Tennessee Aquarium

We've had a lot to blog about lately-because this baby keeps us on the move! Last weekend we went to Chattanooga, TN to watch daddy do an olympic distance triathlon. (1 mile swim, 26 mile bike and 6.2 mile run)

We put out a blanket on a hill by the river (where he did the swim) to cheer him on. Andre was super excited and proud of his dad!







After we saw him come in from the swim, Andre was ready to move on to the next transition.

"Put me in the stroller mom! Let's go!"


Here is Keenan starting the run portion of the race. He did an awesome job (29th out of 117) and even qualified for age group Nationals next month! Plus he won "best looking" (actually that was a personal award I gave him)







While he ran, Andre and I decided to check out downtown Chattanooga. It was really nice-lots to do while waiting for dad to cross the finish. But-by that time Andre had been up since 4:30am and it was time to nap.

And it was good thing since he had no idea what we were doing next!!!





The Aquarium!!

Andre was so impressed with the "tssshh" (fish) on the walls at the entrance we considered not paying the $45 to actually go inside. Just kidding!








And there we were. Inside the Aquarium. Immediately Andre wanted nothing to do with us. He wanted to stand right against the glass talking to the "tsshh". He was in heaven!











Apparently there was much better angle in the crouched position. This is how he spent most of the time watching the fish. He even got upset when we moved him to the next tank! Trust us Andre, there's alot more fish in the sea!

We just hoped that he ralized these were real and he wasn't just looking at the coolest TV on the planet.








I'm not sure who was more excited about seeing actual sharks-Andre or Keenan. They both look pretty mesmerized here...



Here is actual footage of Andre taunting the shark before the...well...attack. The following picture is not for the faint of heart.







SHARK ATTACK!!!!!

(he never saw it coming)

haha! no really the NEXT picture is of the shark attack. Go ahead and start singing the Jaws theme to yourself......

dunna...dunna....dunnadunna...






Scary isn't it?

But my boys are brave and Andre is once again wanting to be put down.








He did let me hold him once to see the jellytshhh.

"I'm not sure that IS a tsshhh mom!"









The Clarkheads had a great trip to Chattanooga! We'll definitely be back!

"bye, bye tshhh!"

Fourth of July at the Lake!

When we first told Andre that we were going to go on a week vacation at a lake house with Mimi and all of our family without Daddy and without Canaan-this was his reaction...

"Are you crazy mom?!"

But soon he warmed up to the idea.

If there is one thing that Andre has learned about his Mimi it is that she loves water. Whether it was the beach, a lake, a river or a pool it didn't matter-she loved them all!

Andre must have got that gene from her!

Every morning Andre got up at 6:00 am and went out on the dock with his mommy and his Mimi. (everyone else in the house slept in)

Every afternoon Andre floated in the lake with his family. It took him a few minutes to enjoy himself once he got in because we had to pretty much drop him 3 feet down from the dock to get in the lake. That was a little traumatic.

One evening "uncle" Doug (Mimi's brother) let him drive his boat! He was a natural! Occasionally he wouldn't watch where he was going (just to show off) Full speed ahead!!

When Reese got there he tried to explain to her just how fast he drove the boat, but she gave him a blank stare.

"what don't you get about super fast lightning speed Reese?!"

girls.

With all the boating, floating and conversing, Andre really worked up an appetite. Luckily, snacks were just a mommy's reach away.

Here Andre is sporting his new sandals. (Thongs, if you will.)

sun + sugary snacks = sleep

No one seemed to mind that Andre had drifted off (figuritively speaking) Looks like they weren't far from a nap themselves...

Poor Andre napped through his buddy Jacob's amazing jump off of the dock-it was at least 15 or 50 feet!

Andre thinks Jacob is real cool and he hopes to be as brave as he is one day..

Here is Auntie Amy holding Reese. There was lots of baby holding going on at the lake that week!

So Daddy ended up coming to the lake after he and mom, Mimi and Paw-Paw ran the Peachtree Road Race. He tried to tell Daddy that someone was taking a picture but neither he or Uncle Bryant looked.

Reese was still staring at him...

geez Reese!

Group shot of Andre's family at the Lake House-from left to right:

Cha-Cha, Jacob, Ray-Ray, "Max", Auntie Amy, Mimi, "Mick", Uncle Bryant, Auntie Erin, Reese, Mommy, Daddy and Andre.

Great Memories.

Andre thanked his mommy for taking him to the Lake. He had so much fun!

Andre's First Birthday!

Andre celebrated his birthday like any 1 year-old should...with cake! He got a HUGE birthday cupcake complete with sprinkles and scalloped icing edges. He was quite perplexed at the odd breakfast. Usually he eats organic oatmeal and apples but this day was special. On this day Andre gets enriched white flour, refined sugar, chocolate "flavoring", blue dye #2, and monocalcium phosphate; all potentially processed near or around wheat, soy, peanuts, milk and eggs.

So yes we gave it to him for breakfast to see if he had any adverse reactions.

Well, if you count blissful excitement as a reaction-it happened. Andre was in heaven. His eyes rolled back and closed as he savored the sweet deliciousness. Or he may have slipped into a sugar coma-we're not sure.

Anyhoo-he survived his high-fructose breakfast and his parent were pleased to get such great pictures.

"This is the best birthday I have ever had, "Andre thought to himself, wondering what to do with his hands...

Not to be outdone by a cupcake, Andre's mommy and daddy surprised him with his "big" birthday present-A huge whale pool with a tail and a spout! He loved it and expressed his appreciation by splashing around in it for at least 10 minutes.

Yippee!

But no birthday would be complete without a P-A-R-T-Y! Andre had a pool party at the BridgeMill pool and all of his friends came. It was sort of a surprise party since he didn't know he was "turning One" AND it had to be explained to him what a birthday actually was. He was totally surprised!

Andre was also surprised that his birthday cupcake had morphed into a gigantic cupcake-cake in the shape of a "1". More sugar??Yes! That's what birthdays are all about Andre!

He was ready....

Here is Andre tearing into yet another b-day cake...

Even though no one is smiling in this picture-be assured that everyone had a blast! :) We had water toys, balloons, cake, friends, family and a tepid pool to swim in.

Splish Splash!

Here is Auntie Ay holding Andre while he let his cake digest before swimming. If you look closely you can see that the inside of his nostrils are blue. He was actually covered in blue at one point-which is dangerous at a pool because a lifeguard tried to resuccitate him. "No he's blue from icing NOT because he's drowning!!"






Here Andre's Poppy shared some of his chewing tabacco with him. JUST KIDDING! He's eating his snacks (he got lots of snacks for his birthday)

Auntie Cha-Cha held Andre for a photo. They look so much a like in this picture that we're considering a maternity test to see if in fact he's hers. Just when we thought our family couldn't get weirder.

Andre's ridiculously cute cousin Reese flew in to wish him a happy birthday. SHe didn't know what a birthday was either but Andre promised to explain to her when she was older...

Yes, having a pool party was exactly the reason why Andre wanted to be born in June. The day was perfect-full of sunshine, laughter and excitement...

All of which wore him out. Andre fell asleep on Karen eating snacks (again). He was completely wiped out from all of the birthday hoopla (plus his mommy scheduled his party during his nap time)

oh well.

It's his party.

He can sleep if he wants to. :)