karaspeak

Apparently Mom and Dad didn't get enough of an Aiden fix over his birthday weekend, as they called us the week after and said they were ready for a weekend for him to come play again before they started back to school in August. So, needless to say, after a birthday weekend that WIPED US OUT, we were more than happy to oblige their request and soak up some much needed rest in advance of the coming school year. We were planning to spend the weekend at our house, but at the last minute decided to head down to Atlanta to hang out with some friends for some good old-fashioned F-U-N!

So, we dropped Aiden off Friday morning then completed the rest of our trek down to the ATL. We spent the afternoon in the Virginia Highlands at Rabun's new (but old) condo while Nate caught up on some work, then went down to Neighbor's for a quick snack before watching some Tour de France and getting ready for dinner. For dinner, we headed to Murphy's for some good wine and great food. We all got different plates so we could have a little of this and a little of that and enjoyed some great conversation. Walked back and crashed hard....it'd been a long day!

Saturday morning Nate and I got up early and went for a run around the area. It was fun, but cars in ATL do NOT like runners on their roads, so we were stuck on the terrible sidewalks meandering around various types (and smells) of people. Interesting, but hey, we did it. We picked up Rabun and headed to Belly for morning coffee and chat. Good place. A type of General Store if you will. Lots of candy. Fun and laid back environment. Wanted to bury my hands in the apothecary jars full of candy. After getting cleaned up, we were off to brunch at Rosebud, which was amazing. Incredible food and nice, urban feel.

Time for girl things. Drove up to Perimeter Mall for some time with Meghan that afternoon while the boys did their thing. After getting Meghan some much needed gas at Costco (she as litterally an E when she picked me up), we hopped in for a quick Trader Joe's TWO BUCK CHUCK stop, then were off to get pedicures. The BEST pedicure I have had. Ever. Really. And it was also the cheapest. I couldn't believe how much detail and time they took and was pleasantly surprised at the entire experience. Awesome. Wish it was around my corner, too.

It was off to dinner, the dinner I'd been looking forward to since Thursday. PURE! All I can say about this place is WOW. I certainly wish they had one in my neck of the woods. I think Westhaven needs one for sure. This hot spot had a 2 hour wait at 7 pm. Yes, two hours at 7:00! While we debated leaving, one sip of these phenomenal margaritas changed all of our minds in an instant. We were seated in less than an hour, but only after being treated to people watching worth paying for. This dinner spot is like watching a real like episode (or two) of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, only they're all white. It was so funny to take in the people-watching affair and enjoy the environment followed by the great food. One night to remember, for sure!

Off to bed for an early trek home in the morning. We were on the road by 6:30 am (Central time) and when we got in stopped for a great Sunday Brunch at Puckett's...one I will be sure to revisit very soon. Excellent food as usual at this local joint. After being fully satisfied by a fun weekend and great food, we decided we deserved a nap, so we took the first nap (together) that we've probably taken since Aiden was born. And it was THREE HOURS LONG. Yes, three glorious hours of nap time. A-mazing. I won't soon forget that time. Dinner plans with Jamie and Kevin got us out of bed in time to get ready, then we enjoyed more great food and a nice challenging game of Uno where the women dominated. This scenario is typical, so don't get too excited. We just generally rock.

So, there it is, a nice couple's weekend away. Though we were desperate to see our boy the next day! Monday couldn't have come soon enough, but come it did...and there he was. We both swear he had grown since leaving him on Friday, but maybe we just missed him so much we dreamed it up. Love this little dude and enjoy him so much after a weekend refresher. I'm sure he had a blast with Mimi and PopPop. Oh, I wish he could tell me his stories, too! :) One day. Not too far off I imagine and that will be all too much a reality. The family is intact once more and here we go to finish out July. More than halfway done with 2009. What will the rest have in store for us? Who knows. But what I do know is that fun is not far from any of it.


My man and me at Pure.

Nate and Parker, and their matching JL belts. How cute!

My Megs and me on the porch at Pure. And her with Rabun and Park.

These two might be long lost brothers. Two crazy peas in a pod.

Posing at REI. Random, but true.

Happy times with the hubs. And Rabun giving us his meanest thumbs up.

This week was really wild and crazy, which we knew it would be before it even began. After getting Aiden back from a weekend away with Mimi and Pops on Monday, work was nutso for both Nathan and I and we had company coming into town for the party beginning Wednesday. All the items for the party were pretty much complete, except for the cake, which masterful cake-decorator Mom had to handle. She arrived Wednesday and provided Nate and I some space to spend some time together for our anniversary, which we share with Aiden's birthday.

