Callaway Garden

This weekend was the hot air balloon festival at Callaway Garden. My in laws were camping at one of the campgrounds near the Garden so we decided to stop by. Throughout the weekend they have scheduled releases of the hot airs and the day we came they didn't release much :( But the trip was still fun because there is much to do at Callaway. Most of the activities are included in the park admission so it's a great and economical place to take the family.
For labor day weekend, a couple of extra activities were set up. William had a great time people watching and looking at the colorful set ups.
Williams cousin Brooke and Paige tried wall climbing. Whew, we got exhausted just watching :)

He also had a blast watching Dad, Granddaddy, Brooke and Paige play mini golf. Maybe next year he can start playing.

After the trip to Garden, everybody decided to cool off and check out the new pool at the campground. 

What an exhausting day!  Brooke even let William sit on her chair. By the time we got home, he was beat and ready to go to bed. We had a great time!

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10 months

I was having a rough day at work and I came home to this. All the stress and anxiety vanished and suddenly my heart was filled with joy and gratitude. William and Ed's relationship is wonderful to watch. They adore each other. And these two guys adore me too :) Our family is just filled with laughter. The other day Ed was picking on me and tickling me...I was laughing so hard and I caught William watching and laughing too. How beautiful is that?  To see our son sharing in on our laughter and silliness. 

Here are more pictures of our 10 month old.

Testing out the cool moccasin that GG and Aunt Sonja got him from their road trip.

The last time my sister was in town, she spoiled this lil guy and got him this cool walker. It helps a lot in the mornings when we are getting ready for work. He's everywhere so this kinda allows him to be mobile but still contained :)
And here's our lil rockstar who continues to rock our world!!!

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Allison's 1st Birthday

Last Saturday, we joined Denny and Kara in celebrating their precious lil girl's birthday. Miss Allison turned one and is cute as a button!
Here's the birthday girl working on her smash cake.
Mommy and William
The papparazzis :)

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Daddy and William

I love this video of William and Ed....my baby is growing up too fast!

Weekend Visit

My family was in town this past weekend to celebrate my birthday and spend some time with us. We had such a blast. We didn't even run around town much but it still ended up being a busy weekend. My Dad looked really well... mostly attributed to the excitement of seeing and spending some time with his grandson.

Standing in front of our family truckster aka Mini-van :)

William loves "walking" around.

Here's my sis' playing Wii Bowling.

Also I just noticed that I haven't posted much pics of Riley.

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2008 Pate Family Reunion

I love going to the Pate reunion. The food selection is unbelievable! Love the food and love the company. This is technically William's first official attendance. Last year he was still in my belly. Here are some photos from the reunion. Enjoy!

Also today is election day for Carter County Commisioner. Good luck Aunt Sonja!

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9 Months

We just got back from William's 9 month appointment. All is well and he is right on track on development. Whew! Nobody warned us how life changes for a household with a 9 month old crawling and learning to walk:) Chasing him is a workout by itself!
Some stats from the doctors office: Weight 21 lbs and Height 27 1/4 inches

So what have William been up to lately?

He's been crawling on all fours and getting into everything.

He also loves eating finger foods.

Pulling up on coffee table, tv stands, crib, wall...and with that comes bruises. He got his first official purplish bruise this weekend. I guess the many of more to come.

Other than that, we are just so fascinated on how he's becoming a big boy. Finally has 2 bottom teeth showing; babbling more, saying dadada ----urgh still no mama; eating grown up foods even sharing Mom and Dad's food at restaurants; constantly playing. Time really flies and I can't believe that in 3 months we will be celebrating his first birthday.

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31

I can't believe that I am 31, how time flies. I love the place I am at now. I love being a mom and a wife, and being surrounded by such wondeful friends and family to share my birthday with. I am truelly blessed. And after all, age is a state of mind and I still feel 21(well, like a tired 21 year old! :)

My actual bday was last Friday. Got up with sweet greetings and kisses from Ed and William. My phone was buzzing really early with phone greetings from my siblings and parents. I can't wait for their visit and do another bday celebration. Me love bdays, no? :)

Got in at work and was surprised to see balloons, flowers and cake in my office. To deck me out, they got me a tiara and ring as well. You would think I'm having a bachelorette party....wrong props but hey I still love it. I'm new to the team and was really flattered by their thoughtfulness. Gotta heart coworkers with a zest for fun and appreciates good birthdays. I didn't had the chance to take some photos at work so I asked Ed to take some of me on my tiara and ring for memories.
I got in from work. Ed had planned a wonderful bday dinner for me at our favorite Sushi place. We've been going to this restaurant for years and I still enjoy their food. Every bite of the sushi and sashimi is scrumptious. Also got home, to a big surprise. William and Ed got me the new Flip. I've been wanting one for a while. My boys are getting really good at surprising me. Didn't expect this as we had planned on giving me a shopping spree weekend for my bday gift. So now I have both....lucky me, huh. Sneaky Ed. I was so touched by his effort and desire to really make this day special for me. Saturday, had an intimate lunch with friends at Hudson Grille. Forgot to take picture of my crabcake meal. It was soooo good. One of the best ones I've had. Here's a picture of the family in front of my ginormous cake. It was so delish. Ed had it special ordered from Metrotainment Bakery. It's really good.
And to all my friends,thanks for making this year special...again. I'm really lucky to have you guys. Much love and appreciation to your thoughtfulness and generosity. Kisses!And to show off my new gift...Here's a video of me with my bday cake.

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Atlanta Botanical Garden

I've lived in Atlanta for a while now and have never even been to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Since William loves being outdoor, I invited my in laws for a Sunday at the Garden. Inspite of the torching weather( William was so flushed and sweaty), the kids and the grown ups all loved it. There's a children's area and my nieces loved the water fountain. We got a season passand hopefully we'll get plenty of opportunities to come back with friends and family.

William loved pulling grass

Awww...big kiss for Mommy
What a fun way to cool off!
The orchids were absloutely stunning. I wish I have a green thumb to grow them.
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