Yesterday's Photo Shoot

So yesterday we had a photo shoot with Lori Gordon, an online friend who has become a real-life friend. OR ... I was thinking earlier ... I could say a (an?) URL friend who has become an IRL friend. haha. Don't know if that has been said before ... but I kinda liked it. :o)

The Two Kates

Anyway, Lori has a baby Kate as well--her Kate is just a few months younger than our Kate. She is such a doll, too! We first met in person at the Pacimals photo shoot a couple of months ago. You can see Lori's Kate's Pacimals pics on her personal blog here.

So Lori recently started a photography business--Shooting Star Photography--and I contacted her a while back about taking photos of our Kate. Lori is so sweet--after we won the Brittany Erwin Father's Day photo contest, she e-mailed me, asking if I wanted to cancel our planned photo session since we had just won a free one with another photographer. I was like, "No! Why would I do that?" :o) If you know me, then you know that I can never have too many pictures! LOL! (We still have to schedule our free photo shoot with Brittany.)

So yesterday was our session with Lori. We had a blast at Piedmont Park. She e-mailed me this morning with a sneak peek of some of the delightful images she captured. I love them!

Here are just a few of the images--you can see even more on her photogaphy blog.

She is so talented--I can't wait to see the rest of the pics! What do you think?

P.S. The dress Kate is wearing was a gift from our friends Steve and Holly. :o) Isn't it so cute? They bought it for Kate from a friend at last year's East Atlanta Strut. We had a great time that day! As for the dress, I can't believe Kate is big enough to wear it already--it seemed so huge last year!

Speaking of Foodie Babies ...

Check out this cute signature one of my message-board friends put together:

Wasn't that sweet of her? I thought so! You may not be able to tell ... but Kate's shirt reads, "I play with my food." LOL! I bought it second-hand just so we could have a fun and messy photo shoot. hee hee!

See?

Foodie Babies Wear Bibs!

I cannot tell you how excited I was (I mean ... Kate was) to receive an advance copy of Foodie Babies Wear Bibs, the latest installment in Michelle Sinclair Colman's Urban Babies Wear Black series. So excited. I might have even peed my pants just a little.

OK, maybe I didn't pee my pants--but Kate did! (Don't tell her I told you!)

Foodie Babies Wear Bibs is my new favorite in this ultra-hip board-book series--after the original UBWB, of course. It is simply adorable and so clever. The illustrations are as cute as ever, with a little bit of a funky/modern edge to them. Kate really likes this book, too--as she does all of the books in this series. And I'm not just saying that. The books are the perfect size for her little hands to hold and for her little fingers to turn the pages.

And we can really relate to Foodie Babies Wear Bibs. As I may have mentioned before, I have a thing for bibs. LOVE them. I'm too embarrassed to tell you how many we have, though many already are packed away. It's hard for me to resist a cute bib, and I've even had some custom made. So naturally I am going to love a book about how foodie babies wear them.

Also, there is a spread in the book that reads, "Foodie babies know their way around a kitchen." Oh, so true ... so true. The cool illustration has a babe inside a kitchen cabinet, playing with some cooking gear. Kate thoroughly enjoys making her way around our tiny kitchen--and she especially enjoys opening and closing the cabinet door where the pots and pans are stored. (Yeah ... the cabinet-door lock thingies didn't work for us--maybe we should look into a different kind.)


Oh yeah--and the spread that reads "Foodie babies say cheese" depicts a little Asian girl with some cheese, cheesing for the camera. How cute is that?! And how appropriate for our half-Asian girl and her crazy, camera-wielding Mommy?

I don't want to give away too much of the book or spoil the ending for you, though, so I'll leave it at that. This book is too cute!

Just to clarify, I am not getting paid to write any of this--I am a journalist, after all. ;o) But I was very grateful to receive the advance copy. (Thanks, Michelle!) I already had pre-ordered one on Amazon a while back--and you can, too! Now I suppose I can use the one I ordered as a special gift. :o)

Celebrity Saturday--Carley Roney

Carley Roney--co-founder of theknot.com--is today's celeb. You may have seen her on any given wedding program or even on The Today Show. She is considered a wedding expert--so I thought she'd be a good celebrity for this last Saturday of such a popular wedding month. Plus, Tanna is in a wedding today, so we are all about weddings!

