January 2010

A new year is upon us, and we find ourselves looking ahead with a sense of a fresh start. I like to consider the year ahead as an empty page that I will fill up with snapshots of good times spent with friends and family, and stories of our family's adventures. I'm sure a lot of those stories will center around Charlie as he continues to grow and learn and investigate and get into all kinds of trouble. :) One thing's for sure -- if Charlie has anything to say about it, the year ahead will NOT be dull!

We started the year off in Highlands, North Carolina with our dear friends Alan & Sally Hearn and Tre, Emily and Caroline Sasser. We just couldn't think of a better way to ring in 2010 than celebrating with friends in the mountains. There was lots of cooking, relaxing, chatting and laughing. The guys fired up the Big Green Egg and blew us all away with some exceptional ribs, barbecue and chicken. Meanwhile, the girls were able to pull together some delicious side items -- even on a moment's notice (we had incorrectly assumed the guys had a plan in place). Meanwhile, Charlie and Caroline (who is about 7 months older than Charlie) had a fantastic time together. They danced and played until they were too tired to hold their little heads up any longer. Once the little ones were in bed, the grown-ups headed out onto the deck, where we gathered around the fireplace and enjoyed good music, good wine, and great conversation as 2009 rolled into 2010.

Charlie & Caroline splashed around in the big bath tub.

Emily, Tre and Stacey by the fire.

Ruby finds a comfy spot next to Sally & Alan.

Is there anything more cozy than this??

Alan shows off his Wii Bowling technique.

Atlanta doesn't get much snow. However, each Winter, nearby Stone Mountain is "magically" transformed into Snow Mountain with the help of a ton of man-made snow that they create. We drove over with several neighbors and their little ones for a fun-filled and snow-filled morning.

Charlie with his Daddy at Snow Mountain.

The Scott Family at Stone Mountain.


Charlie & Mommy pause for a photo.

Charlie sleds down the bunny slope!

Playgroup pals -- Laiton, Charlie, Maddie & Harper pose

with Mr. Snowman.

We love spending time in the mountains. It's gorgeous at all times of the year. However, baseball season is so busy for us (particularly Hill), that we don't get to spend nearly as much time there in the Spring and Summer as we would like. So, we try to go as frequently as possible during the Braves' off-season. We went again this month with our friends Rob & Katie Catlin. We all enjoyed another weekend of relaxing in front of the fire, watching movies and treating ourselves to some delicious meals. It was a cold, rainy weekend, but that only added to the cozy ambiance for us.

Hill, Cowboy & Rob on kitchen duty.

Charlie & Katie

Katie & I got to spend 2 weekends in a row together, as the following weekend, we went to Madison, Georgia for a scrapbooking retreat. We stayed at a super-cute bed & breakfast, and had a terrific time snacking, listening to music, watching movies and working on our scrapbooks. I was doing my best to get Charlie's baby book underway, and I did make some good progress. And, we had lots of laughs in the process.

The lodge where all of the scrapbooking took place looked like an old, red barn.

Long tables made it easy to spread our pictures and pages out.

It really is hard to believe how quickly January has flown by. As we look ahead to February, we have another busy month in store. We're looking forward to my birthday (okay . . . at least I am!), Hill & I are joining First United Methodist Church of Marietta (where Charlie goes to Mother's Morning Out each week), we're going on another trip to Highlands with friends, and much more. I'm sure I'll be continuing to chase after a lightning fast toddler as he figures out new ways to outsmart his parents' attempts to thwart his efforts to go where he wants to go and get what he wants to get. Most of all, I believe we will continue to be grateful for all of the blessings we have in our lives.

A Trip to North Carolina

We started the Summer off with another visit to North Carolina! Charlie got to spend time with Meme & Papa Jack, Nana & Grand-dad, Uncle Duane & Sheri, and Great-Grandma Preston! He sure LOVED all of the attention he got!

Here we are at Meme's. She lets him do pretty much anything he wants. Here, he's chewing on a wash cloth.


This little fella appears to be pretty happy about sitting on Meme's lap!

Charlie likes to share secrets with Papa Jack.

Great-Grandma Preston loves spending time with her little fella. And, he was all smiles when we visited with her.

Charlie had an absolute ball when he went swimming in Nana & Grand-dad's pool!

We DEFINITELY have a little water baby on our hands! He LOVES floating around in the pool. I think swimming lessons will be part of the near future for us!

Charlie hugs Uncle Duane good-bye as we prepare to head back to Atlanta.

Sheri, Charlie & Duane

Nana & Grand-dad hate to see their little buddy go. But, we'll see them again SOON!

One last picture before we hit the road . . .

Hooray for Father's Day

This was Hill's first Father's Day, and I wanted to do something that would make it extra special for him. So, I combined a few of his favorite things and tried to capture them in a picture for his desk! Here are Charlie, Cowboy and Ruby all decked out in their Oregon Ducks gear for Daddy!

