Blogged, Not Stirred

Anna's 1st Haircut (self imposed)

2012-01-20T07:16:00.000-05:00

While on a conference call yesterday, I get another call on my other line. No message. Then they call again. No message. Then they call my work blackberry, which no one has the number to except CDC-folk. So I answer it thinking it must be work related. The operator asks if I can take a call, and I said I was on a conference call and could she let me know if it's an emergency. Alas it was not, so I got the message to call the daycare before I came to pick up Anna. I'm thinking now, oh God, who did she hit, bite, and all the other reasons the daycare may need to talk to me before I pick her up that are non-emergencies. But I'm still on my conference call, so I go back to focus on that.
After a couple of minutes, here's the instant message chain:

Park: hi you still there?

me: yes

Park: this should be a good kicker to your day... got a call from Ms. Carol...
             Anna has cut her hair 'pretty short on one side and a little on the other'...
             ummmm.... wasn't sure how to react

             i see you are wondering how to react as well

me: HOLY S**T

Park: yep
             she wanted to let us know before you got there
             I don't know the extent
             not sure how the scissors got to her hair without anyone noticing, but they did

me: WHAT A DAY

I was too focused on not making Anna feel bad that I forgot to take pictures until we got to the salon. But these pics are still from before the girl had started the repairs.

Anna's handywork - I mean, she REALLY cut it

In mid repair

Back to ridiculously cute and adorable.

So she seems to really like it. There were some moments yesterday when she started to get really upset, like when i had to explain that we had to cut off the rest of her hair and that we couldn't just put it back tomorrow. She said, "Only boys have short hair" and got sniffly, so I reminded her of all the princesses and fairies with short hair. Broke my heart. But like I said, I think she's really happy with it. We'll see how it goes after she's at school - she's quite sensitive, so if the kids make fun of her, we could be in trouble.

Wish us luck!

Halloween!

2011-11-21T13:31:00.001-05:00

I know these are a bit late, but I wanted to share some pics of Halloween '11. We continued our tradition of going up to Cart Cart and Nonna's to trick or treat. This year, Ann went as Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and Sam went as Superman. We had a great time!

The Princess

SuperSam!

The trick or treating crew

Boston

2011-11-15T17:57:00.001-05:00

We were lucky to have a few days in Boston together (I cashed in some skymiles and joined Ash on the tail end of her biz trip), and we had a great time:

The Skyline - we stayed at the Intercontinental (Thanks CDC!)

We saw really old cemeteries...

really old court houses....

Paul Revere statues...

and we walked the entire Freedom Trail!

While Ash was working one of the days (she was there for business after all), I took a detour over to Fenway Park.

... and took a tour - this is from the press box...

and this is sitting on the green monster...

The Future

2011-11-15T17:55:00.001-05:00

iAnna and eSammy

Slidin' Sammy

2011-11-15T17:52:00.001-05:00

Static electricity never gets old.

Parkarazzi

2011-11-14T17:41:00.001-05:00

Atlanta has been a great place to film movies for a while and as the engineering company in my building moved out, there were about 3 floors that became available in the office park where I work. Two film production offices from Hollywood moved on in - the movies are being shot here and are in pre-production.

One is Neighborhood Watch starring Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn among others - directed by Akiva Schaffer (of Lonely Island fame). And the other is Parental Guidance with Billy Crystal and Bette Midler.

Showcasing my TMZ-worthy paparazzi stylings (iPhone camera from my 4th floor window overlooking the parking lot), I snapped a few shots of the only stars I've seen - Vince Vaughn and the aforementioned Akiva Schaffer. A lot of Cadillac Escalades and wardrobe trucks around, as well as some co-worker elevator rides with Ben Stiller. No signs of Bette Midler yet.

Vince and his assistants

Director Akiva Schaffer

Sammy's 2nd birthday & other October events

2011-10-30T22:24:00.001-05:00

My little man is TWO! I seriously can't believe how quickly these things happen. We celebrated with lots of friends and loved ones at a nearby playground. Luckily the weather cooperated, though a bit chilly, so we were still able overload all the little ones on sugar. Thanks to Aunt Eli, we have some photos of the event, since my camera battery was out (sigh). There should be more pix to come from one of Sammy's friends' moms. Stay tuned, and I'll post them on the soon-side.

Daddy arranging the birthday hat and Maia focused on her cupcake.

Getting ready to sing!

Anna, Carter and Violet (it's sorta dark, but that's Alessandra and Sophie on the right - Sophie's birthday was this week, too)

A very modern goatee - he's so down

Little drummer boy loving his present from Cart Cart

Earlier this month, the Fowlkes clan had our annual outing to the Washington Farms pumpkin patch. This is the most fun farm ever, complete with corn troughs, cow tractor trains, swings, giant rocking chairs, pig races, FOOD, funky slides, etc. Needless to say, the kids napped WELL on the way home. Aunt Eli put together an awesome slide show from the day.

Just a random pic of baby John.

Park and me in Boston Commons - Oh yeah! Mommy and Daddy get a vacay courtesy of your tax dollars!!!

Some recent photos of the kids

2011-09-14T15:11:00.000-05:00

Where will Ashley be this week?

2011-08-29T10:12:00.000-05:00

View Larger Map

Cookie Monster

2011-08-12T14:44:00.003-05:00

Gwinnet Braves game

2011-08-08T22:29:00.000-05:00

A Fowlkes-filled afternoon! Though Anna did not appreciate the noise and we spent a considerable amount of the game in the restaurant, we managed to squeeze in some fun fowlkes family time. The highlight was the moment that will be burned in my memory forever. We're standing on a hillside and I, in a moment of true idiocy did not lock the stroller, and then turned away while talking. All I remember is that in a split second, Elizabeth's face went white and she was suddenly running down the hill after Anna in her stroller. More than worth note that Elizabeth is 9 months pregnant, no less. Fortunately, there was a fence not too far down and Anna was unhurt after crashing into it. Definitely one of those "I'm the worst mother in the world" moments.

The rest of the afternoon was smooth by comparison. Here is one of the only pictures I took: an incredibly sweet one of Cart Cart, Park and Anna.

More pix taken by Elizabeth-sorry, she was too busy to film the chase down the hill.

Photos by Anna

2011-08-02T15:11:00.000-05:00

I would like to share a few selections from our budding photographer's portfolio.

more from LA-LA-land

2011-07-05T20:32:00.000-05:00

Paradise-esque house where we stayed.