I met Carley Roney in October of 2006 at a book signing here in Atlanta. I was interested in meeting her because I appreciated theknot.com--the wedding-planning Web site she helped create--as well as its sister site for newlyweds, thenest.com. There also is a baby-related site called thenestbaby.com. All three feature tons of great information and are wonderful resources on their specific topics. Too, each site offers message boards, allowing members to connect and share ideas, etc. I have met some great ladies as a result of those message boards. I've learned a lot, too!

Sorry I look like such a dork! Oh well!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Johnny!

Today is my brother's 33rd birthday! So it's HIS turn to be 33 for a moment! Yes, to answer your question, we are only 10 months apart. When we were growing up and my Mom would tell people that, there would usually be a slight pause and then a look and then some sort of exclamation like, "Oh, wow!" or "Bless your heart." Or something like that! LOL! I know ... can you imagine?

So ... yeah ... Johnny and I are only 10 months apart. But because the way our birthdays fall, we were in different classes. If our birthdays had been in certain months, we technically could have been in the same graduating class. I guess we still could have ... if I'd failed or he skipped a grade or something. That didn't happen, though. But I digress ...

Johnny's a lot of fun. We were roommates for a time in college, and we sure shared a lot of laughs. He loves to watch The Weather Channel! If he ever decides to change careers, I think he'd make a great weather guy!

Here's a funny story from today. I sent him a MikWright birthday card. Love those--they are hilarious! So I found one that I thought he would thoroughly appreciate, and he did. When I signed it, I wrote, "Smoke up, Johnny!" ... among other things. (Anyone know that movie quote?) Anyway, Abigail (his 5-year-old daughter) read it over his shoulder. She was like, "'Smoke up, Johnny?' What does that mean? Why'd she put that?" (Or something like that.)

All I know is ... the phone rings a little while after I'd just talked to Johnny to wish him a happy birthday day. I see it's from his house. I answer and hear a bit of silence and then Anne saying in the background, "Say it." So then I hear Abigail say, "SMOKE UP, JOHNNY!" LOL!

Maybe you had to be there, but it was hilarious!

Anyway ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHNNY! We love you, and we hope your day has been as special as you are!

SMOKE 'EM IF YOU GOT 'EM!

Uncle Johnny holding Kate not too long after she was born

Uncle Johnny and Aunt Robin (my brother and sister) ... also on the day Kate was born

Johnny reminding us of something very important.

Awwww ... holding Kate again a few weeks later ...

Music at the Zoo

Soooooo ... last Saturday morning, Kate and I met Jennifer and Evan at the zoo for a music class. It was one of those mornings when I was running late (as usual) ... but then I actually took the wrong exit (despite having been to the zoo how many times?) ... and then the music class had been moved to a different location inside the zoo, blah, blah, blah and so on and so forth. Anyway, we finally found the class ... and Jenn and Evan. Whew! The class was pretty full, but there was still room for us to sit next to each other, so that was nice. It probably helped that a lot of the kids were up front at the stage area.

Anyway, we missed most of the class, but were able to catch the last little bit. I was thinking that the guy leading the class was doing a really good job. I figured he must be some zoo employee, and it was his turn to do the Saturday music class. Ha! Then he busted out the trumpet and starts playing. Even though it was just a kiddie class, you could tell he was really talented! (Even I could tell, and I'm not very musically inclined.)

So Jennifer tells me that the guy--Rob Sayer--is actually the founder and director of The Music Class. He writes his own music and curriculum, etc., for the international program. And here he is, doing these classes at the zoo! How cool is that? It turns out that there is a regular class offered not too far from us, so we may have to check it out one day.

Jennifer and Evan
(Evan's baby brother Liam was at home with Daniel)

Here's Kate with her Mommy
(Ah-Pah had to work Saturday morning.)

Evan and Kate by the flamingos. I think Evan is trying to stand on one leg like a flamingo. It's funny that we took their photo here because there is a joke about Daniel (Evan's Dad) being called "Dr. Flamingo." LOL!

