In the ATL

For those of you who don't know we are in Atlanta this week with Scott. We left New Orleans yesterday and spent the night in Montgomery, Alabama then drove on into Atlanta this morning. The daylight savings time change then moving into Eastern Time threw us off so we made it in a little later than planned but safe and sound and they even had our hotel room ready so we could check in early. Scott went straight off to work so Chance and I set up the hotel room and now he is supposed to be napping but he keeps climbing out of the Pack-N-Play that the hotel provided. Hopefully he goes to sleep soon. Since we are without a pack-n-play and he is almost too talk for one anyway last night Chance slept on the couch. I made sure to get a suite, since we were using our Hilton Honors points it didn't cost anything extra so Chance would have his own place to sleep. This is the first time he has slept anywhere that wasn't his bed or a pack-n-play. We took the cushions from the back of the couch and put them in front of the couch to make a soft landing in case he did roll out in the night. At first he wasn't super excited about the idea. But after a couple times of putting him back to bed he fell asleep and didn't wake up the whole night.
Our hotel here in Atlanta is right downtown only a block to work for Scott and two blocks from the Cenntenial Olympic Park and Aquarium (which is free, we are definitely going there this week) so we have plenty of places to explore plus we are meeting up with Aunt jenny one day this week to go to the Botanical Gardens. The internet here at the hotel is fast and free so I will keep you all updated on our adventures this week.

Birthday Party

Today we went to Sophia's birthday party. Sophia and her Mom Erica have been in our group for a while now and today Sophia turned 2 years old. This is the first time we have shopped for a present and actually been around for the recipient to open it. Chance was great and after I explained it to him in the store a few days ago he seemed happy to give the present to Sophia and that it wasn't his. Today he had a great time playing with all the "new" toys and the little kids at the party. It was funny to be in their house because Sophia is such a girly girl everything is pink and purple. Sophia would put her Barbie doll in the Barbie Dream Car and Chance would drive it around. Sophia's Dad though collects matchbox cars so there is a glass case in the front room with cars still in their boxes, the really rare ones. It only took Chance a minute to spot those but there were plenty more (not in the case) ones to play with plus I always carry a couple on me. I think Chance had the most fun looking through one of those big coffee table size books for collectors of matchbox cars telling you how much they are worth. He loves cars and books so much he just looked through the whole thing for a while and then would go back to it periodically throughout the time we were there. Sorry these pictures are go grainy I had my camera on a weird setting that did not lend itself well to these indoor photos. Picture #1 was taken by Erica's Mom then picture #2 is the little guy wanting a lift and picture # 3 is Sophia and Chance playing with the new toys Sophia just opened. That dress is too cute.

Petting Zoo

On the way to the official petting area they had some other animals out to pet so we were able to pet a ferret, a snake and a big spiky lizard. Chance was very brave and gentle when petting all those new animals. He is a pro at the petting zoo. He ran in through the gates while I was putting our backpack in a cubby for safe keeping (our lunch was inside). Chance went right over to one of the goats and patted him very gently on his back then he squealed and laughed and jumped up and down. He went over to another goat and patted him then did his little dance again. He did this with nearly every goat and sheep in the area(picture 1 and 2 with Haley from our group). One sheep was eating some straw and Chance just watched and watch pointing at his tongue and teeth He seemed to be amazed that the sheep had teeth just like him (picture # 3). There was one little goat that came over to me when I leaned down to get on Chance's level and started licking my arm (picture # 4). I guess he liked the taste of sunscreen because he licked and licked my whole arm. Chance thought it was very funny. He probably would have stayed in the petty zoo area for a while longer but it was getting warm and late so we walked around to see the monkeys and then before we got out the gate Chance climbed on the dinosaur in the last picture. They have a dinosaur exhibit starting on the 14th of this month so we will have to come back and see what that is all about. It shouldn't be a problem since both Chance and I really like the zoo.

Zoo

We went to the Zoo today with our playgroup. We did a lot of new things at the Zoo that we have never done before. First we went on the Merry-Go-Round. Ok to be truthful I had been on a Merry-Go-Round before but this was Chance's first time. At first he did not want to sit on the horse so I held him and we stood next to the horse until it got going around then he sat on the horse and had a good time going around and around. It was hard to get a good picture of him on the horse because I didn't want to let go of him though he sat up straight and held on tight. We rode one more time because we accidentally bought two tickets. I didn't know you only pay for kids and the adults are free so I asked for two tickets. The second time around Chance didn't want to sit on an animal at all he wanted to go SEE the animals so we sat on one of the benches which was just fine. After the Merry-Go-Round we went to the petting area of the zoo which filled up Chances need to see animals.

