365 Days Later...

Now that I've been an aunt for just over 365 days, I have at least one nugget of wisdom to impart to the world... if we all thought and acted more like the adorable children we were at age 1, the world would be a far better place.

With that ... on to some good stuff about one of those adorable children.

Jacob (my brother!) and Robyn have done quite a job raising little Charlie over the past year - I think this picture says it all...

And, what a year it's been... Charlie weathered a long move across the country at age 2.5 months, lived then in North Carolina while his dad was away training, and finally settled into his home in Columbia, MD - he's quite the smart little guy, not to mention the sweetest little angel (I like to think my strict "aunt-ing" regiment has had something to do with Charlie's demeanor, too).

To celebrate Charlie's 1st, we all gathered at Jacob and Robyn's, toting along more presents than Charlie knew what to do with.
Robyn had made cute pinwheels and centerpieces out of Charlie's favorite snack, Puffs! Charlie quickly got the hang of opening presents (with his dad's help)... And he did his best to keep everything clean and orderly...He even got his first helium balloon... courtesy of his grandparents down in Atlanta... But the real fun was yet to come... birthday cake time. Robyn made a cute 1st birthday cake; Charlie was hesitant at first but proceeded to almost literally dive right in.

Then on Sunday, after Charlie's dedication at church, we all enjoyed the beautiful fall weather... and a preview of Charlie's chicken costume for Halloween!

I can hardly believe Charlie's first year has come and gone!!

Quack Quack

Disclaimer: It was late and I wanted to get this post up... hence the silly subject.

My first official visit to the Outer Banks of North Carolina was an absolute success. As a matter of fact, I'd like to be back there right about now.

But since another vacation (admittedly, we have had two fantastic vacations in a row so at this point we are quite spoiled) is but a pipe dream (though we do have quite the series of upcoming weddings just around the corner), for now a quick wrap-up of the extended Memorial Day weekend trip is about all I've got.

We arrived in Duck, North Carolina, this past Saturday; since we were early (a rarity in my life so I felt okay calling it out), Chris and I took a quick tour while waiting on the rest of our entourage. Mom, Dad, and Sophie arrived soon after, so the 4 of us grabbed lunch at the cute Duck Deli (highly recommend their pulled pork platter - with 3 tasty sides, it was more than enough for Chris and I to share).

Where to begin... the trip consisted of a couple of great days full of lots of walks on the beach... eating... laying, reading and digging (thanks to my 2.5 year old nephew) on the beach... more walks... lots of tennis... some ice cream and various desserts... and tons of memories with my family (including my mom's *0th birthday), whom I am more thankful for each and every day (yes, it seems that my marriage and increased age have rendered me even more sappy, if that is possible).

Charlie wasted no time and got to digging and building straight-away. He is truly a boy's boy... I teased Robyn that she wasn't going to know what to do when baby girl Wallace arrives in August!

No one was exactly sure who was chasing whom here but Sophie didn't seem to mind; we'd left Annabelle in the house to keep her sand-free for a few more hours.

I was so fortunate to be able to celebrate my birthday with my family for the first time in I don't even know how many years. Mom was sad that we had to buy my cake but having my entire family there to enjoy it with me made it taste more than homemade (Harris Teeter's carrot cake... NOT bad!!!).

New day... new hole to dig... same little boy having a ball... still digging.

After each one of Charlie's daily post-beach outdoor showers, we got to see our adorable little guy wrapped up in his new favorite bug towel.
The "young adults" (are we really adults now?) took Charlie to the town playground and then walked out onto the long system of piers out over the Sound - we had great weather the whole week and this night was no exception.

One of the main reasons I love beach towns? They always seem to have a Rita's close by! Only Chris and I knew the magic of Rita's but we introduced the rest of my clan who immediately began plotting out their next visits to their local stores - thankfully there are two new Rita's... one in the suburbs of Atlanta and one in Columbia!

Our last day at the beach Charlie got a super special treat... a real John Deere tractor up close. This is what it looks like when the 3 Wallace men have seen a tractor pull up on the beach. Note that Charlie first learned the color green by calling it "John Deere".

More beachtime... Annabelle had just darted out of the picture - I assume it was because she hadn't brushed her hair.

And on our last night, we celebrated Mom's birthday (who's counting anyway!) at Sunset Grille Restaurant - she was especially, shall we call it, "surprised" by the fun hat! (it must be said, though, that in the end, she asked if she could keep the hat and take it home... the restaurant said no)

Charlie shared in the celebration with his "special" drink (i.e. lemonade but served in a fun-for-kids-of-all-ages flamingo cup).

Before our time in Duck came to an end, Chris and I took mom and dad to Roadside Raw Bar & Grill for lunch on our way out of town. It was bittersweet - that morning had been our only day of rain, which always makes it a little easier to leave but I still hated to go.

I told my mom before we left that I could get use to this family vacation thing. It was really the perfect trip - a few ultra-relaxing days spent with everyone who I love the most!

Yes, there are more pictures... just in case that wasn't enough.

"Build and GROW"

I have no doubt in my mind that after Saturday morning's activities , the management of Lowe's has had only one thought... "why haven't we been doing this for years?"

Leave it to Charlie (who incidentally was the subject of my first post and subsequent many others) turning 3 and my super creative sister-in-law to convince Lowe's that a private version of their "Build and Grow" workshops would be ideal for the location for the birthday celebration of our John Deere-loving, builder-extraordinaire little soon-to-be 3-year old.

Charlie started off the morning being wheeled into the Lowe's in grand fashion on a large cargo cart carrying a bunch of balloons and proclaiming to the store "it's my birthday!" No fan-fare is too big for my nephew.

