We had a great "Fall" weekend, and hope you did, too! Only a few trees are beginning to change color here in Georgia, as of yet.The weekend started out with a nice dinner at Houlihan’s on Friday night. Because I’m turning 30 on October 4th (yikes, I’m starting to hyper-ventilate, here), we got a coupon for a free dinner entrée.
(This picture was taken after church on Sunday)
On Saturday, we had a not so fun time at Olan Mills. Not because of Ava, but because of our "Debbie Downer" photographer. (Those of you who have seen the Debbie Downer skit on Saturday Night Live will catch my drift, here). Hoping to take our first professional family picture, we gussied-up and ventured out to the photography studio. (Please note: "gussying-up" does not happen frequently around these parts, with a little one's needs coming before perfectly-coiffed hair), so the extra-effort compounded our disappointment that the pictures didn't turn out.
(I swear we didn't pose her this way...
It's just that the shoes are too big and clunky
for her to move them).
The very young and flustered photographer was running an hour behind and not too positive from the minute we walked in the door. The photographer wasn't having a good day, to put it mildly. We pressed on, hoping to catch a smile of Ava's on film. Ava didn't smile too much, though, as I think she was freaked out by three people (Doug, myself and the non-smiley photographer) yelling and clapping in front of her, in hopes that she would smile. What's a little girl to do? We won't be going back to that studio, but hopefully will get that professional "family photo" sometime in the near future.Our friends Amy and Mark Hoffman agreed to babysit for us on Saturday night, so Doug and I could go out to celebrate my birthday with dinner at Stoney River. From what the Hoffmans told us, Ava did well with them. Ava fought going to sleep, but went to bed at 8, which is fairly typical. Amy was even able to rock her to sleep. This was good practice for the Hoffmans, who are expecting a little guy on Christmas Day!
We don't often frequent Stoney River, but for a special occasion. Doug had a coffee-cured steak and I had pecan-encrusted swordfish. Yum! The bread they offer before the meal is called "stoney puppies", which I imagine would be something like a beignet (a French doughnut). They serve this bread with sweet, whipped butter that is flavored with cinnamon. I was in heaven. :-) And they, too, offered something for free, because of the birthday. We got an almond-laced top hat dessert with fresh strawberries and blueberries, complete with a lit candle stuck right into the Haagen-Daz ice cream. As Rachel Ray would say: "Yum-o!"
Sunday evening Doug and friends surprised me with a party at the local park. I thought we were going to meet and have a picnic at the park, but little did I know it would be a birthday surprise! Walking up to the pavilion, I asked Doug "what are the balloons for?" When I looked over at him, he had a Cheshire cat-grin on his face, so I figured it out at that point. :-) As we walked up, everyone sang "Happy Birthday". Thanks to all of our friends who made the night special. Melissa Baillairge made TWO (yes, two!) cakes. The Hoffmans decorated with balloons and streamers. It was very sweet. And the weather was PERFECT for hanging-out outside. Thanks, guys!
I'm allowed to celebrate all week, right? ;-)With love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava
P.S.-Wish me luck... today is Ava's six month appointment, complete with immunizations! :-(
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