Mexican Birthday Dinner...

After we visited Bill, Carrie, and Claire at the hospital, Nanna took us along with Reid and Jake to Mexican for Matt's "belated" birthday dinner...

Matt in what Anna Lauren called the birthday hat...we really surprised him...he was completely caught off guard when they came to the table singing. The kids all loved it!

Yummy...Mexican birthday cake!

Anna Lauren LOVED the "birthday hat"...

Mary "Claire" Sones...

On Sunday, my cousin Carrie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl...Mary "Claire" Sones. If you keep up with my blog, you know my family was very excited about this little girl because Bill and Carrie already have 3 little boys. Needless to say, baby Claire will have to be one tough little girl to hang with her brothers!

We are busy the next two weekends so we made a flying trip to Brookhaven Sunday so we could get a "sneak" peak at this precious baby girl. She was only a couple hours old and Mom and Dad were tired from being up all night so we had a real quick visit, but we were able to at least hold Claire for a few minutes.

Bill and Carrie...we are so excited for ya'll and cannot wait to come to Brookhaven for a longer visit...she is a precious gift from God!

Aunt Dianna and Claire...

Sweet Baby Claire...

Aunt Mandi and Claire...

Uncle Matt and Claire...he LOVES holding little babies...

Anna Lauren was a little freaked out by the whole hospital thing, but she finally warmed up and talked to Claire for a few minutes...

Anna Lauren giving baby Claire a kiss before we left...

Picnic at the Rez...

Anna Lauren has really started showing interest in the water (the reservoir) so tonight we packed some supper and headed out for a picnic...such a fun time to just "relax" and be a "family", which is one of our favorite things to do!

Anna Lauren and Daddy...

There were a good many people swimming and Anna Lauren was dying to get in the water...Daddy to the rescue...she got to put her feet in the COLD water...

She wanted to go deeper so "redneck" style we went...dress tucked in panties so she could go deeper. Look at her face, she wasn't embarrassed!

Loving it...obviously we need to take her back when it gets warmer and she can wear her swimsuit. However, what she really wants to do is jump off Mr. Billy's boat into the water...if Mr. Billy does not take the child on his boat soon, she is going to have a major melt down. I think we talk about that boat EVERY day. Ms. Katie, will you please tell Mr. Billy Anna Lauren is READY!

Mommy LOVES this happy face!

I mean could she be any cuter?

Help is on the Way...

It is official...Matt has the t-shirt to prove that he is on the Mississippi Health Response Team! Now...it took working tireless hours after Katrina and the Swine Flu outbreak to get this t-shirt but now he has it and looks oh so official! So no worries...if there is a disaster, you can rest comfortable by knowing our very own Matt Calvert will be to the rescue!

Now...on a serious note, he is on the Mississippi Health Response Team and they have to have graded exercises every so often to keep their funding in case there is a disaster in Mississippi and they are preparing for one now...this was Friday morning before he headed out for his "test" exercise...the real one will be this Friday.

Not only does he have this "official" t-shirt, he has a "to go" bag that should remain packed at all times in case he had to leave in a hurry...hmm...Matt Calvert...hurry? Yeah, that bag does not have one thing in it...

Happy Birthday Matt...

On Wednesday, we celebrated Matt's birthday, and we had a full day of celebrating! Anna Lauren and I treated Daddy to breakfast at Chick-fil-A, Matt and I met the Buddies (Eugene and Jennifer) for lunch at Basils and then a babysitter came so Matt and I could enjoy dinner ALONE (yes, a date) at P.F. Changs! Of course eating happens to be one of our favorite things so that is exactly what we did to celebrate his special day. Oh...and I dropped off a cake at his work so his co-workers surprised him and they enjoyed cake and had a "little" party at work, which he said was fun! Happy Birthday Matt...we love you and had a fun day celebrating!

You cannot have a birthday without blowing out a candle...even if it is in a chicken biscuit...

Anna Lauren opening Daddy's birthday presents...

I attempted to order Matt tennis shoes, which is what he asked for and then he "spoiled" his surprise and told me he had found a good deal on tennis shoes so could he order them? Of course his deal was better than mine so I had to tell him to go ahead...therefore, he opened 4 boxes of his favorite candy to represent each shoe he ordered...he was happy!

