GA Aquarium and Centennial Park

We went to the GA Aquarium this morning...got there early before the crowds. Savannah usually walks around like she owns the place, but today there were divers in several of the tanks. Despite all the pictures of Stephen and I SCUBA diving and us telling Savannah that it is mommy and daddy in the pictures, she freaks when she sees the divers at the aquarium. Here she is happy at the Tropical Diver exhibit...


And here's Daddy and Savannah after she spotted the diver and attempted to run out of the exhibit as fast as possible. How dare he wave and blow her kisses?!?!


As I've mentioned before and will continue to mention at every chance I get, I am one of the few natives to Atlanta. Centennial Park is one of those places I have never been to. I was in Athens, GA attending UGA during the 1996 Summer Olympics and really wanted to stay as far away from the Olympic chaos as possible that summer. So today we packed Savannah's swim suit and trekked in the 10:30 am Atlanta heat to the fountains. I honestly did not think Savannah would have anything to do with the fountains after our experience at the Jacksonville Zoo in May, but she surprised me today, although at times we were not sure if she was laughing or crying. But, all in all, she had a good time I'm sure.






This little man was too funny. He kept asking me to take his picture. He was having the time of his life!


After lunch at Stats (we weren't too impressed and next time we'll head back to the tried and true...The Varsity!), we finally headed home. It wasn't long before Savannah zonked out. Unfortunately the ride home is only 15 minutes and that was about all she napped today.

Happy 4th of July!

Every true genius is bound to be naive. -- Friedrich von Schille


Before the swim season began, my goal for Savannah was to have her jump off the diving board at Aunt Brencie's house. Little did I know she would (1) go voluntarily without anyone even mentioning the words 'diving board' or 'jump' or (2) do it this early in the season! Savannah and I were hanging out in the shallow end when Stephen decided to dive from the diving board...something he's done countless times before. This time, however, Savannah whined when he went and was trying to get out of my arms and swim towards the deep end. She headed for the ladder and I helped her up. I looked at Stephen and asked if he was willing to tread water and catch her if she actually decided to jump. He agreed. She walk right up to the diving board, climbed up, "walked the plank", and off she went...not once, twice or even three times, but four times! She came up smiling and beaming with pride every time.













Savannah also went down the slide, but this time opted to go on her belly...

You turn 2, you get 2 parties...

I am thankful for the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends. ~Nancie J. Carmody

Saturday's festivities ended around 9:00 pm (that is the latest Savannah has ever stayed up). Sunday morning started at The Marietta Diner for breakfast...yummy! We said our good-byes to Nana and Papa Bob and it was off to work for me as I met up with Susana to start setting up for the 3:30 party for Savannah and Sophie.

Our little princesses are just 2 days apart and so Susana and I thought it most logical to knock out 2 parties with 1 big blowout. So glad we did...I think they both had a fantastic time and I sure hope all the guests enjoyed themselves. So here are some pics from the big day...
The cake...

The cupcake tower...

"Vannah"...Sophia's "S" and "A" broke, so Savannah was kind enough to give up her "S" and "A" and become Vannah for the day.

Savannah, Sophie K. and Sophie B. enjoying the spread...

Savannah with her cake.

I already knew, but many of you might not, but Savannah does not like cake! I know, how is this child related to me? She cried during the singing of "Happy Birthday" and refused to even touch the cupcake presented to her. Give the girl a juice box and life is good again. She did, however redeem herself. I made some Rice Krispy Treats the other day and I thought I'd see if she liked them...she kept asking for more. I have reclaimed her as my own.

After just about everyone left we took some pictures of the families. Sophie has always taken a liking to Stephen...so she was included in the family photo op.

And my favorite picture of all...Susana called me from the kitchen to get a picture of this and the girls are just so pretty in their dresses and bare feet.

Hope you all have a safe and Happy 4th of July weekend!

Happy Birthday, Bean!

It's been 2 weeks since Savannah's birthday, but as I admitted in my previous post, my brain no longer functions and so therefore, it just was not possible.

I'm also having extreme feelings of blogger inadequacy since discovering a friend's blog, but more on that later because I think so many of you out there will be as fascinated as I am by it and today's post is supposed to be dedicated to sweet Savannah Kate.

Savannah's birthday weekend started with a family gathering (plus a few close friends) at my Aunt Brencie's house. Savannah's Great Aunt Brencie has been teaching swim lessons to children (infants and toddlers to pre-schoolers) for 35 years. She taught me, my sister, all her nieces and nephews (at least a dozen in all), her 2 granddaughters and now she is teaching Savannah, and several Savannah's friends both inside and outside the neighborhood. Check out pictures of Aunt Brencie, a.k.a Miss Brencie in action on the Dekel and Balzuweit blogs. I'm saving for another post to "show and tell" all about my Aunt Brencie. While her home and gardens are beautiful, Aunt Brencie is an amazing woman.

Here's Savannah savoring a slice of watermelon before the party begins. Her 2 favorite things...watermelon and Nana.

Here's Savannah with her BFF, watermelon...I mean Jenna!!! She absolutely ADORES Jenna and we absolutely adore her parents...so glad my magic spell worked and their home in Atlanta didn't sell so they couldn't move away to Tampa. Can you believe Jenna is more than a year older than Savannah???

Here's Jenna with her baby brother Cole. He's the sweetest little boy and the best baby I ever met (besides Savannah of course!).

This is our good friend Michael with his baby girl, Allison. Not sure how much you can tell from this picture, but Allison has the most beautiful eyes (click the picture to make it larger)...she's gorgeous! Mom must have been hiding from the camera. Happy belated 30th, Michael!

Savannah zipping down the make-shift slide. She and Jenna rode this ride over and over and over and over and over and...you get the idea.

And finally...one more for Nana. This is my sweetest little niece, Skylar...talk about big, beautiful eyes!!!

Part II of Savannah's birthday weekend is going to have to wait until tomorrow...yes, I'll TRY to do it tomorrow!

Baby Brain!!!

As much as I hate hate hate to admit it, I definitely have baby brain this time around. I've been meaning to post a blog for about 2 weeks now and could not for the life of me remember my password (or which email account I used to create this blog). I am one of those people who have a different password for everything for fear that my identity and life as I know it will be stolen away from me. Therefore, I NEVER remember a password! The other clue I have baby brain...I dropped Savannah off at school a few weeks ago as I do just about every morning. When I got to work (where Stephen also works), I proceeded to IM Stephen and asked him how Savannah did with the drop off this morning completely forgetting that just 15 minutes earlier I was blowing kisses and saying my good-byes to my dear daughter....YIKES!