A year in photos

I have recently been working on a photo book for 2010.  This is something I do every year to capture the memories of our family from that year.  Since I don't have actual prints of any of my pictures, it's a nice and very easy way to keep memories.  I'd get into the world of scrapbooking if it wasn't totally overwhelming to me.  I envy those who take the time to do it and are good at it!  Props to you.  Photo books are just easier for me since we have literally thousands and thousands of pictures on our computers.  With so many photos to chose from, it's hard to narrow them down to fit into just one book.  So, I wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures from 2010 that are dear to my heart.

Ready for some cuteness overload?

{a surprise announcement in a giant fortune cookie that we are expecting}

{Jamie's dad playing music with Steve Riley}

My how things have changed in just one year.

Christmas in NY

We are finally back home.  The trip was filled with non-stop fun.  We were fortunate enough to go with a great group of friends, who also happen to be coworkers of Jamie.  Works out very nicely!  So, let's start from the beginning...

The flight.  As you know, I am terrified of flying.  Terrified.  I'm just one of those paranoid people who think that everything that could go wrong on the plane, will.  I hate taking off, I'm a little better during the flight, and I'm even better as we land.  I brought one of Grayson's little tractors with me and held gripped it during all of the flights, which put me a little more at ease.  It was so hard leaving Gray.  I cried the night before, and I woke up crying the day we left.  It's incredibly hard for us to be away from him for that long.  Four nights is a long time without my baby.  Knowing he was in good hands certainly helped, and it definitely makes it exciting to come back home to reality.  We brought G-man back a toy airplane that makes real noises and lights up.  When I say he hasn't put that toy down, I mean it.  He even slept with it last night.  Oh, the little things.

So, I'm 7 and a half months pregnant.  You might think that it would slow me down, but not this girl.  I am proud to say, I kept up with the group {in high heels all the while}, and had a blast doing it.  We ended up getting a driver to drive us around in a very luxurious Cadillac Escalade the whole time we were there.  He also happened to be a driver to celebrities.  It's nice knowing people who know people!  We always luck out like that.  He has recently been Reggie Bush's driver, just to give you an idea.  His name was Vaughn and he was as cool as a fan.  FYI, getting a driver is the way to go.  He drove us wherever we wanted, and would wait on us the whole time.  Talk about feeling like a celebrity!

Vaughn!  The best {and fastest} driver in NYC!

We didn't actually get to do very much sight-seeing, but we did do a lot.  Another very special part of the trip I will always hold dear to me was that we decided on the baby's name while we were there.  I can't wait to share it with you, but you'll have wait for that post!  Like I'm just going to tell you right now!  Come on;)

A few scenes from NY.

{our hotel}

We are very fortunate to be able to do things like this, and we enjoyed every New York minute of it.  But as I said, we are thrilled to be back home as a family.  Being so far away definitely puts things in perspective as to what is really important in life.  So, until next time, goodbye New York.  Hello home sweet home.

Nola weekend

Despite it being Decadence weekend in New Orleans, we had a wonderful time celebrating Labor Day weekend.  New Orleans is such a magical place, and I'm glad we got to share with Grayson for the frist time.  I have to admit, I was a little nervous about taking him, but it worked out perfectly.

Our hotel was right on the river.  Gray spent most of his time watching the boats.

He also loved the trolleys.

Don't worry, this picture was taken from inside our vehicle.  We were trying to get to a restaurant and thought driving down this street was a good idea.  It wasn't.

We took Gray to the Audubon Zoo.  We got to ride a choo-choo, see lots of interesting animals, and ride a carousel.  

Sorry about the lovely booty shot, but that's how this elephant was standing.  He was actually scratching his foot on the side wall.  

Hope you had a happy, happy Wednesday.  I sure did.  Bought lots of pink stuff!

Life's a Beach

We are finally back home after 2 weeks in Florida!  We had a wonderful time, but I must say, I am so glad to be home.  We spent a little over a week in Destin with my family and then got to spend the rest of our vacay in Seaside.  It rained and rained and rained some more, but it turned out to be quite relaxing.  The only downside is I am still white as a ghost.  There were tar balls at the beaches in Destin, but the beaches in Seaside were as beautiful as ever.

Here is what we did:

This was our humble adode in Seaside.

Of course, we spend a lot of time in Grayton Beach.

This is still my favorite house in the area right in Grayton.  Remember last year when my husband said he would buy it for me one day?  Well, I'm still holding him to his promise!

We ate at the Red Bar a lot.  The best food around if you ask me.  Great breakfast, lunch, and dinner!  And the best atmosphere.  I believe this picture was taken when Gray was throwing one of his tantrums. Can't you see it in my face?

We went to Grayton State Park and took a few pics.  It is a beautiful beach with lots of dunes.

Collie and Gray.  Yes, my son recently started calling me Collie because that's what Jamie calls me.  And it absolutely melts my heart and cracks me up everytime he does it.

Happy campers.

We also celebrated the 4th.

The weather started out beautiful, but ended up raining.  We left the concert early, but fortunately the fireworks were still on.

On the morning of the 4th, they had a cute little parade along 30-A.

We ate lots of yummy pizza.  Lots.

Jamie got to meet the Dogs of 30-A.  They had just released the book, and all the dogs featured in the book were there.  This dog's name was Grayson.

We also rode our bikes, ate, hung out with JT, ate, relaxed, shopped, and ate some more.  We had a fabulous time.  Grayson had the most fun I think.  Of course, he spotted the toy store with all the cars and trains so he spent a lot of time in there.  We spent a lot of time dragging him out kicking and screaming (Grayson, not us).  But he got about 15 new cars out of the deal, so I think it worked in his favor.  

I also started and finished a book!  A really good book called "Gods in Alabama."  The author had been in the Seaside bookstore the day before I bought the book.  One down, 2 to go!  I think I can handle that.

We got in our family picture which is now a tradition.  I think it turned out perfect even though we had planned to take it on the beach.  

Since I wasn't able to blog (which has been killing me!), I want to wish everybody a late, but Happy 4th of July.  Thanks to all the brave soldiers who defend us and our freedom!  

Now I am going to finish catching up on laundry.  Have a safe and happy weekend!