Weekend visitors of the baby kind

Guess who came to see me this weekend? My nephews and Cook family! 

Here is two-week-old Colton.

 I love those cheeks! 

Turns out my couch is also good for infant napping, not just adults. 

Big brother Bryce wanted to join in on the napping time. 

But he was just pretending to sleep. 

Grandma got some good love time. 

While the boys spend some time outside. 

Colton woke up and decided he was hungry. The next few shots really tell the entire story. 

"Seriously, yo. I'm hungry. Don't just sit there and take pictures of me."

Momma made it better,

while Grandma prepped the bottle. 

I think he knew what was coming. 

Everyone was happy again.

After a big lunch, Bryce decided he might need a little cat nap on Chris' leather chair. 

And, finally it was Grandpa's turn to hold Colton. Now that Colton wasn't crying and hungry anymore!

While Colton was awake, we all made sure to get our hands on him. He studied Grandma for a long time. 

And, I got to talk to him for a bit. 

By the time it was Chris' turn, Colton was getting a little tired of being passed around. 

But, Uncle Chris made it okay again.

Colton just needed a different perspective. 

He hung out on Chris' legs for a bit and showed off his smile. 

And in closing, Bryce took this last photo. I think the composition and focus are right on. Maybe we have another photographer and blogger in the family!

Birthdays Abound

We're in the celebration mode with two July birthdays in my family. 

My mom's birthday and my grandmother's birthday fall one week apart. Since Chris and I aren't able to travel to Little Rock during the week to celebrate with the family, I wanted to have our own celebration with the birthday ladies (who I didn't get a photo of together!). 

We had a family dinner at Ashley's at The Capital Hotel, and my oh my, was it delicious. We even had personalized menus for the occasion. 

This is my basil lemon-drop martini.

Me and the almost-birthday girl.

Chris got a group shot. 

We like to dress up and eat good food.

 The other Birthday Girl and Jack. 

Thad!

A good picture of Jenny and Thad. 

And to end the evening, the birthday girls got special Happy Birthday plates.

Yeah for a birthday-celebration filled weekend!!

With Family on The Fourth

Chris and I visited his folks for the Fourth of July. I actually worked the Farmers' Market that morning, and we left that afternoon. 

I decided I would try to take some photos of the trip down there. Turns out there isn't much between Memphis and Ridgeland, MS, but here's what I got. 

We ran into Pookie, well Pookie2

We debated on how to pronounce this one. 

Thought about stopping to see The Pope in his Court Land, but figured there would be a line.

Came across a very grateful person.

Thought about stopping for some coffee, but we pressed onward.

And we finally got there to see his folks!

Keesha was happy to see us, but not our camera. For some reason she is terrified of cameras, and although mine doesn't look like my other point-and-shoot, she was still scared. We managed to get this one by placing the camera on my lap and using the screen to secretly snap it.

It was really nice weather, and we spent most of our time outside.

I tried for another secret photo, but my angle was all off. You can see their pretty landscaping though!

Chris and his dad.

"Hey Mom. I'm being good."

Papa Cook showing Chris he's still the boss. 

I'm shocked!

Papa Cook pulled out his camera back, and we rummaged through it.

Turns out he has a very nice Hasselblad camera.  They are most known for being used in space. You can read about it here.

Yes, my friends. That is film.

Chris liked seeing all the camera stuff.

We also met Larry, the Cooks' neighbor. Larry likes to drink cranberry Smirnoff (vodka premixed with Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice in a 250-ml bottle), listen to country music and share his cucumber salad. We love Larry. 

We enjoyed a lot of good cooking while we were there.

I think most of our pictures together are in the kitchen, and I love it!

I think we all had a great weekend. 

Don't let this scary/unfortunate/bug-eyed picture of Chris and me tell you any differently.

I've clearly lost my gift for the self portrait on my new camera.