I've never been so enamored with a staircase.

Getty museum

Extreme cuteness at the Getty

Tickle Tickle!

Aunt Leigh read to a very ecstatic Anna and Sammy.

Anna's favorite finding on Venice Beach.

Last night in town at Leigh's (Clayton, Jeffrey and Greg)

No June gloom here

2011-06-30T21:56:00.000-05:00

As it is June 30th and I am determined NOT to have a whole month go by without a post, here is a little catch up from June. So, yes, many of our nights are spent watching So You Think You Can Dance in this first summer month, but otherwise, I don't think I've sat in one place for longer than 10 minutes (with one fabulous exception -- there will be a mama in miami post).

June began with a blast! We took our brood on their first airplane trip to Los Angeles. I could probably fill a whole post with just that, but needless to say, we made it, and it wasn't actually all that bad (ask Park about changing Sammy in the "lavatory"). We went for the Austin Reunion 2012, celebrating Mimi's 90th (!!!) birthday, "Big" Allen's birthday, (quotes because "little" Allen is quite a bit taller than him) Jeffrey, Clayton and Allen's 18th birthday, and Jeffrey and Clayton's high school graduation.

Gorgious Leigh and her triplets Allen, Jeffrey and Clayton.

Lovely ladies! Mimi and Lynn

We finally met Emily! Proud papa, Mark (aka Stubby)

Anna was quite concerned with the cake allotments.

The future...

Sammy had a blast opening and closing the door a million and four times.

Isn't my girl so sweet?

Handsome man

2011-05-20T19:00:00.001-05:00

Though I thought it impossible, my Hams (aka Sammy) has gotten even cuter this week with the first official haircut. His "do" was starting to resemble a mullet, not completely sure of which variety, but he was well on his way to a "little mully". So, I took it upon myself to do the one thing I thought I'd never do: cut my own child's hair. Alas, I was bored, and the mullet was a-callin'.

Before (Easter pics of the little man on a hunt - see T&E's blog)

After (Sammy is an avid reader, especially of Dora)

Stand back girls! Sammy is gonna put a hurtin' on this world.

Great Urban Race

2011-04-13T15:59:00.004-05:00

This past weekend, I did the Great Urban Race, which made its way back to Atlanta in 2011 - http://greaturbanrace.com/ - It's basically The Amazing Race, but just around Atlanta where you are given 12 clues and you try to complete them all as quickly as possible, but only using public transportation and your feet. Some of the clues involved taking pictures of yourself doing things in certain places as proof (see below), and the race spanned from Buckhead to Midtown.

You are also allowed a 'home base crew' that can help you with directions/googling/clue solving, etc. Thanks to my brother Thomas and the rest of the LBi crew for their help. It was through my company and we raised money for St. Jude's so it was worth it regardless. The time limit was 5 hours and I'm happy to say we (my partner Tad and I) made it in around 3 hours 50 minutes.

See the Facebook page for more details.

Here are some shots we took:

LBi had 3 teams: Tad and I (Vatican Warlock Assassins), Mary Ellen and Chelsea (Lean Mean Scavenger Machine) and Michael and Christina (Crop Dusters). Pre-Race.

Clue: Take a photo with both team members giving a high five to someone in uniform.

Clue: Take a photo of both team members with someone who has at least two visible tattoos.
Clue: Take a photo of both team members in from of LW Chocolatier in Buckhead feeding each other a treat.

Clue: One team member make a paper airplane and the other have it and in the middle of the designated target - if you don't get it within three tries, take a photo of both team members in front of the Chipotle sign looking sad.

Clue: take a photo of both team members in front of wherever this Eagle is (ending up being at the Federal Reserve building on 10th) doing what the Eagle is doing.It was a lot of fun, but we were very sore after... hope to do it next year too!

Spring training trip

2011-03-20T23:55:00.000-05:00

We made our annual trek to Orlando week before last. While we didn't get to see everyone and everything we wanted, we came really frappin close!

Braves game

Disney World

Seaworld

Anna was not happy with the volume of the show...

Mimi and Gampa time

Not pictured here would be the meals, which included steak, hibachi steak, bbq ribs and finally one night of home cookin!

seaweed salad eatin' kids!

2011-02-05T20:52:00.000-05:00

Yep, it's true. Both of my picky eaters LOVE to eat seaweed salad. We took them out for sushi last night (they get fried rice, we get sushi) and Anna got mad at Sammy because he was getting too much of the seaweed. Anna is also coming along nicely in her chopsticking abilities, and am being serious when I say that Sammy is on his way as well!

Long Time, No See

2011-02-01T14:54:00.005-05:00

Hello everyone,

Needless to say, we have been very slack on blog postings... just a lot happening over the last few months and little time to document it... wanted to share a slew of pics we've captured over the past few months.

Enjoy!

Anna at the toy store - the maestro!

Ash and Anna reading Llama Llama Red Pajama, one of Anna's favorites!

Daddy got Anna a Spiderman shirt - she is a big fan!

Park went to NY for a work trip.

Super Sammy at the Aquarium!

More Sammy cuteness!

Anna watching her favorite movie: Beauty and the Beast - this is regular occurrence.

Nekkid

2010-12-14T19:46:00.002-05:00

So it was just too perfect. Happened to have the camera rolling, and boom, there she was, naked as a jaybird.

Anna's One-Woman Show

2010-10-05T18:24:00.002-05:00

We just let the camera roll. We're not sure what a 'Morning Does' or 'Mocking Does' is, but we found it extremely amusing. I think she may have a career on stage.

Sammy's Walking Evolution

2010-10-02T10:33:00.003-05:00

Sammy started taking some steps recently, but he didn't just start walking. Sometimes you have to go through iterations to get it right. We've captured some video of Sammy's walking evolution. Enjoy!

Anna's trip to the Fire Station

2010-09-30T11:44:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago, Anna's daycare class went to visit the nearby fire station on Clifton Road. Daddy got to chaperone and we had a blast. The firefighters demonstrated putting on their gear (so the kids wouldn't be afraid whenever they may seen them), we got a tour of the trucks and EMS vehicle and we also took a tour of the station (sleeping quarters, kitchen and common area).

