Katrina in Clarksdale

There were high winds in Clarksdale last night. Here is some damage in our neighborhood. Our family compound did not sustain any damage, thank the Lord.


This is the Barr's home which is down the street from us. The tree took out columns and a corner of the house.



This is the Tennant's home which is across the street from Mama and Daddy's home. The tree fell in their driveway. It narrowly missed the house.



Matthew surveyed the damage.

What Matthew Thinks Of...

Katrina




the French




Bulldogs

Mary Margaret and Pete in Clarksdale

Mary Margaret and Pete were here this past weekend! Matthew thought they were both fabulous. He would not take his eyes off of Pete, and Pete was so sweet to him. He would come over and pat his head and give him kisses. True to form I did not have my camera with me to capture those precious moments. But, here are a few moments I did catch...


Mag's hair is yummy!


Papa turned the sprinkler system on for Pete.


Matthew watched Pete's every move.


Tell me about it, Precious


Wet Pete
He is SO CUTE!

Play Time

"I think I can. I think I can."


"Got 'em!"


"Phone book tastes good."










*Note: this is not just the Clarksdale phone book. It is for the greater Delta.


"Hello!"

A Few Pictures from the Weekend

Matthew helped Steve hang the towel racks

Precious and Papa's chopping block tastes good!

Big Boy in Booster Chair

For the first time, Matthew had dinner tonight in his booster chair. It straps to a regular chair and serves the same purpose as a high chair. He found the tray very interesting. Here are some pictures -

More Family Visiting!

Ellen and Caterina were in town this week. Last night we all had dinner over at Mama and Daddy's. The Marinellis joined us. We had a wonderful time!

Matthew LOVED Caterina!

My Best Friend's Wedding

We were in Jackson last weekend for Caroline and Roman's wedding. It was spectacular! She was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. Also, each event was so much fun. Thursday night was girls' night at Caroline's lake house. Some of my high school friends were there. I loved catching up with them. Friday was the bridesmaids' luncheon. Caroline's friends from SMU are a riot, and I love hanging out with them. The rehearsal dinner was Friday evening. Steve and I were at a great table. Saturday we attended a lovely out-of-town guests brunch, and the wedding and reception. Lots of my high school friends were at the reception. It was great seeing and dancing with them!

Most of us had a marvelous weekend. Steve and I certainly did, but Matthew was not thrilled about being away from Clarksdale. He did not take his bottles well and did not want to go to sleep in a different environment. Poor little guy. He was so happy to get home Sunday. He has been a little angel since.

Sweet Boys

Matthew loves his exersaucer!


My Boys!

Aunt Janie Visited

My aunt, Janie Birdsong, was in Clarksdale! It was wonderful catching up with her. She only comes through a few times a year. I am so glad we live here now so we can see her. Little Robert joined us all for dinner last night at Mama and Daddy's. Robert was in Louisiana all summer and had neglected to cut his hair. At 11:00 PM last night we remedied that. Robert's hair was almost shoulder length before Daddy started to wack away at it. Thank goodness Janie was in town - she shaped it up for the poor boy. It looked SO much better once Janie was finished with him. He is quite a handsome boy now.

In other news, Steve went fishing yesterday with John Duff, Matthew Duff, and Daddy. They caught striped bass. Tonight we had their catch for dinner. It was delicious!

Spit Bubbles

Matthew has started to blow spit bubbles. He did it purposefully for the first time yesterday, and today we had many more spitting episodes. He likes to blow spit bubbles when he is in a talkative mood. Steve and I couldn't be more proud.

Steve was in Water Valley today. He just told me he saw a portrait of Miss Watermelon Festival. Apparently it made quite an impression on him. In light of that, I don't believe we will be making the Watermelon Festival this year.

We are looking forward to a great weekend. Hopefully we will get some work finished around the house. Happy Weekend to Everyone!

Destin Photos

I finally went to Wal-Mart to get the pictures developed...


Matthew and his Mate


Singing an old irish tune


It was an "all smiles" kind of trip!

Hot Hot Hot

We made it home yesterday! Our trip was great! We really enjoyed hanging out with family and friends. The heat kept us inside most of the time. We did not go to the beach or the golf course, but the object of the trip was for Matthew spend time with family and that mission was accomplished.

Matthew couldn't have been a better baby. He cooed and smiled on cue and was perfectly delightful. He absolutely adored Nancy, Rinnie, and MaMa in Jackson and Mike, Joni, and Glyn in Destin.

He was also quite a little trooper in the car. I was dreading the trip home, but that was our best day. He slept and slept and slept some more.

We are happy to be home. Thank goodness a cold front is on its way. I plan on lots of stroller rides!

