Key West

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Wow! We just left 70 degrees to return to 20-something! It is not an easy adjustment.
Bill, Henry, and I joined Big Bill in Key West this past week. Poppa has a two-week timeshare and invited us to join him down there. Bill and his dad drove down on Friday, and Henry and I flew on Saturday. It was Henry's first plane ride and he did GREAT! Luckily, we sent our luggage with the guys, so Henry and I just had our carry-ons. We sat on the runway due to a technical malfunction with our aircraft for about an hour and 15 mins, so Henry got a little rowdy about 30 mins before we landed. Then he fell asleep on the decent... of course!
When the guys picked us up, we unpacked and regrouped. Then, went for a walk on Duval. We found ourselves listening to music at The Bull and buying Key Lime Pie at Matthesons (the best!). We ate at Blue Heaven, where I ordered the lobster eggs benedict and Bill had the filet/lobster eggs benedict... and the roosters ran around eating Henry's crumbs. We ordered in food one night, got pizza another night from Upper Crust, ate at Prime 951 (wonderful steaks and a side of penne with melted smoked gouda), then ended with La Trattoria (claimed by locals as the best restaurant in town). The food was delicious! We strolled through a couple of small parks and found trees to climb, then swam in the heated pool at The Banyan. We even ate lunch with Mr. Jud (Poppa's friend that lives down there) on Stock Island one day.
Henry enjoyed every minute! Especially, the morning trips to the coffee shop, Sippin', then down to the docks and around Key West on hour walks. We also enjoyed a pedicab ride, bike ride, and Poppa's scooter. Henry was pretty much spoiled (I'm sure you can't imagine!) - so returning to the cold has been a shock! If you've never been to Key West, it's incredible! It's flat, so walking or bike riding is very easy. The weather is great in January too. It was 70 during the days and low 60s at night.
We had a wonderful time! Key West is a great vacation place with babies. Henry was able to go everywhere we went. He ate lobster, steak, crab bisque, and pizza - and enjoyed it all!! Our time down there was too short... so maybe we'll stay longer next year!

Zoo!

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Bill and I decided to have a family outing with Henry today... so we visited the Montgomery Zoo! I wasn't sure which was father and which was son because Bill acted like he was 2 instead of 32. I found myself "lagging" because Bill and Henry were so excited to see the next exhibit that we were rushing through all of them. If you know Bill, then you know what I mean. Ha! He gets so excited about these things, but especially the snakes (which was a little disappointing) and the train ride, which he previously determined we would ride twice before we left today. I, however, was really excited about the baby giraffe and baby elephant - which turned out to be the highlight of the day. We rode the train and enjoyed the entire morning... we may even become Zoo members!

Merry Christmas!

We had a busy holiday season! We started the Christmas celebration with Mom's family in Birmingham. Hayley and Jimbo were so gracious to host all 12 of us (plus 3 - almost 4 - of them). They have a beautiful home and we thoroughly enjoyed being together. Aunt Gigi arranged for us to see Mama Dear's house (where my mother grew up and where I lived post-college, pre-Robertson). The house has been renovated by a lovely family. Bill and I took a picture with Henry where Bill proposed 6 1/2 years ago. Wow!! Time flies.
We then spent a week in Eufaula to celebrate the season. On Monday, we went to Huggin' Molly's in Abbeville for Mom's birthday, then spent the night at Mr. Bill and Keitt's house. Molly, Eric, Alyce and Billy were there for the Blackmon Party on the 23rd and for Christmas with the Robertsons on Christmas Eve morning. Poppa and Keitt gave Henry fantastic gifts and we all enjoyed Elmo!
We went to the Candlelight Service with Mom, Dad, Lindsay and Will and sat with the Bowmans (dad's family). We then waited for Santa to come and Henry was so excited he woke up at midnight and didn't go back to bed until 2:30 a.m. Is this a sign of things to come??? I hope not!
We had a wonderful Christmas morn at Mom and Dad's and then drove back to Montgomery to celebrate Christmas with Mrs. Patsy, Molly, Eric, and Alyce. We ate a delicious turkey/dressing lunch and enjoyed watching Henry open his gifts... where he amazed us at how much he could play with the corn popper!
It was a wonderful time with family and friends. God has blessed us so much! 2008 has been a wonderfully, amazing year... the birth of our first child! I thought so much of Mary during the Christmas season. It is hard to imagine all the joy and sorrow she felt throughout Jesus' life. Bill and I love Henry so much it seems crazy. I cannot imagine what Mary went through. Therefore, we are extremely grateful for Henry's life and our families that give us so much love and support. Merry Christmas!!

