Introducing Little Caleb

We are so blessed to have a new nephew to love. He is just adorable. We were very fortunate to get the opportunity to photograph Caleb before we left Atlanta. He was only about 10 days old when these pictures were taken. You can just see how much Noel and Cherie already love him. He is truly a blessing to the entire Thompson family.

I love this one. He looks so serious. :)

Cherie is such a beautiful Mother. She has taken to it so naturally.
Noel is such a proud Daddy. He loves to show off his little man.
I love this one. His little feet are so tiny and perfect.

So tiny in his big new room. :)

His nursery turned out so great. Cherie did such a wonderful job on getting all of the details just perfect. :)
She doesn't even look sleep-deprived. What a beautiful new Mom. :)

Thanks Noel and Cherie for a wonderful time photographing Caleb. It was wonderful to be able to capture some of the precious moments in his brand new little world. We love him! :)

Stone Mountain--Atlanta

We also had a great afternoon at Stone Mountain. They had a Christmas Spectacular event and we were able to enjoy it with the Thompsons. We went on Dec 27th, which was a little difficult because Santa was already on "vacation" after delivering all the presents.

Here is a folk singer/story teller that had entertainment geared to toddlers and preschoolers. It was very amusing and the kids really got into it.

Then Mrs. Claus came and told the kids stories. She was a really good Mrs. Claus! :)

This is the reason the park is called "Stone Mountain". This carving of the Confederate Memorial (Carving depicts three Confederate heroes of the Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and Lt. General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson)

The entire carved surface of the Memorial Carving measures three acres, larger than a football field. The carving of the three men towers 400 feet above the ground, measures 90 by 190 feet, and is recessed 42 feet into the mountain.

This guy was a GIANT bubble blower. It was really cool to watch. Shawn was really interested in his bubbles.
They had these wooden signs all over the park. They had funny sayings on them. This one was mine and Kathy's favorite. It said "He who laughs last, Didn't get it at first."


They also had this great 3D Polar Express show. It blew snow on us and had all sorts of cool effects. Shawn was mesmerized. So fun! :)

Coke factory--Atlanta

While we were in Atlanta we had several outings with Gordon and Kathy. One of them was to Coke factory in downtown Atlanta. It was so much fun to go see the new location and new facility for the Coke factory. Here are some of the fun pictures Bryan captured while we were there.

The huge welcome.

These were beautiful wooden bottles in the lobby of the Coke factory. They were huge! At least 8-15 feet tall. Very impressive entryway.

Once on the tour, they had various Coke signs from around the world. Here are a few of them.

Here is an old Coke machine. The cost of a coke from this machine is 10c.

This used to be a Coke delivery vehicle in Buenos Aires. They opened a distribution plant there in the 1930s.
Here are some advertising products used in the U.S. They also had a similar display for advertising materials in the rest of the world.

Another vending machine, this one cost 25c.
At the end of the tour they had a room where you could taste Coke products from around the world. This is a picture of the Africa station. Anybody interested in trying some Beverly? :) I was able to try some of my favorites from when I was growing up. Bryan and I tried to drink at least a taste from every fountain....I almost made it, then I started feeling sick so I stopped.
The entire tour there is a conveyor belt running little Coke bottles above your head. You watch them being bottled in one section, and then at the very end of the tour you get to take one with you. I was just a LITTLE excited....can you tell? :)
Here we are outside the Coke factory after our tour. We had a great time. If you're in Atlanta in the near future, check it out! :)

Christmas in Atlanta

We had a wonderful time in Atlanta for Christmas. We flew out on Monday Dec 22nd and flew home January 3rd. It was a wonderful 10 day trip and we got to see a lot of Bryan's family.

Here are some highlights (some of these pics are courtesy of Bryan's Dad!):

Our first stop in Atlanta was to Noel and Cherie's house. We had to stop by and meet my new NEPHEW!!! Introducing Caleb. This is what he looked like the first time we saw him...fast asleep. :0) He is just SO precious.

Then we headed for the Thompson house. Of course, Kathy had it imaculately decorated. Every year she has a different theme for the house and especially the tree. It was all just so beautiful.

Here is the gorgeous tree. I LOVE Christmas at the Thompson house. :)

Some of the decorations.

Kathy's Christmas village.

Here is Shawn making cookies with his Nana. He loved all the attention from Nana and Papa.

Great Papa (Bryan's grandpa) looking at our Christmas card.

The new family. Baby Caleb is less than a week old here. They look so happy (and hardly sleep deprived). :)

This is the bench that we had made for Caleb. Shaw was just a little obsessed with it. We had to take it apart to mail it to ATL, and when I was getting it ready I found all of Shawn's treasures in the trap door. On Christmas day, Shawn decided he was going to try to fit in the trap door. Too cute. :)

Shawn on Christmas morning.

Here is one with his hat on. He looked so cute in his little Santa outfit.

Great Papa opening presents. We bought him some new shirts.

Noel and Cherie's favorite Christmas present. This was Noel's doing, not ours. Just FYI.

Shawn opening a present from Papa and Nana. It is a Touch and teach book. AWESOME!!

I got to hold Caleb for a little while as he slept. I got a great book--one of Anne Geddes books. Have I mentioned I love her?!

Shawn opening a gift from Great Papa. It was some books. His favorite is "The Little Train Who Could". He loves the pictures and saying "Toot, toot".

Bryan got another Gator shirt. He LOVES his Gators. :)

Noel showing off some of the clothes that we gave them. We bought them hats, shoes and clothes. Really cute stuff, in my opinion! :)

After all the present-opening, we had a delicious lunch. Isn't this table lovely?

After lunch we went to the play area right across from Gordon and Kathy's new house. Doesn't Nana look like he is eating up her Shawn time?

Papa and Nana bought this cute little Pooh car before we arrived. They thought it would keep Shawn entertained....and boy were they right! I am so glad he had this to play with. :)

Going down the slide at the play area. Shawn loved getting to play there, and we were glad it was so close to the house.

More to come from our time in ATL....