Jacks uses the pedals!

Jacks has had his Radio Flyer tricycle since last Christmas, and he has been working very hard at actually using the pedals. He's been able to pedal backwards a little, but he usually just gives up and pushes himself around with his feet. Well, he's finally put it all together, and he's probably a little taller, and he can work those pedals. It has been a very exciting milestone around here. Today we took him over to Town Creek park so he could ride his bike freely on a flat surface (our driveway is a kind of steep hill). Things were going great until a friendly labrador puppy came galloping up to Jacks for a friendly introduction. Well, Jacks has an irrational fear of dogs. I'm not sure what it stems from, but he can't seem to get past it. He talks about dogs a lot, and when we visit some friends with a dog, he'll talk about that dog long after we've left. After meeting that lab, Jacks refused to ride his tricycle anymore, and he wanted one of us to hold him. Oh well, tricycle fun will have to continue another day.
The up side is we saw one of my former and Joe's future students, and she took a family picture for us. I think this is the first one!! We'll have to take a lot more of these.....

Nealy is 2 months old!!

And she's smiling!!!!

Lil Cutie....

Little cutie, little sweetie, from her head down to her feetie.
(that's from the Wonder Pets - I didn't write that gem myself....)

Lil Sweetie

Ah! Mah sweet bebe.....

Georgia Aquarium

Jacks ran back and forth in front of the tanks screaming, "WOW!!!!" while we were at the Georgia Aquarium on Sunday morning. And who wouldn't at all these amazing sights to see? Joe took a few gratuitous shots of the sea life, as you can see above, because it was all so beautiful. It was semi crowded, but late morning was a very good time to go. The crowds were picking up as we walked out at around 1 in the afternoon. If it's too crowded, it's too hard to get up to the tanks to see these amazing wonders.

Last February, my team took our 6th graders on a field trip to this aquarium, and it really made me want to bring young Jacks. But, some teachers and I saw a child get separated from his mother in the blink of an eye. My friend Jenn awesomely helped the child get back to his mama, but it still really affected me. So, we borrowed a baby leash to keep Jacks wrangled while we were in the aquarium. Yes, you read that right - a baby leash. It is really a monkey back pack, and the tail is a long leash with a loop on the end of it. We got some interesting looks from people, but we knew where our child was, he was able to run freely, and we got to enjoy the fish with him because we weren't hunched over chasing him. So, although I claimed I would NEVER put my child on a leash, I'm not too proud to change my tune.

Jacks might be a little young for a venue like this one - the chances that he'll remember this visit are kind of slim - but he loved it while he was there, and his admittance was FREE because he's still under 3.

Nealy was there, too! The fish above her head proves it!


Look at how huge this fella is compared to Jacks's head.


It looks like Jacks is touching this alligator!


He loved these star fish....


After the Aquarium, Jacks had a ton of fun at the play ground in Centennial Olympic Park. I wish we had a playground this toddler friendly in Auburn. There are two playgrounds, and one of them is covered in cork. He played in both areas, but the cork covered one was a toddler's paradise.


The traffic in Atlanta might drive my blood pressure through the roof, but it was totally worth it. We had a great time!

don't even get me started on Ikea.....we don't have pictures, because it seemed silly to take pictures of us shopping at a home goods store. However, since I have declared Ikea my own personal Disney World, now I'm sad I don't have pictures of it. Love, love, love, love, love, love Ikea. I am desperate to go back without kids, because they both started to lose it about half way through the market place. So, I reluctantly raced past lighting and textiles and gardening and so much more I tearfully bypassed in order to get my screaming babies to the car. But, we did eat supper in the cafeteria there, and it was divine! Swedish meatballs with ligonberry sauce - YUM! The best part? We all ate for $17. It was twice that at the Aquarium for less superior food.

Okay, gotta finish feeding little. More in a bit...

Glad to be home....

ICE Atlanta

I started a long drawn out post about every detail of our mini vacation to Atlanta, and then it occurred to me that you probably don't care all that much about the minutia of our tiny trip. Which was tiny in the scheme of things, but huge to us. Overnight in a hotel in a big city that we're not all that familiar with, with a 2 month old and an extremely precocious 2 year old, with just us, no parents or friends or anyone else to lend a hand - was very difficult. But we're so proud of ourselves and we had a blast.
So, rather than bore you all with the teeniest of details, I will show you our trip in a couple of posts, the first of which is all about the Indie Craft Experience. This was an awesome event in Centennial Olympic Park on Saturday and Sunday. We were very lucky it was two days, because both kids started to lose it a little on Saturday when we went, and we had to cut it short and check into the hotel for nap time. So, we went back on Sunday to enjoy the wares all the indie crafters had to share. We also enjoyed the park, complete with awesome playgrounds and a fountain area (you know the kind where the jets shoot out of the ground?). Enjoy the pics....

Jacks fell in love with this felt pirate hat (which was $40, so we left it there), and he had a hissy fit when we tore him away from the felt hat booth. He even declared he wanted an eye patch when he put that hat on. Here he is pretending to be a pirate, complete with a scowl and an, "arrrrrgh!"

Joe had to take a picture of these sassy girls in their sassy hats!

Jacks made a fool of himself in front of these hipster Latvian girls by dumping out his juice down his shirt. Here is a dramatic reinactment of said event....


Awesome journals made from recycled books...


Nealy was trying to not sweat to death in her stroller....


Jacks got a nice cool down in the fountains before we hit the road for home.