A late note on Father's Day

I started this post in late June but then had trouble uploading the pictures. Better late than never!

I think Chris had a very good first Father's Day. After church we came home, changed our clothes, packed our lunch, and headed to the Braves game. We had a fun time at the game and Chris was such a good dad he even let us leave a little early since it was so hot for Marianne. After a nap, we took some pictures (because we didn't take the time to do it at the game) and Chris opened his presents. Marianne helped him of course...After that we changed our clothes again (because none of us, not even Marianne, can wear Braves gear to watch Carolina play) and watched the Gamecocks win on their way to being National Champions for a second year in a row! Chris was even talking about what a great day it was on Monday morning!

Marianne and her daddy love cheering for the Braves!

Chris let Marianne help him open his presents and read his cards too!

Check out the mug Marianne "made" Chris for Father's Day. My good friend, Vickie, came with me to help paint Marianne's hand. Wasn't that sweet of her?

Marianne "telling" her daddy all about how she made him this mug.

The front says "I Love Dad"!

Hampton in May

Wow! Time flies! I can't believe I am just putting these up and it is almost July! We went to Charleston on Memorial Day weekend (picture of that amazing time coming soon) and we thought we should go to Hampton since we were so close. We had a great time relaxing in the quite and peace that is the rural low country. It is always such a treat to spend time with Gigi and Grandaddy! Marianne loved her great grandparents, the animals, the fresh air, and all the good food Gigi made! She probably ate here weight in pound cake...

Don't they both look so happy?


Marianne liked showing everyone her clapping skills!

Gigi was so excited to carry Marianne around while she showed us all her plants.

Marianne loved the cows! She thought they were very funny.

Summer Fun

Even though summer has just started we have already had a lot of fun. Marianne tried to enjoy the hot weather by getting in our neighbors baby pool but she hated it and screamed to get out. So when my dad suggested we go swimming in the Chapin Presbyterian Church office pool we were nervous about how it would go. She loved it! I think she likes the warmer water and the fact that she gets held in the big pool.

Chris slowly eased Marianne into the pool until she was comfortable and happy!

Aunt Julie makes everything fun!
Riding on a float with Grandan is relaxing!

She didn't love that I was making her try to swim...
But once she got the hang of swimming she liked it!

Abuelita got her to kick her legs and moved her arms like she knew what she was doing!

After it was all over you could see how much she enjoyed it!

After a long day of swimming it was time to take it easy. The next day we visited Mimi and Papi and had a relaxing afternoon.

Here Marianne is enjoying looking at the lake in her new chair.

The following weekend we attended a fun birthday party. There were tons of baby pools and a slip and slide for the children to enjoy in the hot sun! Once again Marianne screamed and cried when we put her in the baby pool. Instead Marianne enjoyed watching her friend, Campbell, open presents and crawling around in the yard.

Every time we tried to put her in the pool Marianne would hang on to our shirts for dear life!

Marianne didn't need to be in the pool to have fun. The bubble blower was endless entertainment and she liked to watch the big kids popping all the bubbles!

Chris's Birthday

Chris is having a long birthday celebration since he is turning the big 3-0 this year. His secretary and one of his friends at work decorated his office in honor of this big birthday. Later that morning Marianne and I came by to bring him so donuts. Here are the pictures...

This was on his door. Aren't the pictures hilarious? They asked me to find some funny ones of Chris and then they blew them up and cut them out

Pictures and balloons everywhere!

All of the chairs in his office were full of confetti.
Chris and his friends who helped with the surprise.

Check out the donuts Marianne and I brought.

The box isn't long enough to fit birthday straight but it is still cool, huh?

Marianne loved all of her daddy's birthday balloons. He let her take one home.

Chris's Birthday Party

To celebrate Chris turning 30 we had tailgate party before a Braves game. It combined all of Chris's favorite things: baseball, tailgating, family and friends. (I just have to say here that we have such great friends! Some of them drove all the way from Columbia, others helped cook and/or brought food and drink. Devin even flew in from China! We are so blessed to have so many friends. We love you all!) To make it easy for everyone to find I decided to tailgate in the Publix Tailgating Area since it is near the stadium and well marked with a sign. Little did I know that Publix looks for a "Tailgate of the Game" in this location. Because we had good food, lots of friends and cute babies in a Pack-and-Play we won! The prize was a $250 Publix gift card and a chance to compete for a $1000 Publix gift card at the last game of the year. I was too busy to remember to take pictures but here is what we have.

Julie wanted to take a picture of us in our "Braves gear" before the game. Good thing she did because this is one of the only pictures to remember the day by.

Campbell's mom, Casey, took this picture of the two dear friends playing together at the tailgate. I am sure this was our secret weapon in winning so if we come back for the last game we will try it again!

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a great time visiting family for Mother's Day. Friday night and Saturday we were with the Tutens. Wes and Zoe were even there on Saturday and seeing them is always a treat! Marianne loved being with Zoe and tried to follow her everywhere but Zoe was a bit too fast. And Zoe still likes to help baby Marianne do things.

Saturday afternoon and Sunday we were with the Ratchfords. Julie is back from Hong Kong so we were super excited to see her. Everyone was so sweet to help me celebrate my first Mother's Day with very nice gifts and sweet cards! It was a wonderful weekend.

Marianne getting her first feel of lake water right before she gets her first taste of sand! She stuck a handful of it in her mouth before I could stop her but I don't think she liked it so hopefully she won't do it again for a while...

Uncle Wes is so fun!

Papi is instructing Zoe on how to feel Marianne. Marianne ate a little too slowly for Zoe's liking so Papi got to finish the job.

I just love this picture!

Marianne is so excited to have Aunt Julie back!

A few recent favorites

For my birthday Chris gave me a gift certificate to take a class to learn how to take better pictures with our camera. One of the first things Kate (the teacher who also happens to be my friend) said is that most of our good pictures have probably been accidents. We get so excited when we get a really good one and we don't know how to do it again. Then she taught us how to make sure all of our pictures turn out good from now on! I just took the class last night so I haven't taken any good picture on purpose yet. I know these aren't super good but I like them...Hopefully we will have some really good ones to share soon.
I know this one is dark of her face but I really like it. Maybe I will try to take it again now that I know what I am doing!


Here is Marianne eating breakfast outside. It was a beautiful morning but a little chilly so we put the sweater on over her pajamas. Chris captured the perfect little smile!