Way to Go Matthew...

So...I must take a moment and brag on my husband!

Last week Matt was promoted from Database Analyst to Database Administrator (now if you are like me, this means nothing to you...BUT...this is a BIG deal to Matt). Matt has been at the State Department of Health for 7 years and absolutely LOVES his job and has worked hard to receive this well deserved promotion.

Way to go, Matthew...we are so proud of you! And not to mention, a little extra money is always nice considering we have a new house and a baby on the way!

And on a side note, I recently received a promotion too...kind of funny how God's timing works! However, I will not "brag" about myself...

A Day with Dad...

I spent Saturday hosting parties so Anna Lauren spent the day with her dad and every other dad in our family that was taking care of the kiddos while all us girls partied...

They took Nanny's car to the car wash, played with Parker and Mallory, and then went to Jackson and back with Uncle Brad, Reid, and Jake. That was fun because she got to ride in the "big" truck that Uncle Brad drives...she loves his "big" truck!

Anna Lauren and Parker jumping on the trampoline at Aunt Pam's...since the previous owners of our new house left their trampoline, it has become her new favorite thing. I just love the "air" pictures...

Obviously Uncle Brad has a good relationship with the dealership because he took his truck by there to have his tire fixed, and drove away in a convertible...Matt thought it was funny that all you could see was Anna Lauren's bow!

Loving the convertible...Reid (front), Anna Lauren and Jake (back)...

Carrie's Baby Shower...

My cousin, Carrie, is pregnant with her 4th child and after 3 little boys, she is having a GIRL! Needless to say, EVERYONE is thrilled and cannot wait for baby Claire to arrive.

If you know Carrie, you know she will do anything and everything for someone else, but she hates being the center of attention. So after twisting her arm, she agreed to let us do a shower for her but it had to be very simple...we had dinner at a restaurant in Brookhaven and the only fun the hostesses got to have was to decorate the dessert table...of course, no one could go to any trouble...she is something else!

It was a fun night for all, and she got some great presents...all of them pretty much over the top because everyone was so excited to finally be buying for a girl.

Anna's Senior Party...

This weekend we went to Brookhaven because Saturday we hosted a senior party for my cousin, Anna, and a baby shower for my cousin, Carrie. What a fun day of parties and such sweet girls that we honored during this special time in their lives!

As far the senior party, Anna wanted a girls only party so we took it to a level that only girls would appreciate...a tea party and of course a tea party that was not complete until the girls put on their hats!

Anna (seated ~ second from left) and 6 of her closest friends...

Sweet sisters...Carrie, Anna, and Emily

Carrie, Aunt Pam, Anna, and Emily...

Just love this picture of Anna...and let me just tell you, I cannot believe this beautiful young "lady" is graduating from high school...I mean just the other day, she was the flower girl in my wedding!

Displaying their craft...they made "glitter" bird cards and each wrote a sweet note to Anna...we plan to mail her the cards throughout her first semester of college...

Hats or not...a beautiful group of girls...

Even the grandmothers enjoyed the hats...

The "pretty" plates...chicken salad, grapes, cheese straws, and cucumber sandwiches...

Easter Lunch...

We treated ourselves to Cracker Barell for Easter lunch and it was so yummy...we all enjoyed ourselves and Mommy was most happy that she didn't have to cook!

Playing checkers while we were waiting on our table...

She wanted to sit in the rocking chair and me take her picture...works for me!

Showing off her Easter shoes and pretty painted toe nails...yes, that is dirt on her dress...not so sure "white" was the best choice...o'well, she sure was pretty! Thanks for the dress, MeMe!

All Dressed Up for Easter...

Since I am not feeling well this days, we decided to stay home for Easter and enjoy the day as a "family"...it was somewhat sad to be without either of our families, but we had a good day just doing our thing as our "family"...

We went to the 8 AM service and then went to the reservoir to blow some bubbles and take a few pictures...we got a few good pictures, but my "big" camera is broken so we had to use the "little" camera, which does not snap pictures as quick...needless to say our "big" camera has to get fixed or we MUST buy a new one...it is definitley a necessity of life for the Calverts.

Anyway, here are the pictures we took all dressed up for Easter...