Sarah and Hannah in Fine Art

In honor of Sarah's and Hannah's birthdays this month, I thought I'd share a neat story about them. Last year, my sister Cindy sent an e-mail with this photo attached:
Cindy wrote in the e-mail: "I remember the day vividly. It was Hannah’s second birthday--an unusually hot day, even for June. After our little party, we were all happy, but tired. I had wanted to take some pictures of the kids picking daisies in the field, but I was really too tired from the party and being seven months pregnant with baby Caleb. Fortunately, Karen was there and she had the energy to get us going out to the field. And despite the protests of Joshua and Sarah and the tears of Hannah … out to the scorching field we went. You can see in the picture the beet-red face of a mad little Hannah--LOL! We managed to get a few good shots, including the attached photo."

So fast forward about eight years. My sister and her family live in Spain, and their neighbor--an artist--casually asked if Cindy would mind to make a CD of some artistic kid pictures for some inspiration. He wanted some ideas for a painting he would be taking to an international expo. Cindy says she tried not to act as excited as she really was, and she got him a CD the next day with over 200 photos on it! LOL!

The above photo of Sarah and Hannah was on the CD. Their neighbor looked at it--and then with a blank canvas, oil paints, and his talents, he created a beautiful masterpiece! Here is a photo of the girls posing with the gorgeous work of art and its creator.

As Cindy wrote: "Isn’t it lovely? Our very own girls, beautifully painted by a internationally known artist. It brought tears to our eyes!"

Sarah is a TEEN-AGER!

Our niece Sarah Marie is the big 13 today! Wow! Where does the time go?

Sarah is one of our nieces in Spain--she is such a sweetheart, and we miss her and her family so much! We hope she's having an awesome day today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SARAH! We love you!


Here's a pic of Sarah and me on Thanksgiving in 2002--this is just a month or so before she moved to Spain. Wow--she's really grown up since then!

Bus Rides: 25 cents

Kate wanted me to tell y'all that she is starting a little side business to help save for college. She's now giving bus rides for 25 cents. The route is from one end of the sunroom to the other ... or until she gets distracted. She's available for parties and other special occasions--and she offers a friends-and-family discount. She's had two customers already!

She may even throw in a hair style on the house:

A Gentleman Caller

Kate had a gentleman caller last night. Jasper came over for dinner, and the two had fun playing together. Tanna cooked up some gumbo and chicken (Kate even ate some chicken), and Jasper brought some gorgeous flowers--I'll have to snap a photo of them. Jeremy and Jane (Jasper's parents) helped us chaperone. It was a great evening, and it was nice to catch up and visit a bit. We'll have to do it again soon!

Kate loved playing with Jane's pretty necklace.

Jane, Jeremy and Jasper
(Jasper's 8.5 months old now!)

Family pic

Amelia in Atlanta

Kate's friend Amelia and her Mommy (my friend Kristi) came to visit us last week while they were in Atlanta! The girls had so much fun playing together--and they were great sports going about town with their crazy mommies.

Amelia is just a month and a week younger than Kate. She was born a bit early, but you'd never know it now. She's almost as tall as Kate is, and Kate's tall for her age. :o) Amelia is such a sweetheart--she's so cute and such a laid-back gal. You can't help but smile when she flashes her pearly whites. All two of them. Or were there more? Anyway, however many teeth she has, she is adorable!

A Friday Play Date

Lunch at Chick-fil-A!
Hey--who is that crazy lady in the background? Why, it's Mary Jane--we ran into her at lunch. You never know who you might see at CFA!

The girls loooooove Graham Crackers.

Baby-wearing works well for Kristi and Amelia.

Amelia really enjoys riding in this backpack, too!

See?

Silly Monkeys

Kristi made this beautiful blanket for Kate last year. I've been meaning to get a photo of them together with the blanket for a long time now.

"Thank you for my soft and pretty blanket--I love it!"

Amelia had a blast on the bus--it's not the MARTA, but it's the next best thing.

The girls had fun zooming around town.

Another failed attempt at using the Snack-Trap!
(Can you see the spilled Cheerios?)

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz ...