menagerie....

At first, I thought, "Put each little category of pictures in its own post.  It'll make more sense that way."  Then, I realized that NOTHING I've EVER done has EVER made sense, so I'm putting it all in one post.  Groundbreaking.....cutting edge.....state-of-the-art kind of stuff here.....

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Thirty one.

I had a birthday.

31 feels a HECK of a lot like 30....it's just (for some reason???) a little harder to swallow.  I kept telling people I was going to have a backward-birthday and turn 13.  Then, I remembered that I teach 13-year-olds (I know what they're like, and, sometimes, it's NOT pretty) and that I hated being 13.  So, I decided to turn 31 and see what happened.  So far, I'm okay with it.  I just wish my waistline was the size of a 13-year-old's.

Since it WAS Memorial Day Weekend (like it always is on my birthday....I have this deep-seeded hate for my birthday, really.  It stems from all my friends RSVPing with regrets to ALL my parties growing up because they had a lake house or a BBQ or a relative to go visit while I was trying to rough-it-up in Ronald McDonald's Fun Room or Bumper Bowl.  And, yes, I realize it's a HOLIDAY.  But, you try reasoning with an 8-year-old.  See how far it gets ya....), we decked Miss Anna out in her red, white, and blue, courtesy of her Auntie Amy (sunglasses courtesy of Yaya and Grumpy....the kid refused to take them off for about 3 hours).

It was a nice birthday - complete with a new iPad, dinner, a movie, and a night-off from parenting.

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Snuggling

We had the opportunity this past weekend to meet Baby Walker. The icing on the cake here was that our friend Robert was in town visiting family, so we got to spend some time with him as well.

now, I remember quite vividly the repeated, unsuccessful attempts to wake Anna up during feedings, in addition to all the tips and tricks -- cold washcloth on their little faces and chests, tickling their jaw, flicking their feet......but a Bud Light can to the foot?  Never tried that one.....leave it to men to figure that kind of stuff out.

As with any newborn, Walker sleeps QUITE a bit, but we did manage to sneak a peek at his precious baby blues before we left.  Lauren and Brad are doing great so far -- they are naturals at parenting.  Walker is a very lucky little boy to have them as his Mommy and Daddy.

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Yum-o.

Got corn?

Got biscuits?

Is there anything funnier than Eric sitting at this table?  We acquired it from Eric's office.  On his boss's birthday, they all decided to prank the heck out of him, and one prank included replacing his desk with this little set.  When the laughing died down, they pawned off the goods, and we got this.  She loves it!
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Peanuts and Crackerjacks....

Also thanks to Markel, we were able to take Anna to her first baseball game EVER last Sunday.  Of course, we *could* have taken her before, but this one was free.  You don't want to waste perfectly good ticket when the weather man is calling for a temper storm. 

this kid pied his dad in the face for a sub.  In my next career, I'm going to be the person that plans between-inning activities for the crowd's enjoyment.  It's like getting paid for coming up with practical jokes and maniacal payback.

he described EVERYTHING to her, and she ate it all up.  I see coaching in this man's future....and perhaps a small pair of cleats for this little girl.

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Various and Sundry

Fresh pedicures:  (Anna's first, I might add)   

Fear the turtle:  This dude was living in our garage.  Have you ever seen an orange turtle????  All he needed was a little purple in that shell, and he could have been Maryland's official state reptile.