J&J's Wedding

Zach & I traveled to Cape Town, South Africa for John & Jasandra's wedding.  What a lovely wedding!  We met the wedding party at Vrede en Lust, the vineyard where they got married.  As with all J&J events, nothing was done halfway!  The setting was gorgeous and the couple radiant.  It was all perfect!

Before the wedding we toured Franschhoek with Nuala and Colin, friends of J&J's.  They introduced us to the wonders of Gordon's Bay.  Which was quite a top off to our dinner out in Paarl!

The reception was so much fun - starting with the African drum circle all the way through the speeches and hours and hours of dancing!

And the reception was so pretty it even looked good the next day!

It was worth the 24 hours+ of travel!  One picture of us in Senegal when we changed planes...

Hooray for the happy couple.  Congrats Jas & John!

Thanksgiving Day

Beatrice spent her birthday / Thanksgiving at The Farm.  Looks like she had a grand time!  Zack and I left today for our big adventure - one whole week away from Beatrice - in South Africa at John & Jasandra's wedding.  While it was very hard to leave...we plan on having a great time, and I know Beatrice will have a fabulous time with the Grands and Great-Grands and Uncle Graham and everyone else in Georgia!

BeBe learning new tricks...

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Ask Beatrice how old she is, and the reply is an emphatic, "Two!" She's been saying this for about a month, but now I know it's really true because here it is - a picture with Flat Bear!

At two years old, Beatrice is simply a delight. Everyday she is learning something new, growing bigger/stronger, and giving out hugs and kisses that make my heart ache with joy. That sounds over the top, but there it is. [Don't get me wrong, she has her moments like every almost-two-year-old, and it is probably good that I didn't try to write this after the 5 hour trip to GA!]
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I have been trying to think about how I would describe the "alma-toast" two year old Beatrice for posterity - delightful is the word that I keep coming back to. She is just fun, and funny. Her newest thing is to answer any question with, "yeah, sure" instead of "yes please" - it is very hard not to laugh. She is still very expressive (the picture below is of her spotting Mimi-Kitty) and she hasn't met a stranger yet. She is outgoing and sweet. She can jump and dance and spin and run ("Bea wunning...", "BeBe jump!"). And she is stringing more and more words together, recognizing certain letters (S, Z, B), and enjoys stickers more than most everything else ("Tickers!")

We all love you very much Beatrice! Happy, happy birthday. Be good for Grandma Elizabeth and Granddaddy Bill ('Gwanma-Bill') this week, and Mommy & Daddy will see you when we get back!

Georgia Girl

Beatrice and I traveled to Georgia on Monday - what a birthday treat for me! - and arrived safe and sound to two very, very happy grandparents. Or "Gwanma-Bill" as Beatrice calls them.

It took about 5 seconds, but she has them completely wrapped around her finger. All she has to say is "Gwanma..." or "Bill..." and they'll pretty much do whatever she wants (no matter how embarrassing the photos may be).

And talk about birthdays everyday...Beatrice is starting to think each and every day is her birthday. Slinkys and dolls and tents and ....

UNCLE GRAHAM!!! Now Beatrice is really in Heaven.

They certainly enjoy each other's company!

And of course besides Uncle Graham, there is Mimi-Kitty. Beatrice just loves that cat! And stalks her everywhere the poor cat goes.