Party @ Nonnie's

It seems when I'm home there is always a party - and this time was no exception... mom had several of my old friends and their children over to see Harrison- it was so fun to see everyone!!

A few of the kids playing

Harrison with Christina's Godbrother Steve Bradley

Harrison LOVED playing with Steve and desperately wanted his glasses


Long time friend, Kirsten and her newest addition Elyse

Mary Waugh and her newest addition Jack

The rest of the Waugh family, Derek, Luke and Sophia

The Costas

 Trip Davidson, loving on Harrison

Aunt Amy and Uncle Sid gave Harrison his Christmas presents early.  Here he is with his first present!

 

And ripping into it!

 

Aunt Amy with the bug

Aunt Amy with Kylie and the Bug!

DeLand Christmas Parade

As I mentioned in a previous post - DeLand is full of weekend happenings.  Another annual favorite is the big Christmas Parade... when I was growing up this was held during the day - and was always looked forward to - since leaving DeLand they have kicked it up a notch and now hold the parade at night complete with floats decked out with lights. 

We were invited to a parade "tailgate" where we enjoyed great views (roadside seats can be hard to come by sometimes!) and yummy food! 

Harrison on his way to his first DeLand Christmas Parade

A Proud Gramp 

(with one of the few pics we could get Harrison to take his eyes off of the floats behind them and look at the camera) 

Daddy and the bug - check out that crazy hair!

Mama and the bug with Santa's float going by

Miscellaneous Pics from DeLand

Here are some miscellaneous pics from when we were in DeLand...

Tom's Pizza has been in DeLand as long as we can remember - my Dad used to frequent there as a child and Sid and I both have been addicted from first bite.... now Harrison has officially been introduced to this DeLand institution!  I think Tom's is what will end up convincing Mike to move me back to DeLand one day - we must have eaten there 20 times while we were home!

Harrison and Cousin Kylie playing

Christina, her brother and their cousin Melissa (that they haven't seen in nearly 13 years!!) with her son Landon

Mike's high school friends Rich and Beverly Banez and their two sons, Nico and RJ live in Orlando we got a chance to visit with them before we left town.

Kylie had just taken her first steps earlier in the day here she is taking another stab at it....  To play the video click on the triangle...

Another video....Cousin Kylie and Harrison playing

Taylor Clan Christmas Tree Hunt

The whole Taylor clan went to search for the perfect tree... here are some great photo highlights

Here we are with Christina's parents, brother, sis-in-law and niece at the tree hunt

 

 

Thanksgiving in DeLand

We were so lucky to be in DeLand for a very long time over the Thanksgiving holiday - Mike had work to do in Orlando (Q School) so it worked out well that our family is there!

We had Thanksgiving at Christina's parents and it was wonderful as always!

Auntie Alex with Harrison

Mamie has been part of the Taylor family for a very long time - she was around when Christina's dad was a child and moved on to help Christina's parents when Sid and Christina were children (she would probably say they STILL our her "children" as she refuses to acknowledge that they have have grown up!)

 While my (Christina's) mom is one of the best cooks I've ever come across... Mamie does make the BEST fried chicken and mashed potatoes and her meatloaf aka Mamieloaf recipe is a best kept family secret - if you come to visit I might just make some for you!!

Mamie with yet another generation!

Christina's mom's beautiful Thanksgiving table

Now which spoon am I supposed to start with...??

Father/Daughter/Son night @ Quarterback Club in DeLand

As many of you know DeLand is a rather small town - so to keep things interesting there are ALWAYS events going on - from Chili Cook-offs and art festivals to fancy Mardi Gras balls!  

Here is a long time favorite of Christina's dad's.. the annual Father Daughter Son night for the DeLand Quarterback club members... we all attended in our FSU regalia despite our pitiful season!!

Gramp Taylor (Christina's Dad) showing off his grandson

Christina's brother, Sidney, his wife Amy and their little girl Kylie

Mike and the bug wearing a hat he just won from the raffle

Harrison's Baptism

After much prayer and thought - Mike and I felt led to have Harrison baptized in the church where we were married in DeLand, FL ... since we now attend a non-denominational church where they don't do infant baptisms it was a decision we really had to pray over!  We both felt that this is what we should do... the event was moving spiritually and a great deal of fun since we had many dear friends and family come celebrate the event with us!

"Uncle" Paul, one of Mike's childhood friends and one of Harrison's Godfathers came down from Chattanooga... Here they are the day before the Baptism.

Aunt Sarah and Cousin Bo loving on our lil bug

Bo was so cute with Harrison - he constantly wanted to hold and hug him!

Father Don (who married us) leading Harrison's Baptism

The Godparents:

 T.R. Lewis (another highschool friend of Mike's) came from Atlanta

Paul Hoewischer

Shannon Wallace (one of Christina's best friends from childhood) came from Oregon.

The Spencer clan

Christina with Shannon and her little girl Sienna

Nonnie Taylor with Harrison

Aunt Amy (Christina's sister-in-law) with Cousin Kylie looking at the bug

Christina's parents had a wonderful brunch at their home after the baptism... below Nonnie Taylor made sure that Harrison did indeed have a silver spoon in his mouth and he even got to eat from his great great grandfather's silver porridger.... get used to it kid - your Nonnie has a penchant for these things!

Harrison having a blast at his party!

His beautiful (and delicious) cake

Auntie Jen holding the bug 

(another best friend of Christina's from childhood)

"Uncle" T.R. with his Godson

Gamma Spencer relaxing with her grandsons after the big event

 

Time for night night after a big day...

Pop Spencer loving on the bug before bed