Hello from Minneapolis

We are out on vacation again... well, at least Mike and Evan are. I'm here to work at an insurance conference. There will still be plenty of fun and shopping though. I was very busy between getting home from Virginia and leaving to fly here so I didn't have a chance to post before we left. Here are some pictures from home...

Evan is standing! He loves to stand on his own then fall right into someone's waiting arms. He laughs and laughs. He started this feat last Sunday at Grandma's house. He should be walking soon!

He is also climbing everything. He was crawling on his stroller here but he's climbed up a step stool recently to get into the cat food and can climb every step at Lola's house.

And he loves the horsey from Cole and Christina. He doesn't know how to rock or roll on his own but he's game to let someone else do the work. It seems like he's grown so much more, just overnight.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. It is raining here right now but we hope to get out and about a little later.

Over the river and through the woods....

To Great Grandmother's house we go.

We just got back last night from the suburbs of Richmond, VA. We flew and it was so much better than driving. Evan was a gentleman on the plane and spared the other passengers any cries or screams. As soon as we took off on both flights, he fell right asleep and then would wake up before landing to look out with window with Mike.

The purpose of our trip was to see Mike's grandmother. We last visited when Evan was 11 weeks old. He is now just over the 9 month mark.

Evan jumped right in and told Grandma all about the flight

We decided to take advantage of all the green and flowers while we were there and got many, many pictures of Evan.

Just so you can see that he isn't always a happy baby

Mike, Evan, and Grandma

And these next few pics may seem freaky to some of you but we decided to take a few pics at the cemetery. Evan decided to help fix the flowers on Grandma's (Mike's mother's) grave stone. He was a very solemn baby the entire time we were at the cemetery. He would just look around and listen. It really makes you wonder if the very young really can see and hear ghosts.

and with Great Grandpa

This is the new memorial outside the front steps of the church Mike's grandmother goes to. It was recently a weed patch but it was cleared and dedicated to a few beloved people, especially one in particular.

Just before it was time to go. Evan and Grandma shared some more quality time

Bye, bye Virginia! It was fun and hope to do it again soon!

Because I want to bore you

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE ? Nope. I wasn't named after a person, I was named after a house. At least the house was famous (Gone With the Wind). My mom has told me that for a while, she called me Tar-a, as opposed to Tera which I am called now. (I'm not good at phonetics)

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? at the movie World Trade Center last week. It was sad that those two guys were stuck under all that rubble and poor Maggie Gyllenhaal. Imagine, pregnant and you don't know if your husband is dead or alive.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? It needs improvement. I am very crazy about it being good too because my brother and parents have bad handwriting.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey Pastrami. I can eat it slice by slice so we don't get it often.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? see blog title

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I would be. I seem to be nice enough and very giving. There are a few people who have pretented to be my friend and then dumped me after their weddings and I just don't get it. There are two of those lovely people. Hope the presents I gave you broke! - I know, not nice!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? too much when speaking. I'm not good as putting my sarcasm into type so I don't really try.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes, never too much reason to take them out.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? definitely not, I'm chicken

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Kashi Go Lean Crunch, lately. It tastes like Sugar Smacks.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No, but I untie them to put them back on.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? physically - I'd lose a fight in the first minute. emotionally - yeah, not bad.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? strawberry, something simple

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? the way they act when I first meet them, towards me and everyone else. It's hard to forget when someone is a total bitch to you when you first meet them.

15. RED OR PINK? red, I'm not much of a girly-girl.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? my midsection, but then again, I'm not perfect. I also dislike that I have a need for approval.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My Lola (my mom's mom). She was a strong woman that took care of me and my brother after my parents were divorced and mom was working. She would have loved to meet Evan.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I don't care, I just had nothing to blog about.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? navy blue Jimmie Johnson shorts, no shoes.

20.WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Strawberry Special K bar, after my walk.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? the hum of the computer and baby monitor

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? I don't really want to be a crayon but if I have to, purple. No reason, it's just my fave color.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Evan after a bath and lotion, fresh flowers, and a crisp fall morning

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Mike

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? well, no one sent it to me, but yeah, I like Katie who I stole it from.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? On tv, I guess NASCAR, but I've lost interest. In person, Ice Hockey.

27. HAIR COLOR? brown

28. EYE COLOR? brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yeah, I can't see squat

30. FAVORITE FOOD? grilled grouper or grilled shrimp

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Endings. I'm a sap

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The Wedding Date, just today. It was on the Netflix list. I wasn't that impressed. I felt like it was a remake of My Best Friend's Wedding, probably because Dermot Mulroney was in this movie. It was okay but a little far fetched.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? white

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? summer because I hate the cold.

35. HUGS OR KISSES? both. I don't want to choose.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Right now, it would have to be the sweet shots at Chili's. Those are yummy!

Where's 37-40?

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? nada. We went to my dad's house to eat dinner. I think High Stakes Poker was on over there.

42. FAVORITE SOUND? Evan laughing

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? the Beatles, I have a bunch of their CD's

44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? The Philippines

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? does shopping and using a credit card count?

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Atlanta, at a place I visit about 5 days a week.

Extra Credit : Mc Steamy or Mc Dreamy? I could care less.

Saturday Walk and Dinner

Our morning started very early. Evan and I went to Pickneyville Park in Norcross to walk in the Walk for PKD (polycystic kidney disease). We had a good time hanging out with some people that work in the business office at my hospital. Evan got to people watch, which is his favorite past time.

I ran in the house as soon as we got home to get the camera. I couldn't believe that he had fallen asleep still holding on to his balloon.

