Friday, July 31, 2009

mmmmm....awhhhhh

we have kisses and more kisses flying around this place.
josie has learned how to kiss.  
step one: lean forward
step two: say mmmm...awhhh
mission accomplished.
this is only to be used on baby dolls, family members and josie loves to make sure thomas gets his kisses too.

she has started sitting with him in the floor.
she will pick up whatever she wants to play with. 
then find thomas and sit or lean on him, as close as possible.
he is a great dog! who knows what he does behind my back.  
(i am pretty sure lots of his kisses are involved.)

Friday, July 24, 2009

summer travels leg #2


so i got home from boston on a saturday morning. and packed up to travel to wake forest, nc on sunday morning.  erin hale mattox and her two kids along with josie and i packed into erin's mini-van and set our sites along 85 North.  3 kids under three and 2 adults.  we are two tough women.  the kids did great!  erin and i did great too. we actually got to have lots of conversation.  of course we had the need to stop for some peanut m&m's, but they were well worth it.  

stephanie was such a great host. she had good food ready at every turn.  and the robinson's were amazing to let us stay at their house while they were away.  stephanie also has her rendition of the week, so feel free to check it out.

the first day we went to jumpin beans.  one would think josie would be too little, right?  not so much!  i have a little dare devil on my hands.  no fear, independent, thrill seeking daughter.  ok so she has my looks but russ' personality.
i carry her up the slide steps.  set her down on all fours so that i can finish climbing myself.  before i have gotten to the base at the top she has already rounded the corner and slide down on her own.  she did this repeatedly.  of course the time i tried to film the sliding, things got a little crazy.  even though it appears i threw my daughter down.  i did not. believe it or not...she liked it.



josie loved playing with emalyn her real live baby doll.  she said "baaaby" a lot and tried to share paci's.  can you find emalyn amist all the baby gear....geez la weez.



thursday we went to the cutest park ever.  pullin park.  they had kid rides all for $1.  this was josie's first experience at all this.  for the most part she loved it.



swings, sand and the carousel.  with the carousel she was petrified.  tearing my shirt off so that i would not put her up on the horse alone.  i couldn't blame her i hate going around and around too.  dang motion sickness....it spoils so much fun.

this is what we call "THE GRANDPA FACE".  josie started making this "no teeth" face a couple months ago.  it is not cute.  let's be honest.  but it is really funny.

the sign of a dare devil.  we get on the train. the whistle blows.  and her hands go up.  ready to ride.  she has never ridden a train before but she obviously loved it.  her hands went up several times during the ride.  i love her!
WARNING:  IF YOU ARE A MOM WHO BUYS DIAPERS....YOU WILL BE JEALOUS!
a highlight of the trip for erin and i was being able to find and buy many BOXES of pampers for $4 and $5.  this is the set up.  rylan has to go potty 30 minutes into the drive home.  erin pulls off to go to mcdonald's.  i say "let's go to the rite aid. it will be cleaner."  erin and rylan return from the potty.  i notice shock on erin's face. "you will never believe this. their pampers are on sale form 75% off.  making them $5." kristy..."shut up!" we are so packing the mini-van full of diapers.  $32 dollars later we have 700 diapers packed in the van.  it was very exciting. to say the least.  here are some great pics from our diaper extravaganza.


and a sweet picture of rylan sleeping on the way home.  a week with this many girls, is tough on any man!

leg #2

from boston we took the midnight bus (literally) to cape cod.  where we woke julie up  at 2 am to pick us up from the bus stop.  she was such a wonderful hostesses.  i know we stretched her to the limit too.  thanks jewels!

bad picture taker....x100.  i got 'NO pics of me and julie.  how is that possible?  i am embarassed.  hopeful the other girls got some.  geez.  i get out on my own and still can't take good pics.  i guess i was totally freed up.

nantucket is an island off of masachussets.  it literally looks like a magazine in every way possible.  we rented a jeep wrangler...took the top off and drove the whole island in like 2 hours.  it was beautiful.  imagine low 70's with the sun shining and the wind from the ocean.
awesome.

and yes these are random people's homes we are taking pictures of.

please click to enlarge the pics below to really enjoy it.  




Tuesday, July 21, 2009

summer travels leg #1



call me crazy.  call me flexible.  whatever you call me.....i had a lot of fun.

on july 8th i left atlanta, josie-less with two sweet friends from church.  we headed for Boston and Cape Cod.  courtesy of my friend julie.  she works in boston, lives in cape cod and it works out really well to have her as a friend.  not to mention she is hilarious and fun surrounds her.  it was a great laughing getaway.  due to christi's camera being so great.  i barely took any pictures.  this is what i got. from Boston, Cape Cod and Nantucket.

on the T in Boston.  christi being sweet. meredith being too cool to take a picture on the T. 
this is my favorite pic of the whole trip.  in the Harvard bookstore.  i was so excited to go in there and browse.  i love all things paper and pens.  they had a HUGE pen section.  it was wonderful.  yes, i tested many pens.  and i loved it. and it was allowed.


and because i am a nerd.  or a wanna be nerd.  i made christi and meredith go with me on a tour of harvard.  it was great.  so interesting.  and led by a student at harvard.  i loved every minute.  ok maybe not the last 10 minutes. 

picture of the last 10 minutes below.  christi and mere bored in the left corner.



Sunday, July 5, 2009

snowcones, floats and a parade

we were at the lake for the fourth of july and in decatur for the parade.  it was a fun day.  josie loved watching the kids riding their bikes in the parade. we were stationed at the bottom of a hill so it was quite funny watching the kids with some major speed collide with other kids.

ice cream.  we love the free cone at bruster's!  especially on Granny's birthday.  granted this did mean Josie yelled in her crib for 15 minutes before falling asleep.  those dang sugar highs.
we love the lake.  josie is a water bug for sure.  she loves to ride in the boat and float in the water.  she is a masterson!

Josie had her first taste of a snowcone a few weeks ago.  Tiger's blood of course! It made me reminisce about the tropical snow in front of Quality Foods growing up.  my dad was all about some shaved ice. josie was all about some tiger's blood.


oh summer....how i love thee.
i will leave you with my most favorite sound in all the earth! (video below)