Couple's Shower

We had a couple's shower this weekend over at Thomas and Elizabeth's. I think the way we did it was highly innovative and I would recommend it to any couple in the market for a baby shower.

Here's how it works. Have the shower on day where there are NFL playoffs happening. Then coordinate the times with when the first game kicks off. Ladies meet at the designated showering location at 4pm. Because this is a couple's shower, any babysitters have already been secured, so this leaves the guys with some free time. As the ladies gather and begin showering the showeree, the fellas meet at a nearby sports bar to watch the first half of the 4:30pm game. The guy gets showered with bar food and drinks.

As the first half is over, wouldn't you know it, the gift giving has subsided over at the designated showering location - around 6 or 6:30pm. The guys then make their way over to the designated showering area for mixing and mingling, drinks and chili, good friends and family, all just in time for the second half of the first game. The ladies have the option of leaving at that time (for those whose guys could not make it).

After the guys have checked out the gifts that the showeree received, and by that I mean watched the second half, another break in the action and possible time to leave arises. Those who need to go, go and those who don't, stay. Staying means more mixing and mingling, drinks and chili, good friends and family, as well as the start of the second playoff game at 8pm. During this game, more fun is had and the shower has become a straight-up party. First half is over, and those who need to go, go and the rest of us stay. We watch the end of the game while scrapbooking and generally chatting it up. At that time, the last few stragglers take off, and because of the fact that this is a baby shower, the showeree designated drives her husband home.

I think it worked well and all participants were happy in the end. I deem it a success, and a successful formula for future showers.

Thanks so much to Thomas and Elizabeth for hosting us from around 3pm to Midnight. We really enjoyed ourselves and owe them big time. Some images were posted over on T&E's blog, so check them out.

N Y E 2007 - Part 2

Part 2 of the New Orleans trip includes our night at the Bonfire. Kind of a wacky tradition down there, where the neighborhood burns their Christmas trees, shoots off firecrackers and generally just gathers around to watch. I'd call it controlled chaos as the cops and fire engines were there, but letting everyone do their thing. Complete with drum circles, fire dancing and a saxophone, it was really cool being there ... we all toasted Champagne at midnight and had a great time... thanks to Ash for designated driving!

Here are some pics:

The bonfire and crowd:

Abby and Ash:

Eric and Beth:

At midnight:

Happy New Year!
And just so you can get a feel for it, here is a video I shot - please excuse the unsteadiness.... I was trying to show everything - the area, the people, the fireworks, the police, who we were with - and I had some Champagne.

Be sure to check out other videos on YouTube (much better than mine) to get a gist of the Mid-City Bonfire.

N Y E 2007 - Part 1

So we headed down to New Orleans to spend New Year's Eve with Abby, Neil, Sullivan, Jack, and as luck would have it, Eric, Beth and Madeline. In addition, we saw Kat and Torrey and their triplets, yes triplets Ronan, Blythe and Gretchen.

Here are some shots from the trip:

Abby with two-month-old Jack... he was a bit under the weather, but still cute as ever.

And big man Sullivan. His favorite words are 'Mommy!' and 'Eat!' as far as I could hear.

And here I am with Jack, trying to put back on a shoe he'd kicked off... just a small glimpse of what is to come for Ash and me.

Here is a shot of a random brass band we encountered while strolling around the French Quarter... this is not uncommon in NOLA.

We stopped by to see Kat and Torrey Theall as well... as you can see, they have their hands full. The Threalls, as they are known, were so cute, and thanks to Kat for loading us up on girl's clothing!!!

See Part 2 for more!

Christmas Pictures - Finally!

We had a great Christmas this year - as promised, here are some photos.

We consider this one our best Christmas tree to date! Light shedding, sustained color and moisture, nice posture and enticingly fragrant. Ladies and Gentleman, the 2007 Fowlkes Fraser Fir:

As mentioned, we had nice Saturday-Before-Christmas dinner (which is a bit of a tradition - is two years in a row considered a tradition?) Regardless, participants included Angie, Allen, Joyce, Guy, Thomas, Elizabeth, Wee Carter, Carter the Eldest, Donna, Ashley and myself. Couple of shots of the crew:

And below is an image of the meat we ate. I was happy with the outcome and it's always nice to know people enjoy your grilling - at least they told me they liked it.

A nice time was had by all.

Xmas and New Year's

Yes, we've been slacking on the posting front... now that we are back in the groove, we should get back on track in the blogging world.

Don't have images to post yet (soon), but we had great holidays. Angie and Allen stayed with us through Christmas, where we visited with Thomas, Elizabeth, my Dad and Donna, as well with Joyce and Guy.

For New Years, Ash, baby girl and I headed to New Orleans to visit Abby and Neal McClure and their two boys Sullivan (2 yrs.) and Jack (2 mos.). We got some good infant practice as well as great food and great times.

New Year's Eve was fun, as we also hung out with Eric, Beth and their daughter Madeline.

Promised to post up images soon!

Isabella Kate Wasserman

Wanted to share the great news that Isabella Kate Wasserman was born Monday to our good friends Peter and Katie.

All went smoothly and everyone is doing fine.

We went to visit yesterday evening and got a glimpse into our future (two more months!) as we got to hold and hang out with Isabella.

We are so happy for Pete and Katie and can't wait for our little girl to be her best friend.

Here are some pics of the cutie and the proud parents:

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Candy/Lights Weekend

Ash and Angie have a tradition where they cook Holiday candy... many of you have enjoyed said in the past, and this year will be no different. Luckily, I did not need to go to the store multiple times to get unsalted or salted butter, etc.




The ladies working hard and the first views of the products.


