Swimming With Whale Sharks - Georgia Aquarium

The main attraction we went to while in Atlanta for Scott's birthday weekend was the Georgia Aquarium. When I used to live in Atlanta, Scott and I had annual passes to the aquarium and would visit it about every other month. We were very excited to share this experience with Rocco for the first time.

One of our favorite parts of the Georgia Aquarium is the beluga whale tank. We love it so much, that it was actually the inspiration for Roccoc's  beluga whale themed nursery. Rocco was entranced and we stood there for easily 20 minutes just watching the whales swim around and play with their toys in the water.

Even more impressive is the Ocean Voyager, the largest tank in the Georgia Aquarium. This exhibit was specially designed to house it's four whale sharks, the largest fish species in the world. Massive manta rays, enormous goliath grouper, many schools of fish, and several types of sharks all ply the waters of this ocean habitat containing more than six million gallons of saltwater. With 4,574 square feet of viewing windows, a 100-foot-long underwater tunnel, 185 tons of acrylic windows and the second largest viewing window in the world at 23 feet tall by 61 feet wide and 2 feet thick, amazing doesn't even begin to describe this exhibit.

Sting Ray

Scott and Rocco with a Whale Shark swimming up above

Not the best photo, but you can see the scale of the Whale Sharks

Rocco loved to push against the tank, trying to get the attention of the fish

But even more amazing was the views from inside the tank, as Scott found out when he went scuba diving in it! It was an experience of a lifetime, and really made Scott's 30th birthday a very special occasion.

Scott scuba diving

Swimming over the tunnel

Scott and the other scuba divers with a Whale Shark and Manta Ray swimming above them

Christmas Decorations in Atlanta

These photos were taken outside the World of Coca-Cola. Loved the oversized ornaments!

Stone Mountain Georgia

For Scott's 30th Birthday, we went to Atlanta Georgia for a long weekend getaway. First stop was Stone Mountain Park. We took the Summit Skyride to the top of the mountain, where the view was beautiful but the wind was bitingly cold when you're that high up. We also took advantage of a photo opportunity by visiting the 121 year old covered bridge.

Thanksgiving 2012

Here are some photos of some of the yummy food we made for Thanksgiving at our house this year!

Left to right: Jalapeno Cornbread Poppers, Stuffing, Sweet Potato Casserole, Corn Casserole, Baked Ziti, Green Bean Almondine and Mashed Potatoes.

Not pictured: Turkey, Gravy, and Biscuits/Cornbread.

After we all stuffed ourselves silly, we went to the park in our neighborhood with Rocco. The sun was going down and it was starting to get cold so we didn't stay too long.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I can truly say we have a lot to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Milk - It Does A Baby's Body Good!

13 Months Old!

Now that Rocco is over a year old, we are ditching the monthly photos of him laying on the desk calendar. He's just too mobile and too big to keep that up. However, we are not done with the monthly photos! The new plan is to continue to take a monthly photo of him but with a 'theme' that goes with that calendar month. Some months the theme might just have to be 'cute photo of Rocco' ;)

This month's theme is "Fall Leaves":

Milestones for this month:
- Pulls himself up to a standing position on his own (requiring us to lower his crib mattress)
- Started walking while holding on to furniture (also known as 'cruising')
- Got two teeth at the same time! He finally has teeth!
- Started drinking cow's milk (which was a bigger deal to me than it was to him - I finally put my pump away!)

Someone To Look Up To

Rocco just loves his Cousin Kieran!