Blast from the Past - Me and the Crinkle Paper

I am giving my Daddy all the credit here - he thought it would be fun to periodically post old videos of me. What a fun idea, right? Here's Blast from the Past, Vol. 1.

This is me in the doctor's office with Mama when I was 7 months old (the sub-par video quality is due to the fact that this was taken with her old phone). So, there is video evidence that there was, in fact, a time when I enjoyed going to the doctor's office. Somehow getting poked and prodded over the years has soured my disposition about the doc's. Too bad the fun crinkle paper couldn't always overshadow any scary feelings I have about being there...

Inflatable Fun and Cheese Fries with KellyK!

Boy, did we have a fun day with my Aunt Kelly today! She and Mama took me to Bounce-N-Bob's after I woke up from my nap so we could play on the inflatable toys. I was actually much more interested in playing with the buses and rolling grill than I was the bouncy toys, but I'm a boy after all! I did go down the slide by myself a few times, and down with Aunt Kelly and Mama too. They also had a racetrack that we rode around on - although Mama caused the whole thing to collapse when she ran me into the inflatable wall (she thought that was the whole point!). Oh well.

Discussing the pros and cons of going down the slide by myself:

I decided that the most fun way to go down the first time would be in Aunt Kelly's lap!

Racing around the track at warp speed, courtesy of Mama:

Now let's see what Kelly can do!

My favorite toy in the whole place (yes, it beat the inflatables by a landslide!):

After we had stayed as long as we could before they closed, I told the toys "bye-bye" and we went to Steak and Shake for some dinner. Aunt Kelly introduced me to cheese fries, which I loved, and I got my own chocolate shake, which I loved even more! After I was done eating, I worked on bussing the dining room again, cleaning the booth seats and tables and even the window sills! Now if Mama could just get me more interested in cleaning our apartment!

Cheese + French Fries = A Little Taste of Heaven:

Reflecting on what an incredible day this has been while sucking down my milkshake:

Time to clean up!

What a great, fun day I had with my girls! I love you Aunt Kelly and missed you as soon as you left!!!

Walking in the rain with my Aunt Kelly:

Brunch with Great-Grandmama

My one and only Great-Grandmama just got out of the hospital last week, so we decided she needed a treat! We picked her up and took her to brunch at one of her favorite places - Mary Mac's Tea Room. I had never been there, but really loved the food and the super friendly waitresses! I had yummy cinnamon rolls and mac & cheese. Me and Great-Grandmama also played with the butter packets (don't ask) and had a good, long talk.

Then I was off to satisfy my current obsession - cleaning (Mama & Daddy could not be more happy about this new development)! I ran around the dining room with baby wipes, cleaning every chair and table I could reach. When I was satisfied with their sheen, I moved on to the walls and floor. Needless to say, the waitresses were ready to strap an apron on me and put me on the payroll! I had a wonderful morning with Great-Grandmama and hope that she continues to feel better! We love you!

My Buddy Raj

Friday night my good buddy Raj came over to eat pizza and watch some pre-season football with us. We discussed the Falcon's new quarterback Matt Ryan, fantasy football strategies, and whether or not #55 can stay healthy this season. Raj also brought me a whole bag of mini 3 Musketeers - my first taste of this wonderful candy and it was a HUGE hit! I can't wait for September 7th - we get to watch the Falcons' first regular season game against Detroit at Raj's house!

Anyways, after we had just talked ourselves out and I had eaten so much chocolate that I was about to burst, it was time to go nite-nite. Raj rocked me to sleep and read me just about every book in my library (no kidding - we read together for almost an hour!). I can't wait to see you again Raj! Thank you for always being so fun and perfect with me! You are a great friend to me and my parents!

Golden Buddha and Swinging with Aunt Sara

We haven't gotten back to our once-a-month dinner date with Sara since we moved to Decatur, so we were long overdue for a visit. We met at Golden Buddha, but I wasn't too interested in eating much except for the fried rice and oranges - I was much more interested in playing with my cars and trucks with the pretty waitress.

After dinner, we went to a park and I showed Sara the best way to swing (feet up in the seat, head thrown back, hands gripping the chains, all with a huge smile and lots of laughing). We had an excellent time with my sweet Aunt and I am already looking forward to our next dinner date! I love you Aunt Sara!

Me and Mama also decided to take a ride/climb on a big green lizard:

Ahh, Crescent Moon

When I had to stay home today because I was sick, Mama decided to treat me to some brunch at Crescent Moon in downtown Decatur. Mama told me that whenever she was sick when she was little, Grandma Bebe would take her out for a special treat, so she wants to do this with me too because it always made Mama feel a little better when Bebe took her out and it was also just special time for just the two of them. Yet another great idea from my sweet grandparents!

Goodbye, Fahad! We'll Miss You!

My good friend Fahad is leaving for Georgetown in a couple of days, and we wanted to make sure and spend some time with him before he and his sweet girlfriend Deb head up to Washington DC to live. We met up at Fellini's in Decatur to share some pizza and hang out for a bit.

