The girl loves to look at herself!  She was smiling away.  Talk about some self-love!  

I have been dying to get Juliette in one of her swimsuits.  We filled up her pool and had our own little pool party today!  Since she isn't old enough for sunblock, Josh & I took turns holding an umbrella over her so she could stay out of the sun.  She was indifferent about the experience.  She just sat there and looked around!  

Monty, on the other hand, is terrified of water...he stayed far away!  He sure is one handsome dog! A little needy, but darn cute!

It's been a super busy week.  Work is crazy with the Memorial Day Weekend coming up.  Holidays kinda stink when you work at a beach club.  Don't get me wrong...they're great for all of you people who get a three day weekend.  But those of us that work holidays, it means one extra day of work.  Ugh.  I just need Josh to pick the right numbers when the Powerball gets back up to $400 million.  Anyways, for all of you that need to keep up with the Jones'...here's what happened this week:

Juliette slept in her crib in her room!  She's sooo incredibly independent already.  Of course, I was a nervous mess the first night she wasn't sleeping in our bedroom.  So nervous that I slept on the couch so I could be closer to her room if she needed me.  Welp...she didn't need me!  Here she is passed out for the night. 

Juliette's oldest brother, Mugsy, looks like he has alopecia.  He went back to the vet this week for the 4th week in a row (literally!).  He has had every test in the book done on him. Skin has been scraped, medicated baths, thyroid tests...you name it.  Darn dog is costing a fortune these days!  We've narrowed it down to food allergies and/or a yeast infection (a yeast infection on his skin...creeeeeeepy).  So he's been on meds for a good solid month now.  And if you know Mugsy, you know he's not the easiest of dogs to work with.  Pill time is no bueno.  I also caved in this week and called Bark Busters.  Bark Busters will be coming over to work with us on training the pups to be good and obedient.  Wish us luck!  We're going to need it.

On a prettier note, my succulent potted garden looks great!  I have now proven that I can keep succulents alive!  (Basically, that means the dogs have not yet tried to eat them. Last year, the tomato plant didn't survive if you get my drift.)

Admitting you have a problem is the first step to getting help, right?  I've become obsessed with buying Juliette headbands and bows.  It's bad.  I could spend all day looking on Etsy for headbands.  Some days I do.  Today Juliette decided (yes, she's very independent already) to try a bunch on and model them for her Mommy.  This girl has no idea what she's getting in to!  Here's her stash...

In case you have the urge to shop for Juliette's Christmas gifts early (don't laugh...I'm already almost done with my Christmas shopping.  That's another problem I have.) here are some of my favorite Etsy Shops.  Just click on the names to view their beautiness...

1. Charlie Cocos: She makes hair clips...sooo cute!
   
2. Giddy Up & Grow: My all-time favorite! I want to buy EVERY one.
3. Ruby & Sue
4. Georgia & Jane
5. Jameson Monroe
6. Little Bitty Blossom
7. The Pink Ruffle

Here's some that I think she needs.  Josh may beg to differ, but let's be honest...his opinion doesn't always count.

By the way...she is ready for the fall.  She's got her Kentucky & Louisville headwear ready to go!

(I did warn you that I had a problem)

One year ago from today...I married the sweetest, handsomest, kindest, most caringest (yes, it's a word now) man.  I honestly cannot believe how fast this past year has flown by!  Our wedding was everything I had always dreamed of.  My best friend Emily and I had a conversation YEARS ago about how we wanted our weddings to be (true story!).  And I swear...this is what I described.  A wedding on a farm.  With a big barn.  A John Deere tractor. Big old fashioned Christmas lights.  And the man of my dreams.  And I got it!  Here's to many more wonderful year my Lovee!  Thanks for making all my dreams come true!

I love you Mr. Jones

This girl is growing like a weed!  She now focuses on things for long periods of time...she loves her some Baby Einstein videos!  She babbles a ton!  And talk about smiles...she loves to smile!  It's crazy how much she has already changed in just three months!

He did it!  My little brother graduated from Mississippi College Law School!  We packed up the Rogue and headed out on a 10-hour car ride to Jackson.  It was Juliette's first trip out of Florida!  The way there she did great!  She slept almost the whole way.  When she wasn't sleeping she was glued to the tablet watching her Baby Einstein videos.  Once we got into Jackson, we checked into the Cabot Lodge, home of a great complimentary hot breakfast and FREE happy hour adult beverages in the evenings!  Chris and a group of his fellow classmates rented out a cool jazz bar in Downtown Jackson the night before graduation. Yes, we were "those" people that brought a baby to a bar!  The next morning was the actual graduation at First Baptist Church Jackson.  Talk about a HUGE church!  

This was Juliette's first time meeting her Uncle Chris and her Uncle Matt.  I think they both liked her (Who am I kidding?  She's the cutest thing ever...how could you not like her?).