Anna's first trip to the station didn't fare so well, as she didn't want to get on or in any of the vehicles and generally was fussy according to her teachers. This time, I like to think Daddy being there made it a bit better. She was much more open to the experience and the teachers were happy to see her getting in the vehicles with the other kids. Here are some shots of her that day:

Sitting with some pals on a bench in front of the station. They made the t-shirts in class to wear to the station... Anna's room is the Laurel Room.

The demonstration: the firefighter was on his knees as to not intimidate the kiddos. One of the firefighters helping Anna into the firetruck... this was a big step for her... she loved it inside! One of Anna's teachers (Ms. Lisa) with the fire hat on - the kids loved it. All the kids loved the gadgets.. Anna, being one of the taller children, was able to touch the main water hose thingy.

Recent Happenings

2010-09-28T09:27:00.008-05:00

Hello everyone! We know it's been a while since we posted, but we have been really busy with Ashley traveling on site visits for work to Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Tampa to name a few. That means a Daddy Day Care marathon, although I did tag along to L.A. for a nice vacation (separate post coming!). We've been busy with the kids with help from the Grandparents and family, so we wanted to put a few pictures of the past month or so:

Anna with her Cart-Cart (who is prone to give Anna cookies when asked - in fact, he's prone to give Anna anything when asked).

Anna, Ash and Omi at the zoo on the train!
Daddy and Sammy

Sammy is very close to walking (he's taken 4 unassisted steps - video to come). Here he is pushing his big sister in the shopping cart.

At the toddler park in Decatur - taking a ride in the wagon!

Violet came down and joined in the fun!

Our girl!

At the kids fountain at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

Anna loves to slide down head first.

Up in Sky Valley at Paw Paw and Nonee's - here's Oliver getting a good Sammy head lick.

Anna feeding her little brother Spaghetti-Os...

...and the result.

We mini-celebrated Ash's birthday early!

Promise there will be more coming... we ARE still alive!

Friday Night Swimming turned Indoor Extravaganza

2010-08-23T11:34:00.001-05:00

This past Friday, the plan was to have some night swimming over at the Buerkles... mother nature decided we needed some rain (alot of it), so Ash, Anna, Sammy and I had a nice indoor get-together with Burk, Heather and Bennett, Hillary, Eric, Violet and Charlie, Peter, Katie and Ellie, Ed and Henry. There was pizza, drinks, cupcakes, chatting, tomfoolery, kids-jump-on-a-Dad competition, and general good times. Below is a shot of three of the party goers. There are many more pictures of this night we'll try and share, but here is one I can post today.

Anna, Bennett and Violet ready to go jump on Burk.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tubby Time!

2010-07-28T13:38:00.002-05:00

While the Mrs. is away in Utah on business this week, I've been having a great time with the kiddos... Last night was tubby night (and Anna helps Daddy with Sammy night!)

Here are some visual references of the cuteness!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Not blocked???

2010-07-02T14:16:00.000-05:00

Here I am at work, and my blog is available to me.

Recent family sightings

2010-06-25T18:41:00.001-05:00

Two weeks ago, a long time compadre of Park's very sadly moved on to some other than this world. Mr. Brad Robinson will eternally be remembered by us dancing away, laughing hard and making certain that all those around him are having the best time possible. To celebrate his time with us, and to help prepare for an even bigger celebration with all of the Elon crew, Park went to Athens last weekend, and I headed to my sister's house. Anna was thrilled to see Josh, "Quiston" (Christian), Lala (Laura) and Uncle Jason!

Then, we had a visit from Granny B during the week. Although it was brief, as she is on her way to Bike Virginia, we had a very fun evening with babies abounding!

Next on our fam-stravaganza was a Collective Soul concert with Thomas and Elizabeth. Let me explain a little. Eli is admittedly not a fountain of musical knowledge. She has been working harder than any human should, and wanted a night out at Chastain. Her explanation goes something like this, "Hey! I've heard of them, I'll get tickets!" Needless to say, we were thrilled to accompany her and Thomas and take in the collectively soulful spirits. Much fun was had, but Uncle Cracker sux.

Websense filter - category nonsense

2010-06-19T09:16:00.006-05:00

Thanks to the crack IT team at the CDC, blogspot is now blocked at work. Hence the 4 weeks since my last posting. Not to say that we were religous updaters to begin with, but this has been quite a stretch with no update. I hope yee of the blog readers haven't given up on me!!

We've got quite a bit of catching up to do. I don't mind telling you that there has been some serious cuteness going on around here! Sammy is 8 months old and now saying "mama." Though it's just him muttering, it makes me happy :) He's also a full-time crawler with red little knees to prove it. He's not terribly interested in his play saucer anymore, so keeping him out of the cat food has become a full time job.

Anna is speaking in full sentences that usually go something a little like, "I don't take a tubby today" or "Where'd the baseball go?" or just repeating from her favorite commercial "Wow! That's a low price! I know!" She also loves to sing songs - it usually takes ~8 songs at bedtime each night. She's also a car singer - I was able to record her singing away to Hush little Baby. We're slowly moving in to the potty training phase of life...oh, how fun...so I'm sure we'll have some choice moments to share.

Anna and Sammy together give rise to synergistic cuteness. Anna kisses Sammy on the forehead each night before bed, loves to make him laugh and provides excellent commentary on his status: "Sammy's crying" "Sammy spilled" (this means spit up), and "Sammy eat mommy's boobie" (when he's nursing). Never fails to entertain.
Park and punkins on Pensacola Beach - no oil to be found, but plenty of tension.

My little Sammy in his beach tent.
Playing with Omi and the weird little yellow thingy that has no purpose, but manages to entertain my children for hours.

Mmmmm....cake at Carter's 4th birthday party!

Sammy's first time on the swings.

Recent Happenings

2010-05-14T09:09:00.003-05:00

Here are some pics of some recent happenings in the Fowlkes Family:

At the opening of the Canopy Walk at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, this butterfly apparently liked my shirt - kept coming back to me!

Anna and her friend Lucas at Ashley's friend Lenee's birthday party!

Jason Heyward foul ball I caught at the Braves v. Astros game with T, Dad and Matthew.

Sammy and Uncle Jason catching some Z's while we visited the Woodstock fam.

The Mommy train!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sammy's Six-Month Montage

2010-04-21T10:37:00.004-05:00

As we close in on Sammy's six-month birthday (April 26th), we thought we would do a little montage of our guy throughout his brief but eventful time here on the planet. Hope you enjoy the show!

