Shrek Cake

William has been doing great with his potty training. We won't get into details, but half of the training came easier than the other! He had a successful week so Daddy promised to make a Shrek cake. He woke up from his nap today to a great surprise!!

THANK YOU DADDY!

A Big Day of Firsts

William had a big day of firsts on Friday. We took him to his first movie. Michael and I picked him up early from school and went to see Shrek the Third. We have been watching the first 2 Shrek movies for the past month over and over so we knew William would be excited. He sat still the entire time and seemed to really enjoy it. This one was definitely more serious than the first 2, but it was cute.

That night we went to a Braves game. It was William and I's first time at Turner Field. It was especially nice because we sat in the Coke suite. William was really excited because the Johnson's were going to be there. William loves visiting with Alex, Jakob and Hannah. After the game there was a fireworks display which William kept saying was, "so cool!"

Our Trip to Iowa

That's right- Iowa. For those of you who don't know, my Mom and Stepdad moved to Algona, Iowa after Katrina. William and I went to visit for a Mother's Day gift for my Mom. It was our first time to Minnesota or Iowa and a very nice visit!

We flew into Minneapolis and spent the night there so we could go shopping at the Mall of America the next day. That place is amazing! In the center of the mall there is an amusement park with rides and roller coasters. That kept William quite busy. Mom and I were able to sneak away and do some shopping. We enjoyed shopping for all the babies in our family!

After a long day of shopping we headed to Algona. It is about 3 hours south of Minneapolis. To put it nicely-- they live on the outskirts of Small Town, USA in the middle of corn fields and soy bean fields. We saw lots of cows and even saw some deer. Everyone we met couldn't have been nicer and more hospitable!

We lucked out and had great weather. We were able to spend plenty of time at the park and riding in the golf cart with William. Mom and Rich live right on a golf course so we were able to take a ride and hit some balls. He loved it!!

We also visited the YMCA where William enjoyed playing basketball and airhockey. When his Poppy told him that we were going to the YMCA he said, "No, we can't go there, that's a song."

We were so impressed that William rode on the plane and the truck all by himself!

William wanted so badly to make it up this ladder. It took him quite a while to work up the nerve to go up by himself. He finally made it up and was so proud!

William and Poppy playing golf!

Do you see the scenery in the background---cornfields as far as the eye can see!

This is the view from Mom's front door.

(Black and white pics and sunglasses help hide no make-up and an early morning!)

Mother's Day

This is a late posting, but my sweet husband made me this delicious cake on Mother's Day!

He's the best!

Birthday Celebration at School

William celebrated his birthday with his classmates on Monday the 7th. He was very excited to bring his cupcakes with Lightning McQueen cupcake papers. This is his last month in his classroom. After Memorial Day William moves to the Preschool 3 class!

Nana's Visit

When Nana visits everything is picture worthy!

Cupcake after lunch at Gabriel's

William loves these grocery carts!!

Thank you Aunt Minnie & Aunt Tara for my new camera!

Happy 3rd Birthday William!

We celebrated William's 3rd birthday this weekend. We had a party at the house with all of our friends who live here in Georgia and their kids. We were lucky enough to have Michael's Mom (Nana) join us too!
Michael and I decided to have a crawfish boil for the party. This was our (Michael's) first time boiling crawfish. We had them flown in from Louisiana. The crawfish were supposed to arrive Saturday morning to the Atlanta airport. The plan was for me to make the trek down there early Saturday morning while Michael baked the birthday cake. Unfortunately, our crawfish missed their connecting flight-- so to ensure that they made it here alive Michael & I drove to Air Cargo at the airport at 11pm Friday night.
Our crawfish survived and Michael did a great job! Everyone was also wowed by the birthday cake Michael made for William. The Cars movie and Lightining McQueen are William's favorite right now. Lightning was on the invitation, the balloons and of course the birthday cake. Make sure to check out the pictures below.
We had a wonderful day with everyone who came and celebrated with us!

William hung out in his chair with a snack while Michael started the boiling.

William wasn't so sure what to think of the crawfish.

Me, Matthew, Mindy (Matthew's Mommy) & Peggy

Me & Rona

The Hillman's

(Baby Mason is due at the end of June!)

My favorite business partner, Karen!

Lightning McQueen Birthday Cake!

Brian, Ron, Michael, Todd & Brian

A little baseball in the yard.

Hannah & Gracie

Emily & William

Some Extras

These are two extra pics that I've taken in the past few weeks that I thought I'd post. The first is William with his Uncle Mike. Mel & Mike were in town house hunting while we were in Disney World. When we got back we celebrated Mike's 30th birthday. The other picture is a shot of how I found William playing on the sofa. We had been back about a week and he found his ears in his playroom. (Notice the towel his is sitting on-- this was one of our first potty training days!)

My 29th Birthday!

My 29th birthday was last week. Ever since having William birthdays just aren't the same, but this year was wonderful! My desk was decorated at work and I had a wonderful lunch with my lunch crew. Even better was dinner with my family! Michael made a birthday cake for me and William had a potty party cake. William has had a very successful potty training week. The best present ever! (I'm sure you mother's of boys can appreciate this!)

Disney World

As most of you know we took William to Disney World earlier this month. I don't know who was more excited William or the adults? My Dad and Stepmom came with us--they were a huge help! Luckily the weather was beautiful so it helped make all the walking bareable. I didn't realize how tough the trip was going to be at times for a pregnant mommy.

We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge resort on the grounds and it was great! The lobby is awesome and it is a very kid friendly hotel. We only had to take a short boat ride to the Magic Kingdom from the hotel too. I think William loved the boat rides, monorail rides and bus rides just as much as the parks!

We spent most of our time in the Magic Kingdom and MGM. William loved seeing all of the characters! He especially loved the character breakfast with Mickey and Minnie and lunch with the Little Einsteins. We all had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back! It's a scarry thought that the next time we go we will be a family of 4. Needless to say, we'll recruit more grandparents to help for that trip too!

Wilderness Lodge-- Highly recommended to all!

Day One on our boatride to Magic Kingdom

William & Mickey!

"Patiently" waiting for Chef Mickey's Breakfast

William & Minnie!

What vacation is all about-- too many treat and sweets!

I think it's easy to tell who had more fun on this ride!

William was too short to even see. He controlled how high Dumbo flew and it took a while for him to catch on that he could raise him up.

William, Meme & Papaw at our hotel.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE EARS!

We were so surprised that William actually kept these on. The ears have blinking lights--which is adorable unless you are holding him and there are flashing in your face!

Mommy & Maren Clare with her first ears!

Our last day!

We had a wonderful time!!