Funny Face

If The Shoe Fits

I have mentioned that Jay and Solon watch music videos every morning on the weekend.  This Sunday, Jay was upstairs getting ready, and I found Solon planted in front of MTV, rocking Jay's black socks & shoes and jamming to "Pumped Up Kicks."

New Friend

Solon's new Spiderman got introduced to bath time Saturday night.

In A Galaxy Far FAR Away

Someone at Jay's office told him that the Gwinnett Fair was in town, so we packed up the car Saturday and drove a looong way to spend the day up there.  Solon had a complete blast riding the rides.  I was surprised that he was willing to ride most of them all by himself.  He got a little scared riding the roller coaster, but loved everything else.  Towards the end, he played one of the fair games and won a blow-up Spiderman.  He wants to go back, so we keep telling him we will be going to the one in Pensacola in just a few weeks.

You Can't Box Me In

Solon painting in the nude.  He felt like his clothes were restraining all his creative juices.

A Little Bit of Inspiration

One of my best friends was written up by Herman Miller, and it was such a great  piece.  Great pics of her design "studio" and an interview where I could just hear her voice.  Just reading it made me realize how I have been living in a design desert for quite a while:)  My magazine subscriptions have lapsed and my day to day routine doesn't center on drawing and designing but instead on playground trips.  Which of course I love just as much, but my brain needs a little nourishment in the other department.  I think it was the light table/coffee table that really jolted me.  What a fabulous idea.  So, I have dusted off my little design inspiration sketchbook and am going to start carving out a little time in my day to visit that fun world I love and went to school for:)

If you want to check out the write up...here you go. 

http://www.hermanmiller.com/lifework/the-playlist-graphic-designer-carolyn-sewell/#commentsAnd

Guess The Color

Jay and I had a doctor appointment yesterday, and it was the first time we had seen the baby since around 8 weeks.  So we were really nervous.  Everything looked great, and our doctor gave the baby an A plus. Which was great news seeing that I am 35:)  The big news is that we were able to find out the gender!  I wasn't expecting to know this early, so they gave us a sealed envelope with it written down.  Jay and I headed to dinner and talked for awhile, and everyone made their predictions.  Ann, Sally, Janie were definite boys.  Amanda and I had been saying girl all along until right at the last moment. 

Well, Jay opened the envelope, looked over at me and asked me what I thought it was, and I said Boy.  He shook his head no, and I said What! and yanked the paper out of his hand! We are having a GIRL!  I immediately started crying so hard.  Jay and I honestly did not care what the baby ended up being because we were just wanting a second one so bad.  BUT a girl! I talked to Sally and Janie and there was an insane/off the charts amount of screaming.  They didn't stop screaming for a couple of hours.  They had champagne and margaritas going within minutes and were so happy.

What is the difference between having a girl and a boy?  Jay asked me what specifically I was so excited about, and I told him that girls are the memory-keepers.  They are the ones who will take all our traditions, recipes, and such and carry them onto their families.  I come from a big family of girls.  My grandmother, Nanna, was one of two girls.  My mom was one of three girls.  My mom had three girls, and my mom's two sisters had a total of five girls between them.  So I want to make sure the thread continues.  My aunt Penny said when Sally and I were pregnant with Solon & Luke.."Well they are definitely going to be girls, but if they aren't we will love them anyway." I want nothing more to call Momma right now and scream with her, but I can hear her voice in my ear now.  "Oh MeMoe!  I can't believe it!!!!" 

As for Solon...I showed him the sonogram and told him it was a baby.  He looked at it for awhile and then took it out of my hands and said "No! It's a dinosaur.  It's a T.Rex."  Hopefully, he won't be too let down with a human. 

You can just barely make out the handwriting but wanted to share.  It says GIRL with an exclamation point and heart.

Big Weekend

We took Solon to his first movie, The Lion King, on Saturday, and then to a Braves game on Sunday.  The weather was phenomenal.  He hit up both the pitching and batting cages, and then we ate hot dogs and ice cream.  He then showed off his 'Chop' and Braves chant that he has been perfecting for months. 

Dumbo

Despite the somewhat scowl in this photo, Solon was actually having fun playing with this little stuffed animal Janie gave him while she was packing up for her move.

An Official Party

I have mentioned that there is a little girl up the street, Stella, that Solon loves to play with.  She is beyond adorable with blonde hair and big blue eyes.  Anyway, we got an invitation for an afternoon party this past Saturday.  It was Stella's mom's birthday, and they were grilling out.  There were tons of kids, and we ended up staying until close to 9 pm.  Solon fell in love with a bicycle and was riding it all over.  So he is now telling me that is what he wants for his birthday surprise. 

Check Yourself

Around Labor Day weekend, Sally went and had a few moles/freckles checked out by her dermatologist.  There was one specifically that concerned them, and they had a test run on it and it came back with melanoma.  That is a pretty scary word, and Sally was alarmed.  She had it taken off immediately and now has to go in for frequent screenings.  AND as a result Jay, Janie and I scheduled full body screenings.  I went last week and told my doctor about Sally.  As a result she was pretty vigilant about looking at every spot on me and made the determination to take one off while I was there.  I have a few stitches in my arm but my results came back good.  Nothing irregular.  So I encourage everyone to get screened annually.

Happy 67th

Amanda, Sally, Janie and I were all thinking about Daddy this Saturday, and we did our own thing to remember him.  I wanted to repost this...Amanda reminded me that I had done it last year in memory of Daddy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkCEtoaYSE8

Happy News

I am 12 weeks pregnant!  Jay and I have been wanting this for over a year, and it has not been an easy road.  We had a few miscarriages that were very hard on us, and we have been hesitant to share the news until we were sure everything was good this time.  I had my 12 week checkup this morning and everything looks great!  We are so excited.

It is bittersweet.  After losing my dad, it was hard to get back to an emotional/physical place where I felt this was something we could handle.  My mom was there on the phone with me through all the good times and hard times as we tried to get pregnant.  She wanted it for us so much, and it was tough to find out I was pregnant just two weeks after she died.  With something like this you just want to call your mom. 

I told Nanna the news when I was in Greenwood several weeks back and swore her to secrecy.  It was tough for her, but I talked to her this morning and told her to start getting on the phone. 

The due date is March 25th! So I hope the next 6 months go well.

Early Bday Party

Since Solon and I were in town, we decided to celebrate my dad's birthday early.  We picked Janie up and a box of cupcakes, and we then made our way to the cemetery.  Julie had left some Natrual Light in the fridge (my dad's favorite), so we took one out for him.  We all sang happy birthday, took a bite of cupcakes and then did some goofy dancing/singing with the boys.  I didn't realize how crazy these photos came out until I downloaded them.  I look at them and can't help but think Daddy was shining down on us. 

As we were pulling away, we were all waving and saying I love you...when Luke waved and said "See you in your dreams."  We all had goose bumps.  We picked up a ton of Popeyes and went to Janie's new apartment and dined with zero furniture.  And even though Jay was in Atlanta, he got a box of Popeyes as well in honor of Daddy.

He would have been 67 this September 17th.  I wish so much he was here.  I miss his voice so much.

Fun and Games

We juiced. We drew.  We sat in boats with our homemade binoculars.  We made pizzas with smiley-faces.  Solon and Luke had a great time together!  And we loved having Julie and Nathan down.  We spent the last night of their stay dining on a great steak dinner!