Chirstmas at the Robertsons

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We had a busy weekend! After helping host a baby shower for Baby Chapman Baker and his mom, Rebecca, in Montgomery Saturday morning, we headed to Clayton for a Christmas shower for Amy Cooper. We left Clayton and went south to Dothan to Uncle Bob and Aunt Margie's house where we celebrated our annual Robertson Family Christmas party.
Uncle Bob cooked a beef tenderloin on the grill and Margie made hash brown casserole, corn casserole, her famous 7-layer salad, green beans and rolls. Molly, Eric, Alyce, Billy, Robert, Big Bill, Keitt, Bill and I were all there. Tate and Henry made the trip too - as well as all the pictures. We missed Jennifer because she is sick and stayed in Birmingham.
This is such a fun time of year! It's a time for us to celebrate the birth of Christ with our family and friends. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

making a Christmas card

These are few extra pictures to enjoy until yours arrives in the mail.

It's tough to get a babe and a pup to stay put while the camera focuses and has the ridiculous delay before the picture actually takes.

We had a little bit of a fit (Henry) and a little barking at the neighbors (Nelle) and finally Henry took Nelle's cue and crawled away. Merry Christmas!

Turkey Day!

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If you know me, then you know I LOVE Thanksgiving. Actually, I love most holidays - Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favs - but who doesn't love these! We changed up our routine this Thanksgiving. Where in the past we've been in Eufaula for Thanksgiving with the Gaither side of the family, we stayed here for Thanksgiving. It was so nice not to rush around. We had Thanksgiving lunch with Patsy, Winn, Molly, Eric, Alyce and Billy at Patsy's house. She had a lovely table set up and the food was incredible! Henry played in his car and stroller - while we enjoyed turkey and dressing. Billy was a great addition and we thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him. As always, we love being with Molly, Alyce, Eric, Patsy, and Winn. They are a great help with Henry too!
We drove to Eufaula on Thanksgiving afternoon - luckily Henry slept the entire way! - and met Big Bill and Keitt at the Blackmons (Charles Blackmon is Keitt's brother). They were so gracious to host us for the afternoon. They ate lunch outside since it was such a beautiful day - so we visited on their back deck and enjoyed family and fellowship for an hour or so and headed to the Robertsons for Henry to have playtime with the pups and Poppa. Big Bill and Keitt have Hooker and Rascal - they are both around Henry's age. Henry loves to watch them play and they love Hen.
We ended up at Mom and Dad's just in time for bedtime. While Henry dreamed, we gave Dad his birthday/Christmas gift - he needed it to watch the Auburn/Alabama game. A great gift for a TERRIBLE game. Ugh! I hope Auburn makes changes before next year!
On Friday, we had Thanksgiving with the Gaither family (Bowmans, Bowmans, Whites, and Williams). Margaret joined us for Thanksgiving - and we are so thankful for her! She and Will are busy peps and we are glad they joined us for our family gathering. Christina came from Savannah and Matthew and his roommate (India native) came from Clemson. It was a wonderful time with family and friends.
God is GOOD!!! Bill, Henry, and I are thankful for wonderful family, friends, and a free country in which to worship such an amazing Creator.

Playing with Nelle

We are constantly on the move... usually following Nelle or rolling to the stereo to play with the knobs. While Sunday was a beautiful day, I didn't feel good. Henry was in a great mood and wanting to play - as always. I slept my morning and much of the day away, while my sweet husband took care of Henry and Nelle in hopes that Henry would wear himself out before I woke. Well, I woke to Henry wanting more playtime - he is so energetic! So, being such a wonderfully tired mom (does it ever end??), I sat on the floor with him and let him watch Nelle playing outside. It was quite entertaining - for all of us.