We exchanged gifts previously in the day, which is always fun...to see your thoughts and time spent ogling over gifts finally come through their expressions. Ironically enough, we both gave each other watches, guess that growing together thing really is true. I always enjoy seeing Nate's softer side come out when it comes to the heart he puts into his gifts. It shows he really does listen to all the random stuff I say, even if most of it is jibberish. To top it off we were able to spend the evening out together and enjoyed a great Mexican meal @ LaPaz for dinner (can't get enough Mexican food!).

Friday was spent preparing for the Saturday festivities, mostly decorating the cake, which took a long time...like 6 hours long! Thankfully, we had mom doing that part, while the rest of us played pass the baby with Aiden. It was adventurous, but we got it all done, thankfully! Jessica arrived that afternoon and she and Nate went downtown while I helped finish things up at the house and got ready for a little bit of rest before the par-doo!

The next morning was wild and crazy, too...a lot of drama insued while putting everything together for the festivities to begin at 11, the most interesting being I cut my finger open while working with some sprinkles (for the kids to decorate cupcakes) and passed out! So, that was fun and exciting. Luckily, the cut was deep, but stitches may or may not have made a difference, so I just taped it up and kept going. Thankfully we were able to still get everything done in time before the guests arrived. Whew! What a whirlwind.

To accompany our "safari" themed party, we had a "tiger belly" moonbounce, safari printed balloons on the fence posts, monkeys hanging in the trees, hula skirts on the tables, and safari printed placemats. It was so fun. We had a great layout of really good food...chicken salad, hummus, pita, a killer fruit and cheese platter, seven layer dip and guacomole, sweet dreams cookies, and of course, cake! A monkey cake to be exact! We had a cupcake decorating station for the kids, and that was their little take home party favor. They put them in brown boxes (think Sprinkles) and got an awesome sticker that said, "Thank you for making my first birthday so sweet! Aiden." They were really fun and cute take-aways.

It's really hard to believe a year has passed us by without a blip on the map it seems. I keep saying I don't know where it went, and I really don't. I can't quite figure out how we got from birth to this walking, talking, happy, laughing, giggling, exploring, creative, I could go on....little guy. He is the most special thing in the world and I cannot imagine loving anyone any more than I love him. I have the two best boys in the world in my life every single day and I love every minute of it. Though it makes me sad I now have a "toddler" as opposed to a "baby" Aiden, I am so excited to see him learn and grow and see life with new and fresh eyes. He is my sweet and special little one. Happy Birthday! Oh yeah, and happy four years, Baby!

Let them eat MONKEY cake! So fun...and of course, he LOVED it!

The tiger belly moonwalk and my curious little man.

The food....and the cookies! Yummy!

These dudes grew mustaches for the party. Why? Not sure exactly. Whatever.


Aiden's first bike! So fun...and he loves it!

This weekend, my mom and dad decided they needed to spend some QT with Aiden, so Thursday morning, Nate and I drove to Cookeville to meet them for a down home breakfast at the good 'ol Cracker Barrel. It was quite yummy and I think Aiden really enjoyed taking all the toys off the shelves about as much as he did eating breakfast.

After dropping him off, Nate and I headed back home to wrap up work and spend some time at the pool before heading to Green Hills for dinner with Brian at Sunset Grill. He's just moved here from Charlotte to work at Deloitte and it was fun showing him the Hillsboro Village area of Nashville, which is essentially around the corner from where he lives. Every time I head down there, I reminisce of my college days and how frequently we used to visit these spots within walking distance of the apartment. Always a fun time.

Friday was a short visit to the pool followed by lots of errands we'd had on our list. The day wrapped up with a visit to Arrington Vineyard for their wine tasting and jazz night along with Taylor, Rachel, and several other folks in need of good imbibement. Good times and a beautiful night!



Saturday was a bit more pool time and more errands before heading downtown to try and catch the Fireworks. On our way down, it began to POUR and they went ahead and started the fireworks early...so we saw them all from the car, then got stuck in about an hour of traffic. We'd planned to hit up Bricktops for our celebratory dinner, but missed the boat on that as they decided to close early! What?!? So, off to Jackson's for a late night meal. Back home and a plan to rest Sunday.

That resting thing didn't really happen as we remembered we needed to clean house and mow before we picked up the boy, so we did all that and then headed on our way to pick him up. We had dinner at Olive Garden and boy, do I love that bread and salad. I always forget that since I never go there. So good.

We enjoyed our time alone and getting to do a lot of errands and chores, while getting to pretend we're a young single couple without kids, but we missed our boy terribly. It's always such a joy to get him back, but know both he and I have had a great time on our own. It's nice to have a break every now and then, and catch up on the sleep we never get. :) The joys of this boy! I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Happy Fourth! Four years of marriage and a BIG ONE YEAR mark are right around the corner. Such a fun time of year for our little family!!