We LOVE Spring!

We really do love Spring. We love the warmer weather, going to baseball games, taking long walks each day, all of the activities that we can participate in, all of the visitors we've gotten, all of the pretty flowers, and even the rain showers that wash the pollen away! We love all of these things SO much that we have neglected our blog in the past few weeks! But, that's okay . . . we'll get caught up now.

Let me start by stating again how much we LOVE our neighborhood. It seems there's always something fun being planned, and now that Spring has arrived, we had a big cook-out in the park. The weather was beautiful, and we all enjoyed hanging out with our friends and neighbors. Charlie especially enjoyed playing with his little friends!

Charlie: the cool, attentive listener.

Look at Hill's "Mini-Me"!

The same weekend as our neighborhood cook-out, we went to the grand opening of the Gwinnett Braves Baseball Stadium. This is one of the Atlanta Braves' minor league teams, and we enjoyed going to see their brand new stadium with our friends (and Hill's co-worker) the Espositos. Anthony & Kelly's daughter, Taylor, is about 6 weeks younger than Charlie, and they had a good time watching the game together.

We're all learning new things every day. Charlie has learned to sit up by himself, as well as how to turn himself around (kind of like a helicopter) so he can roll around to where he wants to go. Meanwhile, I have learned that I need to put sunscreen on my baby every time I take him out to walk -- even if I take him out at 5:00 P.M.! Who knew that Charlie would get sunburned at THAT time of the day?? Now, I know! Luckily, he seemed blissfully unaware that his face was the color of a lobster. And, it had completely faded away within a day.

Peach Pie and Dandaddy have sold their home in California, which means that they are full-time North Carolinians now! That's great news for us because it means we get to see them much more often. Peach Pie spent a couple of days with us recently, and gave Charlie a little "spa treatment." First, he got a bath in the sink. Then, Peach Pie rubbed him down with baby powder. It's no surprise that he fell fast asleep in pretty short order after that!

Our friends, Jared & Anna, came over for dinner and a movie a couple of weeks ago. Photography is one of Jared's hobbies, and he takes amazing photographs. He snapped some great shots of Charlie, Cowboy and Ruby that evening. I just had to share these with you . . .

Charlie got to attend his very first birthday party in April! His buddy, Gavin Simpson, had his first birthday, and Charlie had a great time at his party. That's not the only social event that we've had lately -- we've enjoyed some play groups as well! It's fun watching Charlie interact with people his own age. He seems eager to make friends, and so far has been easy-going and willing to share with others. I've enjoyed visiting with the other moms, too.

Charlie with his little buddy, Luke.

Caroline, Luke & Charlie play so well together!

Charlie hitches a ride in his pal, Gavin's wagon.

Check it out -- Charlie's got the arm thing down pat already! Today, the side of a wagon; in a few years, it'll be the side of a pick-up truck!

Springtime is festival time around here, and we took Charlie to the Jonquil Festival at the nearby Smyrna Market Village. He loved strolling around, seeing the sights, listening to the music, and watching his mommy eat WAY too much "carnival food" (corn dogs, lemonade, etc.).

Charlie keeps his cool, despite the warm temperatures outside.

Daddy with his boy!

This past weekend, Hill and I had our first overnight without Charlie. We had tickets to see "Movin' Out", which was a ballet set to Billy Joel music, at the Fox Theater in Midtown Atlanta. And, we stayed at a hotel across from the theater that night. Nana and her cousin, Ruby Griffin, drove down from Winston-Salem to stay with Charlie while we had our "hot date." Hill and I had a great time at the show, and Hill said he slept like a baby that night. I woke up a dozen times because I didn't hear the baby monitor. Of course, I knew Charlie was in great hands, so I wasn't worried about him. Still, when you're used to hearing that baby monitor every night, it can be startling to wake up without that noise. The rest of the weekend with our visitors was spent shopping, relaxing, and playing with Charlie.

Charlie gets a smooch from his Nana.

Ruby showered Charlie with lots of attention, too!

And finally, last night, Charlie learned a new "trick" -- drinking out of a sippy cup! We are starting out with just a little water and letting him get the hang of that. He seemed to really like holding his new cup and chewing on the spout. I don't think he has quite gotten the hang of actually drinking out of it yet, but that will surely come in time.

Now, May is here! And with it comes even warmer temperatures, more visitors, and lots of fun planned. I'll be sure to keep you posted!