Missing: My Brain

The invitation for my friend Lauren's engagement party has been on my refrigerator for weeks.


I checked my calendar when the invitation first arrived and RSVP'd.


Since then, I've probably looked at it 100 times.


It clearly states that the party will be on Saturday, July 31 at 7pm...






So, what do I do? Promptly hire a babysitter, get dressed up and head out for a lovely evening...

...on Friday, July 30.

Boo.


(After the initial shock and awe of my mental lapse, Keith and I rallied and had a nice date night at Milton's, where we know the chef. Definitely worth checking out if you are in the Roswell/Alpharetta area.)

"School"

One of the most stressful decisions during my pregnancy - mainly because I kept putting it off - was deciding where Tate would go to daycare. Since this was going to be a place where he would spend 7-9 hours a day, K and I wanted to make sure that we found the perfect nurturing environment for our little man. One year later, we couldn't be more happy with Kids R Kids.

Each morning, Tate takes a bath, gets dressed and eats breakfast... and then we'll ask, "are you ready for school?" To which he always responds excitedly by grabbing his sippy cup and running to the door, shouting "let's go!!"

Everybody knows Tate at school. From Barbara at the front desk, who lets him sit in her lap for hours- playing with the big calculator and pushing the button to let people in the front door....to the lunch lady who always gives him a big hug...to the bus driver who waves and gives him a high five...to all the teachers (even in the older classes)...to other kid's parents (one mom tells me regularly that Tate is going to marry her daughter.) He walks around as if he owns the place, waving and smiling at everyone who comes into view.

It's been a really wonderful experience and it provides such peace of mind knowing he is in such a fun, caring place. They sing songs, read books, blow bubbles, do art projects, play on the playground, and they even have a water park that Tate's class gets to enjoy on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Here are some pictures of how Tate spends his weekdays...



art projects daily report card

school pictures (how sad is this face? found out later he had pink eye and a double ear infection!)
Older pictures (from the baby room)


playing with Addison and Case



Case and Tate

with Ms Ingrida on his first day

Emergency!

Hurry! Someone call 911! We've had a very bad accident at the construction site...

Breakfast with PaPa

Keith's parents came to stay with us last week and watch Tate while we went to the tennis tournament. Here are a few pictures of Tate and PaPa being silly at breakfast. They had such a good time, and I'm glad they were able to spend such quality time together over a bowl of cereal...







Pretty soon he'll be old enough to tag along and walk 9 holes on the golf course with PaPa. 83 years old and he still plays every day...and walks! I hope Tate inherits his healthy genes...

The Adventures of Red Robot: 1st Installment

So, the idea is not original, but it's still pretty amusing nonetheless. We got countless strange looks and met many new friends in the quest for the perfect shot this weekend. Stay tuned...you never know where Red Robot will show up next!

Watching John Isner serve at the ATC Finals


Front row of the ESPN2 broadcast with Cliff Drysdale and Darren Cahill


In the meantime, have fun and embrace your inner child! (even if it means embarrassing your outer child) Poor Tate has no idea what lies ahead...

Holy Rainy Day, Batman!!

A glimpse into our fun rainy afternoon...

What's the most fun thing you can do for $1??

This!! We've loved the Roswell Sprayground this summer....much better than the pool at this age. Here are a few pictures from our most recent outing with Pop.

The rest of our vacation...

I know I'm way behind in posting the rest of our vacation pictures. Here are the highlights from our week in St. Simons for July 4th, with a brief escape for Keith and I to Ponte Vedra, FL. Had a wonderful time and Tate did great with Nana and Pop. Already planning our next vacation for September...

Vacation: Day 1

So, our vacation got off to a rough start. Actually, I take that back. Our vacation initially got off to a fantastic start... and then... well, you'll see. I picked Tate up from daycare around 6:15pm and was told he'd been a little fussy that afternoon, which actually sounded like good news to me since I knew (or hoped) that meant he'd take a nap when we got home and I could finish packing, kid-free. I was right.

Keith got home from his ballgame around 7:00pm and we were packed, loaded and had a clean house (a vacation requirement) by 8:15pm. Tate was still asleep (unusual), so we woke him up, fed him, and hit the road by 8:30pm. All in all, not too bad. We left a little behind schedule, but Keith and I were both in pleasant moods (also unusual- normally not on speaking terms during the packing/loading/leaving) and looking forward to our trip. So, yay! Vacation! I took the first driving shift so that Keith could sleep. St. Simons ETA: 1:30am.

20 minutes later, Tate projectile vomits all over the car. Ah! Ok, no big deal. We pull over at a McDonald's near the airport. I clean up Tate, Keith cleans up the car, and we're back on the road.

20 minutes later, Tate projectile vomits all over the car again! Ugh, ok. NO BIG DEAL. We pull over at a McDonald's 20 minutes below the airport. I clean up Tate, Keith cleans up the car, and we're back on the road.

20 minutes later, Tate projectile vomits all over the car again. No, just kidding... this time we drove into the most ridiculous thunderstorm ever. Like sideways rain and massive buckets of water splashing on the windshield. I already don't see well at night and at this point, it's raining so hard that I might as well have been blindfolded. So, we pull over at a gas station to switch drivers so that Keith can navigate us through this mess and I can relax my now-white knuckles.

Since we are already stopped, Keith gets gas and I make a mad-dash inside so that I can use the bathroom to avoid having to stop again. Of course, both bathrooms are out of order... but there is a slight silver-lining. As we were pulling out of the station, we noticed an older gentleman on a motorcycle who was REALLY soaking wet and having to wait out the storm. So we were at least thankful we weren't him (and I think Keith may have even rolled down the window and told him that.) St. Simons ETA: 2:30am

The rest of the journey was uneventful and we did finally arrive at my parent's house at 2:30am. Tate went right back to sleep in his crib and never threw up again for the rest of the trip. In summary, here is what we learned:

1. Baby vomit can go a long way upon leaving said-baby's mouth. (i.e. reaching the dashboard)
2. Baby vomit doesn't smell good..and you never, ever get used to the smell...even if you hope and pray you will since you still have 4 hours left in the car to enjoy the aroma. (hypothetically speaking) On the bad-smell continuum, it falls somewhere between Keith's dirty socks and my cooking.
3. You can never have enough scented plastic bags, hand-sanitizer and paper towels. (my car will now be stocked with these items)

Tate, thankfully, slept until 8:30am the next morning... and even more thankfully, my parents were happy to see him (and maybe us, too) and let us go back to bed until 11:30am (it IS vacation!)

More on days 2-5 later...