MABBAJAKS

Some of my high school girlfriends and I created a name for ourselves when we were still in school. That way, we new who all we were talking about when we said "Mabbajaks". Well, its been years since all of us were together in the same place (Katie & Nathan's wedding). So, we arranged a date at Piedmont park for the girls and kids to picnic. Unfortunately, Becky couldn't come because she's having a baby of her own this week, and Allison was having her family portraits taken. But the rest of us came and enjoyed each other's company. We even got to sing happy birthday to Katie (minus a LIT candle). Love you girls and can't wait to see you all again soon!!

Talky-Talkerson

I can't believe how fast our Little Prince is growing up. I feel like it was yesterday that he started trying to say "ball". Now he is putting words together, like "applesauce", "green bean", "brown bear", and "belly button". Why does it all have to happen so fast? It makes me sad to look at the picture on the wall of the day we brought him home from the hospital. TIME FLIES when you're having fun!

Wagon Time

I bought a wagon for Beckham a while back. I got it used at a consignment sale, brought it home, and it broke the first time I used it. I called the nice folks at Radio Flyer and let them know which part I was missing. They sent me 2 of the replacement parts in the mail that day. . . for FREE! I was so excited that I didn't have to rig my poor child's "new" wagon with tape and a nut. So, needless to say, with this beautiful weather we've been enjoying many a wagon ride. . . That's our house in the background (above). And the house below is the colors I want to paint our house. (Just a side note for all the Pittsburghians, the house below has a Penn State flag hanging in front.)

A Little Monkeying Around

Beckham and I spent the day at my sister's on Wednesday and played A LOT outside. Here are just a few pics. . .

These days. . .

The day has come that Beckham has figured out how to bypass the rubber bands on the cabinets (our cabinets are too hard to install the locks on them) and reach into drawers and take things out. He is fascinated with anything electronic, especially remote controls and Daddy's games.

He LOVES playing outside. If he hears the door open, he goes running. He gets really excited when he gets his shoes on. Most of the time as soon as we set foot outside, he says "Emily". I went so far as to put him in the wagon the other day and pull him to Emily's house since he said her name as soon as I put his shoes on. Unfortunately she was taking a nap. Scott and I have been doing a lot of yard work lately, so I thought I'd get something pretty that Beckham could enjoy, too. He thought it was so cool!

In other news, Beckham's newest words are sky, stairs, broccoli, chicken, food, bowl, outside, flower, throw, bunny, choo-choo, spin, frog, butterfly, pillow, blanket, and night-night. (I'm sure I've forgotten some. The kid never stops talking!) Of course they don't sound just like they're supposed to, but he is only 17 months!

HAPPY EASTER

Easter Sunday, we woke up and got dressed for church. This year we made it there in plenty of time to get a good seat, but apparently Beckham was not interested in sitting. We arrived at the church at 9:15 and left at 10:00, just in time for mass to begin. Oh, well! So much for church on Easter Sunday. We went home and at a good meal instead, then headed to Grandma and Grandpap's to spend the day. Beckham was a lucky little guy this year. The Easter Bunny came to his house and Grandma and Grandpap's!

We started off our time at the Parker casa with Scott opening birthday presents, then took in some PGA Master's. I took an restless nap in front of the t.v. while the rest of the family enjoyed each other's company. We sat down to a delicious dinner of lamb and sides for dinner. YUM! Then we sang to Scott and had Pineapple Upside Down Cake a.k.a. PUD (just in time for me to go to work). Honestly, I didn't know how I was going to survive Monday after being awake the majority of 24 hours, but God blessed us with a power-outage Monday morning causing Scott to stay home and work from home when the power came back on. Beckham added to the blessing by taking a 4 hour nap that day. Whew!

