Partnerships for Children

This weekend I volunteered at the Partnerships for Children, "Under the Big Top" Gala. It was a huge success, and the committee of amazing volunteers raised money for a great cause. The mission of Partnerships for Children is to help abused and neglected children in the Austin area.

As a new parent, it was difficult to hear stories about children who are abused, neglected, hungry, and live without clean clothes and basic necessities. This organization does wonderful things to help these children and make a big difference in their lives. Congratulations to the 2011 Partnerships for Children committee!

Here are some fun Annie Ray pictures from the event...

Colin and GaGa

Colin was so excited to see grandma today. He was going out of his way to get her attention. He started by showing off all his toys, then he demonstrated his 20-word vocabulary by reading his favorite books and pointing out every object in the house (over and over). If that wasn't enough, he laughed, danced, and cuddled all the way to 9 pm when he very assertively pointed to GaGa to "put him nite, nite." This kind of behavior will definitely score him a toy or two.

Cheetos

Colin has discovered my second favorite food group (second only to Chick-fil-A).

*Note the "cheetle" on his face and hands. (This is a common side effect when eating cheetos by the mouth and/or handful.)

Strawberry Pickin'

Look how cute my niece is? (I had to "blog brag") She went strawberry picking this weekend!

Daddy's Boots

Colin can now wear his vintage boots - I call them "vintage" because they belonged to David and that means they date back to about 1978 (about when Jesse James roamed the wild west). They are well loved but still in great shape and ready for the next little cowboy. Now all Colin needs is a big hat - and maybe some pants! haha

Backyard Playscape

There's something about being outdoors that stimulates Colin's physical exercise. Whether it's the effect of the fresh air or the reaction to the sunlight (my child may be a human solar panel), I don't know. But take Colin outdoors, and he immediately starts to run, skip, climb and jump.

So I've decided that Colin needs a backyard playscape! The only problem is that we have a SMALL yard and a BIG project ahead. Did I mention that we have a berm in our backyard, a 25-year-old dilapidated fence, a mosquito problem and a jungle of overgrown trees? That said, I'm not afraid of projects - especially after remodeling our entire house. But this won't be as simple as buying a playscape at Toys R Us and putting it together. I will need to harness my creative side and start thinking like a toddler!

As usual, I found lots of great inspiration online. We don't have space for the usual "playground kit," so I'm thinking of hiring a carpenter to build a small rock wall, a slide, and a sand box. Hopefully all this research will help turn our backyard into a place where Colin can fight off villans, run from monsters, play tarzan and make mud pies. Check out this site where I did some of my research: http://www.bearsplaygrounds.com/access_freestanding_images/freestanding_components.html

If you have any ideas please let me know! I'm entertaining all ideas - even David's idea to turn the yard into a batting cage with fake grass and a rock wall in place of the siding. :)

Welcome Jonah Braden McCarley

I'm so happy to introduce another little guy to our group...

Christiana and Jared McCarley had their baby, Jonah, on Thursday, March 24th at 2 am. He weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and measured 20 1/2 inches long. He was originally due on my birthday (March 21st) but he didn't make his worldly debut until 3 days later. He looks a lot like his dad with blue eyes and lots of light hair. In fact, he has so much hair that Christiana and Jared are having fun making baby mohawks. What a beautiful baby!