Visit from Mimi and Papa!

This weekend my parents came up to visit.  We didn't have any big plans but it was nice to just hang around the house and watch Kellan get into everything.  It is a 3 hour drive from their house to ours so they got here late Friday afternoon.  Mimi and Papa brought Kellan an Indian headdress, drum, and tomahawk from Cherokee, NC.  He loved his drum and surprisingly didn't mind his new hat. 

We had dinner at Texas Roadhouse that night and stayed up late watching the Olympics.

Saturday we had lunch at Cracker Barrel and hung around the house because the weather was stormy and rainy.

Kellan had to bring his own lunch...sweet potatoes and cherries

What do you mean by "all gone"?

The fun that can be had with a plastic cup

Playing blocks with Mimi

Every single time he would squeeze his eyes closed and knock down the tower :)

Saturday night my dad and Michael grilled chicken while Mimi played with Kellan and I went for a run.  When I got back I made roasted cauliflower and green beans and Michael made corn on the cob.  It was all so good!

Sunday we got up and ate a breakfast casserole that I had mixed up the night before and Michael practiced his song that he was going to sing at church.

Watching daddy sing on the back porch

Papa and Kellan ready for church

Let me apologize for the terrible job I did recording Michael's song.  Kellan decided to have a melt down right before he went up to sing so I was in the middle of giving him a bottle.  I got my dad to hold the bottle and I had to quickly turn the camera on and focus it.  It starts out a little blurry and then to top it all off the memory card filled up so I was only able to get part of the song.  I almost didn't put it up at all but I figured a little piece of his song is better than nothing! 

After church we went to brunch at David's in Roanoke Rapids with my parents and Michael's mom.  When we got back home Mimi and Papa had to pack up to head home.  We were sad to see them go but hopefully we will be able to plan another visit to see them again soon!

A Pretty Relaxing Weekend :)

Even though we live 3 hours away from my family, we are lucky enough to live in the same town with both sides of Michael's.  They adore Kellan and it is very helpful to have them nearby.  We actually need to work on getting together with them more often since even though we live so close we often can go weeks without seeing each other.  That is one more reason that I love keeping up with this blog for family near and far.  We actually stayed around the house for a lot of the weekend and when we did venture out I was not good about taking pictures like I usually am!

This is the little face that greets me every morning now...he is usually sitting up watching the door waiting on me to come get him out :)

Friday night my friend Kimberlee came to visit us again on her way to Washington, D.C. for the weekend.  We grilled out steaks and invited Michael's mom and her boyfriend David over to have dinner with us too.  David brought us some of the best corn on the cob we had all had in a while!  Everybody played with Kellan for a little while until he got sleepy and fussy.  Grandma Gigi gave him a bottle and put him to bed so that I could finish eating.  Michael helped Gigi get her new phone set up and look out world because Grandma Gigi now has Facebook, internet, and texting!!    I should have taken a picture of those two with their heads together!  Kimberlee and I stayed up late talking and watching the Olympics...just like we used to do when we lived together :)  I miss having her around to talk to and spend time with more often. 

Saturday morning Kimberlee headed off on the rest of her trip and Kellan and I stayed around the house until Michael got home that night from working on his newest house project.  We went to Fresh Market to pick up a few things that I needed for Kellan's meals and we ate at a Japanese Steakhouse where Kellan was the center of attention.  One of the cooks even came over to pick up his toys that he had dropped on the floor, talk to him, and make attempts to play with him, although Kellan just gave him a blank stare.  Some people from the table beside ours came over to see him and the waitresses all had to come over and talk to him.  He was quite the center of attention although he wanted no part of it and was happy to chew on the end of a chopstick and wave a spoon around.

Sunday we finally made it to church...and were early!  It has been a few weeks since we had been and I was afraid Kellan was not going to be happy about staying still and quiet for that long...especially since the service is during his usual nap time.  We of course did not get lucky enough for him to go to sleep but he was happy and quiet, played with toys, drank a bottle, and was perfectly content.  We sat with Michael's Aunt Karen and Aunt Kim and they were excited to get to see Kellan since it had been a little while since we have all gotten together.

After church we met Grandma Gigi at Applebees for lunch.

For dinner we went to Michael's Aunt Karen's house to get together with Grandma Gigi's side of the family to celebrate Aunt Kim's birthday.  Kellan was so excited to see "the big boys," Michael's cousin Dylan and his friend Wyatt.  When the boys were playing on the floor, Kellan just scooted his little self over to them and joined in!  Did I take a picture of all of this cuteness?  No!  Major FAIL!

Daddy and Kellan in their stripes

Dylan helping Aunt Kim open her birthday presents

Michael's Grandma Rodgester with Daddy and Kellan

He loves to stand and "walk"

He loved playing in all of the wrapping paper

Kellan with Grandma Gigi

The best way to read a book is to rub it on your head first!

We had an excellent dinner and of course ate too much as always.  Thank you Aunt Karen for having us over and Happy Birthday to Aunt Kim!  I'm glad we all were able to get together finally and hopefully it won't be so long in between visits next time!

Sunday Funday!

 We had a busy, busy Saturday full of all kinds of fun events (more posts about those coming soon!) but I had planned on Sunday being a pretty "empty" day.  Boy was I wrong!  Look at all the fun stuff Kellan got to do and fantastic people he was able to see!

First, we got up and got ready for church.  Well mommy had this little suit all laid out and ready for Kellan to wear.  When Daddy went to put it on him it was a little "snug."  We were running late (as usual) and we didn't have time to go through the process of picking out a whole new outfit.  Poor little buddy could care less that his tummy kept popping out because his shirt wouldn't stay tucked in.  The top button couldn't close so his little clip on tie was barely hanging on and his vest kept working itself up under his armpits but he still managed to look cute!  He had also outgrown the little black dress shoes that I had for him so he had to wear his little sneaker socks with his too little suit...oh well...we're all allowed days where our fashion just quite isn't up to par ;)

Daddy and Kellan after church

When we came out of church, one of our friends said that it looked like we had a group waiting to see us.  When we turned around Kellan had a little fan club waiting by our car to see him!  Michael's Grandma Rodgester, Aunt Kim, Cousin Dylan, and Aunt Karen were at the church next door and they walked over to see him.

After church we had our usual lunch at Cracker Barrel and Grandma Gigi came to meet us.  Kellan slept through most of it so afterwards Michael took Kellan over to Gigi's to visit while he put in her new microwave.  Gigi had gotten a new swing and Kellan tried it out!  Does this look like a happy boy or what?!  I told Michael we must get one of these for our house!

Look at that face!

Happy boy swinging away!

Next, Daddy took Kellan to visit Great Grandma and Papa Grizzard.  Papa can always get Kellan to sleep.  I heard that Papa's little dog Tilley was NOT one bit happy that Kellan had taken over her spot in Papa's lap...I think she was also a little tiffed that Kellan might have pulled her hair a little too hard!  I'm sure she was glad when his visit was over!

Sunday night we also had a visit from Kimberlee!!  She was in Washington, D.C. for the weekend and she stopped by on her way home to Raleigh.  She got here just in time to feed Kellan his butternut squash and play for a little while.

We changed Kellan into his pajamas and had a late night dinner at Pino's for stromboli, chicken parmigiana, and a Philly cheese steak!

Look at that look!  Does that look like a face that should be in bed?!

What an awesome day Sunday turned out to be!  So much better than we had planned!