Pops, pumpkins, & plenty o' pictures

Whew! We've had a lot of excitement lately. First off, here are some pictures from the baby shower we helped host last weekend taken by my very talented friend Jessica Arnold. These aren't even the serious "let's take some pictures" pictures. Yes, she will do those type pictures for you, and they will be fantastic. If you need her contact info (and trust me, you do), just ask me.

Probably the highlight of the weekend was meeting Brent and Josh, a.k.a. The Fabulous Beekman Boys, at their book signing at Williams-Sonoma. While I was on maternity leave, I discovered their show on Planet Green. It is about them giving up their lives in New York to try to "make it" on a farm they bought in Sharon Springs, New York known as the Beekman Estate. The farm is gorgeous -- with a house (mansion, really) built in 1802 -- and lots of goats and farminess. Brent is a doctor and was Vice-President of Martha Stewart's Healthy Living. Josh is an advertising executive. They started with goat's milk soap, moved on to goat cheese, and now have tons of Beekman 1802 products, one of which is an heirloom cookbook.

So while Annabel would nap in my arms in those early weeks of her life, I would follow the exploits of the city boys turned gentlemen farmers. Of course I was going to see them at Williams-Sonoma -- I could feel the soft stillness of my napping newborn just thinking about it. When we got there, I was grinning ear-to-ear. I felt like I knew these guys. And they were just as sweet in person. Josh said Annabel has my eyes, and she reached out to him, so he held her for some pictures. I had them sign a cookbook for her. It has to be weird to have people who have never met you feel like they know you and grin like idiots at you, but the guys were really gracious. Now, if only I could find time to cook their delicious recipes...

Let's see... what else... I took Annabel to the park. She loves the swing. I love to push her, so it works out well.

I traded out Annabel's infant carrier car seat for her big girl (but still rear-facing) convertible car seat. The weight limit on the carrier is 22 pounds, and since Annabel is one ounce over 20, I didn't want to push it. I'm really sad to be done with the carrier. It was so nice to let her continue to sleep by removing the carrier from the car, and my arms were getting pretty ripped from carrying 8 pounds of carrier and 20 pounds of baby. Now when she falls asleep in the car, I have to take her out of the car seat and carry her inside. It's going to take some getting used to.

Then we went to the third annual Grant Cove Cornhole Tournament, which for some reason, I failed to take pictures of. However, it was lots of fun. We were joking, as we watched nearly as many toddlers as adults wander around, how our parties have changed. We still have a good time, but we have to be home by 8!

And today, we had a lovely brunch at Manuel's. I ordered food for the first time ever for Annabel. She had a ball making a crazy mess with her biscuit. Then we went to the King of Pops Field Day. The King of Pops is a guy who got laid off from AIG and started a handcrafted popsicle business. He had a little push-cart and sold on the corner of North Avenue and Highland. Now he has locations in Atlanta, Asheville, and Charleston. His flavors are off the hook. For example, at the Field Day, you got three free tickets, which could be redeemed for pops or games. Fox and I are no suckers -- we went straight for pops. Fox had grapefruit hibiscus, banana pudding, and cookies and cream. I had chocolate peppermint, pear vanilla, and key lime pie. They were amazing. Annabel mostly slept in the stroller. We did make time for some silly photos.

Then, we went to a pumpkin patch and went crazy with photos. October, I wish you would never end.

Tune in next time to find out if I was able to clean the house and pull the costumes together for Fox-O-Ween V: Electric Boo-galoo.

It's fall, y'all

October is here, and boy do I love it. October says, "Summer is over -- fall is in full swing." Everything is pumpkin flavored, the oppressive heat is gone, football is everywhere, and scary movies pervade television. I start thinking about costumes with panic. The holidays seem just around the corner. I spend more time outside. And we always head to Knoxville.


We forewent our season tickets this year in light of a.) Annabel and b.) the lack-luster home schedule. The SEC has a rule that everyone, regardless of age, must have a ticket. This puts a damper (or maybe more accurately, a price tag) on bringing an infant to games. However, we couldn't make it a season without at least one game. So we chose the Georgia game.



We had a blast taking Annabel around campus. We took numerous pictures in front of the Torchbearer. We showed her Humanities Plaza. We showed her several Tailgates. We took her to the University Center. I ate my favorite Knoxville treat, a Petro, in front of her.


Unfortunately, the game was a night game. So, Fox went to the game with a friend, and I took Annabel to my Aunt Ann's house for dinner and sleeping. My aunt had not gotten to see Annabel since she was two months old, so she was in for a major treat. I haven't told you yet, but three days after my last blog post, Annabel took off crawling. She was just sitting on the floor with her toys, Owen walked by, and she took off after him. I don't know who was most surprised (I know who was most terrified -- Owen). She's been all over the place ever since. She's superfast, and she giggles the entire time she crawls. So needless to say, she is really fun to play with now, and my aunt was amazed at how much she's grown and changed in seven short months.




We also got to see our good friends the Mortons. Auntie Ann graciously watched Annabel (during NAP time even!) so we could all go have a nice grown-up brunch together at Sunspot. The Mortons then got their Annabel on. She showed Keith all her toys and even displayed her cat-chasing skills on Ann's cat Babette. One day she is going to catch a cat and have no idea what to do with it.

Last weekend, Annabel and I went to a swell pumpkin-carving party. Let me tell you, it is way harder to carve a pumpkin with a baby. Though it was done hurriedly and distractedly, I'm still pretty proud of my creepy coffin creation.

Annabel is showing lots of interest in being outside, and I'm encouraging it as much as I can. We're really enjoying Aunt Jordan's sweet castle swing set (even Banjo gets in on the action). Bless her heart though, she got my irresistible-to-mosquitoes gene. Every time we are outside, she gets at least one giant bite (on the plus side, I'm getting bitten less -- I feel mean for even saying that, but it's true). Ahem.. changing the subject. Speaking of Banjo, four years ago today we adopted him from the Humane Society. Yay! Please adopt pets.

So, there you have it. Tomorrow, Annabel will be nine months old. NINE MONTHS. Three fourths of a year. The last single digit month birthday. Boom!