making excuses for why i've been away

i know, i know. i have been a bit of a lame-wad the past week. or so. but the truth is, we were movin and shakin and couldn't get connected. do you know what it's like to NOT be able to connect to the internet for an entire week? seriously. i started having withdrawals. seriously.

but now that i DO have the internet (while, mind you, STILL travelling), i thought it might be nice to stop by and update a little on what we have been doing.

first things first, we headed to charlotte, nc to throw my little sister a surprise 21st birthday party!

we did a wine tasting, complete with all the pairings. mmmm. she was thoroughly surprised and had no clue that the baby would be there. that was the biggest surprise of all!

we captured a 4 generations picture while we were there too.

i swear, we didn't plan to all look like citrus fruits. it just happened. and it is fitting that b would be the grapefruit in the middle.

this was day one of our increasingly hectic week. day 2, bella met a new friend (the first of several this week). we headed north of charlotte to meet up with an old friend of mine who's little man is just a few weeks younger than bella. leah , from the molyneaux family, and i got our little munchkins together and spent the better part of 3 hours reminiscing and catching up. we have known each other since elementary school, but haven't been in touch in years.

figures that we BOTH have adorable kids.

day 3, we headed out to mint hill, to visit bella's nana and family. she met her great grandpa for the first time! she had a blast playing with her cousin rachel, and was not shy about showing her some love....

she's a lover.....what can i say. she kissed just about everybody this weekend, and while it is hilarious and adorable when she does it to adults, it's a little scary when she starts kissing her fellow babies. as you can see.....

we ate, we played, we laughed, we played some more. and after all that excitement, bella was pooped.

she needed a little help getting to the car....kept stumbling around. i think someone was slipping her martini's under the table or something.

moving on.

day 4, bella meets ANOTHER friend.

braydon is the grandson of my mom's best friend (of the past 19 years). the nephew of a friend i consider family. the son of her older brother. you see where i'm going with this? the kid's like family. we called it b and b weekend, in honor of the 2 finally meeting. my mom has big plans for these 2. most of which she has not informed me of. let's just say, she is as relentless as grandma's can be. it's all kind of disgusting really. but oh so cute. bella kissed him too. i'll use that as blackmail when she's older.

after all this excitement, we were all in need of a vacation. which is why we are now in orlando for a week, staying with my mom. nothing but r&r for the next 4 days, mixed in with a little pool hopping. we live a good life, i must say.

well, except for when bella gets cranky.

good to see some things never change....