After graduation, we went to the Mississippi Craft Center where artists from all over Mississippi come to sell their goods.  There even was an uber scary hand made baby doll for sale...for $325!   The beautiful baskets are handmade by the local Choctaw Tribe.  They are absolutely beautiful! (I would have loved to buy one, but they were a bit out of my price range! The small baskets (think 5 inches in diameter) started at $80!

We did buy a few things from one of their artists named Elaine Peterson.  Elaine paints intricate objects on gorgeous feathers such as peacock, turkey, duck and more that she collects (from cruelty-free sources!). Here she is starting on one of her designs along with some of the finished products!  Definitely one of the coolest crafts I've ever seen!  Check out her blog (http://feathermore.blogspot.com/) to see some more cool feathers that she has painted.

The next day we headed out to visit the Mississippi Agricultural & Forestry Museum.  For a nominal entry fee of $5, you get to see all kinds of neat things! And we sure do love a good agricultural museum (especially since our first anniversary is coming up...we got married at the Florida Agricultural Museum...which is one of our favorite places!).

Then it was time to pack Chris' apartment up.  It's hard to believe his three years of law school are already over and done.  It seems like yesterday when we were dropping him off...

Here we are in 2010...

And 2013...

It's the start of a new adventure for Chris...he now gets to study for the Kentucky Bar Exam.  Good luck Chris!  We know you will do great things!

Happy 30th to the love of my life and daddy to the cutest little gal there ever was!  We <3 you!

I was reminiscing today about some of my favorite things from growing up.  It'll be interesting to see what things Juliette likes as she grows up  These are some of my favorites...

The Baby-Sitters Club.  How I loved thee.  I still have the entire collection at Grams house.  We'll have to see if we can get Juliette to read them!

Mr. Sketch. I literally still have THREE boxes of them in my desk at work.  I'm still addicted.  And now they have new colors!  My all-time favorite was the Blueberry marker, followed closely by the Cherry.  I think I need to be buried with a box.

Trolls.  I had lots of Trolls.  I'm not exactly sure what I did with them.  But I sure did love them.

Barbie Dream Pool.  OMG.  I cannot imagine my childhood without it.  I think I played with the Barbie Dream Pool just about every day.  Man I wish I could find one to get Juliette now...the exact same model (yes, it would be more for me than her.  She'd learn to love it.).

Blueberry Ice Cream at King's Island.  Had to have it EVERY time we went to King's Island.  Next time we go, I'm getting me some.

Dinosaurs.  Great show.  My dad LOVED this show.  It makes me happy to think about him watching it.

Care Bear Cloud Car.  This thing was great.  It "wobbled" like it was really trying to be a cloud when you drove it.  So cool.

Ecto Cooler.  We drank a lot of this stuff.  It was GOOOOOOD! 

Pogo Ball.  I spent many hours in the driveway on this thing.  They need to come up with an adult version.  Could be a really fun way to lose weight!

Love's Baby Soft.  Yeah, I wore it.

Hypercolor.  I had a few shirts.  This one I found on-line just doesn't seem right.

L.A. Gear High Tops.  Wow.  They are really ugly, but back then I thought I was so cool.

Ice Capades Barbie.  I loved every Barbie.

McDonald's "Drive Through".  I think the 'rents bought this for my little brother. I know I played with it probably more than he did.  It was awesome!  

So many great toys from the 80's and 90's!  I could go on and on!  

Next up...Josh's Childhood Favorites (he doesn't know that he's my next blog post...he will when he reads this!).

Yesterday was Derby Day!  Derby Day for us usually means getting the rain gear out, packing up the cooler and heading to the infamous infield at Churchill Downs.  This year, we did not venture to Kentucky so we had a Derby Birthday Party for Josh.  I woke up to a leaky kitchen sink that decided to leave an inch of water everywhere.  Thankfully, we were able to clean it up before it got too bad (and stick a bucket underneath...anyone know how to fix a garbage disposal?).  Juliette was not a fan of wearing her Derby hat.  It lasted all of two minutes.  All of out closest friends came out on a not-so-pretty-with-lots-of-rain kinda night.  A crazy scary storm dropped a few inches of rain in a matter of minutes (totally a guess on how much, but it was a crapload). The storm got so bad that it knocked out power for over five hours.  We had a good time even without power!  Thanks for coming out friends!

Josh sent this picture to me today while I was at work.  Talk about an instant mood booster!  Man, I love this little girl!

And this rain we've been getting the past day or so is no joke!  It's been non-stop...and coming down hard.  I took a couple pictures of it on my way to work...

All of the cow fields near our house look like ponds!  At least we can turn off our sprinkler system for a week or so!

And the fort, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, (https://www.facebook.com/CastilloNPS) has a moat again!   Stay dry my friends!

p.s. It's Derby Day tomorrow!  Wooooooooo hoooooooooo!