Alvin's Retirement Party

A couple weeks ago, Adam's dad Alvin had a retirement party. After 32 years of hard work at BellSouth/AT&T, he turned in his towel. Or hard hat, for that matter.


Adam & his brother helped in the planning/decorating aspects of the event. Lots of priceless memorabilia was displayed.



I helped with the cake. Once again, don't I do a fabulous job with cake decorating? ;)


Food, friends, family and FUN sums up the evening.


Speeches were given too. Adam said a few kind words to his dad...


...which triggered a tearful response from his mom :) (far right)


The party was held at Downtown Kitchen in downtown Canton. The restaurant seems rather small, but there is an upstairs level that adds to the space. We had our own section, and the upstairs level was pretty much all ours until it became a "meat market" close to 9pm. Live music begins at 9pm, so the local singles and couples flock to this place. All was well until we tried to leave the building. You try toting a tot, gigantic purse and equally gigantic diaper bag through the teeniest tiniest paths of people. We dodged one martini glass after another, thankfully making it to the door without any known accidents. Of course it was so loud that we probably wouldn't have known if a glass (or a person) hit the floor!

(evidence of martini madness -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> )

Speaking of hitting the floor, Alaina did just that. A dancing machine she was!

Her signature moves sparked lots of looks.


Lots of smiles.


And lots of laughs :)


She had 2 dancing partners for the evening...Dada & Poppy!




I must say I was extra proud of Little Miss Dancing Queen. She was a perfect angel the entire evening (partly due to her extra late nap). I'm sure her brief *rest* on Uncle Daniel's shoulder before the party began also helped.


She bounced from stranger to stranger. She sat in laps, looked through purses - with permission of course - and made some new friends.


Of course she charmed her daddy too :)




I think I speak for us all when I say we had a blast at Poppy's party!

Adam's 30th

So Adam turned 30 almost 2 months ago, and I've yet to mention it. Oh well, better late than never, right? This birthday must be "THE BIG ONE" because it has literally been spread out over about 6 weeks. In fact, just last week he received another gift. When will it ever end?!?


Adam had 3 birthday dinners that I can remember. Maybe even more. Who knows. On his actual birthday - December 16 - I asked him to choose where he'd like to eat, and we'd all 3 go. He chose Outback. These blokes were not impressed with our service (we waited almost an hour for our food, with a toddler nearing her bedtime!) or our food (they ran out of baked potatoes - WHAT?). I should also mention that they first tried to sit us in the bar area at a super high table with a highchair that fit practically underneath the table. Come on. Then they moved us to a huge round table that probably could have seated 8 people. This table was directly under the most aggressive heat vent, and we were nearly sweated out of the restaurant. Let me just say that Adam would have liked to take the responsible parties "Outback." What a birthday treat that would have been ;) Ok, enough complaining. I really was happy to get out and celebrate my man's birthday. I was also happy about my steak :)

Once we returned home, cards were specially delivered.




And soon we were off to bed.

I actually suprised Adam with a birthday WEEK. Yes, a full week of birthday festivities. He received different gifts on different days. His favorite (he claims) was his fire pit. Although, it has already collected rust due to the wintery weather and a lack of concern. Hmmmm.... :(

Adam's parents took us out to Downtown Kitchen, more of an upscale restaurant in downtown Canton. He practically drooled over his shrimp & grits. Mmmmmmm :)


Then in January, I arranged for a surprise birthday dinner with friends at Olive Garden. It was really casual, but we had a great time.




I would have prefered to have a big party for him at our house or something, but for several reasons, this was not feasible at the time. So OG it was!







By the way, I totally pulled it off and he was totally surprised! Old men are not hard to fool ;)


HAPPY 30TH ADIE THE DADDY!!!

18 Months

My little Lainey Bug turned 18 months old yesterday! No more baby...this little lady is definitely a BIG GIRL now.

