A weDDiNG aNd CanAdA

I was supposed to be in Orlando for 2 weeks, it turned into 5! I love how that happens but I also loathe it. I love it because I get to see my family and friends longer but that just means I have to spend more money and that part I loathe. There were a few reasons for me staying longer than I did. My parents closed on their new house so I wanted to be there and help move in, I also hadn't seen the property since it was just dirt. Darin had to leave but was coming back a week after I was supposed to leave so I just decided to stay and go back with him, plus Gemma is at a really cool age, her walking is getting really good (oh yea, she's walking....since 11 months but it wasn't all that great, i'd say 50/50, she'd walk or crawl, decisions decisions) and she's a lot of fun, so I wanted our family to enjoy her as much as possible. 

My brother got married the end of January, and we couldn't miss that for the world. It was a very sweet ceremony and you could see the love between Craig and Kait the whole time. What a cool experience sitting in the front row watching my brother get married. For sure I thought i'd cry but I held it together pretty well. Kait's dress was so incredibly pretty, it was perfect on her.....when she was getting ready you could see the excitement on her face just being in her dress, she loved it! The reception was a fun one with lots of dancing and having a photo booth was a bonus! We had a lot of our family come and it was so great to see all of them and spend sometime with them during their visit. Kait seems to fit in great with our oh so large family....you'd think it would scare some (i'm pretty sure it scared Darin lol), but Kait doesn't seem to mind, I think she likes it :) I'm so happy for my brother, that he found someone like Kait to share his life with and make great memories with in the future, i'm glad I get to make memories as well with our new sister! Congrats to Kait and Craig, love you both! xx

The week after the wedding I ventured up to CANADA!! I have a friend who lives up in Vancouver and since I haven't been to Canada before, I figured it was the perfect time to get a trip in! Gem stayed with her grandparents so I could go enjoy time with Jen. Vancouver is a great city, lots to see and lots to do and only an hour drive from Whistler!! I'll be going back to ski for sure and go to the tube park! They had a weird winter so there wasn't much snow except for what was on the mountain. We sat and ate lunch out on a patio of a cool restaurant at the bottom and watched people wipe out coming down the mountain.....something the nice heaters and a few cold beers made super funny! It was cold in Vancouver but nothing like I thought it would be....you could get away with a long sleeve shirt and a jacket and be just fine, I was expecting layers and layers but that didn't happen lol. I got to go to my first hockey game which was so fun, but they lost :( Got to visit a few of Jen's usual spots, a few lounges, fun bars and restaurants. I was really excited to have a Tim's coffee everyday and also poutine (which is fries with chunks of cheese curds and gravy, sounds super gross, but it's super awesome). It was a great 5 days and so nice to spend time with Jen, hope to make it back soon!!

Upon my arrival home, it was time to help my parents move, so every day after my mom got off work (11:30am), we'd load up the car while Gem was napping and when she woke up we'd take the 30 min journey out to the new house and unload the car, do something at the house, wait for furniture, alarm people or someone and make it back in time for dinner either at their old place or at my grandma's house. So....that was a fun week. Darin came in again that Friday afternoon and had the weekend to spend with us before he had to go to meetings starting the next week, every day for work. 

As always the weeks went by super fast but we were ready to leave and get back home to barbados. It's nice after being so busy and visiting so much with people to sit and do nothing again lol. It's nice to get back to our routine and have it be just us again. I miss our evening walks to watch the sunset on the ocean....reminds me everyday why I love living here. We have a few things coming up that we're looking forward to and the first is Easter week in Bathsheba! We've gone every year since moving here and it's a great little escape that sort of gets you rested before the crazy summer starts with all the Kadooment crazy events. This year in Bathsheba should be fun with Gemma since she's old enough to play with the kids and not have to just sit in a bouncy seat on the beach like last year, I think she'll fully enjoy it and that means a good night sleep for an exhausted 1 yr old every night, SCORE for mom and dad!!!  

About Gem:

*loves playing with the neighborhood kids and her own ride on toy

*skateboarding with daddy

*picking up and bringing you invisible things

*giving "closed mouth" kisses and says mmmmmmmuh doing it

*sometimes she says "thank you" lol, it's funny

*still really loves bathtime and sleeping

*her "pretending" is really fun to watch

*she's completely on the move, walks/runs everywhere, the beach is the best to watch    her walk around on....she looks like she's had one too many daiquiris hahaha