Anna's 2nd Birthday Party

2010-04-13T14:25:00.005-05:00

I know it's a little late, but better late than never... there was some video taken at Anna's birthday party in late February, so here's a little taste of the festivities at the Mellow Mushroom.

And below that is Part 2 where Anna opened presents at home after the party!

Enjoy!

Easter egg hunting

2010-04-04T21:14:00.004-05:00

We had so much fun with Anna's first Easter egg hunt! Once she got the drift of what was going on, it was extreme cuteness. As Aunt Eli said, the best thing about this age is that they don't really notice the eggs falling out of their baskets as they are running around. Then they turn around an see all these eggs on the ground think, "Wow! More eggs!!!"

Recent Randoms!

2010-03-29T14:56:00.002-05:00

HI! It's been awhile - we've been a few places and would like to share some pics! Also trying out the mobile version of blogspot... There will be more and better photos posted soon, but wanted to give our peeps something in the meantime!

Brother and Sister

Braves Spring Training

Anna in 'her' car

The 'Bone'

Sky Valley

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My baby is TWO!

2010-03-03T21:48:00.005-05:00

How quickly a year goes by!!!! I can't believe my little baby is two! What a year it has been so far!

Anna eating Oscar the Grouch (the cupcake)

Granny B and Sammy!

Cousin Carter!

JonMark and Cindy!

Heather and Bennett discuss the benefits of pizza and birthday parties!

Proud Dads!
Back home opening presents!

mishpocheh

2010-02-27T10:27:00.003-05:00

noun
(Yiddish) the entire family network of relatives by blood or marriage (and sometimes close friends); Or mishpokhe or mishpucha. It means “family,” as in “Relax, you’re mishpocheh. I’ll sell it to you at wholesale.”

Harry and Sherry are mishpocheh and happily came for a visit last week! We took them to my favorite Indian restuarant in town: Madras Saravana Bhavan (say that 5 time fast). Although Anna was in rare form for most of the dinner (sigh), we had a great time. They are two of the cooler cats in the world.

As I mentioned, Anna was in rare form, so eventually it was too much and I took her outside. We played in the magazine stand area outside the restaurant. Rather hilariously, she sat in one of the holders...............then she got stuck:

Findings

2010-02-20T15:34:00.004-05:00

It's been a big couple of weeks for Sammy. First, he found his thumb and got very good at getting it into his mouth. Then more recently, he found his FEET. This is huge in Sammy's world and he is very happy about it. I'll try to get a pic of him playing with his feet here soon, but for now, here's some thumb cuteness.

Jet Pack Baby Part 2

2010-02-11T22:31:00.004-05:00

There is a tradition in the Fowlkes house (apparently) of making sure all kids know how to operate a jet pack properly. Anna succeeded and now it is Sammy's turn. An he does it with a smile...

That's Sammy

2010-02-04T20:40:00.003-05:00

This is our son... the 2nd kid usually gets slighted a bit on the picture/video front, but thought we'd give him some props. Anna makes a subtle appearance... as usual.

Our boy!

Anna Jumps on the Bed

2010-02-01T21:32:00.005-05:00

It has been a busy time for the Fowlkes house lately, but not so busy where we can't catch a few fun times... Anna is trying out jumping these days, and the bed seems to be the best place to practice. This video is a typical bed-jumping session for our girl.... notice her signature 'cheese' at the beginning and a good line at the very, very end.

Enjoy!

Anna & Sammy

2010-01-12T20:30:00.002-05:00

This is just cute stuff... the interaction between brother and sister is priceless.

Enjoy!

Bear with us

2010-01-06T19:15:00.000-05:00

We have 2 kids... tough to post.

Christmas cuteness

2009-12-25T13:54:00.005-05:00

With Anna and Sammy in their matching Christmas pj's, thanks to Omi, we got very adventurous this morning. We decided to let Anna hold Sammy for a little photo shoot. I had no doubt it would go so well (once we were done, that is).

There are now TWO photos of the four of us! This is from our Christmas Eve Aquarium trip, which is apparently the way to go. Not crowded at all!

OK, so there are technically 3, but does this one really count? Cool shark, though, eh!
Trying to get Anna to notice the xx-ton shark 5 feet away from her.

Pensacola Beach week!

2009-12-13T21:44:00.003-05:00

We spent the first week of December at Omi and Gampa's house. It had just gotten cold in Atlanta, but was still beautiful in FL. We had a great time on the beach with our little ones, but we had a really great time going out at night while the babysitters took care of said little ones.

This is how mommies and daddies get babies. They fall from the sky. And that's the story we're stickin' with!

Out on the fishing pier. I think it's ~1/4 mile to the end. In any case it's gorgeous.

Anna started the day scared of the water, so we played "dodge the waves". About 20 minutes later we had to stop her from running into the Gulf!

Sammy snoozing with an ocean view. Not a bad nap spot!

Mountain Park chili cook off

2009-12-13T21:30:00.004-05:00

A few thousand people fewer attended than Chomp and Stomp, but that just meant we could actually get to the chili! Such a great time, and of course, wonderful to see the fam.

Watching the "band".

Lovely Austins, Joyce, Mimi and Pammie.

Lunch with Mimi and Pam - great to get a little extra cuddle time in there!
Sammy has some fun with Mimi

Updates from a blogging hiatus

2009-12-13T21:10:00.002-05:00

So it's been a while since we blogged. It turns out that time is exactly what I have not really had during maternity leave. But for very happy reasons! We have had friends and family in town visiting us, and have traveled to visit friends and family. Here are a few pictures from early November.

Probably the only picture of the 4 of us in existance.

A trip to the Botanical Gardens shortly after Sammy's arrival.

Chomp and Stomp!!! Aunt Eli doing a little babysitting so mama can get more chili!

Anna being extremely cute at Chomp and Stomp.
Sammy's first bath :)

Halloween jammies

2009-11-10T15:48:00.002-05:00

As our first "dress them alike" event, we put Sammy and Anna in their Halloween jammies. For Sambone, this was his costume, but for Anna, this was a costume change from the mummy.

Needless to say, there was mucho cuteness.

Mummy with Mardi Gras beads

2009-11-10T15:05:00.008-05:00

And the cutest one there ever was!

