Beach Trip

We just saw off Dad, Cole, and Dylan who are headed back home and I had a few minutes to blog. Dad and his crew had been at his sister's, my anut's, condo in Orange Beach, Alabama for the week. We joined them on Wednesday and got to enjoy a nice visit with them.

Baby O, is not sure about the beach and ocean. She has a love/hate relationship with the sand and the water is still a little chilly for her to enjoy. But the birds... She's a huge fan! Yesterday, she drew the attention of all the passers by as she screamed in excitement at the seagulls on the beach.















































We also were able to get in a few games of bocce ball. Notice the cast on Cole's arm. Yep... He "earned" that one playing backetball earlier in the day. That's one thing about Cole -- he's always been a tough guy no matter what he's doing.

Not only is the guy tough, he's also very keen on details. As seen below, Uncle Coco, Cole, wants to always make sure we scoring the game correctly. I wish we had a string or measuring tape, it probably would have cleared up some discrepancy.









Hot Wife, Baby O, and I will be here for an additional day. Maybe we'll get in some beach time, shopping, and a good nap!

Weekend Post II

What two post in two days! It's the weekend folks, I guess I got time on my hands. Actually, it's been a pretty busy weekend I suppose. As you know, we went out to LaPaz last night and today we went to the Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens Plant Sale. Lots of fun plants for the yard, but we couldn't put out all of them because it was a pretty rainy day. I was a little inspired though while getting the plants set out. The weather reminded me of Kennebunkport, Maine in October. Nice...

We've done some other things as well...

Reading.

Taking bottles out of drawers.

Putting bottles on the floor.















Doing laundry.















Vacuuming.























Most important, we've - and by "we" I mean Baby O -- learned to love ourselves. The Bible says to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Well, Baby O is pretty high on herself so expect great things from her in the future. Humanitarian? Missions? I can't wait to see. Just in case you can't tell, she's kissing the reflection of herself on the stove.

Crappy Movie

So I've had a nice filling meal from LaPaz, gotten Baby down to bed, and I just tasted a sip of week-old Edna Valley chardonnay. By the way, I think some wines get a little better in the fridge. Go figure... Hot Wife is watching "Legally Blonde II" (pink hits D.C. - I think). Anyway, I figured that I better blog before I either drink too much of the stale wine or throw a rock at the T.V.

So... The blog, right? I've got to vent... Baby O has been nuts since we came home from her grandparents house. In the past two weeks, she has been around a grandparent just about every day. First, grandparents from Georgia, then grandmom from Florida, and most recent grandparents here in Alabama. I mean, grandparents, does someone pull you aside when you first learn that your son or daughter will be having a baby and tell you how to spoil the future grandchild? Spoiling a grandchild is nothing new and actually a fine artform in both Hot Wife's and my heritage. Our grandparents did it and so did our parent's grandparents.

Okay so that's the end of my rant... We'll give Baby O a few days to adjust back to reality.

That aside, we are so proud that Baby O likes to read. Kind of...

I hope she's reading about how to grow St. Augustine grass, because I haven't a clue.

Huh?

These days Hot Wife and I have been learning a new language. Nope, not Spanish or Mexican as she calls it. Not, Latin just in case Caesar comes to town. We've been learning baby talk.

"Boo"(pointing at a book) = Book
"Bur"(pointing outside) = Bird
"Mamamamama" = Mom
"Dadadadadada" = Dad
"Bubba" = Bubbles
"Pop Pop"(wispered) = Poppy
"Anen" = Amen

I think that's it for now.

Grandma Issa Visits

Grandma Issa came to visit us this weekend. She and Baby O seem to have a special connection that was obvious as soon as she arrived. We ate out a few dinners, did a little shopping, and a lot of hanging out. All things that Grandma Issa is good at doing!

We got a few snaps that I know she'll want copies. Click the picture below for more pics.

One Year Old

Okay so if you read the previous post, you know that Baby O just had her first birthday. Well, boys and girls, we all know what that means... "Portrait time!"

I've posted Baby O's one-year pictures online at another host. Click on the picture below to our family photo album. The six or so at the top are her "one-year" shots.

Baby O's Birthday Party

Since Baby O's first birthday is on Easter Sunday this year we decided to have her party on today (Saturday). I can't believe she's (almost) a year old! Dad's a softy and is coping - barely - with her growth.

Anyway, we had lots of folks visit us for Baby O's birthday. Thank you Duffey's for driving all the way from Georgia to be with us!!! Also, thanks everyone for helping with the set-up.

There were actually two party's going on at the park. No not exactly what you're thinking. First, of course there was Baby O's party on one end. The other party was a bunch of guys playing kickball. Not just any kickball game - a drinking kickball game. We aren't completely sure, but it appeared that the team playing offense had to drink as many beers as runs they gave up in their previous turn on defense. There were a few times that it was funny to watch and they didn't bother us any.

I took a ton of pictures. If you click on the image below, it will take you to another website that hosts the pictures.


We are excited about Grandma-Issa's visit next week. We'll keep the celebration alive until then!