*says her version of kitty, dog, woof and a pig oink which is hilarious

1 YeaR! WaiT....wHAt???

It's hard to believe you're ONE!!! The last year of our lives was nothing short of absolutely amazing. The year began with you and you were a perfect start to the next chapter in our lives. It's crazy to me how fast babies grow in a year, from being completely helpless and dependent to very independent and taking on the world. It's a beautiful thing sitting back and watching your curiosity take control, I sit and wonder what you blab about when you're off in your own little world, talking to toys, putting your hands up in the air like you're preaching and why you chose things that are not toys to play with instead of your super fun toys we buy. Your personality is starting to show though and it's also another one of my favorite things about you. You love people, you love kids, your smile lights up everyone's day and it's intensely contagious. You're fun to have around and your entertainment to us is endless, you're silly, smart and loud and always so proud of yourself when you do something new. You are exactly how we pictured life would be with a kid, you're the coolest, friendliest, happiest, easy going kid ever. We can already see you'll love adventures in life and will be living it to the fullest.....I mean, how can you not with that zest for life we can see in you at just ONE year old!?

You love to get in the way of the fridge, play with shoes (eating them) and following us to the bathroom. You love the show Pocoyo, Zack & Quack, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse....or do I love all those shows....you FREAK when Zack & Quack comes on, when the intro song you comes on you come crawling or walk (whatever you feel like that day) from wherever you are to the tv and break out into dance and yell with excitement (how I probably do when I see Taylor Swift on Ellen). You also dance on command if we say "dance" or "twerk" lol, it's pretty funny. You say uh-oh when you drop things, say bye bye when someone leaves, put your hands in the air if we say how big is Gemma, so big!! If there's music on anywhere you dance, no matter what, you dance and you love every second of it, you love the stroller and going for walks (usually to watch dad surf or see the sunset on the ocean at Freights Bay). You give (open mouth) kisses and also blow kisses. You're an amazing napper and night sleeper (thank you Lord!), you love peek a boo when you're the peek a boo'er, you're smile lights up the room and your oh such gorgeous eyes get all squinty, I love it! You love the beach, oh my gosh you love the beach!! You crawl all around and the sand doesn't phase you, you eat the sand, roll in the sand and get it all up in your hair, you crawl into the water and back out to get toys, you float for hours with us and sometimes even pass-out in your float. You look completely adorable in your bikinis with your sun hat, it's hard to resist squeezing all that cuteness! You love your own space, your own crib, your blanket and Honda bear (from Opa).

You've adjusted into every stage so smooth and made all those horror stories i've heard never become real with me and i'm so glad they never did. I'd be a bad advice giver to people who have kids that don't transition well. You pick up on things so quick and changes don't seem to phase you much (hence you're super "go with the flow, easy going" personality). You do have a spark in you're easy going personality....you're LOUD and passionate when you speak and i'm pretty sure one day it won't be so cute.

I don't think we could of been more lucky, you make being a mom more fun than anything else in this insane world, daddy and I look forward to so many more amazing years with you....LYTTMAB my love! 

xoxo,
mommie & daddy

HoLiDAy TiME

Tis the season for dinners, parties, gatherings or just being out somewhere, I think this is the busiest i've ever been during the holiday season. We had Gemma in tow (of course) to most places and she just sleeps in her pack n play upstairs or in another room in someones house until we're ready to leave. She arrives in her pj's, plays, has her bottle and down for bed, thank goodness she's a great and easy sleeper, you can just put her down, shut the light off, shut the door and that's it. I think she's become a professional partier....she can hang for a bit but gets partied out pretty easy....not because of drinking to much though. I think we all enjoyed our busy holiday, seeing everyone, meeting new people and making the fun memories. Since this is my first year with a kid I wasn't quite sure how the present giving to other kids worked....Darin and I did a little something for each other but not a big deal and Gem only had 4 presents (stuff here is so expensive), not to worry, she has more in the states waiting for her (how to get it here is another story). We didn't do anything for our families because our flights home are so expensive we just wanted to spend the quality time with each of them this last trip and that we did. SO.....mid December rolls around and people keep showing up with gifts for Gemma! As nice as it was and how amazing it is knowing how much people love our little girl and they want to give her gifts.....I felt HORRIBLE!! I didn't get anything for anyone....lame! Next year i'll know for sure what's up. 

It's always weird around the holiday time when we aren't with our families and this year I got pretty down about it, more than I thought I would. Maybe because it's Gem's first Christmas...i'm not sure. To keep me out of my funk was our island family. I know i've said it before, but again, we have the most amazing friends that are like family here and thanks to all of them for keeping us feel welcomed and busy throughout the holiday. We spent so much time with other people and their families you can't help but feel super loved by everyone here, the food is great, the people are awesome and if we can't be with our family in the states then we could never ask for a better group of people to be spending the holidays with. 