For the Halloween festivities this year, we headed up to Cart Cart's house for Anna's first trick or treating. We decided that it should be tradition that the young Fowlkes' should be mummies, since as Elizabeth stated for Carter last year, "They walk like mummies at this age, so it's perfect." The same is true for Anna, thus she too was a mummy. Except she wanted Mardi Gras beads.

The trick or treating started with Anna a little nervous about the whole thing.

But boy did she get over that quick!!!!

By the end, she had no need of her entourage.

Mommy, daddy, Omi and Grampa were very appreciative of all her fine work obtaining treats!!

Welcome Sammy!!!

2009-10-29T14:47:00.004-05:00

Samuel Allen was born Monday night at 7:43pm! He weighed 8 lbs, 4 oz and was almost 22 inches long. If that sounds big to you, that's because it is!!!!! He's nearly a pound and a half more than Anna was.....stuff that didn't fit her for weeks is already fitted on him! He did not want to come out, either - took 1 1/2 hours of pushing before he graced us. But now he's here and he is GORGEOUS!!! Our sweet little man!

grumpers at the pumpkin patch

2009-10-18T22:39:00.003-05:00

There was just too much to laugh at in these photos to keep them to ourselves. Thanks, Auntie Eli for the hayride pic! Evidence to the contrary, Anna did actually have a VERY fun day.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday

2009-10-14T13:56:00.006-05:00

Here are some brief snapshots of this past weekend... on Friday we visited with Peter, Katie, Ellie, Eric and Violet at the Wassermansion - Saturday we headed to the Pumpkin Patch near Athens - and on Sunday, had a nice dinner at the Other Fowlkes' in Decatur to celebrate Dad/Carter/Cart-Cart's birthday!

Here is Anna playing in Ellie's car... she has a new favorite toy we think!

Following up on Elizabeth's post, we went out to the pumpkin patch (Washington Farms), which also had hayrides, cow train rides, slides, corn mazes, piglet races and other fun stuff... these next few shots were too cute!

And finally, a shot of T, Cart-Cart, Anna and Carter at the celebration!

There are more pictures, but wanted to give a taste.

Animals!

2009-10-10T19:49:00.003-05:00

These aren't real zoo-type animals, but Anna likes them on puzzles as well. Here is a typical puzzle night... starring Anna!

Zoo/Braves weekend!

2009-10-06T10:37:00.004-05:00

So this past weekend, while my beautiful wife was getting her hairs did on Saturday morning, Anna and I decided to meet Thomas and Carter at the Zoo... it was a Daddy Daycare Saturday as Eli was in LA on a girls' weekend (Thomas and I discussed that you don't hear much about a boys' weekend... but you should, and that is a problem), and Ash was at her aforementioned salon appointment.

On Sunday, we hit the last Braves game of the season (which ended with a 15 inning thud loss - we left in the ninth while tied), and had a great time... ironically it was Ash's first attended game this season. She did great despite being 9 months pregnant.

All in all, a great weekend!

At the Zoo, there are many animals... but with Carter and Anna, you may only see a few of them, because more time is usually spent at the train, the carousel and the playground.

Thomas and Carter on the train.

Anna a bit nervous on the train... but she warmed up to it by the middle of the ride.

Anna and Carter seated on the peacock on the carousel. Carter was sweet enough to sit with Anna instead of on the animals that go up and down... Anna didn't quite warm up to those!

On to the playground! Anna LOVES to drive the school bus...

...and manically rock on the springy duck thingy... she hit her head a couple times, but she's a trooper...

I promise Ashley was actually at the game... she is just better about taking pictures than me, so here are some shots of us in our seats!

Anna and her Cart-Cart... and her Bay (panda), and her hot dog.

The gang... and Anna's hot dog.

It was a great day at the zoo and the ballpark... now I need to start planning that guys' weekend.

Baby? Yes, Baby.

2009-09-24T20:12:00.004-05:00

With the little brother Sammy's arrival just around the corner, we've been trying to make sure Anna knows what she's in store for... easier said that done... here are some scenes of Mommy trying to get the point across... notice the confused look in the first clip...

Due date end of October!

Can I kick it?

2009-09-21T19:26:00.004-05:00

True Grits

2009-09-21T12:35:00.005-05:00

One of Anna's favorite meals is grits... she absolutely can't get enough of them... and she loves to eat them herself... here are the latest shots from this weekend at West Egg Cafe!

Quite the goofball!

Shoes, Hats and Doggy Beds

2009-09-16T08:41:00.002-05:00

We've been very busy the past few weeks with work, family, the house and baby expecting... but wanted to post up some cute shots of the pumpkin!

Trying on her favorite big red shoes!

Trying on Daddy's Pensacola Beach hat!

And on a recent visit to Pam and Tom's, Anna found Gracie's doggy bed and loved it!

We know we've been slacking on the blog, but we hope to get back in the swing of things soon!

Cousin cuteness

2009-09-06T14:44:00.003-05:00

As you may have read on Thomas and Elizabeth's blog, there's been some recent cousin cuteness after making up for several weeks apart. Thanks to Eli, we took the punkins to see "Dora Live" (very exciting for mommy!) then to a fun lunch at Six Feet Under. After that we did a little erranding, during which more cuteness was caught on camera.

Napping in the car while mommies alternate shopping.

Playing on the kiddie quarter rides (well several quarters).

So much travel lately!

2009-08-30T21:23:00.004-05:00

I spent the past few weeks on the road (well, in the air) for work. I went to Utah, Oregon, NYC, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and Wisconsin. UT and the last 3 let me mark a few states off of my "never been" list. I had a blast catching up with some old pals:

In Portland, I caught up with Shawn, a college pal (ok, ex, but it has now been ~15 years...jeez we're old). This is his very cool and sweet fiance, Heather.

Next I got to have dinner with Elizabeth and Joo in NYC.....love the coincidental trip! Got to see the city from her 42nd (or something) floor office and try some local favorites as opposed to the usual tourist stuff. Will need to bug Eli for the pic.

In IA, I caught up with another college pal, Scruff. He moved back to Des Moines after JR year, and no one's seen him since. I feel very fortunate!

Now, more importantly, here's some of the Anna moments caught in between.

Recent Anna Randoms

2009-08-13T09:11:00.006-05:00

Wanted to share some more cuteness over the past couple weeks... Ash has been out of town saving the world in NYC and Minnesota, so Daddy Day Care is open for business and finding time to post is a little hard... luckily my Dad helped out last night and will be getting Anna from Daycare today (she loves her Cart-Cart!) And Mama comes home tonight!!

