Important phone calls

Tonight was a phone night for me. I got to talk to two of my favorite people in the whole world. But, that means that my normal blogging time was delayed. So now I'm too tired to post all the things I wanted to talk about ... instead I'm just going to make a list of what I want to blog about tomorrow night: new hair, picture of Cai sleeping, pictures from Kissen's camera, cute Allen sleeping story (think singing), video of what a zebra says, sightseeing tips for Atlanta (seeking, not giving), and any other random cuteness or nightmares that happen in the next 24 hours.

Sorry to bore you with my list, but otherwise how am I supposed to remember everything I want to tell ya'll?

xoxo,




P.S. Photo courtesy of my ridiculously awesome niece Aubrey (thanks sweetie).

Set for Life

It was like Christmas here today ... which for those of you who know us is a strange statement for me to make, since we don't actually celebrate Christmas. But some fabulous family members, who we only get to see at most once a year, sent some lovely gifts to Allen that arrived today.

They emailed me ahead of time to give me a heads up about the packages that would be arriving from Leap Frog. I scoured Leap Frog's website trying to determine exactly what awesome gifts she was sending to my little genious. So, I'm putting it mildly when I say that was really really excited for these gifts to arrive.

Fortunately, UPS dropped the boxes off while Allen was sleeping, so Daddy and I were able to unpack everything and check most things out before he woke up.

Here's what he got:

The LeapPad Learn to Read Complete Phonics System

This system has been discontinued (sadly), but I think will be really helpful in giving Allen a head start with reading. I haven't gotten to play with this too much, but it looks awesome. I think we'll have to work with Allen at first before he can really play with it on his own, but he's already shown quite an interest in it. The reason that this was discontinued is because they came out with:

The Tag Reading System

This system is unbelievable. You load software onto your computer, and then you download the audio software to the additional books purchased (e.g. Cars Tractor Tipping). Then you have options for the "pen" to read the entire book to you; to read you each page; or to read each individual word. There are also games you can play with every book. Absolutely amazing!

Allen doesn't quite have the fine motor skills to point it at each word yet, but he puts it on the pictures already and makes them talk (seriously, ya'll, this thing is unbelievable). I'm sure he'll get the hang of more features in no time!

ClickStart My First Computer with Finding Nemo Game

This thing looks awesome. Sadly, for all the batteries that Brian has stashed in that junk drawer of his, we had no C batteries, so we can't fire this one up. Therefore, we have not shown Allen that it even exists yet. He loves buttons, Nemo, and the TV, though, so I'm sure he will adore this!

And, last but not least, this came a few days ago:

Fridge Wash & Go Magnetic Vehicle Learning Toy

I was a little nervous when I opened this because we have a stainless steel fridge, so it's not particularly magnetic. But, we also have some really awesome metal furniture (remind me to post a picture at some point) that this fortunately sticks to. This is already a new favorite of Allen's. It's the first thing he sees when he comes downstairs, so he plays with it at least twice a day. He knows his colors pretty well, but it helps him with matching and identifying, and it reinforces color recognition for him.

So, thanks to our fabulous family, Allen is set for life as far as any educational electronic products are concerned. Thanks to you both (you know who you are). We love you. We miss you. We can't wait to see you (only a couple more weeks)! And we are so very grateful to you for these awesome gifts!

xoxo,

Allen's "Book Club"

So, Allen's current favorite book is:

Aunt Kissy got Allen this book when he was about three months old. He didn't appreciate it then, but in the last six months or so, he has become increasingly interested in it. Within the past week, Walter has trumped Seven Little Postmen, a book by my girl Margaret Wise Brown (Goodnight Moon).

Strangely, I'm relieved, as we were forced to read Postmen for every nap and bedtime for about three or four weeks straight. It's not that I didn't like the story -- it's very sweet and it rhymes nicely -- it's just that it's not wonderful, and it's difficult to read with enthusiasm night after night.

Alas, I think I may be getting a little tired of Walter as well, but fortunately for me, there are four more books featuring the gaseous dog that I can purchase which will likely appease the kid. Have any of you read these other books? Are they as delightful as the original?

xoxo, kids ... it's past my bedtime (as usual)!

Try try again

Sorry everyone. The link in my previous post was bad. Let's try this instead. Go to Sean's website. Then click on the "Online Galleries" at the bottom. Once the new window opens, click on "Families and Children" and then "Hunter."

Hope that works!!

xoxo

They're Here!

I'm so excited to share with you the proofs from our recent photo session. Sean Randall was the most awesome photographer. We loved how he interacted with Allen. Hope ya'll enjoy these pictures as much as we do.

xoxo,

I can pull it off

A non-Allen-related post. Well, let's be honest here ... the fact that I'm a mommy probably has something to do with this "fashionista"-type post in an I'm-still-hot-even-though-I'm-a-mom kind of way, but it's not directly related to him so it's a non-Allen post.

I was talking to my lovely friend J today, and she was telling me that she loved my earlier sassy outfit picture. So I told her that I wore those leg warmers out to dinner last week, and she told me that I can do it because I can pull it off. I have that confidence. Well, J, I don't think it's confidence as much as it's me being in denial, but I thank you nonetheless. And on that note, I have another "sassy" post for you :)

Before I show you the pics, I want to provide a little background (aka justification/ rationalization). About a year ago, I went on a whirlwind shopping spree one day before a wedding. We had flown up to Pennsylvania to attend a dear friend's wedding, and I had nothing to wear. Since Beaufort is not exactly a shopping mecca, I decided to pack lightly and shop for my entire outfit at the King of Prussia mall. So I ended up with this adorable Betsey Johnson dress (I tried to find a picture, but was unsuccessful. Sorry). It was blue, with black lace accents. I got a sassy little wrap to go over it. I got ridiculously fabulous earrings to match. Things were going well ....

So off to Nordstrom to get the shoes and the makeup. One thing I was at least semi-sane about was the shoes. I got great Steve Madden black heels. I knew I could wear those frequently (and I have). I got awesome, over-the-top M.A.C. makeup (think silver ... blue ... glitter).

Things were just about perfect, but I stopped at the Bare Escentuals store since I needed my basic makeup. And I found this great mascara in sapphire. I'm a sucker for sparkles and glitter. I rationalized that since my dress was like the exact same color, I needed this mascara. I assured myself I would use it again. And I bought it. I wore it at the wedding ... and I haven't worn it since. Until yesterday.

And I have to say, I love it! When the light hits my eyes in the right way, I see sparkles. Brian sees the sparkles. It's kind of sexy (OK ... I think it's sexy. Brian says it's "cute"). The pictures don't do it justice, but they give you an idea, at least. And remember, you don't have to get the sapphire mascara. There are other color options as well ...

I may be a mommy, but I can still (try to) look hot, right?

xoxo,

Naughty puppies, toes, cherries

Kristen ... this one's for you :)

As ya'll know, Kristen was here about a month ago, while our Mom went off to Grand Cayman with our Dad. I had several posts that discussed Kristen's visit, including one of her making our drinks, but those were with my camera. So here are a few more pics of her visit that were taken with her camera. Hope you enjoy ...

I forgot to close the bathroom door, so the puppies got in and did some damage ...

Allen is trying to keep his maraschino cherry away from the pups (Kristen was making Manhattans again this night, hence the cherries).

Mom took us to get pedicures. I convinced Kristen (after the woman offered it to us) that we should get little designs on our big toes. Look how pretty!

xoxo,