Visit to the Governor's Mansion

Today, we had the pleasure of traveling down to Montgomery to witness and celebrate the baptism of Olivia Taylor. Olivia is the daughter of our friends Matt and Martie. Matt and Nick are pledge brothers; Martie and I are pledge sisters...you get the picture. They live in NYC these days, so we don't get to see them as much as we like and we had not previously had the opportunity to meet Olivia.

Martie is cousins with the governor's wife, so they had the baptism at the Governor's mansion. God was definitely smiling down on Olivia today. The weather was fabulous for the outdoor ceremony. Unfortunately, because I was too busy trying to ensure that my children behavedI didn't get any pictures during the ceremony and Matt, Martie and Olivia were never all together at the reception for pictures! You'll just have to trust me that they were there.

We were thrilled to be able to share in Olivia's special day with her family and hope now that we are back in Alabama we'll get to see them more frequently when they come home to visit.

Daddy and Callen before the ceremony

Carter--had to have his shades

to entertain himself before the ceremony, Carter hopped from stone to stone on several different paths on the grounds

trying to get a picture on the steps with the flags in the background...guess who isn't cooperating...yep, the same guy who didn't nap until we were on our way home!

Family pic on the steps in mansion...clearly, Carter wasn't into photos...

Compliments to the Chef

It must have been a great dinner.

Miss Callen just couldn't stand waiting until I got the spoon to her mouth. She kept reaching and grabbing for the food and trying to put it in her mouth with her hands. I couldn't keep up, so I finally surrendered. She was happy...and I was happy that bathtime follows dinnertime!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

One Day...

When I say "Let's take a picture to put on the blog to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day," my children will eagerly cooperate and what will result will be a portrait-worthy photo.

Until that Day...

Please accept our Happy St. Patrick's Day sentiments delivered via less-than-portrait-worthy photos.

(I love this picture of Callen, but--of course--Carter didn't cooperate)

(Carter seems really concerned that Callen is about to scoot off the couch)

(This one was the "best" of both of them together...and I use "best" very lightly!)

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Picture Q & A

Question: How do you know when your son is ready for spring/summer?

Answer:

Chili Cookoff

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day, and it just happened to be the Excep.tional Foundation's Chili Cookoff. Nick's bank was entered as one of the 75 groups cooking chili, so he had to get up very early this morning to head out and cook chili.

The kiddos and I decided to join him about 10:30. It really was a great idea. The weather was lovely, we got to see lots of friends we hadn't seen since moving back and got to taste some yummy chili.

The balloon and beads were far more entertaining than Mom with the camera.

Carter and Callen did really well. Carter was well entertained with balloons, beads, a playground, and lots of food--crackers, cookies, moon pies, and even a hot dog! And, as a bonus, we ran into Aunt Stacey and Uncle David!

Callen...well, let's just say she was a tad overwhelmed by all the commotion.

Already?

It hardly seems possible that Callen is 6 months old!!! Time is flying this time around. I am trying to relish all of the "baby-ness," but she is growing and changing SO. DARN. FAST.

Callen's actual 1/2 birthday was last Friday {our big MOVE day}, and we did celebrate a little bit with a fun dinner of peaches and cereal.

Her 6 month pediatrician appointment was this past Tuesday. This was Callen's first appointment with our new pediatrician {Carter has already had two sick visits!}, and, while I do like her, I DON'T like the fact that we were there for 2 hours. Callen weighed in at 16lbs, 5 oz {50th percentile} and was 27 inches long {75 percentile}, and got a great report--along with all of her shots.

We are getting settled into our house bit by bit. I am eager to have some things hung on the walls to limit the echoing a bit, but we have to take it one step at a time. I guess we need to finish unpacking the few boxes that are left first! The children are adjusting very nicely. Carter loves his new room, and Callen continues to be sleeping well and enjoying sharing the new space with big brother!

It has been very nice to be "home," both literally and figuratively.