On one of our walks to the park in our neighborhood, we went by our neighbors Lee & Felicia's house to stop and smell the flowers...

When Angie and Allen were in town recently, we went to the Children's Museum downtown, where they have a little fishing pool where kids can use a magnet fishing pole to catch magnetic fish! Love the little raincoats they provide...

And finally... something Anna basically does every night now... walks in Mama's shiny red shoes! She's getting better at it and I'm sure there will be more shots of this...

She's our little goofball!

Sky Valley

2009-08-11T14:14:00.005-05:00

We went to Sky Valley recently to visit Sam & Christine (Nonee & Pawpaw). Here are some shots of the hike we took:

Ash and her Dad leading the way:

Daddy got to push Anna:

Here is the waterfall at the beginning of the trail:

Anna seemed to enjoy the water... notice her submerged shoes:

A great shot!!

Sullivan Kisses Anna

2009-07-27T18:35:00.003-05:00

While we were in Pensacola, Sullivan wanted some love...

Anna Slides & moe.

2009-07-26T17:52:00.003-05:00

At the playground in our neighborhood, Anna has discovered the slide and loves to go down it by herself... the following shots are from 2 separate occasions, but we wanted to get the entire trip down... notice the static electricity in her hair! So funny:

Ash and I got a rare afternoon/early evening to ourselves while Thomas, Elizabeth and Carter hung out with Anna. We met up with friends Brad and Leslie to go to the moe./Ratdog show at the Masquerade Music Park... we had a blast and the weather was surprisingly perfect considering it was outdoors in Atlanta in July.

The crew.

moe. onstage.

And we just had to get Anna a souvenir... we went gender-neutral so we can hand-me-down to Sammy when it's his turn!!

All in all, great times!

Pensacola: Blue Angels

2009-07-18T10:39:00.005-05:00

Here are some shots of the Blue Angels air show on Pensacola Beach... it was really amazing.

Anna actually loved it... she would cheer every time they got close...

And they got close!

So close in fact, that we had to cover Anna's ears on several occasions... it was so loud at times!

We had great seats... two flew directly overhead!

We had a great time and were able to catch the show twice, as they had a 'dress rehearsal' on Friday, then the big show on Saturday.

Pensacola: At the Beach!

2009-07-18T10:04:00.005-05:00

We went down to Pensacola last weekend and took over Angie and Allen's house for a few days (thanks, by the way!!) while they were out in California. It was Blue Angels weekend (those pics to come soon!) and the weather was perfect for beaching. Abby and her two boys Sullivan and Jack stayed with us as well... here are a few shots of the beach:

Anna (trying) to put sunscreen on herself...

Anna then trying to put sunscreen on Mama...

Now onto the beach... Anna figures out how to wash shovels... she's getting more used to sand (including eating it on occasion)...

Anna and Daddy soaking in the rays...

Anna and Mama taking a dip in the ocean... she actually likes the wah-wah...

Ash and the kids watching the waves...

Sully buried in sand... I just had to do it... he buried me soon after...

Abby and Jack!

The fam.

Keep checking back for more Pensacola posts (we took a lot of pictures), including some Blue Angels shots.

Recent Randoms

2009-07-18T09:57:00.004-05:00

Here are some recent pictures we wanted to share...

Anna and Momma hanging on the couch!

Anna tries on a sassy red shoe!

Anna and her Auntie Sarah reading a bedtime book.

Stay tuned for some Pensacola posts coming up...

Say AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-07T12:23:00.004-05:00

Two Peas in a Pod

2009-06-30T09:10:00.004-05:00

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

2009-06-30T09:02:00.002-05:00

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!

2009-06-24T09:51:00.005-05:00

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!

2009-06-15T14:00:00.004-05:00

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!

2009-06-15T13:47:00.013-05:00

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

2009-06-02T13:34:00.005-05:00

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!

2009-06-01T13:31:00.011-05:00

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!!!

Anna Changes Her Mind on Swinging

2009-05-11T14:50:00.002-05:00

Anna has revealed to us on more than one occasion her thoughts (dislikes) of certain things... these things at one point or another have included eating vegetables, taking baths, swinging, being told not to play in the dishwasher, playing with a certain black and white ball, and other various odd dislikes.

We believe we have overcome the taking of baths for the time being, where, in an interesting turn of events, she seems to not want to get out of the tub now. We also feel the black and white ball has changed to a 'playable' status. The veggies look like they'll just have to wait (fruit wins out every time), and we're pretty sure she'll always want to play in the dishwasher.

We were unsure about the swinging... every time she would get near one, or we would place her in one, she would express her dislike in the forms of high-pitched screeching and general tear-laden drama. So, this Mother's Day, we decided to go for it again... and apparently, Anna felt giving Mommy the gift of having fun while swinging was the way to go. So, we now have a little girl who likes to swing (for the time being)! Here are shots of the happiness (Mommy and Daddy couldn't be happier either)! Enjoy.

Anna Cuteness

2009-05-06T16:31:00.003-05:00

Wanted to share some recent Anna pics from the iPhone...

While Mama was away working on the Swine Flu (on a Sunday!), Daddy Daycare was in full effect, so naturally, we went to Arby's for some lunch due to Dadu's inability to cook really anything (and we were running errands). So this is Anna enjoying some Popcorn Chicken.

Look at those eyes!

And while Mama was also working crazy hours over the past week, Dadu got a chance to pick up Anna from Daycare (not the norm unfortunately!)... and of course, at red lights, Dadu just had to make sure Anna's little eyes were protected!

And of course, bath night is (finally) a fun night in the Fowlkes house... it took some doing, but Anna has come around... but we must prepare with a pre-bath mohawk!

So hopefully that gives you your daily Anna cuteness fix!

Back in Action

2009-05-05T08:47:00.007-05:00

The house is feeling a little better these days, so I thought I'd share some more recent pics from Jep & Shelley's wedding in Gainesville, GA. Check over on T&E's blog from some more images... fun was had by all and it was great seeing the family.

Jep and Brinkley dancing.

Anna and Carter playing with the landscaping at the wedding site.

Fevers and Swine..s

2009-04-28T07:23:00.002-05:00

This week has been a tough one. As I am coming off the worst days of being sick last week, Anna is in the middle of it, and Ashley is at the beginning. On top of that, Ash is investigating the Swine Flu outbreak cases and I am working from home and running Daddy Day Care as normal daycare rejects little girls with high temperatures.

