Starting a family blog.

It has been a busy time for the three of us and we've missed being able to share in the lives of our friends and family like we did when we lived in DC. So, I'll attempt to keep this blog fresh with images and stories of Louisa, as well as other major events--like living without a kitchen.

Included is a photo of Lousia gladly recreating her method of escape from her crib at our new (old) house in Temple Terrace, northeast of downtown Tampa and less than a mile from Aimee's university-the University of South Florida. We bought Louisa a pair of blue Crocs (the funny rubber clogs) the day prior and her fondness for them compelled her to scurry out of her crib to retrieve them from the living room the next morning.

Feeling that there was no turning back, we decided to take down her crib and let her sleep on the mattress on the floor. Big mistake! She spent the remainder of the day launching herself off of her dresser to her mattress. And after nearly five hours of trying to get her to at least lay still in her bed that night, we put the crib back together at 1:30 in the morning. Thankfully there haven't been any break outs since. She now simply yells "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Daddy, Mommy..." at around 7:30 every morning.

We are really enjoying our new house, but the decision to demo our kitchen completely and put in a new one has been a bit overwhelming. We now have a proper grill (thanks to Phil and Carleen) and are using a utility sink and plywood on saw horses as our "kitchen."

The pool is lots of fun, but it too causes headaches due to the constant maintenance. Louisa really enjoys it though and welcomes any visitors that will join her for a refreshing swim in this punishing Florida heat.