Oh - You know how one thing is always left behind when you go on a trip. Well, I left the digital camera. I will go to Wal-Mart tomorrow to have the million dollar disposable camera developed and put on a disk. So hopefully we will have pictures on the blog tomorrow.

To Jackson and Destin

We are leaving in a short while to go to Jackson and Destin. We are spending the night with MaMa tonight. Nancy and Rinne are coming over for dinner. This will be the first time Matthew has met them! Saturday morning we are taking off for Destin. We are looking forward to spending time with Mike and Joni.

Now that the camera is up and running, we will take lots of photos!

Pictures!!!

Here you go -






Second Cousins Patrick and Thomas came over for a visit. Matthew loves them!!


Paying homage to the Queen


Redneck baby says "Look Papa!"


Big Smile!

We're alive

Well, we made it back from vacation and didn't get a chance to make any posts last week. Kiawah was great. Great weather, food, company and golf. I had to leave early Wednesday morning to go to Green Bay for business and came back late Thursday night. Anne Clark flew to Destin early Friday morning for Caroline's bachelorette party. So you guessed it, that left me solo with Matthew for three days and flying home alone on Saturday. All I have to say is thank God I have a good baby. We did fine, but really needed his mother by the end of the third day. I now realize what a full, full time job this is and have a lot more respect for the job that Anne Clark is doing. She is a great Mama.

We are more than ready to be in our house now after living out of a suitcase for a month. It looks like tomorrow night may be our first night in the house, we are very excited. The painting is all done and the floors are finished. Our new fridge, washer and dryer were delivered today and Anne Clark has been unpacking. We made major progress shuffling things tonight and look forward to finally having our own house again.

Matthew is growing really fast and seems to change everyday. Anne Clark swears he grew over the weekend. However, that has nothing to do with rice cereal because he doesn't eat much of it and judging by the faces he makes, he doesn't like it very much.

4 month shots

We found a doctor for Matthew and took him for his four month visit yesterday. Dr. Ram ordered four shots for the boy. He cried when he was stuck, but then was just fine after I picked him up. His poor little legs are sore, and he is running a little fever, but the tylenol is working and he is fairly comfortable. He is just a little fussy though. We are starting him on rice cereal today. In fact when he wakes up from the nap he is taking right now, I will give the cereal a go! I will let you know how we do.

The rest of the doctor appointment went well. Matthew weighs 11 lbs, 12 oz. and is 25 inches long. He had a clean bill of health. I guess Steve and I are doing something right!

Finding Feet

Matthew has found his feet. He will look at them and play with them. He thinks they are as wonderful as we do!

The house is coming along nicely. The fence out front has been torn down and the overgrown shrubs have been ripped out. The floors are now covered with paper and the painters have begun their work. The sand for the patio is almost complete. John Barnes, our family friend and architect, has suggested a patio shape among many other things.

We are still at Mama and Daddy's house. We will probably be here another few weeks until they wrap up the floors and the paint.

The McLaurin's have been visiting for the past few days. I LOVE BEING SO CLOSE TO FAMILY!!!!!

I am sorry there are not any pictures of the house or Matthew. Once we get moved in I will fill the blog with pics.

Whew

So much going on...

- Closing on the house here did not go according to plan. Apparently Mrs. Easley did not remember adding her children to the deed. So, we needed all three of her children's signatures on the deed in order to pass it to us. Two were in town, but the third was in Louisiana. We should have it all wrapped up tomorrow.

- The house was thoroughly cleaned yesterday. Dust had collected in corners for 10 years. It was so nasty, but now it looks great!

- The moving truck arrived this morning. The two helpers were hired from the fire department. They both know Robert and Little Robert well, and they still didn't drop anything!

- We are having the hardwood floors sanded and refinished. That work should start Monday, then the painting should start Wednesday. Needless-to-say we are still living at Mama and Daddy's. That is just fine with us because Mama has been cooking!

- We bought a car. Steve will frequently be driving to the airport in Memphis so we needed something he could put a lot of miles on. Plus, air conditioning helps and the Jeep does not have that.

- Utilities, bank account, etc - lots to set up when moving to town, but we are almost finished

- We were accepted in the country club! We meet with them tomorrow to get a grand tour. Fun!

The past few days have been busy. It still feels like we are just visiting, but now that our stuff is here I am sure reality will set in soon!

Home Again!

Matthew and I are in Clarksdale! Yesterday was a long day, and we arrived in Memphis around 8:00PM. Steve made great progress yesterday. He spent the night in Alma, AR and should be in Clarksdale around 4:00PM today.

Matthew was wonderful yesterday! He is such a good little traveler. He slept on both flights (we connected through Atlanta), and was delightful on our way from Memphis to Clarksdale. Then he slept late this morning - he woke up around 9:00AM!

I am so happy to be home and cannot wait to take possession of my new house. That will happen Wednesday. I will keep you posted!