This afternoon, we met Cole, Christina, Jeremy, and Mr. and Mrs. Spinks (Jeremy's parents) at Up the Creek for an early dinner. Evan had the cadillac of high chairs and he thought he was pretty cool in it.

The other star of our show, Mr. Cole himself. Here he is sampling the Gerber Puffs.

Evan and Cole dancing

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And my favorite, Cole pushed Evan around in the high chair and I was lucky enough to catch some on video. Enjoy!

Hope your weekend is going great!

My addiction

I don't really have much to post about us. We've been pretty boring. Evan came down with a cold earlier this week on top of his two top teeth pushing their way in. That has made for even more sleepless nights around this house. Thank goodness, I have my own office at work and can catch a nap at lunch!

I have a Vera Bradley obsession. It was small until the outlet sale came to town. I owned 3 purses and one wallet before Thursday morning. I have been eyeing the black and brown microfiber though and I hit the jackpot. Here are some boring pictures of my purchases. On the good news side, we'll be doing a few things this weekend so I should have some pictures by Sunday. Happy Weekend!

Black Microfiber Baby Bag

Inside the baby bag

Black Cargo Purse

Black Weekender

Sateen Alicia bag (white), Peacock Betsy bag (front), Chelsea Green Bucket Tote (back right)

Brown Cargo Purse, Chelsea Green Wallet, ID Zips in Chelsa Green and Picadilly Plum, and microfiber black/brown card case

Picadilly Plum Out To Lunch Bag

I spent a ton of money but it was a great deal. I haven't bought much for myself since Evan arrived. I got $710 of bags, purses, and accessories for $307. There were many more people buying close to the $2,000 per person limit. I had a great time and love every piece. The best part is that the sale was organized and took 5 minutes to check out. That's my kind of shopping. If you get a chance, the sale is at the Galleria 9 AM - 4 PM Saturday. If you can make it through the crowds, it's worth the deal.

9 Months Ago...

Where has the time gone? The first 3 months were okay but the last 6 have been a blast. Happy 9 months to you, Evan.

Thanks to Andrea for the great train conductor hat and bandana.

Our fun weekend

We did a lot this weekend but I didn't take a lot of pictures. We were busy both Saturday and Sunday and had a great time.

It all started at home on Saturday afternoon. Here's Evan reacting to the news that we are going to the Fall Festival. He was getting tired of ripping our mail up.

The Fall Festival was at our old church and Lola came along. Here, they were dancing to Vanilla Ice. I have a video of their dance, just for you Katy!

Evan got to spend some time with his Godparents, Tim and Sharon, while we were there. The hardest thing about changing churches has been leaving people we love and adore. We love you Tim and Sharon and can't wait to see you again!

Here's another pic with Sharon. My baby was in sheer bliss!

Here's one of the lone pictures we took at David's birthday party. I thought it was cute that Evan was petting the bulldog. Most of the party, I had my hands full with Evan. He's not quite walking and I'm way overprotective about him getting stepped on so I held him a lot! I'm nutty like that. Maybe one day I will let go.

I stole this pic from Katie's blog (to see more, visit her page). Evan watched Joe crawl in the play tunnel a few times and caught on. Evan loved being around Joe and watched him like a hawk. Joe and Katie also rode to Andrea's with us. When they got in the car, Evan was asleep. When he woke up and saw Joe, he just grinned and watched Joe sleep.

And to end it all, we came home and Evan tried to get in the freezer. This pulling up thing makes Evan harder to keep up with, but it is a lot of fun.

My quick shout-outs:

Thanks to Andrea for hosting a great party!

Happy Birthday David!

It was nice to meet you Bethany, Olivia, and Zach!

Thanks for riding with us Katie and Joe!

To everyone, we hope you had a great weekend!

The New Babysitter

My brother, Jerry, really bailed us out today. I work full-time and sometimes Mike has a second job. Well, last night that second job called. They offered some good money but Mike had to be there at 1:30 PM. Jerry listening to my begging, pleading, and instructions and took over baby duty at 1:00 PM today. He watched Evan for about 3 hours, since I was a nervous wreck and came home a little early from work. I'll admit that I didn't know how my brother was going to manage an 8-month old. He has never taken care of a baby in his life and definitely never changed a diaper (which he didn't have to do today).

I give all the credit in the world and thanks to my brother for doing an excellent job babysitting. He even threw me a bone and called me to let me know that things were going great. He sucessfully fed Evan and put him in the swing for his nap. After Evan woke up, we took some pictures!

Thanks a million, Jerry! We owe you!

And to throw in a few extras from tonight....

Wired Evan

Sleepy Evan

Have a great weekend!

Giving credit where it's due

My sis-in-laws, Heather and Katy both posted pics of Mike and me at Mike's fire station. We took those pictures the day after our wedding, on 9/6/04. Those pictures were taken by Erin Ross of the Ross Family Blog. Thanks to Heather for giving her credit! I'll repost a few more Erin took.

Yes, I'm a dork! The stupid hose didn't even have a nozzle on it

The following pics were our engagement pics taken at Briscoe Park.

And the bridal pics, also at Briscoe Park

With my Cole

Just a side note, I usually hate posting pics of myself but I have a million pics that Erin took of me and Mike and I got great use out of my $150 eBay wedding dress! Erin was just starting out with her photography 3 years ago and I was lucky to meet her and become her friend. She is now in Dallas, TX, so if you ever make it out that way and need a talented photographer, she's the person to call.

I promise, this is the last wedding picture post!