BUY THIS ALBUM!

My dad's friend Kelleigh just released her first album and it is awesome! We have been listening to it all night! My dad went to UVA with Kelleigh and her husband Jeff and then everyone moved to Atlanta and my mom got to meet them too! They are a fun couple and a few years ago decided to move to Nashville for Kelleigh to become a star!!! We know she is on her way. Please visit her website at www.kelleighbannen.com to listen to her music and order her cd. Our favorite is "Feels Like Me." We haven't asked Kelleigh but it definitely seems like she wrote about her time in Atlanta and wanting to get back to Tenneseee. Who doesn't identify with that :) ??

Flying

Until about two years ago, my mom had to pop a few Xanax to even go near an airport. The whole pregnancy, breastfeeding, responsible for another person thing has made her fly drug free since me. She still gets pretty nervous but I do my best to distract her with patty cake and wheels on the bus. Since we have been flying to Raleigh most every weekend, we have become seasoned travelers. On the parking bus last weekend, a lady looked at me and said “oh, will this be your first time on an airplane?” Seriously? It’s like my hundredth but since I can’t talk, I just gave her a high five. And really, I am not sure why Mom gets so nervous. I think this flying thing is pretty great:

SOLD!!

We have great news to share! Our house in Atlanta sold! It was only on the market 3 weeks! What a blessing! We are so excited! We have a fabulous realtor who was a great negotiator/mediator. We close on May 28.

AND THEN... (drum roll)

We move in here on May 29:

Yes, we bought a house in Raleigh! A brand-spanking, just finished Thursday, new house! After living in a 40 year old house, we are so excited to have something new. And I am excited about this kitchen:

I really just wanted the house for that big ol slab of granite in the middle. I can bake all I want and have all the ingredients in the same place! Fondant making will no longer require an acrobatic feat. All on the island! So excited about this island.

We also went to the grand opening of the new YMCA that is right up the street. It is 55,000 indoor square feet and this amazing pool area outside:

Visitors are welcome anytime! They do not have a playground yet but I already talked to the Director and hopefully we can start working on the fundraising and building of that soon after I arrive.

It was a big weekend for the Councills. The end of this whole relocation thing is in sight. Jack and I cannot wait to live with Clay again after SIX months. If you are ever asked by your company or your husband's to relocate, please call me first. I have learned so much in this process that they do not tell you in the booklet that they hand you with a smile.

Kazooing

Mom tries all sorts of things to keep me entertained in our apartment in Raleigh. I am getting all of my molars and am not a happy camper so she thought chewing on this kazoo would make me happy. Little did she know how good I would be at Kazooing. At KaBOOM! -where my mom works-kazooing is an artform. To be a Boomer you have to know how to kazoo. Well, I think I could be a Boomer. Check me out!

Chillin in Chapel Hill

Friday afternoon we headed over to Chapel Hill for an afternoon on the quad and Franklin Street. Dad and I threw the ball around while mom relaxed and watched all the people. It was a beautiful day in Tarheel land!

Me and Dad having a father/son talk! This is how our conversation went:

Jack: Dad, did Mom buy you those shorts?

Dad: Yeah, did she buy you yours too?

Jack: Yeah, she did. She's got good taste. I am glad she takes such good care of us!

My future study spot 17 years from now.

The family at the Rotunda. Is that what they call it?

1000th

Today KaBOOM! and The Home Depot built our 1000th playground together! We started a campaign in 2006 called "1000 playgrounds in 1000 days" and today was the culmination!! And after building playgrounds all over North America, we built the 1000th right here in Marietta! It was a beautiful day with over 400 volunteers! We -KaBOOM!- are testing out some new equipment called Evos. This playground is definitely the most modern looking one I have ever built. It was bittersweet as it was my last playground with KaBOOM! since will be "retiring" on May 14. Seven years and hundreds of playgrounds later, I am proud of what I have accomplished and that I know of the greatest playgrounds in most cities in the US that I can take Jack to!

1000th Playground

Victory Park, Marietta, GA

The Dream Team- Caroline, Jennie and Katy

(our legs are cocked that way b/c we wanted to show the concrete that we had been mixing that was all over our pants but the photographer cut that out!)

Cutest Couple ever!

Look at how great my Uncle Ryan and his girlfriend Julia look! They were on their way to the Knoxville Men's Cotillion last night. I am sure they had a good time!

Playtime

In a rare moment of clear skies, Mom and I hit the playground. There is a great little structure just for people my size and I have mastered climbing up the stairs and getting to the slide. I am still trying to figure out how to get my leg around to slide down. We'll keep working on that! Enjoy!

Spoontastic!

Mom let me use the spoon to eat my yogi today. As you can see, it will take a little more practice. I really did try to use the spoon. My hand just seemed like the easier option.

Nobody puts Maeve in a corner

Check out my cousin Maeve shaking it to Janet- Miss Jackson if you're nasty!

Back to reality

Since having Jack, I have seriously curtailed my shopping. I mean, why spend money on clothes that will end up with milk, mud and mac and cheese on them? On the mornings I work, I don't get dressed until the minute I walk out the door as to not risk having syrupy fingers stuck to my silk shirt. My other tactic is to put a t-shirt on over whatever I am wearing until I leave. This works except when wearing white pants, which I attempted last week. I got to the office and found little finger prints around the knee area. My fault, should have known better.

Anyway, I have coveted the above Tory Burch shoes for quite some time. I have gone to the store multiple times to buy them and backed out. But today, I finally did it. I justified it by the fact that they are gold (goes with everything) and flat (can wear everyday). I walked out of the store gleeful. I forgot what a high shopping can bring!

And how quickly it can end.

Usually, it would be Clay, saying "How much did that cost?!??!" He was quite supportive of this purchase though, only saying, "As long as there is not a 2 in front of the price." What a great husband!

No, this time is was my sweet little boy who brought me back to reality. I put the shoes on as soon as we got home tonight- just because I could. It was bathtime. I undress Jack in his room and let him walk into the bathroom. He loves this and is giddy running room to room naked. It is super cute! Tonight we were walking to the bathroom and he stopped in the hallway, turned toward me and started peeing. No joke, his aim was ONE inch from my Tory Burches! I screamed. He laughed. It was almost as if he knew what he was doing. And in that moment I realized that no article of clothing will ever be safe. And I also realized that it didn't matter. I love my shoes but I love being a mom more. And I will wear t-shirts with syrup and pants with fingerprints and shoes with pee because it means that I am a mom- Jack's mom.



I

Peas please

I am trying to master drinking out of a cup and using my fork. Here I am attempting both. The fork thing was a little more successful. Notice the concentration.

Weekend update

Even though Davidson didn't make the Final Four, I had a great weekend and a great time watching the game. We did a LOT of house hunting and found some great ones. We went to Daddy's store and met all the people he works with. They had heard alot about me and I didn't disappoint. We didn't take too many pictures this weekend but here are a couple.

Me and mom watching the game. I love a good basketball game and a bag of pretzels!

Mom came out into the hallway to find me reading Daddy's scriptures. She thought this was really cute. I take my finger and point at the words and say "that, that, that."

Go Wildcats!

We are in Raleigh and have been enjoying all the coverage Davidson is getting in the papers. As you can read in my post on Feb 18, I joined the bandwagon before they ever got to the NCAAs and have loved watching them play! Mom forgot my black and red warm-up but I am still a fan!

Here is a great column from the Raleigh paper:

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/1017462.html

And one from ESPN:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3318506&sportCat=ncb

Swinging

Uncle Ryan teaching me to be a lefty!