Family Pictures

We had a photographer come out to our house in late July and take some family pictures. I had been debating what to do for Maddox's 1yr pictures and finally decided that it would be nice to get some of our whole little family. They turned out really great and it was a fabulous experience. Our photographer was so amazing. She has a young baby (8 or 9mths old at the time) and a couple of dogs, so she knows how to deal with both, which was awesome. All of the photos are in the Family Pictures link on the right of the blog, but here are a few that I really liked. Enjoy!

Boys II Men or Bell Biv Devoe?

Stefan and I went with Ed and Gail to see Morris Day and the Time at Chastain at the end of July. Morris Day was opening for Boys II Men and if you're like me, you've never heard of Morris Day (Jungle Love is the only song I knew...o-e-o-e-o). Stefan and I have had this funny inside joke about Morris Day and the Time since he had to actually pull up old concert footage of theirs on YouTube before I believed him that they actually exist. Suffice to say Stefan was totally psyched to see Morris Day and the (mother-f**king) Time. Ed was also all about Morris Day, but Gail and I were there for Boys II Men.

Apparently Stefan confused Boys II Men with Bell Biv Devoe (BBD of New Edition fame). We were pulling into Chastain and Stefan swore we were at the wrong concert since everyone walking in looked so old. Finally he asked me what one of their songs were and when I said "End of the Road" and "Motown Philly" he flipped out and had the line of the night. "You mean we're not going to hear Do Me tonight?".

Now you can bring any food/beverage you want into Chastain and as Gail was intent to clean out her liquor cabinet, she made some Sangria using 2 bottles of wine and a bottle of Vodka (Absolute Orange). It's amazing how funny we thought our lines were after finishing off the entire cooler of Sangria.

Regardless, the concert was awesome. Morris Day and the Time rocked it and surprisingly so did Boys II Men. I was worried they would only sing ballads all night (since that's mostly what was on their albums), but apparently they came out with a Motown cover album a while back so they did a whole set of Motown which was awesome. We (of course) finished up the evening with a run to the WaHo where we ordered most of the menu and ate ourselves sick. Gotta love the Waffle House!

Late Summer Catch Up

Oh goodness! I have been absolutely terrible about updates this summer. I've been so busy with work and we've had illnesses all over the place and we went on vacation...

Bad excuses I know. I guess in a nutshell it's been a very hectic past couple of months. Maddox has gotten bigger and bigger and now has a ton of teeth (3 of which cut through while we were on vacation last week!). We have graduated into real "big boy" shoes and everything too!

We've spent most of the summer swimming in Mama Les' pool by ourselves and with friends (what's up B!). I'll post some adorable pictures of Maddox and Brendan swimming together...it is adorable. We also attended Mitchell's 1st Birthday Party which was a blast. We had Mitchell (and Lorann and Brad of course) over for dinner and playtime during the opening ceremony of the Olympics and the kids had a great time. I've also decided I must MUST visit China sometime in this lifetime.

We have also officially reached the end of another Purple Cobra Kickball season, so our Saturdays are finally free again. It'll be nice to not have to work around 2pm game times for a while.

We reached a bittersweet milestone a couple of weeks ago. We had our 1yr anniversary at Gymboree. I remember the first day I brought Maddox to Gymboree when he was 2mths old. I cannot believe how far we've come in a years time. Absolutely amazing! I cannot speak highly enough of Gymboree and the great classes they offer. I truly believe Maddox would not have reached his milestones as soon as he has without it.

We are still continuing with our Pilates classes and playgroups and looking forward to a great Fall. More posts to come with pictures from a shoot at our house and vacation pictures :).