Promise we will be back in action and have more fun posts soon!

Easter weekend with Omi and Grampallen

2009-04-20T08:45:00.004-05:00

For Easter weekend and my mom's birthday, she and Allen headed up to 'lanter for a visit. These pictures are from their camera, so naturally, you will not find any in which my mom actually appears. They took Anna out for the day on Friday, while mommy and daddy worked away. Though they had to do a bit of rain dodging, they managed to have a wonderful day with Nanner.

One of my favorite faces she makes caught on camera!
My little princess in her pj's.
Mommy trying to convey the concept of smelling flowers, though flowers with scent would probably help the process. Easter cupcake.....she still won't tear in like her baby brethren. It seems that, like daddy, she's "tidy".

Aquarium and Easter!

2009-04-13T13:10:00.006-05:00

Last weekend, we decided to take advantage of our yearly pass to the Aquarium and take a trip to see the fishies! Anna loves to watch them swim around, and as she gets older, is starting to really give us a sense of her favorites... she loves the tropical fish area, as well as the glowing jellyfish. Here are a few shots from inside:

Anna and Mama checking out the sights

Anna finds a fish she likes!

Whale Shark!

And this past weekend, as we know was Passover/Easter. On Thursday, we went to a Seder with our neighbors/friends Lee and Felicia at a friend of their's house. It was a large group and we enjoyed really good food and really great company. Anna did pretty well, only outbursting a few times with 'BAH!' during the prayer reading.

And then on Sunday, it was Easter. Angie and Allen were in town, so we had a nice Easter breakfast, where Anna got some special treats, including a cake/icing/coconut egg thingy that she seemed to enjoy (eating and getting on her face). Here are a couple shots:

Easter breakfast

Eating the cake/icing/coconut/egg thingy.

And then Sunday afternoon we headed up to Nonna and Cart-Cart's for some fun in the park... we had a good time playing on the playground and Anna actually wore her sunglasses for a short time!

Random Anna Video!

2009-04-07T14:35:00.003-05:00

Wanted to share a quick video of Anna over the last couple of months. In this clip, Anna walks with her Cart-Cart on the beach at St. George Island, shows her manners at the dinner table (with a little direction from Dad), and plays the best game in the world at that age (peek-a-boo).

Note: the peek-a-boo game had been happening for about 5 minutes before I got the camera, and ended about 10 minutes after I stopped recording. If you have kids, you know what I'm talking about.

Enjoy!

Orlando

2009-03-26T12:13:00.005-05:00

Before Ash galavanted off to Spain for a week, we were in Orlando enjoying baseball and steaks (Dad, Thomas and I), as well as Theme Parks and the pool (Ash, Anna, Eli and Carter).

Wanted to share some photos of Braves Spring Training. My brother and I got many-a-batting practice home run ball, as well as some select autographs. The access to the players is really cool down there.

Here are some shots from the 1st day:

Dale Murphy's autograph! (he was on site as a goodwill ambassador for the Braves as well as a broadcaster for a few games - he mentioned to Thomas and I that broadcasting is tough because he runs out of things to say by the third inning!)

Chipper Jones autograph - Thomas scored this one on the first day - we used the batting practice home run balls for the signatures... just seemed appropriate!

Here is a shot of Frank Wren (Braves General Manager) - he was seated a couple rows in front of us for all three games - he chatted to the scouts that sit in that section, as well as took many notes about Braves and other teams' players. Coolest thing I saw out of him was when Braves prospect Jason Heyward leaped and caught a would-be home run ball at the fence, he looked back at the scout behind and simply said, 'Wow.' Love that stuff.

Pops and half of Thomas.

The view from our seats- only night game we saw.

We had an absolute blast and can't wait to do it again next year... hoping the Braves do as well as they have done this Spring!

Here are some shots from the rest of the trip:

Shot of all the balls Dad, Thomas and I collected over the 3-day span. We got Major League, Minor League, Carolina League, International League, and even an '08 All-Star Game one that the Mets hitters were knocking around. I guess the Yankees let them use them?!

Yunel Escobar's autograph.

Tom Glavine's autograph.

Here is Glavine in the act!

And a shot of some of the boys heading onto the field - the tall dude in the back is Derek Lowe.

Go Braves!

Seville (apparently pronounced seh-veee-yaaahhhhh)

2009-03-25T17:25:00.002-05:00

Since my Spanish is nonexistant, I'll take everyone's word for it.

I'll give details later, since right now I'm way too tired. But I thought I'd share some pics of Seville!! Miss everyone!

'gator bait

2009-03-16T13:28:00.008-05:00

This is a picture from one of our outings to the GA Aquarium that I meant to post ages ago.

These alligators seem to be particularly interested in something...something in a snack size, perhaps? Seriously, every single alligator in the tank made a circle around Nanner.....all the people at the exhibit were highly amused, less one or two.
And, well, that's m'girl ;) She's picking something special for the piranha - and yes, I did have to check the spelling on piranha to see where the h actually goes. I don't think I've ever had to write that one.

From snow to shorts weather

2009-03-09T20:34:00.003-05:00

...naturally, Park and I both have colds. But here's a couple of pics of our house from the snow. Anna was sick, so we didn't really get her out in the snow - she would have HATED it, anyway. She only recently decided that grass was ok.

Splat!

2009-03-09T20:27:00.003-05:00

Every now and then we find Anna banana in some funny sleep positions. This time we couldn't resist sneaking into her room and taking a little snap. Best news of all, she didn't wake up from the flash OR the snickering parents :)

Anna's First Birthday Party!

2009-03-01T22:04:00.004-05:00

NEW PHOTOS POSTED (see bottom)!

Yesterday, we celebrated Anna's 1st Birthday! Because her b-day falls on February 29, we've decided that we're going to celebrate the big day on the closest Saturday until she's able to have a say-so of her own!

We had a great time at the house with family, and captured some video that we want to share. She had a great time, as did the rest of us, so enjoy the show!!

Here are some shots of the birthday girl herself on the big day!

Mishbucha

2009-02-26T10:31:00.005-05:00

A new word for me: mishbucha - meaning extended family. My cousin of some flavor through my mom, Harry, and his wife, Sherry, stopped in for a visit Tuesday night from Louisville, and selected our very own Annabanana for his half past seven project. Inspired by a similar project that was mentioned on NPR, Harry and some pals take a photo at 7:30 pm every day. So after a faboo dinner at Figo, Harry made this little snap.

