Amanda met me at the Birmingham airport with a big smile, and I knew immediately that we were going to have a fun weekend. I've known of her for years (through family connections), but this was the first time we had ever met. The grand occasion for our airport meeting was Amanda's 30th birthday photoshoot. It was her Mom's genius idea, and I loved it. What a great way to celebrate a big birthday! We decided that Amanda's "children", Roscoe and Shrimp, needed to be part of the action. They reluctantly complied. So we spent an afternoon at the beautiful Samford University campus (where the birthday girl attended college) then took the doggies to downtown Birmingham for their turn in front of the camera.

Amanda, Thank you for giving me the grand tour of Birmingham, taking me to some of the yummiest restaurants I've ever been to, letting me sing in choir with you at church (ha!) and for the new friendship. Anytime you want to climb through a Men's bathroom window or break into a football field, give me a call. :)

I promise not to turn this site into a baby blog over the next few months but thought it would be fun to share little updates every month or so. We're really excited about this whole "becoming parents" thing although neither of us has a clue what we are doing. That has become apparent very quickly. I'll give you a few examples:

-At my very first Dr. appointment the nurse told me I needed to start thinking about a pediatrician. I was totally confused by the conversation and finally blurted out, "For what?" She politely reminded me that the end result of this process is a baby, and babies need pediatricians.

-Anderson wore a pink shirt to my first ultrasound, "In case it's a girl." Unfortunately we didn't find out, because I was only 6 weeks pregnant at the time. :)

-He also asked me recently if I'm going to start wearing sweatpants. I have absolutely no idea what his angle is here. Maybe he's wondering if I'm going to turn into a big frump? OR...he's hoping we're going to save a lot of money on clothes this year?

-We're trying to decide what room to put the baby in. It turned into a debate; because someone thinks that babies are so small they don't really need their own room. Right. So, we'll just put it in the guest bathroom?

-I've decided not to read any pregnancy books. Mainly because I just don't have the desire. So I just ask my doctor lots of questions. Sometimes her answers make me laugh; other times they make me cringe...and she laughs! Either way, it's pretty funny.

-We got our first baby gifts in the mail last week! (Other than the boxes of diapers my Mom has been buying for us every time she goes to the store). One was a cd of lullaby renditions of U2 songs from my college friend, Jamie! We were really excited and listened to it already-ha! And I know it does the trick, because I saw Anderson nodding off while he was listening to it. The other gift was a dvd from Anderson's friend, Aaron, that helps you get your baby to stop crying and SLEEP. Yay! I'm sure we will watch it more than once.

Thank you sweet friends for being so thoughtful-This is really fun!

We loved Hawaii.
I wouldn't mind a yearly excursion!
Some of my favorite parts of the trip:

-People watching on Waikiki Beach.
-Best. Pineapple. Ever.
-Coconut pancakes
-The North Shore. Waimea Bay was my absolute favorite spot.
-Hiking to the top of Diamond Head. (What was I thinking?!) The view was breathtaking though.
-Hawaiian pizza.
-Sliding at the Kiddie Pool. Guess who did that?!
-Lounging at the beach and pools like two professional bums.
-Dinner in bed...two different nights!
-Shopping on the strip in Waikiki.
-Riding THEBus.
-Sneaking into the Royal Hawaiian.
-Eating at a shack on the side of the road and not getting sick. :)

Stephanie is one of those people who you meet once and never, ever forget. No, seriously. She has a larger-than-life personality, likes to laugh and never meets a stranger. Steph is graduating this year from the University of North Florida, so we got together recently at the Jacksonville Zoo for her senior pictures. My favorite part about this shoot is that you can see her crazy, fun Stephanie-ness in ever shot.

Congratulations, Miss College Graduate!