Two Peas in a Pod

This past Sunday, we went over to Thomas, Elizabeth and Carter's for some nice grilled burgers and general hanging out... Thomas and I even installed umbrella lighting! I'll explain if you really want to know.

Anna and Carter got to play together alot and had a blast pushing chairs around the deck, chasing each other around and finding new places to sit. Like two peas in a pod, albeit one is a very, very tall pea. Here are shots of some of the fun:

Punk Rock Baby

So, our daycare was kind enough to supply us with some great information. Food coloring makes excellent semi-permanent hair dye. The outcome is that we now have a punk rock baby. It's mostly faded now, but it has taken many many washings to get there. Enjoy some pics from the first day.

Spoon!

This past weekend, we went out to breakfast at West Egg Cafe, a nice local place close to home that has great breakfast plates, as well as good lunch food, and is most famous for their cupcakes. We didn't partake in the cupcakes at 9am, but their grits are really good as well. Now, we know Anna likes grits, just like her Mom and Dad, so no surprise she wanted some. We had been feeding them to her with a spoon per usual, and she would occasionally put her finger in to get the goods. Then she decided to take things into her own hands, literally.

Anna using the finger method to get the grits. Works OK, but you can see the wheels spinning for a better, alternate method.

Hmmm, what's that thing they keep feeding me my grits with over there? That works well and holds a lot more than just my finger.

Yes, this metal thing... I think I will try this... getting more grits is really what needs to happen here.

She scooped, and she went for it. So fast, you can see the blurred action.

KABOOM! Grits galore!

And the winner is Anna!! And of course Mom and Dad, who laughed out loud at this face.

Anna ended up eating an entire bowl of grits... I had a bite, Ash had a bite, but Anna cleaned it out, in addition to the side of ham she would throw down in between spoonfuls. We have an eater, folks!!

Phish!

My favorite band is back on tour (after a 5 year hiatus), and they played a few shows in the South (close enough for me to travel to and see without missing too much work!). Last week, I met up with some old college buddies and had a great time!! Here are some shots:

Anna giving Daddy the peace sign knowing full well I was on my way to Phish shows.

The view from our seats at the Asheville, NC Civic Center... sitting behind the stage was a real treat - sound was great and venue was small. Overall great show. Very loose and rock-y.

Set break at Asheville - show was VERY sold out.

PAT!! Finally seated after 2 some-odd hours of dancing!!

Our view in Knoxville, TN. The arena was very Orange as you could imagine, being at UT. This show was even better than Asheville in overall regards... first set was one of the best I've seen in a long, long time.

We had a blast and it was so great seeing some old friends. Brings back college days and just great times. Hoping Phish come back in town for some more reunion shows!!

More Daddy Day Care!

While Ash was away at beautiful and amazing Buffalo for an Epidemiologist Conference (I can just imagine the antics), Daddy Day Care was in full swing again. Our Saturday night started with a trip to Turner field with Thomas, Carter and other friends to see the Braves ultimately lose, but we tailgated a bit, and let the kids run around, which ended up being a blast!

Here is Anna in her new Braves shirt ready to get going!

Here is the crew - Eric, Hillary and Violet; Thomas and Carter; Brett, Amy and Lucas; Ed, Amy and Henry; and Anna and me.

Anna Tailgating! It was really hot - and yes, she's wearing sunscreen!

The two of us inside Turner!

The next morning, we visited the Aquarium... being a member, it's really easy to go for a couple hours and not worry about seeing EVERYTHING. Here are some shots from the day:

What is Anna looking at, you ask?...

...well, the aquarium scuba man cleaning the tropical fish tank, of course!

The next day, we went up to Pam and Tom's to see them and Mimi and eat some grilled burgers. It was a fun time and Anna got to hang out with her Great Grandmother, as well as her Great Aunt and Uncle!!

This is Anna coming back home Sunday... she was pooped!

The next night, I went to go pick up Ashley from the airport - Thomas hung out at the house while Anna slept, but there was fun to be had with Uncle T before bedtime:

All in all, a great weekend!!

The Zoo & Daddy Day Care

Once we returned from Pensacola over the Memorial Day weekend on Wednesday (and recovered from the stomach virus that hit all of us the last day at the beach), Ash had to get back to work (that crazy Swine Flu!) and I still had Anna for Daddy Day Care on Thursday (her daycare was still closed for the week). I decided to take her to the zoo for the first time. She loved it, as did I and it was a nice day out!

As we made our way to the Gorillas and Apes, there is a statue of a Gorilla at one of the viewing areas. I placed Anna next to the statue to get a picture. At this point, Anna has not noticed the mean-looking Ape next to her. She's just waving and playing normally.

Soon enough, she glanced to her right and saw what I had place her next to... I wish I could've capture the look she gave it and then me... here is the aftermath in this shot - she wanted outta there - you can see her worried look!

Next was the Pandas! Anna loves Pandas. Her favorite stuffed animal is a panda - her 'Bay' - which we think is 'Bear' without the 'r'. As I got online before we left to check the website, I had Anna on my lap and the homepage has a picture of a panda... she said 'Bay... bay... BAY!' So cute. Then we got there and she saw the actual 'Bay' and there was no end to her shouting 'BAY... BAY... BAY!'

After the Pandas, we rode the Endangered Species carousel and then played on the playground. Anna liked to steer the 'boat.'

After a nice several hours at the zoo, we headed back home to the park in our neighborhood for some swinging (which she still loves!)

Loves it so much in fact, that now she can do it with 'no hands!' What a little daredevil.

We both took nice naps afterwards, but it was a great day with my punkin!

Pensacola: Memorial Day Weekend!

For Memorial Day Weekend, we headed down to Pensacola to get away from the Altanta rain, and have some well-deserved R&R. As Anna's daycare was closed all week so that they can prepare the facility for Anna's jump from infant to toddler, we decided to make a vacation out of it and go see Omi and Grampallen in Florida, as well as see and hang out with some old friends. Below are some shots of the weekend (thanks to Angie for several of these).

Anna very excited to be at the beach - and about her cute PJs!

Allen and I headed out to Ft. Pickens, which had been closed since Hurricane Ivan (you may remember Ivan from such times as why we didn't have our wedding in Pensacola in '04), and they re-opened the road which was slightly flooded. We walked out on the point and got a shot or two of the view. No one had been out there for 4+ years.

We went out to the Gulf and hung out on the beach for a couple days (where I got burnt to a crisp - re-application of sunscreen is very important - apparently). Here is Anna playing with her bucket - she got very sandy, after finally warming up to the idea of actually touching sand.

Daddy getting Anna used to the ocean... you can see that she wants Mama badly here, as sand was one thing, but getting used to the ocean may take a little bit.

Anna happy to be on land with her Grampallen!

Mama and Anna taking stroll on the beach in the similar suits - too cute!

We enjoyed a nice get together with Abby and her boys Sullivan and Jack, as well as Angie and Allen's friends Rosie and Pete. Here, Anna is eating crackers before we all sat down for some mean crab cakes.

And lucky for Ash and I, we got a night out to ourselves, so we walked around downtown (Palifox) and enjoyed the sights and sunset. Here is the beautiful Ash herself.

And a quick shot of the two of us.

And just to leave on a cute note, here is the FlufferNutter with bedhead!!!