Largest Aquarium in the World

I had a rare day off and our friends were in town so we took our little ones to the aquarium to play and have a little bit of fun. Sierra and I had never been before and this is one of the things on my list to take her to do so it was perfect. Penny, Jones, Maine, Sierra and I hopped in the car and off we went.

The kids had a great time. Ran all over the place. Sierra LOVED the penguins, jellyfish and all the little colorful fish.

The kids spent TONS of time in the tunnels in the kids play place too burning off some energy. They had a blast. Even little Maine went crawling around and he's just a baby.

Sierra's 1st Trip to the Ice Rink

There are so many things I want to experience with Sierra RIGHT NOW even though she may not quite be old enough. Ice skating is one of those. I have been wanting to take her but I wasn't sure if she would like the feel of the skates of her feet, if she would just flop down on the ice or just hate it all together. We braved it a few weeks ago, she and I and she LOVED IT!

I was SHOCKED that she was excited about the boots. Sometimes she is tempramental about what she is wearing and I personally don't think skate boots are that comfortable but she thought they were so cool! (Disregard the blurriness of the photo) but here she is bored to tears as I take picture after picture. She's ready to get out on the ice.

Sticker Monster

Mommy's Little Helper

My little lady is SUPER into helping in the kitchen these days. Every time I set foot in there she grabs her little stool or a chair from the kitchen table and drags it in ready to help. We made cupcakes and we got a little over eager with the frosting. Gosh she's cute!

She has recently learned how to make cheese eggs (cracking them are her favorite) and butterscotch cookies. She's a pro at pouring, stirring and flipping (pancakes that is). The icing on the cake is that she LOVES to wash dishes as well. Yes, I have the perfect child...most of the time!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Mulan will always be the favored movie in the house however Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a very close second. Last month Joe and I took Sierra out on Date Night with us to see her first ever in-the-theater movie. I thought she might be a bit young and considering her performance at Stone Mountain I knew she wouldn't like the noise but we thought we'd give it a whirl.

We picked up Taco Bell (on her her favorite places) on the way so that we could have dinner in the theater. We got a booster seat and there she sat until the movie started and then in was either mine or Joe's lap. We started at the front of the theater but it really freaked her out so we ended up in the 2nd to last row of the theater just to be farther away from the screen. She pulled her "Mommy, I have to pee" trick but once the movie started she got way into it. We had to commentary almost the entire movie to get her excited for all the cool food falling from the sky. The "hamburgerers" were her favorite.

We have been back to see it again since, just once more. Super cute movie! 3 thumbs up!

Trick-or-Treat

This year was Sierra's first year that I took her out. Last year we just went to the Grandparent's houses but this year I wanted to tak her out in my Dad's neighborhood for a little fun. It was cold and rainy but we braved it anyway. She did two houses and then it was time to go back and play with Grandma Sue and Grampy.

The first house we went to was this cute little lady and Sierra was all about her. Went right up, got some candy and gave her a hug! The second house she was not so ok with. Really nice couple came to the door and ohhhhhed and ahhhhhed over her and called all their friends who were over to come out and see her. She was SO embarrassed so we headed home to play some more in the warm and out of the rain.This is what you get when you have fingerprints on the lens of your camera but she's still a 'Lil Cuteness!

2nd Annual Grand Hyatt Atlanta Sales Halloween Party

Last year was my first Halloween working at the Grand so I started office Halloween party. Motivated by wanting to show off how freakin' cute my kid is but also to have a little fun in the office. A few of us have kids so why not have them in the office. This year Anna Banana planned it (she's kid-less for now) and all the kiddies came in costume to have a little bit of fun.

Sierra made friends with 3 yr old Hannah. She's an entire year older than Sierra and my kid is just as tall. I have a monster on my hands. Gosh she's cute!

Cookie making was a big hit with them. She was more interested in the sprinkles and put her hand in the bowl every chance she had but she took the experience very, very seriously.

Next was the cake walk. Si didn't quite understand what she was supposed to do so this is what she came up with...what a funny nugget.

