Take Me Out to the Braves Game!

Yesterday Sean and Nessa invited us to see the Braves at Turner Field. It was Jack's first time at a ballgame and he did really well (except for when they scored a home run...the enthusiasm of the crowd brought our little man to tears!). All the kids were dressed in appropriate attire for Braves fans and they looked so cute. Michaela is an expert on doing the Braves Chop as well as the Wave and was thrilled to be back in the "Bwaves" stadium (luckily for her Daddy, she's apparently turning into a sports fanatic!) The Littlies spent most of the time eating and eyeing the crowds and we all enjoyed the gorgeous cool weather and a pretty exciting game.

And the Braves won. Although to be perfectly honest, we did leave early, due to very tired babies. We heard the win on the radio :)

All of us going into the stadium

The Cousin Twins in their Braves shirts

Michaela and Aunty Tisty taking "a smile" together

Daddy and Jack (his new favorite thing is to suck on cucumbers!)

The Cousin Twins all wrapped up against the chill on the long trek
through the parking lot on the way home

Thanks for a fun evening and good memories, Ness and Sean!

Church Retreat '10

In September 2008 we did our first church retreat which is featured here for your viewing pleasure :). Two years seem to have flown by and on Thursday we headed up to North Georgia to once again enjoy a weekend of fellowship with our church family.

Andre and I went up a day early again, which really helped in preparing for the weekend. That evening I was reflecting on what it had been like the first time I'd done the retreat. This time it was strange to go back and plan and execute pretty much the EXACT same thing all over again, and yet feel very different in myself. Kind of like a deja vu experience. The past two years have brought pain and joy and closer relationships, new friends, quite a few more gray hairs and a beautiful baby boy. But I also feel different on the inside. I think there has certainly been a deepening in my spirit. And bit of growing up. And I'm thankful for the things in my life, even the difficult things, that have brought that about.

But enough reflecting for now! We had a great time this weekend and things went remarkably smoothly. I guess the second time around is always easier. Check-in was Friday, with a bonfire and 'smores to end the day. Saturday we had sessions all morning, free time in the afternoon and a talent show in the evening which produced some good laughs and much entertainment. After a rainy night (poor campers!), we had a special worship service and headed home this afternoon. I, for one, am very glad to be sleeping in my own bed tonight!

Although I didn't have much time to just hang out, it was really special to have my sister and brother there with their families. Unfortunately, we don't have a photo all together which I'm really bummed about! Oh well.
Here are a few photos we managed to snap of the weekend:

The entrance to the property

Ariel view

View from our balcony

Thanks Robin for playing with Jack and helping us this weekend!

Not so sure about Mummy's short hair!
(well, Mummy's not so sure either!)

Hanging out with Daddy in the Fireplace Lounge

All the kiddos came into the service this morning and sang
us songs they'd learned in the childrens program

Jack ready to go to nursery this morning

And, of course, the cousin twins...

Sean and Ness with their girls

And us
(dreadful photo of us all, but the only family one from the whole weekend!)

Oops

So much for my "let's go short again" to the hair dresser this week. I can't even bring myself to show you the front. Maybe you'll get lucky when I post pics from this weekend and catch a glimpse of me and my page-boy "do"...



Here's to hoping it grows FAST!

Trying

It's all about trying over at our house this week. Our big church retreat, which I'm involved with, is coming up this weekend. And while I'm trying to stay afloat amid mounds of laundry, meetings and last minute details, Jack is trying to stay upright! Yes, he is STILL trying to sit, poor thing, with not much success:

Going...

Going...

Gone!

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again :)

We'd appreciate your prayers as we TRY to get through this week with minimal stress on my end and as few bruises as possible on Jack's!

Eye Candy

Nothing much to post about here on this lazy Sunday, so I leave
you all with some yummy baby cuteness :)

Perfectionism

Just a quick gripe about myself...I am NEVER quite happy with my blog background. Why is that? It must say something about my inner demons. Ha! There are just so many choices out there...

I should just put a post up that says "Under Construction" when the fancy takes me to change up the old bloggity blog background. Because change it does, many times over in the space of however many hours it takes me to decide on just ONE design. If you visited it tonight, for instance, you would have noticed it changed about every 5 minutes or so. I know, it's pathetic how long it takes me to pick. The fun creative process gets tedious after about option #73 and then I get tired and just settle.

Oh well.

And anyway, this should be WAY down there on my list of must dos. When I finally told myself that tonight, I'd just installed this one. So there you have it!

This and That

Random post about some "Jack things" going on here this past week:

Jack cracking himself up during his 6 month "photo shoot"

Showing off his hospital bracelet after he had his hip x-rays last week
(which turned out perfectly normal, praise God!)

Chilling with his buddies in the cradle
(he thinks it's great fun to hang out in the cradle now it's not his bed anymore)

We had lunch out with Pip and Dave today and it was Jack's
first time in a high-chair...what a big boy!

A Day Out

During my last trimester of pregnancy, I joined a prenatal water aerobics class at a nearby gym. There I met Garland, who was due with her baby boy a week later than me. Her little Smith ended up arriving the day after Jack (we both missed that last water aerobics class!). Another funny thing we share is that Garland works at my sister's OBGYN practice. Small world and all that :)

We've been meaning to get together for the past six months but haven't managed it with postpartum recoveries, fussy babies and going back to work. But this week we were both free on the same day. Hooray! Garland very kindly invited us to go with them to the Botanical Gardens and we had such a lovely time, meeting each others babies and catching up now that we're mothers. Smith is adorable and we had fun comparing the boys' similarities...they'll be buddies for sure!

Mummies and Babies

Jack and his buddy Smith.
As you can see, they were all about getting to know each other!

Playing in the fountains in the Children's Garden

Thanks for a wonderful time Garland and Smith!

Labor Day

This weekend was really relaxing for our little family. My brother joined us on a trip to the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning. We had great fun choosing all sorts of yummy things together, most notably veggies and spices, all the while dodging the masses of people who also decided to visit that morning! Saturday night was date night in for me and the Husbie and we watched "Temple Grandin" which was really good...I'd recommend it; very touching in parts.

Sunday was church and we ended the day with time by the pool, enjoying some of Jack's little friends who were also there. (I love it when big kids see him and happily say, "Jack's here, it's Jack!" Makes my mommy heart flip over!)

Labor Day got off to a slow start with me taking a nap while Jack had his morning sleep and then we headed over to Steve and Rachel's house for a cookout. It was really great to see all the renovations they've done recently...well done guys, it's all gorgeous!

Enjoying delicious burgers for lunch

Introducing Jack to their dog, Boone

Jack going in for the kill: pulling Boone's ears!

Boone showing off his new trick

For the Grandparents

Warning: this will only be interesting to Jack's Nana and Grandma, who asked for it!!

Jack eating cereal mixed with apple-sauce...LOVED it!

Mum and Dad's Visit

Mum and Dad finished up their beach trip this weekend and came back through here on their way home. We had a fun family lunch on Sunday before Dad left and several days with Mum before she drove back today.

Dad and Michaela enjoying cuddles on Sunday at lunch

Aunty Rachel hanging with the Cousin Twins

My boys

Dad, Mum, Alexis, Michaela and Nessa

Mum spent time with us girls and the kiddos this week, playing at home, shopping at the mall and treating us all to Chick-Fil-A. Thanks Mum! On Tuesday afternoon, Ness and the girls came over and we had tea with an old friend of Mum's who hadn't met the babies yet. It was lovely to see her after so long!

Jack laughing at Michaela

Jack with Nana

Michaela playing dress up with my new shoes

Mum with Alexis, Michaela with her cookie, and Shanaz with Jack!