Old Pictures

I have been working on scanning in a bunch of old pictures that I found in boxes not too long ago. Most of them are of my and my sister when we were younger but there are some of Mom and Dad and some friends. If you are interested in looking them over please feel free. I labeled them as best I could with names and some places. I only added dates if the date was listed on the back of the photo.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/qemorio/sets/72157614806809330/

Music Playdate

We had another music playdate at our house today. Chance is usually standoffish with other little kids in the beginning especially new kids that he doesn't know. He gets along well with them and isn't mean but he usually keeps to himself for a while till he warms up to the room. Well, not today. There was a new little girl that we had never met before, Sophia and Chance took right ot her. First, he ran to his room and got a car then ran back out and gave it to her. I couldn't believe he had done that. I thanked him and told him what a good job he did sharing but that wasn't all. Later he tried to give her a hug which he never ever does. He was being so sweet and nice to her. After we did our music they sat in his Cars chair together and Chance showed Sophia how to play the Bass. He would pluck a string and then wait for her to pluck one. It was sooooooo cute. He has never done this with any other little girl or boy it was fun to watch them together. And a great introduction for the new Mom and Sophia into the playgroup. At least they know that they get along with the other people in the group.

Shovel to good use

For Christmas Chance got a shovel and rake that are just his size. We have not been able to use them until today because the weather has been so off and on. Today it was still chilly this morning but by the afternoon it was ok to go out in the yard, so we did. They go the new fence up behind the house so Chance and I took our shovels around to replace some of the dirt that had been moved around during fence construction. Chance drags his shovel behind him to get over to where he wants to be but once he got it over to the back fence he was actually helpful moving the dirt.

Bass Pro Shop/Outdoor World

I love camping. We used to go all the time when I was little and I just loved it. Scott? Not so much and although he is a good sport about it we haven't gone very much together. Actually I think we went once not counting the days we hiked the Appilachian Trail in 11 years. Anyway, I want to take Chance because he loves the outdoors and I think (hope) will like camping too. So, we (I) have decided that this spring we are going to go camping. It will be awesome! With that in mind we have to buy a tent. The tents we would have bought in the past are not going to work this time around given that we will need space for Chance but he is not old enough for his own tent so we are looking for something much larger than we would have ever gotten before. This is leading us on a search for the best type or price tent we can get. I had heard of Bass Pro Shop/Outdoor World stores actually there is on in Florida I had passed by a couple times but had never been inside. I look them up online and the closest one to us was Baton Rouge and since we are always looking for day trip places to go it was perfect. The best way I can think of to discribe this place is Disney World for the Outdoor Man and by outdoor I don't mean "i like to go to the park," I mean "I like to hunt/fish, Sportsman's Paradise." It was amazing and disturbing all at the same time. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face no matter what was putting it there. Chance really liked it though. There were clothes and boats and grilling gear. They have an indoor pond with real fish and ducks and a racoon living in a shack on an island in the pond. The elevator is glass and lowers into a fish tank so when you get on you are in the tank with the fish (hope that makes sense). All of the columns are decorated to be trees with stuffed birds on the branches and bears and deer and all kinds of other animals all over the place. They also have guns and bows and rows and rows of fishing gear. I was supprised and a bit disappointed by the small amount of camping gear they had but the experience was worth it anyway. I was making fun of myself because with all the hunting gear around I was telling Chance to pet the (stuffed) ducks when we would pass them in the cart, which I don't think is what that place is all about. All-in-all if you need sportsman outdoor things then this is the place for you, if you are looking for more "evniromentally friendly" ways of visiting the outdoors maybe not but it was a fun day trip. Pictures 1 & 2 are us on our way to Baton Rouge, Picture 3 Chance is pointing up at picture 4 and you can see in pictures 4 and 5 what I like and then what I don't like about this place.

Prince Charming

These pictures were taken by Scott at Storyland on Saturday. He added the effects too. The first one is Chance with Rapunzel and the second is him with Sleeping Beauty. These pictures are too cute. He is a little prince charming too, he is super nice to all the little girls. The weather is crazy here, It was short sleeve time on Saturday morning and now it is so cold I have to keep my feet off the floor of the house because we don't really have insulation under the wood floors. Anyway it is freezing here and I feel bad for everyone living to the North East of us because it doesn't sound like good things are coming your way.

Fun at Storyland

On Saturday we went to Storyland at City Park with our playgroup. Scott was able to come with us and Chance had a great time wondering all over with him while I was able to spend more time talking to the other Moms. It was beautiful weather in the morning as you can see we all have on short sleeves but by the evening it was freezing and by that I mean it was in the lower 50's. Chance was also really brave while we were at storyland. There is a small slide which he went on last time we were there but this time Chance was ready for the big slide and he wanted to go all by himself. He climbed all the way to the top and slid all the way down with just a little help at the bottom so he didn't fall off the end. It was a long way up there, his hair was blowing in the wind on the way down but he had a smile on his face and as soon as he got to the bottom he ran around to do it again. I'm a day off with my updates but I will try to get caught up today. We will see.