Kenny Chesney, Walking, and Swimming

We've had a very fun-filled week!  Claire has really started trying to walk--she's been pulling up, but now she is "cruising" some on the couch and even made her own walker!  She took her musical table, that is meant to be stationary, and decided to push it across our hardwood floors as her walker.  It was adorable!  She's standing more and more without our coaxing and has even climbed one stair :(  I don't want her too interested in the stairs yet, but luckily she is always at the bottom and I can catch her before she tries to get too far.

Pushing her "walker" around the living room

Her eyes are closed in this picture, but she was so proud of herself!

On Thursday Lee and I went to the Kenny Chesney concert!!  It was wonderful!  I had missed the past 2 KC concerts due to pregnancy and nursing, so I was so excited to be able to go this year.  We met up with Lee's brother Michael and his friend Cassie.  We tailgated in the parking lot before the concert (with all the other crazy fans) and headed over to Verizon Wireless Amphitheater for the show.  The venue was spectacular and our lawn seats were great--we had a perfect view, even from far away.  Kenny played "Me and You", the song Lee chose to have sung at our wedding.  That was such a nice surprise!  The show was fantastic, right up to the point when it began to pour rain on us!  Luckily it waited until the last 15 minutes of the show, so we weren't wet the entire time.  All in all it was a wonderfully fun, soggy evening!!

Lee and Mike before the show

Mike and Cassie with our sad palm tree

Me and Lee!

On Friday Claire and I adventured over to Perimeter Mall so that I could use a coupon and some giftcards that I had gotten for my birthday.  Mom and Dad decided to come along so they could look at some home stores while in the area.  We began by having lunch at Jason's Deli.  Yum!!

Grandmommy and Claire outside Jason's.  Thanks, Grammy for the cute outfit!

Finally, today we spent the day at the pool.  We met up with Kathy and Damon at the back pool for some fun in the sun.  Boy, was it a beautiful day!  Unfortunately, I ended up getting sunburned :( but not too badly.  Claire absolutely loved being in the pool!  She kept her hat on almost the entire time we were there.  I was nervous that she wouldn't leave it on her head and she would get burned (even though I'd slathered her with sunscreen from head to toe!).  She lounged with Lee and I in the Woods' float and held on to her noodle and kicked.  She had a blast, and looked so darn cute in her new bathing suit!  We can't wait to take her back to the pool soon.  It is going to be a fun summer.  I can't wait for Jacksonville and the beach!!

Getting ready to take a swim

Lounging with Daddy in the float and waving to Kathy

Hanging onto the noodle and kicking away!  

My Birthday Extravaganza!

Memorial Day was my 31st birthday!!  I was especially looking forward to this birthday because last year I didn't even realize I turned 30.  You see, Claire was barely over a month old, so my birthday was way down on the priority list!  So, this year I got to make up for it.  I was allowed to choose the day's activities.  What do you think I chose?  Shopping, of course!!  And not just any shopping, OUTLET shopping!!!  This was Lee's worst nightmare :)  But being the wonderful perfect husband that he is, he stuck to his word and agreed to hit Dawsonville with me.  Knowing that this is the absolute last way he'd like to spend the holiday, I decided it would be best if Mom, Gretchen, Claire and I went on up and got a head start.  Then Lee and Dad could join us in the afternoon.  That's just what we did, and boy was it a good idea!  

Claire, who's got you??

When we first pulled into the parking lot I noticed a big new store that was not open the last time I visited.  It was a LOFT outlet.  I heard angels singing!!  I parked and barely got the stroller out and Claire situated before I was hitting the sale racks!  It was wonderful!!  

Claire's adorable shoes.  I love her feet!!

The girls spent most of the morning and early afternoon in the Loft and other clothing shops before the boys joined us for a little home decor shopping.  After we had exhausted, and I do mean exhausted, all of the outlets, we headed down 400 towards North Pointe for dinner. Before we ate, we stopped in at the Bassett furniture store.  Lee had found a couch on sale online and we wanted to see it in person.  We loved it, and so I got a couch for my birthday!  Finally, we were off to eat Italian at Buca di Beppo.  Yummy!!  

Posing with the crazy Buca lady sign

All-in-all, I had a wonderful birthday.  I spent it with my favorite people in the world doing my favorite thing in the world while eating my favorite food in the world!  What more could a girl ask for???

Playing Catch-Up

For those of you that didn't know, I have been sick.  Veeeeeeeeery sick.  The kind of sick where you don't leave the bed and pray that the shot and pills the doctor gave you keeps you sleeping until the nausea subsides and the room stops spinning.  Okay, I'll spare you all the gory details :)  Needless to say, I've been unable to update the blog this week.  So, I'm going to start right now with one gigantic post!

