The Foxes Three: 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.