Instead of making grocery store runs, I got to concentrate on my personal tradition for this weekend, hanging Xmas lights. Here's my product (depending on the leftover lights we don't use on the tree, there might be more to add!):

Next comes the tree, which is on the list for this coming week.

Tonight, we're heading to our Neighbor Lee's band Outformation's show at the Variety Playhouse. Should be great as usual.

Deck pics

So, as we've mentioned, we have added a screened-in back porch and deck to our house. Should be completely done by Monday and we are very excited about the finished product!

Here are pics of the work in progress:

And here are a couple of it done.

All that's left is new French Doors and some painting and it's good to go. Everyone now needs to come over and enjoy it - when it warms up!

Home Projects

So with the impending arrival of the little lady, we've decided to make some home improvements... although our list is long, we've managed to mark some things off!

1.) Back porch and deck - should be wrapped up by early next week... awaiting new French Doors and final painting touches.

2.) Baby Furniture - purchased (my credit card melted).

3.) New Fridge - well, just because our old one was small and broken.

4.) New Living Room Rug - thanks to our parents for that one (this one will last!!!)

5.) Murphy Bed for Nursery/Guest Room - will be installed on Monday

6.) Paint baby room - we picked a nice color we think will work (not pink)... did first coat last night and second coat is on schedule for tonight.

So I'd say about a 3rd of the way down the list, but making progress! Please stop by anytime (maybe wait until next week) and see us and the new stuff.

Wine Party 07

So one of the traditions among our friends is a wine party every December (around the 1st weekend). Our Friends Chris and Heather Buerkle (also pregnant) along with several of their friends host this event and it is usually at Chez Buerkle, but this year what with the nugget and all, they moved it over to Phil and Holly's house... great crowd and larger venue.

Thomas and Elizabeth joined us and we caravanned with Pete and Katie after a nice pasta dinner Ash whipped up.

Not too many pics taken, but here are a few:


The girls (Heather, Ash, Amy and Wendy) - notice the two pregnant ladies on the left without wine.




And the LBi crew (Me, Gelfond, Brooke and Dawn) - yes, these are some of my co-workers... not sure what was going on with the camera, and I'm sure Gelfond is happy I've posted this shot of him.

I have to say the best part is that I have a guaranteed designated driver.

Belated Thanksgiving pix

We had a great Turkey Day this year, having finally made it down for the annual St. Pete Austin gathering. We took our time getting down there, somewhat beating the traffic by leaving Tuesday night. Of course I slept during the worst part of trying to get out of Atlanta, so Park may have more 'choice' words on how much he enjoyed passing the extra hour+ with our 4 million neighbors.

We arrived at my dad's place on Davis Island in Tampa, and spent a beautiful 80 degree day on a golf course. I got to drive the cart and managed to only run it into a bush once :)

Thursday morning we trekked off for St. Pete and spent a wonderful day with the Austin tribe, grazing and waiting not so patiently for dinner! For a comic relief, Park and I decided to do a bit of canoeing....the comic relief comes at the part where I try to get into the kayak. Note that this is PRE-THANKSGIVING DINNER, and Park and I have nothing to change into should things go awry.

What could possibly go wrong?

Whew! Made it! I'm not totally convinced that others weren't a little disappointed that they didn't get a chance to roll on the ground with laughter had I gone in...

Cold busted.
Gratuitous belly shot for Cartier :)

Notice that we are all cracking up in this picture....I have a series of all the versions that came before this one! Thanks to Ray, though, we really got a great shot of everyone!!!

Surprise!

In the great tradition of not adhering to any traditions, WE ARE HAVING A GIRL! Yes many generations of Fowlkes' and Burks' male-only (or at least male-majority) progeny production have been interrupted with the news that our little one is a little girl. Literally, the first words out of our mouths were, "Are you sure?" Not surprisingly, these were Thomas' words as well.

So now we figure she'll have dark hair, eyes and skin tone. Why stop at gender?

Chomp and Stomp

The Cabbagetown Chomp & Stomp! Chili cook off and bluegrass festival! Now that's MY kind of fest! Can I get a yee haw?

I expect this is the first of many overlapping reports between the Fowlkes blogging, so apologies for the repeat. As Thomas and Elizabeth mentioned, it was a gorgeous weekend and the Atlanta festivals were abounding. I don't really have any photographic evidence that we were actually there with the T/E/C clan, but how about an updated 23 week belly shot?

And look at baby Violet!!! Pops lookin cool in his baby bjorn. I can't wait to see Park in one of those!

Conference on an Island

Greetings from sunny Florida.....well, Florida anyway. I'm on beautiful Marco Island, right on the Gulf!
The nerd conference, as Park has named it, has been pretty dull since most of the presentations have been way over my head. Actually it's a bit comforting to learn that I'm really not THAT big of a geek. As for sunny FL, the days have been really cloudy, but since it's not raining and I can still go for walks on the beach, I am happy as a
The beach is covered with shells like I've never seen. There are all kinds of various critters, mollusks, sea urchins, birds


and can someone please tell me what on earth this is??????????

Back in business with a tiny bit of news

In the tradition of Phish, Fowlkes Incorporated spent a bit of time on hiatus. We are back, and have finally brought the widely demanded photos of Ashley & Park in their reproductive state, and of course, the product. Unfortunately, we do not yet know the sex of our amazing little product, since it seemed that the kid was more interested in proving that he/she was indeed MY child.

So we are still using names such as "Cletus the fetus", "Little", "The kid" and "Babe, come here, he's kicking" (we've kinda been using he, since we've got some serious odds stacked against a girl). Hopefully, our next appointment will be a little more revealing. In the meantime, we'll just have to settle for being the most excited parents-to-be in world!!!!!

Hee!!!!!!!!!!!!