Philly family visit!

Roby's parents, Pappa and Mummy, recently visited us for 2 months to help me with Owen while Roby went on several business trips. They are SO helpful, everything from cooking (I pretty much ate chicken curry with Naan, Biryani, and iced chais for 2 months straight! Which is good for Olive, since she'll hopefully have a taste for Indian food like Owen does!), cleaning, watching Owen, re-arranging the garage, painting the nursery and Owen's new room, shopping, crocheting Olive two blankets, landscaping, etc. Wow! What would I have done without them? While they were here, we celebrated my birthday, Pappa's birthday, our 5th wedding anniversary, Mother's Day, Father's Day and their 40th anniversary! Alot of celebrations going on!

For part of their stay, Roby's brother Rony, sister-in-law Rani, and our nieces Isabel and Anngelina drove down from Philly for a week and a family friend Jose Uncle, his wife and daughter, Alicia, flew out. We had quite a full house there for awhile, but had a fantastic time hanging out and doing some touristy things. Chattanooga isn't called the Scenic City for nothing!

Summer fun with Ammachy

Aboard the Southern Belle river boat on the Tennessee River

Rani is due a few weeks after I am! Everyone predicts they are finally having a boy, but we won't know until August!

The captain blew the horn just as I tried to snap a pic of the proud grandparents!

We took the kids to Coolidge Park, and they absolutely loved playing in the fountains, although Anngelina and Owen were a bit more apprehensive and needed their Daddies by their sides. Rony and Roby didn't have trunks with them, but it didn't stop them from having a good time!

Happy birthday Pappa!

Wow, 32 already? Crazy!

Roby and I have been married 5 years and together 8! Since we had visitors in town, we haven't yet properly celebrated, but hopefully we will get a chance to soon! (yeah right, i really envision that happening with a baby due any minute! ;)

Isabel is a budding Rachel Ray and enjoys learning about cooking. Here she is putting the mint leaves she picked from my backyard in the iced team maker. For our cookout, she also helped me prepare the potato salad and mac and cheese! I love that she has such an interest in the culinary arts!

Jose Uncle with his family

Our friends Sherine and John were recently married and decided to go on a year-long honeymoon, driving cross-country visiting various friends, relatives and sites, ending up on the left coast to live in CA for a year. What an awesome idea! They happened to be visiting relatives in Atlanta and drove up to have breakfast with us so we could visit for awhile. Good luck on your adventure guys!

Owen rocked at helping paint Olive's nursery (we primed this wall with magnetic primer) a grass green and his room a chill blue. Thankfully we are getting new carpet in tomorrow so we didn't have to worry about him spilling.

Owen loves his Appachan and Ammachy!
He was sad to see them go, asking if he could go to Philadelphia with them. While dropping them off at the airport, Ammachy gave him some money for ice cream (all grandmothers are the same aren't they? :) and he said the bill was a plane ticket so he could go too. Awwww.

*Philly trip family pics*

My Mom was laughing hysterically as Owen relentlessly tried to plant one on her lips!

Owen and I spent a day with Nana at a park near Jason's house, where
O tormented the ducks by chasing them screaming, "Quack, Quack!"

Thankfully, we were able to hang out with Uncle Jason the same night and go out for dinner.

Renu with her husband, Alex, and baby Alex

Owen's cousins, Anngelina (above) and Isabel (below) seemed to enjoy hanging out with him!

Trying to take a picture of your son with his 3 cousins aged 6, 4 & 3 is quite the challenge! You end up getting a lot of silly, but endearing ones, and some that are actually pretty decent!

I love this shot of Alex and Isabel. How sweet are they?!?

Nana and Debby Auntie Visit

In April, my Mom and cousin Deb drove down from PA to visit Owie and me while Roby worked out-of-state. Debby had not seem Owen since she traveled to Chattanooga with Mom right after O's birth. We had a wonderful time catching up, celebrating Mom's birthday, dining at a local Greek place, and taking Owen to the aquarium and Coolidge park. Owen enjoyed being majorly spoiled by his Nana and Debby Auntie!

It is certainly getting harder to take pictures with Owen since he is running around 24-7, but we managed to capture him a few times!

Happy birthday Nana!

Come home Dada Daddy!

(Owen's newest term for his father.)

My Mom transferred a lot of my childhood toys and boxes o' stuff accumulated through the years from her storage to my garage this trip. I discovered a dress I wore when Owen's age with my collection of dolls, and couldn't resist promptly slipping it over my son's head. Let's just say we laughed for a verrrrrrry long time as he ran wild around the house in my hot pink/lime/orange number from the '70s. Roby walked in, did a double-take, mentioned something about that being "just wrong" and asked me to remove it quickly.
Ha! I guess I really DO need to have a girl next.

A Chattanooga Christmas

We were spoiled this year with guests for the holidays, including my Mom's visit for Christmas! She came with suitcases overflowing with gifts for her only grandson, of course. It was wonderful spending time with her and watching her bond with Owie.

O & mama in our matching sock monkey pajamas on Christmas morning

O, highly frustrated with wrapping paper, anxiously whined for us to unwrap his gifts for him, including his Nemo that is almost as big as he is!

A very Elmo Christmas for Owie

Here he is all Elmoed out sitting in his Elmo chair, wearing his Elmo outfit and Elmo slippers, reading an Elmo book with his baby Elmo doll, while most likely watching one of his Elmo dvds!

How cool is this Radio Flyer Wagon Uncle Jason and Aunt Melinda sent me?!
Roby was absolutely giddy over his present from Mom, an Eagles grill cover!
Gotta represent in Titans territory!

Modeling Nana's scarf

O loves when Nana reads to him.

I truly believe I became a lit. major and writer because of the endless books my Mom read to me throughout my childhood...and we hope to pass this love for the written word on to Owen.

It was fairly disturbing to witness the amount of gingerbread men

made headless at the hands of Owen this Christmas

Ahhh, the magic of the holidays

Owen preferred feeding his Dada during Christmas dinner instead of himself

Bye Bye Nana, I miss you!