Raven's Cliff

To expose Hank to the great outdoors in Georgia, Katherine and I planned a day trip to North Georgia to hike.  Hank grew up in Colorado and always takes Katherine on an adventure on west whether skiing, show shoeing or simply hiking.  Here, although there are tons of great hikes, she never had done it.  I think we have now made it a tradition that when they come back into town we'll take a scenic hike because we had such a fun time this go round. 

We drove to Raven's Cliff just outside of Helen.  Mommy had done the hike several times before.  She had hiked it growing up with Granna and Opa, then after Daddy and she started dating she introduced it to him.  If I remember correctly, Uncle Brad and Aunt Jacquelyn got engaged along the trail.  Now, it was Trenton's turn to be initiated into the Raven's Cliff hike.  We always remember the hike for the heart in the tree along the trail. 

It was the perfect day; cool, but sunny and beautiful.  That week, there had been rain so the stream was full and the waterfalls were flowing.  Round trip it was a 5 mile hike traversing the stream via boardwalks.  It was the ideal length for Mommy who has a little over 4 months pregnant and Daddy who had to carry an extra 25 lbs on his back.  Most of the journey Trenton took in the pack and was a trooper loving the ride Daddy provided him.  However, he did have times he wanted out and to hike himself.   He marched along with us, even finding his own hiking stick along the way.  Lily was there on the hike, too, so he would tell her, "'c'mer, c'mer" so she would follow.  Once we were at the falls, Trenton insisted on continuing on the steep part as well.  Daddy helped him go to the second falls.  Once there, he added a rock to the stack of rocks started by previous hikers marking the top of the summit.  On the way back to the car, Trenton took a nice nap on Daddy's neck.  Hikes can wear you out! 

Lily, Hank, Katherine, Daddy and Trenton at the trailhead.

The infamous heart tree--we have many different family pictures from this spot.

Trenton likes the song, "A Hiking We Will Go" to the tune "The Farmer and the Dell"--a Mommy creation.

Trenton determined to hike further even when it got rocky and steep.

Trenton marking the summit top.

Group shot

Trenton had fun throwing rocks in the stream.  (See the rock in mid air?)

Cutie pie plays peek-a-boo around trees with Hank.

Dinner at Melnicks

Mommy's best high school friend Katherine and her hubby Hank (yes, we named Trenton's toy pilot after him since he flies in the Navy) were in town for the holidays.  It was great to visit with them and it was an extra nice treat that they brought their dog Lily, Trenton's long lost friend from Virginia Beach, with them.  Trenton loves her as much as Kiki (as Trenton calls Katherine) and Hank themselves, and I'm pretty sure Lily enjoyed him since every other piece of food made it to the ground.  Pretty soon he realized it and would give Lily his food on purpose.  Now that is what we need around our house while it is on the market! 

Mrs. Karen had toys sent out from went Katherine and her brother Michael were little.  He liked the blocks best and would take them apart.  He didn't like to put them together.  That was an "ut-oh" to him and he would quickly pull them apart as fast as you could build anything.   Mr. Larry was goofy with Trenton as usual, and taught him something very naughty--to say "Go Gators!" Can you believe that?......in a bulldog/crimson tide family!  Luckily it only stuck with Trenton that night.   

We had fabulous Chili, and Trenton made a meal off cheese, chips, and an apple.  That is how he is these days.  Our wonderful, not-at-all-picky-eater at all has vanished just like that.  According to fellow parents, we were lucky to have that eater for over a 1 1/2 years (they usually don't even last that long!)  We hope to see that eater back again one day! :) 

I think it was this night that Hank persuaded Kevin into running the Tough Mudder in Feb.  It's man time, as they would refer to it.   It is an 11 mile run through mud and various obstacles.  Best of luck boys! 

 Larry gave Trenton a Gator and said, "Go Gators!" only once before Trenton started repeating it.  At least he isn't doing the Gator Chop!  :)

 Trenton plays hide and seek avoiding putting his pjs on.  As he likes to say, "I'm nake!"  It is really cute!

 This picture cracks me up because Trenton looks HUGE!  By the angle, you'd never guess he was not even two years old!

Kiki would tickle Trenton, and he loved it!

Happy Birthday, Olivia!

A dear teaching friend of Mommy delivered a baby at 27 weeks last year.  The 1 lb. 5 oz. baby girl was a fighter, and we felt very blessed this past weekend to celebrate Olivia's 1st birthday!  She is a such a miracle and her parents are extremely strong individuals--we all can learn a lot from this family!  Olivia, we hope your 2nd year is just a blessed as your 1st!  Thanks for letting us celebrate the day with you!  We love you!

 Olivia digs into her Pink Sock Monkey birthday cake!

Trenton tries to hold Olivia's hand, but she doesn't look too interested. 

Carriage Ride

Horses are one of Trenton's favorite animals.  Yes, he has always been a fan of animals in general, but once Daddy put the horse on the ipad a couple months ago, Trenton became obsessed.  Together they named the horse "Joe" and now Trenton refers to almost all horses as "Joe" thinking they are all his famous ipad horse. 

When we heard the Avenue offered carriage rides during the holidays, we thought this was the perfect outing for Trenton.  He was delighted as he rode the horse drawn carriage with Mommy and Granna, but not so enthralled as he had to wait his turn to go on the carriage ride.  Patience has been a hard concept for Trenton to learn, but we are working on that and hopefully as he gets older he will get better with it.  Luckily, Opa was there to chase Trenton around, Granna waited in line, and Mommy could rest some--the pregnancy is wearing her out these days!

 Trenton learning how to wait his turn.

 Yay, Trenton and Granna are ready for the carriage ride!

 

Curiosity Hits

At our house, we couldn't keep presents under the tree.  Trenton would get into them before you knew it.  At Granna and Opa's house, Trenton doesn't dare get into the presents, but you can certainly tell he is curious about them. 

Santa Party 2011

The annual Santa party, hosted by our good friends the Powells, was another hit this year.  Trenton was the first to run up to Santa as he entered the room, he immediately brought a book to Santa to read, which then kicked everything off.  He became the first child to "talk" with Santa.  Not much talking happened this year.  Trenton's smile, which was a mile wide, was enough. You could certainly tell Trenton was a big fan of the jolly ol' fellow!  The sang songs, put on reindeer noses, danced, and even received a present from Santa himself. 

Looking forward to next year when there are two children on his lap!  Hope the next little one likes Santa just as much! :)



Garden Lights

We are lucky to have such gorgeous gardens right in the middle of Midtown.  Atlanta's Botanical Garden offers so much life to little ones during all four seasons.  We attended their holiday light show this Christmas season with our friends the Vasells and Granna and Opa.  It was impossible to capture a picture of Will and Trenton together, because they were running all around the open space.  Their favorite attraction was the train--go figure!  It was a perfect night to kick off the holiday spirit!

  Hey, wait for me!