he ate and has been sleeping ever since.

Here's what he's been doing since we got home:

2 Months Old and a Villacampa Visit

It's hard to believe that it has only been 2 months since Robbie was born. He is the cutest addition to our family so far! :) Robbie has been sleeping in his crib for 2 weeks and has done very well with it. I think he would take better naps if I would swaddle him and put him in his crib, but he usually just naps in the swing. He loves the swing! He is getting very good at holding his head up and look at his surroundings. He will sometimes look at you when he hears you talking. I'm not good at doing tummy time with him because he usually starts crying after a minute or so of being on his tummy. I know that it's good to do to get him ready for crawling, but I don't like hearing him cry.

Robbie and Shamu:



Another cute picture:



My parents drove up Friday afternoon for a weekend visit. It gave them a chance to see Robbie again and we exchanged Christmas presents. We just hung out at the house Friday. Saturday morning we opened presents. My parents got us a Costco membership so we headed up there in the afternoon. First we walked around trying all of the free samples. We all agreed the ham we tried was really good. We got some lobster dip and crab dip that we tried. My favorite sample was the cappuccino ice cream truffle. YUM! I had more than one sample of that. After dinner Saturday night we all walked around for a little bit looking at Christmas lights. It got very cold outside, though. After walking around for a little while my dad and I drove to look at 3 different houses that have lights that blink to music. Two of the houses were really good. The 3rd house is getting better compared to last year. Today Matt and I left Robbie with my parents and went to Wal-Mart for diapers and Lowe's for a new kitchen faucet. It was about 12:30 when we got home so we decided to go to Rosy's Mexican Restaurant for lunch. We took 2 cars and mom and dad headed out when we were finished. It was a fun weekend and we are looking forward to seeing them when we go down for a visit next year.

Here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks.

The Nursery

Yesterday Robbie turned 6 weeks old. Matt and I have talked about Robbie starting to sleep in his crib for a couple of weeks, and we decided to finally do it last night. I have been letting Robbie nap in his crib for a while, but it seemed like such a big step letting him sleep all night in his crib. It went very well, though he did get up earlier than usual this morning. Maybe he slept so well he was just ready to get up? Juliet and Simba were thrilled that Robbie is now sleeping in his own room so they can rejoin us in our room at night. We also slept without a light on. We have been keeping Matt's closet light on so I could see in the middle of the night getting up with Robbie.

Since Robbie is now sleeping in the nursery, I decided it's time to post pictures of the nursery.

Putting together the crib and changing table. (I'm so glad we got the changing table!)

The tree and decals:

The finished product:

Many people know that I have cross stitched a picture for each of my nieces and nephews. Matt's mom made one for Robbie. I got to see it partially finished at the baby shower she threw me. When she came up with Mimi and Gramps she brought the final product. We haven't hung it up yet, but I think it will go above the crib or by the door.