Last event of the day was the pinata. She loaded UP! She had a fabulous time. A little shy around the other kids so she didn't do a whole lot of talking, which is abnormal for her, but we had a great time and she was sporting a super cute look.

Trunk-or-Treat

Cutest Raggedy Ann I've ever seen! Her costume is vintage. Mine when I was 3! The wig is compliments of mine and Joe's hard work. It's an ENTIRE ball of yarn. It truly is a work of art!

This is Sierra's 2nd Trunk-or-Treat at church and she actually went around to all the cars this year to collect candy. She didn't quite understand the fishing thing at the Buttle's car but it was cute watching her.

Kari Bari, Si's cousin, came with Grandma. Needless to say, she wasn't a happy camper but at least she was cute.

Happy Birthday Pumpkin

It took us 2 weeks to carve our little pumpkin friend after we brought him home from the store. It was a perfect Halloween Eve event at our house. Here's how you carve the perfect pumpkin.

1. First you have to plan just what the little guy is going to look like. We took out our marker and drew his pretty little face. It is essential to get Joe's approval before we proceed.

2. Tag Team with with the Hubs so that he can cut off the top. Precision is key here. Make sure you get all the little, hanging pumpkin fibers off the top section first.

3. Get all the GUTS out, but whatever you do, DO NOT SMELL IT!

4. Carve that bad boy up! Everyone gets equal
time with the pumpkin. Keep in mind that when
cutting on the lines you have to make sure that none of the lines stay so instead of cutting inside the lines, cut outside the lines.

5. Add a candle for effect. Place Outside.

6. Kiss the pumpkin goodnight.

Pumpkin Patch

Always one of my favorite times. I used to go to this Pumpkin Patch when I was a kid and I love taking Sierra. Joe dragged himself of his sick bed to come with us and we met my brother and his family and my parents there.

Gotta love these round little orange things. Sierra could have stayed here all day shopping for the perfect pumpkin. She's such a cute little nugget!

Si Si with Grandma and Papa

When picking out the perfect pumpkin it is imperative to get a good look and just get right in there with them, ya know. No thumping needed, just a little sitting to see if it's a good one. She picked out a winner!

Sierra is a big fan of her cousin Liam. She LOVES playing with him, following him around, and beating him up. See how happy she is! But it looks like she has "eyes" for him. I need to have a talk with that girl. That type of thing is definately illegal in GA.

"The BIG Mountain"

Last month we took Sierra to Stone Mountain to walk around their pumpkim festival and check out the laser show. I like going there at least once a year (and never get my way) because that's where Joe and I had our first (terrible!) date in high school. It was super last minute so we didn't take a blanket or anything to sit and enjoy the show but we had a good time even though we were only there for half the show.

Here's the highlights:

We made new friends and had a fun photo shoot in front of the "BIG MOUNTAIN":

The Laser Show was not the highlight because Ms. Thang was scared of the fire, fireworks and loud music. In her defense we were in the VERY front and the music was super loud and booming. She did give us insight into one of her many tricks however. When she is scared or nervous she will say, "Mommy, I have to go pee!" Being a new potty trained baby of course we ran right to the bathroom because we thought she genuinely had to go. Well when we came back and the show was in full swing she turns to me, urgently, and said, "Mommy, I have to poop!". Well, she hates doing that so we discovered she was a big, fat liar and she let us in on one of her little tricks. It comes in handy.

Potty Training Blues

Si has been SO GOOD with the potty thing. She goes in the big potty, she wears cute underwear and she even tells us when she has to go...oh wait, she used to do all that. Now it's in the pants and on the floor. Here's her punishment. Sitting until she produces!

Parting is such Sweet Sorrow

We lost a member of the family last week. Our poor Accord has gone to car heaven. Not only is this little guy deemed unworthy to drive, he is now our little cash cow. We are the lucky recipients of an insurance check for more than we bought the car for. Wa-hoo! Lucky us. Ok, maybe just a cash calf. But at least it covers our cost and then some.