If I did this correctly, then you can click the picture and see the larger view and other half past seven pictures.

We had a great time visiting with this pair. We only met for the first time at a family reunion in San Diego about 8 years ago. The reunion was to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of my grandmother's cousin, Sydel, to her wonderful husband, Sam. Sydel sadly passed on, but here is a hilarious pic of Sam with my mom's cousin's husband on an earlier 7:30 pic.

For those of you who don't know, my mom was an only child, so most of my relatives on that side are cousins. Well, needless to say, we met this side of the family and totally fell in love. Here's a great picture of Harry and Sherry that I stole from their website (see link to the right "Ramblings of an Incontinent mind!"). Their son lives very close to my mom in Pensacola, so they've been able to visit a bunch over the years on their way to see their gorgeous grandbaby.

Tiny dancer

2009-02-16T09:24:00.004-05:00

OK, the sound is awful, but it's so cute I couldn't resist. I'm sure dadoo will take some professional grade video, but in the meantime, here's my tiny dancer!

Lukas' 1st birthday party

2009-02-16T09:03:00.003-05:00

My friend Lenee's son just had his first birthday, and Anna was among the honored attendees. We learned that Anna likes hotdogs and Brunswick stew that day. She had some cupcake, but it's not like we didn't know already that cupcake would go over very very well.

There was much cuteness to be witnessed, especially when Lukas decided he didn't want his hands to be covered in icing anymore!

Piglet!

2009-02-09T22:14:00.003-05:00

I don't think I was quite prepared for our little fluffernutter to have mommy's appetite! Thanks to Auntie Eli, we have photographic evidence.

Breaking News! Anna walks!

2009-02-05T21:44:00.005-05:00

So, it seemed like just an ordinary night at the Fowlkes house... Thursday, dinner, food in hair, diaper changes, etc.

And then...it happened. Anna decided that today, Feburary 5th, around 7pm, she wanted to go for her first REAL walk. Her official and widely observed first steps occurred on Super Bowl Sunday, but this is her first stroll!!

After the initial shock and pride, we grabbed the video camera and caught our daughter walking...quite a moment for her and her parents. Decided to leave the soundtrack as is so you can hear Mama and Dadu's reactions.

Enjoy! We sure did.

St. George mementos

2009-01-27T14:30:00.003-05:00

We celebrated the freezing temperatures in Atlanta and MLK holiday by getting out of Atlanta and heading to warm and sunny Florida. St. George Island, although not totally sunny and warm, was beautiful and just what the doctor ordered. We lounged around, played on the beach and generally had a great time with the fam.

Anna trying to start her career in photography by taking the camera from mommy.

Carter pulling Anna around the living room - too bad we couldn't get this on video, as Anna was laughing her hiney off! She LOVES her cousin!
And here we have Thomas and Park taking a house oyster shot. Yes, there was an oyster in the shot.
And here we see Thomas and Park regretting that decision.

Later games included can you eat 10 crackers in a minute? Uh, no is the answer.

Copyright Violations

2009-01-27T09:24:00.002-05:00

So, I've been caught.

Twice now (Facebook and YouTube) my video of Anna Behind the Scenes at the mall after visiting Santa has been taken down due to a copyright violation of the song 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown' by Flatt & Scruggs.

Now, on YouTube, you can say 'well I am not making any money off this, it's a video of my daughter at the mall, it's a home video, no harm intended, sorry' and they'll usually let you keep it up. Facebook does not give you that option.

And neither does Flatt & Scruggs.. these guys are serious about protecting their music. Anyways, I re-edited the Anna behind the scenes video to another song, which hasn't hunted me down and informed me I've violated anything a this point.

All I know is, Anna is really cute, and the video could have no music and all would be fine, but it just adds that little something.

Blogspot has not notified me of anything yet, which is cool, but I may get a notice, so in that case, here is the video with new music.

Visitor from Nebraska

2009-01-13T22:04:00.003-05:00

Last weekend my friend Grace escaped the bitter Nebraska winter for an Atlanta respite. We didn't see the sun once, but considering the weather was ~40 degrees warmer, I think it was OK. Grace is a friend from Malawi attending school in Nebraska. YIKES. Can you even imagine that transfer?

So we took her for a little tour of indoor Atlanta. Hopefully, we can bring her back in the spring for some actual southern sun...

Grace showing us how it's done in Malawi!

Outside of the aquarium with wee Carter.
Inside the tunnel!

Now this picture would be farther away if my arms were longer!

Anna Behind The Scenes!

2009-01-01T18:09:00.004-05:00

As promised, the 'behind the scenes' footage of Anna at Phipps, following her first meeting with Santa, has arrived. She seemed to really like the mall..... uh-oh.

Enjoy!!

Anna Meets Santa!

2008-12-26T11:58:00.001-05:00

Continuing on with the Santa theme, we managed to capture some video of the Anna/Santa meeting at the mall... She did great at her first ever visit to the big guy... enjoy!!

Stay tuned for 'Behind the Scenes' footage of Anna as she navigates Phipps...

Really, how much cuteness can you take?

2008-12-22T21:54:00.004-05:00

The amount of time available for blogging during the holidays is greatly diminished. However, given the need to feed the demanding public, here are a few pics of some recent cuteness.

Anna's impression of the cutest baby in the world:

Carter's impression of the cutest toddler in the world (Anna looking on in awe):
Oh yeah. Nearly forgot about that guy!

Mommy and daddy even get in on the action:

Stay tuned for more adventures in cuteness!

Now THAT'S funny

2008-12-15T10:09:00.006-05:00

You can even get the t-shirt, a Christmas MUST for one and all, at http://www.snorgtees.com/piberational-p-563.html.

Anna really wants to walk...

2008-12-12T23:34:00.007-05:00

...and this is her new way of getting closer to doing just that! Anna likes to grab onto knees and practice walking! She is propelling herself and making progress. We've also seen her stand on her own (without the benefit of tables, people's legs, couches, the fridge, etc.) a couple of times for a few seconds here and there. She's getting close! Here are some shots of Anna on the move, using Dad as leverage...

We're just getting used to her crawling, so we're not quite sure we're ready for full on walking!