Flight of the Concords

Scott and I went to our first concert in what feels like centuries. We went to a "Flight of the Concords" concert last Saturday. For those of you who don't know who they are, they're a 2-man band that has and HBO television series by the same name. I was so excited that the opening act was another person from the show, Kristen Shaw, who plays "Mel" the band's only groupie. I thought she was hilarious, but apparently Scott did not. Then the show began and we were in heaven. It was the perfect setting for their concert. The Fabulous Fox Theater is an indoor theater that feels like you are outdoors. The ceiling in the theater makes you think of the dining hall at Hogwarts. Everyone stayed seated during the concert, so we could see everything all the time. Unfortunately, cameras aren't permitted, so we didn't get any pictures of the band. The lucky girl in front of us had a really great camera that fit in her pocket and took really good pics. Yeah, our camera is giant. Oh, well! At least we got pictures of ourselves looking good on our night on the town. . .

And apparently if we had been willing to stay downtown until 1:30, we would have pictures WITH the band and autographs, but Scott and I are old farts and can't stay out past midnight anymore!

Savannah, GA

Well we did it. We went on a trip without Beckham and the world didn't end. Scott and I headed to Savannah for a 3 day/2 night trip to celebrate our 4 year wedding anniversary. We got down there in the midst of a down-pour, but we made the best of it. We walked on River Street and East Bay in the rain, getting a little wet but having fun. We sat down to dinner at Belford's in City Market. Afterwards, we grabbed a couple beers on River Street. Then, sadly enough, we called it a night. Remember, this was our first night without Beckham and we were EXHAUSTED!
On Monday, Scott woke up early to go put our names in for a reservation at Paula Deen's restaurant "Lady & Sons". He made it back to the Mulberry Inn just before the rain started. Fortunately, the rain didn't last long. The skies cleared and it made for a beautiful day. We took the trolley tour of Savannah, had lunch at the Cafe in City Market, then headed out on foot to get pictures in all the places we had just learned about.

We took turns sitting where Forrest Gump's bench used to be. Sadly, its in a museum now.

Scott "has a little Captain in him".

The Cathedral. They were having mid-day mass, so we couldn't go in.

Most of the houses had these beautiful little "secret" gardens.

We had so many nice people stop and offer to take our picture.It was just a little windy! I kept having to hold down my skirt.

These really dangerous looking stairways were behind all the shops on River Street to take you back to East Bay.

We ate dinner at Lady & Sons Monday night. Scott ordered a red snapper and I had "Chicken Pot Pie". Apparently Paula Deen's idea of Chicken Pot Pie is a bowl full of pot pie filling covered in a criss-crossed puff pastry (pretty, but impossible to eat).

Tuesday morning, we checked out of the Mulberry Inn and headed out for a walk. Unfortunately, it was 48 degrees in the second week of April and Scott and I hadn't brought our coats. Needless to say, our walk didn't last long.

Only long enough to get a few more key pictures. It was absolutely necessary for Scott to get a picture in front of something that said "Freemasons" on it, since apparently he is fascinated with them.

Then we hopped in the car and headed back to Snellville to pick up Beckham and Thibideaux (who survived 3 days without us as well).

Feeding the "Ducks"

Scott and Beckham had some Daddy/son time before we left to go out of town. They went to our neighborhood pond and fed the geese. According to Scott, Beckham enjoyed it for about the first minute.

Little Bear

Our playgroup decided to meet at a new indoor playground down the road called "Little Bear". Beckham walked in the door and went to town playing with everything. This place was SO cool. They have jungle gyms in every size, toys galore, padded blocks for climbing, a moon bounce with a tunnel and HUGE slide, an art center, and a bubble machine. Beckham finally got the nerve to go down a slide all by himself! And he wouldn't stop.

My intention was to get a picture of him sitting at the top of the slide, but he wouldn't wait for me. He turned over on his stomach and down he came (laughing the whole way).

We can't wait to go back!

Happy Baby Shower, Becky!

One of my dearest highschool girlfriends is pregnant and had a baby shower on Sunday. It was absolutely lovely! It was held at the clubhouse of Sugarloaf Country Club, since Becky works as the event planner there, and it couldn't have been nicer. Beckham was so well behaved. He had several little friends there to play with and that kept him occupied. He visited with every lady at the shower, too. I had so much fun visiting with Becky, Anne, and Becky's sister Kelly. It was so wonderful to see them all. Becky looks so cute with her pregnant belly! Her sweet baby Jeb is due the middle of May. Can't wait to meet him!!!