Lions and Tigers and BABIES!

 We had a great time at the Zoo today with our playgroup! It turned out to be most of our group, which was a lot of babies, mommies and strollers. We were every person's biggest nightmare with our huge caravan! :) The statues remained as Macey's favorite part of the zoo but I really enjoyed our lunch break. It was such a hot day, much hotter than we had expected, so having lunch in the shade was nice.

Mom got Macey these sunglasses a few weeks ago and she loves them!! And it cracks me up!

A model in the making??

 

Macey : "lap." me: "can you smile?" This is what I got. Love it!

"Back. Back. Macey, back."

"hug. hug."

 Macey has a hard time sharing the gorilla statues and usually tells the other kid "no!" Thankfully she was happy to share with Nicholas.

Panda Stamp

The panda stamp is a must for each zoo trip. She gets one on one hand, then says, "nother one" and holds out her other hand. Same thing for me... I also get two panda stamps. 

 This picture is very accurate for where we are with sharing these days. She teases and says "mommy's turn" while handing me something. When I reach to get it, she immediately says, "Macey's turn" and pulls the item away. Hmmm... we need to work on this. So although she appears to be sharing her water with Elliott, she really is about to pull it away.

9 toddlers, plus one that was already out of his stroller and running.

Macey usually runs all over the zoo, so today was a little different. I was able to keep her in her stroller for most of the trip so that we could stay with the group. She had a good time with her buddies.

"Hi Miles. High Five."

Lunch with our buddies! Macey became enamored by Miles in his stroller and kept walking over to say hi. She ended up sharing his dried fruit, thanks Kerri!

War Eagle!

 Today is Dada Day and I'm hoping little buddy starts feeling better soon... It was a slow start to the day but hopefully once they get to the park, she'll forget about her teeth and start having fun.

 

I made this little shirt for her last night and this morning. Not bad but I hope to do some other things for October. She loves it. Really. ;)

 Once she got a blanket and the AU flag, things starting looking up.

  

Headed out for a run before spending the morning at the park! He is one very happy daddy!! 

We love this view when we are pushing Macey in her stroller... She's even adorable at this angle!

Labor Day - World of Coke

It was a long and fun Labor Day weekend, ending with a great day at the World of Coca Cola. Jimmy's parents came in town on Sunday evening, just in time for dinner at Muss and Turners. Macey had a late nap so she was ready to play and show off her singing and dancing skills.

We started today off at the World of Coca Cola. It's been many years since I've been and they moved to a new location, next to the GA Aquarium. So many things have changed but now that I have a small child, I can appreciate the extra interactive activities they have added to the "walk, look and don't touch" exhibits.

I think what also made this trip so fun is that Macey had a blast. She didn't ride in her stroller for even a minute, but spent all of her time dancing, jumping and walking around like she owned the place. I tried to grab her for a quick picture but she was way too busy dancing to sit with me.





I think Jimmy and his dad tasted one drink, while his mom and I tasted several from each country. I remembered the Beverly from Italy from my visit many years ago, but couldn't remember if it was really good or really bad... I thought I was going to throw up the minute it hit my mouth. It is absolutely the worst drink ever. Stay away from it when you visit!

Once I tasted the Beverly, I started thinking... why am I tasting all of these drinks from other countries? Just to see what people in China or Uganda or Italy are drinking? Why don't I just stick to the deliciousness known as a good old coke?!

Jimmy and I got to slip away and to share a coke moment in the taste test area. :) I had already tasted all of the drinks from other countries but just needed a good old fashion coke to top it all off. I love a real, sugary coke and would drink several a day if they weren't so packed full of sugar and, surprisingly, salt. And of course the caffeine right now...

One of the interactive exhibits. She just liked pressing the "button!" and frustrated the other children that took over during Macey's turn.

And the old coca cola machine was pretty cool. It kept Macey occupied for several minutes while everyone looked at all of the old Coke paraphernalia. Sometimes I wish we only bought old bottles of cokes instead of boring cans. :)

So we started our tour of the museum with a movie. It was a silly cartoon with singing and dancing... I'm not so sure of it's purpose but it was pretty entertaining. When we left the theater and were released to tour the museum on our own, this "big bear" was waiting to greet us. Macey fell in love. She had no fear of this 7 foot bear but walked straight up to him and showed him her baby doll.
 

Then we saw this crazy character from the movie... I think she was a cheerleader of some sort. Whatever she was, Macey loved her! Can you even believe this look of pure joy on her face?! If this crazy character gets this response, I can only imagine her excitement when she sees Minnie Mouse. Hopefully she is still in diapers when we take her to Disney World...

 

60 Year Anniversary Party

The entire Christian Family, as of September 3, 2011. My grandparents, Merline and Clarence, have five children, five children married into their family, ten grandchildren, four grandchildren married into their family and five great grandchildren. They have been married, through better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for sixty years. For sixty years, they woke up every day and said yes to marriage. Having been married to my best friend for five years, I can attest that every day is not a googly eyed, romantic movie day. Some days you have to work for your marriage. All relationships worth having are work and I'm so thankful my grandparents chose to work and love each other for sixty years. What an amazing weekend it was to celebrate, laugh and just be with family.

I love these pictures and am so thankful to now have copies of my grandparents when they were my age. Well, actually, much younger than me!

My dear family. I'm so blessed to be unconditionally loved by my family. We aren't perfect, but I love every one of them.

Aunt Lynda made the cakes, which is still amazing to me. They were so intricately decorated, I didn't even ask how long it took her! Grandma was elated with how beautiful they were, and proud that her daughter made them for her.

She had so much fun running around with her cousins! Jimmy was great and kept up with her during the entire party so that I could talk, take pictures and just enjoy the day with my grandparents.

Doug was able to come with Kimberly, and I know everyone was glad to meet him!

 This is the one time Jenny put down her camera to smile at the camera. And it was with me. :)

After everyone was greeted and got something to eat, Aunt Lynda kicked off the event in her typical style... a rap/poem taking us through the life of Grandma and Grandpa. She is so creative and had everyone laughing and enjoying every minute of their story. Then Uncle Tim played a beautiful song on his alto saxophone that has me itching to make the time to play again. It was beautiful. Uncle Roger then sang one of Grandpa's favorite songs, which was, as always, perfect. When I hear him sing, it takes me back to our wedding day when he sang the Lord's Prayer during our ceremony. It still brings tears to my eyes.

Then Grandpa got up to introduce his family, but of course, couldn't get started without crying. We laugh that emotional instability runs deep in our family and Saturday was no different. Dad helped Grandpa get back on track and he proudly asked each of his children and their families to stand as he talked about each one of us.

I know Grandma won't love this picture, but I couldn't help but post something that showed the raw emotion of happiness and gratitude that was felt this day.

Faith and Christian put together a beautiful slide show of pictures through the years of each of our families. The music was great and Macey could only last so long before she had to go dance. She lost her shoe in her excitement to get up front and start grooving but it didn't seem to mess up her signature moves.

This picture is just too sweet. I absolutely love it!!

A priceless picture. I love these people so much.

They don't come much cuter than these two.

Aunt Pam with Jimmy and Colby. She and Aunt Lynda spent hours and hours and hours planning every detail of the party and putting it together. It was perfect.

Ah, and last but not least, my favorite picture. The woman behind all of these pictures. I love this action shot! Jenny and Dad spent several hours the morning of the party setting up the lights and backdrop so that we could take professional pictures of each of the Christian families. Everyone was excited to have free professional pictures so Jenny didn't get much of a break.