First, the photo shoot was outside in our front yard. I thought the flowers would make a good back drop. However, I hadn't factored in how bright the sun was or how stinkin' HOT it was out there!


I managed to get a couple of cute pictures, but decided it was best to move inside before we all melted from the heat.

No one looks very excited about this photo shoot here!

Charlie couldn't resist giving Ruby a little love . . .

Being an "equal opportunity lover," he soon shifted his attention to Cowboy . . .

Finally -- the best shot of the day! And, it looks super-cute in the green frame Mommy found.

Daddy had a fantastic Father's Day! Here he is kicked back in the chair with his feet up, waiting to bust into his gifts! In addition to the picture frame, he got a Braves T-shirt with "Dad" on the back, and he opened a matching shirt for Charlie as well. Like father, like son!

Playing "Catch Up"!

Wow -- it's been over 2 months since my last post! Time has really flown by, especially considering how busy we've been keeping ourselves this summer. Guess it's time to get up-to-date on what we've been up to over these past couple of months. And, I'll TRY to stay current moving forward!

Now, where should I start? I guess I'll just pick back up where I left off. It was early June, and the days were getting longer & warmer. Hill was spending lots of time at the ball park because the Braves were in town for long stretches at a time. Charlie & I found lots of ways to occupy our time, including spending time with family! Peach Pie brought Margaret & Jack through town on their way from Memphis to Highlands. Charlie LOVES spending time with his cousins, and they are so sweet to him. We decided to drive up to Highlands to visit with them while they were there, and we all had a great time together. Jack & Margaret went to a week-long camp session there (which Charlie will get to attend when he's older), then they spent the night at our house again on their way home to Memphis. We all had a fun time, as the pictures below will show:

Charlie takes a ride in the back of a dump truck!

Margaret holding her little cousin.

Jack & Charlie relax before dinner.

Charlie really gets a kick out of cuddling with his cousins!


Dandaddy, Margaret, Charlie, Hill & Jack hang out before dinner.

Charlie in the "growing chair".

Charlie gets a smooch from his daddy.

Here's a random photo I took of Charlie while he was playing one day.

Ruby & Cowboy are on "lifeguard duty" while Charlie takes a dip in his little pool.

Peach Pie, Jack, Stacey, Margaret, Hill & Charlie have dinner at The Varsity!

Peach Pie's "Totem Pole" of grandchildren! This is one of her FAVORITE pictures ever, even though Charlie seems a little concerned.

Jack & Margaret even like helping out with diaper changes!

Lazy Days of Summer!

Summer time may not officially be here, but it sure feels like it outside! It's been very warm already, and we've been taking advantage of the sunny days by taking walks, going to the park, splashing in the baby pool, and relaxing in the air conditioning inside!

Charlie demonstrates his favorite relaxation technique on the loveseat.

Ruby & Cowboy take full advantage of the loveseat if it's not already occupied!

The Braves have had LOTS of home games this month, which means Hill spends a ton of time at the ball park. So, Charlie & I find ways to keep entertained at home! We continue to have play group with some of our neighbors, which has been a lot of fun. We also spend time with our puppies. Both of our dogs clearly love Charlie, but it's pretty obvious that Cowboy is perhaps the most patient and affectionate dog ever. And, Charlie absolutely adores him! It's incredibly sweet to see how Charlie's face literally lights up when Cowboy walks into the room. Here are some pictures of Charlie trying to get his hands on Cowboy when he's playing in the study and realizes Cowboy is on the loveseat.

Reaching . . .

Almost there . . .

Contact!

This is what a happy baby looks like!

Charlie still isn't doing any crawling, and doesn't even appear to have an inclination to do so any time soon. He's getting around just fine by rolling wherever he needs to go. He has become much more "talkative", animated, and interested in toys. He can keep himself entertained for a while so mommy can vacuum, eat lunch, fold laundry or do some other quick task.

Playing with blocks.

Charlie likes the box that the blocks come in just as much as the blocks themselves!

Charlie has always been a big fan of the bath tub, so I was not even remotely surprised with how quickly he took to the swimming pool. He loved it as soon as he got in -- of course, I'm sure it helped that the sun had warmed the water up to feel almost like his bath water. Anyway, he was splashing and laughing in no time, and I just can't wait to get him into a big swimming pool very soon.

SO happy to be in the swimming pool.

Super-cool with his sunglasses & pool toys.

Charlie has been to his share of parties over the past few weeks . . . we've had at least one each weekend for the past month or so. And, he has stolen the show each time with his laid-back, easy-going personality. Hill & I have had a wonderful time being able to hang out with friends with Charlie in tow . . . hope we can continue to do that! This weekend, we're anticipating a fairly quiet few days. The Braves will be on the road, so we can relax at home and perhaps focus on getting some projects done around the house.

Hope all of our family & friends are enjoying these Summer-like days as well!