Pumpkin Carving

Playground

The picture below was taken at the playground by our house this past weekend. Two things of note:

1- All the toys you see in the picture live at the playground. The first time we visited, the playground was pretty crowded (by Georgia standards), and we kept trying to keep Carter off of all the other kids' toys. It was only the second time we went back (when the park was empty and all the toys were still there) that we realized that they are for anyone's use. The toys just live there. Out in the open. Not locked up. It's remarkable. Plus, it is nice that you don't have to buy any big hunk-o-plastic toys to keep at home, because you can just go to the playground to get your fix. This is especially important to us because...

2- Carter is obsessed with the police car and the police motorcycle. He is uninterested in any of the other riding toys. While he does enjoy the slide, the swings and the large plastic house, he mostly just wants to sit on or in the police vehicles.

Another Halloween Parade

We took Carter to a little neighborhood kids parade this afternoon (the kind for walking, not watching). It was just a short walk through the neighborhood, ending at a playground at the school down the street from our house. Carter walked most of the way (we brought up the rear since he has a hard time staying on task, but we were proud of how far he walked).

The parade was a good excuse to try out his Halloween costume. He did a better mummy walk a couple of months ago when he was less steady on his feet, but he can still make it work!

Okay People

Several new postings below for your viewing pleasure. Just so you know, complaining isn't really the way to get new posts out of us. We like praise, flattery - and candy.

House Pics

Here it is!

The outside of the house

Carter running outside of the house

The front door to the house

The garage

A bit of the deck outside of the house (including the fence that Thomas put up last weekend, and that I sanded and sanded...)

Want to see the inside of the house? Come visit!

The inside won't be ready for blog viewing for, oh, probably a year or so...

Recent Boy Pics

At Piedmont Park with Aunt Ashley

Playing in a puddle at the Halloween parade
More puddle fun
Playing in a freshly swept leaf pile

Miscellaneous

At the Halloween parade (Carter is pant-less due to the earlier puddle-play).

Fun time with leaves on the deck.

Culture Shock: Halloween Parade

Yesterday, we hit the Halloween parade in Little Five Points. For the last several years, we've been going to the Village Halloween parade in Manhattan. Let me just give you four little reasons why Atlanta's parade is WAY better than Manhattan's (at least for us).

Here's what Atlanta's Halloween parade has going for it:

1 - The Atlanta parade is in the day time - and it is NOT on Halloween day.

2 - In Atlanta, they throw CANDY at the parade (err, they also throw condoms and other assorted things - but the point is - you get takeaways!).

3 - In Atlanta, you can actually SEE the parade.

4 - At the Atlanta parade, there are sanctioned beer vendors.

In Case You Were Wondering...

Organic Whole Milk combined with Target Authentic Genuine Real Faux Leather-ette produces an odor that would likely be considered...unpleasant...in many social circles.

P.S. Used bath water does not help the aforementioned odor. At all.

New Career Ambition

Just a small sample of Carter's newest talent...photography. While we were playing on the deck and I decided to get a few photos of the cuteness, he couldn't not participate and actually took the camera, held it to his face and tried to press buttons. These are a progression of his attempts (with me attempting to hold the camera steady so he could actually press the button, which he did!).


And since photos of my face are not exactly why you are reading the blog, here is me showing off my talent with the camera (though it could never compare to Elizabeth's).

Carter Likes Moving

Can you find the ring in the photo?

We were most distressed last weekend, when newlywed Patrick misplaced his wedding ring. We turned the house (and many cardboard boxes) upside down looking for it. We retraced our steps. We kept asking Patrick (apparently frustrating) questions like "When do you usually take it off?" and "Where do you usually put it when you take it off?". Patrick's unfaltering response was "I don't KNOW. I've only had it for a WEEK!"

After Patrick & Kirstin returned to NY, Thomas found the ring. Right out in the open. As Kirstin put it "the easiest thing we never found."

The ring is really very cool. It's made of wood, and they plant a tree for every ring you buy. We sure are glad he didn't lose it!

Silly Girl Pics

Since Joo asked for them, here are some "silly pics of us girls" the night before Patrick & Kirstin's wedding. Really, how hard is it to take a decent picture?

More Wedding Pics

The bride and groom!

Wedding Pics

At long last, here are some wedding pictures!!

Culture Shock: USPS

I had to go to the post office this morning. Upon entering the vestibule, I spied the Automated Postal Center (always a blessing in my NYC post office experiences), and I thought to myself, "Excellent! If I am lucky enough to find the kind of envelope I need inside, I can prepare my package (with the pen I brought for myself), dash back out here and skip the (likely) huge, before-work line, assuming that the Automated Postal Center is working, which is probably 50/50!"

Then, I stepped into most clean, well-lighted post office I have seen in a very, very long time. I marveled at the well stocked forms and envelopes, the clear signage, the complete lack of lines, the post office supply store (tended by a cashier!), the lovely (also empty) passport office with chairs for the customers, and the incredible helpfulness of the employees.

Best post office experience ever.

(On another note, one day this weekend we were tempted into stopping for ice cream by a restaurant that was hyping the frozen treat on their signage. We realized upon exiting that the other side of the sign also advertised gizzards as a tempting option...)

To Tide You Over...

...until we get our camera up and running: click here to see pics of Patrick and Kirstin's visit to Atlanta this weekend! Yes, they did spend the first weekend after their wedding visiting us and helping us unpack. We are so grateful! It was really fun to see them and to explore our new town with them. Although, they can probably attest that you shouldn't really trust your hosts directions if they've been locals for less than a week...

IOU

Sorry we've been so out of touch. We know that we owe you pics from Patrick & Kirstin's wedding, details on the move and the new house, update on our contact info, and tales from Patrick and Kirstin's visit this weekend.

Here's the short version: we're here, our stuff is here, we still have lots to unpack, but we're both back to work, Carter loves his nanny and our house is pretty great. I promise to post more on all of the above when we get a little time (and when we uncover the camera and cords).

Expect an email from us in the next day or so with our new contact info!