New Years (or Ole Years here), we went to this amazing event put on by some of our friends here. It was huge and magnificent and we had such a great time. They had a great execution of their first go at throwing an Ole Years event. Everything was completely thought out from the detail in our wristbands to the signature drinks at the bar and the layout and ease of getting around with hundreds of people there. We didn't feel squished, we didn't wait forever for a drink, the music and food were awesome and the vibe was perfect for the whole night....with all you can drink champagne!! Next year will be just as epic i'm sure!

Gem was 11 months on Christmas Eve....that's crazy to me. I can't believe babies go from such helpless little things to walking around and understanding things you say and do, they start to develop a personality...I just feel like this should take like 2 years, not 1. Their little bodies just change at an insanely fast pace, from week to week they look different, do new things, say new things, are curious about new things.

Gem can walk from thing to thing or if we tease her with something she'll walk to us but doesn't go clear across the house yet, this all started somewhere in the 10th month. She loves the fridge and the dishwasher and tries to get in them every moment she can. She has a new kitchen set that makes a bunch of noise and she loves it! We moved most of the toys to the back room so no more mess in the living room (i always hated it anyway, drove me nuts), hooray!! The girl loves to eat, pretty much everything so far, playing chase and peekaboo with Darin is one of her favorite daily activities and she has certain shows that when the songs come on she freaks out, crawls to the tv and dances....or dances in place, it's pretty funny watching her. She's almost 23 lbs, and about 28 inches tall, hopefully she'll keep the chunky thighs a little longer, since I love them!

top: New Years and Boxing Day 12/26, raft up party at Juju's beach

bottom: Christmas Day brunch at a friend's family house

WhAT juSt HapPENed?

OH WOW!!!! I don't even know where to start, it's been almost 2 months since i've posted anything....it's been absolutely crazy lately to say the least. I guess i'll just start from October 22nd, when Laura arrived for her 3 week visit!! We did a lot of beaches, and had a day free of Gemma and went to a local spot for all the tourists to go, kind of like a Senor Frogs type place, we had a great time petting monkeys and riding horses on the beach, jumping off rope swings and laying in cabanas. The weather was perfect most of the time she was here so that was great because last time she was here, it was kinda cloudy and rainy the whole time. Having Gem now, makes for very interesting adjustments when having people visit. Working around her naps and melt downs gets tricky. She did pretty well for the most part but every few days we just needed to stay home and adjust back before going again for a few more days doing stuff. One of the fun things Laura got to be a part of was Halloween (lol)...that seems so long ago now. Gemma's first Halloween was a success! The girl wore what I wore on my first Halloween, the only difference is I had a full snow suit on under it so the space was mostly taken up, Gemma doesn't need all the cold padding so it looked more like a pumpkin gown than an actual plump pumpkin hahaha. We went to a friends neighborhood where all of us met up with our kiddos to trick or treat along with the neighborhood kids...saying 50 kids is probably low balling it. My first experience with kids on Halloween, it was absolute chaos lol, but they had so much fun and once everyone started to spread out, walking around was nice. The following night we had a sitter and Laura along with me and two other friends were superheros in tutus for a Halloween party! The next day we had Alan come in town which started the trickle of friends coming in daily for Alan and Jenny's wedding the next weekend. We had a crazy busy week with at least 5 people and a baby in the house at anytime that week, for 4 of the nights there were 7 people and a baby here. We had a great week exploring with everyone and got some great photos!

Alan and Jenny's festivities started with rehearsal at Sea Cat, a fantastic restaurant here. I had told Alan i'd decorate everything at the restaurant that night and for him not to worry about it....I did it as a surprise to Jenny (and everyone else) and i'm pretty sure she loved it! Us girls went to stay at The Crane Resort that night and had hair and makeup done there the next morning before headed to the wedding at Lone Star Restaurant. I was super stressed out for days since I helped plan a large part of the wedding, but it paid off and everything went great, I was glad it was over and I felt more like me almost instantly. I can't wait to see pictures from the photographer, Jenny was absolutely stunning and the little twists and turns of detail made it special and more memorable. They set off for their honeymoon sailing in the BVI's and the rest of the group (as well as Gem and I) headed back to Orlando.

Darin came up 5 days later and we did a family/holiday day with each of our families which consisted of good food and watching Gem open her first Christmas presents! We also had planned on going to Disney with Drey, Shane and the girls as well as Grammie and Poppie (Mark and Marcie, Darin's parents)....it was for Jordis's 7th birthday and it was Gem's first disney trip. I got the super stinking cute mini mouse ears for her that she wore and didn't care for a good part of the day. She got to ride Dumbo, It's a Small World and Peter Pan, just the most cutest thing ever was having her at Disney, even though she won't remember it, but I will :) We also brought Gem to see Santa!! Oh my gosh was that so freaking cute too....I just love her so much at this stage, the 9-10 months has been my absolute favorite age so far. She's just the coolest, cutest kid....she's got this personality and smile that kills me every time I look at her. Her hair is getting so long with these curls at the ends and her eyes changed to this really cool green with a super dark blue ring around the outside, they're gorgeous!!