He, of course, wore his John Deere finest for the occasion and if I don't say so myself... the color green looks right at home on him.

Robyn, being the creative mommy that she is had an adorable cake that looked like lumber being "zipped" (as Charlie calls it) by a saw plus adorable sugar cookies in the shape of different tools tied up with measuring tape ribbon for favors.

Not to be outdone in cuteness, though, was Miss Caroline. It'd been a few weeks since we'd had the chance to see our precious niece and she did not disappoint. I am loving all the pink since prior to Caroline arriving on the scene, we hadn't seen much more than blue and green, with the occasional yellow hard hat.

I couldn't decide whether she was more adorable asleep or awake, so I will leave that up to you .

We're enjoying having the chance to watch Caroline change even in the few short months of her life so far... if she is as much "girl" as Charlie is "boy", there's a lot more pink to come! I'm not sure if Charlie and his parents are prepared for that!

We had so much fun celebrating with Charlie and his friends... I highly recommend living close to family - it's absolutely the best!

Happy 3rd to my favorite nephew!

Why Do Zebras Have Stripes?

Pretty much anything with my nephew is better and more fun... and today at the National Zoo was no exception.

Jacob, Robyn, Charlie and I shared a pre-Father's Day celebration with the animals... would Charlie's "Baby Einstein" training pay off?

Charlie recognized the cute baby elephant right away, promptly renaming him "l'phant".

The Giant Panda was a "bear"... definitely close enough for us.

The apes were one of our favorites... Charlie got up-close-and-personal with an orangutan in the ape house... and even did a little chest pounding of his own in what I interpreted as an attempt at communication.

At the "Great Cats" exhibit, we were all impressed with the lions and tigers... and Charlie, well, in his true sympathetic fashion was concerned about the little "duckies" wading in the water nearby.

What a perfect day to spend at the zoo. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

*What's Kookin' note - Admission to the National Zoo is free! Bring your own lunch and snacks for a great family day that's educational at a very low cost!

The Littlest Helper

It's true that my nephew can be a true almost 2-year old boy... with 3 other little ones in the house, he ran around with the best of 'em, but when it was crunch time, he was right there with his nana (my mom) helping her cool down the beverages, making sure to collect any pieces of ice that might have gotten away.

Ever heard of a "mwah-mwah"? Charlie is GREAT with the vacuum, too! His dad and grandad proceeded to destroy the kitchen but Charlie followed close behind with the vacuum (sadly, I didn't get a good shot of this - it's adorable!); the mess is all for a good cause - Jacob and Robyn are on their way to completely renovating their kitchen... new cabinets, countertops... the works. It's going to look amazing... and I learned that my brother, just 45 minutes up the road, does a pretty-darn professional job installing cabinets.

*And here's a shot of Nana and our little Charlie... no way my mom would let Grandad get Charlie to himself for a whole week!

A Family Secret

I'm fairly certain that my dad (and even my mom) qualify pretty easily as Blue Angels groupies. Our family's allegiance to anything Navy has already been well established but I've been able to keep this obsession of my parents under wraps... until now.

So was it a coincidence that my parents wanted to come visit all of us on the same weekend as a Blue Angels' show? Hardly. And we were happy to be dragged along. Especially since one of the pilots is a family/high school friend.

Charlie may have been the most willing participant... especially once his Nana had presented him with his very own Blue Angel plane.

Outfitted in his personal set of noise-reducing ear muffs, Charlie flew his own plane right alongside the elite Blue Angels crew. Unfortunately, his plane deviated quite a bit from the otherwise perfect formation.

Nana was very proud of her little John Deere-wearing, Deac-visored, future pilot.

We were happy to witness Charlie's first experience with non-farm equipment.

No clue who that is in the background of this picture... she seemed to be enjoying the show, too, though!

Blue Angel groupie jokes aside... I couldn't have imagined a better way to spend a Memorial Day weekend. It was especially meaningful to pause and remember those who've paid the ultimate sacrifice in the middle of a military airshow. May each freedom we have remind us daily of those who've gone before us to afford us those luxuries.

Worth Every Moment

Waking up at 6am on a Saturday is well worth-while when it means that I'm headed up to spend the entire day with my nephew... 'course my "tune" was a little different later that night around 11pm, but I still wouldn't trade being less than an hour away from my brother, sister-in-law and Charlie, for any amount of sleep.

As an added bonus, in the afternoon while Charlie was napping, I dug through a bunch of Robyn's issues of Southern Living and found tons of new recipes and ideas! In almost all of their articles, whether on gardening, decorating, hobbies, or cooking, they include an informative blurb on "Healthy Living", a number of which are sure to become the inspiration for some new posts as I continue to learn more about heart-healthy foods and other healthy habits.


Charlie sure does know how to spoil his "Kiki" (isn't it supposed to work the other way?)... I was treated to an early birthday present of a beautiful arrangement of sweet pink roses. They were set in a really neat vase with a frog atop of it - I know I'll get LOTS of use out of the frog as flower arranging is NOT one of my talents. Two tips once you've made your own beautiful bouquet... (1) when you aren't around to enjoy your freshly cut flowers, if possible, stick them in the refrigerator and they will last longer! (2) Costco has GREAT prices on amazing flowers - I've even heard that many florists and flower shops buy their flowers there because it's such a good deal.

*Thanks guys... isn't Robyn so talented??

My conclusion of the day... kids grow up WAY too fast... every moment is precious. Why is it that we only remember this after a day with a dear child?