Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day

Tracey's Family Birthday Trip to the Georgia Aquarium

All Tracey wanted for her birthday was a trip to the Georgia Aquarium with her family. Jess granted her that wish by taking the day off and packing her and Carswell up for a trip into Atlanta for the day. After lunch downtown, the three of us headed through the Olympic Park toward the Aquarium. It was a beautiful day...

Thankfully, we went to the Aquarium on a Wednesday after lunch, so the crowds were sparse. We were able to take our time visiting all the exhibit halls. Carswell's favorite friends were the penguins who thought they could swim right out to her...she thought the could too.

Other favorite spots in the Aquarium were the Sea Otters and Beluga Whales, as well as the Tropical Reef. Carswell. also spent a lot of time in front of the window in the Ocean Wonders exhibit, but nothing made her crack up as much as her penguin friends. It was a wonderful day!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! WELCOME 2007

Carswell says: HAPPY NEW YEAR!Come on, I mean seriously, how ridiculously cute is she? She's definitely got Mommy and Daddy right where she wants them...

Carswell's First Christmas

We spent our first Christmas as a family our own home. Our plans to go to Camilla were postponed since Mimi had the flu. We went to Christmas Eve mass together, celebrated with a Christmas Eve meal, and then went and looked at the Christmas Lights at Sandy Creek Park...which captivated Carswell. We spent Christmas day with Tracey's family.Needless to say, Carswell was oblivious to all the hoopla associated with Christmas, but she was a delight to watch crawl around in the paper under the tree.

While up and her knees, rocking back and forth, and doing the backward crawl, she was still learning at this time how to put together all the parts required in a forward crawl. She had it by New Years day...

Pictures with Santa

Carswell had her first pictures with Santa taken at Daycare and with her cousin Brooke at the Junior League Marketplace. Thankfully, she wasn't too freaked out by the man in the big red suit. I am sure that will come next year.

Cousin Devin

Carswell's cousin Devin Hendrick Coetzee was born on October 6, 2007 weighing in at 6lbs 8oz. He is the son of Tracey's sister Beth and her husband Hannes.While Carswell and Devin have not gotten to spend a lot of time together yet, we know that they will be good buddies growing up:

Furry Children and Carswell

Our two dogs, Camilla and Scarlett have been wonderful so far with Carswell. When we first came home, Scarlett was instantly interested and protective of Carswell...although, she does not reallyappreciate Carswell trying to climb all over her. Camilla, on the other hand, could have cared less about Carswell's arrival. But now, she can not get enough of Carswell and will sit patiently while Carswell climbs, pulls, and rolls all over her. She even encourages Carswell...they are great pals. Carswell thinks Camilla is funny:

First Experience With Solids

We finally gave Carswell her first solids when she was between 5 and 6 months old. As you can see, she didn't know exactly what to think at first....

However, as time went by, she figured out that it was all a good thing:

Exosaucer Time

Thank goodness for whoever invented the Exosaucer. If you do not have children and are considering having one, this is a necessity! Look how much Carswell enjoys her saucer time:

Halloween Butterfly

For her first Halloween, Carswell was a Pink Butterfly. She even got to go to her first Halloween party with some little friends. At day care, she got to go around to the classrooms and trick or treat. And that evening, Mom toted her around to a few neighbors so that she could get some candy for Daddy. Of course, she let us know her many moods of being a butterfly.

There was Flying Butterfly:

And Angry Butterfly: