In order to make up for the fact that we do not live at the beach and the little man loves the water, we decided to buy him a little pool for the backyard. He really loves it...loves to swim...
and stand up on a stool I put in there for him...
and in honor of our own NC native, Bucky Covington, he loves to drink from the garden hose!
or just spray it all over himself!
To celebrate Maria's 4th birthday (I can't believe she's 4!!) we all went to dinner at a wonderful (and authentically close to the heart of the family) restaurant called The Greek Isles in Charlotte. It was great fun and David even got to come, as did Popou and Lafata and most of Brandon's family.
Here is the little b-day girl...
and the boys awaiting the action (aka: the food!)
Finally the food arrived!
Here are the boys...Greek boys making their Yaya proud...munching on lamb chops and orzo!
Michael with his lamb chop!
Maria opening gifts...(what a great smile!)
Michael got to bond with great Popou...
and Lafata...
After dinner Michael, David and I went on a walk around the city. We even got to watch the commuter trains going back and forth...that was very interesting for Michael.
Here we are watching the approaching train...
And that was the end of the night...it was a lot of fun.
During the next few days Michael had some bonding time with daddy...
sharing kisses...
perfected the art of pointing (as inherited from his sister, the expert pointer!)
and spent some time checking out (and reorganizing) the entertainment center (as is one of his favorite pasttimes...guess it's time to improve the baby-proofing)!
Finally it was time for Maria's birthday party! The theme was "The Gold Rush". Alison made a beautiful (and delicious) treasure chest cake...
I have already enlisted her to make Michael's 1st cake!
Maria played ball with Michael...
Then it was time to head to the creek to "pan" for gold!
Wesley rode in style on the gator with his aunt Bree...
Michael rode in style on daddy's shoulder's...
and Maria arrived fashionably late with her entourage...
Finally it was time to start the hunt for gold...
Wesley got in on the action...
and so did Michael with help from daddy...
I think all the kids had a great time...there were even some parents getting knee deep in the water!
Then it was time for presents...
and cake...
Michael made a friend...
and then got some running time out on Alison and Brandon's huge driveway...
After the party he had some quality time with Yaya...
and then it was time to go home! It was really a great day, though. I think Maria had a great birthday, and her friends and family really enjoyed it too.
As a wonderful benefit of having Michael after Alison and Brandon have finished having children, we get lot's of great hand-me-downs. From clothes to toys, we have hardly needed to buy Michael anything.
One of the more recent gifts we got from them is this great car/walking toy that Michael loves...here he is trying it out (shortly after this picture he was literally running across his room with it!)
And finally, helping daddy fix dinner!
Tomorrow Michael and I are off to Gatlinburg to visit mom. I am so excited to see her and have her see Michael. But...it will be my first road trip alone with him so I am a little nervous! The trip is only 4 hours, but 4 hours is truly an eternity with a screaming baby in the backseat! Hopefully he will be good!
Then we will be home for a couple of days and then we are off to Colorado to vacation and (hopefully) see my newest nephew, Brandon, who is due in 9 days but I keep having nightmares he is going to wait to come until the day after we return home! The best part of this is that I will be (FINALLY) picking up Sheniah! I have missed her so much and can't wait to have her home with me again.
So it is a busy and fun filled few weeks here...will post again as able!
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