What do big girls do? Well, for starters big girls can talk on the phone with the proper expressions. You know, "Hi," "Bye Bye," inserting names here and there and giggling all the while. I've even witnessed startling conversation (big eyes), as well as jaw-dropping conversation (mouth wide open).


Big girls can semi-communicate with others. Gotta say, loving it! I love that Alaina can tell me what she wants to eat, for example. I give her options, and she will shake her head one way or the other to indicate yes or no. She sometimes tells me what she wants to eat too, and it's almost always "fwoot" (fruit).


Alaina's favorite "fwoots" are currently grapes and strawberries.


Big girls can color...in a coloring book or in the tub :)


Big girls can talk, talk, talk! We have noticed a word *E*x*P*l*O*s*I*o*N* in the last 2 months or so. Alaina will try to say almost any word that is presented to her. My new favorite words of hers: "Bessin" (blessing), "Bahkey" (broccoli), "Ih Me" (It's Me), "Munning" (morning), "Mommy," "Pity" (pretty), "Coot" (cute), "Toot," "Shoppeen" (shopping), and my personal favorite - "Sup" (as in, what's up!)


Speaking of the blessing, my Lay likes to double, sometimes triple bless her food. Sometimes I'm in a hurry to prepare her food, and I may forget to say the blessing right away, or sometimes at all. But thank goodness for my little helper. She reminds me by sweetly saying, "bessin" while folding her hands. Lately we say the blessing, she takes a bite of food, and then she folds her hands again so we can bless the food again. She wants her food to be VERY blessed!


Big girls can warn those nearby of upcoming diaper messes, which also comes in quite handy for the grown ups in charge. Adam taught Alaina to say "Poo Poo" when she's going #2, and without fail she is sure to make the announcement! She also runs off and hides while doing it. She's still a dainty lady, after all :)


Big girls can "boop." This is Alaina's signature move. She touches someone's nose with her pointer finger while saying "boop" in the cutest voice imaginable. She really sounds out the "p" too. It's really "coot."


Alaina's personality has really developed, and I'm so proud of the little lady she's becoming. I can unquestionably tell that Alaina Brooke has a sweet spirit. She is friendly and sweet by nature. She has the sweetest, most innocent little heart.


One way I know this is that she cannot stand to wonder if we are ok. The thought of me being upset with her upsets her, and she always tries to clear things up right away. If I get onto her or pop her for something, she acts as if her little heart has been broken. She will almost immediately run to me and say, "Mama...Hi!" with a big smile on her face. She will sometimes run and give me a hug too. I can't describe how this makes me feel as her mama. I am blessed to have a loving child who already values our relationship so much. I always let her know that we are and will always be ok. Usually a bear hug and a kiss does the trick. Even if I get onto her, I will always and forever love her unconditionally. What a good girl I have!


This little sweetheart has also been known to give kisses on the lips! Although this priviledge is mostly reserved for Mama & Dada :)


Alaina also likes constant companionship. She doesn't like to be alone more than a few minutes at a time, unless of course she is sucked into a good book. Or going poo poo ;) She is quick to ask for "Hep" (help), and she loves to follow in her mama's footsteps. Our latest thing is cooking together. Depending on what I'm cooking, sometimes I can strap her to my hip and go to town in the kitchen. She is by my side as I stir, set the table and pour tea. Occasionally she even gets to taste test! She is a good little helper, that's for sure.


Lately, we have been practicing instructions. I will intentionally ask her to pick up this item or that item and give it to me or put it somewhere else. I'm really testing to see what she understands, and it's pretty much everything I ask her to do. She is one smart cookie!


To me, Alaina is the perfect package - sweet, smart and beautiful!


Oh, and don't let the term BIG GIRL fool you. This big girl is not so much big at all. She only weighs 23 lbs 1 oz. which is the 23rd percentile. A peanut! Although length-wise, she is growing by leaps and bounds - 33 inches! Still long and lean.