zoo atlanta fun

Friday we took a fun day and headed up to Atlanta. Anna Grace's mommy is a teacher and since it was spring break, it was a perfect chance to get away with the little ones. Anna Grace, her mommy, daddy, aunt and grandma and the hetzels all made the hour and a half drive and it was worth it!

I'm a horrible mommy and while I was putting sunscreen on CJ, I got it in his eye. :( Bad, bad, bad mommy...

Poor little guy. Can you see how his right eye is puffy? It watered and watered for about 20 minutes.

CJ has been pointing like crazy. Everything is point and grunt. He wants to know what things are. Point. "That's a light switch baby." Point. "Yes baby, Connor is barking." Point. "That's an elephant." With so many new things to look at at the zoo, there was lots of pointing.

Having a fun time! (With a watery eye)

He wasn't very into the parrot aviary. Lots of pointing...but no smiles. I guess that means no birds for pets. I had a bird when I was little, and I hated it. Smelly, loud and mean. This mama wasn't sad when he didn't love the birds.

He started to warm up when we got to the meerkats. They were very active and his eyes darted to try to follow them everywhere.

But the joy came when we got to the safari area. He freaked out. He was pointing everywhere and even said "wow" a few times. I had to tear him away from the exhibit. I think he would have stayed there all day.

Sweet Anna Grace and Stephanie. At the end of the day, I sure wish someone would carry me!

My favorite habitat was the gorillas. It was hard for the kids to see them because they were so far away or there was a big crowd around them. I think when CJ is a little bigger, he will love seeing them hulk around and eat oranges.

Scott's favorite was the komodo dragon. This guy was sleeping on the other side of the exhibit, but when Scott came in he woke up and came straight over to him for a closer look.

He smelled Scott all the way across the exhibit and then walked right up to him and pressed his nose against the glass right in front of him. Crazy...

After all the fun the kiddos were pooped out!

They weren't the only babies napping though...

The zoo was fun, but the best part of the day was The Cheesecake Factory. Oh my goodness...so yummy! A great way to end a great day.

pool time!

Oh what a glorious thing to have a house that is not only a home, but a house you love. Since Scott joined the Army we have lived in Army housing. It was nice, but you knew it wasn't yours, and it was never perfect. The house we bought in Georgia is a perfect fit for us. Our most recent project was to re-do the backyard. It is 95% finished. We need a few flowers and finishing touches and it will be just like we want it. The best addition was our 500+ square foot patio. There is a nice covered sitting area and another area for a fire pit and chairs, but most importantly between the two, there is room for a baby pool! CJ thoroughly enjoys bath time, so we were pretty certain the baby pool would be a big hit. When CJ's Nanny came last week for Easter, we broke out the pool and had soooo much fun. In fact, it's on our post-nap agenda today as well.

Disclaimer...this is a naked baby! If you know Scott well, this is one of the many ways this little guy is like his daddy. I chose pictures where boy parts are covered, but if I missed a few centimeters please don't be offended.

I'm not sure who is having more fun; CJ or daddy?

One our second pool afternoon, I put shorts and a hat on the little man. They lasted about 10 seconds. But isn't he a cutie in it? CJ's new favorite game is for me to put his hat on him and then for him to pull it off. When we went inside, he kept bringing me his hat and would fuss until I put it on his head and he could pull it off. Quite a fun game...

And lest you think Connor is left out of all our fun. She is right there with us. Last summer we had a yard turtle, Pete. He would come to our door and check out what we were doing, Connor would bark like a possessed beast at him, and then after awhile, he would meander away. We hadn't seen him for months, so we figured when we were gone, he must have found new people to watch. What we didn't realized was that Pete was actually a Petunia, and although she is gone, she left us a surprise! Connor was so intrigued. She guarded this little turtle. Or maybe she was trying to figure out how to eat him. Who knows, but she was not letting him/her out of her sight.

bath time!

Barring his first week of baths, this man LOVES bath time. He splashes, plays with toys, sucks on the wash cloth and tells me lots of stories. When we took these we were trying to get him to show all 4 of his teeth, and we got lots of smiles as well.

Only the bottom two...

Here's all four!

girlfriend or girl friend?

I've had the tremendous blessing to watch our friends little girl, Anna Grace. CJ met her in his class at church and introduced us to her mommy and daddy. They have become wonderful friends, and I love how these two play together and get along so well.

I love how they share...

"Here you go Anna Grace," says CJ.

"OK, be careful with it. It is one of my favorite toys."

"Thanks for sharing CJ. You can have it back now," says Anna Grace.

"Thanks friend," says CJ.

"Your turn mama. I want to share with you now," says CJ

And when things get a little boring, what better to captivate two little ones than Connor dog??? They both love her so much. Whenever she makes a noise, Anna Grace will snap her head around and look for her. It is so cute. When both little ones are here, Connor is typically on the other side of the baby gate in the background of the picture, but this day she came to play for a little bit. One baby crawling, one baby walking and crawling and Connor in the middle of it all is a little much for mom.

And I love this series of shots. They are off to the races. Anna Grace has a little bit of a head start, but who will make it first?

She's still ahead, but CJ is catching up...

It's getting closer folks...this may be a photo finish...

A dead heat to the top of the ottoman. This one is a nail biter!

Looks like CJ is a little faster on the pull up.

And he comes from behind to win by a hair!

But really, isn't she beautiful? Look at those lashes!

And that sweet, sweet smile.

One of their favorite things to do is play with this Leapfrog table. My mom got it for CJ while we were in Tennessee, and it has been so fun for them. They do a great job at staying out of each other's way and playing nice. They are just so good together.

And I love this incredible hulk lording over the princess picture.

But they were quickly back to playing together.

But of all the pictures I have taken of the two of them, these are my favorite. I really need a professional photographer to follow the three of us around. They are constantly doing cute things, and by the time I get my camera, the moment is gone. Luckily, I had my camera for this.

Anna Grace gives CJ a smooch on the face...

And he gives her one right back. Precious.