We had also planned a surprise party for the Doty's 40th anniversary. Drey got a good group of people from close and far, old friends and new to come out and celebrate and boy were they surprised!! Great night for sure!!

Since our visit, we've just been getting back into our daily routine and enjoying lots of holiday parties here and looking forward to a few friends that are visiting for the holidays. We're also looking forward to January when my brother gets married!! I hope to not go 2 months again with out posting, enjoy all the pics...I know I do ;) 

LoVE biRDs

I have some fantastic news!!!! My little/big brother is ENGAGED!!! He met this amazing girl years ago and on occasion, randomly would hang out with the same group of friends. They never thought twice, or maybe just the wrong timing in life, but they were never more than that person that they see sometimes when everyone hangs out.  I do remember Craig talking about this girl he thought was pretty at someone's wedding but nothing ever came of it...maybe she had a boyfriend or word just didn't get around to her that Craig was interested. It's ok though, a little while later we had a new renter in our house who was Laura and Craig's friend Maggie.....and her friend who came over all the time was Kaitlyn. Even though they kind of, sort of knew each other, it wasn't until then that they really got to know each other. Still with a few obstacles they remained friends and nothing more. A few months after that, the timing was right and they fell in "like" with each other. Craig has been waiting for the one to come along for a while, he said when he found her one day he would know right away. They started dating and we quickly learned Craig has probably found that one he's been waiting for. A few facetime convos with Craig and we heard all about Kaitlyn. It wasn't until I went home in October to surprise a friend for her birthday that I got to meet her. I was excited to meet her because I heard such great things from Craig, but also nervous because I wanted her to be right for my brother, I didn't want her to hurt him, I didn't want him to get heart broken, I didn't want to see him sad and I definitely didn't want her to be a snobby, all about me, selfish person who was going to one day take my brother from me. I was pleasantly surprised (at 6 months pregnant) when I walked in the house and this girl with a big smile on her face got up from the couch and gave me the biggest hug like she's missed me....yet she's never met me. All those doubts in my mind instantly faded and I felt an immediate connection with Kaitlyn, like i've missed her too!! Since that day, they grew into a loving, caring, fun couple. In May they came to Barbados for a week and it was great to spend good quality time with them and really get to see them together as a couple. Kaitlyn fits perfectly with our family dynamic and when we're all together things just flow like normal, we've never felt like we had to "fit" someone else into our lives. She's very easy going, enjoys life, loves our family, adores my brother and as nervous as us Zubli girls were for the girl Craig would one day marry, we have nothing to be nervous about anymore. 

A few weeks ago, Craig picked up the engagement ring he'd been designing with a friend of the family who is a Jeweler. Besides Kaitlyn, we were all involved, got updates of drawings and everything, so it would only make sense for all of us to go with Craig to pick up the ring on his lunch break....I of course was on facetime so technically I was there :) My mom cried, then I got kind of choked up, it's just so special seeing my brother design and purchase something that means so much to him and he's become this great man who's found the one he wants to spend his life with and I can not be happier.

He went out that night with Kaitlyn for their 1 yr anniversary but he didn't propose because it was to obvious....so he waited until the next night. He hatched a plan and proposed in downtown Winter Garden FL in front of the fountain. I was impatiently waiting for updates from Laura who was the ring holder and picture taker. When it was over, we facetime'd quickly but it was loud where they went to celebrate so it was pretty much hand gestures of excitement because they couldn't hear us lol.

 It's so awesome having my family who is so close, we want each other there for things because it's important and we can't imagine doing them with anyone else. Keeping the bond is what's most important in life and Kaitlyn is part of that family bond. Darin, also an in-law, fits in perfectly too ;) and i'm grateful for the relationship he has with my family as well. He's become a best friend and brother to Craig and Laura and I love that! He means so much to Craig, that Craig has asked Darin to stand with him at his wedding....my heart is so happy, I married such a great guy who means just as much to my family as he does to me. Just like I can't imagine someone else for me, I can't imagine someone else for Craig, Kaitlyn loves and adores my brother so much, he's changed as a person over the last year (in a great way) and I can see the change he's made in Kaitlyn as well. They make a great team and they make each other better in the process.....I can't wait to watch them start their lives together as husband and wife on January 31, 2015!!!!!