We've had lots of events since the last post.  May is a huge month for us.  We have 5 birthdays, 1 anniversary, and Mother's Day---plus, a bonus graduation this year!  So we have much to celebrate.  We love all the excuses to get together with family and enjoy visiting.  We celebrated Bill's birthday on Mother's Day, so you've already seen those pics.  The next big event is May 17th.  That is the day on which my father, Lee, and Lee's brother Jamie were born.  They say they are triplets--ha, ha, ha!

This year we celebrated Lee and Dad's birthday at Miyoshi Japanese Steakhouse.  It was delicious!!  I was a little nervous since Claire had never seen a hibachi chef.  I wasn't sure how she'd take to the onion fire volcano, seeing as she was terrified by her single birthday candle.  Luckily, she was a trooper and watched in amazement as the talented chef prepared our dishes.  She even got an entire scrambled egg all to herself!  The evening ended with Dad and Lee being sung to while having to 'shake it' for the entire restaurant.  It was great!  I hope you enjoy the pictures.

My new favorite picture of me and my baby girl

Claire enjoying some of Grandmommy's ice cream

Lee "Shakin' It"

Daddy "Shakin' It"  (he's gonna kill me)

Our next celebration was for Lee and Jamie at Lee's dad's house.  Fortunately I get to participate in this one, too, since it's our only chance to get together before my big day on the 25th!  So, there were presents for just about everyone at the table.  Claire sat at the table and enjoyed her pasta and veggies while we feasted on grilled burgers and homemade cole slaw--yum!!  To finish it all off, Laura made "gooey", which is basically like an undercooked brownie.  Think lava cake a la mode.  Wow, was it delicious and rich!!  Claire chased Uncle Michael all around the house and was absolutely enamored with Uncle Jamie.  She wouldn't let him go!!  

We had a wonderful time!!

Claire with Daddy and her two favorite uncles!

She could not get enough of Uncle Jamie!

Come get me, Uncle Michael!!

Sitting pretty at the dinner table

You turn your head for one minute...

Our Week in Pictures

This past week has been a fun one!  It's not that anything big or exciting has happened, it's just be a wonderfully predictable happy week!  Claire and I had lots of adventures.  She is growing and learning more each day.  It's killing me :)  

Early in the week we spent some time outside helping Daddy plant flowers.  He took time out to take Claire for a spin around the yard in her new car.  She loves being outside!

Later in the week we met Papa and Auntie G at Firehouse for lunch.  We had a great time!  Claire got to be fire chief, but

 wasn't so sure about her new uniform.....so Papa had to show her how it's done :)

Our evening have been filled with Claire's new attempts at standing.  She finally accomplished pulling herself up on Tuesday!!  When the remote control is on the couch, she'll do just about anything to get to it.  So, we used it as 'bait' and it worked.  She pulled herself up to her feet and hasn't stopped since.  She hasn't tried moving from place to place ("cruising"), but I know that's just around the corner!!

My 2nd Mother's Day

This weekend I celebrated my 2nd official Mother's Day as a member of the club!  It was wonderful.  I think it felt more real this year.  Last year Claire was barely a month old on Mother's Day.  I almost felt as if I was just 'tagging along' with all the 'real' mothers that were being celebrated.  Not that I didn't enjoy it!!  But this year I felt like I had officially earned my stripes. 

Lee, Claire and I went to lunch at Bahama Breeze with his mom and Bill and my family.  We had a great time celebrating Mother's Day and birthdays--Lee, Bill, and my Dad all have birthdays within a week (Lee and Dad the same day!).  So, we made the day one big party.  After Bahama Breeze we went to check out some furniture at Bassett.  Then we headed home for a delicious Mother's Day nap!  It was wonderful.  Later Sunday evening Claire and I met my mom and Gretchen at Moe's for a Mother's Day evening dinner.  It was the perfect way to end Mother's Day.  

I am blessed with the most amazing, caring, selfless mother that I truly don't deserve.  I love her with all of my heart!  She is truly my best friend and I am so thankful for her.  She is beautiful, inside and out.  I hope that one day Claire feels about me the same way I feel about my mama.

Chef Boyardee

Today was our first experience with Chef Boyardee. Claire LOVES little pasta pick-ups because she can feed herself easily. Plus they come in yummy flavors like spinach & cheese and beef, but without the sauce. Since she enjoys these so much, I thought I'd give the traditional pasta in tomato sauce a try. Let's just say she really had fun with it. This time she had beef ravioli in tomato sauce with green beans on the side. Yum!! She had tomato sauce everywhere--including her ears, the floor, and Annabelle's fur. It was fun to watch her explore the new texture and flavor, but boy was it a mess! She went straight from the highchair to the tub where I hosed her off. This was certainly a fun experiment, but not one I plan to repeat any time too soon--I have to finish today's laundry first :)