We had a really great time together - Fahad shared his pizza with me (I ate almost all of his. It just tasted better coming off of his plate instead of mine!), we played ball, danced on the fountain outside and laughed a lot. We will all definitely miss Fahad and Deb, but hope to take a little vacation soon up to DC to see them!

Greeting my buddy with a hug:

Good friends share pizza:

Laughing at Danny's funny voices:

Dancing with Fahad on the fountain:

Practicing my soccer skills with the expert:

Mama & Daddy:

Grandmama even brought us some crushed ice to share!

Fahad, his Mama Debbie and me - one last shot before we have to say bye-bye:

Sharks, Whales and Lots & Lots of Fish!

I had a mid-week treat on Tuesday - Mama stayed home with me so we could play all day, Bebe came over AND as if that wasn't enough of a treat, we also spent the morning at the Aquarium! I am in love with the aquariums at my school, but the GA Aquarium (have you BEEN there??? You must go if you haven't!) just blew me away.

I spent the day running up to the huge glass walls, calling to the fish, waving at them and blowing them kisses and making sure my girls saw the amazing things I was seeing. I hugged a big orange stuffed-animal fish, tried to touch a sting ray (I'm still a smidge too short though), sat in the mouth of a whale (well, it was a slide, but it was still a whale!), saw fish in every color of the rainbow, had fish swimming over my head, saw huge whales and turtles and just had an AMAZING day with my Mama and Bebe! We stayed until I was just too tuckered out to last any longer, but let's go again soon!!!!



Yes, it was necessary to give each sign on the way in (and out) of the Aquarium a high-five!

Admiring the huge fish with Bebe - this is where we spent most of our visit. I just could not get enough of this amazing room.

BEBE! Did you SEE that??!!?!?! (I think we can see by her reaction that she did indeed.) Sweet Bebe gets just as excited about these fishies as I do! I sure do love her.

Waving to one of my many new fish friends:

Mesmerized by the jellyfish:

Trying my darndest to reach a stingray with Mama:

My orange friend. I did not want to stop hugging and kissing him, but unfortunately there were other kids who also wanted some fish love. Sharing stinks sometimes.

Home Depot with Grandpa & Bebe!

While Mama, Daddy and seven of their sweetest, most wonderful friends were busy moving everything from our house in Marietta to our new apartment in Decatur and then the remaining stuff to Grandpa and Bebe's basement (we'll not mention how much stuff is in the basement because it embarrasses Mama), I got to spend some more quality time with my super fun grandparents!

We played, laughed, chased Sammy, ate, read books, ate, drove trucks, ate hash browns and waffles at Waffle House, laughed, rode in my new car (thank you Aunt Kelly!!), ate, went to the park, ate, went to the movies, cuddled, laughed, and even went to Home Depot so I could hone my handyman skills once again. Grandpa and Bebe are both quite handy themselves, so they made excellent, very patient teachers!

I missed Mama and Daddy (a little, anyways), but I had so much fun that I was really sad to see Grandpa and Bebe go home. It was my first overnight adventure away from home without my parents - and what an incredible one it was! I never want to forget our special memories! I love you both so much!

Let's do this!

And here's a video of me in hammering action. Bebe trusts me and I love showing her how I even hit the nails sometimes!

Working hard with Grandpa - see how he trusts a 2-year-old with a hammer? Do you SEE how close his fingers are to the hammer? And I am proud to say that I didn't hit him or Bebe once!

No store excursion is complete without a race or two up and down the aisles with the cart:

Wait, Grandpa! I want to smell the flowers! Or at least pull the petals off.

On a stroll with Grandpa at the park:

Can you see how much I love being carried around on my Grandpa's strong shoulders?

Milkshakes & Berry Picking!

Life has been so crazy lately that I haven't had time to update you on our family fun! Here's a quick lowdown, and I will try to be better about keeping you updated on our life now that we are settled into our cute, cozy little apartment in Decatur!

On our last family weekend in our old digs of Marietta, we went for dinner and milkshakes at Johnny Rockets and let me just tell you how I can guzzle some chocolate milkshake!

My Daddy knows just how to make me laugh! We are the best of buddies.

YummmMMYYYYY!

Believe it or not, Mama didn't put me up to this. We were in Baby Gap and while Mama and Daddy were shopping for me, I came around the corner with this most stylish hat on my head. I could not figure out why they were laughing so hard - aren't hats supposed to go on heads?

The next morning we went blackberry and blueberry picking. I loved picking the berries, putting them in my mouth, and then spitting them back out (unfortunately, sometimes back into the bucket. Only those that really really love me will want to share these blueberries with us!). It was quite an adventure for us - there was lots of laughter, stained fingers, grass stains and snoozing once we all got back home - all signs of a wonderful day!

Navigating the blackberry patch with Daddy:

Whew! That was hard work. Now to put my feet up and watch the grown-ups do some of the work!