So now we get to go car shopping again, all too soon, and we are not thrilled about it. We are using it as an opportunity to get out and see the world. This weekend we went to Charlotte to look at a few cars that we liked. Fun little weekend. Seemed like ALOT of driving but I guess I only feel that way when I am driving. BORING! Sierra was a trooper as usual but on the way home she was exhausted from two days of no naps. Such a Cutie!

Remembering New Orleans

No, this is not a pre-Katrina post on how fab New Orleans once was. Joe, Sierra and I road tripped to LA in May and I never posted the highlights of our little trip so here we are. We were super excited for the trip. I had to go for work and Joe and Sierra tagged along. We stayed in the fabulous Omni Royal Orleans (because there is not a Hyatt there) and played while I wasn't working. We had never been before and we weren't really sure what to expect but we stayed in the French Quarter, the least affected area of the city by the hurricane. Check out our travels:

We headed out to explore this fabulous, and surprising really a little chilly for May, city. We walked around everywhere and took tons of pictures. Off we go...

Joan of Arc, Maid of New Orleans (1412-1431). Amazing statue right in the heart of New Orleans. Do you see Joe and Sierra in the pic?

Everything there has something about it that is just a little different. The architecture is awesome. Makes you feel like you are walking around a different country. We saw so many cool structures, gated homes, shutters on windows, people living right on Bourbon Street, statues, churches, gates, balconies...everything about this city was just cool.

One night we went to Magnolia Grill, the best fried chicken in the city, and enjoyed a bite to eat outside. Sierra was more interested in the sugar packets, the bike strapped to the awning (did I spell that right?) outside, the street people going by but she did take a bite out of her "Best in the City" chicken.

Yes, we are terrible people and we took our baby on Bourbon Street. What a trashy, terrible scene. We saw things that I NEVER want to see again but there were some cool parts about it. We were there on a week day and it was a total party. I can only imagine what Mardi Gras is like. Sierra and I had picked up some beans at a store prior to going out on the town so we weren't prodded so bare all for beads. (which we wouldn't of course).

While we shopped for beans we checked out some other really cool souveniers to bring home and add to our collection of 'cool trip stuff'.

Got did get a mask for Sierra. She just gets to look at it though so she won't break it.

We had fun with all the voo doo stuff and Sierra even made a new friend. We didn't bring him home with us though. We did bring his voo doo doll brother home with us those. Sierra is not a fan of it and every time she asks me what it is I say, "It's a voo doo doll baby," and she says, "No, mommy! no!". Funny kid.

We even made friends with this Sex-starved Alligator. This is Sierra puckering up with kisses for the Cook.
We went all over the city on the couple days we were there. Experienced the local food and all that the Big Easy had to offer. One restaurant we left had this little guy out front and Sierra and I couldn't resist stopping to put on our "fish face" for the picture.

SUPER HIGHLIGHT of the trip was (besides discovering that Ruby Tuesdays in AL has the best blackberry lemonade ever) was going to StoryLand! How Joe found out about this place is a mystery (thank you iPhone!) but it was the coolest, most randomly weird place ever.

A sweet little park with ginormous statues of nursery rhyme stories and characters and some Disney stuff, but this place was awesome!

Welcome to StoryLand, come on in!

Old Mother Hubbard was there,

Hansel and Gretel,
The 3 Little Pigs and...

The BIG, BAD Wolf,
Pinoccio and the Whale,
Who is this? One of the 7 dwarves? Well whoever he is, he loves me!
Little Miss Muffet, sat on her Tuffett...While Sierra ate her curds and whey.

She tried to awaken Sleeping Beauty,

And got a ride in Cinderella's carriage.

Story Land was awesome!
We explored a few cemetaries as well. I think that was my favorite part. Just amazing places. The tombs are so old and brilliant and amazing structures full of family history. Not our family but, they were still fun to explore.


I must say that the final highlight of the trip was Sierra falling asleep while eating on the way home from the cemetary. Priceless!