Catch up to July 4th and Wheel of Fortune

Goodness it's been a while since my last post. Things got pretty busy last month. We had family in from out of town and lot to do :). I've been very busy with work as well...I'm hoping it calms a bit in the next few weeks, but we'll see.
Maddox is walking so much now it's really crazy. He has no fear and goes all out all the time. He doesn't quite have the greatest balance in the world, so when he tries to really take off he ends up face planting. He's gone head first into just about everything we own. I think the bumps, bruises, and scratches are going to be a permanent fixture all over him for the coming months. He really seems to enjoy walking around though. I don't trust it enough to let him walk outside and stuff, but he's getting pretty good. I guess it's time to go and buy him some real shoes.
We had a great month of June. We spent a lot of time with family and family friends, swimming at Mama Les and Grandpa's house, and playing with our buds. We also attended a wedding for a good friend. It was very fun to go out and cut loose without Maddox. The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time.
One of Maddox's new favorite things to do is watch Wheel of Fortune, so now that's on our Tivo rotation. We've even joined the Wheel Watchers club since he demands to watch it every day :). I think he's drawn to the puzzls and bright colors. Thank goodness for Pat and Vanna, since I have time to clean up while he's entranced from 7-730pm every night :).

Maddox and Daddy watching the Wheel

















We also had a great 4th of July. We watched the Roswell fireworks rehearsal from our back deck on the 3rd, which was great. We took Maddox to the Dunwoody 4th of July Parade that morning to hang out with Mama Les, Grandpa, Uncle Jason, and Aunt Staci while we sold hotdogs for charity. It was very hot, but we had fun and Maddox enjoyed all the firetrucks. We even ran into the Ohnstad's. We spent the rest of the weekend attending multiple other BBQ's with friends and family, so it was a great weekend.


Maddox and Daddy at the 4th of July Parade

My Baby is a Toddler...Happy Birthday Maddox

Last Wednesday, June 11th was Maddox's 1st Birthday. I was excited and relieved to have officially made it through the first year, yet sad at the same time that my baby is no longer an infant. I don't really like the word "toddler", but I guess I'll have to live with it. I cannot believe how much different our lives are this year than last year. Having our son has so completely changed our lives and in such a wonderful way. He just amazes me every day at what he does and the fact that I had a hand in making this (I think) perfect little thing. He has truly been a blessing to Stefan and I, and although it hasn't been easy...it's been totally worth it. We are so thrilled with him and love him more and more every day (if that's even possible). I did happen to get a picture of Maddox at precisely 8:09pm on June 11th, which is the exact time he was born last year. What a difference a year makes. Thank you, Nutter Butter (Angel Baby) for coming into our lives. We love you!

Maddox's 1st Birthday Party

The invitations went out a while ago (I made them myself and was pretty proud of it). Maddox's 1st Birthday Party was held at Mama Les and Grandpa's house on June 7th, since they have the pool (thank goodness since it ended up being 100 degrees out) and a great backyard setup and a big eating area inside. Even though Mama Les was ill, with the help of Aunt Staci and Linda J, we got everything set up and the party was a great success. Nana, Granddad, and Uncles Zach, Luke, and Nathaniel all flew in for a visit too (not to mention some other out of town friends). I finally found a use for all of the monthly "sign" pictures I take of Maddox as they became the decorations on the buffet tables. Take a look.


















I also made the image on the cake and had Publix make it as a photo cake and it turned out great too.
We had a total of about 45 people come to the party and it was a great mix of kids and adults and close family friends. We decided to try to keep the guest list manageable and just invite friends with kids around Maddox's age and close family friends. Maddox had a blast and clearly had no idea what was going on other than the fact that he had tons of time to play in the pool (quickly becoming his favorite pass time). Thanks so much to everyone who came (especially to Staci, Linda J, and Jeanette for all their HARD work). We missed those that couldn't make it as well. Here are some additional pictures. The full lot of pictures is in the Maddox Pictures Month 12 album link under Picture Albums, so enjoy!

Zachary's 1st Birthday Party

We had the pleasure of attending the 1st Birthday Party for Zachary, our friends Julie and Sean's son. It was on June 1st and we had a great time. Maddox and Zachary hadn't seen eachother for a while and played very nicely. The party was lovely (Julie is Martha-freaking Stewart) and the food was fabulous. I especially enjoyed the frozen Margaritas :). It was awesome to get together with Julie and Sean and the birthday boy. Check out a few pictures from the day.